The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
WASHINGTON
Kennedy taken to
hospital during
Obama luncheon
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, ill
with a brain tumor, was hospital-
ized Tuesday but quickly reported
feelingwell after suffering a seizure
at a post-inauguration luncheon for
President Barack Obama.
"After testing, we believe the
incident was brought on by simple
fatigue," Dr. Edward Aulisi, chair-
man of neurosurgery at Wash-
ington Hospital Center said in a
statement released by the senator's
office.
"He will remain ... overnight for
observation, and will be released in
the morning."
The statement said the 76-year-
old senator "is awake, talking with
family and friends, and feeling
well."
The statement did not disclose
the tests that were performed on
Kennedy, whose seizure was wit-
nessed by several fellow senators
seated with him at lunch.
NEW YORK
Madoff investors to
get small return
Investing a dollar and getting 10
cents back in return is a bad deal
even in today's market. But recov-
ering 10 cents on the dollar might
be optimistic for investors who
gave their cash to Bernard Madoff.
Moreover, they face a years-long
process to get any money back as
investigators search to find Mad-
off's assets. Dozens of lawsuits
and the possibility the fraud was
committed over decades makes
the chance of recovery even more
difficult.
Madoff has become one of the
most vilified people in America
since news broke Dec. 11 that he
had confessed to running a giant
Ponzi scheme, paying returns to
certain investors out of the prin-
cipal received from others. He's
estimated to have duped investors
out of as much as $50 billion.
Experts agree that the first of
any recovery payments might be
years in the future.
"It will probably take between
one and three years," said Dana
Basney, director of due diligence
and forensic accounting services
for CBIZ MHM, LLC in San Diego.
it could take most of the upcoming
year to trace Madoff's funds and
accounts, he said.
MIDLAND, TX
Bush travels home
to Texas, met by
20,000 supporters
Waving cardboard red, white
and blue "W"s, thousands wel-
comed President George W. Bush
and his wife on Tuesday to their
post-presidential home in Texas.
"The presidency was a joyous
experience but as great as it was
nothing compares with Texas at
sunset," Bush said to cheers from
the crowd of nearly 20,000 as for-
mer first lady Laura Bush stood at
his side. "Tonight I have the privi-
lege of saying six words that I have
been waiting to say for a while - it
is good to be home."
In the hours leading up to his
return, excerpts of some of Bush's
speeches played on a large TV
screen, including remarks he made
to Congress shortly after the ter-
rorist attacks in 2001.
MOSCOW
Russia restarts gas
supplies to Europe
through Ukraine
Russia's Gazprom gas monopoly
says it has restarted gas shipments
through Ukrainian pipelines to
Europe after halting them nearly
two weeks ago amid a pricing dis-
pute.
Gazprom spokesman Boris
Sapozhnikov says EU-led monitors
will track the flow of the gas being
pumped into Ukraine. He says the
gas flow was restarted around 1030
Moscow time (0730 GMT) Tuesday.
Officials say it could take 36
hours for gas to reach consumers in
Europe.
Russia halted gas shipments
to Europe on Jan. 7 as it argued
with Ukraine over 2009 gas pric-
es. Europe gets about one-fifth of
its gas from Russia via Ukrainian
pipelines.
Supplies were restarted after
Russian and Ukrainian officials
signed a deal Monday that doubled
the price for supplies to Ukraine.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Obama sworn in, promises reform
Millions watch 44th
president take oath
WASHINGTON (AP) - Before
a jubilant crowd of more than a
million, Barack Hussein Obama
claimed his place in history as
America's first black president,
summoning a dispirited nation to
unite in hope against the "gather-
ing clouds and raging storms" of
war and economic woe.
On an extraordinary day in
the life of America, people of all
colors and ages waited for hours
Tuesday in frigid temperatures
to witness the moment as a young
black man with a foreign-sounding
name took command of a nation
founded by slaveholders. It was a
scene watched in fascination by
many millions - perhaps billions
- around the world.
