598 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(05/06/05 3:55am)
Six Indiana Republican congressmen say they believe the state's military bases should survive the upcoming round of closings because they are valuable commodities.\n"We feel pretty good right now," said Rep. Steve Buyer, who is chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "We feel good because there's a great story to tell."\nThe congressmen focused most of their attention during a news conference Wednesday on the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, about 30 miles southwest of Bloomington, which has about 4,000 government workers and contractors.\nThe Department of Defense is scheduled to release a list of proposed base closures or realignments by May 16. The Base Realignment and Closure commission will then consider Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's recommendations and send its own recommendation to President Bush by Sept. 8. The president must send a list to Congress by Nov. 7.\nOfficials won't specify how many of more than 425 bases are targeted -- but say the military has 24 percent more capacity than it needs.\nCrane benefited from base closings in 1991 when other Navy laboratories were consolidated and brought there, but the facility barely survived the 1995 closings.\nRep. John Hostettler, whose district includes Crane, said the installation is vital. He said the Pentagon was looking at which bases have military value to the war fighter as well as which bases have the ability to work jointly with the various armed forces.\nHostettler said he believes Pentagon knows the importance of Crane, which has tasks such as modifying weapons, testing laser--guided bombs and storing tons of ordnance. He said while Crane is a naval facility, its largest tenant is the Army. He said the base also serves the Marines, the Coast Guard and the Air Force.\n"Crane has been joint, you might say, before joint was cool," Hostettler said.\nRep. Mark Souder said Crane is important to the entire state, saying many businesses in his northeastern Indiana district supply the center.\n"Crane isn't just an issue for that district, it's an issue for the whole state," Souder said.\nRep. Mike Sodrel said the reason to keep Crane operations in Indiana is the same as it was when it was founded in 1941 -- it is harder for "a terrorist or a saboteur to reach a facility that is located on the heartland than it is a facility along the coast."\nThe congressmen, including Rep. Chris Chocola, also talked about the importance of Grissom Air Reserve Base, midway between South Bend and Indianapolis, which has about 1,700 military and civilian employees and is home to the 434th Air Refueling Wing.\n"They (Grissom's workers) have proven themselves, and the base has proven itself, with regard to its multi-- use, having all four reserve facilities engage in these wars," Buyer said.\nSouder said the Pentagon can't abandon the Great Lakes region, saying the nation can't just keep bases along the coasts. He said there is a need to have a presence of military in the Midwest for recruiting purposes alone.\n"It is very important for the defense of the nation and for the economy of Indiana that these bases stay open," Rep. Dan Burton said.
(05/06/05 3:53am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- While schools and some special interests are grumbling over the 2005 legislative session, many in the business community are smiling over a long list of incentives and policies lawmakers passed in hopes of boosting commerce in Indiana.\nFrom statewide daylight--saving time to tax credits and exemptions to a new public--private board that is overhauling oversight of the state's job--creation efforts, business groups consider the session a success that will pay off in the coming months and years.\n"Overall for business it was outstanding," Kevin Brinegar, president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday.\nThe Indiana chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, which represents 16,000 small businesses, called it a positive session that included legislation to specifically help them. It included automatic abatements that phase in property taxes over three years for small--business investments and requiring state agencies to assess the impact their rules have on small businesses.\n"It sends a good message because we have felt left out of the economic development game," said Jason Shelley, the group's director.\nOther legislation would allow businesses that move headquarters to Indiana to have 50 percent of their moving costs reimbursed through tax credits, allow smaller businesses to receive economic development tax credits, increase the research and development tax credit from 10 percent to 15 percent in 2008, and exempt sales taxes on certain equipment used by motor sports ventures.\nThat business fared well was little surprise, since Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels made it a top legislative priority and had a GOP-controlled General Assembly to work with.\nDaniels said the jobs bills led his list of accomplishments.\n"It's the reason we sought public office in the first place, to bring more economic hope to the state," Daniels said.\nNot everyone was as impressed.\nThe two-year budget passed by Republicans is expected to erase the state's budget deficit, but many school districts will receive funding increases they say are far too little to cover costs, and some districts will see cuts. Some school groups and Democrats say there will be thousands of teacher layoffs across the state.\n"We all know that we need to do our best to bring jobs to this state," said Sen. Billie Breaux, D-Indianapolis. "However, we think education is the centerpiece to any economic development agenda, and I fail to understand how cutting school funding and eliminating as many as 5,700 teaching jobs across the state will help."\nEconomist Gary Baxter told lawmakers in mid-April that Indiana had regained about 79,000 of the 129,000 jobs it lost in recent years during the recession and prolonged economic downturn. He also said the state's economy was now growing at about the same pace as the nation's.\nBut House Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said many of the new jobs do not pay as much as those that were lost, and the state's economy is still suffering from too little innovation and entrepreneurship and too few high-tech jobs.\nHe said the pro-business legislation was significant and would help, but, "I still think we have a long-term problem and it will be a while before we do (see results)."\nBusiness groups did not get everything they wanted.\nBrinegar said changes in telecommunications laws the chamber sought failed. Many businesses also supported unsuccessful legislation that would have allowed insurers to offer basic health plans exempt from some costly mandated coverage to low-income residents and businesses with fewer than 75 employees.\nSome of the tax breaks will cost the state in lost revenue, at least initially. The credits and exemptions could cost between $14 million to nearly $31 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and as much as $33 million the next year, according to the Legislative Services Agency.\nProponents say the exemptions and credits should eventually pay for themselves by creating jobs and investments that will add to the state's tax base.
