Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Image: AP

-A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that merely 13 percent of the small businesses in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that applied for bank loans in April and May got the full amount they requested. Another 36 percent got a partial amount. More than half of applicants asked for a “microloan,” a loan of less than $100,000. “But lenders were more likely to turn down microloan applications than larger loan applications, likely because they were skittish about lending to newer firms and more likely to turn down startups,” reports The Huffington Post.

-A Pennsylvania judge upheld that state’s voter ID law. Liberal groups are already planning their appeals on the grounds that the laws will unfairly impact minority and poor voters. Judge Robert Simpson, a Republican, said the law is “a reasonable, nondiscriminatory, nonsevere burden when viewed in the broader context of the widespread use of photo ID in daily life.”

-Interactive Product Group, a division of fashion mag publisher Condé Nast, has created a new video game meant to appeal to the ladies. ”Fashion Hazard” places fashion models on the runway with the goal of avoiding obstacles that could ruin the show, like a flying cup of latte. The game will be available for iPhones and iPads starting today for 99 cents. Women and girls make up about half of the gamers today. In 2011, about $16.6 billion worth of games were sold in the U.S.

-Research conducted by Policy Studies, a liberal think tank, found that 26 large U.S. companies paid their CEOs $20.4 million on average, but paid little to no taxes on their profits. The average net income of those companies was more than $1 billion in the U.S. For example, James McNerney Jr., CEO of Boeing, made $18.4 million last year and the company got a $605 million tax refund. How do we get in on that deal?

-Big news lighting up Twitter this morning is the decision by the government of Ecuador to grant Wikileaks founder Julian Assange political asylum. Not sure what it’s all about? Here’s a good summary.

The week leading up to the big wedding day is said to be one of the most trying periods of any couple’s relationship, but a Pennsylvania pair was only a mere hours away from being wed in holy matrimony when it all went completely downhill.

Instead of being pronounced Mrs. Billy Rafael Brewster Saturday, 31-year-old Na Cola Darcel Franklin was placed under arrest for stabbing her fiancee—and subsequently murdering him—inside their apartment. According to Good Morning America/Yahoo News:

 [A]t some point during the night, Franklin and Brewster began arguing,Steve Luksa, first deputy to the Lehigh County District Attorney, told ABCNews.com.

In the heat of the argument, Franklin allegedly stabbed Brewster twice with a kitchen knife, police said.

“One of the stab wounds punctured his heart,” Luksa said.

When police arrived at the apartment, shortly after 2 a.m., they found Brewster bleeding from chest wounds on the second floor landing.

He was transported to the Lehigh County Trauma center and pronounced dead at 3:24 a.m., less than seven hours before the wedding.

Luksa said the couple was not alone in the apartment when the stabbing took place. The couple’s children, and extended family members were also present because of the impending nuptials.

Franklin was arrested and charged with one count of criminal homicide, Luksa said.

During her arraignment Saturday afternoon, Franklin told District Judge Donna Butler, “You got to check again,” unable to comprehend that Brewster was dead, the Allentown Morning Call reported. She cried, rocked herself back and forth and eventually choked out, “I … did … not … kill … him … on … purpose.”

Despite all of the bystanders during the altercation, extended family members have yet to speak up about what sparked the heated argument or why they didn’t intervene before things took a drastic turn for the worst. Franklin may have accidentally killed her husband but the stabbing was clearly on purpose. So far, the former bride-to-be is being held without bail with no expectation of ever walking down an aisle any time in the future.

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Image: John Leyba, The Denver Post

-Michael Phelps is now the all-time most-medaled Olympian in the history of the Olympics. With a gold medal performance during the men’s 200-meter freestyle relay race, Phelps earned his 19th medal, surpassing a Societ gymnast, Larisa Latynina, who’d held the record for more than four decades. The Fab Five, America’s women’s gymnastics team, also earned gold, the first time since 1996. And, in some controversy, four sets of badminton doubles teams, two from South Korea, and one each from China and Indonesia were disqualified for purposely throwing matches in order to get more favorable matches in the following rounds. For shame!