"We gather because we have
chosen hope over fear, unity of
purpose over conflict and discord,"
the nation's 44th president said.
The presidency passed to Demo-
cratObamafromRepublicanGeorge
W. Bush at the stroke of noon, mark-
ingone of democracy'sgreatestgifts:
the peaceful transfer of power.
But a stark transfer all the same.
In one of the new administration's
first acts, Obama ordered federal
agencies to halt all pending regu-
lations until further review - this
after Bush's final weeks raised
heated debate over rushing new
rules into effect on the way out
the door.
Obama plunges into his new job
in earnest on Wednesday, meet-
ing with his economic team and
Iraq advisers while Congress gives
his economic revival plan a going-
over and takes up the nomination
of Hillary Rodham Clinton to be
secretary of state. Her confirma-
tion has been held up for now by
Republican concern over the foun-
dation fundraising of her husband,
the former president.
The ne'w president had been
buoyant and relaxed through the
three days of pre-inaugural festivi-
ties. But he seemed somber as he
stood on the Capitol steps, placed
his left hand on the Bible used by
Abraham Lincoln and repeated
the inaugural oath "to preserve,
protect and defend" a Constitution
that originally defined blacks as
three-fifths of a person. A deafen-
ing cheer went up.
"What is required of us now
is a new era of responsibility
- a recognition, on the part of
every American, that we have
duties to ourselves, our nation,
and the world, duties that we do
not grudgingly accept but rather
seize gladly," Obama said. "This
is the price and the promise of
citizenship."
Tuesday was a day of high spir-
its - jarred by sudden concern
about the health of Sen. Edward
M. Kennedy, a legendary Democrat
who is suffering from brain can-
cer and was rushed to a hospital
from a Senate luncheon after the
swearing-in. "My prayers are with
him and his family and (Kennedy's
wife) Vicki," Obama said. Later, fel-
low Sen. John Kerry of Massachu-
setts said Kennedy was laughing
and joking at the hospital and itch-
ing to get back to work.
On the inaugural parade route,
Obama and his wife, Michelle,
climbed out of the heavily armored
presidential limousine and walked
a few blocks along famed Pennsyl-
vania Avenue, waving to adoring
crowds under the watchful eyes of
security agents.
Obama wove a thread of person-
al responsibility and accountability
through his inaugural address, an
18-minute sermon on civic duty.
A liberal Democrat proposing bil-
lions of dollars in new spending,
Obama nonetheless spoke of the
limits of government.
"It is the kindness to take in a
stranger when the levees break,
the selflessness of workers who
would rather cut their hours than
see a friend lose their job which
sees us through our darkest hours,"
he said. "It is the firefighter's cour-
age to storm a stairway filled with
smoke, but also a parent's willing-
ness to nurture a child, that finally
decides our fate."
Obama's 10-year-old daughter,
Malia, aimed a camera ather father
as he spoke. Michelle leaned onto
the edge of her seat, body tensed
and brow knitted.
"Starting today, we must pick
ourselves up, dustourselves off and
begin again the work of remaking
America," Obama said.
He alluded to the inability - or
unwillingness - of Americans to
adjust to the passing of an industri-
al-based economy.
Stocks fall with
Obama in office
BE CURTIS/AF
A Hamas militant and his two children participate in a rally in Palestine Square in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza strip yes-
terday. The territory's militant Hamas rulers, triumphant at having survived, held victory rallies amid the ruins.
llamas declares victory as
thousands gather in Gaza
Financial stocks see
double digit declines
NEW YORK (AP) - The dawn
of the Obama presidency could
not shake the stock market from
its dejection over the rapidly
deteriorating state of the banking
industry.
Financial stocks, many of them
falling by double digit percent-
ages, led a huge drop on Wall
Street Tuesday that left the major
indexes down more than 4 percent
and the Dow Jones industrials
down 332 points. Although trad-
ers on the floor of the New York
Stock Exchange paused to watch
the inauguration ceremony and
Obama's remarks, the transition
of power didn't erase investors'
intensifying concerns about strug-
gling banks and their impact on
the overall economy.
