[UPDATE BELOW] In a TV interview this month, Mitt Romney's wife Ann insisted, "There's a wild and crazy man inside of [Mitt Romney] just waiting to come out." How wild and crazy is he? Well, when he was a teenager at boarding school in 1965, he was so crazed by a fellow student's slightly long hair that he organized a wild mob that held the boy down while Romney cut off the offensive locks, as his victim wept. Which we guess isn't that wild and crazy when you compare it to that one time a young George W. Bush branded a dude. more ›

Karen Handel resigned as the Susan G. Komen Foundation's vice president for public policy on Tuesday in the wake of the charity's disastrous defunding of Planned Parenthood and since she isn't taking a severance package, she's free to talk to the media. Today, she told the Daily Beast, "The idea that anyone would suggest Komen had a political agenda is absurd." more ›

Beware bespectacled and sunglassed folks on the Upper West Side, one of your own had his glasses knocked off by a mean man near Columbus and 94th Street over the weekend. He has posted flyers around the neighborhood, which warn: "This kid knocked my sunglasses out of my hand and stepped on them breaking the lens and frame—costing $150.00! And did not apologize! Be careful, this is not a nice man!" more ›

When school starts in New Jersey in September (that's already TOMORROW, you guys!), it's going to be open season on bullies, thanks to a new law going intended to snuff out bullying. In the wake of the tragic suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, as well as a general surge in cyber-bullying, Jersey lawmakers passed the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights [pdf], which is considered the toughest legislation against bullying in the nation, the Times reports. Too tough, if you ask some educators. more ›

Yesterday morning, a special needs Bronx teenager was left in critical condition after he was attacked outside his school and stabbed in the neck with scissors. The Daily News and NY Times interviewed some of 16-year-old Negro Rivera's classmates, who labeled him a "troublemaker," and a "bully." But a former teacher at P 12 Lewis and Clark School took umbrage to the media's handling of the story, and wrote us to add more context to the incident: more ›

A special needs Bronx teenager is in critical condition after he was stabbed in the neck today during a confrontation outside of his school. Police say that Negro Rivera, 16, was jumped while walking to PS 12 Lewis and Clark School early this morning, and was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where he underwent hours of surgery. "They stabbed him in the jugular. Why didn't anyone step in? Why didn't anyone help?" his grandmother Barbara Rivera asked. more ›

What's got NYC parents more worried than Osama bin Laden? Cyberbullies! According to a new poll, the number one fear parents have regarding their children isn't a terrorist attack—the group at Care.com that conducted the survey says, "parents are terrified about what they see as escalating incidents of bullying and cyberbullying. Terrorism is scary because it's the unknown, but it can seem very far away—and we're nine years away from 9/11." Overall, 31% of parents polled feared bullying, and 19% feared their children getting hurt during a terror attack. [via the NY Post] more ›

Yesterday, Governor Paterson signed the Dignity for All Students bill into law. The law requires school districts to make their environments harassment- and discrimination-free (by way of codes of conduct and policies) as well as reporting instances of bullying to the State Department of Education. Paterson said, "Bullying and harassment have disrupted the education of too many young people, and we in government have a responsibility to do our part to create learning environments that help our children prosper. I am proud to sign this bill into law as it will help ensure that students are protected from harassment, discrimination and bullying at school grounds and at school functions." more ›

In a 53-3 vote last night, the state Senate passed the Dignity for All Students Act, which prohibits harassment in school based on "actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex." more ›

Are there fight clubs for 5 year olds now? A Brooklyn kindergarten student, Jazmin Lovings, was allegedly tormented by bullies, who even went so far as to cut her hair off! The Daily News reports that the incidents, happening at P.S. 161 in Crown Heights, began last October—and the tot is traumatized by them. more ›

Kids returning to school Tuesday were handed pamphlets outlining Mayor Bloomberg's new "Respect for All" policy, intended to reduce bullying, particularly harassment in public schools based on ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Every principal is now required to designate a staff member to whom students can report incidents, with schools required to report complaints to the Department of Education within 24 hours. According to WNBC, an accounting of all the incidents will be put online at the end of each school year, thereby sharing the humiliation with the world wide web. more ›

Republicans in the State Senate introduced a bill this week that would protect minors, particularly transgender students, from bullies. But no one will take credit for sponsoring the bill, and it may disappear as quietly as it was introduced. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader Dean G. Skelos would not comment on the proposed law, telling the Times, “We are focused on property tax relief.” Similar legislation has been passed in the Democrat-controlled Assembly; the mysterious Republican version would require schools to train teachers to intervene during bullying and keep track of bullying cases, including incidents involving sexual orientation. 11 other states have already enacted such laws, according to Alan Van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda. more ›