What makes kids popular in high school? Researchers found they share the same personality trait.

It's not looks, athletics, or grades.

By Tod Perry

Every high school has a few "popular" students that almost everyone likes. They are often chosen to be prom king or queen and elected to the student council. They are the folks that everyone waves to in the hallways, and they are usually confident and friendly.

So, what are the traits that make certain people popular and others slink by with little recognition? Are the most likable kids also the most athletic? Do they have a higher GPA? Are they more extroverted? Are they funnier? Are they more attractive?

🚨 North Carolina officer embraces woman who was being hostile during traffic stop

“I told him, I’m ready to give up."

By Jacalyn Wetzel

Usually, when someone gets pulled over, they quickly run through all of the things they could've done wrong that would result in a ticket. No driver is having a good time when the blue lights of a police car start flashing behind them. Depending on your life experiences, emotions can range from slightly annoyed to downright terrified.

For Katelyn Ricchini, encounters with the police usually meant she was going to jail, so when she got pulled over for speeding in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, she didn't expect any different.

When Cabarrus County Deputy Shawn Singleton approached Ricchini's window, he was met with hostility. Ricchini was angry and let him know by her attitude that she had no intention of pretending to be cordial to someone who was about to give her a ticket, or worse.

Such a heartfelt tribute! 😭

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🐕‍🦺 Dog being rescued from house fire insists police officer put him on a leash first

Maybe there's such a thing as being too good of a boy.

By Annie Reneau

Well-trained dogs are a treasure, and a dog named Oakley in Aurora, Illinois, has given a whole new meaning to the phrase "good boy." Despite the harrowing situation he found himself in, people everywhere are delighting in this rescue dog's almost-too-good behavior.

According to the Aurora Police Department, the four-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier was home alone on the afternoon of September 11, 2025, when a fire broke out in the home's attic. When police officers responded to a fire report, they found flames coming from the back of the home. Investigator Michael Ely and Investigator Jacob Leonard weren't sure if anyone was home, but they were informed there was a dog, and they forced entry through the front door. They didn't find any people inside, but they did find Oakley in a room with a gated doorway on the first floor.

📱 Mom creates an awesome, in-depth social media 'prep school' for her tween daughter

First lesson? How to handle a mean comment.

By Heather Wake

How do parents teach their tweens and teens about using social media safely? How do they make sure they don’t miss out on what is a major fixture of their social life, but still teach them the skills needed to navigate all those icky things that make social media a mental hellscape? Not to mention doing it all while still not having fully figured it out as adults?

It’s a conundrum indeed, but a crucial one for modern day parents to tackle. Thankfully, educator, entrepreneur, and fellow mom Jamie Sea came up with a brilliant idea to help parents cover their bases in a way that’s both neuroscience-oriented and tween-friendly.

She calls it her “Social Media Prep School.”

Sea’s Social Media Prep School is something she originally came up with for her 11-year-old daughter, who will no doubt be entering onto the apps in a few years time. But before that, Sea wants to, “Prepare her for everything: how to not let any kind of comments affect her, how to believe in herself, how to show up in the most amazing way.”