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HPER introduces slam dunk contest

Track twins celebrate academic success

To some, being a student is much more important than being an athlete.

Don’t punish the victors

Winning must not really be everything.That’s what we learned two weeks ago when two Texas high school girl’s basketball teams squared off in a game that ended with the Covenant School topping Dallas Academy 100-0.

Green car rules give auto industry a new challenge

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama wants automakers to make greener cars at a time when General Motors and Chrysler are hanging by the thread of a massive government loan and auto sales have plummeted to their lowest levels in more than two decades.Obama’s plans could bring smaller cars, more hybrids and advanced fuel-saving technologies to showrooms, but car shoppers will probably pay more up front because the new rules are expected to cost the hamstrung industry billions of dollars.

Big firms increase layoffs

WASHINGTON – The recession is killing jobs at an alarming pace, with tens of thousands of new layoffs announced Monday by some of the biggest names in American business – Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot. More pink slips, pay freezes and other hits are expected to slam workers in the months ahead as companies desperately look for ways to survive.

Stepfather became part of recruit’s success

Michael Morgan has always been there for his stepson Maurice Creek. They bonded through basketball early on, whether it was Morgan doing drills with Creek out on “the hill,” watching him play at the elementary school or pitting him against older kids at the local rec center. “If it weren’t for him working me out, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Creek said in a phone interview last week.

T.I.S. to replace Steve & Barry’s

Even in a recession, space on Kirkwood is highly sought-after. The Indiana Shop – a play on T.I.S. – will open in March or April, T.I.S. president Tim Tichenor said.

Ice cream extinction

Jiffy Treet. White Mountain Ice Creamery. Ben & Jerry’s. Maggie Moo’s. Cold Stone Creamery. Ritter’s Frozen Custard. In 2001, all of these were ice cream stores near IU’s campus. By 2006, most were extinct or had moved away from downtown. Until last week, many feared that the Chocolate Moose, 401 S. Walnut St., could suffer the same fate. While the Moose has been spared, high rent downtown and parking issues have plagued ice cream stores trying to survive long winter months. Some, including Cold Stone Creamery and Jiffy Treet, have moved into the College Mall or other areas, while others, including White Mountain Ice Creamery and Ben & Jerry’s, have been gone for years.

Indianapolis man threatens party-goers with gun

A man recently admitted into the U.S. Army was arrested Sunday morning for pointing a handgun at party-goers.

Man harasses pedestrians with walking stick

A Bloomington man tried to use a long walking stick as a weapon Sunday afternoon, according to a Bloomington Police Department report.  

More than $100K found in tire on highway

Three Indiana state highway workers found $130,120 in cash inside a tire along Interstate 70 on Friday afternoon. 

‘Littles’ looking for older ‘siblings’

Students looking to volunteer this semester can learn how to make a “big” difference in the lives of Bloomington children.

Officials close Owen County puppy store

The owner of Owen County pet shop Kritter Haven sold puppies sick with parvovirus, including one that died less than 24 hours after the customer took it home.

Baffled by smoking ban

Having just transferred from a small liberal arts college where smoking was a favorite pastime of a majority of the students, I was shocked to discover that IU is attempting to become a tobacco-free campus. Being new here, however, I have to ask: What exactly are the reasons for this ban? Cigarette butts littering the ground? The health and well-being of students who choose not to smoke? If indeed these are at the heart of the issue, then my response is this: preposterous!

Indiana legislature opts out of transparency

Transparency in government is a fundamental element of a healthy democracy. It is of the utmost importance that democratic citizens hold their government responsible, which requires knowing what their government is up to. President Barack Obama has taken decisive and encouraging steps toward transparency. He has issued some of the tightest restrictions of any administration on lobbyists, including banning anyone who leaves his administration from lobbying the executive branch for the rest of his presidency. This is a step up from Bush’s yearlong ban. He instructed federal agencies to err on the side of openness when it comes to releasing records. Moreover, he reversed Bush’s executive order that provided veto power over which executive archives are made public to past presidents, vice presidents and their heirs.

The great runaround

Lately I have found myself in a difficult runaround. When I am not going on dates I dream up this romantic notion of how wonderful dating is, and then the second I get asked out, I remember that it isn’t always no-strings-attached wonderful. The same thing with relationships. Even though I think that something more long-term could be fun, when I’m single I always forget about the fights and the compromises that come as part of the package. I mean, even among us relationship lovers, who hasn’t found themselves three months into a perfectly good relationship only to discover that what you are really itching for is a little more excitement and a few random dates?

Industry check-up

A couple of weeks ago, during a hospital conference, I got a crash course in provider-industry relations from a doctor who spends serious amounts of time researching pharmaceutical companies’ influence on physician behavior. He prefaced his talk by emphasizing that he doesn’t hate the pharmaceutical companies. I guess I’ll do the same.

Shh! What abortion policy?

President Barack Obama signaled his stance on abortion Friday by reversing a policy that prohibited foreign non-governmental family planning groups from receiving U.S. aid if they lobbied for or provided abortions. It’s a landmark policy shift. And you probably didn’t even know it happened. The Mexico City Policy, named for the first place it was instated, was established by Ronald Reagan and has since been a manifest divergence between the two parties. Bill Clinton very publicly reversed the policy after just two days in office, causing many pro-lifers to doubt the third word in his “safe, legal and rare” abortion slogan. George W. Bush was also quick to fan the flames of the culture war by reinstating the policy, declaring that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions.

Dumes arrested for driving with suspended license

IU junior guard Devan Dumes was arrested around 5:20 p.m. Sunday on suspicion driving with a suspended license, IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger said.

Bangladeshi author speaks on time in exile

Taslima Nasrin, author and women’s rights activist, described the vast inequalities and injustices fellow Bangladeshi women continue to endure in a speech Friday. Women are barred from being educated, inheriting property and taking legal action against their husbands, all of which are abuses sanctioned by Islamic law and tradition, Nasrin said.