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A 25-year-old man has been arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students whose bodies were found in a rental home near campus last month, multiple law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation said Friday. It marks the first major break in a case that has both captivated and mystified the globe. The sources said the man was apprehended in the Scranton area Friday morning. Authorities are expected to hold a news conference on the case later Friday. Few details have been released publicly in the gruesome Nov. 13 slayings of...

Here's the problem for the U.S.: At the center of the current crisis is a new leftist president who has already formed an alliance with the American-hating Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and is now threatening to kick all American military personnel out of Ecuador. And all this, just as Ecuador becomes increasingly critical in the U.S. war on drugs.

Two Indian brothers are among four men who have been indicted by a US federal court on charges of providing material support to slain Al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, prosecutors said. The two Indians are Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 37, and his brother Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, 36. The other two are Asif Ahmed Salim, 35, and his brother Sultane Room Salim, 40. All four men have been indicted on one count of conspiracy to provide and conceal material support and resources to terrorists, one count of providing material support and resources to terrorists and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice....

The beatdowns took place during 3 and 4 AM on Saturday night. The targets were random and attacked for no apparent reason.(VIDEO-AT-LINK)There have been 45 similar assaults near campus since October 1st. ABC7 reported: The ABC7 I-Team is reporting a rash of random attacks near the University of Illinois flagship campus. A safety alert for students was posted after Champaign police say five students were jumped and beaten by a roving gang over the weekend. One-by-one early Saturday morning, a gang of men attacked several people as they walked down streets near the U of I campus. For about an...

TULSA, Okla. (AP) All those late-season struggles are behind Mike Davis and Illinois. The NCAA tournament is all that matters now. Davis tied his season high with 22 points, Demetri McCamey added 17 points and seven assists and Illinois dominated UNLV 73-62 Friday night to set up another meeting between Fighting Illini coaches past and present in the Southwest region of the NCAA tournament. The ninth-seeded Illini (20-13) took control with an early 15-0 run and led by as many as 25 in a surprisingly easy rout, after losing 10 of their previous 16 games to bring into question whether...

While it strives for respectability, the Muslim Students Association (MSA) has a dark side. For example, a 2007 report by the New York Police Department describes MSAs as "part of a growing trend of Salafi-based radicalization." The report lists MSAs as an example of "Salafi Influences and Incubators," stating: "Extremists have used these university-based organizations as forums for the development and recruitment of like-minded individuals - providing a receptive platform for younger, American-born imams, to present a radical message in a way that resonates with the students." But the organization's role in radicalizing other Muslims is just part of the...

After threatening for weeks to fire two University of Illinois trustees who refused to resign, Gov. Pat Quinn reversed course Wednesday and said he would keep them on the troubled board

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- The presidential front-runner said on Monday he is proud to call Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez his friend. Rafael Correa also said he would not extend the U.S. military's use of the Pacific coast Manta air base as an operational site for drug surveillance flights when the treaty runs out in 2009. "A symbol of sovereignty is to not have foreign soldiers on national soil," he said. The only way the U.S. military presence would continue in Ecuador was if Washington allowed "an Ecuadorean military base in Miami," he said. Correa said he does not see what...

Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes will discuss the close relationship between Barack Obama and Rashid Khalidi - Palestinian supporter and the professor at Columbia University - on a special broadcast of "Hannity's America" which will air tomorrow night at 9:00 PM eastern time. Khalidi is a former professor at the University of Illinois and was a close friend of Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. At a farewell dinner for Khalidi before he took the Columbia job, Obama 's speech was filled with glowing praise for his friend, including references to the many meals they had shared. He thanked Khalidi...

Chief Illiniwek is gone, and many University of Illinois fans are furious? What am I missing here? This isn't about political correctness. This is about racism, about wanting to watch a white kid dance like an American Indian just because it's part of one's ''school tradition,'' regardless of the pain it inflicts on others. If Native Americans say they are offended by being portrayed as caricatures -- which they have said, on and on -- then the rest of us are out of the equation. Anybody remember the American Indian College Fund ads from a couple years ago, the ones...

WASHINGTON -- Oct. 10, 1942, was up to then the best day of my life. I had talked my father, University of Illinois class of '22, into taking me at age 11 along with him to homecoming weekend. On a golden autumn afternoon, lowly Illinois upset Minnesota, the Midwest football powerhouse. And, for the first time, I was privileged to watch Chief Illiniwek proudly dance down the field to Indian war music. The last time I watched the Chief was Sept. 16, 2006. It will be the last time I ever see this 81-year-old symbol of my alma mater. The...

Board of Trustees to vote on Chief retirement Anne Gleason Staff writer The University Board of Trustees may vote on a resolution proposing to retire University symbol Chief Illiniwek at the board meeting on Thursday. The resolution asks that Chief Illiniwek be retired at a time and manner to be determined based on what students, faculty members, staff and alumni at the Urbana campus want. If passed, the Chief will be removed as a symbol, but the Board will continue to support the Fighting Illini name. Several board members said Trustee Frances Carroll was a supporter of the resolution. Carroll's...