Region

Pentagon blamed in prison scandal

By Abdullah AlShihri and Robert Burns · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:14 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. soldiers running the Abu Ghraib prison are mainly to blame for the inmate abuses there, but fault also lies with the Pentagon's most senior civilian and military officials, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent panel of civilian defense experts.

Police arrest Hamas suspect

By Abdullah AlShihri and Gretchen Parker · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:13 a.m.

BALTIMORE -- A man described as a high-ranking Hamas operative was arrested last week as he videotaped the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, authorities said Tuesday.

Vectren helps support BAAC performance series

By Patrice Worthy · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:11 a.m.

The Bloomington Area Arts Council experienced a stroke of good fortune this summer as the staff prepared for the BAAC 2004-2005 performance series.

Texas celebrates clothing collection

By Jamie Stengle · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:09 a.m.

DENTON, Texas -- From Givenchy and Oscar de la Renta to Balenciaga and Chanel, a dazzling array of haute couture hangs in an unlikely place -- a storage room at the University of North Texas. Rarely seen by the public, the colorful collection of about 15,000 dresses, coats, suits, purses, shoes and more is housed in a climate-controlled room on campus in Scoular Hall and operated as an appointment-only research tool for designers, educators and students.

Hilariously "Caught in the Net"

By Christopher Gagnon · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:08 a.m.

The Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, Ind., has brought another hit to its summer stage with Ray Cooney's "Caught in the Net." The comedy was nominated for the 2002 Olivier -- Britain's version of the Tony Award -- and the 2001 Evening Standard Award for Best New Comedy. The sequel to Cooney's hilarious stage play "Run for Your Wife," "Caught in the Net" is a British farce about a London taxi driver trying to maintain his double life.

"Pledged" interesting, if not accurate

By Brittany Ausmus · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:06 a.m.

As a member of a sorority, "Pledged: the Secret Life of Sororities" called out to me from its spot on the bookshelf at Borders. It promised an insider's account of a year inside a sorority on the campus of a large Southern university. The insider in this case is Alexandra Robbins, a reporter who poses as a college student and friend of the four girls she chooses to follow. Robbins, with the four willing members, chronicles the ins and outs of daily life in two sorority houses for an academic year.

While You Were Out ... What happened in Bloomington over the summer

By Alexandra R. Moses · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:04 a.m.

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.

Around the state

By Alexandra R. Moses · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:02 a.m.

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."

Welcome week events introduce freshmen to campus

By Adrian Sainz · Wednesday, Aug. 25,2004 1:01 a.m.

Today marks the beginning of Welcome Week, a series of days filled with events put on by the Office of Orientation Programs for new and returning students.

Bar may face fine or suspension

By Karen Yancey · Thursday, Aug. 12,2004 12:28 p.m.

Uncle Fester's and the Jungle Room could face a fine or liquor license suspension for selling alcohol to minors according to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. The prosecutor of the Indiana ATC may charge the Bloomington business today, said ATC Chairman Bart Herriman. The Bloomington bar and grill has been under investigation since July 15 when Indiana State Excise Police entered the bar unexpectedly and issued 22 underage drinking citations. The prosecutor will give Fester's an offer today and allow the bar to accept or reject the proposal.

Historic trunk reveals Klan ties

By Aaron Cooke · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 10:12 p.m.

The discovery of an old trunk in a Noblesville, Ind., barn has drawn ongoing national media interest because of its Ku Klux Klan-related contents. "The discovery got a lot of press coverage," said Allen Safianow, a professor of history at IU-Kokomo who has conducted in-depth research on the findings.

Eateries mark smoke-free year

By Kathlyn Von Rohr · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 10:12 p.m.

Nowadays if a customer walks into a Bloomington Denny's and specifically requests a seat in the non-smoking or smoking section, General Manager Richard Frank asks the customer where they are visiting from. The surprised customers usually ask back in wonder how he could have known they were from out of town.

'Right'-hand man

By Tony Sams · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 10:12 p.m.

When Timothy Goeglein was an undergraduate in the 1980s, he saw a famous photograph of former President Theodore Roosevelt giving the commencement address at IU in 1918. Goeglein, who had always been interested in the relationship between politicians and the press, told a friend that if by some chance he would ever be able to work in Washington, D.C. he thought it would be remarkable to work for a president who he respects and admires as much as Roosevelt.

Drop in Kelley MBA applications reflects national trend

By Karen Yancey · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:53 p.m.

Applications to the IU Kelley School of Business MBA program are down 30 percent this year, reflecting a national trend toward decreased interest in the MBA degree, said Terrill Cosgray, director of the MBA Program at the Kelley School of Business.

Rice says world must put a stop to Iran's nuclear ambitions

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:38 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- With Iran stepping up its nuclear program, a top White House aide said Sunday the world finally is "worried and suspicious" over the Iranians' intentions and is determined not to let Tehran produce a nuclear weapon. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice also said the Bush administration sees a new international willingness to act against Iran's nuclear program. She credited the changed attitude to the Americans' insistence that Iran's effort put the world in peril.

An election for questions

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:36 p.m.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced Aug. 1 that the U.S. intelligence community had obtained "new and unusually specific information about where al-Qaida would like to attack." These targets included U.S. financial centers in New York, Newark, N.J., and Washington D.C. While recently obtained, this new and unusually specific intelligence turned out to be dated -- three or four years old, but updated in January of this year.

Iraqi prime minister asks fighters in Najaf to put down weapons

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:36 p.m.

NAJAF, Iraq -- Protected by 100 guards, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi visited the war-shattered city of Najaf Sunday, calling on Shiite militants to lay down their weapons after days of fierce clashes with U.S. forces. But even as Allawi met with Najaf's governor, police and the Mahdi Army militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr battled nearby. Gunfire and explosions could be heard as U.S. helicopter gunships circled overhead. Two Iraqi national guardsmen were killed, and 13 people wounded.

Focus changes from Kerry to Bush in close race

By Alyson Brodsy and Ron Fournier · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:34 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- With the spotlight on his candidacy, John Kerry improved public perception of his character and qualifications but failed to shake-up the presidential race. Now, the focus shifts to President Bush -- and all his hurdles to re-election. The Iraq war, which most voters think was a mistake. The economy, which most voters don't trust with the Republican. The direction of the country, which most voters think is headed south. The tough job of changing those perceptions began the moment Kerry left his nominating convention.

Panel: Better child protection system would cost $212 million

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:32 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Developing a better system to protect the state's children from abuse and neglect, including hiring hundreds of caseworkers, would cost about $212 million, a panel said. It would cost about $45 million to hire 720 caseworkers and 103 supervisors at the Family and Social Services Administration, according to a State Budget Agency analysis of the panel's plan.

Former judge indicted on extortion charges

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Aug. 8,2004 9:31 p.m.

SCHERERVILLE, Ind. -- A former Schererville judge was indicted Friday on extortion charges alleging that she pocketed more than $30,000 in fees she ordered paid to a counseling service she owned. The federal grand jury that indicted former Schererville tax court judge Deborah A. Riga said her court dispensed fraud and extortion, rather than justice.