The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS ANCHORAGE Stevens loses Alaska senate race Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history, narrowly lost his re- election bid yesterday, marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who couldn't survive a con- viction on federal corruption charges. His defeat by Anchor- age Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats within two seats of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority. Stevens' ouster on his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realign- ment in Alaska politics and will alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the days of the Johnson admin- istration while holding seats on some of the most influential com- mittees in Congress. The crotchety octogenarian built like a birch sapling likes to encourage comparisons with the Incredible Hulk, but he occupies an outsized place in Alaska history. His involvement in politics dates to the days before Alaska statehood, and he is esteemed for his ability to secure billions of dollars in federal aid for transportation and military projects. The Anchorage airport bears his name; in Alaska, it's sim- ply "Uncle Ted." WASHINGTON Big Three beg for $25 billion bailout A Detroit's Big Three automak- ers pleaded with a reluctant Con- gress yesterday for a $25 billion lifeline to save the once-proud titans of U.S. industry, pointedly warning of a national economic catastrophe should they collapse. Millions of layoffs would follow their demise, they said, as dam- aging effects rippled across an already-faltering economy. But the new rescue plan ap- peared stalled on Capitol Hill, op- posed by the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress who don't want to dip into the Trea- sury Department's $700 billion financial bailout program to come up with the $25 billion in loans Rank and file Republicans and Democrats from states heav- ily impacted by the auto industry worked behind the scenes trying to hammer out a compromise that could speed some aid to the auto- makers before year's end. But it was an uphill fight. MCALLEN, Texas Cheney, Gonzalez indicted in Texas Vice PresidentDick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor. The indictment returned Mon- day has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens. The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tues- day included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some tar- geting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles. Regarding the indictments tar- geting the public officials, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me." Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guer- ra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. WASHINGTON Holder top choice for Att'y General President-elect Barack Obama's top choice for attorney general is Eric Holder, a former No. 2 Justice Department official in the Clinton administration and Obama cam- paign aide who would become the first African American to serve as the nation's chief lawyer. The Obama transition team has gone so far as to ask sena- tors whether they would confirm Holder, who reviewed Clinton's controversial pardon of fugitive Marc Rich just leaving office, an Obama official and people close to the matter said yesterday. - Compiled from Daily wire reports Suspect in dorm thefts arrested Clinton being vetted for State post Rick Ramon was arrested on Friday By LINDY STEVENS Daily StaffReporter The primary suspect in a string of recent residence hall thefts was arrested by the Mich- igan Department of Corrections, University Police reported yes- terday. Rick Ramon, of the Kalama- zoo area, is suspected to have been involved in as many as 13 burglaries on campus and in the greater Ann Arbor area. University Police have issued two felony warrants for Ramon in connection with the Nov. 5 burglary at West Quad Resi- dence Hall and the burglary at Alice Lloyd Residence Hall the following day. Ramon has a third warrant for failing to appear in court after being charged in a retail fraud case in Battle Creek last spring. University Police spokes- woman Diane Brown told The Michigan Daily earlier this week that Ramon has already been charged with first-degree home invasion. The felony carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. University Police canceled a campus crime alert issued after the residence hall thefts on Nov. 6. The Michigan Department of Corrections apprehended Ramon last Friday. Once under fire, Sen. Lieberman keeps committee chair seat Independent was once a staunch McCain supporter WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Joe Lieberman willkeep his chair- manship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite hard feelings over his support for GOP nominee John McCain during the presidential campaign. The Connecticut independent will lose a post on the Environment and Public Works panel as punish- ment for criticizing Obama this fall. Lieberman's colleagues in the Democratic caucus voted 42-13 Tuesday to approve a resolution condemning statements made by Lieberman during the campaign but allowinghimto keep the Home- land Security Committee gavel. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he had been very angry about Lieberman's actions but that "we're looking forward, we're not looking back."