The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, September 27, 2010 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. Police kill man *after he refuses to drop handgun Police in Sterling Heights say officers fatally shot a 39-year-old man who refused to put down a weapon and pointed it at officers. Lt. Luke Riley tells The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens the dead man was city resident Matthew L. Moroni. Riley says Moroni's wife called police Friday night, saying her hus- band was suicidal, had been drink- ing and had cut himself. Moroni was laid off several months ago. Police say Moroni's grandfather " left the house, followed by Moroni, who was holding a handgun. Three officers fired about a dozen shots. They've been placed on leave while detectives and the Macomb County prosecutor inves- tigate. " Police say there was a large stock of weapons and ammunition in the house. WASHINGTON Biden's home to get security upgrade The vice president's official resi- dence is getting a security upgrade. The Washington Examiner reported yesterday that the Navy plans to install a 10-foot secu- rity fence and additional security checkpoints around Vice President Joe Biden's residential compound at the Naval Observatory in north- west Washington. The National Capital Planning Commission has approved the $1.7 million project. Plans call for about 1,600 feet of security fence to replace a cable barrier that separates the residence from the rest of the Naval Obser- vatory. They also include two new guard houses, four new gates and five new vehicle barriers. The U.S. Secret Service, which is payingfor the new guard posts, says the upgrades are not a response to any explicit threat to Biden or his family. EAST ORANGE, NJ. Gunman shoots five people at college house party A Seton Hall University stu- dent who attended an off-campus house party at which five people were shot said the gunman stood on her back as she lay on the floor and didn't appear to be target- ing anyone during the chaos she described as "hell." "He was just shooting he had no intended target," said a text message from the woman, whose friend was the only person killed. The woman spoke yesterday by BlackBerry instant messenger on condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety while the shooter remained at large. She said she was too upset to talk over the phone. She described the Friday night party, which lasted into early Saturday, as a "typical fraternity party" with at least 100 people at the privately owned row house. Students said the shooter was kicked out of the party when he refused to pay the cover charge. The woman said she heard a fight erupt before the man was thrown out. Seconds later, she said, he returned with a hand- gun and started shooting as chaos erupted. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras Suspect of 18 shoe factory worker deaths killed Authorities in Honduras say the chief suspect in the massacre of 18 workers at a shoe factory ear- lier this month has been killed in a shootout with police. Assistant Security Minister Armando Calidonio said Sunday that police were chasing alleged street gang leader Jesus Santos when he opened fire. Calidonio says officers shot back and killed Santos late Saturdaynear San Pedro Sula, the northern Hon- duras city where the shoe factory employees were mowed down by gunmen. Police say seven men and two youths participated in the attack. Onlytheyouthshavebeendetained. Authorities say the factory kill- ings were part of a gang turf battle in which the victims did not appear to have been directly involved. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. Feds trying to quiet anti-war advocates, attorney says OHN AMIS/POOL/AP Bishop Eddie Long, left, prepares to speak at a news conference yesterday at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Long has been accused of luring four young men into sexual relationships. Ga. pastor vows to fight sexual abuse allegations 'I'll fight like David battled Goliath,' megachurch pastor says of charges LITHONIA, Ga. (AP) - Cast- ing himself as the Bible's ultimate underdog, Bishop Eddie Long went before thousands of faith- ful supporters at his megachurch yesterday and promised to fight accusations that he lured four young men into sexual relation- ships. "I feel like David against Goli- ath. But I got five rocks, and I haven't thrown one yet," Long said in his first public remarks since his accusers filed lawsuits last week claiming he abused his "spiritual authority." He stopped short of denying 'the allegations but implied he was wronged by them. "I have never in my life por- trayed myself as a perfect man. But I am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. That's not me. That is not me," he said. Long's brief addresses to the congregation at New Birth Mis- sionary Baptist Church were met with thunderous applause and an outpouring of support during ser- vices that were equal