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A Syracuse University cheerleader was arrested Thursday and charged with murdering the mother of his child. Chiarra Seals’ body was in the backyard of a home on Avondale Place, in near the university section of the city, early Thursday morning. Seals (pictured left) was reported missing Wednesday evening, after her two young children were found home alone in their apartment. In a statement to police, Brian Shaw (pictured right) said he got into an argument with Seals on Wednesday. Shaw admitted to police he hit and strangled Seals, 23, in her apartment at 160 Jasper Street and carried her body...

A LOSS THAT STILL HAUNTS RANDOLPH A year after high school cheerleader Lauren Crossan fell to her death in Hawaii, the tragedy continues to anguish and bewilder her friends and family Sunday, January 16, 2005 BY ROBIN GABY FISHER AND MAURA McDERMOTT Star-Ledger Staff It could have happened to any teenager. Anyone's son ordaughter. Anyone's friend. A year after Lauren Crossan fell to her death off a Hawaii hotel balcony, parents in her hometown of Randolph are watching their kids a little closer. Teens are thinking more about their own mortality. Her community is still mourning and wondering how something...

ONE PERSON I'D LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: President Bush. It would be an honor to have dinner and be able to talk to the leader of our country.

Associated Press Published on: 07/12/04 Atlanta police are investigating the death of an Atlanta Falcons cheerleader. Police found the body of Tara Tanner, 22, early Sunday at an apartment in the 1100 block of Howell Mill Road. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office is awaiting toxicology tests to determine the exact cause of death. Authorities say there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body. Tanner had been with the Falcons' cheerleading squad for four years. She graduated from Roswell High School and was attending Georgia State University.

<p>KAANAPALI, Hawaii — A weeklong trip that was supposed to celebrate a year of hard work and success for some 500 cheerleaders began on a tragic note with the death of one of their own.</p> <p>Police were investigating how a high school cheerleader invited to perform at the Hula Bowl (search) college all-star game plunged naked to her death from a ninth-floor hotel balcony.</p>

KAANAPALI, Hawaii -- Two California men were arrested in the death of an 18-year-old New Jersey cheerleader whose naked body tumbled from the ninth floor balcony of a Maui hotel. The two men, whose identities were not immediately released, were arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder in the death of Lauren Crossan, of Randolph, N.J., said Lt. Tivoli Faaumu. Crossan was part of a group from the National Association of American Cheerleaders that was on Maui to participate in Saturday's Hula Bowl college football game. Her body was discovered Monday morning on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Maui...

Ban on cheerleader uniforms in class draws boosAssociated Press BERWICK, Pa. - Cheerleaders in the Berwick Area School District have been barred from wearing their uniforms to class, prompting protests from the squad and student leaders.Superintendent David Force said the cheerleader skirts are much shorter than is allowed by the school dress code. But student leaders came to a school board work session Monday night to plead for an exception.Class of 2004 president Travis Petty said "distraught" cheerleaders had come to him seeking help. He said cheerleaders have worn uniforms to class on the days of football games for the...

Excerpted Cheerleader of the Week Catherine Williams of the Denver Broncos holds a bachelor's of science in electrical engineering and a master's in business administration. Electrical engineering degree, MBA -- that can't be right; cheer-babes are not allowed to have more impressive credentials than TMQ! To relax, Williams dances, hikes and works out, and her most recently read book is "A Civil War" by John Feinstein, a football volume. (It's about the Army-Navy rivalry.) Williams, known as Cat, also says she thinks "George W. is doing an unbelievable job as president." Cat, just donate $250,000 and he'll make you an...

Hoping to ward off the distraction of bare adolescent thighs, Elma High School has banned its cheerleaders' short skirts from hallways and classrooms. The move has members of the cheerleading and drill teams, and their parents — some of whom wore similar skirts years ago — steaming. "Elma has dropped back to the Dark Ages," Kathy Shaw, whose daughter is on the drill team. "They are making our kids feel like they're not nice girls when they are." For years, the brief blue-and-white skirts have been exempt from the dress code at this small town west of Olympia on days...