The market's angst, which began
with multibillion dollar losses
reported last week by Bank of
America Corp. and Citigroup Inc.,
intensified-after the RoyalBank-of_
Scotland's. forecast that its losses
for 2008 could top $41.3 billion.
The collapse in bank stocks was
swift: State Street Corp. plunged 59
percent, Citigroup fell 20 percent
and Bank of America lost 29 per-
cent. Royal Bank of Scotland fell 69
percent in New York trading.
"The reason we're having a
panic drop is the fact that Europe
is catching our cold, and we could
have deeper and deeper problems
that could require more and more
money. And eventually the govern-
ment is going to have to stop spend-
ing," said Keith Springer, president
of Capital Financial Advisory Ser-
vices. "It's a pretty dangerous situ-
ation tobe in."
The shrinking value of bank
stocks means the financial industry
accounts for less than 10 percent of
the Standard & Poor's 500 index for
the first time since 1992. At the end
of 2006, banks made up 22 percent
of the stock market benchmark.
And the market's retreat Tues-
day means Wall Street has eaten
through most of the advance it
made from Nov. 20 through Jan. 6.
The S&P 500, which had been up as
much as 24 percent, is now up only
7 percent from its November low.
Fears aboutbanking eclipsed the
shift in Washington. Royal Bank of
Scotland's forecast for what would
be the biggest loss ever for a Brit-
ish corporation left investors fear-
ful that government's would have
to nationalize banks to keep them
from collapsing. The British gov-
ernment injected more money into
the struggling bank Monday and
announced another round of bail-
outs for the country's banks.
State Street and Regions
Financial Corp., a bank with
branches primarily in the South-
east, both reported big earnings
drops Tuesday.
Acknowledging the global econ-
omy's woesObama suggested Wall,
Street would see greater oversight:
"Without a watchful eye, the mar-
ket can spin out of control," he said
in his address outside the Capitol.
Obama warned the economic
recovery would be difficult and
that the nation must choose "hope
over fear, unity of purpose over
conflict and discord" to overcome
the worst economic crisis since the
Great Depression.
Investors are expecting Wash-
ington will be a central part of the
economic recovery. But the first
hours of the new administration
did little to ease their concerns.
"At this stage, markets in gener-
al and bank investors specifically
are really looking to government
as the way out," said Jack Ablin,
chief investment officer at Harris
Private Bank.
Despite rallies, no
plans to repair $2B
damage to Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -
Waving green Islamic flags atop
the ruins of Gaza, Hamas pro-
claimed victory in rallies attend-
ed by thousands of supporters
Tuesday, saying it survived Isra-
el's military onslaught despite the
destruction and massive death
toll suffered by Gazans.
Beyond its fiery words, how-
ever, Hamas offered no plans for
rebuilding Gaza, which suffered
some $2 billion in damage during
three weeks of fighting. Gaza's
borders with Israel and Egypt,
largely sealed since the Islamic
militants seized power 19 months
ago, remain closed and are unlike-
ly to open unless the militants
relinquish some control.
Israel has also claimed victo-
ry, but neither side was the clear
winner.
The fighting killed some 1,300
Gazans, the vast majority civilians,
andthousandsofPalestinianhomes
were destroyed. Israel emerged
from the war with relatively few
casualties - 13 dead, including 10
soldiers - but halted fire before
reaching its objectives. No interna-
tionally backed truce deal is yet in
place to prevent Hamas rocket fire
on southern Israel or arms smug-
gling into Gaza.
Israel had withdrawn the bulk
of its forces from Gaza by Tuesday
evening, coincidingwiththe inau-
guration in Washington of Barack
Obama as president. However, the
temporary cease-fire remained
shaky. Israel's air force struck a
Gaza mortar squad after it shelled
Israel, the military said.
