The San Mateo County Times reports two Sureño gang members spent 45 minutes threatening electricians who were busy remodeling a McDonald's restaurant in Half Moon Bay because the company shirts they were wearing happened to be red (the rival gang color). "They knew they were electricians — no question," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, "They were just being stupid."

Today NPR's All Things Considered introduced the adorable 12-year-old Caitlin Sanchez, the new voice of Dora the Explorer. If you have a three-year-old girl, then this is a major cultural passing of the torch, like a new James Bond, or a new singer for Van Halen. ¡Vamanos!

The Philadelphia Inquirer offers a nice roundup of the Words of the Year for 2008. My favorites: likeable enough, palling around, toxic assets, shovel ready, Auto-Tune, bleeping, and the Philly's own new rallying cry, why can't us?.

...as reported in The New York Times.

Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis felt the need to issue a press release explaining why it's acceptable for hip-hop artists to refer to women as hos.