2A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 18, 2004 NEWS - GOP changes rule for DeLay WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans demonstrated their loyalty to Majority Leader Tom DeLay yester- day, changing a party rule that would have cost him his leadership post if he were indicted by a Texas grand jury that has charged three of his associates. DeLay watched from the back of the room but did not speak as GOP lawmakers struggled in closed session before ending a requirement that lead- ers indicted on felony charges relinquish their positions. Republicans will now decide a House leader's fate in a case- by-case review. The change received overwhelm- ing but not unanimous approval in a voice vote that showed Republicans' eagerness to protect the leader who raised countless campaign dollars for them. He also engineered a redis- tricting plan in Texas that caused five Democratic losses through retirement or election defeats. The dilemma was to shield DeLay in a case that he views as political, while not giving blanket protection to any leader indicted for a crime that clearly has no political overtones. During the closed debate that spanned four hours, with breaks, someone even questioned whether a leader charged with murder could retain his or her post, according to a House aide who was present. Such questions would be handled in the case- by-case review. There is no indication DeLay will be indicted by the Austin grand jury in a probe led by a Democratic prosecutor, Ronnie Earle. In September, grand jurors indicted the three DeLay associates and eight corporations in an investigation of alleged illegal corporate contributions to a political action committee associ- ated with DeLay, (R-Texas). "I did not instigate this," DeLay told reporters after the meeting. "It was not leader led. This came from the members themselves." DeLay said the impetus for the change was a desire to prevent a Democratic district attorney from deciding whether House Republican leaders could keep their jobs. He accused Earle of "trying to criminalize politics and using the crimi- nal code to insert himself into politics." Earle's office, asked to respond, had ,no immediate comment. The prime mover for the change was Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), who won with less than 52 percent of the vote two years ago and 69 percent this year after his district boundaries were changed in a DeLay-engineered Texas redistricting plan. He cited previous Texas cases he viewed as political - all investigated by Earle, the prosecutor in the current campaign finance probe. In one of those cases, charges against Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison - then a Texas official - were abruptly dropped 10 years ago. "This takes the power away from any partisan crackpot district attorney who may want to indict" party leaders and make a name for himself, Bonilla said. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelo- si (D-Calif.) denounced the Republi- cans' move. "Republicans have reached a new low," Pelosi said in a statement. "It is absolutely mind-boggling that as their first order of business following the elec- tions, House Republicans have lowered the ethical standards for their leaders." Some GOP lawmakers also opposed the change. "It sends all the wrong signals for us to change the current rules," said Rep. Zach Wamp of Tennessee. He said he requested a recorded, secret ballot but the suggestion was voted down. A fellow Republican opponent, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, esti- mated 30 to 50 members voted against it. More than 200 Republicans were eli- gible to vote. Unplanned Pregnancy? Hands Aro&s The.Water, a licensed adoption agency, fan heflpyou 6xplore your options. Contact our pregnancy counselor for confider fJiai d c gart support. t16 Free #A 1$ 6789-42 2890 Carpenter Rd Suite 600' Ann Arbor, MI 48108 goj,.,d,,:bornd Putin: Russia developing new weapon President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia is currently develop- ing a new form of nuclear missile unlike those held by other countries, news agencies reported. Speaking at a meeting of the Armed Forces' leadership, Putin reported";y said that Russia is researching and successfully testing new nuclear missile systems. "I am sure that - they will be put in service within the next few years and, wIat is more, they will be developments of the kind that other nuclear powers do not aid will not have," Putin was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency. Putin reportedly said: "International terrorism is one of the major threats for Russia. We understand as soon as we ignore such components of our defense as a nuclear and missile shield, other threats may occur." No details were immediately available, but Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in early November that Russia planned to test-fire a mobile version of Topol-M ballistic missiles in 2004 and production of the new weapon could be commissioned in 2005. News reports have also said Russia is believed to be developing a next-genera- tion heavy nuclear missile that could carry up to 10 nuclear warheads weighing a total of 4.4 tons, compared with the Topol-M's 1.32-ton combat payload. BAGHDAD, Iraq Suicide bombers, battles claim 27 lives A suicide car bomber blasted an American convoy north of Baghdad and U.S. troops battled insurgents west of the capital yesterday as a wave of violence across Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland killed at least 27 people. American forces pursued their search-and-destroy mission against the remain- ing holdouts in the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah, and to the north, American forces pressed an offensive to reclaim part of the city of Mosul from militants. November became one of Iraq's bloodiest months as the U.S. death toll in the war in Iraq reached 1,206 with new Defense Department identifications Tesday night and yesterday, according to an Associated Press tally. Yesterday, a suicide attacker drove his bomb-laden car into a U.S. convoy dur- ing fierce fighting in the town of Beiji, 155 miles north of the Baghdad, killing 10 people and wounding 12, including three American soldiers. Another attack on a convoy of civilian contractors in Beiji caused no casualties. Elsewhere, a three-hour gunbattle between militants and U.S. forces after night- fall left seven people dead and 13 hurt in Ramadi, a city west of Fallujah. WASH INGTON New guidelines drafted for federal sentences Judges and legal scholars are working on new guidelines for sentencing federal criminals, in anticipation that the Supreme Court will strike down a 17-year-old system that has been challenged as unconstitutional. About 30,000 cases have backed up since last June's high court decision raised questions about the legality of the system. The court now is considering if the guidelines must be replaced because they call for judges, not juries, to consider factors that can add years to prison sentences. A ruling is likely before the end of 2004, and experts helping a federal panel draft alternatives were generally united in predicting that at least part of the guide- lines will be overturned. WASHINGTONj Congress to update special education law Congress is poised to approve the first major changes to special education in seven years, updating a landmark law that now serves 6.7 million children. House and Senate negotiators have reached agreement on the terms of a bill after weeks of closed-door talks and nearly two years of debate in Congress, aides close to the discussions said Tuesday. The bill aims to boost discipline in class, better identify children with disabili- ties, get help to students earlier and reduce lawsuits by parents. 4 - Compiled from Daily wire reports MARKET UPDATE WED. CLOSE C HANGE DOW JONES 10,549.57:+61.92 NASDAQ 2,099.68 + 21.06 S&P 500 1,181.94 +6.51 -0 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 available 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, viaU.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. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press. 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