Target.com

Your hot jeans could be killing people.

​Target has announced that by the end of 2012, shoppers won't be able to find the weathered, whiskery-style jeans that all the kids are (were five years ago?) wearing. At least, not the washes that were created by a technique called "sandblasting."

That's because human rights organizations are putting pressure on retailers and designers worldwide to make the practice unfashionable. They say the technique causes a lung-shredding condition called silicosis in factory workers in countries like Turkey, Bangladesh, China, and Mexico.

In response this week, the Target blog reads, "The lived-in look that makes a new pair of distressed jeans . . . comes at great cost to the garment workers who make them."

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As far as Century administration is concerned, this shirt might as well have a big pot leaf on it.

​Taylor Gang records is an acclaimed hip hop record label. Founder Wiz Khalifa was even nominated for two Grammys this year.

Unsurprisingly, Gang's rappers, like many others, often sing the praises of ganja in their lyrics. Label artist Juicy J, for instance, recently penned a track called "Smoke That Bitch" where he runs down some of his favorite marijuana strains -- Purple Kush, Sour Diesel, OG Kush, and so forth -- then professes his love for smoking large quantities of each.

But in a decision that seems to lead down an awfully slippery slope, administrators at Forest Lake's Century Junior High have decided students cannot wear Taylor Gang clothing to school -- not because the shirts depict pot leaves or paraphernalia, but rather because, in the words of Century Principal Ben Lewis, Gang's "brand and name are code words for marijuana use."

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These boots were made for stomping.

​After years of investigations into the now-disbanded Metro Gang Strike Force, the moment we've all been waiting for has arrived -- the inventory of El Primo Western Wear is finally up for auction.

Back in 2007, the FBI busted two meth dealers in Burnsville and went through their ledger. They found a debt owed by Jose Alfredo Ruiz, the owner of El Primo in St. Paul, for $17,000 worth of drugs.

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