The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, October 2, 2009 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Detroit pastors
are packing heat
The Rev. Lawrence Adams
teaches his flock at the Westside
Bible Church to turn the other
cheek. Just in case, though, the
54-year-old retired police lieu-
tenant also wears a handgun
under his robe.
Adamsis oneofseveral Detroit
clergymen who have taken to
packing heat in the pulpit. They
have committed their lives to a
man who preached nonviolence
and told followers to love their
enemies. But they also say it's up
to them to protecttheir parishio-
ners in church.
"As a pastor, I'm referred to as
a shepherd," Adams said. "Shep-
herds have the responsibility of
watching over their flock. Do I
want to hurt somebody? Abso-
lutely not!"
Respondingto a break-in athis
church Sunday evening, Adams
surprised a burglar carrying out
a bag of loot and shot the man
in the abdomen after the man
swung the bag at him.
RIVERTON, Wyo.
11-year-old leads
high speed chase
Wyomingpolicesayan11-year-
old boy driving a large SUV led
officers on a high speed chase
reaching speeds of 100 mph.
Bureau of Indian Affairs police
say the chase started about 3 a.m.
Tuesday near Riverton in central
Wyoming and ended about SO
miles away near Crowheart on
the Wind River Reservation.
The boy ditched the vehicle
and jumped into a lake and began
swimming but returned to shore
where police collared him.
BIA Special Agent in Charge
Charles Addington says that
alcohol was involved and that
charges were pending in juvenile
court.
DALLAS, Tex.
Gingrich group
rescinds award to
strip club owner
Newt Gingrich's conserva-
tive group gave - and then re-
scinded - a business award to
a popular topless club in Texas,
the proprietor said Thursday.
Dawn Rizos said she was
looking forward to receiving
the promised "Entrepreneur of
the Year" award at a Washing-
ton, D.C., banquet from Ameri-
can Solutions for Winning the
Future, which the former U.S.
House speaker chairs.
After all, Rizos is the owner
of The Lodge, which was named
the Best Overall Club in Ameri-
ca last year by ED Publications,
which sponsors the gentlemen's
club industry's annual conven-
tion and trade show.
But before she had a chance
to dine on lobster bisque with
Gingrich at the Oct. 7 awards
dinner with some SO other busi-
ness leaders, the honor was
yanked away. The group appar-
ently confused Rizos' business,
which is legally called DCG Inc.,
with one by the same name in
Virginia.
MEXICO CITY
Political scheme
turns Mexican
into odd celebrity
An eccentric street vendor
known for his Rambo-style head-
band took charge of Mexico City's
most populous borough Thursday
- at least for a few hours.
Rafael Acosta strode into Mexi-
co City's legislature with his arms
raised triumphantly and was
sworn into office. Immediately
after the ceremony, he requested
a leave of absence - part of an
elaborate political scheme that
has captivated Mexico.
The concept is this: Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador, the lead-
er of Mexico's left, wants to hold
onto Iztapalapa, a poor but popu-
lous borough of 1.8 million people
that is the equivalent of a swing
state in presidential elections.
His candidate, Clara Brugada,
was defeated in his party's prima-
ry, so he offered to get the long-
shot candidate Acosta elected.
In return, Acosta agreed to step
down and give the position to her.
All went according to plan - until
Acosta won in a landslide and said
the deal was off.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Tsunami death toll
approaches 200
Samoans grieve over
lost relatives in wake
of Pacific earthquake
NAPIA, Samoa (AP) - Con-
voys of military vehicles brought
food, water and medicine to the
tsunami-stricken Samoas yester-
day as the death toll rose to 160
and victims wandered through
what was left of their villag-
es with tales of being trapped
underwater and watching young
children drown.
Samoan government minister,
Fiana Naomi, asked around 400
grieving relatives for permis-
sion to hold a mass funeral next
Tuesday. The grim-faced Samo-
ans, gathered under the shade
of a traditional wall-less meet-
inghouse just 100 yards from the
ocean amid coconut trees and
government offices, were largely
silent.
Samoans traditionally take
their loved ones and bury them
near their homes, but that could
be impracticable because many
of their villages have been wiped
out by early Tuesday's earth-
quake and tsunami.
Naomi told them the burial
would take place in a new cem-
etery in the city and that the gov-
ernment would also provide free
coffins for the 103 bodies cur-
rently held in the city morgue.
