. The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, January 15, 2010 - 3 qw - The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, January 15, 2010 - 3 NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Feds give money to Mich. to tear down blighted buildings The federal government award- ed Michigan $223.9 million yes- terday to help tear down blighted buildings and revitalize neighbor- hoods in a dozen cities including Detroit, Grand Rapids and Flint. The U.S. Department of Hous- ing and Urban Development announced the money as part of $2 billion in Recovery Act funding to states, local governments and non- profit housing developers. Michigan's proposal won it the largest single grant - 11 percent of the total awarded nationwide, Housing Secretary Shaun Dono- van said at a news conference with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and dozens of other officials. Some other states got more money in total, but it was in grants to several communities or groups that applied separately. GENEVA Website helps locate earthquake victims in Haiti More than 5,000 people reg- istered on a special Red Cross Web site a few hours after it was launched to help Haitians find loved ones missing in the earthquake, an official said yesterday. The quick response was aided by people spreading the link on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, but also by the fact that many satellite Internet connections in the Caribbean nation appear to be working, said Marcal Izard, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "The list is growing rapidly. We now have around 5,000 names on it," Izard told The Associated Press. "Over 210 persons registered from Haiti itself, which is a very good result in such a short period." Of those, about 200 were search- ing for missing family members, while SO people logged on to say they had survived Tuesday's mag- nitude 7.0 quake near the capital, Port-au-Prince. Many visitors to the site were from the United States and Canada, which have large Haitian commu- nities, Izard said. WASHINGTON, D.C. Hundreds added to terrorist watch list A law enforcement official says ' airlines have been told to do more of the toughened screening put in place after the attempted Christ- mas Day terrorist attack aboard a Detroit-bound flight. The official says airlines have been told more federal air marshals willbeoninternationalflightsbound forthe U.S. and airports should con- duct more random screening. The official says hundreds more names have been added to the ter- rorist watch list since Dec. 25. All of these measures are in responseto the ongoingthreatfrom al-Qaida overseas. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the measures, spoke anonymously. KIEV, Ukraine Ukraine election to determine relations with Russia The front-runners in Ukraine's presidential race have vowed to revive ties with Russia if elected - a strong signal that Sunday's vote could mark the end of the Western- oriented leadership ushered in by Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tynmoshenko, who sought to pull Ukraine out of Russia's sphere of influence and toward Europe dur- ing the Orange movement, said in a last-minute appeal to voters that as president she would work closely with Moscow. Polls show Tymoshenko trailing pro-Russian opposition leader Vik- tor Yanukovych, the Orange forces' most prominent foe, in the closing hours of the contest for Ukraine's highest office. Over the past year, Tymoshenko has developed a personal rapport with her Russian counterpart and formernemesis,VladimirPutin. She has also courted voters, especially in the country's Russian-speakingeast andsouth, who want an end to ten- sions between Russia and Ukraine. - Compiled from Daily wire reports Haiti relief efforts snarled, as im any as 50,000 believed dead Concerns abound over getting water, food to survivors PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Doctors and search dogs, troops and rescue teams flew to this dev- astated land of dazed, dead and dying people Thursday, finding bottlenecks everywhere, begin- ning at a main airport short on jet fuel and ramp space and without a control tower. The international Red Cross estimated 45,000 to 50,000 people were killed in Tuesday's cataclys- mic earthquake, based on informa- tion from the Haitian Red Cross and government officials. Hard- pressed recovery teams resorted to using bulldozers to transport loads of dead. Worries mounted, meanwhile, about food and water for the sur- vivors. "People have been almost fighting for water," aid worker Fevil Dubien said as he distributed water from a truck in a northern Port-au-Prince neighborhood. From Virginia, from France, from China, a handful of rescue teams were able to get down to work, scouring the rubble for sur- vivors. In one "small miracle," searchers pulled a security guard alive from beneath the collapsed concrete floors of the U.N. peace- keeping headquarters, where many others were entombed. But the silence of the dead oth- erwise was overwhelming in a city where uncounted bodies lit- tered the streets in the 80-degree heat, and dust-caked arms and legs reached, frozen and lifeless, from the ruins. Outside the Gen- eral Hospital morgue, hundreds of collected corpses blanketed the parking lot, as the grief-stricken searched among them for loved ones. Brazilian U.N. peacekeepers, key to city security, were trying to organize mass burials. Patience