2- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 11, 1998 NATION/WORLD State GOP picks new leaders LANSING (AP) - Rep. Chuck Perricone was elected speaker of the state House yesterday in a closed-door session of the 58-member Republican caucus. Perricone, a second-term Republican from Kalamazoo Township, campaigned for the top spot for more than a year, working vigor- ously for GOP candidates in tight races throughout the state and contributing $4,500 to each. Perricone represents a departure from the low-key speakers in recent memory. He's gained a reputation for being extremely partisan and confrontational. "He's probably a little bolder" than former Speaker Paul Hillegonds, who led Republicans during the 1995-96 session, said Rep. Terry Geiger (R-Lake Odessa). Geiger jumped out of the speaker race sever- al months ago. "He will step out there and take a stance," Geiger said. "One thing I think he's learned in the last year is you have to collect a lot of opinions before you step out there." Rep. Andrew Raczkowski (R- Farmington Hills) was selected as majority floor leader, the second-rank- ing House leader. aIt is with great pride that I accept the position of speaker of the Michigan HouseR -- Rep. Chuck Perricone New Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives Perricone's ascension to speaker was all but assured after the GOP snatched control of the House from Democrats, who will hold their 58-52 majority until this session ends on Dec. 22. After the election, Rep. Mark Jansen, a first-term lawmaker from Grand Rapids, decided to run against Perricone to offer a choice. Jansen said getting into the race late meant he was the longshot, but he want- ed to make sure Perricone's leadership wasn't second-guessed later. Some had also found Jansen an attractive candi- date because he's less confrontational than Perricone. Perricone said yesterday that he was pleased by the vote from his party. In the past term, he served as assistant minority leader. "It is with great honor that I accept the position of speaker of the Michigan House,' Perricone said in a statement. "Together, the Republican caucus will move Michigan forward into the 21st century. Perricone said his first job was to meet with GOP Gov. John Engler today to discuss plans for the next session. He said House GOP members would go on a retreat Dec. 14 to shape their agenda. "We are committed to tax cuts. We are committed to the governor's agen- da," he said. Republicans had lost control of the House to Democrats in the 1996 election. This year's win gives Republicans control of the Legislature and governor's office, smoothing the way for their agenda. Term limits took effect for the first time this year and ushered in 64 new members. Perricone will lead the cau- cus of 58 - 17 incumbents and 41 first-time lawmakers - through the 1999-2000 session. Raczkowski beat out two other con- tenders for the majority floor leader spot, who runs day-to-day action in the House. Raczkowski got an early start and campaigned for the House majority much like Perricone did, handing out checks from his own political action committee funds. And in the past few days, as fresh- men Republicans came to Lansing for their orientations, Raczkowski had bas- kets filled with fruit, cheese and cham- pagne sent to their hotel rooms. He beat Rep. Mike Green of Mayville and Rep.-elect Mary Ann Middaugh (R-Paw Paw). She won hus- band Mick Middaugh's seat in last Tuesday's election, and has worked in the Republican floor leader's office for 16 years. Other caucus leaders selected yester- day include Rep. Patricia Birkholz (R- Saugatuck) as speaker pro tempore; Rep.-elect Paul DeWeese (R- Williamston) as majority whip; Rep.- elect Bruce Patterson (R-Canton) as associate speaker pro tempore; Rep. Judith Scranton (R-Brighton) as associ- ate speaker pro tempore; and Middaugh, as assistant majority floor leader. AROUND THE NATION Gates in 1995: Suit will "blow over" WASHINGTON - Microsoft Chair Bill Gates, now fighting a government antitrust case built partly on e-mail evidence, told Intel executives in 1995 that he might change his company's policy about how often to destroy internal e- mail. According to notes from the meeting made public yesterday, Gates also dis- missed scrutiny by federal regulators at the time. "This antitrust thing will blow over," he predicted, adding: "We haven't changW our business practices, at all." Gates, the world's richest man, never actually changed the Microsoft policy that governs how long employees may keep e-mail messages before they are routinely deleted. Company attorneys suggested yesterday that Gates may have been joking. They noted that even today the company has no formal guidelines on saving e-mail, although the government at trial frequently is using older messages to contradict Gates' recent sworn statements. Gates' comments at the July 1995 meeting were recorded in handwritten notes by Intel Corp. Vice President Steven McGeady. In July 1995, Microsoft Corp. had already signed a consent decree with t Justice Department to change some of its business practices. I Summer Orientation Employment Opportunities STRIKE Continued from Page 2. UCLA's Turner said graduate student teaching assistants receive salaries and benefits that are "comparable to if not better than most universities." Turner said the average monthly salary for a GSI in the 1997-98 academic year was $1,452. They also receive health benefits and a partial fee remission, which shaves about two-thirds off in- state tuition. With these "competitive" benefits, Turner said GSIs have filed few com- plaints or grievances about reparation or workloads. Despite the apparent satisfac- tion with their jobs, the GSIs still want collective bargaining rights. He said UCLA is waiting to hear if the state will accept the decision an adminis- trative-law judge recommended two years ago mandating that teaching assis- tants are employees, not just students. But Turner maintained "the basic posi- tion of the university is that the primary - Friendly a Helpful Affordable - Available Anytime (at pr capus bookstre) W WW.wlpSwer.tCem reason for the TAs and research assistants is not to provide them with work." "It's to enhance their educational train- ing and skills related to their subsequent careers," Turner said. "It's not just a job." However, UCLA