The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, October 8, 2007 - 3A'

NEWS BRIEFS
CRANDON, Wis.
Law enforcement
official kills six, is
fatally shot
An off-duty sheriff's deputy
went on a shooting rampage early
Sunday at a home where seven
young people had gathered for
pizza and movies, killing six and
critically injuring the other before
authorities fatally shot him, offi-
cials said.
The gunman, Tyler Peterson,
was 20 years old and worked full-
time as a Forest County deputy
sheriff and part-time as a Crandon
police officer, said Police Chief
John Dennee.
Three of the victims were stu-
dents at the small town's high
school, and three were recent
graduates, a school official said.
The gunman may have graduated
from the same high school.
Peterson was not working at the
time of the shooting, Sheriff Keith
Van Cleve said. -
The survivor was hospitalized in
nearby Marshfield, Dennee said.
Gary Bradley, mayor of the city
of about 2,000, said earlier yester-
day that a sniper killed the suspect,
but Van Cleve would not confirm
that officers shot the suspect.
KHARTOUM, Sudan
Darfur town under
control of Sudanese
is torched
A Darfur town under the con-
trol of Sudanese troops has been
razed, the U.N. said yesterday. The
destruction of the town was in
apparent retaliation for a suspect-
ed rebel attack on a nearby African
Union peacekeeping base.
The town of Haskanita "which
is currently under the control of
the government, was completely
burned down, except for a few
buildings," the U.N. mission to
Sudan said in a statement.
The U.N. did not say who set
fire to the town but said Sudanese
government forces took control of
the area last week after suspected
Darfur rebels attacked the near-
by AU base a week ago, killing 10
peacekeepers.
U.N. officials said the burning
began Wednesday but observers
were unable to obtain firsthand
confirmation until yesterday.
BAGHDAD
U.S.-Iraqi group
meets to review
Blackwater
A joint U.S.-Iraqi commission
reviewing American security
operations after a deadly shooting
of Iraqi civilians allegedly at the
hands of Blackwater USA guards
met for the first time on yesterday,
the U.S. embassy said.
Across the Iraqi capital, bomb-
ings killed at least nine Iraqis in
three separate 'attacks, includ-
ing one near Iran's embassy,
police said, while the U.S. mili-
tary reported the capture of three
suspected Shiite militia fighters
believed to be responsible for the
kidnapping of five British security
contractors.
the joint commission, chaired
by Iraq's defense minister and the
American embassy's No. 2 dip-
lomat, expressed "mutual com-
mitment of the Iraqi government
and the U.S. government to work

together to evaluate issues of safe-
ty and security related to personal
security detail operations in Iraq,"
the brief embassy statement said.
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa
Clinton takes lead
in Iowa polls
Hillary Rodham Clinton has
taken the lead among Democratic
presidential candidates in an Iowa
poll, an encouraging sign of prog-
ress toward overcoming a big hur-
dle in the race.
The New York senator is the
clear front-runner in national
surveys, but Iowa had remained
an elusive prize. She has been in a
tight race with John Edwards and
Barack Obama in the state that
begins the primary campaign vot-
ing in three months.
Clinton was supported by
29 percent of the Oct. 1-3 poll's
respondents.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
USCASUALTIES
3,815
Number of American service
members who have died in the
War in Iraq, according to The
Associated Press. The following
service members were identified
by the Department of Defense over
the weekend:
Army Sgt. Ricardo X. Rodri-
guez, 23, of Arecibo, Puerto Rico;
Army Spc. Avealalo Milo, 23, of
Hayward, Calif.;
Army Spc. Rachael L. Hugo, 24,
of Madison, Wis.

State's image has long
road ahead to recovery

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

Budget debacle
latest blow to
popular perception
of Michigan
LANSING (AP) - Michi-
gan's image, already in tatters
from the troubles caused by
its shrinking manufacturing
base and a budget impasse that
wasn't solved until a temporary
government shutdown, isn't
going to recover anytime soon.
Some of that is because
domestic automakers continue
to struggle to finda mix of prod-
ucts and cost cutting that will
enable them to do better in the
North American market. Mich-
igan remains more dependent
than most states on the Detroit
Three's financipl health.
But some of the damage is
self-inflicted.
Take the political infighting
that continues in the wake of
the recent marathon legislative
session that finally resulted in a
way out of Michigan's $1.75 bil-
lion budget hole.
The Michigan Republican
Party is running a radio ad
that blames Democratic Gov.
Jennifer Granholm and Demo-
cratic lawmakers for raising
taxes. The Michigan Demo-
cratic Party is running a radio

ad that says Granholm showed
leadership by bringing Republi-
cans and Democrats together to
make tough choices.
Much of the jockeying is tied
to the 2008 elgctions and 2010
governor's race.
Recall campaigns are being
considered against Granholm
and some of the lawmakers who
voted to increase the income tax
from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent
or expand the 6 percent sales
tax to more services.
. Businesses hit by the new
service tax are pointing fingers
at those who were exempted,
arguing that the tax isn't fair,
will cost jobs and make them
less competitive.
Some economists are saying
it would have made more sense
to tax all services at alower rate,
like 2 percent, than to punish a
few with a 6 percent rate. Some
businesses are threatening to
leave the state.
And it's still difficult to tell
when Michigan's battered
economy, which continues to
have the highestunemployment
rate in the country, will gather
the energy to lift itself out of its
seven-year funk.
Judging from the economic
indicators, the answer is, "Not
anytime soon."
Downsizing in the domestic
auto industry continues; over-
all, the state has lost nearly a
third of the 904,000 manufac-

turing jobs it had in mid-2000,
adding to the total 413,000 jobs
lost overall, a drop of nearly 9
percent.
Economists with the state
and at the University of Michi-
gan expect job losses to con-
tinue through late 2008, with
nearly 50,000 jobs disappear-
ing next year, most of them in
manufacturing.
Ford Motor Co. is fighting to
keep its spot as the country's No.
2 automaker over Toyota Motor
Co., and other industries, such as
pharmaceuticals, are takinghits.
Michigan also has one of the
highest foreclosure rates in the
country. In Detroit, one of every
21 mortgages was foreclosed
last year.
Standard & Poor's rating
service wrote last week that
Michigan was making progress,
having resolved its budget crisis
for the time being.
It said the state benefited
from the quick resolution of
contract talks between General
Motors Corp. and the United
Auto Workers, with a two-day
national strike causing barely a
ripple in the national economy.
Michigan also is taking other
steps to fight back, including
replacing its 30-year-old busi-
ness tax with one that now gives
biggertax breaks to manufactur-
ers on the equipment they own,
charges profitable companies
more than unprofitable ones.

CLIF REEDER/Daily
A candlelight vigil was held in memory of cancer victims at the University's Comprehensive
Cancer Center on Saturday night.


home to the Blues.

Is your health care plan in transition? Come home to the
safety, stability and peace of mind only the Blues can offer.
We accept everyone, regardless of medical history. We never
drop anyone for health reasons. And we provide more
hometown access to doctors and hospitals than any other
health care company. We've been here since 1939, and
we'll be right here whenever you need us. Come home to
coverage you can trust. Come home to the Blues.

Blue Cross
DO x1Blue Shield
Blue Care Network
a ~e of Michigan
Nnof ton s n mipndss n t no ieomoa, es,. o f te le Crss, n d u5 hilAso cito