The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEWS BRIEFS LAFAYETTE, Tenn. Twisters kill at least 54 people across the South At least 54 people were killed and hundreds injured Tuesday and yesterday by dozens of tornadoes that plowed across Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. It was the nation's deadliest barrage of twisters in almost 23 years. President Bush gave assurances his administration stood ready to help. TeamsfromtheFederalEmer- gency Management Agency were sent to the region and activated an emergency center in Georgia. "Prayers can help and so can the government," Bush said. "I do want the people in those states to know the American people are standing with them." BAGHDAD Senate votes down $40 bil.-addition to stimulus bill Senate Republicans blocked a move by Democrats on Wednes- day to add more than $40 billion in checks for the elderly, disabled veterans and the unemployed to a bill to stimulate the economy. The 58-41 vote fell just short of the 60 required to break a GOP filibuster and bringthe Senate version of the stimulus bill closer to a final vote. The Senate measure was backed by Democrats and a handful of Republicans but was strongly opposed by GOP lead- ers and President Bush, who objected to the costly add-ons. * The vote left the $205 billion Senate stimulus bill in limbo. Republican leaders objected to add-ons such as a $14.5 billion unemployment extension for those whose benefits have run out, $1 bil- lion in heating aid for the poor and tax breaks for renewable energy producers and coal companies. WASHINGTON Clinton lends $5 million to own campaign Hillary Rodham Clinton loaned * her campaign $5 million late last month as Barack Obama outraised and outspent her in the Democratic presidential race. Clinton told reporters at her cam- paign headquarters in Arlington, Va., that she made the loan, adding, "I believe the campaign would have a great month fundraising in Janu- ary. We intended to be competitive and we were." Obama, riding a wave of fund- raising both from large donors and small Internet contributors, col- lected a stunning $32 million in January. Clinton campaign chair- man Terry McAuliffe said the Clinton campaign raised only $13.5 million for the month. The $5 mil- lion was in addition to that amount, Wolfson said. DERA ISMAlL KHAN, Pakistan Taliban militants in Pakistan declare cease-fire Taliban militants declared a cease-fire yesterday in fighting with Pakistani forces, and the government said it was preparing for peace talks with al-Qaida-linked extremists in the lawless tribal area near the bor- der with Afghanistan. Any deal that allows armed Islam- ic extremists to operate on Paki- stani soil would run counter to U.S. demands for the government to crack down on militants. A spokesman for Tehrik-e-Tal- iban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group, said the new cease-fire would include not only the tribal belt along the Afghan border but also the restive Swatregionto the eastwhere the army has also battled pro-Taliban fighters. - Compiled from Daily wire reports 3,949 Number of American service members who have died inthe war in Iraq, according to The Associ- ated Press. The following death was identified yesterday: Army Sgt. Rafael Alicearivera, 30, Bayamon, Puerto Rico Military con lockup for de Separate, top secret cells exist for certain detainees GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - Somewhere amid the cactus-studded hills on this sprawling Navy base, separate from the cells where hundreds of men suspected of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban have been locked up for years, is a place even more closely guarded - a jailhouse so protected that its very location is top secret. For the first time, the top com- mander of detention operations at Guantanamo has confirmed the existence of the mysterious Camp 7. In an interview with The Asso- ciated Press, Rear Adm. Mark Buzby also provided a few details about the maximum-security lockup. Guantanamo commanders said Camp 7 is for key alleged al-Qaida members, who must be kept apart from other prisoners to prevent them from retaliating against tong-term detainees who have talked to interrogators. They also want the location kept secret for fear of terrorist attack. Many operations have been classified since the detention cen- ter opened in January 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pen- tagon. Morethanfouryearspassed before the military released even the names of detainees held on this 45-square-mile base in south- east Cuba - and it did so only after BXTHous firms secret )tainees the AP filed a Freedom of Infor- mation Act request. Detainees have been held in Camp Echo and Camps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Journalists cleared by the military have been allowed to tour