A Westmoreland County cheerleader is taking her school to court, claiming a demotion has irreparably harmed her. Southmoreland High senior Felicia Huffine (pictured, left) was named an alternate on the school cheerleading squad, prompting her mother to file a lawsuit on her behalf in county court. The suit says Huffine was given permission to skip a cheerleading camp but was then demoted for missing it. The suit also seeks to have Huffine reinstated to her earlier status as a cheerleader. The school's solicitor said that Huffine was not excused from camp. The solicitor also said the school plans to...

A former Quartz Hill cheerleader and community queen who alleges she was unfairly treated during cheerleader tryouts last year has taken her fight to federal court after an unsuccessful attempt in the California Superior Court system. In court papers filed this week, former Quartz Hill High student Kelly Smith alleges the Antelope Valley Union High School District violated her civil rights when she was rejected at cheerleader tryouts, according to published reports. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court by Smith, who contends that cheerleading coach Tammy Stewart, allegedly motivated by racial bias, rigged her scores during the...

From the Its All a Matter of Perspective Department Exhibit I: Ohio State Cheerleader Tara Zinslen on kicking a 20 yard field goal at halftime during the National Championship game last Friday night:It brought at least a moment of respect for both [women and cheerleaders]... We (the women) had a lot of pressure on us, especially being cheerleaders and girls," Zinslen said. "But that kick kind of sealed it: We are athletes, too Exhibit II: ESPN.com's Brian Murphy:Did any of you see the halftime promotion at the Fiesta Bowl? It featured cheerleaders from Miami and Ohio State, trying to kick...

Forgiving a Lott Fortunately in this holiday season, the spirit of Christmas can help serve as an antidote to the squalor and bitterness surrounding the recent ousting of Republican Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott as Senate majority leader. By now, most know that Lott more than once praised the 1948 segregationist presidential candidacy of Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. And most agree that Lott's comments were inappropriate and rendered him unlikely to remain effective in his leadership role. In fact, some GOP senators, such as the ambitious Don Nickles of Oklahoma, felt that Lott's misguided words justified an immediate vote for new...

What do we know about her, and how big of a RINO is she?No mention of whether she may announce today.

I had a brief conversation with the office of the Mississippi Republican Party. There was great disappointment when they answered my first question: Is there a provision in the Mississippi Constitution for the people to recall the govenor? Answer: Unfortunately not. Well, I guess we can't get a petition drive going to boot out Robert Musgrove so that new GOP Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck could take over. Amy was recently welcomed with open arms as she switched parties. The next question was whether Trent Lott would leave the Senate if demoted from his position as majority leader. According to communications...

MIDI - BEND ME, SHAPE ME I am in big trouble, so says my tarot card reader I will do the things that I must to stay Senate leader I will get down on my knees And then I'll grovel and plead Jesse and Al…oh, pretty please I'll bend over and I'll grab my ankles Tell me what's needed, my good friends I'll bend over and I'll grab my ankles I am prepared to take it in the end I am finally seeing the light…we need reparations Giving people what they deserve will heal our nation I will get...

Poised to make his case tonight in a Special Prime Time Interview with Ed Gordon on Black Entertainment Cable Television [8PM EST]..Trent Lott (R-MS) is now facing more calls to replace him as Senate Majority Leaderfrom top republicans

I am convinced that it is time for the party of Lincoln to reject the leadership of Lott. None of my business as a state elected official? I believe it is every Republican's business. I agree with President Bush that Senator Lott has seriously erred, and with Senate Whip Don Nickles that a new leader is needed. It's nothing personal. In some tough legislative leadership contests of my own, I've realized that these decisions are not about approval or disapproval of someone, they are about political judgments. The question facing the senator's colleagues, and our party as a whole, is...