WASHINGTON, DC – In a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) hearing on the national economic outlook, Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) today questioned Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, on whether the Fed’s monetary policy is allowing Congress to delay action on a credible, long-term fiscal policy.
In the hearing, Coats suggested that Congress and the administration need to summon the political will to address our nation’s long-term debt problem, rather than continuing to dependon the Fed’s unprecedented monetary policy, which keeps interest rates artificially low.
“I am starting to hear that the Fed is buying us time so therefore we don’t need to take action right now,” said Coats in the hearing. “Is the Fed being an enabler for an addiction that Congress can’t seem to overcome?”
Click here to watch Coats’ questioning in the JEC hearing.
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A truck driver accused of assaulting an off-duty Merrillville police officer working as a security guard Monday afternoon has had charges filed against him today in Lake Criminal Court. 43 year old Craig Strand, of Portland, Oregon, was shot by the officer, for allegedly grabbing the officer's weapon, after an altercation between the two occurred due to the officer issuing parking tickets to Strand for illegally parking the semi in the parking lot of Planned Parenthood. Strand is charged with disarming a law enforcement officer, battery resulting in bodily injury, and resisting law enforcement.
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No one was injured after a semi rollover accident in the eastbound lane of the Indiana Toll Road this morning. Indiana State Police at the Toll Road say the incident occurred about 10:45 am, and was cleared at 2:16 this afternoon. The rollover, which blocked both lanes, took place between the Portage Toll Plaza and State Road 49 and resulted in traffic being backed up from mile marker 25 to mile marker 31.
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(Photo Courtesy of the Times)
A Valparaiso man is charged several felonies for allegedly raping an underage girl. The Times reports 31 year old Matthew Moore is accused of providing the girl alcohol, and that the incident reportedly occurred on November 21^st or 22^nd, when the girl was between the age of 14 and 16. A hearing is schedule for tomorrow afternoon in Porter Superior Court.
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Westville firefighters assist a mock boiler explosion victim during the annual disaster drill at Westville Correctional Facility. [Photo provided]
Emergency responders from Westville and La Porte County and the Indiana State Police were at the Westville Correctional Facility for the prison's annual disaster drill this week. Public Information Officer for the center, John Schrader, says the drill featured a simulated explosion of one of the boilers in the powerhouse.  Schrader also says one of the main reasons for running these drills is to make sure responders know how to get in and out of the facility. You can hear more of our interview with John Schrader at News Audio on Demand here are our website.

Westville firefighters assist a mock boiler explosion victim during the annual disaster drill at Westville Correctional Facility. [Photo provided]...

Region home sales are heating up. The Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors says nearly 770 homes were sold in April across Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton and Jasper Counties – a 26-percent compared to the same month a year ago. April also marked the 22^nd straight month that home sales have gone up in northwest Indiana, according to a report from the association. The median selling price is now up to 130-thousand dollars, a point-three percent increase over April 2012.
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Via Twitter, Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher today announced his retirement from the NFL. After a 13-year career, all with the Bears, Urlacher wrote that he wanted to thank all who've helped him along the way, and that he will miss his teammates, coaches, and Bears fans, and the game, " but I leave it with no regrets".
Read the statement here: 
https://twitter.com/BUrlacher54/status/337222072075952128
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La Porte Police report – two other citizens setting an example for the community. A citizen came into the police department with a woman's purse he found at Fox Park Tuesday afternoon, and police were able to contact the owner, whose identification was still inside. Also Tuesday, someone came into the police department to turn in a bank debit card found lying in the parking lot of Kabelin's Ace Hardware. Police were unable to reach the owner, and the card was placed in recovered property.
… Last week, a citizen in La Porte turned in a wallet she found while picking up litter along Highway 35. Police say the wallet had ID and the owner said it must have fallen off his vehicle after visiting a local convenience store.
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Indiana State Police at the Toll Road are reporting minor injuries after a semi rollover accident on the eastbound Indiana Toll Road near Chesterton.  Police say the semi is blocking the eastbound lanes, but traffic is being allowed around on the shoulder.  A caller tells us the semi is under the overpass, and traffic is also being routed onto the State Road 49 exit.
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The Purdue University Board of Trustees is holding a public hearing in West Lafayette this afternoon on a proposed tuition freeze and some fee cuts at the main campus for the next two academic years. The same proposal calls for a two-percent tuition and fee increase at Purdue's three regional campuses, two of which are in Hammond and Westville, for each of the next two years. Fees at the regional campuses are assessed on a per-credit-hour basis. The university says a videoconference connection will allow public input from  regional campuses.
"This is the right thing to do for students and families in this period of economic stagnation. At the same time, keeping higher education affordable and accessible, especially for science and engineering degrees, is the best form of economic development Purdue can provide for Indiana and the country," said Purdue President Mitch Daniels.
Details:
Three pre-existing fees already slated for increases will rise on the West Lafayette campus. The student fitness and wellness fee will increase $82 the first year, and the student activity fee will increase $10 each year. The engineering differential fee, which only applies to undergraduate engineering students, will increase $250 each year.
Fees for meal plans will be cut 5 percent from a previously authorized increase, the internship/co-op/professional practice fee will be reduced by $514 for non-credit internships, and all other general fees will be held flat. A new instructional support fee of $500 would be added for incoming veterinary medicine students.
Tuition and fees for resident students would be $9,992 in 2013-14 and $10,002 in 2014-15.
Out-of-state students also would see an increase of $92 the first year and $10 the next year.Tuition and fees for nonresident students would be $28,794 in 2013-14 and $28,804 in 2014-15. International students enrolled prior to summer 2011 would pay $28,794; those enrolled prior to summer 2012 would pay $29,830; and those enrolled in summer 2012 or after would pay $30,794 in 2013-14, with an increase of $10 for each category for 2014-15.
The combined tuition freeze and meal plan reductions would save a resident student signed up for the 12-meal plan $358 per year over previously authorized levels. More than 9,000 students purchase campus meal plans.
Purdue's tuition and fees currently rank ninth out of 11public Big Ten universities for resident undergraduates and sixth for nonresident students.
Fees for students at other Purdue campuses are assessed on a per-credit-hour basis. The rates, which reflect a 2 percent increase, for resident and nonresident students, respectively, are:
* Purdue Calumet - $237 and $535
* Purdue North Central - $240 and $570
* Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne - $260 and $624
The public hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, in Stewart Center, Room 326, as a special meeting of the Executive Committee of the university's Board of Trustees. The proposed fees will be discussed, and the public will have a chance to comment. The Executive Committee will act on behalf of the board and will vote on the fee proposal and the 2013-14 system-wide conceptual budget plan during the meeting.
A videoconference connection also will allow public input from Purdue's regional campuses.
Those wishing to speak at the hearing should notify the Board of Trustees' office in advance at 765-494-9710 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Each speaker will be scheduled in the order they register and allotted three minutes to make comments at the hearing, which will last 30 minutes.
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