& The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEWS BRIEFS WASHINGTON Blackwater chairman defends firm's actions Blackwater chairman Erik Prince vigorously rejected charges yesterday that guards from his private security firm acted like a bunch of cowboys immune to legal prosecution while protecting State Department personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I believe we acted appropriate- ly at all times," Prince, a 38-year- old former Navy SEAL, calmly told the House Oversight and Govern- ment Reform Committee. His testimony came as the FBI is investigating Blackwater per- sonnel for their role in a Sept. 16 shootout that left 11 Iraqis dead. The incident and others, including a shooting by a drunk Blackwater employee after a 2006 Christmas party, led to pointed questions by lawmakers about whether the gov- ernment is relying too much on private contractors who fall out- side the military courts martial system. WASHINGTON Clinton tops Obama in 3rd quarter fundrasing Democrat Hillary Rodham Clin- ton raised $22 million this sum- mer for her presidential primary campaign, outpacing all other candidates so far with her best three-month showing of the year. For the first time, she reported attracting more new donors in a quarter than her chief fundraising rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Clinton raised a total of $27 mil- lion in the three months, her cam- paignsaidyesterday,but $5 million is designated for the general elec- tion and can't be used in her quest for the Democratic nomination. Her $80 million total for the 2008 presidential race puts her on a par with Obama, though he still leads her in money raised for the primaries alone. WASHINGTON Investigation: Gov't employees wasted $146 mil on travel Federal employees wasted at least $146 million over a one-year period on business- and first-class airline tickets, in some cases sim- ply because they felt entitled to the perk, congressional investigators say A draft report by the Gov- ernment Accountability Office, obtained yesterday by The Associ- ated Press, is the first to examine compliance with travel rules across the federal government following reports of extensive abuse of pre- mium-class travel by Pentagon and State Department employees. The review of travel spend- ing by more than a dozen agen- cies from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, found 67 percent of pre- mium-class travel by executives or their employees, worth at least $146 million, was unauthorized or otherwise unjustified. Files raise questions on Gitmo decisions Two dozen prisoners were cleared for transfer from Guanta- namo Bay last year even though U.S. moilitary panels found they still posed a threat to the United States and its allies. Dozens more were cleared even though they didn't show up for their hearings. One Saudi arrested in Afghanistan was approved for release after offering a peculiar account that he had gone to the Taliban-controlled country to lose weight. Pentagon documents obtained by The Associated Press show seemingly inconsistent decisions to release men declared by the Bush administration to be among America's most-hardened enemies. Coupled with accusations that some detainees have been held for years on little evidence, the deci- sions raise questions about wheth- er they were arbitrary. - Compiled from Daily wire reports St A 3,809 Number of American service members who have died in the War in Iraq, according to The Associated Press. The following casualties were identified by the Department of Defense yesterday. Army Spc. Chirasak Vidhyar- korn, 32, New York City Army Sgt. Randel Olguin, 24, Ralls, Texas Marine Gunnery Sgt. Herman J. Murkerson Jr., 35, Adger, Ala. Exact burden of new Michigan tax plan unclear LANSING (AP) - Michigan to covering 53, including new taxes are going up, but opinions categories such as skiing, con- differ on how the state's overall sulting and interior design. At tax burden stacks up nationally. that point, Michigan will rank Democratic Gov. Jennifer 27th nationally in the number of Granholm, the Democratic-led taxed services, according to the House and Republican-con- Michigan Department of Trea- trolled Senate struck a deal sury. early Monday morning to raise Michigan is tied with nine taxes, cut spending and change other states that have a 6 per- benefits for school employees to cent sales tax, the nation's 11th fill a $1.75 billion shortfall in the highest. California has the state budget. highest rate, at 7.25 percent, The state income tax was while Colorado's 2.9 rate is the raised from 3.9 percent to 4.35 lowest among states that have percent, while the state's 6 per- sales taxes. cent sales tax on goods was State officials and outside extended to a variety of services groups differ on whether Mich- beginning Dec. 1. igan's overall tax burden is Thirty-six of the 43 states about average or higher than it with income taxes have rates should be. higherthan Michigan's new 4.35 The Washington-based Tax rate, at least as of January 2007, Foundation projects Michigan according to the Federation of will have the 11th-highest state Tax Administrators. But a fair and local tax burden nationally comparison is elusive because once all the tax increases kick most states, unlike Michigan, in, up from 14th. have graduated income taxes State treasury officials, how- under which taxpayers see their ever, say Michigan's tax burden rates increase as their incomes ranked 26th-highest two years go up. ago and expects it will rise no Michigan's income tax rate more than four spots to 22nd has been as high as 6.35 percent, under the new tax structure. when it was raised in 1983 dur- "We're certainly not out of the log an earlier economic down- mainstream here," state Trea- turn. The new rate is below surer BobKleine said yesterday. what the state charged from Kleine said Michigan's tax May 1975 through December burden will be slightly above 1999, when the rate was 4.4 per- the national average, but com- cent or higher. petitive in the Midwest - lower The new rate is 11.5 percent thanWisconsinand Ohio,higher higher than the old rate of 3.9 than Illinois and about the same percent. But it's set to drop by as Indiana and Minnesota. a tenth of a percent from 2011 The combination of a higher through 2014, and then enough income tax and sales taxes on in 2015 to again reach 3.9 per- more services will cost a family cent. of four earning $50,000 a year The state's 6 percent sales about $207 - $157 in income tax tax in two months will go from and about $50 in sales tax, trea- covering 26 service categories sury officials estimate. EFFICIENT, BUT EXPENSIVE Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - 3A U.S. auto sales off in Sept. DETROIT (AP) - Weakness in the housing market and flagging consumer confidence made Sep- tember another tough month for the auto industry, although Gen- eral Motors, Honda and Nissan bucked the trend with hot-selling new vehicles, according to U.S. sales figures released yesterday. Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales plum- meted 21 percent for the month, largely due to a 62 percent reduction insalestorentalcar companies. Toy- ota Motor Corp. posted a 4 percent decline but still outpaced Ford for the month and for the January-Sep- tember period, continuing its drive to replace Ford as the nation's No. 2 automaker in sales after GM. Toyota had sold 28,654 more vehicles than Ford as of the end of September. Chrysler LLC also was down 5 per- cent for the month. Overall U.S. sales were down 3 percent from last September, according to Autodata Corp. General Motors Corp. said sales were flat compared with last Sep- tember, despite a month of difficult labor negotiations and a two-day strike by the United Auto Workers union. MAX COLLINS/Daily Jeff Basch of Adaptive Materials explains a new generator that runs off of pro- pane at the Entrepreneurship Opportunities Fair on the North Campus Diag yesterday. The generator will power a standard laptop for 24 hours on $3 worth of propane, Basch said - but the machine will cost you $20,000. EARN CASH FOR COPYING AND PASTING. Join the Daily's online uploading staff. E-mail cesere@michigandaily.com rnitc,h5pG $260 oz.jumnbo Pitchers Mondays & Wednesdays (734) 222-9209 1220 S. University (Upstairs) ±*qw' StudcIntt~niverse.comI 810 S State Street 222-4822 - 1906 Packard 995-9940 btbburrito.com Amo- -m AAEM - R -W I 1140 S. UNIVERSITY OPEN: M-F 11AM- 2AM ..AgT 12M 2m o-oAM