Former Atlanta schools chief, Beverly L. Hall, was indicted yesterday on charges of cheating to make under-performing schools look better on state testing, allowing herself and other school administrators to profit. Hall and 34 others were indicted by a Georgia grand jury that found rampant cheating between 2005 and 2010. Hall was a celebrated school superintendent, who had been praised by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and even invited to the White House.

The indictment outlines how Hall instructed selected teachers to change test answers so administrators could receive bonuses that were tied to the federally-mandated testing. Often the higher test scores would enrich administrators, but leave poor schools too over-qualified to receive much-needed funding. Hall had told the New York Times that in 2011 that "I can't accept that there is a culture of cheating". She retired later that year, but now faces up to 45 years in prison for her involvement.

Paul Howard, the district attorney prosecuting Hall told reporters that "She is a full participant in that conspiracy. Without her, this conspiracy could not have taken place, particularly in the degree it took place."

Similar scandals have rocked school districts in Ohio and Texas, with administrators looking to profit from the school reform movement's insistence on paying exorbitant bonuses for excellence in testing. The Times writes,

"[Hall's] focus on test scores made her a favorite of the national education reform movement, nearly as prominent as the schools chancellors Joel I. Klein of New York City and Michelle Rhee of Washington... But she was also known as someone who held herself aloof from parents, teachers and principals. The district spent $100,000 a year for a security detail to drive her around the city. At public meetings, questions had to be submitted beforehand for screening."

Hall is denying the allegations of the indictment.

If your Facebook feed wasn't busy being filled with some rant or another on either side of the gay marriage argument this week, your liberal friends might have been steaming about the so-called "Monsanto Protection Act," more precisely known as Section 735 of HR 933, a spending bill signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday.

Section 735 effectively shields large biotech companies, like Monsanto, from the federal courts in case something is found to be harmful in their genetically-modified seeds. Because of Section 735, federal courts would be powerless to stop Monsanto from selling their product (not that the courts are the ones that necessarily will make them stop, but it's a pretty huge concession to the biotech giant).

Wait a second, you say. This was a massive spending bill — surely this provision would have gone before the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees, right? No way! Section 735 was an anonymous rider attached to the spending bill (the one everyone wanted signed really, really quickly) and received almost no consideration or attention before being signed into law. Whoops! (or, Yay!, if you're a large biotech company).

Some watchdogs like the Center for Food Safety have now pressured Democratic Senators into paying better attention about sneaky riders like this one, with the office of Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski releasing this statement:

As Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Mikulski's first responsibility was to prevent a government shutdown. That meant she had to compromise on many of her own priorities to get a bill through the Senate that the House would pass. She will continue to fight for a regular and timely Appropriations process and other valuable priorities, including food safety.

Essentially: Shit guys, come on, we wanted this done real fast and attaching this rider made it possible.

So is this so-called "Monsanto Protection Act" evil? Pretty much! If you can't be protected from a consumer product by the federal courts, you're essentially playing with fire (fire being a corporate entity with no checks on it). However, by sticking this into a spending bill and not actually passing it as legitimate legislation, the "Monsanto Protection Act" will expire in six months —- and then this whole crazy process starts again.

Family Court Judge William Watkins III has got a pretty bad temper. He's been known to yell at litigants in his courtroom, as well as on one occasion, calling a woman seeking a protective order "stupid." After word came out about the incident, Watkins told the woman to shut up and stop "shooting off [her] fat mouth about what happened." Unfortunately for Watkins, that temper has landed him with a suspension that will last the rest of his term.

In the video above, watch him completely freak out on a litigant who quietly accepts the threats from the judge, who bluffs about recusing himself from the case, then threatens the litgant with life imprisonment (over a divorce case).

First Tilda, and now the Jews of Germany: getting in a box is simply the thing to do in art this year.

