2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 3, 2004 NATION/WORLD Rover finds proof of past Mars water NEWS IN BRIEF WASHINGTON (AP) - Water per- colating through the soil once created a friendly environment that would have been ideal for life to flourish on Mars, NASA scientists say. It is not known how long this envi- ronment lasted or if any organism actually developed. But scientists directing robot rovers prowling the Martian surface said yesterday the evi- dence now is clear that some rocks "were once soaked with liquid water." "The ground would have been suit- able for life," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, the lead investiga- tor for science instruments on the rover Opportunity. "That doesn't mean life was there. We don't know that." Mars now is cold and dry and there is no apparent evidence of life on its barren surface. But Squyres said chemical and geo- logical clues gathered by Opportunity give dramatic proof that at some time in its past, liquid water coursed over the rocks and soils. Such conditions on Earth, Squyres said at a news conference, "would be capable of supporting life. "We believe that that place on Mars for some period of time was a habit- able environment," he said. Squyres said it is not known how long the life-environment lasted, if the water collected in surface pools or underground, and when in the long his- tory of Mars the liquid water existed. Answers to those questions, he said, probably will require missions that scoop up Martian samples and bring them to laboratories on Earth. NASA researchers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif, who are guiding the exploration of Mars by Opportunity and its twin, Spirit, said the primary goal of the rover mission was to find evidence of Martian water. That goal was accomplished, they said yesterday, when Opportunity used all of its instruments to study a fine, layered rock called El Capitan. The rock is embedded in the wall of the crater where the six-wheeled robot "The ground would have been suitable for life." Lead investigator for science - Steve Squyres instruments on the rover Opportunity began its journey on Mars. "We've been attacking that outcrop with everything we have," said Squyres. The payoff is chemical and geological evidence of a water history at that one spot. Benton C. Clark III, a Lockheed Mar- tin Space Systems scientist and a mem- ber of the rover team, said that when Opportunity used an abrasion tool to bore into the rock it found "an astound- ing amount of salt" crystalized inside. "The only way you can form such large concentrations of salt is dissolve it in water and allow the water to evap- orate," Clark said. Clark said the salts may have been dissolved in water and then crystalized as the water evaporated. Salts of bromine and chlorine, he said, are deposited in patterned layers that match the evaporation sequence found on Earth when briny water pools dry up. The scientists also found what they call "blueberries," small, globular- shaped inclusions in the rock that can be formed by water. The inclusions are rather like blueberries in a muffin, hence the name. Some of the spherical objects have rolled into a small basin, called the "blueberry bowl" by scientists, and will be analyzed further by Opportunity to confirm their water origin. Images also show voids the size of pennies randomly distributed in the mar- tian rocks. Such voids, called vugs, are often formed in rocks on Earth when chemicals crystalize and then erode away, leaving behind an empty space. Gun legislation voted down in Senate Senate Republicans scuttled an election-year bill to immunize the gun industry from lawsuits yesterday after Democrats amended it to extend an assault weapons ban and require background checks on all buyers at private gun shows. The National Rifle Association began pressuring senators to vote against the bill after Democrats won votes on the two key gun control measures. The 90-8 vote against the bill virtually ends any chance for gun legislation to make through Congress this year. "I now believe it is so dramatically wounded that I would urge my colleagues to vote against it," said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), the sponsor of the gunmaker immunity bill. Democrats won close votes on their amendments to change the Republican legis- lation, a strategy aimed at pressuring the GOP-dominated House to accept the restrictions to gain passage of the gunmaker-immunity bill. While Democrats won't get the gun ban extension and the gun show legislation, they called the vote a suc- cess. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "The immunity bill was a terrible bill. We're better off at the end of the day than we were at the beginning of the day." EWYORK Executive pleads guilty to record tampering Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was charged yesterday with falsifying the books at the long-distance company in the biggest corporate fraud case in American history, and his chief financial officer pleaded guilty and agreed to tes- tify against him. Ebbers was accused in a federal indictment of taking part in a scheme to falsely inflate earnings by $11 billion. He was charged with securities fraud, conspiracy and making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Former chief financial officer Scott Sullivan agreed to plead guilty to the same charges and cooperate with prosecutors in hopes of reducing a potential 25-year prison sentence. "I took these actions, knowing they