• Your one stop for college news and resources!

Jill Treacy

'Horses and bayonets' goes viral

President Obama’s retort in last night’s debate takes the social media world by storm

 

“Horses and bayonets” seems to be the highlight of last night’s presidential debate, referring to President Obama’s comment on what he believes to be Governor Romney’s outdated foreign policy. The phrase quickly spread across Twitter and other social media sites, making it the top trend in the country and third in the world even an hour after the debate ended.

Maybe those tuning in for the third and last presidential debate were bored—it was rather tame—but the phrase “horses and bayonets” became an instant hashtag and will probably be the only memorable part of that debate. Even the Twitter handle @romneybinders changed to @horsesbayonette to keep up with the campaign.

“Horses and bayonets” came about after Romney challenged Obama with the accusations of a shrinking Navy.

“Our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We’re now down to 285. We’re headed to the—to the low 200s if we go through with sequestrian. That’s unacceptable to me. I want to make sure that we have the ships that are required by our Navy,” Romney prompted.

Obama responded with, “Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military’s changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. And so the question is not a game of Battleship where we’re counting ships.”

Facebook users created more than 50 pages for “horses and bayonets,” the Romney campaign purchased the promoted tweet for #horsesandbayonets and the Obama campaign purchased the promoted tweet for searches on “bayonets.”

So who won last night’s presidential debate? Probably the Internet. 

R. Kelly is 'Trapped in the Closet' again

The R&B rap opera that touched the hearts of so many is indeed back

 

The Trapped in the Closet saga is back after a five-year hiatus and R. Kelly is not kidding around. The rapper is adding 20 new installations of the rap opera featuring the drama of Sylvester, Cathy, Twan, Big Man and Lucius the Pimp.

While R. Kelly has written a good 30 new installations of Trapped in the Closet, 20 of them are right now making it to the screen starting the day after Thanksgiving. The rap opera will show on IFC and R. Kelly says “these next chapters of Trapped in the Closet is gonna be so crazy.” IFC released a sneak peak of the highly anticipated 23rd chapter, featuring stills of a narrating R. Kelly contemplatively holding leather-bound books and staring off into the distance pondering the trials and tribulations of the characters.

“Could this be another case of what goes around comes back around / And what must go up must come… / Well, y’all’ve heard the saying, y’all get the point / Let me get back to the story…” he raps in what I’m assuming is the most beautiful and painfully teasing trailer of the year. 

Forget Thanksgiving, I have to get my hands on one of the next chapters of Trapped in the Closet as soon as possible.

Flavor Flav arrested

The rap star assaulted his girlfriend and threatened to kill her 17-year-old son

 

Flavor Flav and his clocks may be serving time after being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence. The rapper, hip-hop artist and reality TV star was apparently fighting with his fiancé when she called the police to report the fight. He was arrested outside of their Las Vegas home Wednesday at 3:30 a.m.

Flavor Flav and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Trujillo, 39, of eight years were reportedly fighting about infidelity when he pushed Trujillo to the floor twice and chased her 17-year-old son with two knives in his hands, threatening to kill him. The rapper, a member of the group Public Enemy, cut his finger with one of the knives before police arrived. Trujillo had reported that Flavor Flav ripped her earring out, but her son was not injured.

The rapper has a history of arrests and convictions for traffic infractions, assaulting his then-girlfriend and shooting a neighbor. He served time for the latter two offenses.

Flavor Flav, 53, whose legal name is William Drayton Jr., was held on $23,000 bail and had an initial court appearance to face the charges. He will be looking at up to six years in prison if convicted. 

96-year-old man becomes a dad

Man fathers second child in the past two years at almost a century old

 

A 96-year-old dad might seem impossible on so many levels, but Ramajit Raghav and his 52-year-old wife Shakuntala Devi of India have apparently made it possible. Breaking the world record for the second time, Raghav welcomed his second child in the past two months, a healthy baby boy, earlier this month.

“I didn’t take any performance enhancers…I just prayed to God to complete my family, either a girl or a boy,” the 96-year-old dad said in an interview.

