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State S.C. among top states in election system reform COLUMBIA — South Carolina fares better than other states in terms of election reform, accord ing to a report released Thursday. The report by the Washington based Election Reform Information Project found that election systems in many states still are susceptible to the same flaws that caused the 2000 stalemate in Florida. Part of the reason is that South Carolina already was in compli ance with many of the new re quirements of the federal Help America Vote Act, Chapin said. Navy clears reactor to pass through Charleston CHARLESTON - The U S. Navy said Wednesday it will allow a de funct nuclear reactor from California to pass through the old Charleston Naval Base en route to a disposal site in Barnwell. But now there's a potential standoff with both Argentina and Chile who don't want the reactor passing too close to their coast lines. The Navy has agreed that Charleston Marine Manufacturing Corp. may handle the reactor. Nation * MSA loses contact with Spirit rover after 19 days PASADENA, CALIF - NASA's Spirit rover stopped transmitting data from Mars for more than 24 hours, mission managers said Thursday, calling it an “extremely serious anomaly.” NASA received its last signifi cant data from Spirit early Wednesday, its 19th day on Mars. Since then, it has sent either ran dom, meaningless radio noise or simple beeps acknowledging it has received commands from Earth, said Firouz Naderi, manager of the Mars exploration program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. WMD search going to take time, Cheney says WASHINGTON - Vice-President Dick Cheney said Wednesday the administration has not given up on the so far fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. “It's going to take some addi tional, considerable period of time 'in order to look in all the cubby holes and the ammo dumps and all the places in Iraq where you might Expect to find something like that,” pheney said in an interview at the White House with NPR. World * Two American soldiers billed in central Iraq « TIKRIT, IRAQ - Insurgents fired fnortars at an American military encampment in central Iraq, Jcilling two soldiers and critically wounding another, the military said Thursday. ' The attack happened Wednesday night on a forward op erating base in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, military Spokeswoman Maj. Josslyn Aberle j?aid. The wounded soldier was evac uated to a support hospital, where he is in critical but stable condi tion, she said. The three soldiers were stand ing outside the tactical operations tenter when a series of mortars •and rockets hit, she said. The at tack also damaged vehicles. Muslim pilgrims face possible danger for Hajj • DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Muslims are con -verging on Mecca for the Hajj, .Islam's annual pilgrimage that has ieen plagued by fires, stampedes and occasional riots. • The risks are even greater this year, with Saudi authorities also worried about diseases and ter rorism. More than 2 million Muslims are expected for the pilgrimage that will climax late this month. ; The huge numbers of pilgrims in recent decades have produced hazards. A stampede in 1990 killed 1,426 people, and high winds in 1997 swept fire through a sprawling tent city for pilgrims, killing more than 340 and injur ing 1,500. BRIEFS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE flay in istory 1556: The most deadly in history killed 830,000 people in China. 1977: “Roots” debuted, running eight consecutive days and becoming the most watched TV Fv+onHoH Fnmract • program in American history. Saturday HI: 60 LO: 45 Sunday HI: 63 LO: 48 Monday 41 'fy HI: 72 ~ LO: 47 Tuesday HI: 68 LO: 35 Friday FRIDAY FORUM, SESSION ON INCOME TAXES, Dr. Rich White, James F. Byrnes Building 513, SPAR Conference Room, 12 p.m. SEMINAR “THE DISCOVERY OF DUAL MMP-13 AND AGGRECANASE INHIBITORS FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS,” Dr. Jennifer Liras of Pfizer Global Research and Development, Jones Physical Science Center 006, Refreshments 3:45 p.m., Seminar begins 4 p.m. “EVENING WITH LOU AND BETH , HOLTZ,” Thomas Cooper ! Library, 6:30 p.m., $250 per ticket Sunday “PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAITS, 1805-2002” EXHIBIT ENDS, McKissick Museum Monday STUDENT GOVERNMENT CANDIDATE FILING, Russell House 227, Office of Student Government and Student Organizations, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. STUDY ABROAD INFORMATION SESSION, Business Administration Building 634,4 p.m. Tuesday STUDENT GOVERNMENT CANDIDATE FILING, Russell House 227, Office of Student Government and Student Organizations, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. WUSC NEW DJ INTEREST MEETING, Russell House 305,8 p.m. Wednesday STUDENT ORGANIZATION FAIR, Davis Field, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. SEMINAR “THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CANCER PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN SOUTH CAROLINA,” Dr. James Hebert of the Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program and USC's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Sciences Building 103,12:30 p.m. Thursday WUSC NEW DJ INTEREST MEETING, Russell House 305,8 p.m. COLLOQUIUM “COVARIATE ADJUSTED REGRESSION,” Damla Sentiirk of the University of California, LeConte College 210A, Lecture begins 2 p.m., Refreshments 3 p.m. Affleck and Lopez decide to end relationship NEW YORK - The on-again, off again relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez is off. Again. And this time, it looks like it's for good. Jennifer Lopez ended the en gagement, one of her publicists told The Associated Press Thursday. A spokesperson for Lopez con firmed to People and Us Weekly magazines that she had ended it, saying: “At this difficult time, we ask that you respect her priva cy.” Affleck's publicist, Ken Sunshine, would only say: “As usual, we never comment on the private lives of our clients.” Lopez, 34, and Affleck, 31, have been the subject of near-constant media scrutiny for the past year and a half. Their romantic comedy, “Gigli,” was considered the cine matic disaster of the year before I it even debuted in August. They were supposed to have married a month later, but abrupt ly postponed their lavish plans “due to the excessive media atten tion surrounding our wedding.” Prince Harry to travel to Africa for charity work LONDON - Prince Harry will spend two months in Africa work ing on projects that help young mothers and disadvantaged chil dren, his father's office said Thursday. The office at Clarence House — London home of Prince Charles, 19 year-old Harry and 21-year-old Prince William — said the eight week African trip will take Harry PHOTO COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Lopez will appear with ex-boyfriend Affleck in “Jersey Girl.” to a number of locations and com munity projects. An office spokeswoman said that “for security and privacy rea sons,” the dates of the trip and the countries the prince would visit weren't being announced. Harry, taking time off between his education at Eton and his en rollment at Sandhurst military academy, spent part of last year working on a ranch in Australia. In Africa, he'll see how interna tional agencies and charitable groups aid and support people in difficult circumstances, Clarence House said. Garfunkel charged with marijuana possession HURLEY, N.Y. - Art Garfunkel. part of the folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel, was charged with marijuana possession after police pulled his limousine over for speeding in upstate New York. Garfunkel, 62, had a small amount of marijuana in his jack et pocket when a state trooper stopped the limo Saturday after noon in Hurley, 55 miles south west of Albany, the Daily Freeman of Kingston reported. The trooper smelled marijuana after approaching the vehicle, in which Garfunkel was the lone pas senger. Garfunkel, of Manhattan, was scheduled to appear in court Jan. 28 on the charge, which carries a possible $100 fine, or he could re spond by mail. Novelist Grisham sets schedule to baseball GREENVILLE - John Grisham says his writing schedule revolves around baseball. Apparently, some of his speaking engagements do, too. The courtroom novelist told a fund-raising dinner for the Furman baseball team he has a new book coming out Feb. 2, “The Last Juror.” Joined by former major league pitcher Tommy John, Grisham said he spends his springs and sum mers at ballparks—he's the com missioner of a seven-field, 35-team Little League complex. Grisham's son, Ty, flirted with attending Furman, and the best selling author said it was difficult to tell Paladins coach Ron Smith that Ty wasn't going to play there. Smith sent Ty several handwrit ten recruiting letters in purple ink. Though South Carolina has nev er been a backdrop in any of Grisham's books, he wouldn't rule it out. A character in “The Brethren” graduated from Furman. And his daughter, Shea, has applied to the College of Charleston. BRIEFS FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE USC,Briefly Manuscript librarian receives Bostick award The Friends of the Richland County Public Library recently awarded former USC library di rector Allen Stokes Jr. with the 2004 Lucy Hampton Bostick Award, an annual award that honors those who have made sig nificant contributions to li braries or literature in South Carolina. Stokes acted as both a manuscripts librarian and direc tor throughout his career at the South Caroliniana Library at USC, which lasted for more than 30 years and ended in his retire ment in 2003. He also wrote “A Guide to the Manuscript Collection of the ' South Caroliniana Library.” The award, which was estab lished in 1978, was created in memory of Lucy Hampton Bostick, director of the Richland County Public Library from 1928 1968. Ringling Brothers to