were wrong, in a misguided effort to pre- serve the company to allow it to withstand what I believed were temporary finan- cial difficulties," Sullivan, 42, of Boca Raton, Fla., said in court. In a steady voice, Sullivan said he was motivated to plead guilty by "sincere Rebel takes over army in Haiti; U.S. skeptical PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Rebel leader Guy Philippe declared himself the new chief of Haiti's military, which was disbanded by ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and pledged yes- terday that rebel forces will disarm. Philippe then said he would arrest Prime Min- isterYvon Neptune on corruption charges. "The country is in my hands!" Philippe announced on Radio Signal FM. Philippe, flanked by other rebel leaders and senior officers of Haiti's police force, told reporters, "I am the chief," then clarified that he meant "the military chief." He said he was "not interested in politics" and was ready to follow the orders of interim President Boniface Alexandre, chief justice of the Supreme Court, who was installed Sunday. Asked whether he would disarm if requested to, he said, "We will." He then summoned 20 police commanders to meet with him yesterday and warned that if they failed to appear he would arrest them. U.S. Marines guarded Neptune's office in the Petionville suburb, where Philippe was headed with hundreds of supporters in a convoy impeded by adoring and cheering crowds. Neptune's whereabouts were not immediately known. Local radio reported that he was evacuat- ed by helicopter. It was also unclear whether American or French marines - who arrived in recent days to secure diplomatic missions and other sites - would try to protect him. Neptune is a top member of Aristide's Lavalas party and his former presidential spokesman. In a phone call to The Associated Press, Philippe said Neptune would face corruption charges. The rebels appear to be taking advantage of a power vacuum in the wake of Aristide's abrupt departure Sunday. Shortly before that phone call, Philippe appeared on the second-floor balcony of the colonnaded former army headquarters before a cheering crowd of hundreds. A burly rebel stand- ing next to Philippe urged them to accompany the rebel chief to Neptune's house. "Arrest Neptune!" the crowd chanted. In Washington, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Roger Noriega said Philippe "is not in con- trol of anything but a ragtag band of people." "The international military buildup in Haiti will make Philippe's role less and less central in Haitian life. And I think he will probably want to make himself scarce," Noriega told the U.S. Sen- ate Foreign Relations Committee. "We have sent that message to him. He obvi- ously hasn't received it." Philippe, who arrived in Port-au-Prince in a rebel convoy Monday, apparently plans to trans- form his fighters into a reconstituted Haitian army. The army ousted Aristide in 1991 but then was disbanded by him in 1995, a year after he was returned to power by 20,000 American troops. remorse and a deep sense of contrition." WASHINGTON Homeland securit achievements lauded America is "breathing down" the necks of terrorists and will never relent, Presi- dent Bush said yesterday, marking the first anniversary of the Homeland Securi- ty Department. In a speech to some 200 department employees, Bush said the United States was cutting off the terror- ists' money supply, chasing down terror- ists leaders and disrupting their networks. This came amid claims that while the administration is more aware of threats, it is not doing enough about them. "We are relentless," Bush said. "We are strong. We refuse to yield. The rest of them hear us breathing down their neck. ... We will bring these killers to justice." His speech came as an internal Justice Department investigation concluded that continuing delays in the integration of FBI fingerprint files with U.S. Border Patrol databases were leaving the country vulnerable to terrorists. WASHINGTON Estrogen can cause dementia, study says Long-term use of estrogen slightly increases women's risk of a stroke and possibly of dementia, the government said yesterday, halting the nation's last major study of the hormone a year early because of the safety concern. 5.6 million women who've undergone hysterectomies do - doesn't appear as risky as taking it with the hormone progestin. Use of estrogen alone for seven years didn't increase women's risk of breast cancer or heart attacks, while taking the two-drug combination for even shorter periods did. The findings, announced by the National Institutes of Health, may make it more difficult for women to decide whether to take some form of hormone therapy at menopause and, if so, for how long. tPHILADELPH IA Abducted girl found seven years later Luz Cuevas took one look at the dim- pled, dark-haired little girl at a birthday party and instantly knew two things: She was watching her own daughter - presumed killed in a 1997 fire - and she needed a way to prove it. So Cuevas pretended the 6-year-old girl had gum in her hair, removed five strands from the child's head, folded them in a napkin and placed them in a plastic bag. "Because of TV I knew they needed hair for the DNA." Cuevas said. The DNA tests confirmed that the girl was Cuevas's only daughter, Delimar Vera. Investigators believe a family acquaintance stole the 10-day-old baby from her crib, set the fire to cover the crime and raised the girl as her own. - Compiled from Daily wire reports - is 40 A