A new exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Berlin features a box where a Jew will sit for two hours every day, answering questions about Jewish life and culture in a country that is still dealing with its Nazi past. The exhibit is called, "The Whole Truth, everything you wanted to know about Jews," but is more popularly being known as "Jew in the Box."

Museum administrators are enthusiastic about the opportunity these boxed Jews will have to talk to the people of Germany:

"A lot of our visitors don't know any Jews and have questions they want to ask," museum official Tina Luedecke said. "With this exhibition we offer an opportunity for those people to know more about Jews and Jewish life."

But not everyone is so excited about the exhibition,

"Why don't they give him a banana and a glass of water, turn up the heat and make the Jew feel really cozy in his glass box," prominent Berlin Jewish community figure Stephan Kramer told The Associated Press.

The "Jew in the Box" has already been an incredibly popular attraction for the Jewish Museum of Berlin, which plans to run the exhibition through August.

A pipeline carrying crude oil from tar sands in Canada ruptured Friday in the small Arkansas town of Mayflower, forcing the evacuation of 22 homes. The Pegasus pipeline, owned by Exxon, spilled almost 10,000 barrels of oil into a development, with the oil now sitting outside of homes and in wooded areas as emergency workers try to clean it up. This is the second spill of Canadian oil this week after a train carrying crude oil derailed on Wednesday, spilling 15,000 gallons of oil.

The video of the immediate aftermath of the spill is pretty amazing, showing the oil running into front yards and through the drainage system of the Arkansas subdivision:

Mayflower residents are growing frustrated with Exxon over when they will be able to move back into their homes:

"We're getting contradictory answer when we were initially evacuated we were told pack for two days it'll be cleaned up," said Darren Hale, a homeowner who was forced to evacuate. "Then we were told this morning to pack for at least a week."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has labeled the rupture as a "major spill."

[Photos and Video courtesy of KATV]

A district attorney in north Texas was shot along with his wife Saturday, their deaths coming only a few weeks after a prosecutor in the same district attorney's office was shot and killed outside the county courthouse.

The door of district attorney Mike McLelland, 63, was kicked in and both he and his wife Cynthia were shot, however no further details have been released by the police at this time. They are currently searching for the killer. Police are also still looking for the killer of Mark Hasse, an assistant district attorney who was shot while leaving his car in front of the Kaufman County courthouse on January 31st. Authorities have not said whether the killings were connected, but are not ruling it out either. Investigators had been looking into whether the Aryan Brotherhood was involved in Hasse's killing.

Police were also looking into connections between Hasse's death and the shooting of a Colorado prison official, Tom Clements, who was shot in the chest as he answered his doorbell. Police believe white supremacist Evan Spencer Ebel was behind his killing. Ebel was killed in a shootout with police only 100 miles from Kaufman County.

Police are expected to release more details about the killings later today.

In the market for 40-acres of prairie in South Dakota? You're in luck: James Czywczynski is looking to sell you some for the low cost of $3.9 million. Of course, the land is also the site of one of the most infamous massacres of Native Americans by the United States Army.

Wounded Knee, which was also later the site of a sad and brutal standoff between the American Indian Movement and U.S. Marshals in the 1970s, has been put up for sale, angering residents of the area who are mostly Native Americans, including some direct descendants of survivors of the 1890 massacre. Between 150 to 300 men, women, and children were killed by American soldiers while the cavalry searched for Chief Big Foot's men.

The land at some point fell out of Native American hands, and became the property of Mr. Czywczynski in 1968. Native American groups are trying to purchase the land, but feel that Czywczynski's price is far too high:

"That historical value means something to us, not him," said Garfield Steele, a member of the tribal council who represents Wounded Knee. "We see that greed around here all the time with non-Indians. To me, you can't put a price on the lives that were taken there."

Mr. Czywczynski claims that he had been trying to sell the land to the Oglala Sioux for years, but was unable to make the sale:

"They never could agree on anything," he said. "They either did not have the money; some wanted it, some didn't want it; it was too high, too low. I've come to the conclusion now, at my age, I'm 74 years old, I'm going to sell the property."

