The story that a BYU student was included in MTV's "Real World" continues to expand, with the Associated Press now distributing the story that Julie may not be allowed back to BYU. The school is looking at the situation because as part of the show, she lived in a house with four men and two other women, in violation of BYU's housing policy. (Read this whole story.)
ARTS & ENTERTANMENT: LDS Rock Star Rejoins 'Guess Who'
Guess Who is reborn and will deliver?! The answer will become apparent when LDS Church member Randy Bachman reunites with the members of the legendary Canadian rock band Guess Who for a tour that starts in St. John's, Newfoundland, on May 31 and winds up on Craven, Saskatchewan, on July 15. If you listen to the music in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," you'll hear the Guess Who's anthem-like "American Woman." And so it seems that one of the most successful acts of the '60s and '70s seems cool again. (Read this whole story.)
CHURCH NEWS: Hinckley Birthday Tickets Gone in One Day
Tickets to the birthday celebration for LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley's 90th birthday party, scheduled for June 23, were snapped up in hours. Those eager to attend the celebration began lining up at ticket booths in Salt Lake, Ogden, and Provo before dawn Wednesday. Reserved tickets were all distributed by 12:30 p.m., and a limited supply of standby tickets were gone in the early afternoon. (Read this whole story.)
CHURCH NEWS: LDS Missionary From China Killed
An LDS missionary that had recently arrived in the Provo Mission Training Center was hit and killed in a freeway onramp traffic accident early Friday morning. Elder Wen Ping Shi, 27, of Fujin, China, was killed at about 1:14 a.m. by a driver in a pickup truck. Since Shi was wearing a dark suit, the driver did not see him. (Read this whole story.)
BUSINESS: Prominent LDS Ad Exec to Join New E-Venture
LDS Church member and New York advertising executive Gordon Bowen is involved in a new venture meant to build relationships with consumers for packaged goods companies. According to Advertising Age's sources, the company, Upromise, will build a "higher education rewards program" allowing consumers to accumulate financial rewards for purchases that could then be applied to a child's education. (Read this whole story.)
SPORTS: New Schedule Has BYU Playing Mondays
The Mountain West Conference league voted, and now BYU will play basketball on Monday nights. Breaking a long-standing aversion, the university will participate in the MWC's schedule, which will shift next season from a mainly Thursday-Saturday format to a Saturday-Monday format. The Conference announced the schedule Tuesday, saying that the change was meant to accommodate ESPN's nationally televised Big Monday late game and address problems with the schedule that many coaches called unfair. (Read this whole story.)
