The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
COLUMBUS, Ohio
McCain says Obama
'will deepen nation's
recession'
Lagging in the polls, Republican
presidential candidate John McCa-
in unleashed a blistering attack
yesterday on his Democratic rival,
saying the race comes down to a
simple question: "Country first or
Obama first?"
In his first public appearance
since Friday night's debate, McCain
said Democrat Barack Obama advo-
cates tax-and-spend policies that
"will deepen our recession," and
voted against funding for equip-
ment needed by troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
"That is not putting the men and
women of our military first," he
said.
KABUL, Afghanistan
20,000 people flee
Pakistan, take refuge
inAfghanistan
The United Nations says 20,000
Pakistani refugees have fled to
Afghanistan to avoid fighting
between militants and Pakistan's
military.
The U.N.'s refugee agency says
nearly 4,000 Pakistani families
have fled Pakistan's Bajur tribal
agency into Afghanistan's Kunar
province.
Pakistan's military launched
an offensive in Bajur, the most
northerly of Pakistan's wild tribal
regions, several of which have
fallen largely under the control of
militants opposed to the Afghan
and Pakistani governments.
Tens of thousands of civilians
have fled into other parts of Paki-
stan as a result of the 2-month-old
offensive.
LANSING
State: Natural gas
costs will increase
up to 25 percent
Michigan residents on average
will pay nearly $200 a month to
heat their homes with natural gas
this winter, an increase of up to 25
percent depending on how cold it
gets.
State regulators, who released
their projections yesterday,
blamed higher heating costs on
the increased price of crude oil.
They said Michigan will fare bet-
ter than other states because it
stores cheaper natural gas in un-
derground tanks.
"Despite this, a dramatic (price)
increase is headed our way," Michi-
gan Public Service Commission
Chairman Orjiakor Isiogu told re-
porters.
About eight in ten Michigan
homes use natural gas.
The average residential heat-
ing bill will be $193 a month if the
weather is as cold as normal, a $39
increase. from last winter's $154
average. Customers may be spared
a bit because temperatures are ex-
pected to be warmer, a continuing
trend over the last five heating sea-
sons.
LANSING
Huckabee to aid
* Mich. senate hopeful
in bid against Levin.
Republican Jack Hoogendyk will
turn to a former presidential candi-
date for fundraising help in his U.S.
Senate race.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee is scheduled to appear
with Hoogendyk at a fundrais-
er Oct. 22 in Farmington Hills,
according to Hoogendyk's cam-
paign.
Hoogendyk is a state lawmaker
from Kalamazoo County's Texas
Township. His is an underdog in the
race against Democratic incumbent
U.S. Sen. Carl Levin in November.
Huckabee unsuccessfully sought
the Republican nomination for
president this year.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
4,9175
Number of American service
members who have died in the
war in Iraq, according to The
Associated Press. There were no
deaths identified yesterday.
Foreclosure can't stop 'U' settles lawsuit with airline
votes, officials say
LANSING, Mich. (AP)
- Michigan election offi-
cials said Monday they will
remind local clerks that
home foreclosure lists are
not sufficient to challenge
voting status.
The reminder will be part
of upcoming informational
packets sent out in anticipa-
tion of the November elec-
tion.
State law says a vote chal-
lenger should know or have
"good reason to suspect"
that a voter isn't properly
registered or qualifiedto cast
a ballot in a certain precinct.
A person whose home is in
the foreclosure process still
could be living at the address
on the foreclosure list.
State elections director
Chris Thomas said foreclo-
sure lists alone aren'tenough
to contest a voter's residence.
That willbe reflected inmail-
ings to local election officials
as early as this week.
The notice could ease an
ongoing flap about disputed
allegations of possible chal-
lenges to Michigan voters in
Macomb County, considered
a potential key area in the
presidential contest between
Democrat Barack Obama and
Republican John McCain.
Marlin Air will receive
$350,000 in damages
after University cut
contract last year
By TREVOR CALERO
Daily StaffReporter
The University of Michigan has
agreed to pay $350,000 to Marlin Air,
a local charter airline company that
sued the University last year.
The University terminated its con-
tract with the Belleville-based airline
six weeks after a jet containing four
members of the University's Survival
Flight organ transplant team and two
pilots crashed into Lake Michigan
last June. The accident killed all six
on board.
The team crashed while traveling
from Milwaukee, Wisc. to Ann Arbor
to deliver a pair of lungs for a 50-year-
old man being treated at the Univer-
sity Hospital
The lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 5
and sought to obtain the remainder of
the money left on the contract, cited
"irreparable damages" caused by the
University's decision to sever ties
with the company as the reason for
demanding more than $1 million in
damages.
The University released a state-
ment in January saying it terminated
the contract to "provide the best care
possible to our patients and their fam-
ilies."
The statement went on to say,
"Marlin Air did not have the-ability to
provide the services required by our
institution."
Marlin Air owner Stuart Dingman
declined to comment on the settle-
ment.
University Health System
spokeswoman Krista Hopson also
declined comment on the agree-
ment, but said the University is
"working on a plan for long-term
fixed wing service."
The University disclosed the settle-
ment last week through a Freedom of
Information Act by The Ann Arbor
News.
The National TransportationSafety
Board is still investigating the crash.
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