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UT Austin, North Dakota State evacuated after bomb threats

Local media said the school in Austin had received a phoned-in threat from a man claiming to be part of Al Qaeda who had placed bombs all over campus.

Courtesy University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin issued a campus-wide evacuation order this morning in response to a "threat."

Two major public universities in Texas and North Dakota were evacuated Friday after receiving bomb threats, school officials and law enforcement said.

The University of Texas at Austin and North Dakota State University in Fargo both issued campus-wide evacuation orders, but gave little additional information.

It was not immediately clear if the bomb threats at the two schools, some 1200 miles apart, were related.

UT Austin, a sprawling campus home to 50,000 students, placed an emergency notice on front page of the school's website around 10 a.m. Texas time. "Evacuation due to threats on campus. Immediately evacuate ALL buildings and get as far away as possible. More information to come," the statement read.

Gas shutoff burns residents of Gen. Grant Houses 

223 families will have to endur at least another three weeks with no working stoves, home-cooked meals

Mariela Lombard/for New York Daily News

The Grant Houses on Amsterdam Ave. and West 125th. in Manhattan.

Some 450 residents of the General Grant Houses in Harlem have endured three agonizing weeks with no gas in their homes — and the city’s troubled housing agency says service won’t be restored until early October.

That means the 223 mostly poor families who live at 1305 Amsterdam Ave. will have to face another three weeks with no working stoves or home-cooked meals.

Adding insult to injury: A New York City Housing Authority spokeswoman says the tenants will get no break in the rent, despite at least six weeks without gas service, because the problem was “an occurrence beyond NYCHA’s control.”

Hazardous PCB leak at IS 204 in Long Island City has parents seething with outrage 

May take up to nine years to replace rest of school's potentially contaminated light fixtures, officials say

CLARE TRAPASSO FOR DAILY NEWS

Parents Tisha Kirkland (l.) and Doreatha Carson stand in front of IS 204, where they learned on Thursday that a light fixture in their seventh-grade children's school was discovered leaking fluid laced with hazardous PCBs.

Parents were outraged this week after learning that a light fixture was leaking PCBs on to the floor in their children’s Long Island City middle school.

Even worse, officials told parents that it could take up to nine years to replace the rest of the school’s potentially contaminated lights.

The leak was discovered by a custodian in a counselor’s office on Monday at Intermediate School 204, Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said on Thursday.

No one was in the room, she noted, and the light was removed that day.

Small Brooklyn colleges score big on U.S. News and World Report rankings of top schools

Marino, Joe

Brooklyn College

Four small Brooklyn colleges have scored big on the U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of the top schools in the northeast.

The list names St. Francis College, The Pratt Institute, Brooklyn College and St. Joseph’s College as four top schools in the region.

“I think it’s terrific,” said St. Francis provost Timothy Houlihan. “It’s well deserved recognition for the faculty, students and the hardworking staff.”

The rankings - which came out Wednesday - were based on freshman retention, class sizes, school selectivity, graduation rate and alumni donations.

St. Francis ranked 26th among 46 other regional colleges in the northeast. Among universities, Pratt was ranked 20th, Brooklyn College was ranked 55th and St. Joseph’s came in 86th out of 143 schools.

Rahm Emanuel Should Send His Kids To Chicago Public Schools

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 10: Mayor Rahm Emanuel (2nd R) visits Chicago Public School children at Woodson Regional Library on September 10, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Chicago teachers strike has led to the fanciful notion that big city school systems' problems could all be solved if we just banned private schools, thus forcing folks like Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama to send their kids to them. That's probably wrong (some families would move to the suburbs, leaving urban schools with less tax money even as suddenly they have to serve more kids) but politically it does seem to me to send a bad message when politicians refuse to participate in public services. What's more, it sends a misleading message about where the problems are in the education system.

The fact is that as best we can tell Chicago Public Schools are doing a bang-up job of serving kids like the Emanuels.

FDIC: 21.4 percent of black families don’t have bank accounts

WASHINGTON — A government survey shows about 821,000 U.S. households lost access to basic banking services between January 2009 and June 2011.

Roughly 10 million U.S. households, or 8.2 percent, have no access to bank accounts, according to a survey conducted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That’s up from 7.7 percent in the FDIC’s 2009 survey.

And an even larger percentage of Americans are relying on high-interest alternatives, even those with traditional bank accounts. The survey found 28.3 percent either lacked bank accounts or used payday loans, check-cashing services and other alternatives as of June 2011. That’s up from 25.6 percent in the previous survey.