(01/14/05 2:25pm)
A courtroom of people awaited the presence of Bryan M. Gooldy Thursday afternoon before Judge Marc Kellams suggested his pretrial conference be scheduled at a later date because of reshuffling within the court system. \nGooldy's car crossed the center line of state road 37, resulting in the death of alumna Katharine B. Comiskey Nov. 9. Toxicology reports released Nov. 10 indicated Gooldy was under the influence of cocaine, opiates and benzodiazepines when he struck Comiskey's car. At the time of the accident, Gooldy was on probation after serving three years in prison for a robbery he committed in 2000. Court documents indicate Gooldy was also charged with possession of a controlled substance in 1994 and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud in 1995.\nOn Nov. 17, Gooldy pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him, which include operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, operating a vehicle whle under the influence of drugs causing death and being a habitual offender. If convicted, Gooldy could face up to 52 years in prison.\nGooldy's original pretrial date was slated for Jan. 6, but was later pushed back after his case was reassigned to Jeff Kehr in the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office.\nStuart Baggerly, Gooldy's public defender, said the pretrial conference, which will be held at 2 p.m. Feb. 1, will focus on "evidence and discovery"
(08/25/04 7:29am)
As another school year approaches, seasoned IU veterans are starting to get back into the swing of things here. Where to find those household supplies, ways to get from point A to point B and how to get cheap eats are all common knowledge to returning students, but for those new to the school and the area, learning the ins and outs of this town is easy. \nStores like Wal-Mart and Target offer some of the best prices for school supplies such as notebooks, pens and calculators. These items can also be purchased at the IU Bookstore with the convenience of charging them to a student's bursar account.\nDrew Parks, a sophomore majoring in business, said he saved quite a bit of money by shopping for school supplies at Target.\n"I needed a TI-83 calculator, which would have cost me $124.95 at the IU Bookstore," he said. "Instead, I went to Target and paid $89.99."\nFor those without their own mode of transportation, fear not. Bloomington Transit will take students to the east side of town, which houses everything from the College Mall to Best Buy, from Circuit City to a variety of fast food restaurants. All Bloomington bus routes are free for students with student IDs.. \nStudents who purchase University bus passes can also opt to ride the IU bus system around campus. But students can take the Stadium Express route, otherwise known as the "X" bus, from Memorial Stadium to the Indiana Memorial Union for free with a student ID.\nStudents with their own vehicles will need to purchase parking passes to avoid the $40 fines that result from violating IU's parking restrictions. "D" permits are available to some students living in the dorms, while "E" permits are available to anyone. But beware: the "E" parking lots are further away from campus. Freshmen should expect a waitlist and a $118 charge for the "D" permits or $81 for an "E." \nStudents who do not want to brave the occasionally harsh Bloomington weather have plenty of restaurant delivery options when dinner time roles around. Whether it's pizza, Chinese food, sandwiches or even ice cream, Bloomington has something to offer for every craving. Some eateries cater to students by offering deals including side dishes and drinks for a college student's budget.\nAdditionally, Bloomington businesses have adapted their hours to satisfy late-night hunger.\n"Saturday is the busiest day of the week," said sophomore Dustin Brown, manager of the 10th Street Pizza Express location. "Between 1 a.m. and time of close at 4 a.m., we produce up to 100 pizzas an hour." \nAnd, for those students who plan to stock up on basic necessities at the grocery store, Bloomington offers a wide selection of shopping choices. Bloomingfoods, Kroger, Marsh and Save-A-Lot are just a few of the many options available for grocery shopping in the area. \n"Our stores in Bloomington do great business all year," said Kroger regional manager Jeff Golic, "but the students' return to the area brings a much more lively atmosphere"
(08/25/04 5:48am)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The U.S. visa of a Swiss Muslim scholar who was to teach at the University of Notre Dame has been revoked, a State Department spokeswoman said Tuesday, apparently under terms of the Patriot Act.\nThe work visa for Tariq Ramadan, who has been criticized for links to Islamic militants and for remarks branded as anti-Semitic, was revoked at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, spokeswoman Kelly Shannon said.\nShe cited the Immigration and Nationality Act, part of which deals with aliens who have used a "position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity." Another section denies entry to aliens whose entry may have "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."\nShannon did not immediately clarify whether either section applied to Ramadan's case.\n"We don't know a reason why either of those should apply to Tariq Ramadan," said Matt Storin, a Notre Dame spokesman. "He's a distinguished scholar. He's a voice for moderation in the Muslim world."\nNotre Dame had named Ramadan earlier this year to be its Henry B. Luce professor of religion, conflict and peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.\nHe was scheduled to begin teaching the class Tuesday, the first day of classes for the fall semester at Notre Dame. Another professor will teach the class for now, Storin said.\nRamadan remained in Switzerland, and Storin said he would relay to him a message seeking comment.\nThe University doesn't know whether the decision to revoke the visa can be appealed, Storin said, but hoped that news about the visa decision would help.\n"Perhaps with the spotlight that now may be put on him, people will realize this is not a reasonable decision that's been made," Storin said. "We wait. We hope. We're optimistic because we don't feel there is any reason his entry should be prohibited."\nA message seeking comment was left Tuesday at the office of Scott Appleby, director of the Kroc Institute.\nIn a recent statement, Appleby said the institute was "delighted that (Ramadan) has been able to gain a hearing within traditional Islamic communities as well as in secularizing societies." He said the institute was committed to engaging "many perspectives in the debate over the role of religion and religious leaders in the development of tolerant and progressive societies."\nRamadan has been teaching at the College of Geneva and the University of Fribourg, both in Switzerland, and has gained a popular following among European Muslims in showing how Islamic values such as freedom and tolerance are compatible with those of secular European society.\n"In many ways, he has defined what it means to be a European Muslim," said Muqtedar Khan, a political scientist at Adrian College in Michigan. "He has essentially tried to bridge the culture gap."\nHowever, terrorism expert Yehudit Barsky of the American Jewish Committee described Ramadan as a Muslim proselytizer who tries to bring legitimacy to Islamic militants.\n"We really had hoped the University had exercised more caution in bringing him over here," she said in a recent interview before news of the visa revocation became known.\nRamadan has come under harsh criticism in the Jewish community for an article posted last fall on a Muslim Web site in which he suggested certain French intellectuals' views on Israel and the war in Iraq were swayed by the concerns of Jews.\nSayyid Syeed, secretary general of the Plainfield, Ind.-based Islamic Society of North America, described Ramadan as a "bridge builder."\n"I think he represents a blend of Islamic authenticity and the Western understanding of religion and society," Syeed said.\nRamadan was scheduled to speak at ISNA's convention in Chicago over Labor Day weekend.