come to Colonial Center The Ringling Brothers and Baraum & Bailey Circus will be performing at the Colonial Center Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 1. Tickets are $13 for USC students and can be bought at the Colonial Center Box Office. Students must present a valid student ED, and the discount does not apply to the Wednesday night or Friday morn ing shows. Tickets are on sale now. For more information, visit www.thecolonialcenter.com or call (803) 783-2222. Conference to discuss alcohol, drug addiction The 11th Annual Alcohol and Drug Issues Conference will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Embassy Suites Hotel. The conference will provide an update on cutting edge issues in addiction medicine and substance abuse. Tickets are $150 for physicians, $95 for non-physicians and $50 for spouses, residents and students. For more information, call (803) 434-4211, or e-mail nancy@gw.mp.sc.edu. Workshop to explore PowerPoint in classroom Vera Polyakova-Norwood, DEIS instructional developer, will present the workshop “Waking Up From PowerPoint Induced Sleep: Effective Use of PowerPoint for Teaching,” Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Thomas Cooper Library, Multi-Media Classroom 3. Workshop partici pants will examine the values of PowerPoint as a teaching tool and explore the use of PowerPoint in teaching situa tions. The workshop will include discussion on current practices and experiences using this soft ware in an educational setting. To register, contact Bettie Wright at hwright@gwm.sc.edu and pro vide your name, e-mail address and the name of your depart ment. Registration is free for USC faculty, staff and students. Preston's at Noon adding menu options The faculty/staff dining room Preston’s at Noon is introducing several changes this year to its menu and ambiance. Carolina Dining Services (Sodexho) now provides a daily exhibition cook ing station, a larger selection of hot menu items, an enhanced sal ad bar, a dessert station and a dai ly vegan option. Preston’s at Noon is open Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The cost is $6.25 per person. These reports are taken directly from the USC Police Department. jfc> Each number on the map stands for a crime corresponding with numbered descriptions in the list below. DAY CRIMES (6 a.m.-6 p.m.) □ Violent O Nonviolent NIGHT CRIMES (6 p.m.-6 a.m.) ■ Violent • Nonviolent CRIMES AT UNKNOWN HOURS H Violent O Nonviolent Wednesday, Jan. 14 ID from a cafeteria table without her consent. The ID O LARCENY OF USC ID, ' was left attended. Estimated RUSSELL HOUSE, 1400 value: $1. Reporting officer: M. GREENEST. The victim said Denard. someone took her university Tuesday, Jan. 20 ® auto break-in, larceny OF HAND GUN, S-26 LOT, 1200 CATAWBA ST. The victim said someone broke the passenger's-side glass of his vehicle and removed a .45 caliber handgun. The victim also said someone took a blue calculus book from his vehicle. Estimated value: $510. Reporting officer’ M. Denard. Wednesday, Jan. 21 © LARCENY OF BICYCLE, PRESTON COLLEGE, 1323 GREENE ST. The victim said that between Jan. 19 and Jan. 21 someone removed her silver Mongoose bicycle from the bicycle rack by cutting her cable-style lock. Estimated value: $125. Estimated damage: $10. Reporting officer: D. Pardue. © AUTO BREAK-IN, LARCENY OF TEXT BOOKS, LARCENY/RECOVERY OF BOOK BAG, S-7 LOT, 1321 WHALEY ST. The victim said that between Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 someone broke into her vehicle and removed her blue and black see-through book bag, a topography book and an astronomy book. Two windows of her vehicle were busted, the front passenger's side window and a rear passenger's-side window. The book bag was found near the above location but did not contain the two listed textbooks. Estimated value: $150. Estimated value recovered: $20. Reporting officer: G. Kerwin. © AUTO BREAK-IN, LARCENY OF TOOLS, LABORDE LOADING LOT, 615 SUMTER ST. Victim no. 1 said someone entered his unsecured vehicle and removed needle-nose pliers, a flashlight and a nylon military-style pistol pouch, which was being used as a tool belt. There was also $350 worth of tools taken belonging to victim no. 2. All tools taken had the letters USCM engraved on them. Estimated value: $412. Reporting officer: J.M. Simmons. Q LARCENY OF BICYCLE/RECOVERY, MOORE, 610 SUMTER ST. The complainant said he observed Malik Kareem removing a bicycle from the rack outside Moore. Reporting officer M.L. Gooding responded to the area and located a subject at Greene and Main streets matching the description given by the complainant. / Gooding noticed the tires on the bicycle didn't match and the complainant positively identified the subject. In front of officers Gooding, Simmons and Brewster at the USCPD, Kareem admitted that he had stolen the bicycle. He also had pliers, wire cutters and other tools in his possession at the time of his arrest. Estimated value: $75. Estimated value recovered: $75