News Update 11/15/2007

National News

Last night in Washington, House Democrats pushed a $50 billion bill for the Iraq War, requiring President Bush to bring home troops in the upcoming weeks, and end combat by December 2008. President Bush had already begun reducing the amount of troops in Iraq, however was opposed to a congressionally mandated timetable on the war. The measure pushed through by the House Democrats is considered unlikely to pass in the Senate, however Democrats wanted voters to know that they refuse to give up. The White House did pledge to veto the bill, and republicans stated they would back up the president.

Oregon researches reported yesterday that they had cloned monkey embryos and extracted stem cells, which offers the strongest proof yet that the same can be carried out with human cells. The actual cloning of human embryos, however, remains some time away, due to technical as well as ethical concerns.

Local News

Two 14 year old Lowell boys broke into the Wang Middle School to steal musical equipment, and are currently facing charges. Police were alerted to the break-in by an alarm, and upon showing up at the school, found the boys walking away with the stolen equipment. The alarm sounded 11:34p.m., where the boys broke into the school’s music room. The boys were arrested at midnight and face breaking and entering charges, larceny over $250, possession of burglary tools, and a curfew violation.

Voters in Massachusetts will get a chance to give their opinion on Governor Deval Patricks casino plan as early as Feb. 5th. Primary voters will be given the question: “Do you support the establishment of up to three resort casinos in Massachusetts?”

Sports News

The future of UMass Lowell’s hockey tem has been secured, at least, for the next 2 years. The University has a two-year extension of the Lease of the Tsonga’s arena, which was announced Wednesday. The River Hawks will be traveling to Providence College on Friday, and Northeastern on Saturday, for two games on the road this weekend.

The Boston Red Sox will be raising ticket prices next season by 9%, adding more money to what is already the highest ticket price in baseball. This price raise will bring the bleacher seat price to $26, a $3 raise from this past season, and Field Box seats will raise to $125 a piece. The Upper Bleacher seats, which are the lowest priced tickets, will remain at $12, as well as the Standing Room Only tickets, which will remain at their current process.

For all of UMass Lowell’s sports details and schedules, visit goriverhawks.com.

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