2A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 9, 2006 NATION/WORLD Doctors to end Sharon's coma NEWS IN BRIEF Israeli prime minister still in critical condition, but brain scan shows signs of improvement JERUSALEM (AP) - A scan of Ariel Sharon's brain yesterday showed improvement, but doctors decided to wait another day to start bringing the Israeli leader out of his medically induced coma, an important step in determining how much dam- age he suffered from a massive stroke. One of Sharon's doctors said if the prime min- ister survives, he would not be able to return to office. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Cabinet he would work to carry on Sharon's political legacy. Sharon remained in critical condition yester- day at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital after suf- fering a stroke late Wednesday and undergoing two lengthy surgeries to stop massive bleeding in his brain. Sharon previously experienced a mild stroke Dec. 18. Doctors have kept Sharon in a medically induced coma and on a respirator since Thursday to give him time to heal. Sharon's medical team decided that this morning they would begin reducing the level of sedatives he is receiving to start pulling him out of the coma. Experts said the process could take six to eight hours, and doctors should have a good idea of the extent of the damage by the end of the day. A new brain scan yesterday showed his vital signs, including the pressure inside his skull, were normal, said Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the hospital director. "His condition is still critical but stable, and there is improvement in the CT picture of the brain," Mor-Yosef said. "In light of all these factors, the panel of experts decided to start the process of taking him out of the sedation tomorrow morning. This all depends, of course, on whether the prime minister makes it until tomorrow morning without any significant incidents." Doctors had planned to start pulling Sharon from the coma yesterday, but decided to wait another day after performing the new scan. The 77-year-old Sharon, Israel's most popular politician, was seen by many here as the best hope for resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. His grave illness, just three months before elections, has stunned Israelis and left Middle East politics in limbo. Doctors will pass their assessment of brain dam- age to Attorney General Meni Mazuz. "They will inform us the moment they wake him up from the sedation and they will know what systems were damaged and what his situation is," Justice Ministry spokesman Jacob Galanti said. If doctors determine that Sharon is permanently incapacitated, the Cabinet would meet immedi- ately to choose a new prime minister from the five sitting Cabinet ministers from Sharon's Kadima Party who also are lawmakers. Olmert is seen as Sharon's potential heir. One of Sharon's surgeons, Jose Cohen, said that while the premier's chances of survival were high, his ability to think and reason would be impaired. "He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to understand and to speak," the Argentina-born Cohen said in comments pub- lished yesterday by The Jerusalem Post. Outside experts were even less optimistic. "There is zero expectation on my part that he will have the capacity to perform in any kind of formal way," said Keith Siller, medical director at the NYU Comprehensive Stroke Care Center. "We are basically hoping he survives and that he has some kind of ability to get some rehab so he can have some useful function again. But we are talking about the basics, we are talking very basic things. The complexity of this man, and what he did for a living, this is not to even be considered now. This is absolutely unrealistic at this time." Israel's Cabinet met for its weekly gathering yesterday for the first time since Sharon's stroke. Olmert sat next to Sharon's empty chair, the prime minister's untouched gavel rested in the middle of the table. U - U~~fl - U flU in - .wa -- -- ------ WASHINGTON Race to succeed DeLay begins Democrats tried for years to topple Tom DeLay. Republicans succeeded. DeLay, the defiant face of a conservative revolution in Congress, stepped down as House majority leader on Saturday under pressure from GOP lawmakers stag- gered by an election-year corruption scandal. "During my time in Congress, I have always acted in an ethical manner within the rules of our body and the laws of our land," the Texas lawmaker told fellow Republicans in a letter informing them of his decision. Still, referring to criminal charges he faces in his home state, he added, "I cannot allow our adversaries to divide and distract our attention." DeLay temporarily gave up his leadership post after he was charged, but always insisted he would reclaim his duties after clearing his name. His turnabout cleared the way for leadership elections among Republicans buf- feted by poor polls and by lobbyist Jack Abramoff's confessions of guilt on corrup- tion charges in connection with congressional wining and dining. The race to replace Delay as majority leader began taking shape immediately, with Reps. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the GOP whip, and John Boehner of Ohio, a former member of the leadership, making clear their intentions to run. Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) declined to say whether he would join them. PHILUPPI, W.VIr. 0H Dems demand answers from A to Filibuster a possibility if high court nominee dodges certain questions WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen- ate Democrats yesterday promised a drawn-out confirmation and perhaps a filibuster for Samuel Alito if the Supreme Court nominee evades or refuses to answer their questions on abortion, presidential war powers and other issues at this week's confirma- tion hearings. "If he continuously, given his pre- vious record, refused to answer ques- tions and hid behind 'I can't answer this because it might come before me,' it would increase the chances of a filibuster," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Judi- ciary Committee. Democrats say they will not decide whether to filibuster or try to delay a committee vote until after the committee's weeklong hearings that begin today. If Democrats attempt a filibuster based on Alito's answers on abortion, at least one Republican is ready to vote for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's plan to ban judicial filibusters. "I would consider that not only not an extraordinary circumstance, but a threat to the independence of the judi- AP PHOTO Supreme Court nominee Samuel Allto, center, walks through Hart Senate build- ing with Bush assistant Jamie Brown, left, and former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats. ciary, and I would stop it in its tracks with my vote," said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) Graham is one of the 14 senators- seven from each party-who joined together to end an earlier Senate show- down of the stalling tactic for the pres- ident's judicial nominees. That group of centrist lawmakers decided last year to support such fili- busters only under "extraordinary cir- cumstances." Republicans say there is no reason to delay or filibuster Alito, the fed- eral appeals court judge who is Bush's choice to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She often pro- vided the swing vote on abortion, the death penalty, affirmative action and other contentious issues. "I have not seen any rational basis for filibustering Judge Alito," said the I Judiciary Committee chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), on CNN's "Late Edition." Alito will face at least two days of questioning from senators; the nomi- nee and the lawmakers planned to give their opening statements at noon today, hours after Alito's scheduled breakfast meeting at the White House with the president. Questioning begins tomorrow and is expected to go through at least Thursday. Specter has called for a Jan. 17 committee vote. But Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee's top Democrat, would not promise that Democrats would stick to that schedule, which Senate leaders hope would lead to a final vote in the full Senate on Jan. 20. "Obviously, if he doesn't answer the questions, then it gets out of my control. Some senator would move to hold it over. Let's hope we get all the answers, so that doesn't happen," Leahy told CBS's "Face the Nation." Alito was the White House's sec- ond choice to replace O'Connor, the high court's first female justice. White House counsel Harriet Miers withdrew from consideration after conservatives questioned her judicial philosophy and qualifications for the Supreme Court. State lawmakers return to their jobs (AP) - State lawmakers return to their jobs this month, grappling with finding ways to protect property rights, stem the influx of illegal immigrants and prepare for emergencies, with Hur- ricane Katrina still fresh on their minds. Looming behind all their actions will be thoughts of elections this fall. Money worries have eased a bit for many states after years of tight budgets. But that only spurs debate over how to spend surpluses - should it be on schools, roads or easing homeowners' high energy bills? Meanwhile, long-term costs of health care and education prom- ise to soar, complicating the lawmakers' next moves. Beyond budgets,a top issue is the back- lash created by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that said governments may seize private property for economic develop- ment. Lawmakers in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri and elsewhere are trying to ban the use of eminent domain for such purposes. And illegal immigration already is spurring argumentand action, from Ari- zona to New Hampshire. Georgia legislators want to bar gov- ernment assistance to illegal immi- grants for food stamps and education. An Arizona proposal would crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants. New Hampshire will con- sider allowing police to detain undocu- mented immigrants for a few days until federal authorities take them. "The federal government has got to step up and do its job," said New Hamp- shire's Senate Majority Leader Bob Clegg, a Republican. The bungled federal response on the Gulf Coast to Hurricane Katrina offered Mourners grieve privately for 12 miners The funerals began early. There were just so many scheduled in West Virginia's coal mining towns yesterday. And after an untold number watched on live television as it was revealed that 12 miners died in the Sago Mine explosion, the funerals were, for the most part, a private affair. Only those who knew the miners and live in these coal mining communities were allowed to join the families to grieve. Police officers created a protective ring around the two funeral homes here, asking the media not to intrude. But it was clear, even from a distance, that nearly 100 mourners - hugging each other, offering condolences to each other, many starring at their feet as they walked inside - had gathered to remember miner Jackie Weaver. The 52-year-old section electrician, who spent 26 years working in the mines, always wrote "Jesus saves" in the coal dust of his mine car as he and colleagues descended into the mine, said his cousin, Scotty Felton, 42, of Philippi. BAGHDAD Helicopter downed in Iraq; 12 believed dead A U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter went down in northern Iraq, killing all 12 Americans believed to be aboard in the deadliest crash in nearly a year, while five U.S. Marines died in weekend attacks, the military said yesterday. The latest deaths followed an especially bloody week in which about 200 Iraqis and a dozen U.S. troops were killed. Iraqi politicians, meanwhile, claimed headway in forming a stable coalition government following the Dec. 15 elections, whose final results may be released this week. U.S. military officials said the UH-60 Black Hawk crashed just before midnight Saturday about seven miles east of Tal Afar, a northern city near the Syrian border that has seen heavy fighting with insurgents. ANKARA, Turkey Gunman who shot Pope John Paul to be freed The man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 will be released from prison this week after a court decided he had completed his sentence for the attack on the pontiff and other crimes - a ruling that took the Vatican by surprise. Mehmet Ali Agca was extradited to Turkey in 2000 after serving almost 20 years in Italy for shooting and wounding the pope in St. Peter's Square in Rome. His motive for shooting John Paul in the abdomen on May 13, 1981, remains unclear. Agca, 47, was to be released on parole Thursday, his lawyer, Mustafa Demir- bag told The Associated Press by telephone. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS An article on the front page of Friday's issue mistakenly referred to Eastern Michigan University spokesman Ward Mullens as spokeswoman. Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. ahe Ilitcigu aig 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com JASON Z. 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