2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 1r1 NATION/WORLD. Deacon Charles Oliver waits outside a police tape barrier yesterday to see what is left of his church, Gallilee Baptist, In Sumpter County, Ala. Church fires ragem hC i South Motive unknown for nine church fires suspected to be arson BOLIGEE, Ala. (AP) - Fires damaged or destroyed four more Baptist churches across the Alabama countryside yesterday, less than a week after a string of five blazes that were ruled arson. Church member Johnny Archibald said smoke was pouring from Morning Star Baptist in Boligee when he arrived around daybreak. "They had kicked the door in," he said. "Evidently they had set the pulpit on fire and went out the front door." Yesterday's fires took place at church- es off rural roads, about 10 to 20 miles apart. They were in a cluster of three counties, about 60 miles from the Bibb County area where the five other church- es were burned early Friday. FBI acting assistant director Chip Burrus said investigators were work- ing on the assumption that the nine fires are linked. Authorities have no suspects or motive, Burrus said in an interview with The Associated Press in Wash- ington, D.C. Rich Marianos, a spokesman for the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agency, said more than 50 agents are now assigned to the investiga- tion in Alabama. "This is our No. 1 priority nation- ally," he said. The fire that damaged Dancy First Baptist Church early yesterday in Pick- ens County appeared to be arson, said Sheriff David Abston. He said volunteer firefighters responded to a burglar alarm that went off at 5:13 a.m. Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state insurance agency that oversees fire investigations, said investigators were pursuing several leads in last week's fires, but "the leads haven't led us to a specific suspect or a motive." King s widow honored Coretta Scott King remembered as an influential leader LITHONIA, Ga. (AP) - Four U.S. presidents joined more than 10,000 mourners yesterday in saying goodbye to Coretta Scott King, praised by Presi- dent Bush as "one of the most admired Americans of our time" "I've come today to offer the sym- pathy of our entire nation at the pass- ing of a woman who worked to make our nation whole," President Bush told King's four children and the crowd that filled New Birth Missionary Baptist Church for her funeral. "Coretta Scott King not only secured her husband's legacy, she built her own," Bush said. "Having loved a leader, she became a leader, and when she spoke, Americans listened closely." Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin stresedAthrat King nae o~ut. not us~t NEWS IN BRIEF KABUL, Afghanistan Three die in protests over cartoons International peacekeepers clashed yesterday with Afghans protesting draw- ings of the Prophet Muhammad, leaving three demonstrators dead and prompt- ing NATO to send reinforcements to a remote northern city. Senior Afghan officials said al-Qaida and the Taliban could be exploiting anger over the cartoons to incite violence, which spread to at least six cities in a second day of bloody unrest in Afghanistan. Demonstrations rumbled on around the Muslim world, and the political reper- cussions deepened, with Iran suspending all trade and economic ties with Den- mark, where the drawings were first published. The Danish prime minister called the protests a global crisis and appealed for calm. In a new turn, a prominent Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri, invited artists to enter a Holocaust cartoon competition, saying it wanted to see if freedom of expression - the banner under which many Western publications reprinted the prophet drawings - also applied to Holocaust images. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Throngs of frustrated voters flood polls Scuffles broke out and polling stations opened hours late yesterday as masses of Haitians waited - sometimes in mile-long lines - to vote under the protec- tion of U.N. peacekeepers crouching behind machine guns and patrolling alongside armored vehicles. Outside the gang-controlled Cite Soleil slum, frustrated voters pounded on empty ballot boxes and chanted, "It's time for Cite Soleil to vote!" The turnout for the vote - called a key step toward steering this bloodied, impov- erished nation away from collapse - overwhelmed electoral officials. At dawn, when the 800 polling stations were supposed to open, it immediately became apparent the day would not go smoothly. In the upscale Petionville suburb of the capital, members of a crowd of thousands of voters stormed a voting station. Several women fainted. WASHINGTON Bush's budget proposal may not have future President Bush's budget is barely a day old, but it already faces dire prospects in Congress. It's a blueprint better suited for an odd-numbered year. Odd-numbered years are when Congress typically takes on difficult budget issues. During even-numbered years, when lawmakers have to face the voters, they don't like to vote for things like cuts to Medicare, food stamps, farm subsidies and education. "I can't believe that there's a will to cut $36 billion out of Medicare," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). "I can't imagine the Republican Party ... is going to allow this to come through this year in an election year." "We all know who votes in election years," Harkin added, referring to the high vot- ing rate for senior citizens who rely on the health care program for the aged. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Disgusted veteran will run for Congress After 20 years in the Air Force and Bronze Star service during the 1991 Gulf War, Democrat Jay Fawcett decided to come home and run for Congress, largely out of disgust with the way American troops were being used in Iraq. "I think it's just gotten to the point where a significant number of us who've served are looking at this administration particularly - and Con- gress doesn't get off the hook - and saying, 'What're you doing? What's the plan?"' he said. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story on yesterday's front page (The wait is over: Int'l studies minor finally approved) incorrectly stated that prospective students will need to have their plan of study approved by the director of the International Institute. Plans will be approved by the director of the Center for International and Comparative Studies. The same story incorrectly stated that funds granted by the U.S. Department of Education could go toward hiring new faculty. The funds could support new initiatives from existing faculty. Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. i:1ie atrf un tiIu 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com 01 0 Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times 0 The issues. The opinions. The facts. The latest. For your course. For your life. For your need to know. Studen and educators:. Subscribe to The Times for up to 50% off the newsstand price. Call 1-888-NYT-COLL Or visit nytimes.com/student II(spiri > hrg DoNN M. 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