University dean makes scholarship holders do chores
A vice-president and dean of New York’s St. John’s University has been charged with forced labour and bribery after she reportedly forced students to do chores and other work for her, saying that if they didn’t they might lose their scholarships. The former dean, Cecilia Chang, was already suspended from the university on charges of embezzling more than $1 million when these new charges arose. Apparently, the work Chang was having students do in exchange for their scholarships, which amounted to 20 hours a week on average, included shovelling, babysitting and chauffeuring, among other chores. Chang’s lawyers have since said all the allegations are false, which is understandable considering she faces up to 25 years in jail if she’s convicted of the charges.
Rick Sanchez fired over Jon Stewart bigot comment
CNN anchor Rick Sanchez put his foot just a bit too far into his mouth while on a satellite radio show last week, and was fired over comments about Jon Stewart and “Jews.” During the radio interview, Sanchez, who has appeared on The Daily Show’s humorous wrap-up segment “moment of zen” three times in the last few months, said Stewart was a bigot towards “everybody else not like him.” He also made a sarcastic comment implying that “everyone who runs CNN” is Jewish and that Jewish people are no longer an “oppressed minority” in the U.S. Sanchez hasn’t directly addressed the firing on his Twitter feed, which has over 145, 000 followers, though he did tweet “greats show today, last night on air,” on Sept. 30.
Koreas agree on short reunion of 100 families
One hundred families split up during the Korean War in the 1950s will reportedly be reunited following an agreement between the two nations. The families will meet on Oct. 30 at a mountain resort in North Korea, marking the second such reunion in two years. Since 2000, over 20,000 families separated during the war were briefly reunited in person or via video, but this represents only a small fraction of the millions who were forced to leave their loved ones. Communication across the North/South Korean border is normally blocked for all citizens, but the nations reportedly plan on increasing the frequency of these reunions. This year’s event is set to happen despite doubt raised because of debate over the location of the reunion and failed discussions between their two armed forces.
Iraq breaks world record, unfortunately
Iraq is the new holder of a world record as of last Friday, but few citizens will be celebrating. The Middle Eastern nation officially broke the world record for the country with the longest break between parliamentary elections and forming a government as of last Friday. A March election in Iraq drew many complaints and took three months to be ratified. The leading party, the National Alliance, remains four seats short of the majority needed to appoint a leader to parliament. Friday marked 208 days without an elected government in Iraq, surpassing the previous record of 207, held by the Netherlands after a period of failed governments in 1977.