(08/25/04 5:04am)
A fire ripped through an off-campus house in May claiming the lives of three
IU students and injuring another. Juniors Jacob Surface and Joseph Alexander, both 21, and Sophomore Nicolas Habicht, 20, died in the fire. The fire was classified as an accidental electrical fire that began in an area cluttered with numerous electrical appliances. Paul Dayment, a 21-year-old IU junior, survived the blaze.
(08/25/04 5:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Supreme Court Tuesday denied a request by East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick that the justices reconsider their decision ordering a new mayoral election.
The high court also denied a rehearing petition by the Lake County Board of Election and Registration and ordered Special Judge Steven King to order a citywide Democratic mayoral primary "resolving such administrative questions as may arise."
The Supreme Court ordered a new election Aug. 6, saying the May 2003 Democratic primary was rife with corruption. In that election, Pastrick defeated George Pabey, a former city councilman and police chief, by 278 votes on his way to winning a ninth term in the heavily Democratic city.
Justices denied Pastrick's rehearing request on a 4-1 vote. The election board in Lake County also petitioned the high court, asking for clarification of how to handle voters who case absentee ballots but end up being present on election day.
Justices denied that rehearing request on a 3-2 vote, and left all administrative questions about a new election with King's court.
2 men killed during shoot out in Hammond home
HAMMOND, Ind. - A man who refused treatment after being shot last week was killed along with another man in an apparent shootout, police said.
The Sunday shooting was the second time Monroe Winston, 27, was shot in the past week, said Officer Mike Jorden, a spokesman for the Hammond Police Department. The other victim was identified as Frederick Fuller, 19, of East Chicago.
Winston was with friends at his home when Fuller and another man burst into the residence through a back door shortly after 9 p.m., Jorden said.
Witnesses told investigators that Fuller ran in carrying a gun and shot at Winston repeatedly. Winston produced a gun and returned fire, with each man being shot multiple times.
Winston was found dead inside his home, while Fuller was found in the alley behind the home, Jorden said.
Winston was shot in the arm Aug. 14, but refused treatment, reportedly walking out of a local hospital.
"At that time, he refused to cooperate with police and said he would handle the situation himself," Jorden said.
Police Chief Brian Miller said a person was in custody related to the shooting but that it was too premature to speculate on whether the shooting was gang related.
Health officials report West Nile case in Hancock County
INDIANAPOLIS -- A Hancock County resident has the second human case of West Nile virus found in the state this year, health officials said Tuesday.
No other information on the person's identification or condition was disclosed. Hancock County is just east of Indianapolis.
The state's first West Nile case was reported last week in Benton County, along the Indiana-Illinois state line northwest of Lafayette.
So far this year, 26 Indiana counties from all parts of the state have had positive test results for West Nile virus in birds and mosquitoes, the state Health Department said.
The virus can be transmitted to humans by mosquitoes that have first bitten infected birds.
Indiana's first human cases of the disease were reported in 2002, when it was blamed for 293 illnesses and 11 deaths. Those instances dropped last year to 47 cases and four deaths.