parts part rock concert and pep rally. The sanctuary was nearly filled to its 10,000-seat capacity for both the 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services. Many lined up two hours before the doors of the church opened. Long became one of the coun- try's most powerful indepen- dent church leaders over the last 20 years, turning a suburban Atlanta congregation of 150 to a 25,000-member powerhouse with a $50 million cathedral and a roster of parishioners that includes athletes, entertainers and politicians. And there was almost no sign yesterday that his flock wanted to turn him away. Followers prayed, sang and embraced one another as they ral- lied around their senior pastor. Wearing a cream-colored suit as he strode into the church sanctu- ary hand-in-hand with his wife, Vanessa, Long paused to soak in the adoration. During the second service, however, one young man in a blue shirt stood up and shouted: "We want to know the truth, man!" He was quickly escorted out and did not return. After the service, many expressed unwavering support for their leader. "We know and we love Bishop," said Annie Cannon, a seven-year member of New Birth. "We love our place of worship. My son goes to school here. We do everything here." It is unclear whether Long faces any risk of being removed by his church's board, but the allega- tions at the very least guarantee months of scrutiny as the lawsuits move forward. Long is a father of four who has been an outspoken oppo- nent of gay marriage and whose church has counseled gay mem- bers to become straight. Two young men say he groomed them for sexual relationships when they were enrolled in the church's LongFellows Youth Academy, a program that taught teens about sexual and financial discipline. Two other young men - one of whom attended a satellite church in Charlotte, N.C. - have made similar claims. The men say they were 17 or 18 when the relationships began. Federal and state authorities have declined to investigate because Georgia's age of consent is 16. "I've been accused. I'm under attack. I want you to know, as I said earlier, I am not a per- fect man," Long said. "But this thing, I'm going to fight." Remarks come after FBI raids in anti-war activist's home CHICAGO (AP) - FBI agents in Chicago took a laptop and docu- ments from the home of a Palestin- ian-American anti-war activist in an attempt to silence his advocacy, an attorney said yesterday. The FBI on Friday searched eight addresses in Minneapolis and Chicago, including the home of Hatem Abudayyeh, who is the executive director of the Arab American Action Network, attor- ney Jim Fennerty told The Associ- ated Press. "The government's trying to quiet activists," Fennerty said. "This case is really scary." More than half a dozen agents went to Abudayyeh's home on Friday and took any documents containing the word "Palestine," Fennerty said. Abudayyeh, a U.S. citizen whose parent immigrated from Palestine, wasn't home at the time of the raid because he was at a hospital with his mother who is battling liver cancer, Fennerty said. A message left for an FBI spokesman in Chicago wasn't immediately returned yester- day. The FBI has declined to give details on the searches, saying the agency was investigating criminal activity not protected by the First Amendment. Warrants suggested agents were looking for links between anti-war activists and terrorist groups in Colombia and the Mid- dle East. Fennerty said Abudayyeh has done nothing wrong and doesn't have any ties to terrorist groups, including Hamas, the Islamic mili- tant group thatseized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007. His name was also spelled "Hatam" on FBI docu- ments. "Hatem wouldn't even touch Hamas," Fennerty toldAP. "Hatem is a secular guy, he's not interested in Hamas." Abudayyeh, a longtime advo- cate for immigrant rights, has had close personal and professional ties to the Arab American Action Network for decades. But Fenner- ty said he did not believe the group to be the focus of the FBI's inves- tigation. Abudayyeh's parents immi- grated to Chicago in the 1970s and were instrumental in found- ing a community center that later led to the Arab American Action Network. Abudayyeh joined the group in 1999 and became execu- tive director in 2003. The nonprofit group advocates for Arabs and new immigrants. Recently, its focus has been to combat anti-Arab and anti-Mus- lim sentiment following the Sept. 11,2001, attacks. Abudayyeh has not traveled to Palestine in years, Fennerty said, but he cares about the region and has close cultural ties; his wife is a Palestinian immigrant. In fact, their courtship and marriage was the focus of a PBS "New Ameri- cans" documentary several years ago. The couple now has a daugh- ter. "He's a very caring person, active in his community and other communities," Fennerty said. "He's a father." Abudayyeh didn't return mul- tiple requests for comment and neither his cell phone nor office