Never shy about tapping into public perceptions or crafting cultural icongraphy, no matter how slanted, “The New Yorker” has created a cover of the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and GOP opponent, Mitt Romney, that is sure to raise some eyebrows.

The cover is a caricature of the roles the two politicians seemed to be playing that night:  Mittens as stern-faced and self-righteous savior of the free world, and the POTUS as, well, an empty chair. The latter being a clear parody of Clint Eastwood‘s spectacularly awkward and spontaneous performance at the Republican National Convention.

Moderator, Jim Lehrer, is depicted as an out-of-focus figure in the background, which is the most authentic image of the cover.

“The New Yorker” was embroiled in controversy in 2008 after they depicted the First Couple as Islamic, militant, fist bumping terrorists. At the time, they argued that the cover’s purpose was to shine the light on the ignorance assumptions and stereotypes that

The men and women who serve on the front lines as firefighters, rescuing citizens in harm’s way, should be saluted daily for their bravery. In one of the most-dangerous and selfless occupations in the world, firefighters risk their lives for the safety of others at a moment’s notice. Even though history has not been kind to the memory of African-American firemen, their contribution to firefighting is a significant one. Still, even with the most-dedicated research, it is difficult to ascertain who were the first African-Americans who took up the role as firefighters.

Several sources, including the richly detailed website^[1] from historian Mike Legeros, all point to the summer of 1817 as being the earliest record that Black firemen existed in New Orleans, La. Although Black men stamping out blazes could have happened before then, there is no real evidence available in capturing this historic truth. According to Legeros, 1821 and 1833 also show evidence of freed men joining firemen ranks

The mother who shot her four children and herself dead at her Port St. John, Fla., home on May 15 had two times the legal limit of alcohol in her system, Florida Today reports^[1].

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SEE ALSO: Obama, Please Don’t Forget White Women^[2]

For reasons unknown to family and friends, Tonya Thomas, 33, used a Taurus .38-caliber revolver to fire shots into her children Joel Johnson, 12, Jazzlyn Johnson, 13, Jaxs Johnson, 15, and Pebbles Johnson, 17, before killing herself within a 35 minute period.

SEE ALSO: Debate Pundits: What Happened To Obama?^[3]

During that time, three of Thomas’ children ran to a neighbor’s house before the mother called them back home, according to police. Though, an autopsy report states that Pebbles likely passed out after returning.

Thomas was found dead on her couch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The gun was still in her hand when cops found her.

Florida Today has more on this tragic story:

Brevard County Medical Examiner Dr. Sajid

The former mayor^[1] of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry (pictured) began on the right foot in life as a scrupulous activist who worked hard to plot a course that would eventually lead him to the American dream. Somewhere along the line, though, his path took a devastating twist, leading to his destruction. Did Barry become the victim of racists who discriminated against Blacks or did he just self-destruct?

SEE ALSO: Conspiracy Theory 101: Bill Cosby? Oprah Winfrey? Who Got Dave Chappelle’s Show Off the Air?^[2]

Barry was an activist, legislator, and had the backing of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post, so why wouldn’t he win D.C.’s mayoral race of 1978? With the promise of improving the “bumbling and bungling” D.C. administration, Barry set his course, and his first term in office was once described as “methodical, competent, and intellectually superior.”

On the flip side, though, unemployment and crime rates soared, the promise of improved public housing was slow and coming, and