Woman drives on sidewalk to avoid stopping for school bus

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Thousands flee Guatemala volcano eruption

More than 33,000 people evacuated from villages around the Fuego volcano, 40km southwest of Guatemala City.

Guatemala's Fuego volcano has erupted, spewing smoke and ash 3km into the sky and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people as lava oozed down its slopes, local emergency services said.

The volcano, 40km southwest of the capital Guatemala City, erupted in the early afternoon, belching a cloud of ash above the crater, Guatemala's emergency agency CONRED said in a statement on Thursday.

Roughly 11,000 people have been evacuated and 8,000 more were awaiting transfer to shelters, said Sergio Cabanas, CONRED's director of emergency response. Up to 10,000 others could be moved to safety depending on wind conditions and ash emissions, he added.

"For the moment, the strength (of the eruption) has not calmed," Cabanas said.

Dozens dead in Afghan bus-tanker collision

Officials report 50 people killed, with women and children among victims, after passenger bus slams into fuel tanker.

A passenger bus has collided with a fuel tanker in Afghanistan, killing 50 people and injuring several others, with women and children among the victims, officials said.

The incident happened on Friday  in the Spin Band area of Ab Band district of Ghazni province, which straddles the main highway from Kabul to Kandahar, the capital of the south.

It was not immediately clear to whom the fuel tanker belonged.

Ghazni is part of the main supply route for NATO goods coming into Afghanistan from the north and heading south.

"At around 6:30 am [0200 GMT] a passenger bus collided with a fuel tanker in the Spin Band area of Ab Band," Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of the province, told the AFP news agency.

Hard-working Loretta Devine up for second Emmy 

Loretta Devine attends Michael Clarke Duncan's Memorial Service at Forest Lawn Cemetery on September 10, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Loretta Devine would love to win a second Emmy for her guest performance as Adele, the long-suffering wife of surgery chief Richard Webber on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

But the actress, who won last year for the same role, isn’t quite sure how her first statuette would feel getting about a sister.

“Well, my Emmy is sleeping with five NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Award) boys,” Devine joked, breaking into big laughter. “So, she’s having a good time. She may be mad if somebody else enters the room.”

Devine’s laugh is building-filling huge, which likely came in handy this season on the “Grey’s” set when, after a long, slow decline, her character realized she had Alzheimer’s disease and needed to be placed into a full-time care facility.

“That particular scene, it was just wrenching for me,” said Devine. “Sometimes when I watch it, I get so sad myself. And I know I’m acting it out, you know?”

Devine said audiences have connected with Adele and Richard’s plight.

“It does have a major impact on people that actually have parents at home, that they’re having to care for,” she explained. “I always feel like I’ve been hit on the head many too many times. I got hit on the head a lot on ‘Dreamgirls.’ I’m real scared that I’m not remembering as much as I should.”

There’s a lot to remember. Devine came to fame in the original Broadway cast of the Supremes-inspired musical “Dreamgirls” in 1981. Since then, she hasn’t stopped working for long, in films including “Waiting to Exhale” (1995) and “Jumping the Broom” (2011). Recent TV series gigs include playing the massage-parlor madam on Lifetime’s “The Client List” and voicing Hallie the Hippo of Disney Junior’s popular “Doc McStuffins.”

“It teaches not be afraid to go to the doctor. It’s cute and it has songs,” Devine says, then breaks into the series oft-repeated chorus: “‘Time for your checkup. Time for your checkup. Woo! Woo! Time for your checkup.’”

Devine’s pipes are still intact. Thirty-two years after “Dreamgirls,” perhaps a Tony is in her sights?

Gail Warrior, founder and CEO of the Warrior Group, leads largest minority woman-owned construction firm in U.S.

 A black woman in the construction business. © bevangoldswain - Fotolia.com

SC inmates with illegal phones guided guard rescue

BISHOPVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Inmates at a maximum security prison in South Carolina used illegal cell phones to guide rescuers to a guard who was being held hostage in the facility.

A guard at the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville was rescued shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, nearly five hours after being taken hostage.

Corrections Department spokesman Clark Newsom says the officer suffered cuts and bruises but was able to walk out of the prison. The officer's name was not released. He was taken to a local hospital to be examined.

South Carolina State University's new $4.8 million building sits idle

CHRISTOPHER HUFF/T&D

South Carolina State University says it doesn’t have the cash it needs to fill its new $4.8 million Transit Center.

Construction was completed nine months ago on the Clyburn Transit Center at South Carolina State University, but the 8,500-square-foot building sits empty and unused.

The $4.8 million center — the first phase in the James E. Clyburn Transportation Center — was completed last December after 13 years of delays.

