When all else fails in Indiana, play basketball.

The basketball-crazy state got a taste of what it would be like to have a pretty good player in the White House. 

Barack Obama on the campaign trail strapped on his Air Jordans and with his Marines T-Shirt ready to go, embarked on an quickly organized three-on-three in Kokomo, Indiana, with local school kids and WNBA star Alison Bales.

The Illinois senator sunk a left-handed three pointer that sent the crowd into a whirl. With a WNBA star along side him, the man who said he likes to unwind by shooting hoops brought that side of him out for the public to see.

Obama had previously shot some baskets on the “Ellen Degeneres Show” where he also showed off a few dance moves.

While his former pastor, Rev. Wright, continues his cross country publicity tour further damaging Obama’s White House bid, it’s nice to see the candidate still finding the time to connect with the voters on a level both he and they are passionate about - the great game of basketball. 

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Happy Birthday to Edna Parker who turned 115 in Shelbyville, IN, on April 20!

She was declared the oldest person in the world this past August by the Guinness Book of World Records. Edna is one of only 75 people alive in the world today who have made it past their 110th birthday.

Edna marked her birthday at the Heritage House Convalescent Center with cake, some roses and a few balloons for an outdoor party on a beautiful spring Midwest day.

Researchers in Boston are studying Edna to determine why she has lived so long. According to the birthday girl herself, a low stress life leads to longevity!

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Pope Benedict XVI closed out his first trip to America with an emotionally charged day in the Big Apple.

After visiting a Jewish synagogue on Friday for Sabbath services, then speaking to the United Nations on Saturday, the pontiff visited Ground Zero and prayed for the thousands who died on that sacred space Sunday morning.

It was especially touching for the hundreds of families whose loved ones’ remains were never found and where Ground Zero serves as their final resting place.

The pope then headed over to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to lead a Mass for a crowd exceeding 60,000 people.

Overall, the pope had truly won over America’s hearts. After visiting with President Bush and world leaders, the pontiff took the time to meet with victims of the far-reaching abuse scandal in his church. No church official of his holiness’ nature had even acknowledged the church’s problems. By dealing with the issue head on and using the words “ashamed,” this pope managed to bring the Vatican back into the favor of the U.S. citizenry with out jam-packed visit.

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Populations across the Midwest are accustomed to tornadoes, but earthquakes?

Hours ago on this Friday morning, residents awoke to the tremors of a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that shook the country’s heartland at 4:37 a.m. Houses swayed, Chicago skyscrapers rattled and buildings shook across downtown Columbus.

The epicenter of the quake was in West Salem, Illinois, and shook the ground all the way to Atlanta.

Interesting to note, although it sounds strange, this isn’t the rarest of phenomenons. The area was struck by a 5.0 quake in 2002. Thankfully, no one was hurt and only minor property damage was reported across the 400-mile region Friday.

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Pope Benedict XVI made his first visit to the White House Wednesday. He was greeted by an almost fanatical group as he was introduced to the crowd on the White House South Lawn by President Bush.

Bush saluted the pope with a 21-gun salute, a soprano’s “Lord Prayer” and the well-wishes of a nation. There were almost 9,000 people in attendance, one of the largest, if not the largest gatherings ever on a White House lawn. The Pope’s birthday is during this visit and the 9,000 people along with the President sang him “Happy Birthday.”

President Bush told the pope, “You’ve chosen to visit America on your birthday. Well, birthdays are traditionally spent with close friends, so our entire nation is moved and honored that you have decided to share this special day with us,” said Bush.

His holiness has said his visit is about peace and finding ways to end war. 

The pope’s U.S. tour continues as he makes his way to New York’s Yankee Stadium for Mass on Sunday.

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Even President George W. Bush, a longtime skeptic of global warming, has admitted that it exists. But, there are those who still insist it is a myth. Senator James Inhofe has made a career out of calling it “a hoax” and now he has company in a 16-year-old girl.

Kristen Byrnes has her own website, “Ponder the Maunder,” and has utilized that medium to go after the climate change issue.