phone could take messages Sunday because voicemail boxes were full. Word of the raids sent a ripple throughout activist circles. One group of anti-war activists in Chicago called an "emergency meeting" on Chicago's South Side yesterday to plan demonstrations and rallies for Monday and Tues- day. "These raids are an attack on the entire anti-war movement," said Maureen Murphy, a member of the Palestine Solidarity Group in Chicago. "Everyone in peace and social justice is deeply con- cerned." FBI officials, who served six warrants in Minneapolis and two in Chicago, have said there was no imminent threat to the commu- nity. There were no arrests. Those served were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago next month. In Chicago, anti-war activists Joe Iosbaker and his wife, Stepha- nie Weiner, said the government targeted them because they've been outspoken against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. funding of conflicts abroad. They denied any wrongdoing. The homes of longtime Min- neapolis anti-war activists Mick Kelly, Jess Sundin and Meredith Aby were also searched. Several activists said they thought the searches amounted to "fishing expeditions" in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court Deci- sion. In June, the Court rejected a free-speech challenge to the law from humanitarian aid groups that said some provisions put them at risk of being prosecuted for talking to terrorist organiza- tions about nonviolent activities. The federal law cited in the search warrants prohibits "providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist orga- nizations." Chavez rallies supporters in congressional elections Opponents attempt to end Venezuela president's 12-year power streak CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Opponents of Venezuelan Presi- dent Hugo Chavez tried to break his long-standing monopoly on power yesterday in congressio- nal elections, while the firebrand leader rallied his supporters urg- ing them to "attack" through the ballot box. Voters formed long lines at polling stations during elections that stirred strong sentiment on both sides of Venezuela's deep political divide. After casting his ballot, Chavez said turnout could be as high as 70 percent. "The people are speaking," Chavez said, calling it proof the country has a healthy democ- racy. Opposition parties were try- ing to end Chavez's domination of the National Assembly for the first time in his nearly 12 years in the presidency. The vote is also seen as a referendum on Chavez himself ahead of the next presi- dential election in 2012. Polls suggest Chavez remains the most popular politician in Venezuela, yet surveys also have shown a decline in his popular- ity in the past two years as dis- enchantment has grown over problems including rampant vio- lent crime, poorly administered public services and inflation now hovering at 30 percent. The opposition, which boy- cotted the last legislative elections in 2005, stands to dramatically increase its rep- resentation beyond the 11 or so lawmakers who defected from Chavez's camp in the current National Assembly. If Chavez's coor& 0esi5rl roup 208 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 997-7030 www.salonxl.com Featuring Products by KERASTASE H,-,, ARI Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, right, speaks with Aristobulo lzturiz, candi- date for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. socialist-oriented government fails to keep at least a two-thirds majority of the 165 seats, oppo- nents would have more clout in trying to check his sweeping powers. "Democracy is at stake," said Teresa Bermudez, a 63-year- old Chavez opponent who stood in a line that ran down a block and around a corner in down- town Caracas. She said she sees the vote as a vital chance for the opposition to have a voice and achieve a more balanced legisla- ture. Chavez has fashioned him- self as a revolutionary-turned- president carrying on the legacy of his mentor Fidel Castro, with a nationalist vision and a deep- seated antagonism toward the U.S. government. He has largely funded his government with Venezuela's ample oil wealth, touting social programs targeted to his support base. Chavez portrayed the vote as a choice between his "Bolivarian Revolution" and opposition poli- ticians he accuses of serving the interests of the wealthy and his adversaries in the U.S. govern- ment. "We're with this man because this man is the one who has real- ly done things for this country," said Carmen Elena Flores de Cordova, a 58-year-old lawyer who dressed in signature Chavez red for to vote. She pointed to government projects in the neighborhood as proof of prog- ress: a new low-income apart- ment building and cable cars running up into a hillside slum. Both political camps had wit- nesses at polling stations. Sol- diers stood guard during the balloting, joined by civilians belonging to the Bolivarian Mili- tia created by Chavez.