It has space for automotive research and education, a chiller plant, underground fuel tanks, three automotive research bays and a fourth bay for cleaning and preparing vehicles. No activities are ongoing, university spokesperson Erica Taylor said.

S.C. State trustee Maurice Washington, chairman of the board’s research committee, noted during a Thursday meeting that the building is not being used. He asked administrators if the center’s programs “are presently active and funded.”

At first, Charles Wright, executive director of the Clyburn Transportation Center, told trustees they were. But he later said the Transportation Center had received no federal or state funding for programs since 2010.

Interim President Dr. Cynthia Warrick also said the funds have not been raised to operate the programs.

Work stress 'raises heart risk'

Having a highly demanding job, but little control over it, could be a deadly combination, UK researchers say.

They analysed 13 existing European studies covering nearly 200,000 people and found "job strain" was linked to a 23% increased risk of heart attacks and deaths from coronary heart disease.

The risk to the heart was much smaller than for smoking or not exercising, the Lancet medical journal report said.

The British Heart Foundation said how people reacted to work stress was key.

Oprah Winfrey On OWN: 'We Have Made The Pivot' (VIDEO)

Watch More News Videos at ABC | 2012 Presidential Election | Entertainment & Celebrity News

What Is Sickle Cell Sabbath?

Goodbye, Big Soda: New York Becomes First City to Ban Large-Sized Soft Drinks

Health Department became the first in the nation to ban the sale of sugared beverages larger than 16 oz. at restaurants, mobile food carts, sports arenas and movie theaters.


It’s a bold experiment in the anti-obesity campaign, and while it’s widely supported by health professionals, it’s not popular with food retailers or most city residents.

The ban would prevent retailers who sell prepared food from also dispensing sugared beverages, including sodas and sweetened tea, in cups or containers larger than 16 oz. That’s smaller than your standard single-serve soda (typically 20 oz.), which you’ll no longer find at fast-food restaurants or cafeterias.

Grocery stores and convenience stores, including 7-Eleven, which sells the jumbo-sized Big Gulp, would be exempt from the law, however. And the ban would not apply to fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, diet sodas or dairy-based drinks like milkshakes.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/13/goodbye-big-soda-new-york-becomes-first-city-to-ban-large-sized-soft-drinks/#ixzz26PRErsbt

Suspect Identified in Central Park Daytime Rape

Central Park Rape Suspect Arrested

Police have identified the suspect in the brutal daylight rape of a 73-year-old woman in New York's Central Park as 42-year-old David Albert Mitchell.

Charges are expected to be filed after the victim picked Mitchell out of a line-up, according to ABC News' New York station WABC.

It was not immediately clear if Mitchell had obtained legal representation.

SC prosecutor, Facebook talk Internet safety

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's chief prosecutor cautioned high school students on Thursday against giving out too many details in their social networking status updates, like where they are going or what after-school activities they're involved in.

"I'm not saying this because I want you to be afraid," Wilson said. "I want you to understand how powerful a tool the Internet can be and social media can be. ... It can be a deadly weapon that can be turned on you or turned on your friends."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/SC-prosecutor-Facebook-talk-Internet-safety-3863154.php#ixzz26PanfUiQ

4 dead, 8 injured after driver crashes into Las Vegas bus stop

South Carolina dad busted after encouraging teen son to fight other teen in church parking lot and ramming into car of son’s opponent’s mom

A disagreement on Facebook apparently escalated into a showdown at a church parking lot that eventually resulted in the arrest of one father after he damaged the car of another participant’s mother.

WSOC

William Belschner, 44, admitted to WSOC-TV that he took his 14-year-old son to a church parking lot to settle a fight with 13-year-old boy on Monday.

A South Carolina dad won’t be winning any role model awards this week, after he not only encouraged his son to fight a fellow teenager but got himself arrested for joining in the fray.

William Belschner, 44, admitted to WSOC-TV that he took his 14-year-old son to a church parking lot to settle a fight with 13-year-old boy on Monday.

The issue apparently started on Facebook, but it escalated into violence when the two boys faced off at the United Pentecostal Church in Rock Hill, S.C.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/south-carolina-dad-busted-encouraging-teen-son-fight-teen-church-parking-lot-ramming-car-son-opponent-mom-article-1.1158492#ixzz26PTDWE8H

Covidien to shutter South Carolina plant, lay off 595

(Reuters) - Medical device maker Covidien Plc said it would close a South Carolina facility where it manufactures vascular products, laying off about 595 full-time employees as it looks to improve efficiency across its global operations.

Medical device makers in the United States have been closing or consolidating manufacturing facilities as they look to cut costs to cope with lower reimbursements and pricing pressures.

