Region

Kenyan military plane crashes, 14 dead

NAIROBI, Kenya -- A military plane carrying politicians to a peace conference crashed while attempting to land in northern Kenya during bad weather Monday, killing at least 14 people, including two assistant Cabinet ministers. President Mwai Kibaki declared three days of national mourning. Four of the 17 people on the plane were pulled from the fiery wreckage alive and flown to Nairobi for treatment, witnesses said. One survivor died on the way.

Bush dismisses report of military plans against Iran

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Monday that force is not necessarily required to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and he dismissed reports of plans for a military attack against Tehran as "wild speculation." Bush said his goal is to keep the Iranians from having the capability or the knowledge to have a nuclear weapon. "I know we're here in Washington (where) prevention means force," Bush said during an appearance at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. "It doesn't mean force necessarily. In this case it means diplomacy."

Immigrants take to streets for 'day of action'

ATLANTA -- Tens of thousands of immigrants spilled into the streets of Atlanta and other cities Monday in a national day of action billed as a "campaign for immigrants' dignity." In North Carolina and Dallas, immigrant groups called for an economic boycott to show their financial impact. In Pittsburgh and other cities, protesters gathered at lawmakers' offices to make their voices heard as Congress considers immigration reforms.

RELIEF

State waterways too polluted to fish, swim

INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly 1,600 streams and lakes in Indiana are unsafe to fish or swim in because of pollution ranging from animal waste to chemicals, a state report concludes. The report classifies 30 percent, or more than 9,500 miles, of the state's 31,844 miles of streams, and 93 of its 1,504 lakes, as too polluted for swimming, fishing or both because of pollutants such as bacteria, fertilizer, chemicals, mercury and sediment.

Heart disease main killer in 3rd world

BEIJING -- Each year cardiovascular disease kills 13 million people in developing countries, almost triple the number who die from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, researchers said Wednesday. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, heart failure and stroke, is the world's biggest killer, and it often strikes people in their prime working years of 35 to 64, experts said during a four-day health conference. In China, deaths from cardiovascular disease have skyrocketed alongside the country's rapid economic development, making it the No. 1 killer, fueled by smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, said Dr. Runlin Gao, a cardiologist at Fu Wai Hospital.

Schools push for required PE

FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- At Moore Elementary School, fourth-grader Michael Turri looks forward to 30 minutes of jump-rope at the start of the day. "It really gets my brain going," the 10-year-old said. "You need to do this stuff to get through life." That's one of the approaches this suburban Nashville school takes to thwart a growing childhood obesity problem. Students at Moore are required to take PE every day.

NASA to crash space probe into moon to search for water

LOS ANGELES -- NASA plans to crash a space probe into the moon in 2009, producing a collision so violent it will be visible on Earth through a telescope, the space agency said Monday. The moon crash, part of a larger mission that includes a lunar orbiter, is a quest for ice. Water is the key ingredient for supporting future human outposts on the moon, a goal of the Bush administration.

MARCH

Man who robbed restaurant on the loose

Bloomington police are looking for a man who robbed a Chinese restaurant at knifepoint Sunday night. Bloomington Police Department Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report, said the man entered Sunny Palace restaurant, 1143 College Mall Rd., took all of the store's money and left on foot at about 10:46 p.m. The man seemed to be heading toward the University Commons apartment complex, Drake said, reading from the report. Witnesses described the suspect as being a white man in his 20s, "heavy-set" and wearing a gray IU sweatshirt, jeans and a denim hat.

Suspect faces 2 felony charges

A 23-year-old man who admitted to stabbing a Ramada Limited Motel clerk during a robbery could serve as many as 100 years in prison or as few as 20, if convicted. Defendant Chad A. Luck faces one count of attempted murder and one count of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Both charges are class A felonies with maximum fines of $10,000 each.

Bank robbery accomplice arrested at his apartment

Bloomington Police arrested a second suspect for robbing the Regions Bank on College Mall Road just before spring break. After initially charging IU junior Maggy Baurley with robbery March 11, police continued the investigation and arrested Bloomington resident Damion P. Bridgewater, 21, Sunday. He was preliminarily charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.

Police: Man responsible for 5-car accident

A man driving about 70 miles per hour hit a moving car and three parked cars Monday morning, then crashed into a house. Aside from a few minor injuries to the passengers in the two moving vehicles, no one involved was seriously hurt. Bloomington Police Department officers cited Bryan T. Roof, 19, on a preliminary charge of reckless driving. At about 9:30 a.m., Roof and a friend were traveling north on Lincoln Avenue in a maroon Pontiac Grand Am, said Detective Sgt. David Drake, reading from the police report. Because of Roof's excessive speed, he was unable to stop at a stop sign, according to the report.

CAMPUS QUIZ

It's difficult to notice the stone figurine of a woman less than five feet long resting peacefully in the grass beneath a large tree on the south side of the School of Education. Those who do notice the figure, however, are often struck by its most distinguished characteristic -- its lost head. Prior to the construction of the School of Education, the area was used by fine arts faculty and students, said Adelheid Gealt, director of the IU Art Museum.

1st Crouse scholarship recipient named

When IU student Ashley Crouse died in a car crash last year, both friends and strangers joined hands and crowded the streets in remembrance of her life. Classmates of Crouse showed their respect by collecting funds and starting a scholarship in her name. Freshman Monica Ozaeta is the first student to receive the $500 Ashley Crouse Memorial Scholarship, and will study abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico, just like Crouse did two summers ago. Ozaeta is double majoring in biochemistry and Spanish, and wishes to one day pursue a career in medical research. Though she is half Mexican, Ozaeta was raised in an English-speaking home and began taking Spanish classes in high school as a way to learn more about her own culture. "I've always wanted to get in touch with that part of my background," she said.

Skilling proclaims 'absolute' innocence

HOUSTON -- Former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling told jurors in his fraud and conspiracy trial Monday that he abruptly resigned from the energy trading company a few months before it collapsed because he was worn out and troubled by its falling share price -- not because he knew disaster loomed. "I am absolutely innocent," Skilling said right after he swore to tell the truth while testifying in his own defense Monday.

The Student Consumer

With Little 500 quickly approaching, it's time to find the perfect beer for your kegs. To make sure you get your favorite brew, Bloomington Liquors and Big Red suggest ordering it this week. "We can get a hold of a keg of just about anything with a weeks' notice," said Galen Pejeau, assistant manager of Big Red on Third Street. It's important to know which beer you want, as prices vary.

The value of voice

In real estate, they say the three most important factors are "location, location, location." In business, they are "communication, communication, communication." Great communication skills are what separate the average businessman from the great businessman. More specifically, it is the people with a great handle on both verbal and written communication skills who become the VPs and partners at top companies.

Learn to protect yourself

When senior Margaret Szczerba received a phone call from her credit card company asking if she had charged a $500 hotel room in Paris to her credit card, she knew something unusual had happened. Although she did not know how it happened or who did it, Szczerba had become a victim of identity theft. The fastest growing crime in the United States, identity theft occurs when sensitive personal information is stolen from an unknowing person and used to commit fraud or theft. More than 900,000 people will become victims of identity theft next year, according to the IU Credit Union's Web site. "I never knew who did it or how it happened, but I do a lot of online shopping, so I always kind of thought that might be how (the identity thief) got my information," Szczerba said. Fortunately, Szczerba's credit card company covered the theft, but Szczerba felt the aftermath of the crime for a year.

Cultural knowledge, entertainment focuses of first ever Korea Night

When junior Josh Kim walked down Kirkwood Avenue with a camera crew, he asked Bloomington residents and IU students Korean trivia. He was surprised when most had no answers.