Nearly three-quarters of Native Americans living in the county are unemployed, with more than half living below the poverty line. Community groups hope that the buyer respects the history of the site while also trying to contribute to the economy for the downtrodden county.

Even long-dead elephants can't catch a break from the ivory trade.

Early yesterday morning, a man broke into Paris's Museum of Natural History and used a chainsaw to cut off the tusk of a 325-year-old elephant skeleton before being caught shortly afterward by police. Neighbors of the museum called police after hearing a "a strange sawing sound at around 3am" (that would be the chainsaw). When police arrived, they found the thief, who was in his 20s, desperately trying to scale a wall while carrying a tusk, having left the still-whirring chainsaw next to the elephant skeleton. The thief fractured his ankle during his would-be escape.

The elephant itself had once belonged to King Louis XIV, after it was given to him by a Portuguese king in 1668. It was a popular attraction for visiting nobles while it roamed the grounds of Versailles.

Ivory-theft at cultural institutions has seen a recent surge as of late, the Guardian explains:

There has been a spate of thefts of rhino horns and elephant tusks from European museums, zoos and auction houses in recent years, amid a rising illegal trade in poached or stolen ivory. On the black market an elephant tusk can fetch hundreds of pounds per kilogramme, with rhino horns fetching considerably more. The international trade in elephant ivory has been outlawed since 1990 after a sharp decline in elephant populations.

In response to the thefts, several European museums have replaced rhino horns and tusks with replicas. The tusk almost-stolen was a replacement itself, albeit still made of ivory.

Sometimes restraining orders just aren't enough to get ex-boyfriends to stop sending horny middle-aged men to your house.

A 61-year-old employee of the Library of Congress posed as his ex-girlfriend on Craigslist, sending a stream of frisky older men to his ex-girlfriend's home.

After their six-month relationship ended in 2011, a 64-year-old Virginia woman (who has remained anonymous) took out a restraining order against Kenneth Kurran, but that didn't stop him from continuing to harass her by sending "sex-hungry" strangers to her address.

Kurran posted this ad on Craigslist's "casual encounters" section, responding to men with his ex-girlfriend's address, as well as sending pictures:

"I'm a senior lady who is looking for some fun And adventure in my life!! Would like to meet a gentleman in his 50's that is Hung and that can give me some pleasuring."

The woman told federal agents that she had "multiple signs posted on her fence and gates indicating that people who are there in response to ads on Craigslist were un-invited and are trespassing."

Federal agents arrested Kurran on Friday and charged him with felony stalking. According to the arrest affidavit, his ex-girlfriend had "frequently, often several times a day, to chase away the men who have been enticed by these personal ads."

[Image by Shutterstock]

Moments ago Louisville Sophomore Kevin Ware suffered a highly disturbing injury during a game against Duke in the NCAA tournament. The injury, an unusual one for basketball, happened when he was landing after contesting a shot. He shattered his shin, briefly exposing both bone and flesh.

The video below is extremely graphic:

The game was stopped as players on both teams came to grips with the severity of the injury.

In what was surely a bizarre scene for the patrolman who made the bust, a man wearing a full Easter Bunny costume, including a view-obstructing rabbit head, was stopped by the California Highway Patrol for driving without a helmet on Saturday. San Diego CHP officer Adam Griffiths spotted the Easter Bunny, who – to complete the odd scene— was driving an old-fashioned motorcyle with a side car.

"I'm stopping the Easter Bunny," Griffiths radioed in.

His partner snapped the above photo as the Easter Bunny received a stern warning.

"Griffiths told him it was a serious situation and that it wasn't a joke," [CHP East County PIO Brian] Pennings said. "He explained to him the safety ramifications of not having a helmet."

The CHP officer told the giant bunny "his outfit was a visual impairment, he was not able to be aware of his surroundings, and therefore he threatened his own safety, and that of others."