Hologic Inc said in August that it plans to close its Boone County operations in Indiana and lay off 200 people, while larger medical device maker Stryker Corp plans to close two New York manufacturing plants by year-end.

A Covidien spokesman said the decision to close the plant, located in Seneca, was in response to the current "challenging healthcare environment where companies face pricing pressures and reimbursement issues."

What Is Sickle Cell Sabbath?

Sickle Cell Sabbath, on September 16, 2012, brings together faith-based and neighborhood partnerships in Baptist churches around the United States to increase awareness about sickle cell disease and the importance of blood and bone marrow donations.  At some churches, local community-based organizations will also be onsite to educate and provide sickle cell trait screening.

 

Help improve the lives of people and families affected by sickle cell disease through education, early detection, and intervention!

• ‏Learn more about sickle cell disease : www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/
• Get involved in local community activities to raise awareness and education: www.sicklecelldisease.org/
• Consider donating blood (American Association of Blood Banks http://www.aabb.org/) or registering to become a bone marrow donor at: www.marrow.org
• Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/drgrantcdc

Ervin McKinness, Aspiring Rapper, Tweets 'YOLO' About Driving Drunk And Dies Minutes Later

This photo of Ervin McKinness (L) was used as the rapper's Twitter profile picture.

Ervin McKinness, a 21-year-old aspiring rapper, tweeted about driving drunk at 120 mph minutes before dying in a fiery one-car crash that killed the rapper and four others.

Mexican Navy says it captured top drug boss "El Coss"

US unemployment aid applications rise 15,000 to 382,000, pushed up by Hurricane Isaac

Libya ambassador Chris Stevens killed: U.S. warships headed to Libyan coast as Obama says 'justice will be done'

U.S. launches wave of unmanned drones to patrol the skies over eastern Libya to search for terror camps, while an elite team of Marines is also being deployed to the region to safeguard Americans.

EPA

Ambassador Chris Stevens died when the U.S. Consulate came under siege by a band of heavily armed militants.

The ruthless attack that killed four American diplomats in Libya appears to be a carefully planned terror strike rather than an uprising of a mob angry over a film that lampooned the Prophet Muhammed.

President Obama vowed Wednesday to bring those responsible to justice — and moved swiftly to hunt down the killers.

“Make no mistake,” Obama said. “Justice will be done.”

Two American warships were headed to the Libyan coast in a precautionary move. The U.S. launched a wave of unmanned drones to patrol the skies over eastern Libya to search for terror camps, while an elite team of Marines is also being deployed to the region to safeguard Americans.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms this outrageous and shocking attack,” Obama said from the Rose Garden, joined by Secretary of State Clinton.

Firms Flock to Foreclosure Auctions

Muhammad Ali, boxer and humanitarian, to receive Liberty Medal at Philly ceremony on Thursday

Ross D. Franklin, File/Associated Press - FILE - Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali displays his signature boxing pose after honoring outstanding surgeons and physicians at St. Joseph’s Hospital Barrow Neurological Institute, in this Feb. 22, 2012 file photo taken in Phoenix. Retired boxing champion Muhammad Ali will be awarded the medal on Thursday Sept. 13, 2012 at a ceremony at the National


PHILADELPHIA — Retired boxing great Muhammad Ali will visit Philadelphia to receive the Liberty Medal, an award recognizing his longtime role as a fighter outside the ring for humanitarian causes, civil rights and religious freedom.

The honor will be presented on Thursday during a ceremony at the National Constitution Center by the champ’s daughter, who is also a boxer, and two U.S. Olympic athletes. It comes with a $100,000 cash prize.

Bob Dylan: fans who called me Judas can rot in hell

Singer also responds angrily to accusations of plagiarism, saying 'wussies and pussies complain about that stuff'

Bob Dylan: America ‘founded on the backs of slaves’

HOLLYWOOD, CA - JANUARY 12: Musician Bob Dylan onstage during the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium on January 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Dylan says the stigma of slavery ruined America and he doubts the country can get rid of the shame because it was “founded on the backs of slaves.”

The veteran musician tells Rolling Stone that in America “people (are) at each other’s throats just because they are of a different color,” adding that “it will hold any nation back.” He also says blacks know that some whites “didn’t want to give up slavery.”

The 71-year-old Dylan said, “If slavery had been given up in a more peaceful way, America would be far ahead today.”

That 20 oz. sugary soda is a threat to public health 

Why the Board of Health is poised to ban some extra-large drinks at restaurants, arenas and more

Woman, 73, robbed and raped in Central Park in broad daylight

Victim said she had seen her attacker before, a man she inadvertently photographed a week earlier while he was masturbating in the park.

