Burmese pythons were introduced into the Florida Everglades in the 1980s.  They escaped from captivity and pet owners also dump them when they become too large to keep.  The pythons are prolific and can grow to more than 15 feet long (5 meters) and weigh 150 pounds (75 kg).

A new Davidson College study reveals rapidly declining populations of indigenous Everglade mammals (e.g., raccoons, deer, opossum, and others), by more than 90% since the late 1990s.  Researchers believe the skyrocketing python population is to blame.  

The Price Is Right is one of the longest-running game shows on television. Contestants on the show are asked to count the cost of different prizes, and by knowing the correct price they can win a prize. At the end of each show, two contestants compete for the “grand prize” by counting the cost of a final “showcase.” Whoever comes closest to counting the total price correctly (without going over), wins the big prize.

“The portrait of a nation increasingly relaxed about ‘low-level dishonesty’ emerges in a major study” conducted by the University of Essex.  The report “suggests that the ‘integrity problem’ is likely to get worse because young people are more tolerant of dishonest behaviour than the older generation.”

My grandfather once promised to buy me a new bicycle. He made that promise many years ago, right after a politician had promised him that all elderly Americans would soon be given a bonus. Neither of us saw those promises come true. For many generations, promises have been a mainstay of hope for people seeking a better life. Even today, we are bombarded by promises of better jobs, better living, a better economy, and so on. So, are there any promises in which we can take hope?

“The net result of human rights developments in Europe causes great concern… Without concerted government action, the next generation of Europeans may see human rights as an optional extra rather than a core value,” wrote a reporter for the EU Observer.