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Palestinians take over Gaza Strip Settlements

RAFAH, Gaza Strip -- Joyous Gazans flooded into empty Jewish settlements Monday and Palestinians climbed ropes and clambered over walls dividing this border town to join a chaotic celebration of the end of 38 years of Israeli military rule over the Gaza Strip. Plans by Palestinian police to bar crowds from the settlements quickly disintegrated. Militant groups hoisted flags, fired wildly into the air and set abandoned synagogues ablaze, illustrating the weakness of the security forces and concerns about their ability to control growing chaos in Gaza. The pullout is widely seen as a test for Palestinian aspirations of statehood.

FEMA director Mike Brown resigns

WASHINGTON -- Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown resigned Monday, three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The White House picked a top FEMA official with three decades of firefighting experience as his replacement. R. David Paulison, head of FEMA's emergency preparedness force, will lead the beleaguered agency, according to three administration sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.

Roberts confirmation underway

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee John Roberts said Monday that justices are servants of the law, playing a limited government role, as the Senate opened confirmation hearings to confirm President Bush's choice to be the nation's 17th chief justice. "A certain humility should characterize the judicial role," the 50-year-old Roberts told the Judiciary Committee. "Judges and justices are servants

9/11 debris cleared; memories remain

Whether it's the birth of a child or the Kennedy assassination, everyone has that handful of events in their lives that stick with them. While other memories fade and blur into one another, some stay as vivid as the moment they happened.

After 4 years, Sept. 11 doesn't inspire IU events9/11 TIMELINE

Many IU student organizations enlisted their services in relief efforts for hurricane victims. In the recent outpouring of goodwill, commemoration of the attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001 appears to have taken a backseat. "We've been so involved with planning Friday's event to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina that it seems as though we've sort of passed over 9/11, which feels awful to say," said IU Student Association president Alex Shortle.

New tailgating policy not enforced for 1st game

Six people were arrested Saturday afternoon in Memorial Stadium's red lot after the start of the football game, but none were arrested for refusal to follow IU's new tailgating policy, according to the IU Police Department. Sgt. Don Schmuhl said IUPD did not enforce the new policy, citing it would rather have individuals voluntarily comply. IUPD said it will not enforce the policy until they are directed to by the athletics department. IU Athletics Director for Game Management Kit Klingelhoffer could not be reached for comment.

B.B. King to perform at IU Auditorium

"The King of Blues" and his trusty Gibson guitar named Lucille will return to a Bloomington stage this winter for the first time in more than 25 years. The IU Auditorium announced B.B. King -- the guitar and blues virtuoso who has influenced countless popular musicians in a career spanning more thna 50 years -- will return to the stage as part of his 80th birthday tour.

Colts defense steals Sunday night spotlight

Here's a twist: The Indianapolis Colts won a game on the strength of their defense. The Colts barely missed their first shutout since 1997, Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes, and Indianapolis cruised past the Baltimore Ravens 24-7 Sunday night.

Bashore records 2nd ever IU hat trick

Led by a potent offensive attack from senior midfielder Kayla Bashore, the IU field hockey team recorded a 6-0 victory in its first home game of the year against University of the Pacific. Bashore scored her first career hat trick, only the second in the history of the IU field hockey program. The first came earlier this year on Aug. 28 and was recorded by junior Lydia Schrott against Northeastern University.

Hoosiers take first 2 matches, fall to Winthrop in championship

The IU volleyball team opened up strong at this weekend's Winthrop Invitational, winning its first two matches before dropping the championship match to host Winthrop University, 1-3 (29-31, 29-31, 30-22, 26-30). The Hoosiers won their first match in a straight set victory over the University of North Florida (30-19, 30-21, 30-23), and the second match was a 3-1 victory over Furman University (30-25, 30-25, 22-30, 30-20).

Peterson nets 4 this weekend

A hat trick by junior forward Jacob Peterson led the IU men's soccer team to a 5-0 victory over Boston University and a second place finish behind host Notre Dame in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament this weekend in South Bend. The No. 1 Hoosiers finished the weekend 1-0-1 after tying Saint Louis last Friday night.

