Region

Pacers edge out Toronto 98-82

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana's slim playoff hopes are still alive. Jermaine O'Neal scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Brad Miller added 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Pacers beat Toronto 98-82 Wednesday night, snapping the Raptors nine-game winning streak.

Runner excels despite setbacks

The IU men's track and field team has one of the deepest distance teams in the Big Ten. A large part of the success in the distance events is in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

Recruitment not always easy for teams

Five members on the water polo team are from California. None are from Indiana, a state where high schools do not have water polo as a varsity or club sport. This can make for some challenges when fielding a team here at IU.

First-year netter happy to help

Eventually, perseverance will pay off. Just because he does not always receive playing time, freshman Reid Strand does not feel sorry for himself. Instead, he keeps his head high and helps the IU men's tennis team (6-12, 0-6) in any way he can.

Junior's offense tops the Big Ten

When you look at the burly 6-foot-1, 200 pound third baseman, you just know that he's launched some fence-clearing bombs in his career. And that's exactly what junior Vasili Spanos has done in three seasons on the IU baseball team. Spanos may not be the biggest guy on the field, but he plays like a giant and has made his presence felt since his freshmen year.

Coach grabs 400th career victory

IU softball coach Diane Stephenson recorded her 400th career-coaching victory when the Hoosiers (11-21-1) downed Evansville 6-3 in the nightcap of their doubleheader yesterday.

Jordan River Forum

There is a conflict of interest on the IDS opinion page, but the paper has not been up front with its readers about this conflict and the concern it creates regarding the opinion page. IDS opinion editor Travis R. Thickstun works as a paid intern for Bloomington city government in the city council office while he oversees the content of the opinion page, including who is hired as columnists and what letters to the editor are published, as well as official positions taken by the IDS in staff editorials.

My brother the scholar

My little brother plowed through high school as if it were anything else he'd ever attempted. He excelled in advanced placement courses to secure a 3.7 GPA, repeatedly earning 3.9 semester averages, straight A's, and an eighteenth percentile ranking. As the four-year class president, it came as little surprise that he was elected president of the student body in his senior year. A long list of activities complemented his impressive academic record, including the responsibilities of virtually running school activities, playing in the jazz band, mentoring younger students, and working a time-consuming after-school job.

RPS punishment too harsh

The residents of Collins Living-Learning Center are infuriated over the firing of their resident assistants. The RAs fired Tuesday for violating a closed-weekend rule had clean records, were of legal drinking age, had substantial work experience in Residential Programs and Services and, above all, had no idea their employment would be terminated should they violate an RPS verbal contract.

Prison population growth slows

WASHINGTON -- The number of people in prison grew last year at the slowest rate in three decades, the Justice Department reported Wednesday. The total population in all prisons and jails rose a bit more than 1 percent, nearing 2 million, according to the annual report. As of June 30, 2001, one of every 145 U.S. residents was behind bars.

Powell undeterred by Israel's refusal to halt military action

MADRID, Spain -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday he would push ahead with his peacekeeping mission in the Middle East despite Israel's refusal to halt military incursions and its objections to his meeting Yasser Arafat.

Poppy eradication plan begins

MARJAH, Afghanistan -- Armed with assault rifles and fistfuls of American dollars, government agents drove deep into Afghanistan's biggest poppy-growing region Wednesday to begin enforcing a plan to eradicate the opium-bearing crop.

OPEC won't replace Iraqi oil shortfall

LONDON -- OPEC has no plans to pump more oil to replace the crude Iraq is withholding from the market, reasoning that the recent spike in oil prices will ease once violence between Israel and the Palestinians abates, the group's top official said Wednesday. OPEC Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez defended the decision to keep output steady until at least late June by insisting that global supplies were "normal" in relation to the physical demand for crude.

Bush presses for human cloning ban

WASHINGTON -- President Bush called on the Senate Wednesday to pass legislation banning all human cloning, including the cloning of embryos for research and treatment of diseases. "Life is creation, not a commodity," Bush said in a speech to 175 doctors, scientists, lawmakers, religious activists and disabled people. "Advances in new biotechnology must never come at the expense of human conscience," he said. "As we seek what is possible, we must always ask what is right, and we must not forget that even the most noble ends do not justify any means."

Cincinnati Jazz Festival canceled because of boycott

CINCINNATI -- This year's Cincinnati Jazz Festival, a popular annual attraction for four decades, is the biggest victim so far in an economic boycott called by black activists. With no corporate sponsor, possible headliner cancellations and slumping ticket sales, producer Joe Santangelo said he will notify city officials of his decision Wednesday.

Lawmakers wary over special session

INDIANAPOLIS -- With backing from rank-and-file, most leading lawmakers are miffed at Gov. Frank O'Bannon's order for a special session and are skeptical of its chances for compromise tax legislation.

Notre Dame players accused of rape

SOUTH BEND -- Police are investigating a woman's allegations that she was raped by three Notre Dame football players and a former player. The 20-year-old Notre Dame student reported the alleged rape Saturday, nine days after it allegedly occurred. She told police she did not file a report immediately because she knew it would be a high-profile case and feared her name would be made public.

Appliance cited as cause of DePauw dormitory fire

GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- An electrical appliance was the source of a weekend fire that caused $1 million in damage at a DePauw University dormitory, fire officials said Tuesday.

Firefighters honored at meeting

INDIANAPOLIS -- Firefighters gazed in silence at a slowly scrolling list of names Wednesday as they gathered for a solemn tribute to colleagues who died Sept. 11. The names, projected onto television screens in a candlelit ballroom, were those of firefighters lost during the terrorist attacks, as well other firefighters who died last year while trying to rescue people from flames.

Festivals make springtime rock