  

DCPI

The New York City Police Department is seeking the public's assistance identifying the above individual wanted for questioning in connection with a sexual assault which occurred on Wednesday in Central Park.

A 73-year-old birdwatcher strolling through Central Park was raped in broad daylight Wednesday by a monster who she said began his assault with four words: “Do you remember me?”

Then he dragged the petite woman into the brush and brutalized her just steps away from the tourists and sun worshippers gathered at tranquil Strawberry Fields, police said.

Black Muslim designer plucks Dominican orphan from obscurity to model in New York Fashion Week

Nzinga Knight and Fior Mendez at New York Fashion Week. (Photos: Getty Images)

Black American Muslim designer Nzinga Knight uses her designs to deliver a statement in fashion that few make: that a woman can dress modestly and still give full glamour. “My aesthetic was something really missing in the market,” she told the AFP news service.

The native New Yorker of Trinidadian and Guyanese decent started her clothing line in 2008 to bend the boundaries of feminine clothing. Mixing high style with the doctrines of her Muslim faith, “The look of my work is sensual, mysterious, innovative,” she stressed — without being overly revealing.

Mexican Moms Are More Nurturing Than White Ones, Study Finds

According to a new study published Tuesday, Mexican immigrant mothers performed better on some measures of parenting than white mothers did.

The study, conducted by a research team from the University of California, Berkeley, found that Mexican-origin mothers provide "warm and supportive home settings," engage in fewer conflicts with spouses and exhibit evidence of stronger mental health than their white peers, despite higher poverty rates.

The study, published in the scientific journal Child Development, adds "nuance" to America's immigration debate, the research team noted in a press release.

U.S. Poverty: Census Finds 46.2 Million Impoverished As Median Income Drops

WASHINGTON (AP) — The ranks of America's poor remained stuck at record levels, although dwindling unemployment benefits and modest job gains helped stave off what experts had predicted would be the fourth rise in a row in the poverty rate.

With joblessness persistently high, the gap between rich and poor increased in the last year, according to two major census measures. Also, the median, or midpoint, household income was $50,054, 1.5 percent lower than 2010 and a second straight decline.

Mysterious tourist deaths prompt poison probe

 
 Cathy Huynh, left, and Kari Bowerman took this photo while backpacking in Vietnam

(CNN) -- This is all we know for sure:

Kari Bowerman, 27, and Cathy Huynh, 26, were backpacking in Vietnam while on break from their jobs teaching English in South Korea.

On July 30, the friends were admitted to Khanh Hoa General Hospital in Nha Trang. Both were vomiting, had difficulty breathing and showed signs of severe dehydration.

Huynh was eventually released from the hospital. She returned later that night to hear the devastating news -- three hours after being admitted, Bowerman had gone into respiratory failure and died.

Negotiators optimistic Chicago teachers' strike may end soon

Egyptian Man Fighting To Be Considered Black By U.S. Government

Cheese Listeria Outbreak: Frescolina Ricotta Salata Linked To 3 Deaths

The CDC announced Tuesday night that fourteen total hospitalizations and three deaths across America have been linked to listeria-tainted cheese imported from Italy. Frescolina brand Ricotta Salata was voluntarily recalled by Queens-based Forever Cheese Inc. after reports of a possible Listeria Monocytogenes contamination.

According to Food Safety News, a "consumer friendly" distribution list of restaurants and stores that received the cheese has still not been released, but we do know that the cheese was sold in the following states: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington between June 20, 2012 and August 9, 2012.

Concert giant seeks Jermaine Jackson’s book drafts about brother Michael in lawsuit

LOS ANGELES — Concert giant AEG Live is seeking book drafts and manuscripts by Jermaine Jackson that it claims may reveal details about his superstar brother that will help its defense in a lawsuit filed by the singers’ mother.

AEG is seeking drafts and manuscripts of Jackson’s recent book, “You Are Not Alone,” as well as an unpublished memoir it claims may focus on Michael Jackson’s alleged drug abuse.

Egyptian Man Fighting To Be Considered Black By U.S. Government

With all the stories about Black people bleaching their skin, arguing over interracial dating and America’s ever-persistent promotion of the angelic (read: white) image in mainstream media, one Egyptian man living in Detroit proves that not everyone is quick to shun his or her blackness.

New, colorful monkey species discovered in Africa rain forest

Gorgeous animal has blond mane, bright red patch on lower back and, for guys, a blue rump

Hart et al. / PLOS ONE

 

This captive adult male represents the new monkey species known as the lesula, or Cercopithecus lomamiensis.