(06/28/04 1:52am)
Charles Lee is an American citizen, but he's been in Chinese prisons since January 2003 -- and the charges are completely trumped up, according to his fiance of three years, Yeong-Ching Foo.\nFoo, a former software consultant from Silicon Valley, came to Bloomington Friday to join about a dozen Indiana practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual philosophy of Chinese origin, in Peoples Park for an informative display and protest on behalf of Lee and others like him.\n"Imagine a human being without truthfulness, compassion and forbearance," Foo said, referring to the three principles of Falun Gong philosophy. "I don't think that would be a human, do you?"\nFoo said Lee went back to China with nothing more than a message, the philosophy of Falun Gong and the desire to set the record straight, since the government had spread what Foo called "lies and propaganda" about her religion and its practitioners. \nNevertheless, Chinese authorities arrested Lee as soon as he arrived in Guangzhou Airport in southern China.\n"If nobody stands up, then we will lose," Foo said as she looked at a mounted picture of her fiance, which stood on an easel next to a series of billboards with information about the history of the Falun Gong in China and its alleged persecution at the hands of the communist government.\nFoo, backed by the exhibit's pictures and mock prison scenes with live actors, said Chinese authorities use two main methods to torture prisoners like her fiance: brainwashing, which involves physical abuse, and slave labor.\n"I call it slave labor because this is a tactic they use to make him renounce his belief -- to make him very tired," she said. "The fact is they continually manipulate him."\nFoo was referring to certain forced labor camps in China that she said the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai has told her are staffed by prisoners, including those charged with religious or political crimes. Her fiance, according to her conversations with the consulate, is at one such facility.\nThat's something that caught the attention of Bradley Drake, a sophomore majoring in biology, who happened to walk past the exhibit Friday.\n"I didn't realize (the Chinese government) use forced labor camps, where people are being persecuted for their religious beliefs, to make stuff we are buying here," Drake said. "Seems like whoever is making trade agreements would be interested in finding out who exactly is making these products."\nThat is the sort of thing Lei Yin, a marketing professional from Indianapolis and the organizer of the exhibit, said he wants more people to learn.\nYin's exhibit modeled itself after similar public events held by Falun Gong members across the world, which have featured graphic simulations of the many torture methods the sect says its adherents endure in Chinese prisons.\nFriday's exhibit, entitled "Persecution Meets Principle," included five such representations, ranging from a woman with bamboo reeds shoved under her fingernails to an elderly man, bruised and bloody, squatting in a tiny metal cage.\nAll the actors were silent and still, often keeping their eyes closed or bowing their heads.\nWhile the blood wasn't real, the actors' message was, Yin said.\n"We want people to know the truth," he said. "In reality, people are suffering far, far more than this."\nFalun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, began in 1992 as a hybrid of Qi Gong meditation exercises and various traditional Chinese teachings.\nIt entered hard times in 1999, Yin said, when then-President of China, Jiang Zemin, banned the sect as a "heretical organization" and inaugurated a policy of persecution against its adherents, which numbered at least 70 million. \nYin said more than 991 practitioners of Falun Gong have been tortured to death since that time.\n"That's actually only the tip of the iceberg," he said. "There are many times that, but these are documented cases. The majority of the people I knew are either in jail or are being tortured."\nBloomington was the first stop on a regional tour, which Yin and other Hoosier practitioners plan to take to at least three more cities, including Indianapolis and Chicago.\nYin said he hopes the group's efforts would help to enhance the public's awareness.\n"There's a lot of slander against the Falun Gung," Yin said, referring to some of the Chinese state media, which have claimed the sect was interested in harming the communist party, or even taking over the government. "We don't have an interest in political things. We are purely a mind and body practice."\nHuman rights watchdog Amnesty International has confirmed some of what Yin and his fellow practitioners have said.\nIn its report covering China in 2003, AI said various "unofficial spiritual or religious groups, including some Qi Gong groups and unregistered Christian groups, continued to be arbitrarily detained, tortured and ill-treated."\nThe report went on to mention the Falun Gong in particular.\nWhile he admitted other sects like Tibetan Buddhists and even Christians have been imprisoned and tortured in China, Yin said the Falun Gong's case is particularly bad because of the large number of affected people.\n"There is a system of implication," he said. "If you are charged with being Falun Gong, then your parents lose their pension, your uncle can't join the army, your niece can't go to college -- even your neighbor will get in trouble."\nEver since Chinese authorities attacked pro-democracy protesters in Tianenmen Square in 1989, the United States has regularly introduced U.N. resolutions that have attempted to censure China for its record on human rights, but none have passed. \nThe most recent resolution, introduced during the U.N. Human Rights Conference in Geneva in March, claimed China had failed to live up to its promise to improve religious freedom and human rights.\nBefore the resolution failed, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said at a press conference in March that the U.S. was "concerned about (China's) backsliding on key human rights issues that has occurred in a variety of areas."\nFailure like this has not stopped Foo from being hopeful, she said, nor has her fiance given up his resolve.\n"Despite all this torture, he is still sticking to his beliefs," she said. "Only with compassion can you resolve violence."\nIn fact, Foo said she believes her fiance will be released. \n"A lot of people know of his story, and by a lot of people knowing, this exposes what they (the Chinese government) fear most," she said. "When so many people stand up and say, 'No, you cannot do this,' they will let him go."\nBut Foo said the U.S. government needs to put more pressure on Chinese officials, especially in high-level meetings.\n"I really believe the U.S. government can do it," she said. "But they must be firm."\n-- Contact staff writer Seraphim Danckaert at region@idsnews.com.
(05/25/04 5:17pm)
The Bloomington Fire Department is not speculating on the cause of an off-campus house fire Saturday morning that left three IU students dead and one injured, according to BFD Chief Jeff Barlow.\n"Our job as a fire department is not to have an opinion, but to have the facts," Barlow said.\nThe investigation, headed by the BFD, has been ongoing since Saturday morning immediately following the evacuation of the house and the extinguishing of the fire. Barlow said the investigation is moving slowly because the department has had to delay for the "right people" to arrive to the scene so all the evidence is presented.\nThe department is working in conjunction with private investigators, according to Barlow. \nShand Forensic Investigators, Inc., was on the scene today.\nInvestigators were at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis yesterday, where lone survivor Paul Dayment, a 21-year-old IU junior, is recovering.\nBarlow said the BFD could neither confirm nor deny the information released to the Indiana Daily Student by the State Fire Marshal's office yesterday.\nPam Bright, spokeswoman from the State Fire Marshal's office, told the IDS yesterday that the cause was an accidental electrical fire. According to the State Fire Marshal's office, the fire began in the first-floor living room of the two-story house in an area where many electrical appliances had been plugged in.\nBarlow said the department didn't want "bits and pieces" of information pertaining to their investigation to be released out of respect for the grieving families.