-Hilarious. Pitbull fell victim to Internet trolls who took advantage of a Facebook marketing campaign, hosted by Walmart, that promised to send the (bad) musician to whatever Walmart store got the most “likes.” With some manipulation and the hashtag #ExilePitbull, that store was the Kodiak, AK location. But , Pitbull took it in stride, got the keys to the city and some bear repellent, and then went on his merry way.

-In much more serious news, President Obama is edging out Mitt Romney in three key states, according to the most recent Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News polls. Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania favor Obama, in part because there’s still some suspicion over Mitt Romney’s business background and refusal to disclose more of his tax returns. Women prefer President Obama in all three states.

-People like small businesses better than big corporations.

-Snoop Dogg is now Snoop Lion. The rapper went to Jamaica, became a Rastafarian, changed his name and filmed a documentary called Reincarnated. Now he’s moving into reggae music. We’ve got a trailer from the film below, which will be at the Toronto Film Festival. Looks pretty good to us.

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Most high schools get a little antsy around Prom time and come up with all sorts of rules about what girls can wear, how close you can dance, what time the dance ends, and so on and so forth, but Archbishop John Carroll High School has one of the oddest rules I’ve ever seen—you must have a date.

That’s right, no date equals no prom and because of that rule, 17-year-old Amanda Dougherty who attends the Glenoldon, PA, school has been informed that she is not allowed to attend the dance tomorrow. The archdiocese in charge of her school hasn’t commented on her specific situation but they did release a statement, saying in part:

“The prom is an exciting event for students in all of our Archdiocesan high schools. Unfortunately, not all students are able to attend. We can’t address specific issues with specific students but there are various reasons that a student would not be able to attend. Not having a date is one example. Our high schools offer numerous dances and events throughout the year where dates are not required, but we view the prom as a special social event where a date is required to attend.”

Amanda is understandably upset for a number of reasons. The first being the pure stupidity of the rule.

“For them to say not that we’re not good enough to go unless we have a guy standing next to us, it’s just kind of sickening,” she told CBS News.

The teen is also upset because she’s already spent nearly $1,000 on the event, from the dress she started looking for around Christmas, to her shoes, flowers, and the $95 prom ticket. Not to mention, she was only planning to go to prom alone after her date bailed on her at the last minute.

The Global Christian Post points out one commentor’s thoughts about what this decision teaches kids about “social norms.” Lena Maureen reportedly wrote on The Huffington Post:

“Prom is an occasion where a date is required. If everyone started coming without a date, it would just be a dress up school dance. It’s a learning experience too – how to go about socializing with a partner. If everyone stood around without a date, then it would not be ‘prom like,’

“Kids need to learn that there are social norms and rules that should be followed, this is why our kids think that they should be able to do anything they want. It does not cut it in the real world, they get fired and cannot understand why…..even though they fought the companies rules.”

Riiiight because it’s that deep. That woman goes on to suggest Amanda take her father or brother to the dance with her if she really wants to go that bad—um, sorry there’s nothing “normal” about a male family member being your date for prom either. That’s called a father-daughter dance.

Having gone to a catholic high school, I would think the archdiocese would be happier that a girl was attending alone so there was less opportunity for sinning but I guess times have changes since I was rocking plaid skirts and knee socks to class.

What do you think about this prom date rule?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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philly.com

Cheryl L. Austin and Keir Bradford-Grey are two hardworking African American women lawyers dedicated to bringing justice to the people they serve every day. Now, they are both making history in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County judicial system. Philly.com reports that Austin, a former prosecutor in Montgomery County, is now the first African American woman to serve as a judge in Montgomery County’s Court of Common Pleas while Bradford-Grey will be the first African American woman lead the county’s Public Defender’s Office.