already was wear- ing thin among the poorest who were waiting for aid, said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission. "They want us to provide them with help, which is, of course, what we want to do," he said. But they see U.N. vehicles patrolling the streets to maintain calm, and not delivering aid, and "they're slowly getting more angry and impatient," he said. In Washington, President Barack Obama announced "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history," starting with $100 million in aid. The U.S. Southern Command reported the first 100 of a planned 900 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division land- ed in Haiti from North Carolina on Thursday to support disaster relief, to be followed this week- end by more than 2,000 Mgrines. The American troops "will relieve pressure" on overworked U.N. ele- ments, Wimhurst said. From Europe, Asia and the Americas, other governments, the U.N. and private aid groups were sending planeloads of high-energy biscuits and other food, tons of water, tents, blankets, water-puri- fication gear, heavy equipment for removing debris, helicopters and other transport, and teams of hun- dreds of search-and-rescue, medi- CARL JUSTE/THE MIAMI HERALD/AP A young girl gets medical attention for her injuries yesterday in Petionville, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. cal and other specialists. But two days after much of this ramshackle city was shattered, the global helping hand was slowed by the poor roads, airport and seaport of a wretchedly poor nation. Some 60 aid flights had arrived by midday Thursday, but they then had to contend with the chokepoint of an overloaded Toussaint LOuverture International Airport. At midday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was temporarily halting all civilian flights from the U.S. at Hai- ti's request, because the airport was jammed and jet fuel was limited for return flights. The control tower had been destroyed in Tuesday's tremor, complicating air traffic. Civilian relief flights were later allowed to resume. "There's only so much concrete" for parking planes, U.S. Air Force Col. Buck Elton said at the airport. "It's a constant puzzle of trying to move aircraft in and out." Teams that did land then had to navigate Haiti's inadequate roads, sometimes blocked by debris or by quake survivors looking for safe open areas as aftershocks still rumbled through the city. The U.N. World Food Program said the quake-damaged seaport made ship deliveries of aid impossible. The looting of shops that broke out after the 7.0-magnitude quake struck late Tuesday afternoon added to concerns. The Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting by the desperate population. "There is no other way to get provisions," American Red Cross representative Matt Marek said of the store looting. "Even if you have money, those resources are going to be exhausted in a few days." The city's "ti-marchant," mostly women who sell food on the streets, were expected to run out soon. Red Cross officials have estimated one- third of Haiti's 9 million people are in need of aid. Obama taps Clinton, Bush to lead Haitian fundraising efforts With open field, Dems consider entering race for governor Former presidents often enlisted to help after disasters WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Barack Obama has tapped former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to lead private sec- tor fundraising efforts for Haiti. Enlisting ex-presidents' help in responding to a natural disaster is just what Bush did in 2004 after a tsunami ripped across Asia. Back then, it was Clinton and former President George H.W. Bush who assisted in relief efforts. In a joint statement, George W. Bush and Clinton said, "In the days and weeks ahead, we will draw attention to the many ways American citizens and businesses can help meet the urgent needs of the Haitian people." "Americans have a long history of showing compassion and gen- erosity in the wake of tragedy," they said. "We thank the Ameri- can people for rallying to help our neighbors in the Caribbean in their hour of suffering - and throughout the journey of rebuild- ing their nation. White House political director Patrick Gaspard said officials have been inundated with requests from Americans looking to help. The administration has launched a wide-ranging outreach campaign, particularly in areas with a large Haitian-American population, to coordinate those efforts. With the full extent of the dev- astation still unknown, Gaspard said cash is the most urgent need. CHARLES DHARAPAK/ President Barack Obama makes a statement about the earthquake in Haiti yester- day at the White House in Washington. Stupak among those who may throw their hat in the ring LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The surprising withdrawal of Lt. Gov. John Cherry from the Michigan governor's race presented a gold- en opportunity to other Demo- crats who thought they'd have to wait years to run. But they don't have much time to decide if they're in or out. Some of the five Republicans in the race are poised to begin running ads in February, giv- ing them the chance to make the first favorable impression on voters. And whichever of the uncommitted Democrats jumps into race first could grab the biggest share of donations and endorsements, leaving latecom- ers with crumbs. "You can buy a little bit more time as long as everybody