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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Top Galleries: January 13, 2007 Main Headline SMU faculty doesn't want Bush's library DALLAS — Negotiations to build George W. Bush's presidential library at Southern Methodist University have divided the campus, pitting the administration and some alumni against members of the liberal-leaning faculty who say the project would be an embarrassment to the school. Some professors have complained that the combined library, museum and think tank would celebrate a presidency that unnecessarily took the country into a war. The fear is that the library "will continue to espouse the philosophy and practice of the Bush administration, which has seriously divided our nation and has brought the ire of other countries," said William McElvaney, a retired professor at SMU's theology school and co-author a November opinion piece in the campus newspaper titled "The George W. Bush Library: Asset or Albatross?" SMU emerged as the front-runner in the competition last month when the library site selection committee said it was entering further discussions with the 11,000-student, private university in one of Dallas's wealthiest neighborhoods. The project will be financed with a private fund drive aimed at raising at least $200 million. Bush connections to SMU run deep. First lady Laura Bush is a graduate and is on the board of trustees. Vice President Dick Cheney previously served on the board. Presidential adviser Karen Hughes and former White House counsel Harriet Miers are both graduates. Bravo network to make 'Hey Paula' PASADENA, Calif. — Straight up, Bravo says it's making a TV series about the life of Paula Abdul. "Hey Paula," set to debut sometime later this year, will follow Abdul, 44, as she films a new season of Fox's "American Idol," works on "Bratz: The Movie" and develops her own perfume and cosmetics line. "It fits the Bravo mandate to show what's going on in the culture of the moment," said Bravo President Lauren Zalaznick. The pop culture network has hits with "Project Runway" and "Top Chef," and announced Friday that the upcoming fifth season of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" will be its last. It makes a similar docu-series with comic Kathy Griffin, who mocks her life on "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List." Besides showing the frenzy of life in Hollywood, "Hey Paula" will offer "an intimate glimpse at the real woman behind the headlines," Zalaznick said. Bravo hasn't decided whether that will include mention of Corey Clark, the 2003 "American Idol" contestant who accused Abdul of coaching him and initiating an affair. Fox, a unit of News Corp., cleared Abdul of any wrongdoing. Dow ends up 41, Nasdaq gains 18 NEW YORK — Wall Street rebounded from an early loss Friday to send the Dow Jones industrials to their second straight record close as investors embraced robust economic data and shrugged off several profit warnings. Bond prices fell on concerns about interest rates. Stocks held on to their gains despite a warning from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc., considered one of the bellwether stocks of the tech sector. The market also got a boost from the recent decline in oil prices and a Commerce Department report that retail sales rose in December at their strongest pace in five months — an indication that holiday sales might have turned out better than expected despite downbeat reports earlier this month from many retailers. The retail sales report was another sign that the economy remains healthy, and could persuade central bankers to keep interest rates where they are. Stock and bond investors have been hoping the Fed might lower rates in the near future. Some of Friday's fluctuations were likely due to investors adjusting their positions ahead of a three-day weekend, with the markets closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "You've had a pretty good week, and people always tend to even up positions on a Friday — especially before a holiday," said Alexander Paris, an economist and market analyst for Chicago-based Barrington Research. Mike Tyson indicted on drug charges PHOENIX — Former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson has been indicted on charges of drug possession and driving under the influence of drugs. The 40-year-old was indicted Friday on felony drug possession and paraphernalia possession counts and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs. If convicted of all four charges, he could be sentenced to up to 7 1/2 years in prison, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said. The charges stem from Tyson's Dec. 29 arrest in Scottsdale. Tyson was pulled over after leaving a nightclub, and an officer found bags of cocaine in his back pocket and another in a package of cigarettes in his car, according to court records. Tyson's criminal attorney, Thomas Marlowe, didn't immediately return phone calls Friday. Thomas said he would pursue prison time for Tyson, who was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992 and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland in 1999. "Tyson endangered the public and himself and must be held accountable for his actions," Thomas said. "It's my hope that a conviction and prison time will help him to break his addictions and learn to comply with the law." -- The Associated Press Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Debt Relief Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us