A shy, brightly colored monkey species has been found living in the lush rain forests at the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a find that utterly surprised the researchers who came upon it. 

"When I first saw it, I immediately knew it was something new and different — I just didn't know how significant it was," said John Hart, a veteran Congo researcher who is scientific director for the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, based in Kinshasa.

Safety class is required for students to get parking

Not long before Corey Murphy became principal of Beaufort High School in South Carolina in July, two students were killed and a third seriously injured in a car crash. Murphy decided it was time for an "intervention."

From that point on, students who wanted to be able to park their cars at the school would be required to take a driving safety course called Alive at 25, developed by the National Safety Council.

"Every day, I've got the largest group of at-risk drivers in this county in my parking lot," Murphy said. "I'd like to think that they've been taught at least once what to do and not do behind the wheel."

Beaufort High became one of 103 South Carolina schools to offer the course -- one of 25 new ones this year and one of 72 that require it for parking privileges, according to Brooke Russell, executive director of the state's chapter of the National Safety Council.

Census: Rich-poor gap widens

The income of American households continued to shift dramatically in 2011, falling sharply for middle-income and working-age people while rising for top earners and seniors, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

Census: Middle class shrinks to an all-time low

Kristen Wyatt/AP - In this July 16, 2012, photo, Laura Fritz, 27, left, with her daughter Adalade Goudeseune fills out a form at the Jefferson Action Center, an assistance center in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. Both Fritz grew up in the Denver suburbs a solidly middle class family, but she and her boyfriend, who has struggled to find work, and are now relying on government assistance to cover food and $650 rent for their family.

VIDEO: Man stabs another man repeatedly in the buttocks

A surveillance video released by the NYPD Monday night shows the attacker, clad in a white T-shirt and grey sweatpants, trail his 48-year-old victim inside the shop on 63rd Rd. in Forest Hills on Sunday, shortly before 6 p.m.

State teachers unhappy with new grade letter evaluations
wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina |

As Chicago Teachers Strike, Students Are on the Loose and at Loose Ends

CHICAGO — For hundreds of thousands of families here, ordinary life has turned upside down. As Chicago public schoolteachers on Wednesday spent a third day on picket lines, their students could be found in contingency programs at schools, in churches and in costly day care centers. Some slept late, stayed home alone, then wandered their neighborhoods as if there were one more chapter of summer.

DEW: SC businesses to likely see tax decrease

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's unemployment agency may pay $150 million less in benefits this year by clamping down on who qualifies, officials said Tuesday.

Employers' tax rates for unemployment insurance should go down for 2013, not up as believed by a senator highly critical of the agency, said Laura Robinson, assistant director of the Department of Employment and Workforce.

The agency is on track to pay as little as $300 million in benefits this year to jobless workers, compared to roughly $450 million last year, according to the agency.

The drop comes despite the state's stubbornly high jobless rate, which was 9.6 percent in July. The rate dipped to a four-year-low of 8.8 percent in April before rising again for three consecutive months.

Number of U.S. poor holds steady but earnings gap grows

(Reuters) - The poverty rate in the United States stabilized in 2011 for the first time in three years even as incomes fell and inequality grew, according to government figures.

NYC Mom Charging Parents $350 To Let Kids Play in Unsupervised Park

VIDEO

Parents in New York are raising their eyebrows at the latest after-school activity offered for their children: unsupervised play time in Central Park for $350.

Lenore Skenazy, a former journalist who has championed the "free play" movement, cheekily launched the after-school program to try and encourage parents to let their children to play without structure or supervision.

"I'm always trying to figure out ways to get kids back outside playing with each other," the mother of two told ABC News. "It's a great thing that has sort of evaporated from the American landscape."

"And New York City is used to paying money for things so that's the money thing," she added.

J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. ambassador to Libya, dies at 52

Ben Curtis/AP - U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens spoke to local journalists on April 11, 2011, at the Tibesty Hotel in Benghazi, where an African Union delegation was meeting with opposition leaders.

J. Christopher Stevens, the American ambassador killed Tuesday in an attack in Benghazi, Libya, hitched a ride into that country last year by sea — the only way in with a civil war in progress.

“There weren’t any flights, so we came in by a Greek cargo ship,” Mr. Stevens told reporters not long afterward, recalling his arrival in Benghazi as the top U.S. envoy to Libya’s rebel movement.

NewsOne Remembers The Unsung Heroes Of 9/11

Eleven years ago on this fateful day of September 11, our confidence as a nation was ripped away, and every year since then, the horror of it all replays and our wounds are reopened. Here, NewsOne remembers some of the unsung heroes who stood on the front lines.





