NEW YORK (AP)—The bubbly, the ball, the midnight kiss. Not all single ladies want a ring on it, but do they want a date for New Year’s Eve?

Yes, it's almost here, that milestone of love and romance. This year, the holiday has its own movie (of the same name) filled with intertwining couples and a cast dripping with Zac Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jon Bon Jovi, Halle Berry and oh so many more of Hollywood's sexiest.

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR—Fireworks erupt to signal the New Year, 2011, in Times Square. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

(NNPA)—Rappers Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj have quite a few music awards under their belts, but their most recent honor may leave a few people scratching their heads.

Better Education Place, a South Florida-based education company, recently named the pair “teachers of the year” in its first teacher awards ceremony.

LIL WAYNE and NICKI MINAJ

Melvin El, CEO of the company, said the hip-hop artists were judged among several other “teachers,” based on several different categories including the ability to capture and maintain attention, the ability to move their audience or create interaction and their ability to inspire.

December 24

1881—The Edgefield Exodus begins. More than 5,000 Blacks, driven in part by a wave of White violence and economic exploitation, begin leaving Edgefield County, S.C., and resettled in Arkansas. The movement was also encouraged by people like Pap Singleton who believed Southern Blacks could enjoy a better life if they moved to the Midwest. It is also believed that some Whites also encouraged the exodus in a bid to reduce South Carolina’s Black population, which was a majority in the state in the 1870s and 1880s.

JIM CROW RAILROAD CAR STATUE

ATLANTA (AP)—When Bishop Eddie Long was accused of sexual misconduct by former church members, his congregation rallied around him and his wife stood by his side. About a year later, the Atlanta megachurch pastor is headed for divorce and stepping away from the pulpit.

BISHOP EDDIE LONG