Region

Bill Elliot to wind down career

By Alyson Brodsy and Eddie Pells · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2004 12:07 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Bill Elliott wants to leave NASCAR on his terms. Whether he will is pretty much out of his hands. Partly by choice, partly by necessity, one of the most popular stock car drivers will race an abbreviated schedule in 2004 before he decides whether to say "Goodbye" for good. How many races? The business side of the sport will dictate that.

Training trip focuses team for rest of season

By Scott Lipsky · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2004 12:05 a.m.

During the first half of the season, the men's swimming and diving team was looking for answers following a dismal 1-5 start, which included tough losses to fellow Big Ten schools Wisconsin and Northwestern. With 16 freshmen being put into the fray and all but one diver red shirting, the 2003-2004 season has begun to show signs of a rebuilding year.

Don't rush to judgement

By Matt Glenesk · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2004 12:03 a.m.

It's a good thing Peyton Manning can't win the big game, Donovan McNabb is overrated as a quarterback and the Rams are unbeatable at home, because this weekend's conference championship slate of Kansas City-New England and Green Bay-St. Louis looks pretty good. In college, Peyton Manning couldn't pull off a win during the big game. His alma mater, Tennessee, won the national championship the year after he graduated. The same was said about the Colts' quarterback after putting up stellar numbers year after year as that first playoff win still eluded him. After last year's 41-0 drubbing by the New York Jets in the first round of the playoffs, the grumbles in Indianapolis began again, and questions arose about whether Manning had the necessary tools to make the jump to elite status. So what's the best way to silence the critics?

Around the Campus

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:49 p.m.

IUSA sets election dates for Feb. 24 and 25 The IU Student Association announced the Student Body Congress has approved the 2003-2004 election codes, election commissioners have been appointed, and have presented a timeline for 2004 Student Body Elections. Elections will be held on Feb. 24 and 25. The final call-out meeting for candidates is set for Jan. 21. The deadline for applications will be Feb. 4. Students interested in elections should contact IUSA Elections Coordinator Derek Molter at dmolter@indiana.edu.

Partying continues amid tightened rules

By Jess Huffman · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:46 p.m.

It's March 21, 2002. The IU men's basketball team is facing Duke in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Only the Hoosier faithful consider IU a worthy opponent against the powerhouse, and no one expects IU to win. Despite all of the odds and expectations against them, IU players edge Duke 74-73. The campus goes crazy. "It was insane," junior Dan Loomis said. "People were pulling down trees and lighting them on fire." Loomis, who was at Showalter Fountain at the time celebrating the experience with thousands of other students, said he hasn't seen campus like it since -- and doesn't expect to anytime soon. But even though he said that won't happen again, he admitted the partying that accompanied it continues every day.

Computerworld names IU professor IT leader

By Gavin Lesnick · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:45 p.m.

Before Michael McRobbie, IU wasn't quite the same. The IU vice president for information technology and chief information officer ushered in a new age of campus connectivity, making IU a leader in the field. Now he's being recognized for his contributions by Computerworld magazine, which named McRobbie one of its 2004 "Premier 100 Information Technology Leaders" in the first issue of the year.

Attack of the cicadas

By Alex Hickey · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:44 p.m.

For 17 years, a creature has been lurking beneath the ground in Bloomington. Soon, it will emerge from its lair, and residents will not be able to ignore its presence. This creature is not the subject of a B-movie -- it is a cicada. And while cicadas fill the summer air every year with their pulsating, buzzing sound, this year's batch will be different. Known as Brood X, it is a species that only emerges every 17 years. And it is still a mystery to science as to how these insects always arrive precisely on schedule. Come the week of May 25, they will emerge from the ground and take to the trees.

Afghan singer returns to screen

By Alyson Brodsy and Stephen Graham · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:30 p.m.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The video was old and the song well-known, but the sight of an Afghan woman -- clad in a shiny red dress and simple headscarf -- singing on Afghan television sparked a wave of excitement and a backlash of conservatism.

Top Arista executive leaves record label

By Alyson Brodsy and Nekesa Mumbi Moody · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:29 p.m.

NEW YORK -- Antonio "L.A." Reid, who took the helm at Arista Records nearly four years ago and oversaw platinum successes from acts including OutKast, Pink and Avril Lavigne, has left the label, it was announced Tuesday. Reid became president and CEO of Arista in May 2000 after the company's founder and CEO, Clive Davis, left because of parent company BMG's mandatory retirement policy. Reid was not available to comment, according to an Arista spokeswoman. Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, chairman and CEO of BMG, called Reid "one of the music industry's top record men."

Lesson learned: Don't climb Everest

By Britany Ausmus and Brittany Ausmus · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:28 p.m.