else is still up in the air on this," politi- cal strategist Tom Shields of Marketing Resources Group said yesterday. "But when those cam- paign committees start forming, and people start raising money and getting commitments, that's when you need to either fish or cut bait." U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak hears the clock ticking. Although he has a safe congressional seat and pow- erful committee assignments, the Democrat from Menominee is considering running for gov- ernor. "This isn't something that presents itself very often," Stu- pak told The Associated Press. "You have to take a look at it." He's heading to Detroit on today to meet with party activ- ists and get a better feel for whether he wants to run. At the same time, he is deeply involved in negotiations over the federal health care overhaul bill and lan- guage restricting how abortions are covered by insurance. A run for governor "is appeal- ing, but from a practical point of view, can you do it with this compressed time line we have? Health care compresses it even more," Stupak said. He noted that GOP gubernatorial candidate and fellow congressman Pete Hoek- stra faces some of the same con- straints, "but he's at least been out there another year." Stupak knows his opposition to abortion could prove a hurdle to getting the nomination. The former state trooper also is a gun-rights advocate. But he has spoken with former U.S. Rep. David Bonior, an abortion oppo- nent who ran in the 2002 Demo- cratic governor's race, and said he's encouraged so far. Among the others eyeing the race, University of Michi- gan Regent Denise Ilitch spent Wednesday evening introducing herself at a Democratic mixer in Grand Rapids after discussing a possible run with White House and Democratic Governors Asso- ciation officials in Washington the night before. A text-messaging campaign with the Red Cross had raised $5 mil- lion dollars as of yesterday eve- ning. A $10 donation can be made by texting "HAITI" to "90999." Gaspard, a Haitian-American, said the impoverished island nation will require long-term humanitarian assistance. "There is going to be a need to sustain this effort over time," he said. Obama cited the success of the tsunami relief efforts in his deci- sion to mobilize the former presi- dents, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. The president placed calls to both Bush and Clin- ton Wednesday. Gibbs said the Obama adminis- tration's criticism of Bush's actions during the response to Hurricane Katrina were irrelevant. "I think if you asked George Bush whether the government acted up to its ability in respond- ing to Katrina, I think the answer to that would be 'no,"' Gibbs said. "The actions that were taken to deal with the humanitarian crisis from the tsunami, on the other hand, I think worked quite well." Report: Targeted Pakistani Taliban leader alive The death of Hakimullah Mehsud would be a major victory for U.S. ISLAMABAD (AP) - The lead- er of the Pakistani Taliban was apparently targeted in a U.S. mis- sile strike on a meeting of militant commanders close to the Afghan border yesterday, but he escaped unhurt, Pakistani officials and militants said. Twelve insurgents were believed killed. The death of Hakimullah Meh- sud would be a major victory for both for Washington and Islamabad in their fight against Islamist mili- tants. Mehsud appeared on a video released last week sittingnext to the Jordanian militant who killed seven CIA employees ina suicide attack in December in Afghanistan. Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban movement, which is linked to al- Qaida and the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan, has also claimed responsibility for scores of bloody suicide bombings in Pakistan in recent months against military, civilian and government targets. The U.S. missile strike was the eighth such attack in two weeks in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, an unprecedented volley of drone attacks since the CIA- led program began in earnest two years ago. The surge signals the Obama administration's reliance on the tactic despite official protest from Islamabad. One or more unmanned U.S spy planes fired at least two missiles into a large complex that had been used as a religious school in the past in the Pasalkot area close to the border with South Waziristan soon after dawn broke, Pakistani intelligence officials said. The dead militants included two foreigners, while at least eight oth- ers were wounded, said the offi- cials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media on the record. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, said that he had no information on the strike but that Mehsud's death would be a good thing. America does not acknowl- edge to being behind the program and its officials rarely talk about it directly. "He either is, or was, a very bad person," Holbrooke told foreign correspondents in the capital, Islamabad. Three Pakistani intelligence officials and four militants told the AP that Mehsud was not among the dead. He had been expected to attend the meeting, but authorities were still trying to determine whether he ever made it to the session, the officials said. They cited wireless communications intercepts track- ing Mehsud's movements. The militants said Mehsud was alive, safe and traveling. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject and for personal security reasons.