“It’s an honor, and I have a huge sense of pride and responsibility,” Bradford-Grey, told Philly.com. The Philadelphia resident previously represented defendants who could not afford a layer in Philadelphia and Delaware. Now she supervises a staff of 45 full and part-time lawyers.

Television legal dramas first sparked her interested in studying law. She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Albany State University in Georgia. She attended Ohio Northwestern University’s law school and traveled the country in mock-trial competitions.

Austin took a different journey to legal stardom. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications and didn’t decide to go to law-school until 36.

“I looked at my life and said if I go to law school I will be 40 by the time I graduate,” Austin said to Philly.com. “I thought, God willing, I’ll be 40 anyway. I might as well have a law degree.”

After obtaining her degree, Austin eventually became a prosecutor. She lost a bid for her current position in 2009 but kept pushing until she was finally able to reach her goal.

“I’m embracing it,” she said. “I want young people to see me. I want them to see it’s possible – not easy – but possible.”

Both women take on their new challenges with pride and a six figure salary.

Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, notes that “while it is an achievement because they are African American, what is most notable is that they are exceptionally qualified for the positions they hold.”

An atheist billboard firing back at Pennsylvania lawmakers has angered black residents in the city due to its depiction of an African slave with a metal collar around his neck.

The billboard features a passage from the Bible saying, “Slaves, obey your masters,” as a jab toward state lawmakers who recently passed a bill announcing 2012 as the Year of the Bible. The lawmakers suggest residents renew their faith in and knowledge of God to help the nation through it’s struggles, and according to the American Atheist website:

“The message this billboard conveys is the House of Representatives should not be celebrating a barbaric and Bronze Age book. We do not in any way condone slavery, but the Bible does. We have outgrown such hideous actions toward humanity.”

The sign sits in the city’s most racially diverse section in the Allison Hill neighborhood, and has caused African American leaders pause, calling the group the anti-christs and praying for their salvation. State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-Chester, who is also a Baptist pastor and one of the co-signers of Year of the Bible legislation, said this campaign will only backfire and support the Bible-believers cause further. “This is going to encourage people to read the Bible. My master is Jesus Christ. I’m a slave to Christianity. I’m a slave to Christ.”

Last night, the billboard was vandalized and replaced this morning by an unrelated ad, which prompted the president of Pa. Nonbelievers to issue a statement of apology. Brian Fields said:

“I want to say that I’m truly sorry that many people have misunderstood this billboard. It was never our intention to use ‘race’ as our message itself — The point of our billboard was: The bible is NOT holy or moral as promoted by the Pa. House of Representatives in the ‘Year of the Bible.’ The bible was used as an excuse for many very bad things, including American slavery.We would have hoped this message was clearer to observers. In any case, the point is currently moot.”

Do you find the billboard offensive? What about the declaration of 2012 as the Year of the Bible, does that violate the separation of church and state?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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There’s pretty much no reason for anyone to accidentally get pregnant these days, particularly on Pennsylvania University’s campus, unless students are just being totally reckless.

In case anyone on the campus passed up the condom aisle at Walgreens or decided to take a risk and go raw one night, they can now obtain Plan B, also known as the morning after pill, from a vending machine located in the campus health center.

According to NewsOne, Roger Serr, Vice President for Student Affairs, says the machine was installed after a request from the student association and a follow-up survey found that 85 percent of students supported it.

Plan B, which is already available without a prescription to girls 17 and older, isn’t covered or subsidized by the school. Students are charged $25 for the pill, which is the school’s cost to the pharmaceutical company, and less than what pharmacies off-campus charge. In addition to the emergency contraceptive, students can also purchase condoms, decongestant, and pregnancy tests from the machine.

I guess if access to preventive methods is a big issue in the Shippensburg, PA, area then the campus has that covered.