Pennings said safe motorcyclists constantly need to turn their heads to observe traffic to their side or behind them.

The Easter Bunny, who was on his way to a charity event, wasn't issued in a ticket. He left the scene still in costume, but with his head in the sidecar.

As we've noted before, it's possible we'll all die from the bird flu. That established, here's some cheery news — At least two people have died in China after contracting a strain of the bird flu that previously hadn't affected humans.

So far the strain, H7N9 , has infected three people. Two men, 27 and 87 years old and from Shanghai, died in March after being infected in February and a third victim, a 35-year-old woman from Chuzhou, remains critically ill after becoming infected in early March.

As of now, it's not clear how the three became infected, though China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said the victims' paths had never crossed. The commission also said that none of the victims' friends or family had shown any signs of infection.

For those hypochondriacs out there: According to Chinese health authorities, the victims' early symptoms included a cough and a fever; they then escalated into pneumonia and breathing problems and, in two of the cases, death.

Anyway, Happy Easter! Hope Game of Thrones was as good as everyone hoped.

[Image via AP]

When a man cat-sitting for a friend was attacked while attempting to feed his houseguest (the cat), he took it well. And by took it well, I mean he decided to sue the cat's owner for the entirely reasonable sum of $100,000.

William Baxter of Homer Glen, Illinois claims he was "viciously attacked, bit and clawed" by the cat, causing significant injuries to his ring finger and to his left arm. The cat's owner, a Christine Bobak, should have known the cat was dangerous, the lawsuit alleges, since it had apparently attacked others before.

If you're saying to yourself, "This seems absurd. There must be something else going on here," then you are correct. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A Facebook profile for a Billy Baxter, of Homer Glen, indicates he is married to a Christine "Bobak" Baxter, of Homer Glen. But it was uncertain whether the Baxter and Bobak involved in the lawsuit are that couple or whether they are married.

But yes, clearly they are or were married. Baxter's lawyer, Michael Shammas, wouldn't comment on the marriage or the case. "That's not something I really want to get into and talk about," Shammas said. "I'd rather keep it in the courthouse."

Baxter and Bobak also declined to comment to the Sun-Times. The case's first court appearance is scheduled for July 10.

[via New York Post/Image via Shutterstock]

Today is April Fool's Day, a magical 24-hour spell during which companies spend lots of money to make stupid changes to their websites as a joke instead of as a business decision. In the spirit of public service we'd like to remind you: Don't trust anything you hear today. "Google Nose BETA," the search engine for scents? No. YouTube shutting down in preparation for finding the best video of all time? No. Twitter charging for vowels? No. Google Maps' new "treasure map" setting? Not real, and also not really even a joke. As usual, tech companies are the worst offenders in the publicity-in-exchange-for-saying-things-that-aren't-true game, but marketers have been gearing up for this for weeks, too. And TV: Good Morning America had a segment on a gorilla language this morning, and the Today Show had a Chris Brown "Breezy Flash Mob" complete with an interview. (Oh, no, wait: Today actually interviewed a violent and unrepentant abuser and hosted his insane fans outside its studio.) The prize for politics-related April Fool's is a tie between Sen. Ted Cruz who made a horrifically ugly April Fool's image macro for his Twitter, and the Yale Daily News, which straight-facedly announces that Hillary Clinton is joining the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. (Ah: that famous New Haven sense of humor.) I don't have a clear memory of anything that happened before, say, 2005, so I have to ask: Was April Fool's Day always this excruciating? Or is this all—the endless stream of bad non-jokes, the news coverage of the bad non-jokes, and the grumpy bloggers whining about the above—the internet's fault? April Fool's! I already know the answer: Human beings have always been embarrassing and unfunny, well before the internet. [Lifehacker | NYT | USAT]

This video of one saxophonist encountering another on the New York City subway is, maybe (probably?), some kind of fake set-up thing, but it's nice to imagine a world where subway buskers are constantly being challenged to prove their worth as musicians. I'm thinking, like, some kind of publicly-funded agency of saxophonists and acoustic guitarists and doo-wop groups and Mariachi bands wandering the subways to engage buskers in musical battle; if the buskers lose they are no longer allowed to ask for money in exchange for the entertainment they provide. Just spitballing here. [via Reddit]

Glee star Cory Monteith, 30, has admitted himself to rehab for substance addiction, according to a statement from his representative.

