“Dogs are compelled to yawn if they hear their owners do the same, according to a new study. Researchers claimed that dogs responded to an audio cue such as a yawn even if they didn’t see the action taking place. The study found this was particularly noticeable when the dogs were listening to the yawns of people they knew. Scientists suggested the findings, presented at the National Ethology Congress in Lisbon, showed canines had empathy to human behaviors. “These results suggest that dogs have the capacity to empathize with humans,” said lead author Karine Silva, from the University of Porto, Portugal.” w/ photo

“Students at Maynard High School in Maynard, Mass. made good on an important promise: no tanning before this year’s prom. Many of the students signed a pledge in February that they would skip the tanning bed and sunbathing before prom this year in an effort to reduce their risk of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Allison Bosse, the high school senior who organized the pledge, said convincing everyone to flaunt their pale skin was no easy task. “Our school is known for a lot of people tanning. Kids start in March because they want to be tan in their dresses for prom,” she said. Bosse said the pressure for students to get a golden glow is so great that freshmen start visiting tanning beds even though they don’t go to the prom. Bosse said she wanted to educate her classmates about the dangers of tanning. She set up tables at lunch and started asking for people to sign the no-tanning pledge. Of the school’s 283 seniors, 209 signed the pledge.” w/ photo + video

“A collector has sold a Batman No. 1 comic to an investment partnership for $850,000. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which arranged the private transaction, announced the sale. Ed Jaster, vice president of Heritage, says the collector had paid $315,000 for the comic about two years ago. The comic book cost 10 cents when it was published in 1940. Jaster says, ‘The market for high-quality, classic comic books has really skyrocketed over the past few years.’ The identities of the seller and investors were not revealed.” w/ photos

“Curmudgeons who are skeptical about whether such procedures amount to ‘painting,’ barely rate a shrug from Stone. ‘If people are skeptical,’ she said, ‘well then it’s their loss because they’re missing out on a beautiful thing.’ That beautiful thing emerges every time Piper hears a rustle or a crinkle from Stone’s studio. The dog rushes into the studio and won’t budge until Stone slips the handle of a freshly paint-doused brush into her mouth. A few minutes later, another colorful ‘painting’ is hung on a drying line. Along the way, Stone, on a whim, decided to post one of Piper’s pieces on Facebook. It sold within a week and a few months later, Stone quit counting Piper’s sales after they passed the fifty mark. ‘She has over, I think, 2,700 fans now on Facebook,’ Stone said. ‘She has her own business card, e-mail, website.’ Now Piper isn’t exactly getting rich. But she is making enough money to cover her own medical bills and to pay for things like her Web site and PayPal fees.” w/ photos + video

“From crispy California avocado tacos sprinkled with sesame seeds to coconut-raspberry cupcakes and espresso, the food-truck revolution has delightfully messed with American food and culture. Now, an indelicate, perhaps hilarious, line has been crossed. Are we ready for mobile hot dogs served from the final rest stop, the clutches of death, the lair of vampires? The ghoulish geniuses behind a bit of mobile madness, Dead Dogs Ltd, believe we are. So does Priscilla Garcia, who was innocently driving through north San Jose recently when she, like many others, spotted a long, shiny black Cadillac hearse. It was parked at a gritty intersection that looked more like West Texas than Silicon Valley. The funeral coach had flames painted on the side and seemed to have unloaded a coffin on the side of the road. Curious, Garcia pulled over, and to her surprise, what she saw was a hot dog cart masquerading as a coffin. The novelty made Garcia blurt, “Oh, I think I’ll have a hot dog today!” And gladly the vendor, Jevelyn Lincoln, served the cleaning company employee a steamed jalapeño dog and sent her back to work happy.” w/ photos + video

“Six leaders from South Korea’s largest Buddhist order have quit after a video surfaced showing several monks playing high-stakes poker, drinking and smoking, Reuters reports. “The stakes for 13 hours of gambling were more than $875,300 won,” Seongho, a senior monk who uses one name, told Reuters. “Basically, Buddhist rules say don’t steal. Look at what they did, they abused money from Buddhists for gambling.” In the video, which aired on South Korean TV networks, men from the Jogye order are seen sitting cross-legged on a floor playing cards, some smoking and drinking. The incident allegedly happened after a gathering at a luxury lakeside hotel in late April for a fellow monk’s memorial service.” w/ photos + video

“The 8-year-old twins love their iPad. They draw, play games and expand their vocabulary. Their family’s teenagers also like the hand-held computer tablets, too, but the clan’s elders show no interest. The orangutans at Miami’s Jungle Island apparently are just like people when it comes to technology. The park is one of several zoos experimenting with computers and apes, letting its six orangutans use an iPad to communicate and as part of a mental stimulus program. Linda Jacobs, who oversees the program, hopes the devices will eventually help bridge the gap between humans and the endangered apes. ‘Our young ones pick up on it. They understand it. It’s like, ‘Oh I get this,’ Jacobs said. ‘Our two older ones, they just are not interested. I think they just figure, ‘I’ve gotten along just fine in this world without this communication-skill here and the iPad, and I don’t need a computer.” w/ photo + video

“A Connecticut novelty company is selling a ‘tanorexic’ action figure based on a deeply tanned New Jersey mother accused of causing skin burns to her young daughter in a tanning booth. Patricia Krentcil has said she loves tanning but wouldn’t — and didn’t — take her then-5-year-old into a tanning booth. Krentcil pleaded not guilty last week to a child endangerment charge. She says her daughter got sunburned outdoors. The president of Oxford-based HeroBuilders says everyone has friends into heavy tanning. Emil Vicale says, ‘We thought it was a funny thing to do.” w/ photos

“A 13-year-old US schoolgirl has set up her own company after coming up with what she claims is a cure for hiccups. Mallory Kievman, from Manchester, Connecticut, says she got the idea after trying to tame a stubborn bout of hiccups two years ago. She tried every remedy she could think of, including drinking saltwater, sipping water out of an upside-down cup, eating spoonfuls of sugar, and slurping pickle juice. Miss Kievman eventually combined her three favorite cures – lollipops, apple cider vinegar and sugar – into a single cure which she says does the trick. ‘I’m still tweaking the taste,’ she says. “It triggers a set of nerves in your throat and mouth that are responsible for the hiccup reflex arc.” w/ photo

“Keithan Manuel is sitting inside the Dallas County Jail Tuesday night waiting for someone to believe him – it was a joke, he told investigators. He didn’t really want to rob that police station. Police, however, say the 18-year-old walked into the Wilmer Police Department Saturday evening with a white towel covering his hands. Police Chief Victor Kemp described the incident saying, ‘Yeah well, a young man walked into the lobby and approached the dispatch window there and told our Communications Officer ‘give me all your money.”… ‘This young man wasn’t using his head for sure,’ he said. ‘You hear of those World’s Dumbest Criminals every once in a while but you never think it’s gonna happen in your city.” w/ photo + video