What do you think about this method? Is it progressive or too casual of a way to deal with something so serious?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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In May 2009, Bonnie Sweeten called 911 and told police she had been carjacked by two African American men and that they kidnapped her and her 9-year-old daughter, sparking a nationwide search. What really happened is Bonnie faked the carjacking after swindling her boss and an elderly relative out of more than $1 million, and she was chilling at a Disney resort. Yesterday, the 40-year-old Feasterville con woman was sentenced to 100 months behind bars after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft last July.

Bonnie’s scheme started long before her arrest in 2009. In 2004, she stole roughly $640,000 from a U.S. attorney’s office where she was working and then took an additional $280,000 from an elderly relative’s retirement account. She also forged a passport, driver’s license, and a court order. When she was arrested in 2009, she had spent the money on an expensive home, cars, vacations, and in-vitro fertilization treatments, which she and her lawyer argued is what caused her to steal the money after experiencing numerous miscarriages.

The judge had no sympathy. In addition to an eight-year sentence, he also ordered Bonnie to pay back more than $1 million in restitution, and told her she should be ashamed for rousing racial profiling when she accused black men of kidnapping her.

“This is a wound we want to heal, the racial divide,” Bucks County Court Judge Jeffrey L. Finley told Sweeten. “You picked at it that day and reopened it.”

I’m glad the judge understood the full scope of her wrongdoing. Do you think Bonnie’s sentence fits the crime?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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By Charlotte Young

Congressman Chaka Fattah knows the concerns that educators and community leaders have shared for so long: minority students taught by teachers who earn lower salaries are left disadvantaged. He has been fighting to secure equal education for all students for a long time and now he finally has back up. A report conducted by the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is adding weight and gravity to the debates revolving around education equity.

PR Newswire states that the data Fattah obtained came from the 2009-2010 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) survey. The research explored the differences in teacher salaries between schools with different racial make-ups. The survey, which consisted of almost 7,000 school districts, is the largest CRDC sample to date.

“This data shows that schools with higher concentrations of African American and Latino students receive less funding – in terms of teachers’ salaries – than do schools with fewer of these students,” Fattah said.

Fattah also acknowledges that faculty salaries are the largest component of school district budgets. As better quality teachers are more likely to run to schools that offer higher salaries, this leaves many minority students with under-qualified teachers.  In addition, if the teachers in poorer school districts aren’t making much money, then the students also do not have the resources of their peers in richer school districts across the nation to compete competitively. In addition,

The Pennsylvanian representative has two pending pieces of legislation in Congress to address the issue. His Student Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 1295) is a bill that strives to secure access to “equitable educational resources,” for students in all districts, this includes effective teachers. His second piece of legislation, the ESEA Fiscal Fairness Act (H.R. 1294) would ensure that schools have access to comparable funding within school districts.

In collaboration with Congressman Mike Honda, Fattah is also a lead sponsor of the Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission. The Commission is expected to issue a report later in the year to provide details on school finance equity in its current state as well as offer recommendations to ensure equal opportunities for all students.

“The future of American democracy and economic vitality requires a well educated citizenry,” Fattah said. “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot by laying such an unlevel foundation. I urge my Congressional colleagues and those in State legislatures to see this new [CRDC] report as a call to arms. Our system simply is not working for far too many of our students.”

(New York Times) — In April, Dale Mezzacappa attended a panel discussion on cheating sponsored by the Education Writers Association. At the time, she was one of three staff reporters for The Notebook, a community newspaper and Web site that covers the Philadelphia public schools.  While few know of The Notebook, many know of Ms. Mezzacappa. For 27 years, until the newspaper industry’s near collapse, she was a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer. She is also a former president of the Education Writers Association.  People trust Ms. Mezzacappa to get it right. After the panel discussion, an executive for a testing security company suggested she ask state officials if they had done a study flagging schools with suspicious numbers of erasures on state tests. In May, the state responded, sending Ms. Mezzacappa a file so large she needed technical assistance to download it.

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