ipods to blame for crime? News reporter Scott Gutierrez, from seatlepi.com, sat in on a panel discussion Tuesday sponsored by Urban Institute. Crime researchers are exploring the correlation between ipods and the increase in crime over the past few years. In New York City, ipod and cell phone thefts raised felonies committed on subways. In a similar trend last year, Gutierrez reported teens were responsible for approximately 20 ipod muggings in West Seattle.

DP Commission in Maryland?. Still struggling with legislation to repeal the death penalty, Governor Martin O’Malley is voicing support for an alternative to the delay. Washington Post’s staff writer John Wagner reports that Senator Jamie B. Raskin has a bill to establish a high-profile commission to study the issue and provide a “candid assessment” of the merits of the death penalty. Sound familiar? Since the state’s highest court has ruled that Maryland's lethal injection protocol was not been properly adopted, O’Malley has been dragging his feet on the new regulations. Senator Alex X. Mooney who was last years swing vote on the Judicial Proceedings Committee called it commission another delaying tactic. “It’s been studied a lot, so I don’t know if it’s that crucial."

UC Student faces Explosive Charges. Molly Hennessy- Fiske reports in the L.A. Times that Mark Christopher Woods, 19, was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of possessing materials to make explosives. Investigators reported finding partially assembled pipe bombs in his dorm room. Students of the Tercero Residence Halls were evacuated and stayed overnight in the dining hall. They were allowed back into the dorm on Thursday and school remained in session. Woods was scheduled to be transferred to Yolo County Jail on Thursday.

Tennessee: New DUI Laws
WDEF News 12 reporter Nordia Epps writes that new laws will give out harsher penalties for DUI offenders who kill or hurt children who are passengers in their car and create a registry for repeat offenders. In addition, the state of Tennessee will reduce the legal alcohol level for repeat offenders and those pulled over on suspicion of driving drunk will lose their license if they refuse to submit to a test.