High 5: Recruiting class pacing IU

When a coach recruits, he'd be happy landing even one freshman who can contribute in his first season. IU men's golf coach Mike Mayer found five. This season, the Hoosiers were forced to replace their top two golfers from last year, but have a solid nucleus returning in seniors Brad Marek and Scott Seibert, along with sophomore Santiago Quirarte.

Spirit of Sound photo gallery

IU overcomes scoring troubles at Hoosier Classic

Scoring goals has been a struggle for the IU women's soccer team so far this season. Sunday, against Xavier, it was not. In its previous five matches, IU (2-3-1) totaled two goals. During the conclusion of the inaugural Hoosier Classic at Armstrong Stadium, the Hoosiers found the back of the net three times for a 3-1 victory. The scoring started when senior midfielder Kristen Zmijewski connected on a shot at the 19:23 mark. The goal was the second of the season for Zmijewski, who recorded the Hoosiers only score in a 2-1 loss to the University of Miami (4-1) in the team's home opener Friday night. "I think we'll definitely start scoring a lot more now," Zmijewski said. "Getting on the board Friday and scoring three goals today boosts our confidence. We just have to know that we can put balls in the back of the net and then we'll take the risks and be successful."

What else is there to do?

Sports have always served as a distraction from the world and its realities. However, no current circumstance could be more real to the football players of Nicholls State than the haunting images of southern Louisiana broadcast this past week. Nicholls State is located in Thibodaux, La., a 60-minute ride from New Orleans. The towns they call home have been engulfed by Hurricane Katrina, consumed by the relentless water that has pounded the region and tested both life and land.

Hoosiers stunned by Nicholls State offense

When college football fans think about option offense, they probably don't think about Nicholls State University. IU's defense, however, will probably equate the option scheme with the Colonels for many years to come. Nicholls State ran the triple option system with total dedication Saturday night, amassing 408 yards on 65 carries while throwing the ball only 11 times. IU's defense struggled to adapt to the antiquated system, said head coach Terry Hoeppner.

Seizing Saturday

Sophomore wide receiver James Hardy wanted the ball. Sophomore quarterback Blake Powers wanted to get him the ball. And IU coach Terry Hoeppner wanted a win in his first home game as the Hoosiers' coach. Ten plays and 89 yards later, all three got their wishes Saturday. With less than a minute left in the game, Powers completed a 7-yard pass to Hardy for the winning touchdown, giving Hoeppner and the Hoosiers a 35-31 home-opening victory over Nicholls State University.

Rethinking math class

Math is in need of a major re-imaging campaign. At present, its reputation generally falls somewhere between getting one's eyes plucked out by vultures and watching 24-hour "Barney" marathons. It has, of course, its hard-core devotees, but to the general populace, math, like Latin, is a dead language. This is unfortunate because as the importance of technology grows in society, more and more jobs will require a solid base of science and mathematics. By electing to forego a further mathematics education, many high school students are effectively cutting themselves off from some of the best jobs in the future market.

U.N. aid?

After Hurricane Katrina struck, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a Sept. 1 statement "offering ... heartfelt sympathy, and any assistance the United Nations can give." Really, Kofi? Any assistance? I appreciate the United Nations' offer. As of Sept. 8, it had sent teams to Baton Rouge, La., Denton, Texas, and the Little Rock Air Force Base to help coordinate international assistance. It was also mobilizing (or trying to mobilize) relief activities via the U.N. Children's Fund and the World Health Organization (United Nations press release, Sept. 8). It's possible the United Nations' "coordination" will amount to little more than meetings about meetings and reports about reporting on the progress of reporting -- but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

In whom do we trust?

Fire Michael Brown now. In case you haven't heard by now, Brown is the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. He has quickly become the symbol of abject government failure as citizens question what went wrong with the response to Hurricane Katrina. President Bush was right to remove him from the scene in New Orleans, but Brown is still nominally the director of FEMA, and accountability will not be served until he is terminated.