• Fiesta Bowl: Texas 24, Ohio State 21
• Men's Basketball: Nebraska 81, Florida A&M 56
• Robert Hawkins' mother to be on 'Dr. Phil'

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Twenty-nine state senators — four more than needed to adopt a law — indicated in the World-Herald survey that they either supported or would strongly consider adopting lethal injection as the means to carry out the death penalty in Nebraska.

Ashley Andreasen arrived home Thursday evening after spending the night with friends, and settled down to watch TV and eat dinner with her family. Soon after, the Council Bluffs 15-year-old developed a severe headache that left her crying and nauseated. By 9 p.m., she was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. By the next evening, she was dead.

An artist-led group wants to transform a mostly vacant north downtown building into a creative center with studios, classrooms, theater space, shops and restaurants. The Omaha Creative Institute, an initiative of the Hot Shops Art Foundation, formed more than a year ago with the goal of promoting the creative process in the area.

Also:
Retail space seen as vital to linking NoDo, Old Market arts areas

Jumping from 5-7 to 9-4? That feat will keep Nebraskans' toes warm during a long winter. But if Bo Pelini wants to take another step forward in 2009, he'll have to win a Big 12 North crown.

Is accelerated aging in the Oval Office inevitable? Almost certainly, say some specialists in aging and politics. The pounding stress of the job can unleash biological forces that translate into wrinkles, gray hair, weight fluctuation - and sometimes even premature death - although there is far from universal agreement on the long-term health effects of the presidency.

Every day, the World-Herald's award-winning photographers capture images of Midlands life. Continuing weekly, Omaha.com will showcase the week's best photos in a new special gallery format. Here's the latest installment:

• World-Herald Week in Pictures - Dec. 27, 2008-Jan. 2, 2009


• World-Herald photographers' favorite photos of 2008
Jeff Beiermann • Jeff Bundy • James R. Burnett • Kiley Cruse • Rebecca S. Gratz
Laura Inns • Matt Miller • Alyssa Schukar • Kent Sievers • Rudy Smith

• W-H video of 2008: Ol' squeaker

• World-Herald Editorials: A changing of the guard in the U.S. Senate and more.
• Write to The Public Pulse: pulse@owh.com
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