In a surprisingly candid 2011 interview for Parade magazine, Monteith spoke openly about his history of substance abuse, describing his past drug use as "Anything and everything, as much as possible."

In that profile, which, because it was Parade, was probably printed opposite a crossword puzzle, Monteith revealed that he began skipping school at age 13 to drink alcohol. He dropped out of high school entirely at age 16, only return for the rest of his life on Glee at age 27.

Monteith told Parade he became clean at age 19 after he was caught stealing "a significant amount of money from a family member."

After the news of Monteith's latest admission to rehab broke, his girlfriend and co-star Lea Michele said in a statement "I love and support Cory and will stand by him through this. I am grateful and proud he made this decision."

E! reports that Monteith's treatment "will not affect the shooting of Glee's two remaining episodes of the season," which is the most important thing.

[Us / Parade (h/t Us) / E! // Image via Getty]

Supporting an institution (such as marriage) over actual human lives isn't a very Christian thing to do, but it is a very Catholic thing to do, and so Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan upheld the Church's interest in protecting marriage from homosexual demons in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that aired Sunday on This Week. This is what a losing battle with a twist of internal conflict sounds like:

Well, the first thing I'd say to [a gay couple that feels unwelcome in the Catholic Church] is: "I love you, too. And God loves you. And you are made in God's image and likeness. And we want your happiness. But...and you're entitled to friendship". But we also know that God has told us that the way to happiness, that - especially when it comes to sexual love - that is intended only for a man and woman in marriage, where children can come about naturally. We gotta do better to see that our defense of marriage is not reduced to an attack on gay people. And I admit, we haven't been too good at that. We try our darnedest to make sure...we're not an anti-anybody, we're in the defense of what God has taught us about marriage, that it's one man, one woman forever to bring about new life. We gotta do better to try to take that away from being anti-anybody.

When Stephanopoulos asked how, Dolan said he didn't know. This is because it is impossible. Also when, "You're entitled to friendship" is trying your darnedest, your darnedest ain't good enough. For all gays still interested in patronizing the organized Catholic Church, have fun sitting at/under that table.

Today is April Fool's Day, so when it comes to pictures of toddlers crushing cigarrettes, we tread carefully. Still, here are several pictures of a chill ass toddler smoking a cigarette lit for him by his mom in Shanghai's Fuxing park on Easter Sunday.

Hart Hagerty, who runs the blog Shanghai Style File, posted the photos some time on the morning of April 1 (according to the original timestamp on the image, the photo was taken on March 1, so again, do not trust this baby—or any babies—no matter how many cool hoodies he owns and lets you borrow) along with the caption:

And now for something completely different. We interrupt Shanghai Style File's usual broadcast of all things chic to present to you a smoking Chinese toddler spotted on Easter Sunday in Shanghai's family-friendly Fuxing Park. My jaw dropped when his pajama-clad mother handed the tot a cigarette… then lit it for him … then smiled on as he smoked it… then laughed as he rolled on the ground when he felt sick. As I snapped photos, my friends begged the parents to intervene, but they just enjoyed the show. This is a disturbing scene indeeed, but I could not not share this.

Smoking Hipster Baby, today you are only making an "April Fool" out of yourself.

[Via Beijing Cream/Shanghai Style File]

Earlier today, some media outlets published a wackadoo rumor that Facebook co-founder and real life Justin Timberlake Sean Parker was planning to marry his fiancée in a medieval, Game of Thrones-themed, costume-mandatory ceremony this summer.

