Two-time candidate for Ohio’s 2nd Congressional district David Krikorian has proposed that the state adopt a public banking system in the form of the Public Bank of Ohio (PBO), which would “alleviate the squeeze on credit, greasing the gears of capitalism for small business, the engine of economic growth.”  

Juelz Santana was arrested late last week in New Jersey after allegedly making terrorist threats. TMZ reports that’s Juelz was booked for disorderly conduct but released hours later on $46,500 bail. "Police impounded my Bentley so I guess I gotta bring the rose out! They thought that was my only car," Juelz wrote on Twitter.  

Eddie Murphy has stepped down as the host of the Oscars after his friend Brett Ratner resigned as co-producer of the event. Murphy said in a statement: “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party's decision with regard to a change of producers for this year's Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I'm sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job." After the announcement of Murphy’s withdrawal from the Oscars, academy president Tom Sherak said, "I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well." He’d saved us all the embarrassment of having to watch him crack the same jokes he did in Norbit to a live audience, Sherak didn’t add.  

Young Money Records has officially scrapped the Drake and Lil Wayne collaboration album after previously confirming the project. Drake told XXL that he and Wayne have decided not to make the album because they felt listeners would compare the album to Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne. “Me and Wayne scrapped the idea of a collaboration album,” Drake told XXL exclusively. “We just agreed that it would be looked upon as… It would be sort of this competition [with Watch The Throne]. I feel like it would get caught in this whirlwind of hype. [Wayne] agreed. We just said, ‘If we do it, we’ll do it down the line. But right now is not the time.’” Drake’s sophomore album Take Care drops Nov. 15, but you can probably download it now since it was leaked (XXL hosted a live review session of the leaked album on Twitter). XXL reported Monday that Drake is also working on a mixtape with Rick Ross called You Only Live Once. “I’ve been working on that for the last couple of weeks,” Drake said of the project with Ross. “We haven’t really connected because he’s been going through this thing with his health. I’ve been stashing my little beats and verses. I don’t have a drop date for it or a time for it. To be honest, it’s something I just really wanted to pop up out of nowhere. I’m not gonna’ release no single or anything. It’s something I want to do because I enjoy like working with Ross."  

Brett Ratner, the cinematic genius behind the Rush Hour series and Tower Heist, has apologized after claiming to have had sex with Olivia Munn, the host of G4’s Attack of the Show. Ratner told The Howard Stern Show crew, “She’s actually talented. The Problem is I made her look like she’s a whore.” Ratner also apologized for saying, “rehearsal is for fags” after a Friday night screening of Tower Heist. “I apologize for any offense my remarks caused,” said Ratner. “It was a dumb way of expressing myself. Everyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body. But as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words.” GLAAD in turn issued a statement saying, “This apology is a good start, but we’re working with Ratner’s people for more action, to clearly send a message to Hollywood that the anti-gay slurs used by bullies and bigots have no place in the world of entertainment, or anywhere else.” He could also stop making films. The good people at The Wrap report that some Academy Award members believe he should even be fired from his post as an Oscar producer.  

Simon Eroro, a reporter for the Post-Courier in Papa New Guinea, agreed to be circumcised with bamboo sticks in order to secure an interview with a group of jungle rebels. The Courier is run by Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited and Murdoch had this to say of Eroro’s dedication: "Tonight, I have witnessed many examples of great journalism. It is the backbone of what makes News Limited a great company" (because we don’t value foreskin any more than we do journalistic integrity). Judges of News Limited’s Scoop of the Year award felt Eroro had earned himself the honor. “The impact of Simon's scoop was enormous; the police commissioner launched a major operation to tighten the borders and close down the [Free West Papua] refugee camps," the judges said.  

Justin Bieber maintains that the paternity suit filed by 20-year-old Mariah Yeater is bullpoop. Earlier this week Bieber released a statement saying, “It’s sad that someone would fabricate malicious, defamatory and demonstrably false claims.” This morning on the Today show, Bieber told Matt Lauer (Who remembers Where in the World is Matt Lauer?) that “basically that none of those allegations are true. I know I'm going to be a target, but I'm never going to be a victim." He then broke into song, a new single called “Maybe a target, but never a victim.” It’s alleged in court papers that Biebs and Yeater did have some sex on Oct. 25 of last year. Biebs told Lauer that the claims don’t fit his schedule. “I think it's crazy because every night after the show, I've gone right from the stage right to my car," he explained. "So it's crazy that some people want to make up some false allegations, but to set the record straight, none of it is true. Never met the woman."  

The xx will begin working on a new album so the people desperate to hear new xx will stop just covering songs from their debut album. The band has started a blog to keep fans up to date on the recording process or to post "inspirations + picture + favorite songs." Steve Carell is expected to star in a new heist film called Conviction. Originally it was billed as a crime drama but has since been pitched as an action comedy, hence Carell. Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard are in the frame to play Linda Lovelace and Chuck Traynor in the upcoming biopic Lovelace, based on Eric Danville’s book The Complete Linda Lovelace. James Franco and Kate Hudson were previously attached but both dropped out when Hudson became preggers. And no one wants a prego porn star.  

In the spirit of Halloween, The Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer, The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, Neil Gaiman and Moby dropped by late night star Craig Ferguson’s set to cover The Rocky Horror Show’s “Science Fiction/Double Feature.” And in the spirit of being awesome, Reggie Watts performed Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” to welcome Conan O’Brien back to New York City. Harold Camping says he’s sorry the world didn’t end on Oct. 21. During a Family Radio address on Oct. 28, Camping said, “Why didn’t Christ return on Oct. 21? It seems embarrassing for Family Radio. But God was in charge of everything. We came to that conclusion after quite careful study of the Bible. He allowed everything to happen the way it did without correction. He could have stopped everything if He had wanted to.”  

MTV today announced that it would be honoring Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello with an award that was specifically created in response to the “music spontaneity, artistry and virility of the Occupy Wall Street performances.” The specific performance Morello is winning the award for is his performance of “The Fabled City” on Oct. 12 at Zuccotti Park in New York City. “It’s an unusual title for an award, but it’s an award that is for the worldwide rebels who are now occupying 1,300 cities around the planet,” Morello told TheWrap. “The one thing that all the Occupy cities have in common is everyone pitches in and cooperates. I’m a musician, so I pitched in and played.”