10 banned books that may surprise you

Sometimes the banning of a book is self-explanatory, but other cases may leave some of us scratching their heads – who could object to "The Wizard of Oz," for example? Here are 10 books that may seem innocent – but somehow they managed to offend someone.

2nd UDPATE: Obama Administration Unveils New Refinancing Program

 

Two North Carolina schools locked down after shooting

Two schools in Fayetteville, North Carolina, have been locked down after a female student was shot in the neck, officials said on Monday.

Why Senior Citizens Should Be Furious About So-Called Social Security ‘Increase’

Seniors might get a bigger check, but they're losing out

Social Security checks will see their first increase in three years this January. The Social Security COLA, or Cost of Living Adjustment, will amount to 3.6%.

But seniors should be outraged by the Social Security increase — because it isn’t an increase at all. The fact is the government program is paying less than it has in years past, and the recent COLA “increase” doesn’t make up for the ground that seniors have already lost.

Why Companies Aren't Getting the Employees They Need

With an abundance of workers to choose from, employers are demanding more of job candidates than ever before. They want prospective workers to be able to fill a role right away, without any training or ramp-up time.

Government announces new program to help ‘underwater’ homeowners

The federal government on Monday announced new rules that would allow many more struggling borrowers to refinance their mortgages at today’s ultra-low rates, reducing monthly payments for some homeowners and potentially providing a modest boost to the economy.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, working with the Obama administration, said that up to 1 million “underwater” borrowers might benefit from an expanded program that targets homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth.

Children's Risk For Nearsightedness May Be Reduced By Spending More Time Outdoors

Children's risk for myopia or nearsightedness, where objects further away look blurred because light entering the eye focuses incorrectly, may be reduced by spending more time outdoors in natural light, according to a new review of research being presented at a conference this week.

Will Dropouts Save America?

True, people with college degrees tend to earn more. But that could be because most ambitious people tend to go to college; there is little evidence to suggest that the same ambitious people would earn less without college degrees (particularly if they mastered true business and networking grit).

H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players, one of Harlem's last surviving black theater companies, looks to the future

It's one of the last surviving black theater companies – and its founder wants nothing more than to see Harlem's beloved H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players continue for a new generation of actors.

Gertrude Hadley Jeannette officially started the theater group (Harlem Artist's Development League Especially for You) in 1980, but its roots go back to the 1950s.

 "When we started out, my students were Esther Rolle, Isabel Sanford and Rosalind Cash," Jeannette, 96, told the Daily News. "They started out on my stage. I was their first teacher and they all came from Harlem."

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The Ugly Racial Backstory Behind Harlem’s Sewage Plant Explosion

NEW YORK — In 1962, when New York city planners first proposed a

sewage treatment plant for the residents and businesses of Manhattan’s West Side, they picked a spot on the Hudson River around 72nd Street. The neighborhood, however, was well on its way to becoming what it is today — the white, upper middle class district of stylish brownstones, grand co-ops and newfangled condominiums known to most Americans as the backdrop for the TV sitcom, Seinfeld.