Hamas held more than a dozen
victory rallies across Gaza, choos-
ingbombed-outbuildings as back-
drops to underscore its message
of defiance and its claim to have
survived battle against a vastly
more powerful enemy.
Addressing a crowd near Gaza
City's demolished parliament
building, Ismail Radwan, a Hamas
leader, declared: "Hamas-today is.
more powerful." Nearby, militants
held up a huge banner proclaiming
in Hebrew: "Hamas is victorious.
Israel has been defeated."
A few hundred yards away,
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon toured
the local U.N. headquarters,
inspecting damage from an Israe-
li shelling attack last week. It hit
three warehouses where flour, oil
and other food rations for Gaza's
needy were stored.
Piles of rice, beans and medi-
cine still smoldered Tuesday,
sending white smoke into the air.
Ban said he felt "utter frustra-
tion, utter anger" over the shell-
ing of. the compound and two
U.N. schools, and demanded a full
investigation. As he spoke, the
buzz of Israeli unmanned aircraft
could be heard overhead.
Israel has said troops respond-
ed to fire from militants from the
areas, a claim the U.N. has vehe-
mently denied.
During a tour, Ban was told
that hundreds of tons of food and
medicine were destroyed.
Blagojevich doesn't respond
to impeachment charges
Ill. Gov. missed
2nd deadline to
formally respond
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on
Tuesday missed his second dead-
line for filing formal answers to
an impeachment charge, with a
Senate trial over his ouster now
less than a week away.
The second-term Democrat,
whose criminal lawyers quit his
impeachment defense in protest
of the trial's rules last week, had
until 4 p.m. to file a request to dis-
miss the charge and kill the Sen-
ate proceeding. Had he done so,
senators, sitting as judges in the
trial, would have voted on wheth-
er to grant the request.
As a result of his inaction, the
Senate will presume that the gov-
ernor pleads "not guilty" to the
charge and move toward opening
the historic trial on Monday, said
Toby Trimmer, spokesman for
Senate President John Cullerton.
Spokesman Lucio Guerrero said
he didn't know what Blagojevich
would do.
"He hasn't filled me in on his
plans," Guerrero said.
A newly sworn-in House
voted 117-1 Jan. 14 to impeach
Blagojevich on a charge that he
abused his power as governor.
Blagojevich was issued a Senate
summons that day and had had
until Saturday to file a document
answering charges in the case,
but did not, Trimmer said.
Blagojevich was arrested Dec.
9 on a federal complaint that he
tried to trade government action
for campaign contributions or a
high-paying job, and in one case,
'in exchange for firing unfriendly
newspaper editorial writers. Fed-
eral prosecutors have until April
to indict him on the charges.
Chicago lawyers Ed Genson,
Sam Adam and his son, Samuel
E. Adam, gave up an impeach-
ment defense on Friday, with the
Adams comparing the process to
a "lynching." Genson distanced
himself from such talk but said
the Senate trial's outcome was a
"foregone conclusion."
Genson said he would still
defend Blagojevich on the federal
corruption charges.
Among complaints outlined in
a statement to the Chicago Tri-
bune, the Adams said they were
not given subpoena power to call
and question their own witnesses
at the Senate trial.
But that's the next deadline. By
4 p.m.Wednesday, both the House
prosecutor and the defense must
file all requests for subpoenas of
witnesses and documents, along
with requests for entering evi-
dence, including evidence not con-
sidered by the House committee
that recommended impeachment.
Both sides then have until 10
a.m. Saturday to respond to the
other side's requests for subpoe-
nas and evidence. TheSenate will
decide what evidence and subpoe-
nas are allowed.
Blagojevich was in Chicago's
federal courthouse Tuesday,
eludingthree reporters who were
waiting for him as he slipped in
and out of the building. One of
his attorneys, Sheldon Sorosky,
confirmed that the governor was
in the courthouse but did not say
why.
A person familiar with the rea-
son - who spoke only on condi-
tion of anonymity because the
information was confidential -
said the governor was there to
provide officials with a fresh set
of fingerprints.
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