But don't you boners know it's April Fool's Day? What kind of nerd would throw himself a medieval wedding? As Sean Parker angrily explained on his Facebook and Twitter pages, the REAL theme is "Victorian flair and whimsy." So: steampunk.

Sorry to disappoint those of you who were looking forward to dressing up in medieval garb, but the wardrobe designs we've made for our guests are essentially modern. This is NOT a theme wedding and there will be nothing "medieval" about it. Academy award winning costume designer Ngila Dickson created a series of outfits for everyone that are based on modern suits and dresses with some elements of victorian flair and whimsy; however they are not at all "medieval."

"Just because we don't trust our guests to dress themselves properly," Parker added on Twitter, doesn't mean we want them to look like [Game of Thrones] characters."

And really. Why would Sean Parker style his wedding after a vaguely historical time period that never existed, when he could style it after what would appear to be a slightly later, vaguely historical time period that also never existed?

In its initial story, the New York Post reported that Parker's save-the-date cards featured a "medieval scroll design," which may have tricked them into thinking the whole wedding would have a medieval theme. However, if My Super Sweet 16 taught us anything, it's that medieval scroll style invitations can be used for any social gathering, regardless of theme.

"I hope you can come to my Moulin Rouge-themed birthday party. Here's a medieval scroll style invitation."

"I hope you can come to my Beach Bonanza-themed birthday party. Here's a medieval scroll style invitation."

"Jessica, you are acting like a bitch and you are not invited to my Viva Las Vegas-themed birthday party. You will not be receiving a medieval scroll style invitation."

A medieval scroll style invitation is just party planner shorthand for "real class event going down; very high-brow and elegant/fancy."

To those who would argue that any wedding that features mandatory whimsical costumes is inherently nerdy no matter what the official "theme" is (in the event no alternate theme is declared, the default theme becomes "mandatory whimsical costume-themed"), we say: you have obviously never experienced the powerful, almost sexual, high that comes with forcing a group of adults you respect to dress up in ridiculous outfits of your choosing.

Of course, if everyone's mocking comments about his dumb steampunk wedding worries Sean Parker's heart, America has now given him the perfect "out"; he can always claim that the whole thing was just an April Fool's joke that got Too Big.

But it would mean canceling that order for several tons of whimsical watch cog confetti.

[NY Post // Image via Getty]

According to a new lawsuit, Arianna Huffington left quite the mess behind when she moved out of a rented loft in Chelsea. The 4,400 square foot, $27,000-a-month apartment was left in such bad shape that its owner, Eric Steel, is suing Huffington for $275,000 in damages.

Walls were allegedly "gouged, stained and otherwise damaged," wood floors were "scratched" and "punctured," and, perhaps most curiously, mattresses were allegedly left bloodied, according to the New York Post's report on the lawsuit.

"Huffington was using the apartment for large parties and business functions in breach of the sublease and Huffington's promises," court papers allege.

"Dishwasher racks, stove knobs and a refrigerator drawer were broken and had to be replaced," the loft's owner Eric Steel gripes in the complaint.

The lawsuit also alleges Huffington damaged an "irreplaceable" dining room table designed by famed architect Charles Gwathmey, Steel's stepfather. "The Gwathmey designed, custom made dining room table was damaged and scratched and the finish compromised," the legal papers say. "It had to be crated, hoisted out of the apartment and repaired by the original manufacturer."

Steel also accused Huffington of letting her daughters stay in the apartment, despite agreeing to be the apartment's sole occupant.

Huffington is denying the allegations. From a statement she issued to the Daily Intelligencer:

"Every single claim in this suit is false except the square footage and the address. Eric Steel, who happily renewed the lease twice and visited the apartment multiple times, is holding onto $93,000 dollars in deposits, which he has refused to return. He is obviously trying to extort more money from me by making ludicrous claims to the NY Post. It won't work."

No word on damages to any of the apartment's bathrooms.

[Image via AP]