IUPD

2 Van Goghs stolen from museum

By Arthur Max · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 11:01 p.m.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Thieves broke into the Van Gogh Museum and made off with two works by the 19th century master -- less than a week after a multimillion-dollar gem heist from a Dutch diamond exhibition. The value of the oils was not immediately known, but major works by Vincent van Gogh sell for millions of dollars.

5 celebrities set for honor

By Vanessa Palo · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 11 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Academy Award-winning actress Elizabeth Taylor and Grammy-honored singer Paul Simon were among five stars from the world of performing arts honored Sunday for their career achievements. Joining them at a White House reception before a gala at the nearby Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts were actor James Earl Jones, actress-singer-dancer Chita Rivera and conductor James Levine.

Double feature ends semester for City Lights

By Brandon Morley · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:59 p.m.

A Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall double feature played last Friday night at Ballantine Hall 013 as part of the City Lights Film Series, sponsored by the Department of Communication and Culture. Despite the cold and slush roughly 30 people showed up to watch the 16mm screening fall semester finale of City Lights. The first show was "To Have and Have Not" (1945) which was released by Warner Brothers. It was based on Ernest Hemingway's book of the same title.

U.S. agriculture officials find faults with I-69 study

By Alexandra R. Moses · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:51 p.m.

EVANSVILLE -- Federal agriculture officials have told the state highway department that its proposals to alleviate the loss of farmland for the planned Interstate 69 extension are inadequate. An environmental study of the proposed I-69 routes through southwestern Indiana released in July found the new highway would use between 2,300 and 4,800 acres of what the U.S. Department of Agriculture ranked as prime farmland.

Holiday hunt boasts large turnout

By Megan Banis · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:50 p.m.

The melting snow and chill in the air didn't stop the third-annual Candy Cane Hunt from being a success. Sixty-five children registered for the hunt and almost all of them made it to Thomson Community Park on Sunday for the event. Marcia Veldman, the community events coordinator for Bloomington Parks and Recreation, said she was pleased with the attendance. "This is the biggest turnout we've ever had," Veldman said. "It keeps growing every year."

Report: More abuse deaths occurring after investigation

By Alexandra R. Moses · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:49 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A growing share of Indiana's child abuse and neglect deaths are occurring after state workers step in to check out reports of mistreatment, The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday. An investigation by the newspaper also found the state's children suffered repeated abuse and neglect at rates above national averages.

Bombs wound 200 in Bangladesh

By Abdullah AlShihri and Farid Hossain · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:47 p.m.

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Bombs tore through four movie theaters packed with Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan Saturday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 200, police and witnesses said. The bombs went off within 30 minutes of each other starting at about 6 p.m., and were believed to have been planted in the projection rooms of the theaters, a police official said on condition of anonymity. Many of the victims were injured by falling bricks or steel.

More attacks threatened by al Qaeda

By Abdullah AlShihri and Maggie Michael · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:46 p.m.

CAIRO, Egypt -- al Qaeda threatened faster, harder strikes against the United States and Israel in a statement attributed to the group that appeared on a militant web site Sunday. "The Jewish Crusader coalition will not be safe anywhere from the fighters' attacks," the audio statement said, using a term common among Islamic militants for what they see as a U.S.-Israeli alliance.

Iraq defends its claim

By Abdullah AlShihri and Charles J. Hanley · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:44 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A top advisor to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein challenged Washington to put forward any proof that Baghdad's account of its chemical, biological and nuclear programs was inaccurate, as Iraq's voluminous report was flown Sunday to the United Nations headquarters.

Team impress at different meets

By Aaron Beard · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:41 p.m.

The split squad women's swim team -- half competing at the US Open in Minneapolis and half at the Miami (OH) Invitational -- had impressive showings at both meets over the weekend. IU tied for second place with Big Ten rival Minnesota in the Female University category at the US Open, while the rest of the team placed third at the Miami (OH) Invitational. In Minneapolis, the Hoosier swimmers earned four national cut times and recorded ten season best times.

Split squad finishes 8th, 9th

By Aaron Beard · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:40 p.m.

The IU men's swimming and diving team faced stiff competition this weekend at the Texas Invitational in Austin, Tex. and the Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. The top eleven swimmers competed in Texas against many ranked teams where they tied for ninth with Texas Christian University with 93 points. The Texas Aggies won the meet with 721 points. The remainder of the Hoosier squad and the diving team competed in Miami, and finished eighth in a field of thirteen with 489 points. Kenyon College won the meet with a score of 2,209.5 points.