(04/12/04 1:34pm)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Under sharp questioning, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice insisted Thursday President Bush fully understood the threat of terrorism before Sept. 11, 2001, but no intelligence foretold the deadliest attack ever on American soil.\nDisputing criticism that Bush was negligent, Rice told a national commission "there was no silver bullet that could have prevented" the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.\nBroadcast live around the world, the hearing turned contentious as Democratic members questioned why alarms didn't ring when Bush was presented with an Aug. 6 classified memo titled "Bin Laden determined to attack inside United States."\nFormer Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democratic member of the commission, described the memo as saying "the FBI indicates patterns of suspicious activity in the United States consistent with preparations for hijacking."\nRice dismissed the document as "historical information based on old reporting" and said it did not warn of attacks inside the United States.\nCommission members unanimously asked the White House to declassify the memo, whose title had not been revealed previously. Sean McCormack, a National Security Council spokesman, later said, "We have every intention to declassify it at this time."\nRelatives of victims killed Sept. 11 sat in the audience behind Rice, scribbling notes and shaking their heads at times as she rebutted accusations by former counterterrorism aide Richard Clarke that Bush had fumbled opportunities to eliminate al Qaeda.\nUnlike Clarke, Rice offered no apology for the government's failure to prevent the attacks.\n"Accountability, ma'am, accountability," called out Carie Lemack, whose mother died on the first hijacked plane to hit the World Trade Center. After three hours in the witness chair, Rice shook hands with a few family members and then reached out to embrace a few more.\nWith much at stake for the president, Rice appeared composed and unruffled even as members challenged her responses and accused her of filibustering with long answers. Rice carried the responsibility of defending Bush's credibility on the issue he has made the cornerstone of his re-election campaign.\nAfter hearing from Rice, the commission met with former president Bill Clinton for more than three hours and said he was "forthcoming and responsive to questions." Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are to be questioned soon, also in private.\nRice, recalling a rash of vague warnings over the summer, said, "One of the problems here was there really was nothing that looked like it was going to happen inside the United States." \nShe said the threats pointed overseas to possible targets in the Persian Gulf, Israel or perhaps the summit in Genoa, Italy, of leaders of industrialized nations.\nBush and his wife, Laura, watched the testimony on television from their vacation home in Texas.\nRice was pressed about whether she had talked with the president about the existence of al Qaeda cells in the United States after being alerted by Clarke. She said she couldn't recall.\nRice also was challenged on why Bush's national security team met 100 times before it took up the subject of terrorism and whether she bore responsibility for the failure of FBI offices nationwide to be alerted about increased threats before Sept. 11.\nAfter swearing to testify truthfully, Rice sat alone at the witness table, her hands laced in front of her on a red tablecloth, as she read a prepared statement.\nRice said the United States, as far back as the Reagan administration more than 20 years ago, mounted an insufficient response to the gathering threat of terrorism. \n"The terrorists were at war with us, but we were not yet at war with them," Rice said.\nHistorically, democratic societies have been slow to respond to threats, she said, citing provocations before World Wars I and II.\n"Tragically, for all the language of war spoken before Sept. 11, this country simply was not on a war footing," Rice said.
(11/17/03 8:59pm)
FORT WAYNE -- Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean's campaign is winning him some fans among Indiana voters -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- intrigued by his message and grass-roots campaign.\nAuburn resident Patrick McCormick campaigned for the Bush-Quayle ticket in 1988 and has always considered himself part of the GOP.\nBut Saturday night he and his wife, Patty, hosted one of the hundreds of parties around the nation celebrating Dean's 55th birthday.\nMcCormick has also handwritten 38 letters to undecided voters in the upcoming Iowa caucus. And he's formed a Dean group in Auburn.\n"With family and friends, instantly they're questioning: Why are you getting so excited all of a sudden?" McCormick told The Journal Gazette for a story published Sunday.\nDean has sparked interest among Hoosiers even though presidential candidates generally ignore Indiana at this point in campaigns because the state's May primary comes late in the primary season.\n"Most top-tier candidates wouldn't build an infrastructure (in Indiana) because the state is not relevant, and it's not a Democratic state, so it's not like you're building it for the general election," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report.\nStill, the Hoosier Dean machine is revved up as if the November 2004 election were just weeks away. And many Dean supporters are political newcomers.\nAt a meeting of Dean supporters in Fort Wayne earlier this month, 30 of the 45 people who were there had not previously been involved in the Democratic Party, said Dennis Tropp, the chairman of the 3rd District Democratic Party, who has been a political activist for 30 years.\n"I have never seen this early on that many people that involved with a presidential candidate," he said.\nMany Dean supporters are connecting with each other through the Internet. An online service, http://www.meetup.com, allows visitors to type in their area of interest plus their ZIP code.\nIf there's a nearby meeting of like-minded people, the location and date appears on the computer screen.\nAlmost all the presidential contenders have supporters who connect this way, but Dean's 141,000 far outnumber the rest.\nIn addition to everything else it does in politics, money measures a candidate's popularity. On that benchmark, Dean has surged in Indiana as the other Democrats have sputtered.\nOf the $131,483 that Hoosiers donated to the nine Democratic contenders during the summer, Dean's portion was almost half, and it was nearly twice as much as the next most prolific fund-raiser, Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri.\nMany of Dean's donors -- both in Indiana and nationwide -- are repeat givers of small amounts.\n"Small donors are worth much more than big donors because most big donors will give only money, while small donors give cash repeatedly plus their votes and energy," said Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia.\n"They turn up at caucuses and primaries to vote; they put yard signs up; they will stuff envelopes and all the rest."\nMarthe Rosenfeld, a Fort Wayne retiree, mailed Dean's campaign six checks totaling $1,200 this summer.\nShe said she was attracted to the former Vermont governor because he signed legislation to allow civil unions in Vermont and because he opposed the war in Iraq.\nRosenfeld said Dean isn't in concert with all her concerns, "but he's a real contrast with regard to President Bush. He would give the voters a choice"
