Looks like the Italian mafia may be more deadly than anyone ever imagined. An Italian parliament-mandated health survey has confirmed higher-than-normal incidents of death and cancer among residents in and around Naples, thanks to decades of toxic waste dumping by the local Camorra mob. The report by the National Institute… Read More

Operator, won’t you help me replace this call? A 9-foot-tall, narrow structure installed this past week on a Manhattan sidewalk is signaling a plan to turn payphones into what’s billed as the world’s biggest and fastest municipal Wi-Fi network. The first of at least 7,500 planned hot spots are due… Read More

Donald Trump has a personal beef with one of the efforts aimed at protecting the environment — it’s messing with his hair. Trump told supporters in South Carolina last week that he’s not impressed by replacements for old aerosol hairsprays that contained ozone-eating chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. “You can’t… Read More

An anti-violence demonstration in Newark, New Jersey, devolved into a physical altercation between two activists. NJ.com reports the small crowd began arguing on the steps of Newark City Hall last week about the city’s attempts to curb violence. The demonstration was organized by two anti-violence groups. They say they wanted to… Read More

A vacation in Hawaii not only cost a former Connecticut police officer his job, but also led to criminal charges being brought against him. The Stamford Advocate reports Donald Chen was granted two weeks off from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 by the Stamford police department so he could report for… Read More

The San Francisco Zoo this weekend celebrated the 45th birthday of the oldest black rhinoceros in North America with a special cake of rolled oats and molasses. The exact date of Elly’s birth isn’t known, as she was born in the wild. But she has lived at the zoo since April… Read More