U.S. Marine guarding the presidential palace walks by Haitian policemen raising the flag in Port-au-Prince yesterday. Gunmen l Shiite Muslims 0 -- qAI- - - in raKistan Using estrogen alone - as roughly QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - Attack- ers sprayed gunfire and lobbed grenades into a solemn religious pro- cession of Shiite Muslims yesterday, then blew themselves up as survivors scattered. Authorities said at least 42 people died, and more than 160 were wounded. Outraged Shiite Muslims rioted after the massacre, prompting authorities to call out troops and paramilitary police to quell gunbattles and arson in this southwestern city of 1.2 million. Shiite mobs set fire to a Sunni Muslim mosque, shops and a TV station. "Our people are not safe at home, they are not safe in mosques," said Allama Hassan Turabi, a senior Shiite leader. The attack in Quetta came less than two hours after coordinated blasts at Shiite shrines killed more than 140 people in Iraq. The bloodshed came on Ashoura, a day when Islam's Shiite faithful mark the death of a revered 7th-century leader by marching in black and lash- ing themselves in penitence. In Pakistan, the emotional and high- ly visible annual rites often spark vio- lence between the Sunni Muslim majority and Shiite minority. Yesterday's attack was one of the deadliest in years of repeated acts of sectarian violence in Quetta. Baluchis- tan province, of which Quetta is the capital, holds a substantial Shiite minority that is often at odds with radi- cal Sunni groups. As worshippers marched through a congested neighborhood, three gunmen opened fire and hurled grenades at the crowd, said Mayor Abdul Rahim Kakar, who was nearby at the time. Walking among the survivors with more explosives lashed to their bodies, the men blew themselves up as police Iul i f' m WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is availaple free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily's office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $105. Winter term (January through April) is $110, yearlong (September through April) is $190. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscrip- tions 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. E-mail letters to the editor to letters Cmichigandailvcom. A NEWS Tomislav Ladika, Managing Edito 763.2459, nows@michigandally.com EDITORS: Jeremy Berkowitz, Carmen Johnson, Andrew Kaplan, Emily Kraack STAFF: Farayha Arrine, Melissa Benton, David Branson, Adrian Chen, Ashley Dinges, Adhiraj Dutt, Victoria Edwards, Cianna Freeman, Donn M. Fresard, Alison Go, Megan Greydanus, Michael Gurovitsch, Aymar Jean, C. Price Jones, Michael Kan, Kylene Kiang, Genevieve Lampinen, Andrew McCormack, Naila Moreira, Jameel Naqvi, Lindsey Paterson, Koustubh Patwardhan, Mona Rafeeq, Karen Schwartz, Siabhon Sturdivant, Ryan Vlcko OPINION Jason Z. Pesick, Editor 763.0379, opinionomichigandaIy.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Daniel Adams, Jennifer Misthal, Suhael Momin, Jess Piskor STAFF: Benjamin Bass, David Betts, Darryl Boyd, Katherine Cantor, Jasmine Clair, Sara Eber, Jared Goldberg, Emily Hanan, Bonnie Kellman, Andy Kula, Jessica Risch, Ben Royal, Jeff Segal, Courtney Taymour CARTOONISTS: Sam Butler, Colin Daly COLUMNISTS: Sravya Chirumamilla, Steve Cotner, Joel Hoard, Aubrey Henretty, Shabina Khatri, Sowmya Krishnamurthy, D.C. Lee, Louie Meizlish, Ad Paul, Zac Peskowitz, Hussain Rahim SPORTS Gennaro Filice, Managing Editor 764.8585, sports@mlchlgandally.com SENIOR EDITORS: Chris Burke, Daniel Bremmer, Dan Rosen, Jim Weber NIGHT EDITORS: Josh Holman, Bob Hunt, Megan Kolodgy, Sharad Mattu, Ellen McGarrity, Brian Schick STAFF: Beth Adelson, Jeremy Antar, Eric Ambinder, Kyle Carpenter, Waldemar Centeno, Eric Chan, James V. Dowd, Gabe Edelson, Ian Herbert, Brad Johnson, Jamie Josephson, Melanie Kebler, Phil Kofahl, Courtney Lewis, Julie Master, J. Brady McCollough, Michael Nisson, Kyle O'Neill, Jake Rosenwasser, Steven Shears, Naweed Sikora, Matt Singer, Ryan Sosin, Anne Uible, Matt Venegoni ARTS Jason Roberts, Managing Editoi 763.0379, artspage@mIchIgandaIlycom EDITORS: Adam Rottenberg, Alex Wolsky SENIOR EDITOR, WEEKEND MAGAZINE: Niamh Slevin EDITORS, WEEKEND MAGAZINE: Sravya Chirumamilla, Sean Dailey SUB-EDITORS: Andrew M. Gaerig, Zach Mabee, Sarah Peterson, Melissa Runstrom, Doug Wernert STAFF: Jennie Adler, Rachel Berry, Aliya Chowdhri, Laurence Freedman, Katie Marie Gates, Brandon Harig, Lynn Hasselbarth, Mary Hillemeier, Joel Hoard, Kevin Hollifield, Andrew Horowitz, Lia Izenberg, Megan Jacobs, Alexandra Jones, Michelle Kijek, Jiwon Lee, Ryan Lewis, Evan McGarvey, Vanessa Miller, Jared Newman, Charles Paradis, James Pfent, Christopher Pitoun, Rebecca Ramsey, Archana Ravi, Scott Serilea. Jaya Soni, Anthea Stolz, Justin Weiner, Todd Weiser, Janet Yang r ir r W 60 PHOTO Tony Ding, Managing Ed 764.0563, photo@michigandally.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS: EliserBergman, Ryan Weiner ASSISTANT EDITORS: Jason Cooper, Seth Lower STAFF: Trevor Campbell, Forest Casey, Joel Friedman, Dory Gannes, Mike Hulsebus, Jeff Lehnert, Danny Moloshok, Brett Mountain, Brendan O'Donnell, Ali Olsen, Shubra Ohri, Eugene Robertson, Laura Shlecter, Jordan Steckloff, Jonathon Triest, David Tuman GRAPHICS DESIGN STAFF: Ashley Dinges, Megan Greydanus ONLINE Janna Hutz, Managing Ed 763.2459, onlineemichlgandallycom STAFF: Bethany Dykstra, Kate Green, Mira Levitan, Candace Mui, Julie Pannuto, Laura Wong ditor ditor 764.OSS4, display@michigandaly.com A