sociology GSI Steven Sherwood said the GSIs feel they should have the title of employee as well as student. "The argument of the union is that the TAs are essential," Sherwood said. "They do a lot of the gruntwork, but the amount and condition of the work are not being fairly compensated." Chip Smith, the University of Michigan's Graduate Employees Organization's bargaining committee spokesperson, said the GEO supports California's GSIs, because they have a "fundamental right" to organize. In relation to the University's GEOs own bargaining efforts to gain more ben- efits when its contract expires, Smith said that while a strike is always a possi- bility, he hopes "it's not going to come to that: O.. to Face new custody heang SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - An appeals court yesterday overturned a ruling giving O.J. Simpson custody of his two younger children, saying a lower court should have given more consideration to the possibility he killed his ex-wife and a friend. The 4th District Court of Appeals, ruling on a petition by the parents of Nicole Brown Simpson, ordered a new hearing. "As a matter of case law, as well as common sense, the question of whether one parent has actually murdered the other is about as relevant as it is possi- ble to imagine in any case involving whether the surviving parent should be allowed any form of child custody," the decision said. Simpson told The Associated Press he plans to fight the decision for as long as it takes to keep custody of Sydney and Justin. "The one thing is no matter what anyone thinks of me personally - or what they may think I have done or haven't done - is the well-being of these kids," he said. Simpson said no one could argue that the kids aren't doing "incredibly well and are incredibly well adjusted and happy." Nicole Brown Simpson's parents, Louis and Juditha Brown, had been guardians of the children while Simpson was on trial for the murder of their daugh- ter and Ron Goldman. The two were knifed to death outside Nicole Brown Simpson's home on June 12, 1994. Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995, but jurors in the civil case award- ed the victims' families $33.5 million in damages from Simpson. AROUND THE WORLD Cabinet convened to ratify accord TEL AVIV, Israel - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yes- terday he would convene his Cabinet to ratify the Mideast peace accord signed in Washington last month, indicating he is now satisfied with Palestinian security assurances. Netanyahu has postponed the Cabinet debate three times, saying he needed more clarifications from the Palestinians about their campaign against Islamic militants. But a late night drive-by shooting yesterday near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank left two Israeli sol- diers with injuries. The soldiers at the scene said they believed the assailants headed for Palestinian- controlled territory a few miles away. Netanyahu adviser David Bar-Illan said the government was waiting for more details before it could assess how the shooting would affect the peace process. Last Friday, the ministers had just meeting and said he would not recon- vene the ministers until the Palestinian Authority outlined how it would pre- vent attacks against Israelis. Earlier yesterday, Netanyahu said new guarantees led him to believe th t Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Autho would take "practical steps" against Islamic militants. Nations seek long term hurricane aid LA CEIBA, Honduras - Central America is back on the celebrity cir- cuit, at least for the moment. Not since the region's civil wars,end* early in this decade have so many digni- taries planned stops at these tiny coun- tries. Now they're bringing aid f6r vtc- tims of Hurricane Mitch, distributing clothes and contributions for medicine and food donated by ordinary people.- What remained unclear is whether this immediate concern will translate into the long-term measures that the region's leaders insist are necessary. - Compiled from Daily wire repo. Moms smarter due to hormone changes LOS ANGELES - Motherhood may actually make women smarter - perhaps permanently - as hormones released during pregnancy and nursing dramatically enrich parts of the brain involved in learning and memory, new animal studies suggest. The findings, made public yesterday at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Los Angeles, are among a series of emerging insights into how the subtle ebb and flow of sex hormones change the brain. Indeed, so responsive is the female brain to changing hormone levels that aspects of neural cell structure appear to change during the course of a monthly cycle, new research indicates. Overall, researchers are discovering that, compared to the male brain, the female brain retains a remarkable capacity for change throughout a life- time. The enriching effects of childbear- ing were discovered in an unusual series of experiments with laboratory animals by neuroscientists at the University of Richmond and Randolph Macon College in Virginia, who wanted to understand what effect higher hormone levels of pregnancy had on brain structures involved in learning and memory. Homeless slashing suspect arrested SAN FRANCISCO - A man sus- pected of slashing four homeless peo- ple was arrested yesterday with a bloody knife in his pocket just blocks from where the latest victim had his throat cut as he slept. Police believe Joshua Rudiger, 2 cut the throats of three homeless m and one homeless woman in the last three weeks. The woman died. Rudiger considers himself a vampire, a police source told KCBS radio. He was arrested shortly after the lat- est victim was found staggering about near Chinatown. Opening November 12 at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor. Eddie Bauer, Eddie Bauer HomeT and AKA EDDIE BAUERTm. Three ways to shop, all under the same roof! Sne Milcnigan uaily (ISSN U/45-ti) is published Monday through Friday during the falIand winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $85. Winter term (January through April) is $95, yearlong (September through April) is $165. On-campus sotib scriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated Collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. 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