Dishing dirt behind someone’s back is a beneficial activity, say scientists. Spreading gossip—defined as alerting others that a person has behaved badly—helps maintain social order and even lowers the stress of the gossiper, according to a new study out of UC Berkeley and reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Researchers set up experiments involving people cheating […]

China’s political leaders have long loved pricey cars, but public anger is rising over bureaucrats who wheel around in Bentleys and Maseratis, reports the LA Times. Defying government censorship, angry citizens are snapping photos of luxury autos and posting them on websites. “Corruption on wheels is an accurate description of this problem,” says a Beijing […]

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to close four high schools and close or merge 44 elementary schools in June, officials announced today at a closed-door meeting with administrators and priests. West Catholic, St. Hubert, Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast and Conwell-Egan will all be closed, according to Rita Schwartz, president of the Association of Catholic Teachers, which […]

Montgomery County officials have ruled that a grenade found in a first-floor court at the King of Prussia Mall is not explosive, authorities said. Part of the mall was evacuated about an hour ago when security notified Upper Merion Township police that a suspicious device had been found in a planter or flower pot and […]

Sports

Reid it and weep, Eagles fans. Despite the most disappointing season since owner Jeffrey Lurie has owned the team — his words, not mine — the team is not cutting ties with head coach Andy Reid. He’ll be back to coach the Eagles in 2012 after finishing with an 8-8 record in 2011 and missing […]

A century of City Council experience went into the history books yesterday — replaced by six new members — and a former John Street protege, Darrell Clarke, was sworn in as Council president. But one question lingered after all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the inauguration ceremony: Will former Mayor John Street have more influence […]

People who once sought kidneys through word of mouth or church bulletins are finding a new forum: Facebook. The website has fulfilled at least three kidney requests as many more are popping up across social media sites, the AP reports. One plea came from Seattle father Damon Brown, who was growing weak while waiting on […]

Show of hands, how many people are still clocking in at 9 and out at 5 every day? Well, you might be in the minority soon. In its annual list of top trends, communications firm Euro RSCG Worldwide is predicting that “Generation Y will upend the traditional workday, as the digital generation works anywhere, anytime.” Time agrees, […]

Pat yourself on the back America; you’re the most giving nation in the world, at least according to the Charities Aid Foundation. The US jumped from fifth place to first in the second annual World Giving Index (pdf here), with an all-time-high 60% rating. The score is based on Gallup’s World Poll survey, averaging each country’s […]

News

Failed politician Jules Manson appears to be better at attracting attention from the Secret Service than he was at attracting votes in his bid for a city council seat in California. In a Facebook rant sparked by President Obama’s support of a revised military authorization bill, Manson called for the assassination of the president and […]

Maggots may work faster than any surgeon when it comes to cleaning large wounds that are slow to heal. Typically, doctors use scalpels and special enzymes to lift dead tissue from such wounds; researchers in France wanted to see if maggots could speed the process. They compared the two therapies on patients suffering from venous […]

News

A man who admitted to planting a bomb along a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade route was sentenced Tuesday to 32 years in prison, the maximum punishment as negotiated under a plea deal that he tried to withdraw and then later denounced. “I am not guilty of the acts that I am accused of […]