1) The stories of 12 African-American firefighters (top from L to R:  Leon W. Smith Jr., Shawn E. Powell, Vernon Cherry, Andre Fletcher, and Ronnie L Henderson; and bottom from L to R: Gerard Jean Baptiste, Keithroy Maynard, William L. Henry Jr., Karl Joseph, and Tarel Coleman. Not pictured are Keith Glascoe and Vernon Richard) who gave their lives at the World Trade site to save others on 9/11 have gone largely untold. Craig Kelly, a former firefighter and a grief counselor who worked with the fallen heroes’ families, felt compelled to chronicle the aftermath of their deaths and put his research in to a documentary, ”All Our Sons–Fallen Heroes of 9/11,” which was released in 2004.  The tribute memorializes the lives of the men and what they meant to their communities.



 
2) U.S. Marine Jason Thomas (pictured above), 32, appeared at the World Trade Center with a flashlight and a shovel and made the decision to help as many people as he could.

He ended up unearthing a pair of police officers who had been buried beneath 20 feet of debris, then disappeared.

No one knew of his identity until he was finally unmasked four years later.

Ironically, Thomas was portrayed in the 2006 film “World Trade” as a White man.

The filmmakers later apologized for their inaccuracy, but Thomas just laughed it off by saying that he didn’t want to “shed any negativity on what they were trying to show.”

Read more of this compelling article here

Obama: 9/11 victims never to be forgotten

Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed

FAMU blames hazing victim for his own death: Heartless or prudent?

Florida A&M University’s assertion that drum major Robert Champion is to blame for his own death after a hazing ritual last year will be a test of schools' legal responsibility to control hazing.

Charleston, MUSC announce $1B, 20 year project

Israeli Leader Sharpens Call on U.S. to Set Limits on Iran

Can Newly-Minted U.S. Citizens Receive Social Security?

Where Cows Are Happy and Food Is Healthy

Milk of Human Kindness: The Op-Ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof visits the dairy of his childhood friend Bob Bansen, who has names for every cow in his herd and treats “his girls” like co-workers, not widgets.

Chicago Teachers Strike: Historic Walkout Enters Second Day (PHOTOS, LIVE UPDATES)

Striking Chicago Public School teacher Lanessa Mendoza pickets with fellow teachers from Peck Elementary School as Mayor Rahm Emanuel was visiting with students taking part at the Safe Haven program at Maranatha Church in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. The church is providing students with structured activities and a safe environment during the teachers' strike.

CHICAGO — The president of the Chicago Teachers Union says teachers and the school district are still far apart in their contract dispute and that the walkout will almost certainly extend into a third day on Wednesday.

Representatives from the union and the district returned to the bargaining table Tuesday, but union President Karen Lewis says only six of 48 articles in the contract have been resolved.

She says it's "lunacy" to think a settlement could be reached Tuesday. School board officials insisted the two sides should be able to make an agreement.

DHEC Warns State Fair Visitors About New Swine Flu

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina health officials are warning visitors to the upcoming state fair to be vigilant about a new strain of swine flu.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control said Tuesday it is working with Clemson University to prevent the spread of the new flu strain known as H3N2v.

Interim State Epidemiologist Linda Bell says the virus circulates in pigs and has infected people in several states but not South Carolina. It can be directly transmitted between people and swine, but officials say people cannot get sick by eating properly handled and prepared pork products.

Heart Attack Survivors Should Be Wary Of Some Painkillers Say Researchers

Heart attack survivors should be wary about taking a common group of painkillers known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), say Danish researchers reporting in the journal Circulation this week, because the drugs could increase longer term risk of a second heart attack, or even death.

NSAIDs include over the counter painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and prescription medication like celecoxib (Celebrex) which is used to treat arthritis, pain, menstrual cramps, and colonic polyps.

Netanyahu: Without ultimatum, U.S. has no ‘moral right’ to stop Israel from attacking Iran

POOL/REUTERS - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov in Jerusalem Sept. 11, 2012. Netanyahu ramped up threats to attack Iran, saying if world powers refused to set a red line for Tehran's nuclear programme, they could not demand that Israel hold its fire.

JERUSALEM — Signaling a deepening dispute with Washington over issuing ultimatums for Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that those who won’t make such demands on Tehran “don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

In a blistering response to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s statement that the United States is “not setting deadlines” for Iran and that negotiations coupled with sanctions are the best approach, Netanyahu said that if no “red line” is established for Iran, it will continue pursuing an atomic bomb.