College sports make me lethargic

By -Val Tsoutsouris and Val Tsoutouris · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:39 p.m.

Have college sports come to this? When Dartmouth announced it was going to discontinue its swimming and diving teams due to budgetary reasons, a swimmer's boyfriend came up with quite the creative solution: He put the team up for sale on eBay. The eBay people found out about this and quashed it since the boyfriend was not the rightful owner to begin with. Too bad. What is an Ivy League degree worth today anyway if you can't swim?

Kendo club breeds 'can-do' attitude

By Aaron Beard and John Rodgers · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:37 p.m.

Two masked warriors stand facing each other, 20 yards apart. They bow, step 15 feet closer and bow again. Then, on the judge's command, the two warriors raise their wooden swords to do battle. While the casual observer might think Star Wars has gone old-fashioned, the martial art of Kendo was developed from warriors possibly a little older than Skywalker, the samurai. Graduate student Melissa Kocias is the president of IU's Kendo Club, and on Saturday, the club hosted their fourth Semi-Annual In-House Tournament at the the HPER.

Titans beat Colts to take over first place

By Aaron Beard and Teresa M. Walker · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:36 p.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If sore ribs and turf toe can't stop Steve McNair, the Indianapolis Colts certainly didn't have much of a chance. McNair missed practice for a second straight week because of pain in his ribs. But he looked healthy Sunday, throwing for 237 yards and a touchdown as the Titans beat the Colts 27-17 Sunday to take control of the AFC South. "His play speaks for itself," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "It is hard to describe what he is doing."

IU has one top finisher at Open

By Aaron Beard · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:35 p.m.

Looking to recover from a disappointing road trip last weekend, the IU wrestling team took to the mats of the University of Northern Iowa Dome Saturday along with nearly 300 other wrestlers for the 52nd annual Northern Iowa Open.

Team goes winless over weekend

By Aaron Beard · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:33 p.m.

IU was looking to gain some ground this weekend in the Great Midwest Hockey League, but ended up taking just one point away from a tough weekend matchup with rival Miami (OH). MU started strong Friday, but the Hoosiers hung around, finishing the period down 1-2. Freshman forward Pete Johnson moved the puck through traffic and put a move on MU goaltender Billy Fadel to get the Hoosiers on the board.

Freshman free throws pay off

By Natalie A. Trout · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:30 p.m.

It was a physical women's basketball game from the beginning. It looked as if every other play ended with someone on the ground and a foul. The Hoosiers, now 4-2, were 20-30 for free throws Saturday night with freshman Kali Kullberg making all 12 of her attempts. Coach Kathi Bennett said she was impressed with Kullberg's performance Saturday when the team defeated the now 5-1 Georgetown Hoyas. She said she had seen Kullberg's drive in practice and knew it would be crucial for the game against the Hoyas.

Home sweet home

By Zack Eldridge · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:29 p.m.

The IU freshmen are growing up in a hurry, and they made their presence known once again Saturday. Their play combined with plenty of free throws and timely senior play, led the IU women's basketball team to beat Georgetown 72-65 Saturday night at Assembly Hall. IU made 30 free throws in a game that featured over 50 fouls. "I felt we really needed this win," IU coach Kathi Bennett said. "We knew they would come out and pressure us. We have struggled against pressure in the past, but I think we did a good job of handling it today."

Newton leads team to victory over Flames

By Sara Meinecke and Sarah Meinecke · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:27 p.m.

Last Thursday and Friday, senior forward Jeff Newton was sidelined in practice because of illness. Saturday afternoon, Newton led the IU men's basketball team with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the 91-62 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago (2-2). Illness or constant injury aside, Newton stepped up for the No. 10 Hoosiers yesterday, recording his third straight double-double, while helping IU stay undefeated at 6-0.

Looking for 7th straight

By Matt Pera · Sunday, Dec. 8,2002 10:25 p.m.

After the No. 10 Hoosiers (6-0) defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago Saturday night, freshman guard Bracey Wright was asked how IU had prepared for tonight's contest against the Vanderbilt Commodores (5-1). "Really we haven't had a chance to (prepare)," he said. "We spent a lot of time preparing for (the UIC) game and whenever you play games back to back like that you don't have much time. You just have to deal with what you've got."