NATIONAL NEWS

Martha Stewart- you can’t keep her down Martha Stewart, the homemaking guru who was jailed last March for obstructing justice is due to be released next week. Martha Stewart Omnimedia, a New York based business named for the celebrity, originally distanced itself from Stewart. Now, however, things have changed. They are talking about her “homecoming” and Stewart has a new column with her name on it. The change of attitude is in line with other promising things in the w oman’s life. Two television shows have been announced with the Martha Stewart name on them, a new version of “The Apprentice.” and a daily lifestyle program. Both are produced by Mark Burnett. Stewart just can’t be kept down. New Reports by the Dept of Health and Human Services evaluates national health care Two new reports have been released by the Department of Health and Human Services that evaluate the quality of health care across the country. According to Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Director of Healthcare Research and Quality, the report contains information on the quality of healthcare nationwide. The report also displays the practical differences that race, ethnicity, income, education and other elements have on receiving quality healthcare. The Dept. of Health and Human Services’ goal is that the reports will form a quality standard that will significantly improve the national level of care. Prosecutor gets to the naked facts Albert Tasker, a Key West Prosecutor for Monroe County Florida, has been placed on administrative leave for taking off his clothes and running to a parked car while under the influence of alcohol. Police said that Tasker told them that he had been drinking with friends and thought it would be funny to get naked and run to the friend’s car. A big problem with Tasker’s execution of the problem is that he ran to the wrong car. Apparently the person who’s car he was in, did not appreciate a naked man in their back seat, for he was later found by authorities in the middle of the parking lot. The Monroe County State Attorney’s office is quite embarrassed by this streak of indecency, and is conducting an internal review as a result. Students paid a hundred bucks to keep room presentable The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is paying eighteen students $100 each this semester to keep their rooms presentable. The students, which live in nine residence halls, are required to be up and out of bed and allow tour groups for the Michigan Campus Day tour program, tour their rooms from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. They are not required to keep a clean room, but anything illegal or offensive cannot be out where the guests can view them. Rapist not found earlier because of mistake Authorities in Denver, Colorado said that they would have found a convicted child molester that was allegedly guilty of an series of rapes if it weren’t for a contractor leaving out a DNA sample. Brent Brents was arrested Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting at least five women and girls during the month of February. The police obtained DNA evidence from a woman that was attacked last October. The problem was that the contractor who was responsible for handling data from the FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation accidentally left Brent’s information out when it was transferring information to a new computer on the 14th of December. Brents would have been identified by authorities if they would have had the missing information. Brent’s DNA was in the state database due to a conviction of raping two children in 1988.