Beyond the Bubble
World News
After losing control of eleven cities, pro-Haitian militia forces have fought back against armed rebels opposing the rule of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Red Cross and other relief agencies have reported that more than 50 people have been killed as a result of the struggle, according to PBS News.
The rebels are believed to be past supporters of Aristide, but now accuse him of rigging the 2000 election to return to office. PBS News reported that the rebels feel Aristide has betrayed the democratic ideals he once advocated for the country and has since become corrupt.
Although police forces have been able to regain control of the cities of St. Marc and Grand Goave, the rebels are still believed to possess Petit Goave, Trou du Nord, Listere and eight other cities, according to CNN.com.
The rebels began their attacks on Thursday by setting police stations and government buildings on fire. They have pledged to boycott legislations until Aristide steps down. Aristide has declared that he will not leave until his term ends in 2006, according to PBS News.
National News
The search to find the cows infected with mad cow disease has come to a close, federal officials announced Monday.
It is believed the source of the mad cow scare came from 80 cattle that arrived from Canada. To this date, less than two-thirds of those infected cows have been found.
Of the 52 cows still missing, 11 are believed to be at a higher risk as they were born around the same time as the infected Holstein and may have eaten the same contaminated food.
Although W. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinary officer at the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in December that it would be likely that all infected cattle would be found, he said to the Washington post that the "paper trail has gotten cold."
"We never expected to be able to find all of them. It's remarkable we found as many as we did," DeHaven said in an article from the Washington Post.
DeHaven said at this point in the investigation, the chances of actually finding the remaining 52 cattle are "pretty slim."
Education News
Wisconsin high school student Gary Hirte, 18, has been charged with murdering Glenn Kopitske, 37, by shooting him with a shotgun and stabbing him.
Authorities believe Hirte did not know Kopitske.
Hirte was an honor student and star athlete and was reportedly headed to Saint Cloud State University in Minnesota on a scholarship.
"He's succeeded at everything he's ever done, and I think that led to his arrogance in this case," Winnebago County Sheriff's Captain Steven Verwiel said in an article from the The Age, an online publication.
Prosecutors say Hirte's ex-girlfriend contacted local authorities and told them Hirte confessed to killing someone in a rural part of the country. A set of Kopitske's car keys was found in Hirte's bedroom during a search.
Hirte denies any involvement in the crime.
Entertainment News
After receiving heat for the production of the Super Bowl halftime show, MTV has opted to move six of its more sexually-explicit and controversial videos to late night programming.
Such examples of videos only being shown from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. are Britney Spears' "Toxic" video and Incubus' "Megalomaniac," which had an image of Adolf Hitler with angel wings flying over a crowd.
In an article written in Forbes magazine, Mike Einziger, Incubus guitarist said, "It's ironic that this MTV scrutiny comes from an incident where someone bared their chest in public, while for the first time, our singer has his shirt on for an entire video."
CBS has also come under heat for the halftime show and as a precaution, set Sunday's Grammy awards on a five-minute delay.
The two sources of the controversy, Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson, were allowed to attend and perform at the Grammy's under the condition that they made a formal apology, a requirement which Timberlake fulfilled upon receiving the award for best pop vocal performance. Jackson declined the offer and was not in attendance.
â€" Compiled by Lance Dwyer