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Students write in election hopes

Just imagine socialite Paris Hilton as an IU Student Association off-campus representative. The halls of Ballantine would be draped in red carpet, Cristal would flow from HPER water fountains and Rick Salomon would give guest lectures in the telecommunications department about night-vision video editing.

Canada will not join U.S. missile defense

TORONTO -- Prime Minister Paul Martin said Thursday that Canada would opt out of the contentious U.S. missile defense program, a move that will further strain brittle relations between the neighbors but please Canadians who fear it could lead to an international arms race.

Bush, Putin agree on need to check nuclear proliferation around world

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on new efforts to keep nuclear arms out of dangerous hands, but their sharp differences over Russian backsliding on democracy spilled into an open and sometimes prickly exchange.

Frank Lloyd Wright house difficult to auction

CHICAGO -- If you think selling a house designed by the most famous architect in American history is easy, think again. After several months on the market, a 1915 Frank Lloyd Wright house on Chicago's North Side is going on the auction block, with bids starting at $750,000, less than a third of the original $2.5 million asking price.

Jury selection ends in Jackson trial

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- In surprisingly quick time, a jury was selected Wednesday that will decide Michael Jackson's fate on charges that he molested a teenage boy at his Neverland Ranch.

Exhibit features drawings by late Cuban exile

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Ana Mendieta and her sister were shipped off to the United States from Cuba by their parents, landed in a Dubuque orphanage and were shuffled among several foster homes all before graduating from high school.

'Master Harold' brings his boys to IU

Discourse about racism is alive within the IU community and the theatre department wouldn't have it any other way. "'Master Harold' ... and the boys," written by South African Athol Fugard and directed by South African IU theater professor Murray McGibbon, opens at 8 p.m. tonight in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. The play premiered in 1982 at the Yale Repertory Theatre and was banned from production in South Africa until 1994.

A helping hand

Do you know what month it is? According to American history, this month marks the anniversary of many infamous events, including the declaration of Mexico's independence, the first mass meeting of the Nazi party and, more importantly, the official premiere of the televised phenomenon "Supermarket Sweep."

Vote on daylight-saving postponed until next week

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana House will not vote until next week on legislation that would mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time, the bill's chief sponsor said Thursday.

Go buy a sports car instead

You know the commercials. It looks like a sexual deviant's version of the Brady Bunch: The Astroturf lawn looks especially green, and someone calling himself "Bob" is recommending you shell out $59.95 for a trial period of Enzyte, the once-a-day pill for natural male enhancement.

Daniels urges passage of Clear Skies Initiative

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels said Thursday that President Bush's plan for cutting emissions from the nation's coal-fired power plants and other industries would encourage cleaner-burning plants and improve Indiana's air and its residents' health.

Burglars steal donations from Humane Association

The Bloomington Police Department is investigating a Feb. 17 break-in to the building that houses both the Monroe County Humane Association and the Bloomington Animal Care and Control. A total of $1,500 was stolen from a safe inside the building, as well as a Palm Pilot, digital camera and other cash.

Putting on the 'friend-ly' face

As we all know (and sometimes like to jeer at), the Catholic Church is still being plagued by the abuse scandals, and more and more priests are being defrocked and thrown in prison for their ... let's just leave it at "sins." But for all of this, my faith in the Church is no weaker; in fact, it has even strangely grown as I read the stories behind the convictions.

Astonish us again, Pedro

When we heard about the five original tickets for IUSA, Kirkwood and Connect stood out as serious contenders, and we found it hard to take the other three, College, Vote for Pedro and What about Bobby? seriously. If Kirkwood, the greek-backed ticket were to lose, Connect was the obvious challenger. Kirkwood banners appeared on greek houses overnight and the ticket had catchy "Got wood?" T-shirts that got attention. They had high-profile candidates, including the governor's daughter and two men's basketball players.

Syrian troops to leave Lebanon

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria will withdraw troops from mountain and coastal areas in Lebanon in line with a 1989 agreement, Lebanon's defense minister said Thursday amid international pressure following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

IU group to march in capital

This Saturday, thousands of the nation's students and youth will rally together in front of the White House and march two miles to the Capitol to demand action to end HIV and AIDS. The first-ever national student AIDS march is being coordinated with youth all over the world as part of Youth AIDS Day, a global day of youth action to end AIDS.

Tenure rules must change, report says

The American Council on Education released a report last Thursday that has sparked national debate about whether it's time for higher education to change. The report, titled "Creating Options: Models for flexible Tenure-Track Faculty Career Pathways," recommended that institutions throughout the country adopt less rigid tenure-track systems to give young faculty members a fair chance of pursuing long-term careers in education.

One mother,a lifetime of lessons

Outside experience adds to writers' ability to succeed

Jennifer Fish describes the economics of a fiction writer's lifestyle. "It's hard for everyone these days," she said. "My spouse supports me by doing extra around the house so I have time to devote to writing and art. He's a coupon maniac ... I buy most of my clothes at the Goodwill or will vulture items at the recycling center.

Screen or Stage

Playwrighting has been around at least since the times of ancient Greece; screenwriting was created less than 100 years ago. Today many theaters struggle to stay in business, but films often see weekly box office revenues in tens of millions of dollars.