Associated Press: What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions

By Associated Press / July 2, 2023

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making. Here are five things to know about July Fourth, including the origin of the holiday and how fireworks became part of the tradition.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Morning-after pill vending machines gain popularity on college campuses post-Roe

By Associated Press / July 1, 2023

SEATTLE (AP) — Need Plan B? Tap your credit card and enter B6. Since last November, a library at the University of Washington has featured a different kind of vending machine, one that's become more popular on campuses around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion last year. It's stocked with ibuprofen, pregnancy tests and the morning-after pill.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: How the Supreme Court student loan decision affects you

By Associated Press / June 30, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled the Biden administration overstepped its authority in trying to cancel or reduce student loan debt, effectively killing the $400 billion plan, which would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. Of those, 20 million would have had their remaining student debt erased completely. The court's decision means, barring an act of Congress, those Americans are on the hook for payments starting in October.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Court rules for a designer who doesn't want to make wedding websites for gay couples

By Associated Press / June 30, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for gay rights, the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples. The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.

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LOCAL NEWS

Local community events weekend roundup

By Staff Reports / June 30, 2023

Many events are going on this weekend around Muncie and Delaware County. Yorktown will have its Farm and Artisan Market from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The market is in Walnut Grove in Morrow’s Meadow Park. The park has playgrounds, trails and launching sites for kayak trips. Tonne Winery will have the Hunter Lee Band play as a part of their Music Series. The concert will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Food available will be La Patrona and Farmland BBQ. It is encouraged to bring your own lawn chairs. 

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NEWS

Band student moves to the beat of her own drum

By Madelyn Moore / June 29, 2023

She stands at 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with a pounding heart. There’s a moment of silence. Counts are whispered. She breathes, then, drumsticks are flying. When the question of ‘who’s good?’ was on the table, students at the Music For All Summer Symposium, held June 24 through July 1 on the campus at Ball State University, were quick to turn their heads and look at Evey Arleth. 

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Smoke and haze from Canadian wildfires leave Detroit with some of the worst US air quality

By Associated Press / June 28, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit area woke up Wednesday to some of the worst air quality in the United States as smoke from Canada's wildfires settled over most of the Great Lakes region and unhealthy haze spread southward, as far as Missouri and Kentucky. The Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow.gov site showed Detroit in the “hazardous” range and warned that “everyone should stay indoors and reduce activity levels.”

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LOCAL NEWS

Nominations wanted for the 31st Annual Women’s Equality Day Program

By Staff Reports / June 27, 2023

The Muncie-Delaware County Coalition of Women’s organizations is looking for local nominations of women to honor during the 31st Annual Women’s Equality Day Program. The Coalition invites nominations of women who have made an impact and contribution in the arts, education, religion, business, politics, environment and social or community service by improving the quality of life in the communist. Other categories will also be considered, according to the release.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: One year later, the Supreme Court's abortion decision is both scorned and praised

By Associated Press / June 26, 2023

Activists and politicians are marking the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned a nationwide right to abortion with praise from some and protests from others. Advocates on both sides marched at rallies Saturday in Washington and across the country to call attention to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling on June 24, 2022, which upended the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

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WORLD NEWS

Associated Press: Belarus deal to take in leader of Russian rebellion puts him in an even more repressive nation

By Associated Press / June 25, 2023

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was notorious for unbridled and profane challenges to authority even before the attempted rebellion that he mounted Saturday. The reported agreement for him to go into exile in Belarus would place him in a country where such behavior is even less acceptable than in his homeland. Prigozhin on Sunday was uncharacteristically silent as his Wagner private army forces pulled back from Russian cities after a Kremlin announcement that he agreed to depart for Belarus; it remains unclear whether he’s actually there.