The new father and mother are farmers and live in Haryana, India, a town 31 miles northwest of Delhi, according to ABC News. The two met 10 years ago and though Raghav claims to be mostly celibate a majority of the time before that, the 96-year-old man claims a healthy sex drive is the reason for his late-in-life position as a dad. He also told the Times of India that his good health and energy is due to a life as a teetotaler and strict vegetarian.

At 96-years-old, the dad seems to be full of youth and looking forward to having two children running around the house.

“I feel lucky to have two healthy sons. It will be tough, but I’m a happy man,” Raghav said. 

Lance Armstrong dropped by major sponsors

As evidence in the doping case is made public, the cyclist watches his sponsors distance themselves one by one

 

Lance Armstrong is left virtually on his own as a majority of his sponsors announced Wednesday that they will be dropping the cyclist after evidence for the USADA doping allegations were made public. Nike Inc., RadioShack Corp., Anheuser-Busch and Trek, amongst others, have all chosen to distance themselves from Armstrong, some terminating their contracts outright and some subtly stating that they will not be renewing their contracts with him.

Lance Armstrong also announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down as the chairman of his cancer foundation, Livestrong, handing over the responsibility to founding chairman and vice chairman Jeff Garvey.

All this came about a week after the United States Anti-Doping Agency publicly released evidence that Lance Armstrong was in fact at the center of an organized doping program, the New York Times reported.  Armstrong had chosen not to pursue a case against USADA’s allegations, denying his involvement with any sort of doping program. The USADA has stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and banned him from competing for life.

Nike stuck by Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant during their scandals, but has said that the evidence speaks for itself and Armstrong’s dealings are directly associated with his performance in his sport. Trek, maker of every bicycle and all equipment Lance Armstrong rode to victory with in all seven Tour de Frances, has ended their relationship as well, saying they were “disappointed” with the evidence against the athlete. He will, however, be able to maintain the small stake he has in the company.

Livestrong, despite the Lance Armstrong situation, continues to be a well-respected company and Nike said it would continue to support “Livestrong initiatives.”

It all prompts the question, what’s next for this shamed cyclist?

Missing hikers found alive in Montana

The two missing Virginia men are well and reunited with their family

 

 

Two Virginia hikers were found alive and well after reported missing in Glacier National Park in Montana. Family members and park officials announced their excitement and relief that the missing hikers were found alive and safe in the mountains of Montana.

The two missing hikers, Jason Hiser and Neal Peckens, were only planning to hike Oct. 9-10 and were reported missing Friday by their families after they didn’t board their flights home from Montana. Rescue teams comprised of 50 people searching in wintry weather found the two men, both veterinarians from Virginia, on Monday around 3:30 p.m. Neither of the men had injuries and while they were able to walk, they were flown to the closest ranger station.

Hiser and Peckens became friends at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Va. and had taken many hiking trips out west over the past four years, Hiser’s mother told the press. Teams searching on foot, by air and by horseback finally found the missing hikers near Two Medicine, Mont.

“Initial information indicates they are well and will be returning to their families! Yeah!” the park’s Facebook page posted Monday.

Shakira debuts baby bump at concert

The singer showed off her new body during a performance Saturday night

 

Shakira is one proud mom-to-be! The 35-year-old singer took the stage Saturday night for the closing ceremonies of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan displaying her baby bump without reserve. Clad in a tight black dress, skin-tight leather leggings and tall black boots, she flaunted her growing belly for all to see.

Shakira announced the reason behind her baby bump on her Facebook page on Sept. 19, saying that she and boyfriend Gerard Pique are expecting a baby boy. Shakira, 35, and FC Barcelona soccer star Pique, 25, have been dating for around a year and a half.

The baby bump made its first appearance via a picture Shakira tweeted on Oct. 6.

“Now I don’t have a sixpack, only one pack!” the singer said of her growing belly.

Shakira also tweeted before she went on stage in Azerbaijan that it was fitting for the baby bump to debut at a “football” event.

“In a few minutes it will be our baby’s first time on stage and precisely at a football event! Magic Shak,” the singer happily tweeted. After the performance, she tweeted that “we really enjoyed tonight.”