She said the other bodies had
already been buried due to the
advanced stage of decomposition,
but did not say how many.
The reaction to the proposal
was mixed, with some relatives
wanting to take the bodies and
have their own burials, while
others wanted a mass funeral
delayed for a week to allow chil-
dren and grandchildren to return
to the islands from overseas.
A total of 160 people are now
confirmed dead, including 120
in Samoa, 31 in American Samoa
and nine in Tonga.
Hundreds of police and oth-
ers resumed what Samoan police
commander Lilo Maiava called
"a painstaking search" for bod-
ies that could continue another
three weeks.
Robert Ritter, of Tulsa Okla., looks over the interior ofaa Toyota Camry at McGeorge Toyota in Richmond, Va, yesterday.
U.S. auto sales fell sharply in September, enduring a tough hangover from this summer's Cash for Clunkers buying spree.
Clunkers letdown causes
drop in recent auto sales
GM, Chrysler and
Ford report losses
for September
DETROIT (AP) - A Cash for
Clunkers hangover hit every
major automaker except Hyun-
dai last month, pushing down
sales and leaving the industry
searching for signs of a recovery
in October.
U.S. sales of cars and light
trucks fell to just under 746,000
in September, down 41 percent
from August.
Both GM and Chrysler were
the biggest losers last month,
while Ford, the healthiest of
the Detroit Three, reported the
smallest drop of major automak-
ers. Of the top companies, only
Hyundai posted higher sales, up
27 percent from September 2008.
Last month's slump brings car
and truck makers back to earth
following a heady August. Auto-
makers got a lift from clunkers,
which spurred sales of nearly
700,000 new vehicles during
the summer months. Big rebates
lured in many buyers who oth-
erwise would have waited until
later in the year to walk into deal-
erships.
Still, both GM and Ford said the
clunkers letdown should pass by
next month. They also forecast a
slight recovery in sales with signs
of economic improvement.
October, however, is tradition-
ally a slow month for sales. On
top of that, shoppers are guard-
ing their wallets, worried about
keeping their jobs in a fragile
economy. The question remains
whether dealers can really lure
them back and help the industry
recover over the remainder of the
year.
Higher incentives didn't shake
buyers from their September
slumber. Automakers spent an
average of $2,557 per vehicle in
the U.S., up $83 from August,
according to the auto Web site
Edmunds.com.
"After five straight months of
decline, incentives are on the rise
again," Edmunds analyst Jessica
Caldwell said. "Now that Cash
for Clunkers is over, automakers
have to give consumers an incen-
tive to buy - out of their own
pockets, not the taxpayers'."
Ford Motor Co.'s sales fell 5.1
percent, but the decline followed
two straight months of rising
sales. Two of the Dearborn, Mich.
company's vehicles - the Focus
and Escape - were top sellers in
the clunkers program.
General Motors Co.'s sales
plunged 45 percent while'
Chrysler Group LLC's fell 42 per-
cent. The weak results continued
a string of monthly sales drops
for the troubled pair. Now the
question is whether their govern-
ment-funded recovery plans are
working.
Sales fell in every GM divi-
sion. Saturn led the way with an
astounding 84 percent decline
in September, the same month
GM announced plans to abolish
the brand after its sale to former
race-car driver Roger Penske col-
lapsed.
"It was a more difficult month
than we anticipated," said Mark
LaNeve, GM's vice president of
U.S. sales.
A spokeswoman for the U.S.
Treasury Department, which
has provided roughly $65 billion
to keep GM and Chrysler going,
would not comment on the sales
figures.
Most automakers reported low
inventories during September but
said production increases were
starting to replenish them.
GM's LaNeve said last month
sales were compared with a
strong September in 2008 when
GM offered employee discounts
to every customer in celebration
of its 100th birthday. With easier
comparisons, October will show
better results.
He said the company could
have had stronger September
sales but it was struggling to
keep up with demand for newly
launched vehicles such as the
Buick LaCrosse sedan, Chevrolet
Camaro sports car, and the Chev-
rolet Equinox. crossover vehicle.
GM could have sold 10,000 to
12,000 more car and light trucks
had it been able to get them to
dealers in September.
Japan's Toyota Motor Corp.
said sales fell 13 percent while
Nissan Motor Co. said its sales
eased 7 percent. Honda's sales
dropped 20 percent.
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