A best friendship might have little to do with common interests, longevity, or even proximity - it might just be the mutuality. This is the conclusion Penn psychologists Peter DeScioli and Robert Kurzban reached in their recent study exploring the cognitive aspects of human friendship.

Several incidents of crime occurred this past weekend involving a group of 12- to 17-year-old youths congregating around South Street. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, teenagers hijacked a taxi early Sunday morning at 12th and South streets after getting into a confrontation with the driver and proceeded to drive the vehicle into a tree at 12th and Fitzwater streets, injuring two passengers.

Economic equality does not always guarantee happiness, according to two Wharton professors. In their paper entitled, "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness," Business and Public Policy professors Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers compared changes in the levels of women's happiness with those of men in light of changes in economic equality since the 1970s.

The sentencing of former Wharton Marketing professor Scott Ward, which was scheduled for today, has been postponed. Ward pled guilty to five child pornography related charges last November. He could receive a sentence up to life in prison. He is currently serving a 15-year sentence at a low-security Western Pennsylvania correctional facility for other child pornography related convictions, to which he was sentenced in May 2007.

To the unemployed graduate or student seeking a summer internship, a high-paying job with a low time commitment seems too good to be true. Most often, it is. Last week, Penn's Career Services office sent an e-mail to students warning them about fraudulent job and internship opportunities posted online.

Despite recent downgrades in credit ratings across universities, Penn remains unscathed. Penn has retained its original ratings of AA+ from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and Aa2 from Moody's Investor Service that it earned last year. Last week, credit ratings of numerous colleges - including Dartmouth and Bard Colleges -- declined due to waning endowment values and other financial issues, said Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli.

Two more members of the Penn community received political appointments from President Barack Obama and will try to make their mark in international affairs. Penn alumnus and governor of Utah Jon Huntsman Jr., was nominated by Obama as the United States ambassador to China, and Penn Law professor William Burke-White has been appointed to a policy position in the U.

Burglary May 23 - A male student, 20, reported at about 7:30 p.m. that an unknown suspect entered his secured apartment, located on the 4000 block of Spruce Street, and removed personal items. May 23 - A female student, 30, reported at about 11:45 a.m. that an unknown suspect entered her secured apartment, located on the 400 block of 43rd Street, and removed personal items.

The Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed the city's $3.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2010 on May 21, with key aspects of the budget awaiting approval from the state legislature. The approved budget closes a $1.4 billion gap in the city's five-year financial plan by increasing the sales tax by 1 percent, deferring pension payments of city employees for two years and stretching payments to the pension fund from 20 to 30 years.

"When the name of your company becomes a verb, you know you've done something special," said Interim Provost Vincent Price during his introduction of the 2009 commencement speaker May 18 on Franklin Field. "That's market penetration." In an event marked by pop culture references, laughs from the audience and heartfelt moments, Google CEO Eric Schmidt led the 2009 commencement ceremony with a speech geared toward guiding new graduates in the current economic environment.

When Penn students return to campus this fall, Fresh Grocer will have gotten just a little bit fresher. This summer, the grocery store intends to undergo a number of changes that will renovate and update the grocery store, located at 40th and Walnut streets.

With the help of an $18 million grant, one Penn researcher will lead the way in the development of new treatments for pancreatic cancer. Over the next three years, Craig Thompson, director of the Penn Abramson Cancer Center, will work closely with researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, a Phoenix research center and patient advocates.

Penn recently announced that it will change its dining services provider from Philadelphia-based Aramark to Bon Appetit Management Company of Palo Alto, Calif. The agreement for the University and Aramark to exit their contract on July 12 was mutual, according to University and Aramark representatives.

Penn dessert enthusiasts have a new reason to be excited. After delays, Capogiro Gelato Cafe opened last Thursday in the retail belt under the Radian apartments at 3925 Walnut St.

The search for Penn's next provost is over: Vincent Price will take the reins as the University's 29th provost beginning July 1, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced this afternoon. Price is currently interim provost of Penn and a professor of communication in the Annenberg School.

On May 19, former Philadelphia Inspector General Seth Williams won the Democratic primary for the upcoming Philadelphia District Attorney election, surpassing his four rivals with over 40 percent of the vote. Williams will face Republican Michael Untermeyer - who ran unopposed in the Republican primary - in the general election on Nov.

Though this year's crop of graduating seniors will never have the chance to experience the fruits of the Online Syllabi Initiative, students remaining at Penn now have more information at their fingertips to help them select classes. The proposal, initially begun in 2005 by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, created a centralized repository system through which faculty members from each of Penn's 12 schools can upload current and past course syllabi during the advance-registration period.