Who's Pressuring Colleges to Go Loan-Free?

Harvard is one of the Ivies offering loan-free educations to low- and middle-income families, a reprieve from high tuition costs. So how are they able to do this? Smart investments. "Superb investment returns have been generated by managers of the endowments of some of the elite private universities, including Harvard, Yale," says former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent in a column in The Wall Street Journal. Increasing pressure from Congress has many universities using their portfolio dollars and alumni donations to extend the welcoming hand to low- and middle-income students. 

(See also: Earn Up to $180,000 a Year? Now Harvard Is Affordable for Your Kid and How You Can Get a Debt-Free Education at Princeton or Yale)

Target Settles Race-Discrimination Suit

Major retailer Target Corp. will pay $510,000 to settle a race-discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2002 on behalf of four black employees. The EEOC alleged Target denied job interviews to three women and did not promote another, despite her scoring higher on a test than the white person hired for the position he sought.The EEOC further accused Target of not keeping proper records of job applicants, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

(See also: Who Is Being Sued? The Latest EEOC Discrimination Lawsuits)

Ike Turner Dies at 76

Ike Turner, R&B songwriter and bandleader, died Wednesday in his home in San Marcos, Calif. He was 76. Turner, best known for discovering Anna Mae Bullock, whom he later renamed Tina Turner and married, had a string of hits during the 1960s, including hits such as "Proud Mary."  The couple later divorced in 1978 after allegations of abuse. No known cause of death was announced, according to E! Online.

Of Millions Donated, Veterans See Only Pennies

Americans donated millions of dollars to veteran charities designed to help troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan last year, but less than one-third of that money actually reached the intended recipients, according to the American Institute of Philanthropy and federal tax fillings. The 12 charities rated as failing by the institute--including the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, the AMVETS National Service Foundation and the Freedom Alliance--collected at least $266 million in the past fiscal year, reports The Washington Post. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold its first hearing today. 

Katrina Victims Protest City Plan to Destroy Public Housing

A New Orleans city plan to destroy 4,000 public-housing units has many residents protesting and even threatening the lives of city officials. Flyers littered the streets that read: "For Every Public Housing Unit Destroyed, A Condo Will be Destroyed. If there will be no homes for us, no relief from high rents, there will be no homes for the rich either! Sincerely, The Angry and Powerless!" reports Black America Web. The FBI is investigating the matter as a possible act of "domestic terrorism."

(See also: Exclusive: FEMA Answers DiversityInc's Questions on Racial Inequities and Racial Wounds Fester in New Orleans Two Years After Katrina)

Lawsuit Alert! Contractor Alleges Gang Rape by Halliburton Staff

Jamie Leigh Jones is accusing a group of employees at Halliburton subsidiary KBR of gang-raping her in her dorm room during the summer of 2005. Jones, told she would be out of a job if she ever reported the incident, was working in Iraq as an American contractor, reports ABCNews. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is calling for a formal government investigation and wrote letters to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Attorney General Michael Mukasey, in which she implored the matter be handled seriously.

(See also: Who Got Sued? Halliburton, Vonage, Merrill Lynch)

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