5 Things You Need to Know Today: April 2

1. H2Whoa: Here's one to make you scratch your head. On Friday the Food and Drug Administration announced it was denying a petition to ban the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, from all food and drink containers because science doesn't support doing so. On the other hand, the FDA said their ruling doesn't mean they are saying BPA is safe. They will continue to assess the chemical used in the lining of most canned foods and drinks. Their response was prompted by a ruling on a 2008 petition filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which claims that BPA poses a serious threat to human health.

2. Space Jam: It's tough all over, even in outer space, apparently, as the federal 2013 budget includes a $300 million cut to planetary science. This isn't sitting well over at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where space scientists continue to dream of discovering life on other planets. The LA Times reports that the cuts will put the kibosh on future Voyager and Cassini explorations, and have nixed two long-awaited partnerships with the European Space Agency for future planned missions to Mars.

3. UFOs? Nah, Just Angry Birds: After there were Angry Birds, there were Angry Birds in Space, which has captivated the game-playing masses. Now, there will be a cartoon series launching this fall, starting off with 52 three-minute episodes. And after that? Angry Birds: The Movie, of course.

4. Fast Food is Not Comfort Food: A new study suggests fast food is linked to depression. In this study, conducted by researchers from the universities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Granada, Spain, the same group that showed signs of depression were also more likely to be single, less active and have poor dietary habits in general. Also, they smoked and worked more than 45 hours per week.

5. Special Birthday Shout Out: Today happens to be a day of huge importance to the city of Nashua: art aficionado, civic chamption and philanthropist was born. And while it's hard to measure how much her passionate promotion of the arts has elevated this fine city in tangible terms, suffice it to say she's left a mighty huge and indelible imprint, just about everywhere you look. Happiest of birthdays, Meri.