The Daily Orange

Former Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Baset al-Megrahi - the only person convicted in the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the killing of 35 Syracuse University students - was released from Scottish prison today on compassionate grounds. Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made a formal announcement at 1 p.

A Syracuse University graduate student fell, hit her head and drowned in Hiawatha Lake in Syracuse around 7 p.m. Wednesday. She was taken to University Hospital and pronounced dead 30 minutes later, said Sgt. Tom Connellan of the Syracuse Police Department.

Danny Facto, a part-time Syracuse University student, died Wednesday night in a motorcycle accident in Cicero, just outside of Syracuse. He lost control of his motorcycle and crashed off East Taft Road at around 11:30 p.m., The Post-Standard is reporting. Facto, 29, was thrown from his vehicle and suffered massive head injuries.

Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor's son was found safe Sunday night after he disappeared earlier that afternoon, said Tony Callisto, chief of the Department of Public Safety. Cantor reported her 19-year-old autistic son Archie Brechin missing around 6:30 p.

John Morse, a Syracuse University senior from Beverly, Mass., died early this morning after he fell from the Irving Avenue parking garage near Sadler Hall, said university spokesman Kevin Morrow. Morse, a 21-year-old senior in the School of Information Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences, was found at 5 a.

Organizers for this year's commencement ceremonies expect more than 25,000 people in the Carrier Dome Sunday, including students, parents and professors. But this time around, they're planning for some new faces: Vice President Joe Biden and his Secret Service detail.

Syracuse University students will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the entertainment industry this fall. A new satellite campus program in Los Angeles will allow students to work with SU alumni that have made names for themselves in the Hollywood spotlight.

A Syracuse asbestos-removal company was indicted on federal charges Thursday of falsifying reports that it removed and tested asbestos at the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house at Syracuse University as well as falsifying tests done at several SU residence halls and academic buildings.

Joe Biden walked across the stage at Syracuse University in 1968, on what was then Archbold Stadium. He stepped into a world burdened by an unpopular war in Vietnam, one in which there was "no light at the end of the tunnel," he said. Yet four decades ago, when graduating from SU with a law degree, he was optimistic about the future.

Vice President Joe Biden is known for having a certain way with words. In college, it was the wrong way - borrowing words and cutting some corners. In May 1965, Biden plagiarized a law review article during his first year at Syracuse University law school.

John Morse, a Syracuse University senior, jumped off the Irving Avenue parking garage Friday in what Syracuse police have now ruled a suicide, said Sgt. Tom Connellan. Morse, 21, was found at 5 a.m. Friday and taken to Crouse Hospital where he was pronounced dead, Connellan said.

Talk of H1N1 influenza, commonly known as swine flu, has raised concerns nationwide. Universities across the country have eliminated the traditional handshake from their commencement ceremonies, and local Syracuse schools have shut down due to confirmed cases.

Alex Coulombe was studying abroad in London during the 20th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland - a terrorist attack that killed 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University students returning home from studying abroad.

Friends and family members will travel from as far as Madagascar for this year's commencement ceremony. Pat Burak, director of the Slutzker Center for International Services, said her office helps coordinate travel plans for international families by sending out letters of validation along with the commencement invitations.

As the national unemployment rate climbs past 8.5 percent nationwide, seniors are finding alternatives to traditional employment. Internships, service work and jobs outside their experience area are all attracting seniors who know landing their dream job right out of school may be difficult.