(11/17/03 8:57pm)
MUNCIE -- Dozens of Ball State University students held a candlelight memorial service Friday for a Ball State University student who was unarmed when he was shot and killed by a campus police officer.\nEarlier Friday, university officials said they had recommended to the school's trustees that Michael McKinney be posthumously granted the bachelor's degree in marketing that he had been pursuing before last weekend's shooting.\nAt the outdoor memorial service, Douglas McConkey, vice president for student affairs, told mourners holding candles he didn't know McKinney, but he now knows the 21-year-old was "loved by a lot of people" and "will be missed by more people than he could imagine."\n"I see now why he loved this place so much," said McKinney's mother, Lisa, who urged students to be safe and to call and tell their parents they love them.\n"Those were the last words he said to me," Lisa McKinney said.\n"It was a haunting picture looking down at 200 or so candles," said music professor Kirby Koriath, who was up in the tower playing the carillon bells.\nRookie Ball State Officer Robert Duplain shot McKinney, of Bedford, four times on Nov. 8. Police say the shooting occurred as Duplain responded to a call about 3:30 a.m. of a stranger pounding on the door of a house near campus.\nDuplain and a witness who lives at a neighboring house have said McKinney lunged at the officer and did not follow commands to stop before the shots were fired.\nFriends who were with McKinney before the shooting have said that they believed he was drunk and thought he was at a friend's similar-looking home.\nMcKinney's relatives have said he was not a violent person and questioned why Duplain used deadly force so quickly.\nA decision on whether the shooting was justified or should be reviewed by a grand jury would be made by the Delaware County prosecutor's office, he said.
(11/17/03 7:26pm)
A junior involved in the Oct. 31 death of another IU student turned himself in to authorities Friday on a charge of reckless homicide, a class C felony, according to officials at the Monroe County Jail. \nDaipayan Banerjee turned himself into the Monroe County Sheriff's Department Friday, where he was booked into the jail and later released on a $10,000 bond.\nBanerjee was the driver of a Ford Mustang during a street race Oct. 31 on Ind. 446 near Moores Pike. His roommate, Jeffrey Maiatico, 20, was killed when Banerjee collided with another racer at roughly 120 mph, according to the sheriff's department.\nPolice said Maiatico and Banerjee were racing junior Patrick J. McBride, 21, who was driving a 1995 Caprice.\nBoth drivers lost control of their vehicles at the same time, causing Banerjee's convertible to roll over, become airborne and strike with enough force to leave marks 15 feet high on a tree and propel the battery of the car into the side of a nearby house, police said.\nBanerjee suffered minor injuries and McBride, who crashed separately, was unharmed. \nMcBride could face misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and being involved in a speed contest, police said.
(11/07/03 3:49pm)
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill to rename a Bloomington post office in honor of former U.S. Rep. Frank McCloskey.\nThe House passed the bill without opposition on voice vote Wednesday.\nThe bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., and co-sponsored by the rest of the Indiana congressional delegation.\nThe legislation would rename the Woodbridge Post Office on Bloomington's east side the Francis X. McCloskey Post Office Building. Indiana Sens. Evan Bayh and Dick Lugar have introduced a similar bill in the Senate.\nMcCloskey, who died Sunday of cancer at age 64, helped get the post office built while he served on the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee in the 1980s.\nThe former Bloomington mayor, a Democrat, represented southwestern Indiana's 8th District in Congress from 1983 to 1995.\nA public funeral service for McCloskey is scheduled for Nov. 15 in Bloomington.
(03/07/03 5:28pm)
The parents of missing IU student Jill Behrman met with Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann Tuesday afternoon.\nMarilyn and Eric Behrman had three main concerns going into the afternoon meeting, the first being a designation of a full-time prosecutor for the case. Though one was not chosen, the Behrmans said Salzmann assured them the case will be worked on by all the prosecutors in the office and extra officials and investigators will be brought in as needed.\nAs a result of Tuesday's discussion, space has been allocated in three different offices for the case materials, satisfying the second of the Behrmans' objectives. These locations will allow officials working on the case easier access to the documents.\nThe Berhmans' final point of interest was the creation of a timeline of events pertaining to the outcome of the investigation. Behrman said the couple received no guarantee as to the future series of events regarding the investigation.\n"The wheels of justice grind very slowly," Behrman said. \nNeither the Behrmans nor Salzmann would go into much detail about the finer details of the meeting. "It's still a current and ongoing investigation," Salzmann said. "According to the ethical aspects, I simply cannot comment on it."\nBoth parties did feel confident that the meeting was productive toward a common goal.\n"We reached the agreement we were all working together for -- justice for Jill," Behrman said. "We will all continue to work in that direction."\nJill Behrman disappeared May 31, 2000 while riding her bike in Bloomington.
