The doll, set to be released in the fall and developed with the startup ToyTalk, will record what the child (or anyone else within range) says and use voice-recognition software to analyze the speech, compare it to other things previously said by the child, and make an appropriate response. Mattel will email parents with transcripts of the child’s conversations with Barbie.   read more

Moed referred to himself as “Bitch Boy”—but Leathers discovered his name when he sent her a pink leash and collar via Amazon and his name was on the package. “I Googled him and found out he’s a lawmaker. Apparently only politicians can pick up on my pheromones,” Leathers said. Leathers was somewhat disappointed that another liberal politician had been caught up in a scandal involving her. “I’m really sad,” she said. “I was really hoping it was a Republican.”   read more

Whichever airline had shorter average actual flight times “won” each pair. Virgin America ran away from the competition. That airline beat JetBlue 15-1, outshined American 22-4 and routed United 50-2, giving it an 87% winning streak. Which airline was the cellar-dweller among those measured by Silver? United took the top draft pick, winning only 27% of the time. This is the same winning percentage as the current Los Angeles Lakers.   read more

The arena most hostile to visiting teams is the home of Arizona State’s basketball team, where students have the Curtain of Distraction. As a visiting player is about to shoot a free throw, the curtain is pulled back to reveal a five-second playlet designed to throw off the shooter’s aim. Teams shoot almost nine percentage points worse at ASU than they do at home. This makes a difference of 1.7 points per game.   read more

When the woman became violent, Johnson unsuccessfully employed his stun gun twice to subdue her. An Inyo County deputy arrived and assisted Johnson, but called for police back-up when the two officers became outnumbered by the woman and her hostile family. She was ultimately cited, but not arrested at the request of her ex-husband. The district attorney later charged Johnson with falsely representing himself to be a public officer, assault with a stun gun, false imprisonment, and battery.   read more

Bart catches a 3-eyed fish in the river near the power plant owned by the greedy Mr. Burns. He worries that he’ll have to pay millions of dollars to clean up the river— until Homer suggests if he ran for governor, Burns “could decide what’s safe and what isn’t” and not worry about the polluting. The joke was not that far off from today’s reality. In North Carolina, a longtime former employee of Duke Energy is now governor, Pat McCrory. Like Burns’ plant, Duke contaminated his state's water.   read more

The liberal arts school was founded in 1996 as an institute and also operated as an Islamic seminary before transforming into a four-year college in 2009. It offers a B.A. in Islamic Law and Theology as well as courses in politics, astronomy, and American history, among others. "Religiously-affiliated colleges are plentiful in the United States, but the vast majority are Christian," said Jack Jenkins. "There are a few Jewish higher education institutions...and even some Buddhist schools.”   read more

The “Homeless Bill of Rights,” passed almost exclusively with Democratic votes, makes it more difficult for police to harass and move the homeless from public spaces. The ordinance says such individuals have the right to “move freely in public spaces” as well as receive equal treatment from city agencies and emergency medical care. It also assures a right to privacy for their personal property and requires 15 days notice before moving them from a camp.   read more

All profits from the store will go towards public health and safety expenses, and could allow North Bonneville to finally afford to have its own police department. Local businesses are excited about the new shop and are even teaming up for some promotional ideas. The Dam Roadhouse Restaurant, just down the street from Cannabis Corner, is creating coupons that will offer customers special deals for making purchases at both establishments. The shop may generate $2.7 million during its first year.   read more

The night before the crash, Holly, Valens and Richardson had performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The aircraft had been in flight for only four minutes when it crashed into a farm field five miles north of the municipal airport.   read more

The state government of Maharashtra has banned the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef. Anyone found breaking the law could face a fine and up to five years in prison. President Pranab Mukherjee approved the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill that has taken 19 years to become law.   read more

The vault, which was opened in 2008, is designed to be a storage site of last resort for millions of species of plants. Seed banks from around the world store seeds there, until now mostly for food crops, in the event that a cataclysmic event destroys a crop elsewhere. The Svalbard seeds then could be used to restart the plant species. There are 840,000 varieties of food crops in the vault.   read more

Fort really needed to use the restroom. He told Republican committee chairman Josh McKoon that he was stepping out for a bathroom break and asked him to put committee work on hold until he got back. McKoon agreed. But as soon as Fort left, the Republicans hurriedly brought the bill back up for a vote. A staffer quickly alerted absent Democratic senators of what was happening, and they raced to the committee room to prevent the vote but were too late. The committee had already passed the bill.   read more

ICE agents conducted raids across Southern California this week in an effort to shut down businesses in which foreign residents pay to stay in the U.S. to have children who will then automatically be U.S. citizens.These “birthing centers” have charged nearly $40,000 per expecting mom to help guide them through U.S. rules and procedures, such as advice on where to stay before delivering their baby. As many as 40,000 children are born in the U.S. each year as a result of such arrangements.   read more

Researchers examined data collected in other studies that factored in penis measurements from more than 15,000 men. They found no correlation between penis size and foot size, palm size or any other urban legend that purports to make such a connection. They did caution that studies might be skewed because men with larger penises might be more inclined to participate in a study that measured their vital organ.   read more

Americans have increasingly shunned both the Republican and Democratic parties in favor of independent status when it comes party identification. This trend has progressed to the point where in 44 of the 50 states, independents are a larger group than either the number of registered Republicans or Democrats. Alaska is 54% independent (26% Republican and 14% Democrat), and Massachusetts stands at 53% independent (35% Democrat and 11% Republican).   read more