We’re back! The BeckySarwate.com Team took a break from this feature over the summer. But with the runup to the November 8 presidential election in full swing, we figured some worthy stories are bound to fall through the cracks. We’re here to help draw attention to the serious, silly and uplifting news items you might have missed this week…

Muslim woman set on fire in suspected hate crime

While Donald Trump has been haranguing Hillary Clinton after her now-famous “basket of deplorables” comment, a disturbing trend of attacks against Muslims continues. One can’t overlook the possible connection between Trump, his hateful rhetoric and proposed ban on Muslims and these misguided vigilantes. Back in August, an Imam and his assistant were murdered near a Mosque in New York City. This week’s hate crime once again took place in New York City when a woman wearing a traditional head covering had her garments set on fire outside a high-end clothing store. The BeckySarwate.com Team members are rabid consumers of cable news, and Trump’s quest for apology after Clinton’s accurate description of some of his supporters has been given exponentially more coverage than this crime. Once again, the media should be ashamed of themselves and its skewed priorities.

NCAA bans North Carolina from championship events

So called ‘religious liberty laws’  have been a hot topic for much of 2016. In fact, prior to the summer hiatus, this weekly feature highlighted the consequences facing the state of Georgia over this very issue.  Apparently North Carolina learned nothing from their neighbor to the south. How is it that certain states refuse to wake up and realize segregation is bad for business and for humanity? Oh, and they also refuse to acknowledge that the civil rights movement happened and was largely successful. It’s time for members of a certain political party to move on and accept that humans are humans. Period.

ABC execs apparently didn’t get the memo that people don’t like Ryan Lochte 

Our team experienced a collective jaw-dropping shock when the cast list for Season 23 of Dancing With the Stars was announced earlier this month. Ryan Lochte? Really? The d-bag who very recently concocted an absurd (read: totally made up) robbery story during the Olympic Games in Rio? The guy who, at the time of his casting, hadn’t yet been handed his punishment for creating international tension by the United States Olympic Committee? Ultimately he received a 10-month ban from the sport. Lochte disgraced this fine nation at the competetive level when we’re already grappling with enough humiliation from The Orange One. Yes indeed, this is who ABC figured would make a fine and popular contestant for their long-running celebrity entertainment program. It seems we weren’t the only ones to object. Click the link above for some semi-hilarious evidence that Lochte is not exactly America’s Sweetheart.

New York Fashion Week makes history 

This week’s feel-good story comes at a time when divisiveness seems to be the norm. Indonesian designer Anniesa Hasibuan debuted her collection this week with models wearing hijab, thumbing her nose at those who protest the modest religious garb. It’s enough that she shared this message of inclusiveness at her first ever NYFW show, but the more touching story is the reaction from the crowd. The display concluded with a standing ovation, something the event’s press manager has never seen in all her years in the industry. We are all about trail-blazing, strong women at BeckySarwate.com and this gal has stolen our hearts.