_ Added Reid: "This was not a time for retribution, it was a time for moving forward on the prob- lems of this country." Lieberman's grasp on his chair- manship had gotten stronger since President-elect Barack Obama sig- LECTURER From Page 1A "The evidence shows that Larry made a habit of taking thousands of dollars from clients and never did the work he was paid to do," the report said. One of the former clients fea- turedinthereportsaidGreenetold her he lost his license to practice law because he had been cashing his parents' monthly retirement checks for five years after they had already been deceased. Bill Proctor, the WXYZ anchor whoreportedthe story,saidGreene was asked to return $25,874.73 to Ford Motor Company, where his father was an employee, but that there was no record that he ever did. University spokeswoman Kelly Cunninghamdeclined to comment on the reasoning behind his with- drawal from classes this term, call- ing it a personnel matter. When reached by phone last night, Greene also declined com- ment on why he withdrew from the classes. He said he is in the hos- pital and is "severely injured." Greene said reporters are con- stantly investigating him. "I did nothing wrong," he said. "I am proud of my affiliation with the University of Michigan." Several of Greene's former and current students expressed disappointment in the Univer- sity's judgment to hire Greene, given his legal history. Accord- ing to state Attorney Discipline Board records, Greene has been disbarred twice - once in 1998 and another time in 2003. "I trusted his knowledge because he's a professor here at the University of Michigan. Obviously I thought we could have a higher caliber of faculty," said LSA junior James Dean, who is currently enrolled in Greene's class. Dean said if he had known about Greene's history of legal troubles, he would not have enrolled in one of his classes. "There are obviously moral issues involved," he said. LSA senior Rob Abb, who took a judicial internship and several naled to Democratic leaders that he'snotinterestedinpunishingLie- berman for boosting McCain and criticizing the Democratic nominee during the long campaign. "This is the beginning of a new chapter, and I know that my col- leagues in the Senate Democratic Caucus were moved not only by the kind words that Senator Reid said about my longtime record, but by the appeal from President-elect Obama himself that the nation now unite to confront our very serious problems," Lieberman said after the vote. Anger toward Lieberman seems to have softened since Election Day, and Democrats didn't want to drive him from the Democratic caucus by taking away his chair- manship, and as a result send the wrong signals as Obama takes office on a pledge to unite the country. Lieberman had indicated it would be unacceptable for him' to lose his chairmanship. Lieberman, who was Democrat- it presidential nominee Al Gore's running mate in 2000, was re- elected in 2006 as an independent after losing his state's Democratic primary to Greenwich business- man Ned Lamont amid intense anti-war sentiment. Lieberman is a strong supporter of the war. other classes with Greene, said he had heard rumors of Greene's legal troubles, but did not give much weight to them because he was a University lecturer. Abb, who said he nearly asked Greene for aletter ofrecommenda- tion to aid in his lawschool applica- tion process, said he feels relieved that he didn't follow through with the request. Dean said several students in Greene's class have expressed dis- satisfaction because the switch to substitute professors also meant a switch to new course materials. "We bought these books for class, and now we're not going to use them anymore, and that's $200 gone," Dean said. Some students also said the arrangement with three fill-in pro- fessors interrupted the continuity of the course. LSA junior Rachel Goldstein, who is also enrolled in Greene's course, said Greene's recent absences and repeated cancella- tions of class before his withdraw- al hurt her learning experience. "I don't feel like students were keeping up with the course load," she said. "We were not being held accountable." Former president's associations are part of the deal, aides say CHICAGO (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has engaged a team of prominent lawyers to help President-elect Barack Obama vet hercandidacyforsecretaryofstate even as some insiders criticized the pick and advisers to the former first lady said she was weighing whether to take the job if Obama offered it. Attorneys Cheryl Mills, David Kendall and Robert Barnett are working with the Obama transi- tion team to review information about the Clintons' background and finances, including Bill Clin- ton's post-presidential business deals and relationships with for- eign governments. Bruce Lindsey, a longtime Clinton adviser who now heads the former president's charitable foundation, has taken a leadership role in the process, aides said. All represented the Clintons on legal matters in the White House, including President Clinton's dal- liance with intern Monica Lewin- sky that led to his impeachment in 1998. Officials knowledgeable about the vetting said it has gone smoothly and that both Clintons were cooperating fully. Bill Clinton already has appeared to take an important step toward smoothing his wife's path to the job. Democrats familiar with the negotiations said the former presi- dent has suggested he would step away from day-to-day responsi- bility for his foundation while his wife served and would alert the State Department to his speaking schedule and any new sources of income. A top aide involved in the vetting said there was nothing obvious in the former presi- dent's dealings that would tor- pedo his wife's prospects for the job. The aide was not autho- rized