IUSA

Israel to give up West Bank territory

JERUSALEM -- Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Israel will give up territory and relinquish control over most of the West Bank's Palestinians while holding on to main settlement blocs -- his clearest statement about how he sees Israel's future final borders.

Four more Alabama churches set on fire

BOLIGEE, Ala. -- Fires damaged four more rural Baptist churches overnight following a rash of suspected arsons that burned five others south of Birmingham last week, a state official said Tuesday.

Former U.S. presidents attend Coretta Scott King funeral

LITHONIA, Ga. -- Four U.S. presidents, senators, celebrities and thousands of mourners filled a suburban church Tuesday to say goodbye to Coretta Scott King, praised by President Bush as "one of the most admired Americans of our time."

Visiting music professor robbed in broad daylight on busy street corner

Raphael Glaser, 66, a member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and a visiting professor at IU, was robbed in broad daylight Monday, according to a Bloomington Police Department report. According to the report, Glaser was standing at the corner of 10th and College streets when a group of white, teenaged males grabbed his digital camera out of his hands and ran away with it. The incident occurred at approximately 4 p.m.

Hypertonic saline spray offers new treatments, hope for cystic fibrosis patients

SOUTH BEND -- The salty mist that Devon Conley inhales throws him into a red-faced fit of coughing. Sometimes the fit continues for five minutes or more. But it's actually a good thing, said the 17-year-old from South Bend.

Community votes 'The Great Gatsby' as book of the year

Most of the country might look to Oprah's Book Club to choose their latest leisure read, but the Bloomington community has another option -- One Book, One Bloomington and Beyond.

IMP student writes, acts in films

Ultra-potent marijuana, vampires, the Roman Catholic church and divine cheese: these are just a few of the central ideas that junior John Druska's screenplays revolve around.

'Millie' comes to Auditorium

The fun-filled story of flappers, strong-minded young women and glitzy production numbers makes "Thoroughly Modern Millie" a true crowd-pleaser, IU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said in an e-mail.

Olympus Fashion Week draws small crowd to New York City

UPDATE: Substance prompts police to temporarily close Fountain Square Mall; turns out to be baby powder

Two teaspoons of baby powder closed Fountain Square Mall for an hour an a half Tuesday. Police and firefighters cordoned off the building at about noon after an employee of Finelight Marketing found an unknown white substance in an envelope. The Bloomington Township Fire Department Hazardous Materials team concluded the substance was talcum powder after running it through a battery of tests, said Bloomington City Fire Department Deputy Chief Roger Kerr.

Increased fee to usher in new housing options

Students looking for housing after their freshman year might have several new options, including suite-style rooms and a new apartment complex, to consider in the coming years. An average increase of 3.22 percent in housing fees approved by the board of trustees Friday is aimed at renovating both Briscoe and Forest residence halls into suite-style living as well as building new on-campus apartments at Ashton Center. The new housing options are part of an effort to encourage students to live on campus for more than one year. "There is a lot of research that indicates that students who live on campus for four years perform better academically than those who do not," said Pat Connor, executive director of Residential Programs and Services. "In our market research, we have found that there are many students who would stay on campus if there were more suite-style and apartment-style options available."

Assault reports up, officials not worried

Four women have reported assaults by men on campus in the past four weekends, but police and administrators say it is difficult to determine if this represents an increase from the norm. Of the assaults on women reported to the IU Police Department this semester, three have been sex-related, according to the police reports. Of those three, two were reported rapes and the other was a reported attempted rape. Dean of Students Dick McKaig said he doesn't believe the recent rate of reports necessarily equates to a rise in the number of assaults. "One of the things that I think is somewhat frustrating about my job is that folks don't appreciate how frequently these things happen on a college campus," he said. "We do have a problem, as most campuses do, with sexual assault."

artist VS. athlete

Before the Hoosiers' starting lineup is announced, amid a slowly filling Assembly Hall crowd, even before public address announcer Chuck Crabb's voice can greet spectators, a different sound takes control. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to ball now," the voice says. "You're in the Hall now." Finally, as the men's basketball team charges onto Branch McCracken Court, the voice leaves one more reminder -- "Get in the Game."

IUPUI faculty: 'What about us?'

In January, the IU board of trustees passed sweeping reforms to the University's structure, including the creation of a provost position and an increased presence of the IU president in Bloomington. Still, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis faculty members have asked "what about us?" In an emergency meeting Monday, Jan. 30, IUPUI faculty members passed resolutions urging IU President Adam Herbert not to forget about IUPUI in his plan to restructure IU.

Trustees reconsider searches

After an unsuccessful search for an IU-Bloomington chancellor, the IU board of trustees discussed possible changes to IU's search and screening process. Interim Provost Michael McRobbie presented his suggested priorities to the trustees' External Relations Committee meeting Friday. He said IU needs to consider the size of committees, quality of the members, University involvement and use of search firms. IU officials are currently searching or will be searching for several positions including IUB provost, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis executive vice chancellor and six deans on the Bloomington campus, including dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Randle El in spotlight again

• On Sunday night, Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle El became the first receiver to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl game. • But it wasn't too long ago that he was throwing into the end zone for a Chicago area high school. • In the mid '90s, Randle El attended Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill.

Game receives second-best TV rating ever

NEW YORK -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' victory against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl was watched in an average of 45.85 million homes, the second-highest total in television history behind the final episode of "M-A-S-H" in 1983. Pittsburgh's 21-10 victory Sunday got a 41.6 preliminary national rating, Nielsen Media Service said Monday, up slightly from the 41.1 rating last year. The share remained the same at 62. The game was watched by an estimated 141.4 million people in the United States, ABC said, the second-highest total to view a program behind the 144.4 million who tuned to New England's victory over Carolina in the 2004 Super Bowl. That number estimates the total amount of people to watch the game at any point.

Super Bull XB: Xtra-boring, Xtra-baloney

Super Bowl Sunday is my favorite American holiday. Would I prefer the Fourth of July? Please, constitutions are overrated. Thanksgiving? I fall asleep before I can make it through my first plate of turkey. Easter? Why would I want to find eggs and then eat them, I don't get it. Hanukkah? The festival of lights brings me no excitement since Edison discovered the light bulb more than 125 years ago. I like my Super Bowls like I like my obese strippers -- oversized, overpriced and with more story lines than a soap opera (but ultimately, I am satisfied). This year's most annoying Super Bowl subplot goes to Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, who was returning "home" to Detroit in his final professional year in football. It was a story beaten worse than the wife in a Lifetime movie.

First-year coach brings winning history, attitude

First-year IU baseball coach Tracy Smith knows how to build a program up from the bottom of a conference. Smith hopes part of that equation includes the addition of two star transfers, the team announced Monday: Tad Reida, a redshirt sophomore from Wichita State University, and Brett Sager, a redshirt freshman from Lousiana State University. "Tad is a 'baseball rat,' and I mean it in a good way," Smith said in a statement. "Brett adds a quality glove for us in the infield."

Get out the gay

It's a dark time for gays. In his State of the Union address last week, President Bush berated activist judges trying to change the definition of marriage for the third year. When your minority is an applause line for a Republican, you know you're on the defensive. I've decided the problem is our minority is too minor: There just aren't enough gays. Unlike gremlins and Catholics, gays can't reproduce naturally. We have to proselytize like Baptists. Therefore, I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about ways to get our recruitment numbers up.