Watch Night

On New Year's Eve, many African American religious groups hold prayer and worship services from the late evening until midnight when they worship the new year with praise, thanksgiving, prayer, and confession. These services are called watch night meetings. December 31, 1862, was a very special evening for the African American community, because it was the night before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing all the slaves in the Confederate states.

Student loan debt bearing down on U.S. graduates

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that two thirds of undergraduate students are carrying loan debt with them upon graduation, on average $19,237. The median debt load is $17,120; a quarter of undergrads borrow more than $25,000, and a tenth borrow more than $35,000. Loans from the for-profit private loan industry have especially increased as share of the total student loan volume over the past few years, as students max out their borrowing limits on federal loans. Increased private borrowing is also related to the collapse in family home equity and tightened alternative avenues for credit. Last year, students borrowed $18.5 billion from private lenders, up 6 percent from the 2005-2006 school year to fully a quarter of all borrowing.

Ya, keep them chained right from the beginning, how's that for modern slavery?