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Sorority
hosts event to raise money for violence awareness
Alpha
Chi Omega will host a fashion show to raise money for domestic violence
awareness 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Will Rogers Memorial Center Round-Up
Inn.
This
is the 10th consecutive year for the show and proceeds will benefit
the Women’s Center of Tarrant County. Alpha Chi Omega has raised
more than $73,000 over the past 10 years.
The
cost of attendance is $20 for students and $30 for guests. Complimentary
dessert and tea will be served during the show.
For
more information or ticket purchase call (817) 257-4101.
—
David Dunai
Registered
sex offenders can take down yard signs
CORPUS
CHRISTI (AP) — Registered sex offenders can take down the yard
signs that say “sex offender lives here,” a state appeals
court ruled Thursday.
The
ruling overturns orders by Judge J. Manuel Banales, a maverick who
drew nationwide attention in May when he told about a dozen offenders
they must post the signs in their back yards and affix bumper stickers
to their cars with a similar message.
Critics
of the yard sign order include attorney Gerald Rogen, who was quoted
in Thursday’s online edition of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
as saying it was reminiscent of “the days of the scarlet letter.”
Mother
of convicted killer aids escape attempt
WAURIKA,
Okla. (AP) — The mother of a convicted killer who escaped last
month from a Texas jail was arrested for allegedly giving her son
hacksaw blades for another escape attempt.
Officers
took Cherese Smith into custody late Wednesday in Jefferson County
in southern Oklahoma.
The
Jefferson County district attorney said the arrest was made following
a probe that included several agencies, including the FBI and Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation.
An
initial court appearance was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Cherese
Smith, also known as Cherese Bagwell, is the mother of Joshua Bagwell,
one of four people who escaped the Montague County Jail on Jan.
28 after overpowering a jailer. The four were caught 10 days later
in Carter County.
Texas
couple arraigned for death of homeless man
SANTA
CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A transient Texas couple apparently annoyed
by the proximity of a homeless man’s riverside campsite choked
the man with a bicycle chain then beat him to death with a 32-pound
cinder block, authorities said.
Tia
Lauren Hitt, 20, and James Landrum Jones, 22, both of Fort Worth,
were arraigned Tuesday. They didn’t enter a plea to charges
they killed Michael Todd Blanton, 52, Feb. 10 at the Camp Paradise
homeless camping area.
Deputy
District Attorney Christine McGuire said Hitt and Jones apparently
killed Blanton on the bank of the San Lorenzo River after they got
into an argument because Blanton’s campsite was too close to
theirs.
Cunningham
drops out of Democratic Senate race
AUSTIN
(AP) — Austin lawyer and sports agent Ed Cunningham on Thursday
dropped out of the Democratic race for U.S. Senate and endorsed
former rival Ron Kirk.
“It’s
been fun, but really what this is about is Ron Kirk,” Cunningham
said at a Capitol news conference with Kirk by his side. “I
know he does things for the right reasons.”
Cunningham,
a former University of Texas football star, said he decided on his
own to pull out of the race after realizing he would not win. He
said he backed Kirk because of the former Dallas mayor’s ability
to work for all Texans.
“I
can’t begin to tell you how humbled and honored I am that Ed
Cunningham would give up his own dream,” Kirk said.
Schoolteacher
Victor Morales, U.S. Rep. Ken Bentsen of Houston, and perennial
candidate Gene Kelly of Universal City are the Democrats left in
the tight race for a chance to fill retiring Sen. Phil Gramm’s
seat.
On
the Republican side, Attorney General John Cornyn faces four lesser-known
opponents for the Senate bid.
Primaries
are March 12.
Dead
newborn found in family’s garage
MIDLAND
(AP) — Police on Thursday were investigating the discovery
of a dead newborn found among household possessions while family
members were unpacking in the garage of their house.
The
full-term infant girl was found about 7 p.m. Wednesday in a plastic
shopping bag, Midland police spokeswoman Tina Jauz told the Midland
Reporter-Telegram in Thursday’s editions.
The
family, which moved into the house about a week ago, is not suspected
of foul play, Jauz said.
The
infant’s body has been sent to Dallas for an autopsy, the newspaper
reported.
Appeals
court lifts execution hold of mentally ill man
HUNTSVILLE
(AP) — A federal appeals court Thursday lifted a lower court’s
order that had
stopped the execution of convicted killer Monty Delk, scheduled
for later in the day.
The
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling about four hours
before Delk could die, agreed with the Texas attorney general’s
office and vacated a reprieve Delk’s attorney won late Wednesday
from U.S. District Court Judge Richard Schell of Beaumont.
Delk’s
lawyer, John Wright of Huntsville, contended Delk, who turned 35
on Sunday, was too mentally ill to assist in his own defense and
was incompetent to be executed.
Wright
said earlier he was prepared to take the case to the U.S. Supreme
Court, but it was not certain if he took that action.
Delk
was condemned for killing an East Texas man more than 15 years ago.
His
execution, set for after 6 p.m., would be the fifth this year in
Texas.
Beta
Theta Pi chapter reestablished at Auburn
AUBURN,
Ala. (U-WIRE) - Reversing the Nov. 11 decision to disband its Auburn
University chapter, Beta Theta Pi’s board of trustees re-established
the local chapter. The scarcely publicized decision has drawn candid
criticism from Auburn’s student leader.
Student
government President Brandon Riddick-Seals said although Auburn
continues to withhold recognition of Beta because of the fraternity’s
participation in a racially offensive Halloween party, the school
has avoided taking decisive actions and is “in a funny position.”
With
Beta’s national office having a sudden change of heart, Auburn
is facing Riddick-Seals’ question, and many parties involved
believe Auburn’s answer is near.
About
20 members of the Auburn Beta chapter -- both current and alumni
-- traveled to Denver last month to petition the national fraternity’s
board of trustees for reinstatement.
At
an Oct. 25 Halloween party at the fraternity house, Beta members
wore racially offensive costumes, including blackface paint and
the apparel of Omega Psi Phi, a black fraternity.
When
photographs of Beta’s party -- along with pictures of another
white fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi, also wearing racist costumes
-- surfaced on the Internet, outrage spread across campus, and national
media focused on Auburn.
Univeristy
of Connecticut’s ranking in jeopardy
STORRS,
Conn. (U-WIRE) - The University of Connecticut currently is ranked
as the top public university in New England, but competition from
schools outside the region and from private colleges and universities
all over the country could put its position in jeopardy.
According
to an article published recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education,
schools in New England, which used to be the most popular in the
country, are getting a run for their money -- literally -- from
schools in the South and the West.
The
article, titled “New England Loses Its Edge,” by Jeffery
Selingo, cites New England as the “beacon of higher education,”
where students study at some of the most prestigious public and
private universities in the country.
Location
and climate, high tuition costs and a decrease in the college-age
population are all reasons the article cites as potential factors
in the decrease in the popularity of New England-area schools.
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