Picking through other people’s trash is not a habit you expect a stylish young woman to cultivate, but in Brooklyn, N.Y., women are taking to the streets and cashing in on their neighbor’s designer cast-offs.

Angie Emara, a 35-year-old Chicago mother, acknowledges the term “jihad” for some means taking up arms when the situation calls for it. But her jihad is dealing with the loss of one son, Adam, to Hunter’s Syndrome — a rare disease requiring a risky stem cell transplant operation that Adam didn’t survive. Some are trying to blunt the perceptions many Americans have about “jihad.”

For many, a 15-mile trek through a bustling city would be unthinkable without a smart phone. But for a modern-day pilgrim, cellphones and iPads are considered a distraction from their holy missions.

Gourmet food trucks have become increasingly popular in many American cities. Now, entrepreneurs on wheels are targeting a different set of foodies – dogs. Frozen yogurt, chicken cordon bleu cookies and peanut butter crunch are just some of the treats on offer as pet owners increasingly turn to gourmet treats for their canine companions.

In response to the growing need to charge mobile devices, full-service restaurants are increasing installing or being built with power outlets in easily accessible spots for customers.

The human hair industry is growing at a rate of 40 percent per year. While American celebrities and fashionistas generate demand for natural hair extensions, few consumers ask where the hair comes from.

Before people know my name, they know me as the girl who sneezes in multiples. I start between 9 and 10 a.m. and keep going. Urban Dictionary calls it sneezure, defined as “an uncontrollable fit of sneezing.” And while doctors can explain the science behind a sneeze, medical science has yet to explain the reason for its frequency.

South Asian a cappella groups combine Bollywood music with today’s pop and hip-hop, and are steadily growing audiences all across the world.

The State Farm “French model” unexpectedly rises to fame after successful commercial.

Eric Filipkowski, the State Farm “French Model” is now recognized everywhere he goes, but no one knows his real name. He represents the phenomenon of the one-hit-wonder commercial actor who is well known but anonymous at the same time, a phenomenon that dates back to the Maytag repairman and Mr. Whipple (“Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.”

The rising popularity of Dia de los Muertos’ most famous image, the sugar skull, in pop culture bothers some in the Mexican/Latino community who feel commercialization robs the symbol of its cultural significance.