to discuss the matter, and would speak only on back- ground. The aide pointed out that for- mer President George H.W. Bush has given paid speeches and par- ticipated in international business ventures since his son, George W. Bush, has been president without stirring public complaints about a conflict of interest. But another Democrat who advised Hillary Clinton's presi- dential campaign warned that Bill Clinton's business arrange- ments were more complicated than many people realized. During the campaign, few of her senior strategists knew anything about the former president's business deals and whether they would hold up under scrutiny if she won the nomination, this person said. The adviser spoke on back- ground, not authorized to speak publicly for Hillary Clinton's political operation. Sen. Hillary Clinton, Democrat of New York, is being considered for the role of Sec- retary of state in an Obama administration. The Associated Press is reporting that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and his associations are being vetted closely. Itwasunclearwhether Bill Clin- ton has agreed to submit financial information to the transition team that has not been made public through recently filed tax forms for his foundation, Hillary Clin- ton's Senate disclosure require- ments or during her campaign, when the couple released several years of joint tax returns. For example, still unknown are the names of donors to Bill Clin- ton's foundation and presidential library or what he earns as a part- ner with Yucaipa Global Opportu- nities Fund, a private investment venture run by billionaire Ron Burkle, a close friend. During his primary campaign against Hillary Clinton, Obama pressed the former president to name the donors to his library. Bill Clinton refused, saying many had given money on the condition that their names not be revealed. He promised to make the donors' names public going forward if his- wife won the Democratic nomina- tion. The former president has engaged in other deals that could complicate his wife's work with foreign governments as secretary of state. Records show he raised money for his foundation from the Saudi royal family, Kuwait, Bru- nei and the Embassy of Qatar, and from a Chinese Internet company seeking information on Tibetan human rights activists. While manypeople familiarwith the New York senator's thinking say she is inclined to take the sec- retary of state's job if it is offered, others say she is also considering the consequences of leaving the Senate, where she had hoped to take a leading role on health care reform and other issues. "Would she be willing to give up her independent stature in the U.S. Senate, Robert F. Kennedy's seat, to be in the Cabinet? It will be a considerable decision for her," said Lanny Davis, a former Clinton adviser not involved in the vetting. "It's a completely different life than you lead in the Senate, where you are your own spokesperson, your own advocate. When you join the Cabinet of the president of the United States, that is no longer the case." Clinton declined to discuss any part of the selection process Tues- day. "I've said everything I have to say on Friday," she said. At the State Department, the prospect of Clinton as secretary is creating some anxiety among careerforeignserviceofficerswor- ried that she would installher own loyalists and exclude them from policy making. Some at the State Department see her as a foreign policy lightweight, although there is grudging acknowledgment of her star power. Others closer to the Obama camp have criticized Clinton's cre- dentials for the job. Greg Craig, a law school classmate of both Clintons who led President Clinton's defense team during his impeachment, wrote a blistering memo during the primary campaign attacking Hillary Clinton's claim to have brokered foreign policy deals during her husband's presiden- cy. "There is no reason to believe ... that she was a key player in for- eign policy at any time during the Clinton administration," Craig, an early Obama supporter likely to be White House counsel, wrote in March. Mazda buys back shares from Ford TOKYO (AP) _Mazda spent 17.8 billion yen ($184 million) to buy back 6.8 percent of its own shares from cash-hungry Ford Motor Co., the Japanese automaker said Wednesday. The move cames a day after Ford said it's slashing its stake in Mazda from an earlier 33.4 per- cent to 13.8 percent. That would still make Ford thetop shareholder in Mazda, with which it has had a partnership for nearly 30 years. The sale would give Ford 52 bil- lion yen ($540 million) based on Mazda's closing stock price Tues- day of 184 yen, or $1.90 - barely a quarter of what it was worth one year ago. The move comes amid growing losses at America's major auto- makers, which are pleading with Washington for an emergency $25 billion bailout loan from the U.S. government to get through the economic slump. On Monday, GM said it would sellitsremaining3.02percentstake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. for 22.37 billion yen ($230 million). Mazda Motor Corp., which makes the RX-8 sports car and Miata roadster, boughtv96.8million shares at 184 yen ($1.90) a share, the Hiroshima-based company said. The shares rose in morning trading but then dipped 1 percent Wednesday to 182 yen. Ford racked up losses of $8.7 billion in the second quarter, its worst result ever, and has used up $11 billion of a cash stockpile inthe past year. Ford formed a capital alliance with Mazda in 1979, taking a 25 percent stake. That was raised to 33.4 percent in 1996 - a control- ling share in Japan.