I'll be up front. I have always been a fan of the work of Jon Krakauer. He has struck a reputation of being a top-notch outdoors journalist, carefully and obsessively researching topics before writing about them. "Into Thin Air," his personal account of the disastrous spring of 1996 on Mt. Everest, is no different. Expertly written and exhaustively researched, it captures the horror of being stranded at 24,000 feet above sea level with little hope of rescue.

Gelato comes to College Mall

By Patrice Worthy and Patricia Worthy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 11:27 p.m.

Ice Cream Gelato is hard to miss. Located in College Mall, the shop nestles close to the South entrance. And the shop's namesake, the gelato, is as brightly colored as the décor. Bins of bright green, pink, yellow, white and purple fill the coolers. These colors are a direct result of the natural fruit and ingredients used to create the creamy treat.

Top British murderer commits suicide

By Alyson Brodsy and Beth Gardiner · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:47 p.m.

LONDON -- The once-respected family doctor who became Britain's worst serial killer was found hanged in his prison cell Tuesday, cheating his victims' relatives of the one consolation they had hoped for -- an explanation of his 23-year murder spree. Officials are investigating why there was no suicide watch on Dr. Harold Shipman, who was convicted in 2000 of killing 15 patients and later was found to have murdered at least 200 more, mostly by lethal injection. He always maintained his innocence.

Ohio Muslim leader arrested

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:46 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A prominent Islamic clergyman was arrested Tuesday on charges he concealed his links to anti-Israeli terrorist groups when he applied for U.S. citizenship a decade ago, officials said. Imam Fawaz Mohammed Damrah, who leads the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ohio's largest mosque, withheld information on his membership or affiliation with several groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, U.S. Attorney Gregory White said.

Airliner caught in fog crashes near Uzbek capital

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:46 p.m.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- A domestic airliner crashed Tuesday approaching the airport in Uzbekistan's capital, the Interior Ministry said. At least 36 people, including the top U.N. official for Uzbekistan were aboard, and no survivors were reported. The plane was an Uzbekistan Airways Yakovlev-40 en route from Termez, in the country's far south along the Afghanistan border, said an Interior Ministry duty officer who declined to give his name. He gave no further details.

Americas agree to support free trade zone

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:44 p.m.

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Leaders from 34 American nations agreed Tuesday to support a hemisphere-wide trade area without setting a firm deadline, a concession to Brazil and Venezuela. The United States had sought a 2005 deadline for the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the summit's final declaration. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez instead pushed for a humanitarian fund that could be used to help countries during financial and natural disasters, but said he would sign the document with reservations.

Military accused of war crimes

By Alyson Brodsy and Jim Krane · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:43 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A top human rights group accused the U.S. military of committing war crimes by demolishing homes of suspected insurgents and arresting the relatives of Iraqi fugitives Tuesday. The military denied the charges by Human Rights Watch, saying it only destroyed homes that were being used to store weapons, or as fighting positions, adding all Iraqis detained were suspected of taking part in attacks on coalition forces.

Social security scare

By Chris Hintz · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:39 p.m.

I have been having a reocurring nightmare lately. I am several years older, living in perfect domestic bliss with my wife and kids -- and maybe even a couple golden retrievers. One day, as we sit down for a nice meatloaf dinner, the doorbell rings. I open it to find my elderly parents standing on my doorstep -- with suitcases. They're moving in! I wake up screaming. But what does it all mean? Unfortunately, I am starting to wonder if this may be a disturbingly accurate premonition.

The grownups' table

By Brian Matzke · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:37 p.m.

A face looks at me with recognition as it pokes out of a neat suit and tie that looks cute on a person so short, and I suppress a cringe as I anticipate what's coming next. "Matzke!" he says with a smile so big I'm afraid it will pop the whiteheads on his cheeks. This face is far too young to belong to someone who is my junior by only two or three years. This past weekend, I agreed to judge a speech meet for my high school forensics team. My reputation preceded me, thanks to the propaganda of my former coach, but the faces around me were strangers with braces and without the ability to vote. Between judging, I sat among them in the cafeteria, wolfing down an overpriced slice of cold pizza while it was still too early for a sane person to be awake.

The last dance

By Phil Kijak · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 10:35 p.m.

A wise man once said, "Tomorrow never knows." It's impossible to start the last semester of your college career without a bit of romanticism. We've been conditioned to fear what comes next -- that inevitable humdrum of the real world that allegedly hits us like a bucket of water on a partied-out best friend. Yet, when you're stuck in your hometown for the last time during winter break, you find the time to contemplate what has been and what will be.

What A Rush

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2004 1:49 a.m.

Women's recruitment might last for days, but the experience can last a lifetime.