Trending up:
Illegal equality: Despite the fact that their drug of choice is illegal and very, very bad for you, crack cocaine users have a reason to believe the system is looking out for them after all. Congress recently passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which would reduce the sentencing gap between crack and powdered cocaine users. Some activists claim this as a victory, saying the old law unfairly targeted African-Americans, who statistically receive longer sentences at a greater rate than whites and Hispanics.
Mosque plans at ground zero: New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission denied a request by community leaders that would have designated property near ground zero as a landmark. The current owners of the property plan to demolish existing buildings to make way for the construction of an Islamic mosque.
Creative bankruptcy: Trailers have recently emerged for upcoming film adaptations of classic cartoons such as Yogi the Bear and the Smurfs, and Michael Bay’s film company has announced its intention to make a 3-D adaptation of Hansel and Gretel. Several unsubstantiated reports have claimed that the ground at the gravesites of Francis Ford Coppola and Alfred Hitchcock have been disturbed by some unexplained rolling phenomenon.
Trending down:
People who believe Brett Favre: Sure, he may have already flip-flopped more than a fry cook at your local IHOP, but this time Favre is apparently serious about retiring. Or at least more serious than he was when he retired from the Packers. Less so than when he retired from the Jets, though.
Cadillac Escalades: Such a sweet ride comes with a steep price. According to government figures, the Escalade is the most likely car to be stolen, broken into or vandalized in the United States, with 10 out of every 1,000 vehicles sold likely to be vandalized at some point.
Ways to get around Tucson: Tuesday marked the first day of the city transit employees’ strike against the bus line in response to a proposal that would transfer control of the bus line to the Regional Transit Authority. Some union workers, most notably the Teamsters Local 104 in Tucson, have said that such a shift would unfairly burden low-income Sun Tran riders.
