WCRD News Morning Brief - 3-14-12
WCRD News
Pope
Francis is spending his first day as pontiff in prayer and worship.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected yesterday as the Vatican’s 266th pontiff.
Francis,
the former archbishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina, is the first pope
to be elected from the Americas and the first non-European pontiff in
over a thousand years. The 76-year-old is known for his humility and
his strong support of social outreach.
He will lead his inaugural Mass as Pope Francis today at the Sistine
Chapel in Rome.
Reports are coming in from
passengers aboard a Carnival ship, which indicate that last month’s
cruise ship drama may not be over yet. Only a few weeks after the
Carnival Triumph spent days stuck at sea due to an engine
room fire, the Carnival Dream is experiencing similar issues. Several
passengers aboard the ship have called CNN, saying that they are
experiencing power outages and disabled toilets. The passengers say
they are not being allowed to leave the ship, which
is currently docked at St. Maarten in the Caribbean. A Carnival
representative said last night that Carnival is unaware of any problems,
and further calls to the cruise line have not been returned.
Colleges and universities are
at the center of budget deliberations. During and after the recession,
many higher education institutions saw their budgets slashed. The cuts
forced several schools to raise tuition
rates. Gov. Mike Pence’s January budget proposal included a 1% increase
in higher education spending. The House raised that to a 3.5% annual
increase in its most recent budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee
will meet today to discuss its revisions
to state aid for schools.
Comedian Brian Regan will be on Ball State’s campus tonight to do
what he’s known for: taking the mundane and making it hilarious. Regan
has spent decades in comedy, including a recent 7-year, nonstop theatre
tour of more than 80 cities. From the ‘90s
till now, Regan’s work has been featured on CDs, Comedy Central shows
and DVDs, and late-night shows, including several appearances with Ball
State alumnus David Letterman. Regan will perform tonight at 8 p.m. at
Emens Auditorium.