(03/07/03 3:24pm)
GOSHEN, Ind. -- A man who opposed the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from in front of Elkhart City Hall wants the county to display a collection of flags and historical documents -- including the commandments -- in the government office building.\n"We've felt from the beginning the Ten Commandments is the historical heritage of America, and some people are out there to dilute or deny that fact," Bob Weaver told The Truth newspaper. "It's important to keep it in this collection for future generations, so they have a clear picture of how we became who we are."\nWeaver, who is from Shipshewana, has promised Elkhart County commissioners that no taxpayer money would be needed if the display is challenged in court.\nWeaver raised more than $60,000 last year in a last-ditch effort to keep the monument in front of City Hall. The money was later refunded to donors since no further legal challenge was made.\nElkhart officials had the monument removed in August following years of legal battles that cost the city more than $63,000. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled the monument was not constitutional.\nCourts have generally ruled that placement of such monuments on public property violates separation of church and state guaranteed in the First Amendment.\nCommissioner Phil Neff said the board supports Weaver's effort, "but I don't want to do anything to cause the county a problem or cost us any money."\nAs attorneys have mulled the legal implications for the past month, commissioner Martin McCloskey has kept the items in his office.\nBesides the Ten Commandments, other postings would include the state Constitution preamble, the words to the national anthem and the Bill of Rights.\nNeff said he will only vote for the display if the county attorney says it is constitutional.\nCounty attorney Gordon Lord said the documents would need to be represented as a historical collection, "put up in full conformity with the law, respectful of court decisions and interpretations of the Constitution."\nWeaver said he thinks the display is constitutional.\n"I believe what we've offered to the county satisfies the court rulings … and would pass muster again if it came to that," Weaver said.\nCounty commissioners could vote on the display March 17.
(03/07/03 3:24pm)
SOUTH BEND -- A University of Notre Dame student has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.\nThe student, whose name was not released, was being treated Thursday at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center. The student became ill Sunday night after being out of town for several days, university spokesman Matthew Storin said.\nThe student has been taken out of intensive care and was in stable condition, Storin said.\nThere were no reports of other cases on campus as of Thursday. Students attending Notre Dame are urged when they enroll to be vaccinated, Storin said.\nThe case is the sixth reported in northern Indiana in two weeks. The other five cases were reported among elementary and high school students in the Fort Wayne area.\nThe state Health Department said seven cases of bacterial meningitis have been reported in Indiana this year, which is about the same number of cases that had been reported this time last year.\nDr. Jim Howell, a state epidemiologist, said there was no reason for concern.\n"It just happens to be in one part of the state," Howell said. "There is always an issue about whether we are having an outbreak or not because there is a few cases. Well, 95 percent of all cases are sporadic. They just occur and we can find no link."\nBacterial meningitis is a serious infection of the fluid and membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is spread through coughing, kissing and other close contact. The symptoms are flulike and can include high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck.\nThe disease kills in about 10 percent of cases and can cause serious harm, including brain damage.\nTwo years ago, Holy Cross College student Jenny Nemeth died of bacterial meningitis.
(03/07/03 3:14pm)
WASHINGTON -- Edging toward war, President Bush called on skeptical allies Thursday night to stand ready to use force against Iraq but said the United States was prepared to act on its own. "We really don't need anybody's permission," Bush said.\nIn a prime-time news conference, he said a critical Security Council vote on a resolution authorizing war was just "days away" and said he would push for a vote on the measure even if it appeared destined to fail.\n"It's time for people to show their cards and let people know where they stand," the president said.\nIn measured tones, Bush answered questions for about 30 minutes after a 10-minute opening statement that called Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's claims of disarmament a "willful charade." He said Saddam has ordered production of illicit missiles even as he destroys others, accused Iraqi officials of shuttling biological and chemical agents between secret locations and said Iraqi scientists are required to wear concealed recording devices while being interviewed by U.N. inspectors.\nHe pointedly challenged France, Germany and other skeptical allies to stand with him.\n"If the world fails to confront the threat posed by the Iraqi regime, refusing to use force even as a last resort, free nations would assume immense and unacceptable risks," he said.\nThe news conference was part of an intensifying campaign to prepare Americans for the possibility of a war that could be just days away. Military leaders say U.S. forces are now ready to strike Iraq.\nBush shrugged off the protests of millions worldwide and chided critics who want to give for U.N. weapons inspectors more time to do their work.\n"A little bit more time? Saddam Hussein has had 12 years to disarm," he said.\nDramatically raising his right hand, the president said that he had swore to defend the Constitution and protect America's security. "That's exactly what I am going to do," he said.\nBush promised not to lead the war into another Vietnam-like quagmire.\n"Our mission is clear in Iraq," the president. "Should we have to go in, our mission is very clear: disarmament. In order to disarm, it will mean regime change. I'm confident that we'll be able to achieve that objective in a way that minimizes the loss of life."