iPhones are not stalking users, video games may be therapeutic, and Zuckerberg woos Obama, or is it the other way around? These discoveries and more after the jump.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

This Is Nonsense: Your iPhone Is Not Tracking You The hand-wringing and howling from the blogosphere about Apple “spying” on its customers and giving whack-jobs, jealous husbands, or creepy Grindr tricks the ability to track your every move is nonsense. Seriously.

Do Video Games Really Make People More Aggressive? Psychologists, on the whole, think violent video games are very bad. An economist thinks they may actually be very good. Perhaps someone from another discipline will break the stalemate.

Gay Marriage Opponents Now in Minority A poll from CNN this week is the latest to show a majority of Americans in favor of same-sex marriage, with 51 percent saying that marriages between gay and lesbian couples “should be recognized by the law as valid” and 47 percent opposed.

Facebook Woos Washington Barack Obama is now friends with Mark Zuckerberg.

Reclaiming Rio’s Shantytowns Rio de Janeiro’s new Police Pacification Units, designed to take back the city’s favelas from drug dealers, represent a doctrinal and operational revolution away from police business as usual.

Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ is the original shock art Piss Christ depicts the passion of Christ and is said to be made with the artist’s own urine.

Bieber Loses YouTube Crown to Rebecca Black The 17-year-old Canadian singer has been pushed into second place thanks to Rebecca’s song Friday, according to new figures from Famecount.com.

As Fidel Castro steps down, a political shakeup in Cuba? Delegates since Saturday have debated more than 300 proposals to overhaul the struggling economy. Details on who will fill leadership roles are expected to emerge soon.

The Abolition of Mandatory Retirement How the abolition of mandatory retirement changed America in unexpected ways.

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