The Justice Department announced Thursday that states can let people use recreational marijuana, license people to grow it and allow it to be sold at dispensaries. Washington and Colorado voted last fall to allow recreational marijuana use. Federal authorities said states can adopt their own laws and will not be prosecuted as long as the states work to keep weed away from those under 21, the black market and federal property. (read full story here)

Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday the White House will implement two executive orders aimed at curbing gun violence. The first order will bar military-grade weapons from being imported into the U.S. after they’ve been sold or donated to overseas allies, and the other order bars ineligible gun purchasers from registering guns to corporations to skirt the law. The orders don’t require approval from Congress, where gun registration legislation efforts have failed so far.

As President Barack Obama faced resistance from Congress on Thursday to potential military action against Syria, British efforts to intervene with their military were shot down in Parliament. Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed his country would defend itself. The U.N. inspectors investigating the suspected chemical weapons attack that triggered international governments’ attention were set to leave Syria within 48 hours.

Thousands of former NFL players who suffer from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or depression that they say resulted from concussions sustained in football games settled their lawsuit with the league Thursday. The almost $800 million lawsuit compensates athletes with neurological ailments, pays for medical exams of concussions and donates to further research on brain disorders. (read full story here)

Contact Maura Zurick at [email protected].