\nThe president's news conference came on the eve of a crucial Security Council meeting. On Friday, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and his counterpart, Mohamed ElBaradei, will report on Iraq's measure of cooperation in eliminating its banned weapons. Their assessment could weigh heavily in determining the outcome of the Security Council's vote on a resolution to authorize force.\nWith 230,000 U.S. troops poised outside Iraq, the president said only Saddam can ensure peace. "It's his choice to make whether or not we go to war. He's the person that can make the choice of war or peace. Thus far he's made the wrong choice."\nBefore the news conference, Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about the U.N. resolution, White House aides said. They agreed to continue discussions.\nIntensifying his case against Saddam, Bush is considering a major address next week to explain the justification and risks of military conflict, aides said. The speech could include a final warning to Saddam while urging journalists and humanitarian workers to leave Iraq, they said.\nBut officials said the president is not inclined to set an eleventh-hour deadline for Iraq's disarmament, fearing Saddam would use the grace period to further divide U.S. allies. They did not rule out the United States backing a British proposal that would give the Iraqi leader a few more days to disarm. But aides acknowledged that the British proposal was unlikely to be a galvanizing force.\nBush has privately expressed frustration with Saddam's ability to turn France and other allies against the resolution just a few months after a similar measure passed 15-0 in the Security Council, aides said.\nThough he said there was some hope for peace, Bush repeatedly spoke in the past tense about Saddam's ability to avoid war -- leaving the impression that war was imminent.\n"I don't like war," he said. "I wish that Saddam Hussein had listened to the demands of the world and disarmed. That was my hope."\nAt turns somber and light, Bush joked a few times with reporters. He grew teary-eyed while saying it was a "humbling experience" to know that people he's never met "have lifted me and my family up in prayer. It's been a comforting feeling to know that."\nAsked how his faith was guiding him through these deliberations, Bush said: "I pray daily, I pray for guidance and wisdom and strength." He added that if he decides to send troops into war, "I would pray for their safety and I would pray for the safety of innocent Iraqi lives as well."\nTurning to another foreign policy hot spot, Bush said the best way to deal with rising tensions with North Korea is to involve other nations in the region, such as China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.\n"I think the best way to deal with this is in multilateral fashion by convincing those nations that they must stand up to their responsibilities, along with the United States to convince Kim Jong Il that development of a nuclear arsenal is not in his nation's interests," Bush said.
(03/06/03 10:24pm)
WEST LAFAYETTE -- Purdue University police seized computers and electronic equipment from 17 students as part of a child-pornography investigation.\nPolice said Wednesday that no arrests had been made, and the investigation was continuing.\nOfficers received a warrant to search the on-campus rooms of 12 students Tuesday. Five additional students voluntarily turned over computer equipment, said Ronald Fosnaugh, a campus police captain.\nA preliminary investigation has turned up no apparent link among the 17 students, Fosnaugh said.\nInvestigators were interviewing students and examining the seized equipment to determine the extent of any illegal activities and find out whether any child pornography was widely distributed.\nAny students found to be involved in child pornography could face university sanctions as well as criminal charges, said L. Tony Hawkins, dean of students.\n"Even though we're talking about student-owned devices, that equipment still makes use of the university's network infrastructure for operations such as e-mail usage and Internet access," Hawkins said in a statement.\nInvestigators will turn over their findings to Tippecanoe County prosecutors, who will decide whether to file charges.\nUnder Indiana law, possession of child pornography is a Class D felony carrying punishment of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
(01/30/03 5:25am)
As the Pentagon builds up forces for possible military action in Iraq, the Indiana National Guard and other reserve branches are contributing thousands of citizen soldiers from around the state.\nThe number of Indiana troops being mobilized for Operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom has climbed to 2,500, according to the U.S. Defense Department.\n"That units are called up, among other things, is a demonstration that they are manned, equipped, trained and led to accomplish the missions they've been given," Lt. Col. Dan Stoneking, a Pentagon spokesman and a guardsman, said Wednesday.\nThe troops that have been called include infantry, pilots, and engineers from armories and reserve bases in Indianapolis, South Bend, Evansville, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Bloomington, Edinburgh, Gary, Hobart, Jasper, Ligonier and Richmond.\nThey come from most branches of the military reserves -- the Marine Corps Reserve, the Naval Reserve, the Army Reserve, the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard.\nNearly 1,400 troops have been called from the Indiana National Guard alone, adding to the 31,000 guardsmen already mobilized. During the build up for Operation Desert Storm in 1990, more than 63,000 guardsmen were called up.\nMilitary officials have not disclosed the units' destinations or duties, nor have they discussed which units are next to go.\n"We are ready for anything," said Maj. Sara Hall, a spokeswoman for the Indiana National Guard. "People in Indiana may or may not have some awareness that levels up in the national command authority are looking at our units."\nThe most recent group to go included about 600 guardsmen from Jasper, Linton, Martinsville, Tell City, Washington and Vincennes. The units were given a formal send-off Tuesday at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, about 50 miles south of Indianapolis.\n"You know, and accept, that the challenges of your mission must be put first, before any challenges you leave at home," Gov. Frank O'Bannon told troops at the ceremony.\nThe Camp Atterbury ceremony came on the same day that about 200 Indiana Air National Guard members learned they were being sent to Turkey to help enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq