NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - 3
ON CAMPUS
Best-selling author
to speak on going
beyond tolerance
Aman Motwane, the author of the
best-selling book "The Power of Wis-
dom," will lead a workshop tonight in
the Vanderberg room of the Michigan
League from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on why
people need to move beyond tolerance
and embrace differences in an insightful
and open way.
Visiting prof to
lecture on rabies
and epidemics
Leslie Real, a visiting professor of
biology from Emory University, will
give a lecture in Auditorium 1 of the
Henry F. Vaughan Health Building
today from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Her lec-
ture is entitled "Predicting the Spatial
Dynamics and Control of Epidemics:
Rabies as a Model."
SAB to host job
interviewing
workshop
Journalist
alum slowly
recovering
Tension rises over limits
on drug liability lawsuits
ABC's Bob Woodruff
is regaining motor
skills and starting to
speak and walk
NEW YORK (AP) - Five weeks after
ABC anchorman Bob Woodruff, a 1987
graduate of the University Law School,
was seriously injured in an Iraqi explo-
sion, he remains hospitalized but is able to
say a few words and is starting to walk, his
brother said yesterday.
"In the last couple of days, he's taken a
lot of great leaps forward," David Wood-
ruff said. "He's definitely doing so much
better."
Bob Woodruff and ABC cameraman
Doug Vogt were standing in the hatch of
an Iraqi mechanized vehicle, reporting on
the war from the Iraqi troops' perspective,
when the roadside bomb exploded Jan. 29.
Both were wearing body armor, which
doctors say likely saved their lives.
The men underwent surgery in Iraq
and were treated in Germany before being
flown to the National Naval Medical Cen-
ter in Bethesda, Md.
Woodruff, 44, still is on heavy pain
medication as his body recovers from the
serious head injuries and other wounds.
But he recognizes people, he can tell his
daughter he loves her, and the multilin-
gual journalist has even said a few words
in Chinese and German, his brother David
Woodruff told ABC's "Good Morning
America."
The first response David Woodruff
recalls getting from his brother in the hos-
pital was a smile when he told him: I hate
to tell you this, but you still have a face
for TV.
"My brother's been an overachiever his
entire life. I think none of us expected him
to do anything less in this whole process,"
David Woodruff said. "We know that top
on his mind is getting back to his family,
to his kids and getting back to doing what
he loves to do"
Bob Woodruff grew up near Detroit
in Oakland County's Bloomfield Town-
ship and is a 1979 graduate of Cranbrook
Schools in Bloomfield Hills.
ABC News President David Westin,
in an e-mail to his staff yesterday, said
Woodruff is "exceeding expectations and
giving us real reason for optimism."
Vogt left Bethesda Medical Center
in late February and returned home to
France, where he is undergoing rehabilita-
tion, the network said.
"Good Morning America" anchors
Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer have
been substituting for Woodruff, who start-
ed as co-anchor of ABC's "World News
Tonight" with Elizabeth Vargas earlier
this year.
ABC is expected to announce a longer-
range plan for "World News Tonight" in
the coming weeks.
The Career Center will put on a
workshop to instruct students on the
"essentials" of interviewing for a job at
6 p.m. today in room 3200 of the Stu-
dent Activities Building. Seating will be
available for the first 50 attendants.
CRIME
* NOTES
Laptop stolen from
room in East Quad
Someone stole a student's laptop from
a room in the East Quadrangle Resi-
dence Hall Monday at about 6 p.m., the
Department of Public Safety reported.
The victim told police she had left her
door slightly ajar.
Hospital visitor
busted for narcotics
possession
A visitor in the hospital was caught
with illegal drugs, DPS reported. The
drugs were found at about 2 a.m. yester-
day morning.
" Mcard stolen from
dorm laundry room
Someone stole a student's Mcard
from a laundry room in the West
Quadrangle Residence Hall some-
time last Wednesday or Thursday,
DPS reported. There are currently
no suspects.
THIs DAY
In Daily History
Republicans push
through harsher
pot penalties
March 8, 1983 - Apparently,
elephants don't get stoned - at least
if the Republicans of the Ann Arbor
City Council are true to their party's
mascot.
Under current city law, posses-
sion of marijuana is a $5 fine - but
last night, the Republican-controlled
City Council approved a more strin-
gent back-up ordinance that will take
effect if voters decide to repeal the
current policy this April.
The new ordinance, which passed
by a vote of 7 to 4, would make pos-
session of less than an ounce of mari-
juana a $25 fine. Possession of more
than an ounce could be a maximum
penalty of $500 or 90 days in prison.
Democratic council members
accused the Republican majority
of using the ordinance as a gradual
step toward much stricter state laws.
Council member Rafe Ezekiel (D-
Ward 3) said the ordinance was a
"con game."
Ezekiel said Republicans know
the voters won't repeal the law under
the threat of stricter state laws. He
described the new ordinance as a
"soft alternative" to the state.
Democratic mayoral candidate
T~ei Mnri m-ar 2T~T1 said shel
Group increases
pressure on legislators to
keep laws limiting suits
against drug companies
LANSING (AP) - The Michigan
Chamber of Commerce is diving deeper
into the debate about the state's laws pro-
tecting prescription drug companies from
liability lawsuits.
The chamber has mailed pamphlets
related to the issue to residents and
businesses in key House of Represen-
tative districts.
Four lawmakers - Democrats Marie
Donigan of Royal Oak, Gary McDowell
of Rudyard and Kathy Angerer of Dundee
and Republican Ed Gaffney of Grosse
Pointe Farms - have been targeted for
what the chamber considers negative mail-
ings because of their support for making it
easier to sue drug companies.
Four Republican lawmakers - Rick
Baxter of Hanover, Leslie Mortimer of
Horton, Tim Moore of Farwell and Tom
Casperson of Escanaba - were selected
for what the business group considers
positive mailings because of their support
for current law.
Michigan is the only state in the
nation to strictly limit lawsuits against
makers of government-approved drugs,
according to the Michigan Trial Law-
yers Association. The Michigan cham-
ber counters that drug companies do
not have absolute immunity from law-
suits and that consumers can sue in
some circumstances.
But the Michigan chamber wants to
keep restrictions on lawsuits against the
drug industry, saying it helps the state's
business climate by protecting against
unwarranted or frivolous litigation.
"The preservation of Michigan's
tort liability law is a top priority for the
chamber," said Wendy Hofmeyer, the
chamber's director of health policy and
human resources.
The chamber says the liability
law is particularly important toward
keeping pharmaceutical and life sci-
ences jobs because the state is at a
disadvantage in other areas, such as
business tax structure.
Hofmeyer declined to say how much
the chamber was spending on the direct
mail campaign but said it was a "substan-
tial amount."
The mailings began arriving at homes
and businesses last weekend.
Several bills related to drug company
liability have been introduced in the
state Legislature by both Democrats
and Republicans. Some would repeal
the state's 1996 law that shields drug
makers from liability if their product
was approved by the Food and Drug
Administration.
Gaffney's bill would give consumers
an opportunity to prove that a prescription
drug is not safe or that there was fraud
involved in getting federal approval.
Donigan and McDowell also have
introduced bills that could allow lawsuits
under certain situations related to FDA
approval or inaccurate representations
concerning health risks. Angerer has not
introduced any of the legislation but is a
co-sponsor on one of the bills.
The flyer sent to Donigan's district says
she is "sponsoring anti-business, anti-jobs
legislation at a time Michigan can least
afford it."
Donigan and Angerer were among the
Democratic lawmakers who unsuccess-
fully tried to bar drug company liability
legislation to unrelated bills on the House
floor Tuesday.
Dan Farough, a spokesman for House
Democrats, said the chamber of com-
merce mailing reflects the high stakes
involved in the Michigan case.
photos
may get
blogger
jail time
High school student
faces felony charge for a
sexually explicit photo
posted on his blog
ALLEGAN (AP) - A south-
western Michigan teenager faces
three felony counts stemming from
the online posting of a sexually
explicit photo of two teens taken at
a party.
Ryan Zylstra, 17, who lives near
Wayland, was arraigned Monday
in Allegan County District Court
on charges of producing child
sexually abusive material; using
a computer, computer program or
computer system to produce child
sexually abusive material; and
distributing or promoting the dis-
tribution of child sexually abu-
sive material.
The photo depicted a 17-year-old
boy and a 16-year-old girl engaged
in sexual activity at a New Year's
Eve party at Zylstra's home, the
prosecution said.
Because of the girl's age, the
photo is considered "child sexu-
ally abusive material" under state
law.
If convicted on either of the first
two counts, Zylstra faces a prison
sentence of up to 20 years. A con-
viction on the third carries a maxi-
mum prison term of seven years,
said Allegan County Prosecutor
Frederick A nderson.
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