With former Vice President Al Gore winning a Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental efforts, he may now have a foil in Byrnes. After witnessing Gore’s Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth,” her retort to the film on her website took so many hits, her family was warned by their Internet provider for overuse.

She has since moved on to a larger server. Good thing because of her compilation of research studies and other assorted evidence on her site, Byrnes is gearing up to be the anti-Al Gore. Did I mention she’s only 16?

Her argument is that the earth’s warming is part of a natural cycle that has occurred for millennia. She has summed up hundreds of studies in layman’s terms for the general public, and they are eating it up. As the temperature rises on what promises to be another hot summer, the nation has told pollsters that half of us don’t believe humans are causing the warming.

Much like the country’s views on Democrats versus Republicans, it appears we’re split 50-50. What we at The Wire would like to see is the production of “An Inconvenient Truth 2″ with a debate between the Nobel Laurette and the teenager. That might get more ratings than “American Idol.”

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For one hour on Saturday, the entire world turned off the lights. From the most famous landmarks in Sydney harbor to the lights illuminating the coliseum in Rome, to bring attention to the burgeoning climate catastrophe, they all went dark Saturday.

Earth Hour was marked across the globe as businesses and individuals alike sat without lights for 60 minutes on Saturday in an effort to show the world how much energy it uses.

London reported that energy usage for Saturday was down two percent across the board. One hour of energy-less time made that much difference in a 24-hour day.

This is an event that organizers promise will continue into the future when the world gathers on March 29 each year to turn off the lights from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time as we all try to become more eco-friendly.

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For thirty dollars you don’t have to haul yourself to New York to appear on the Maury Povich Show to get the DNA-related answers you require.

A home testing kit for DNA, mirroring the drug testing kits popular with parents, is now available on the market. Containing a swab, a consent form (which of course, legally must be there), and a Netflix-like package ready for return mailing. The product will find the DNA answers coming your way in three to five days.

The DNA test arrived Wednesday on select stores’ shelves, but consumers may want to call around to ensure the local drug store carries it. And do not count on this product answering questions for court issues - legally - the home kit does not qualify as sufficient.

By the time all is said and done with lab fees - add in another $119 to receive results. The company behind many a DNA test, Identigene, reported their demand for the product was so high that it called for a home version.

“Store sales are brisk and Identigene has been inundated with questions regarding the product’s availability,” the company said in a statement.

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Stephanie Kuleba was an 18-year-old with a bright future. With a perfect grade-point-average in school, she was a cheerleader and now she is dearly missed.

What was supposed to be routine cosmetic surgery on Saturday, Kuleba instead had a fatal reaction to the anesthesia. The death is sparking a debate about how young is too young to have cosmetic surgery.

She was going under the knife to correct irregularly sized breasts and an inverted nipple. Kuleba was thought to recover quickly as the millions who have gone before her who have experienced the same surgery.

Doctors are digging to discover what was missed that would have led the teenager having a fatal reaction to anesthesia.

Mourners gathered in a Florida church Wednesday to say goodbye to the girl many described as “perfect” and someone who well-wishers will “miss so much.”

After the mother of Kanye West passed recently from cosmetic surgery, the debate is raging in medical circles as to the public reaction to tragic results from surgery that should be routine.

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D.B. Cooper, the name is synonymous with getting away with crime. Then, there is the other aspect of his legend that is domestic hijacking of airplanes. What he did is such a rarity, the vulnerability of 9/11 struck America to its core.

Cooper stands out because of the nature of his crime and now he is in the news once again. After taking a small aircraft hostage, he landed it, was paid the money he demanded and disappeared into history.

The FBI is reporting that it is taking a long look at a segment of a parachute found in Washington state earlier today and its implication to this almost 25-year case.

So, who is D.B. Cooper?

He is the man who hijacked a Northwest Orient flight from Portland to Seattle in 1971, got what he wanted and was never heard from again. The aircraft landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and he released the passengers for $200,000 in cash.

D.B. Cooper then demanded that he be flown to Mexico where he promptly parachuted out of the airplane flying him to his desired locale. He has never been seen since. Cooper’s tale was chronicled in the 1981 film, “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper.”

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