National News for April 5 - 18

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from the Washington Post and the New York Times. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

Washington, D.C.

April 16 - The Supreme Court ruled that lethal injections as a method of execution are constitutional. This decision will allow resuming the executions of the prisoners on death row in 34 states. A temporary ban was placed on executions while the case was being heard. Virginia will remove the ban on capital punishment immediately, according to Governor Timothy Kaine. The justices agreed that the injections did not violate the Eighth Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment, in a 7 - 2 vote.

April 15 - Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States and was greeted by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. On his first visit to the United States since becoming Pope in 2005, he plans to visit Washington, D.C. and New York, hold two masses, give a speech at the United Nations and visit Ground Zero.

Chicago, IL

April 13 - Saint Xavier University shut down its Chicago and suburban campuses when threatening graffiti was found. The message "Be prepared to die on 4/14" was discovered on Thursday, according to the university president Judith Dwyer.

Cleveland, OH

April 9 - David Murphy, 11, steered a runaway school bus to safety when it headed towards an oncoming truck. Murphy was on a school field trip when the bus driver pulled into a gas station to fill up the tank and use the restroom. While he was in the restroom the bus started moving downhill. Twenty-seven students were on the bus at the time. Murphy was unsure that he did the right thing, and the cause of the runaway bus has not been determined, according to fire and rescue personnel who were on the scene. No one was hurt.