Popular Antibiotics May Carry Serious Side Effects

 
Yvetta Fedorova

Antibiotics are important drugs, often restoring health and even saving lives. But like all drugs, they can have unwanted and serious side effects, some of which may not become apparent until many thousands of patients have been treated.

Such is the case with an important class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones. The best known are Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin) and Avelox (moxifloxacin). In 2010, Levaquin was the best-selling antibiotic in the United States.

But by last year it was also the subject of more than 2,000 lawsuits from patients who had suffered severe reactions after taking it.

UPDATE 1-Patience tested on second day of Chicago teachers strike

* Teachers oppose evaluations tied to student performance
* Chicago's Democratic mayor has championed education reform
* Obama needs union support to win key swing states

CHICAGO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Parents and thousands of Chicago children faced a second day of closed public schools on Tuesday as striking teachers and the nation's third-largest school district argued over education reforms sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"It's hard work," David Vitale, president of the Chicago Board of Education and lead negotiator for the city said of talks with the teachers union. "It's taking them ... more time than we think it should."

MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN'Green Mile' Showing at Public Memorial

Michael Clarke Duncan was honored at a public memorial yesterday ... as fans and friends gathered at the Hall of Liberty in Forest Lawn for a viewing of the actor's body ... followed by a screening of his performance in "The Green Mile."

As we previously reported, a private invitation-only ceremony for the 54-year-old actor will be held today ... led by famed preacher Bishop Charles Blake. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks will be doing the eulogy.

Duncan passed away on Sept. 3 after suffering a myocardial infarction in July.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/09/10/michael-clarke-duncan-memorial-green-mile-screening-viewing/#ixzz26BEXXCgC

Michael Clarke Duncan funeral: Tom Hanks, Jay Leno among stars celebrating actor's life in teary memorial service

Duncan died Sept. 3 at 54, having never fully recovered from a heart attack in July.

AKM-GSI

Hollywood mourns the death of Michael Clarke Duncan.

LOS ANGELES — Tom Hanks, Jay Leno, Holly Robinson Peete, Loretta Devine and Stevie Wonder were among those who helped celebrate the life of Michael Clarke Duncan during a nearly four-hour memorial service marked by heartfelt speeches, rousing gospel performances and photos of the always-smiling actor.

Hanks and Leno shared stories about "The Green Mile" star at Monday's service. Peete talked about meeting Duncan while he was still a celebrity bodyguard. Devine spoke of how the actor would do anything for a laugh.






Only backyard fence separates South Carolina sex offender from 10-year-old victim
 

A South Carolina man can’t understand why the registered sex offender who victimized his 10-year-old daughter gets to live next door, separated only by a chain link fence.

Chris Smith, of Conway, told the Sun News of Myrtle Beach that having Kerry Dane Marlowe for a neighbor is hell on his family. He said he would gladly move, but doubts he can sell a house next to a sex offender.

“When it’s all stripped away,” Smith told the paper. “I still have a convicted, registered sex offender living next door.”

Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Dead; Unification Church Founder Dies At 92

'Winsie' Sentenced In 'Facebook Murder': Girl Allegedly Killed Over Facebook Posts 

 

 

Banksy Graffiti: A Book About The Thinking Street Artist (PHOTOS) 

 

Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Dead; Unification Church Founder Dies At 92

  Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Dead; Unification Church Founder Dies At 92  in South Korea.

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon was a self-proclaimed messiah who built a global business empire. He called both North Korean leaders and American presidents his friends, but spent time in prisons in both countries. His followers around the world cherished him, while his detractors accused him of brainwashing recruits and extracting money from worshipers.

Do This, Live Longer

Long Live Hip-Hop: Brother Ali Releases ‘Mourning In America’ [GRAPHIC VIDEO]

Anderson man pleads for money for wife's kidney

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/03/4781858/anderson-man-pleads-for-money.html#storylink=cpy

N.J. man arrested in deadly stabbing of sleeping kids

Days after Isaac, a quarter-million still in dark

Long Live Hip-Hop: Brother Ali Releases ‘Mourning In America’ [GRAPHIC VIDEO]

Photo Credit: Jonathan Mannion

Hailed as one of the most prolific rappers on the underground Hip-Hop scene, the Minneapolis based artist is well known for interweaving music and politics. Touching on everything from  race, religion and poverty, Brother Ali’s album, “Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color,” is scheduled for a September 18th release. His latest music video for the title track, “Mourning in America,” is both visually and viscerally stunning and attacks such themes as war, gun violence, bullying, capital punishment and police brutality, while facing the issue of Islamophobia in this nation head on and without apology.

See the video, directed by Todd Angkasuwan, below and share your thoughts. Viewer discretion for children and those who experience adverse reactions to truth is highly advised.