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Supreme Court rules death penalty for juveniles to be unconstitutional

By Alyson Brodsy and Hope Yen · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:25 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- A closely divided Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it is unconstitutional to execute juvenile killers, ending a practice in 19 states that has been roundly condemned by many of America's closest allies. The 5-4 decision throws out the death sentences of 72 murderers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes. The executions, the court said, violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Does digging 'The O.C.' make me a sissy?

By -Alec Toombs · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:24 p.m.

I love "The O.C." There, I've done it. Friends, family and co-workers know I dig television's premiere prime time soap (and poke fun at me unmercilessly for doing so), now so do you. Am I a wuss? Maybe, but not because of my affinity for Fox's firecracker of a series.

Federal judge finds husband, mother dead in basement

By Alyson Brodsy and Don Babwin · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:24 p.m.

CHICAGO -- A federal judge who was once the target of a failed murder plot by a white supremacist was under marshals' protection Tuesday after the shooting deaths of her husband and 89-year-old mother, and investigators were looking into possible connections to hate groups, among other leads. U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow found the bodies of Michael F. Lefkow, 65, and her mother, Donna Humphrey, when she returned home from work Monday evening, according to authorities and friends.

Black History Month is racist

By Warren Christopher Freiberg · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:20 p.m.

It was a tough four weeks, but somehow, white people everywhere got through Black History Month. We can now go back to listening to John Denver, watching "Friends" and eating our sandwiches with extra mayo for another year or so.

Welcome back, Old Paths

By Amy Obermeyer · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:18 p.m.

This very well could've been another pessimistic column had I not seen the light the other day. And that light I'm referring to is that of the evangelists outside of Woodburn Hall. The pictures of aborted fetuses and signs clearly explaining how Muhammad and Buddha are burning in hell brought pure joy to my heart.

IU, stick your neck out

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:14 p.m.

Lampposts around campus are decorated with banners promoting "One For Diversity," and freshman orientation emphasizes acceptance of cultural differences around campus. At IU, we're taught from day one that discrimination against other human beings is unacceptable, so it's crucial for students to witness the University following through on the principles it espouses.

Partisan tensions threaten House bills as deadline draws near

By Alyson Brodsy and Mike Smith · Tuesday, March 1,2005 11:09 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Partisan tensions ran high in the Indiana House Tuesday with representatives facing a midnight deadline to keep several bills alive, including ones to mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time and give the governor's inspector general prosecutorial powers.

Kirkwood ticket looks for 2nd chance

By Colleen Corley · Tuesday, March 1,2005 1 a.m.

The Kirkwood ticket filed a petition Monday against the IUSA Elections Commission and Derek Molter, the elections coordinator. The petition, signed on behalf of the College and Connect tickets, calls for a run-off election between Kirkwood and election winner Vote for Pedro. The petition says the election results were unconstitutional according to Section 403 of IUSA's current elections code, which states that executive candidates must receive at least 40 percent of the votes or at least 20 percent more than the runner-up.

Democracy under Fire

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, March 1,2005 1 a.m.

HILLAH, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber blasted a crowd of police and national guard recruits Monday as they gathered for physicals outside a medical clinic south of Baghdad, killing at least 115 people and wounding 132 -- the single deadliest attack in the two-year insurgency. Torn limbs and other body parts littered the street outside the clinic in Hillah, a predominantly Shiite area about 60 miles south of Baghdad

BFC set to debate new student code

By Tony Sams · Tuesday, March 1,2005 12:27 a.m.

The first thing you might notice when you pick up the proposed revisions to the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct is that it's shorter. Much shorter. Fifty-one pages shorter. And for Mary Popp, chairwoman of Bloomington Faculty Council's Student Affairs Committee, it's taken a long time to get it that way. "The last time we tried to revise it, really in earnest, was about 1 1/2 to almost two years ago," Popp said.

No. 1 seed IU hockey heads to nationals in Michigan

By John Wustrow · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:41 p.m.

The seniors on the IU club hockey team played their last home game Friday night, but their careers are not over yet. The 21-8-2 team leaves today for the American Collegiate Hockey Association DII Nationals in Rochester, Mich.

My day on the bubble

By Ryan Phillips · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:40 p.m.

This time of year, there's one thing that makes me more insane than John Chaney: It's all the so-called experts telling us "who's in" and "who's out" of the NCAA Tournament. They are almost always wrong, and this past week's games only reinforced that.

Another chance to bolster bid

By Josh Weinfus and Josh Weinfuss · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:39 p.m.

For the past five months, four letters have hovered over the Hoosiers' basketball program, looking for a place to land.

Feeling American in Spain

By Jonathan Daugherty and John Daugherty · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:38 p.m.

Looking ahead to studying abroad, I expected to learn more about my country through the eyes of others, and I also expected to learn more about myself as a person. What I didn't expect was to learn about myself as an American. Sure, I identified myself as an American because I appreciated my country and because that's where I lived, but now I'm learning that I'm really inherently American. Having never lived outside of the United States before, I used to pretentiously consider myself significantly different from the average American.

'Master Harold' gives hope for end of racism in South Africa

By David A. Nosko · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:37 p.m.

One word comes to mind after reflecting upon a night of kite-flying memories, ballroom-dancing dreams and the spectacle of a "black ass" mooning the audience center-stage: "Hope" -- for the worldwide human race in combating racism and racial discrimination.

Al-Qaida calls for attacks on U.S. soil

By Alyson Brodsy and Lara Jakes Jordan · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:33 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- New intelligence indicates Osama bin Laden is enlisting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, his top operative in Iraq, to plan potential attacks on the United States, U.S. officials said Monday. Al-Zarqawi has been involved in attacks in the Middle East but has not been known to have set his sights on U.S. soil.

U.S. considers joining European initiative to offer Iran alternatives

By Alyson Brodsy and Tom Raum · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:33 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- In a potential strategy shift, the Bush administration is considering joining Europe in offering Iran economic incentives in exchange for abandoning its nuclear fuel program, the White House said Monday.

Source: BTK suspect confesses to 6 murders

By Alyson Brodsy and Roxana Hegeman · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:32 p.m.

WICHITA, Kan. -- Police say they are confident that the arrest of a man suspected of being the BTK serial killer will end 30 years of terror, and a source said he confessed to some killings.

Attorney general will prosecute obscenity

By Alyson Brodsy and Mark Sherman · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:31 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Monday he would move aggressively to prosecute obscenity cases, and he laid out a broader agenda much like that of his predecessor, John Ashcroft.

Protests force out Lebanese government

By Alyson Brodsy and Bassem Mroue · Monday, Feb. 28,2005 11:30 p.m.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- With shouts of "Syria out!", more than 25,000 flag-waving protesters massed outside Parliament Monday in a dramatic display of defiance that forced the resignation of Lebanon's prime minister and Cabinet two weeks after the assassination of an opposition leader.