Region

Can you read this?

By Cory Barker · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2009 12:06 a.m.

If seven adults picked up this edition of the paper, only six of them could read it. That’s because, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education, one in seven adults in the United States is illiterate. That’s nearly 32 million Americans. And while the most recent figures are from 2003, one could imagine that the literacy among adults hasn’t gotten much better over the past five years.

Colts introduce Jim Caldwell

By Associated Press · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2009 12:04 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS – New Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell says he wants to build on Tony Dungy’s success, not be a carbon copy of his former boss. The Colts introduced Caldwell as their coach Tuesday, a day after Dungy stepped down after seven seasons.

A sick country’s cure

Wednesday, Jan. 14,2009 12:04 a.m.

Last week, Tom Daschle, former South Dakota senator, spoke before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Daschle is President-elect Obama’s choice to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the newly created White House Office of Health Reform. It was the first of two confirmation hearings, the second coming this week before the Senate Finance Committee. Many noted the warm welcome he received from both sides of the aisle, with difficult questions – his plans regarding Medicaid, Medicare and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, for example – conspicuously absent. Some lawmakers, notably Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said that the current financial crisis precludes any drastic health care reform and expansion of federal spending for the moment. Though the friendly tone of the hearing indicated common ground between Republicans and Democrats and a collective understanding that real reform needs to happen, there were no words on exactly how quickly or how far the president-elect and Daschle would push for drastic changes in our health care system.

ROTC gains a slight increase of new members despite fluctuating economy

By Sean Morrison · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2009 12:04 a.m.

While students across the country search for ways to pay for college in the midst of economic turmoil, more and more are looking to the Reserve Officer Training Corps.“Historically, when the economy isn’t going very well, the military tends to do better,” Major Todd Tinius said.However, as far as IU ROTC is concerned, it’s still business as usual.

Packer, Knight to analyze NCAA

By Associated Press · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2009 12:02 a.m.

LAS VEGAS – Former IU coach Bob Knight, the winningest coach in Division I history, and former CBS sportscaster Billy Packer plan to analyze the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in a series of one-hour television programs taped at a race and sports book on the Las Vegas Strip.

Students focus on finding secure jobs

By Bryan Payton · Wednesday, Jan. 14,2009 12:02 a.m.

With the unstable economy of today, students stress about the dire possibilities of not being able to land a job after graduation. Backup plans that were never thought to be used are now shifting to the forefront of students’ minds. For many, the options are slim, but a few students have found ways around the economy. Director of IU’s Career Development Center Patrick Donahue said there’s no need for students to panic or to start taking drastic measures, such as changing majors.

Transfers to the Bloomington campus satisfied with decision to attend IU

By Allie Cooper · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 11:49 p.m.

This year, about 7,000 students were admitted to transfer to various IU campuses, and 1,813 requested to transfer to the Bloomington campus, according to the IU Fact Book Web site.Freshman Megan Gruber thought she was cut out for southern life, but that changed after a semester at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.“I thought I could handle the southern culture, but I realized it was too much for me,” Gruber said. “I’m a Midwest girl, and I was shocked by their lifestyle. Here, everyone is a lot more humble, and I’m really happy I came here.”

IU freshman forward Tom Pritchard dunks the ball in the second half. Pritchard led IU scoring against Ohio State with 16 points.

RUNNING THE FLOOR: IU must see through the losing

By Zachary Osterman · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 11:45 p.m.

Back in my tender high school years, I played football, the proud second-generation Riverwood Raider that I was. My sophomore year, we went completely winless, 0-10, only pulling one victory when it was discovered that an opponent plied the use of an ineligible substitute. It was a rough year to be sure, but we hired a new coach the next March, Harris Rainbow (seriously), a young, energetic soul with real vision for the program. Old coach Rainbow, all of 25, set about trying to instill a sense of pride and toughness into our listless program. He did a good job in the preseason.

Monroe Hospital number links to phone sex line

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 11:39 p.m.