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WORLD NEWS

Associated Press: Russian mercenary chief says his forces are rebelling, some left Ukraine and entered city in Russia

By Associated Press / June 24, 2023

The owner of the Wagner private military contractor made his most direct challenge to the Kremlin yet, calling for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister. The security services reacted immediately by calling for the arrest of Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin was taking the threat, security was heightened in Moscow and in Rostov-on-Don, which is home to the Russian military headquarters for the southern region and also oversees the fighting in Ukraine.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Breaking News: Associated Press: The pilot and 4 passengers of the Titan submersible are dead, US Coast Guard says

By Associated Press / June 22, 2023

The U.S. Coast Guard says a missing submersible imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board. Coast Guard officials said during a news conference Thursday that they've notified the families of the crew of the Titan, which has been missing for several days. Debris found during the search for the vessel “is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Search for the missing Titanic submersible passes the critical 96-hour mark for oxygen supply

By Associated Press / June 22, 2023

The search for the missing submersible on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic passed the critical 96-hour mark Thursday when breathable air could have run out, a grim moment in the intense effort to save the five people aboard. The Titan submersible was estimated to have about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic — but experts have emphasized that was an imprecise approximation to begin with and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. And it’s not known if they survived since the sub’s disappearance.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Pride and pain for Biden as his son Hunter reaches a plea deal after 5 years of investigation

By Associated Press / June 21, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden had just six words to offer after his 53-year-old son Hunter pleaded guilty to federal tax offenses in a deal that is also likely to spare him time behind bars on a weapons charge. “I’m very proud of my son,” he said. That pride has been accompanied by pain, and for the president’s family, both have been on public display. Republicans have worked to use Hunter Biden’s actions — and his acknowledged struggle with addiction — as an anchor to try to drag down his father.

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PARKING PASSES

2023-2024 Ball State parking pass information

By Staff Reports / June 20, 2023

The parking pass system at Ball State is based on class ranking. Just in a couple of weeks, permits will be on sale. Here are the dates in times when students can purchase their parking passes for the next academic year. Residence hall permits are likely to sell out due to limited spaces available, so the times will be important. To buy a permit, head to www.bsu.edu/parking and click “buy a permit” to purchase yours. 

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Americans mark Juneteenth with parties, events and quiet reflection on the end of slavery

By Associated Press / June 19, 2023

Americans across the country this weekend celebrated Juneteenth, marking the relatively new national holiday with cookouts, parades and other gatherings as they commemorated the end of slavery after the Civil War. While many have treated the long holiday weekend as a reason for a party, others urged quiet reflection on America's often violent and oppressive treatment of its Black citizens. Still others have remarked at the strangeness of celebrating a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the nation while many Americans are trying to stop parts of that history from being taught in public schools.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: A spate of weekend mass shootings leaves 6 people dead and dozens injured across the US

By Associated Press / June 19, 2023

A spate of weekend mass shootings and violence across the U.S. killed at least six people, including a Pennsylvania state trooper, and left dozens injured. The shootings follow a surge in homicides and other violence over the past several years that experts say accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. They happened in suburban Chicago, Washington state, central Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California and Baltimore.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Associated Press: Supermajorities in state capitols push controversial policies to the edge

By Associated Press / June 17, 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lawmakers in state capitols this year have been flexing their superpowers. In North Carolina, a new supermajority of Republicans enacted abortion restrictions. In Vermont, a new supermajority of Democrats imposed a climate-sensitive home heating law. And in Montana, a GOP supermajority booted a transgender lawmaker from the House floor. In each case, the views of their political opponents ultimately were irrelevant.

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Renovations and cost changes are on the way as the Board of Trustees has their summer meeting

By Elijah Poe / June 16, 2023

The Ball State University’s Board of Trustees met today to push plans for the future and next year. President Geoffrey Mearns presented the current state of the Village revitalization. The goals of this revitalization are to create a more vibrant environment, improve connections, attract students and employees to Ball State, retain students to keep on living in Muncie and also to boost Muncie’s economy. 

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NEWS

Local community events weekend roundup

By Staff Reports / June 16, 2023

Events are planned for the next couple of days throughout Delaware County and Muncie. Yorktown Farmers Marketplace will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Walnut Grove in Morrow’s Meadow. The Marketplace has a multitude of items including food, art and more. The park itself has several playgrounds and trails. Tonne Winery will have Cliff Ritchey performing as a part of their Tonne Winery Music Series. The concert will start at 6 p.m. and will run until 8 p.m. Farmland BBQ and The Food Vault will be there as well for food options. It is encouraged to bring your own lawn chair.