some of these lockups, where 260 men are held, but aren't allowed to speak to detainees. Some lawmak- ers and other VIPs have passed through, and the International Red Cross has access, but doesn't divulge details of visits with pris- oners. Camp 7, where 15 "high-value detainees" are held, is so secret that its very existence was not publicly known until it was men- tioned in December by attorneys for Majid Khan, a former Balti- more resident who allegedly plot- ted to bomb gas stations in the United States. Previously, many observers believed the 15 were being held in Camps 5 or 6, which are maximum-security facilities. "Under the gag order ... we are prohibited from saying anything more about their camp," lawyer Gitanjali Gutierrez, who met with Khan in October, said Tuesday. Cali Us Before You Are Overchargedl Dweebs On Duty offers Ann Arbor the best computer services at a great prlce- 2'5% off Coupon Code: "Go Blue" Call Today: 1-888-MY-DWEEB Visit: www.dweebsonduty.com e Tanning |4-7772 * bwwwbighousetanning.net CONTRACT From Page 1A cost the University $24 million - or a little less than 2 percent of the University's $1.35 billion general fund budget. GEO has also asked for expanded dental, vision, mental health and physical therapy coverage for its members. The union is asking for 100 per- cent of health care premium costs for low-fraction GSIs - who offi- cially teach less than 20 hours a week - to be covered by the Uni- versity. Cunningham said the Univer- sity's bargaining team wouldn't address GEO's health care propos- als until an agreement has been reached with the union regarding salary increases. "A number of the proposals from GEO involve increased costs," Cun- ningham said. "Until the Univer- sity negotiation team is closer with respect to the salary proposals, we can't make any commitments about where any additional resources, if there are any, would go or can go." But Woods said the Universi- ty's counterproposals so far have treated GEO's proposals "like they weren't real needs." "It's about time to get the Uni- versity to realize that we aren't asking for too much," Woods said. "All we're asking for is what gradu- ate students need to be the healthy, productive students and employees and teachers that we are." Although both sides said they hope to reach a compromise before the current contract expires on March 1, Woods said there's a pos- sibility that GEO could extend its contract into March in order to continue negotiations without the Thursday, February 7, 2008 - 3A GSIs going on strike. "It's up to our members if we want to decide to extend our con- tract into March," she said. "We want to settle a contract as soon as possible." Cunningham said it's not unprec- edented for contract negotiations between the University and GEO to extend beyond the existing con- tract's expiration date. "It's true that in the last three or four negotiations, it went over by a week or two so that we could get all the matters resolved," she said. "It's not unusual for it to go over a little bit. But it's definitely in everyone's interest to get the new contract in place as quickly as possible." The University's graduate union is comprised of approximately 1,700 members and was founded in 1970, making it one of the old- est graduate student unions in the United States. WANT TO JOIN THE DAILY? E-mail herring@michigandaily.com I THESE PEOPLE SHARE SOMETHING IN COMMON. GEORGE OLAH + SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON + PROR. WILLIAM BOLCOM 4 RENEE FLEMING + DAVE BRUBECK + RITA DOVE + JOHN GRISHAM + PROvOsTTERESA SULLIVAN They are all members of Phi Kappa Phi... and U-M students will be invited to join this prestigious group! I H EH0N 'RS( I ETY0 PHI KAPPA PHi Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective honor society for all academic disciplines. The University of Michigan's chapter was founded in 1926 and there are chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Each year approximately 30,000 members are initiated and immediately become eligible to compete for both national and chapter scholarships. Invitations are being sent this week to the top 10% of seniors, graduate students and professional students, as well as the top 7.5% of juniors at the University of Michigan. Don't miss your opportunity to compete for scholarships by 3:00 p.m. on February 15! www.umphikappaphi.umich.edu Search for jobs with a Michigan connection, network with friendly alumni and meet other students through inCircle, our social networking site for Wolverines. Check it out-it's just like a Michigan version of Facebook or MySpace! Not only is it uniquely Michigan, but it's free-brought to you by the Alumni Association. Visit www.umalumni.com for more information. ALUMNIASSOCIATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Uniting the Leaders and Best 4