One of Monroe Hospital’s new phonebook listings might direct a caller to a different kind of help on the other end of the line. The hospital’s listed number, 866-825-2273, is mistakenly linked to a number most people wouldn’t expect: a phone sex hotline.

Smoky casino air fails EPA standards

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 11:38 p.m.

Air quality inside Indiana casinos is far worse than federal standards deem healthy, even in non-smoking gambling areas, according to a new study by anti-smoking advocates and researchers from Purdue.

A single-engine Piper Malibu Meridian flown by Marcus Schrenker is seen after having crashed in East Milton, Fla.An Indiana businessman whose financial management companies were under investigation apparently bailed out of his small plane and let it crash in what may have been an elaborate attempt to fake his own death.

Ind. businessman found bleeding to death

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 11:33 p.m.

An Indiana investment manager who allegedly staged a plane crash to evade personal and financial ruin was charged Wednesday with intentionally downing the plane and faking a distress call, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals said.The charges came a day after investigators tracked Marcus Schrenker, 38, to a campground in north Florida. He had apparently tried to kill himself by slitting his wrists and muttered the word "die" when federal agents discovered him bleeding from a slashed wrist, investigators said.

Isreal envoy plans ‘decisive’ cease-fire talks in Egypt

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:57 p.m.

Israel’s chief negotiator will go to Egypt for “decisive” talks on a cease-fire with Hamas, officials said Tuesday.

Russia, Ukraine trade blame as Europe sees no gas

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:57 p.m.

Russia and Ukraine hotly blamed each other Tuesday as Russia restarted natural gas supplies but little or no gas flowed toward Europe. EU officials criticized both nations for their intransigence and eastern European nations scrambled for a sixth day to find heat.

Protesters, some dressed as prisoners, demand the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison as they stand across from the transition offices of President-elect Barack Obama Tuesday in Washington.

Closing Gitmo will raise questions about inmates’ futures

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:55 p.m.

President-elect Barack Obama’s planned review of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, a prelude to closing the detention center, must weigh the threats posed by an extraordinarily diverse group, from die-hard jihadists to innocent men swept up in war.

Iraq official: Biden affirms ‘responsible’ troop withdrawal

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:54 p.m.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden told Iraqi leaders Tuesday that the incoming U.S. administration is committed to a responsible troop withdrawal that would not endanger improvements in security, an Iraqi spokesman said.

Spider-man and Obama appear together in comic

Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:49 p.m.

WASHINGTON – Spider-Man has a new sidekick: the president-elect.Barack Obama collected Spider-Man comics as a child, so Marvel Comics wanted to give him a “shout-out back” by featuring him in a bonus story, said Joe Quesada, Marvel’s editor-in-chief.

You’re in it, but do you appreciate it?

By Erica Rogers · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:47 p.m.

Entertainment is all around us. Cliche, right? But the statement is true nonetheless. Whether it’s Mario Kart we’re playing or the Ray Lamontagne CD we’re listening to, we cannot help but be encompassed by the very essence of entertainment.

Art in Guatemalan dress styles

By Nathan Brown · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:46 p.m.

I was in Guatemala for the entirety of winter break, and the moment I exited the airport there something seemed different.The crowd surrounding the exit gates of the airport was punctuated with women in traditional dress.

Museum’s ‘Coffeehouse Nights’ features free music, food, drink

By Jackie Kochell · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:43 p.m.

Visitors at the IU Art Museum silently contemplate the artwork in its stoic halls during the day, and in the early evening, the lights usually shut off as the museum closes. But this month, the museum will stay open until 9 p.m. for Coffeehouse Nights, a series of three lively nights of coffee, art, dance and music.

Baker still cookin’ up jazz

By Ashlee Greene · Tuesday, Jan. 13,2009 10:41 p.m.

If jazz were an IQ test, David Baker would be a genius.As awards for his jazz and teaching mastery pile up, Baker, a distinguished professor of music and chairman of the jazz department, remains a humble, influential and respected figure in the jazz world.