The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, April 15, 2010 -- 3A NEWS BRIEFS SALINE, Mich. Saline area schools lay off 63 teachers The Saline Area Schools has issued layoff notices to 63 teach- ers. Administrators say the pink slips handed out Tuesday are part of the Washtenaw County school district's effort to further pare down a $3 millionbudget shortfall for the next school year. Assistant superintendent Steve Laatsch says the district expects to eliminate about 20 full-time positions. But 63 notices had to be issued because of contract rules on seniority and federal require- ments governing who can teach what subjects and grades. Besides budget constrictions, Laatsch says the district also is cutting jobs because Houghton Elementary School is being closed. Staff members who received notices are to meet this week to discuss their options. Saline is 35 miles southwest of Detroit. SAN DIEGO Marine's Facebook fuels debate A Camp Pendleton Marine has removed his Facebook page after his comments fueled a free- speech debate about whether troops are allowed to criticize President Barack Obama's policies while serving in the military. Sgt. Gary Stein said he was asked by his superiors to review the Pentagon's directive on politi- cal activities after he criticized Obama's health care reform efforts and then was asked this week to talk about his views on the MSNBC cable TV channel. Stein said his supervisor told him of his right to an attorney about the matter. He said he decided to close hisFacebook page and review his military code obli- gations. He also contacted private attorneys who told him he had done nothing wrong. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Caribbean bans all dumping into sea Countries in the Caribbean have agreed to bar the dumping of all garbage at sea, ending rules that allow the disposal of metal, glass and other refuse a short dis- tance from shore and almost any trash farther out. The nations adopted the new requirement under the U.N.'s International Maritime Organiza- tion and it will take effect in May 2011, IMO consultant Jeff Ramos said Wednesday. The United Nations created the ban to protect areas that are vulnerable because of heavy ship traffic or sensitive ecology. It has already taken effect in the Antarc- tic, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Mediter- "It's a big deal," said Ramos, a U.S. Coast Guard commander based on the Dutch island of Cura- cao near Venezuela. "Especially in the Caribbean, with all the tank- ers and the traffic going to the Panama Canal, it will make a big impact." CAIRO, Egypt Ancient royal scribe unearthed The elaborate tomb of an ancient royal scribe has been unearthed in a discovery that will help illuminate the relationship between Egypt and its eastern neighbors, the antiquities chief said yesterday. The intricately decorated tomb belonging to Ken-Amun, who was in charge of overseeing the royal records during the 19th Dynasty (1315-1201 B.C.), was unearthed in the village of Tell el-Maskhuta, 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Cairo, said Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiqui- ties. Tell el-Maskhuta was a settle- ment in the Ismailia governorate containing a garrison that sup- plied and armed the ancient Egyp- tian army before the troops went on military campaigns east of the O border. Ken-Amun's tomb is that first Ramesside tomb to be discovered in Lower Egypt and is built from mud brick, consisting of a rectan- gular room with a stone-domed ceiling. Hawass said the inscrip- tions would aid in the understand- ing of Egypt's relationships with its neighbors to the east. - Compiled from Daily wire reports Paln puts own spin on tax day In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, an injured woman is rescued yesterday after a quake in western China. A series of strong earthquakes struck China killing hundreds of people and injuring more than 10,000. arthquake i western China kil hundreds Those in Washington must work for the people, Palin says BOSTON (AP) - Sarah Palin rallied the conservative tea party movement near the scene of its his- torical inspiration yesterday, telling Washington politicians that gov- ernment should be working for the people, not the other way around. Addressing roughly 5,000 people, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee accused Pres- ident Barack Obama of overreach- ing with his $787 billion stimulus program. She also criticized the administration's health care, stu- dent loan and financial regulatory overhauls. "Is this what their 'change' is all about?" Palin asked the crowd on a sun-splashed Boston Common. "I want to tell 'em, nah, we'll keep clinging to our Constitution and our guns and religion - and you can keep the change." Tea partiers planned to meet for a final rally in Washington on Thursday, coinciding with the federal tax-filing deadline. Local events are also planned in Oklaho- ma, Ohio and other locations. Palin put her own spin on Tax Day, saying, "We need to cut taxes so that our families can keep more of what they earn and produce, and our mom-and-pops, then, our small businesses, can reinvest according to our ownpriorities, and hire more people and let the private sector grow and thrive and prosper." She also played to the crowd by trotting out a trademark line as she lobbied for more domestic energy production. "Yeah, let's drill, baby, drill, not stall, baby, stall - you betcha," Palin said, though Obama recently proposed to expand drilling off the Atlantic, and Gulf coasts. The gathering intended to hark back to 1773, when American colo- nists upset about British taxation without government representa- tion threw British tea into the har- bor in protest - just a mile from the site of yesterday's rally. Americans are paying lower taxes this year, but that is not expected to last. In the next few years, some increases will come as part of the national health care overhaul. The modern tea party move- ment claims both Republican and Democratic members and is punc- tuated by those who question the legitimacy of Obama's presidency. Some doubt he was born in the United States, as his birth certifi- cate shows. Several speakers protested sug- gestions of racist undertones to the movement, which sprouted as the nation elected its first black presi- dent. Nonetheless, virtually the entire speaking program and audi- ence were white. An exception was the singer of the Tea Party anthem, Lloyd Mar- cus, who made a point of describing himself not as African-American, but American. Officials say at least 10,000 injured in earthquake XINING, China (AP) - Soldiers and civilians used shovels and their bare hands to dig through collapsed buildings in search of survivors after strong earthquakes struck a moun- tainous Tibetan region of China yes- terday, killing at least 589 people and injuringumore than 10,000. The series of quakes flattened buildings across remote western Yushu county and sent survivors, many bleeding from their wounds, flooding into the streets of Jiegu township. State television showed block after devastated block of toppled mud and wood homes. Local officials said 85 percent of the structures had been destroyed. Residents and troops garrisoned in the town used shovels and their hands to pull survivors and bodies from the rubble much of the day. Several schools collapsed, with the state news agency saying at least 56 students died. Worst hit was the Yushu Vocational School, where Xinhua cited a local education offi- cial as saying 22 students died. Footage on Qinghai Satellite TV showed bodies wrapped in blan- kets lying on the ground while rescuers pulled shards of concrete from a pancaked school building. Crews set up emergency genera- tors to restore operations atYushu's airport, and by late afternoon the first of six flights landed carrying rescue workers and equipment. But the road to town was blocked by a landslide, hampering the rescue as temperatures dropped below freezing. Tens of thousands of the town's 70,000 people were without shelter, state media said. The airport in Xining, the near- est big city some 530 miles (860 kilometers) away, was filled in the predawn hours today with Chinese I troops in camouflage, firefighters and rescue teams leading dozens of sniffer dogs. Today's Career Tip: The best networkers know how to reciprocate. Text "UMStudents" to 41411 to win great prizes and get daily career tips. ALUMNIASSOCIATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Are You Considering a Career in Health? Consider the advantages of earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is offering an exciting opportunity to become a public health professional specializing in the prevention and control of disease, particularly chronic disease. 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