U.S. life expectancy reaches record high

According to the latest data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Americans are living longer than ever. Average life expectancy rose 0.3 years in 2003 to a record high of 77.6 years, according to the center. Women still live longer than men - an average of 80.1 years compared to 74.8 years - but the gap between the genders decreased for the 23rd consecutive year. The top 15 causes of death remained the same, except assault left the list and was replaced by Parkinson's disease.

Snow complicates area travel

A winter storm Tuesday created several problems for Lansing and East Lansing residents traveling in the area. As of 1 p.m.

Web site offers free credit report

Starting Tuesday, people can get a free credit report online, allowing them to see who has previously seen the reports and make sure all the information is accurate. Three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, charge about $9 for the reports but will now provide them once a year for free under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. People can get a report from each company by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

CRU meets, discusses minority grad rates

Culturas De Las Razas Unidas, or CRU, and the Chicano/Latino Association held a reception Tuesday night at the Union for discussion between faculty members and students to find ways to improve graduation and retention rates for minority students. Increasing communication between Chicano/Latino faculty and students helps ensure that students will make it to graduation day, said CRU co-Chair Isaias Solis.

Word on the street: What are you doing for spring break?

"I'm going on an alternative spring break to D.C. We're working in a soup kitchen, helping out the homeless and taking a class on social responsibility." Andy Sciamanna advertising and international relations senior "I'm working on campus and back home, probably on the weekends.

Police briefs 03/02/05

Police briefs 03/01/05

Council to debate Burcham construction plans today

Education senior Joseph Becker likes the idea of building new rentals - as a renter on the 700 block of Burcham Drive, he supports the development of new housing targeted at students in the area. If a plan to construct five new apartment buildings on his block is approved by the East Lansing City Council tonight, Becker's wish might become a reality. But before plans to redevelop the area can move forward, the home where Becker resides, along with another rental home and a parking lot, would have to be demolished to make room for the new structures. "Everyone has the choice to live in the dorms, but most students after their freshman or sophomore years don't want to do that," Becker said.

U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments on commandments

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases this week examining whether the Ten Command-ments should be allowed on government property. The issue of whether the commandments violate the principles of separation of church and state also is a divided issue in Michigan, where both sides of the argument said they hope the court rules in their favor.

New exhibit reflects on 150 years of MSU history

When East Lansing residents Patricia and David Brogan were MSU undergraduates in the 1950s, they experienced events firsthand that are now history. They remember the annual "Water Carnival" on the Red Cedar River and David Brogan's attendance at the 1954 Rose Bowl as a sophomore, during which MSU defeated the University of California, Los Angeles. Photographs of these events are part of "Memories of MSU," an exhibit that opened Sunday at the MSU Museum and will continue through December. The exhibit is a look back at the last 150 years of MSU through photographs, artifacts and timelines from students' perspectives. "It's fun to see it," Patricia Brogan said.

E.L. house 'totaled' after fire

Four MSU students lost their home, at least temporarily, on Monday after a fire broke out in the third-floor crawl space of their Grove Street rental house. All the tenants left the house safely, although three were sleeping as the fire filled the top floor and broke through the roof.

MSU students win photography awards

State News photographers swept the category for the Michigan Press Photographers Association's College Photographer of the Year award at the organization's annual conference last weekend. The category contains first, second and third ranking and two honorable mentions. The MPPA honors professional and student photographers from across the state for submissions in categories ranging from feature photos to sports photos.

Buffalo part of 'bold new design' on nickel

Bison soon will be showing up in wallets and cash registers across the country as the U.S. Mint's new American bison nickel, released Monday, makes its way into circulation. The coin is the first buffalo nickel released since 1938 and features a new obverse, otherwise known as "heads," design of former President Thomas Jefferson. "It's a bold new design of Jefferson," said Joyce Harris, deputy director of the U.S.

Conference unites Filipino Americans

About 250 students attended the Midwest Association of Filipino Americans, or MAFA, conference this weekend. The annual assembly, which is held at a different school every year, brings together students from a variety of Midwestern colleges and universities to promote unity and educate them about Filipino American history and culture. "The Filipino American population in the Midwest is very small," said MAFA co-coordinator R.J.

Students adopt ruined school

On the two-month anniversary of the Dec. 26 tsunami, MSU students launched an effort to rebuild a school in Aceh, Indonesia.

Police briefs 02/28/05

Academic Senate fails to gather quorum at 2nd meeting in 8 years

Out of the nearly 2,000 faculty members invited, 100 showed up to the Academic Senate meeting on Friday.

Exhibit chronicles immigrant history

By Corinne Devries Special for The State News Lansing - Okemos residents Allison Wheat, 14, and Tiffany Wheat, 12, stared wide-eyed at an aging, wooden trunk on Saturday afternoon at the Michigan Historical Museum. Nearby, their mother, Lori Wheat, watched and asked them to imagine they were immigrating to Michigan. "If you could only take one thing with you in this trunk, what would it be?" Lori Wheat said.

Chocolates raise museum money

A 2-foot-tall, milk-chocolate giraffe and an edible African tribal mask were put on display for chocolate lovers to admire and drool over at the MSU Museum's 16th annual Chocolate Party Benefit on Sunday at the Kellogg Center. The sweet sculptures and molds were part of a chocolatier competition for chefs and culinary students from across the state to portray the party's "Out of Africa" theme.

Study: Depo-Provera bone loss reversible

Although the makers of the contraceptive Depo-Provera were required in November to post additional health warnings about possible permanent bone density loss, a new study suggests those effects might be reversible. The U.S.