All eyes are on tonight's presidential debate

Look out for a fact checking extravaganza and if this debate will reset the race for presidency

 

The presidential debate tonight will see President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney face off for the second time, this time in Hempstead, N.Y. Reflecting on the first debate and focusing on the new setting and new moderator, many are anxiously awaiting what could be a possible game-changer in one of the closest presidential campaigns on the history of the U.S.

A big question for the upcoming presidential debate is whether President Obama will take a more aggressive approach, in contrast to what many called a rather lackluster performance in the first debate. Many Democrats are urging for a more offensive approach, but experts say the second debate is expected to encompass more civility. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, needs to maintain the energy he brought to the first presidential debate to keep him in close running.

The two will be talking foreign and domestic policies in a town hall setting with only 80 attendees, in which undecided citizens will be directly asking the candidates questions, according to the 2012 Election Central website.

CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley is set to moderate tonight’s presidential debate. Crowley is the first woman in a decade to moderate a presidential debate and the task will not be an easy one. There is pressure for Crowley to attain the perfect moderator balance in this third campaign debate following pushover Jim Lehrer and overly vocal Martha Raddatz.

The debate, taking on a “town-hall style,” with questions from the audience, will call for Crowley to not only moderate between the candidates but between the candidates and citizens as well.

News stations and news sites are set to cover the presidential debate with rapid fact checking, insider info and post-debate commentary. The debate will air tonight 9:00-10:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Maine police release names in prostitution case

Small town Kennebunk, Maine is buzzing with list of local sex clients

 

The Kennebunk small town in coastal Maine headlines again as the names of 21 clients of Alexis Wright, local Zumba teacher/prostitution business woman, were released on Monday. Police released the names after a judge issued summons for the men who are suspected of engaging in prostitution with 29-year-old Wright. There are over 150 clients suspected to have paid to have sex with Wright in her dance studio and rented office space across the street.

The prostitution investigation and charges rocked the Kennebunk, Me. community of only 10,000 residents, where rumors facing the scandal are feared to severely disrupt families and businesses. Among the 150 clients are suspected to be Kennebunk and surrounding towns’ lawyers, doctors, law enforcement officers and other prominent people. Local real estate agent Kim Ackely says the list of prostitution clients will cause pain, but it is more or less fair for all parties involved to be identified.  

“What’s fair for one has to be fair for the other,” said Ackley. “The door can’t swing just one way.”

Maine police began investigating the Kennebunk prostitution case back in September 2011 after noticing suspicious activity in the Zumba studio turned brothel. Police arrested Alexis Wright’s business partner Mark Strong Sr. July of this year and charged him with 59 misdemeanor counts. Wright herself faces 106 counts of prostitution and invasion of privacy, among other charges. Police reported that Alexis Wright kept meticulous records, videotaped the acts without many of the clients’ knowledge and generated an estimated $150,000 over the course of 18 months.

The list included names only, excluding in particular ages and addresses, making it difficult for the press to contact those listed and confirm their identities or occupations.

Jack Osbourne marries Lisa Stelly

The two tied the knot in a private ceremony in Hawaii

 

Jack Osbourne married his fiancé and mother of his newborn daughter this past Sunday in Hawaii. Osbourne and Lisa Stelly wed in front of friends and family on the coast of Kona-Kohala, according to E! News.

The 26-year-old Jack Osbourne and his new wife were engaged last September and welcomed a baby girl five months ago, Pearl Clementine. The wedding was apparently a surprise to many, but while they only get engaged a few weeks ago, the groom did Tweet in late-September about his bachelor party. Trying to throw the press off their wedding trail, Jack Osbourne had originally tweeted about his mom’s 60th birthday celebration in Hawaii, saying, “I love how going to Hawaii with my mum for her 60th has turned into my wedding. Hahaha people are funny.” According to Us Weekly, a rep confirmed that he and Stelly have made their union official.

Reality star and son to the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Osbourne was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but he and Stelly have caught the news in step and the new wife says it could promote a healthier life for her husband.

“Jack will have to change his life for the better—get healthier, not get stressed—so I feel like this could almost be a blessing in disguise,” Stelly said.

In any case, congrats to the happy couple!