The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycomWednesday, Octoher 13, 2010 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING
Granholm vetoes
bill to allow Sunday
liquor sales
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Gran-
holm vetoed a bill yesterday that
would have allowed Sunday morn-
ing liquor sales and another mea-
sure spelling out how $316 million
in federal money should be spent on
public schools.
She said the liquor bill could
open the state to a costly lawsuit
while the schools bill could have
jeopardized the federal funding.
The vetoes leave lawmakers
with more work to be done on the
current budget. The Michigan
Licensed Beverage Association,
which has lobbied to expand liquor
sales, called the governor's veto
"baffling."
The liquor sales bill was approved
just before the new budget took
effect Oct. 1 and was estimated to
bring in more than $500,000 to the
general fund.
The veto of the education mea-
sure doesn't affect the $13 billion
school aid budget passed earlier
this year, but it could keep school
districts from getting the higher
per-pupil amounts they were prom-
ised until the bill is fixed.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.
Calif. agency pulls
stem cell poetry off
website
An attempt to lighten up the
heavy subject of stem cells through
poetry has backfired on the Califor-
nia agency that manages the state's
$3 billion research fund.
The California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine decided to
hold a poetry contest to commemo-
rate Stem Cell Awareness Day last
Wednesday. But it later pulled the
winning entries from its website
because of religious language in
one of the works.
The poem "Stem C." begins,
"This is my body/which is given for
you," and ends with, "Take this/in
remembrance of me."
The words echo language used
during Holy Communion in many
Christian churches.
The conservative California
Family Council called the poem
blasphemous.
CAIRO
Egypt sets new
rules on SMS for
upcoming elections
Egypt's telecommunications
regulator has set new rules for com-
panies sending text messages to
multiple mobile phones, in a move
activists say will stifle efforts to
mobilize voters ahead of upcoming
parliamentary elections.
Reform groups in Egypt, as well
as elsewhere in the region such as
Iran, have increasingly relied on
the internet and mobile phones to
organize, mobilize and evade gov-
ernment harassment.
Mahmoud el-Gweini, adviser to
the Egyptian telecommunication
minister, told The Associated Press
yesterday that companies sending
out text messages - known as SMS
aggregators - must now obtain
licenses.
The decision was not meant to
curb political activity, he said, but
was spurred by concerns that "ran-
dom" text messages concerning
sensitive issues such as religious
tension or the stock market could
be sent to consumers.
PHILADELPHIA
Man arrested after
streaking at rally
Billionaire Alki David says a
man arrested after streaking at
President Barack Obama's week-
end rally in Philadelphia was try-
ing to win a $1 million Internet
challenge.
Police say 24-year-old Juan J.
Rodriguez of New York City was
charged with indecent exposure,
public lewdness and disorderly
conduct on Sunday. Rodriguez
was arraigned Monday night and
released on a $10,000 signature
bond.
David recently offered $1 mil-
lion to anyone who could streak
in front of Obama with the name
of David's competition website
on his chest. David told The
Philadelphia Inquirer and Phila-
delphia Daily News that he is
an Obama fan but streaking is
a time-honored way of getting
attention.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Judge calls for
immediate halt
to 'don't ask,
don'It tell' policy
Justice department
attorneys have 60
days to respond to
federal judicial order
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A federal
judge ordered the military yester-
day to immediately stop enforc-
ing its ban on openly gay troops,
bringing the 17-year "don't ask,
don't tell" policy closer than it has
ever been to beingabolished.
Justice Department attorneys
have 60 days to appeal the injunc-
tion but did not say what their
next step would be.
President Barack Obama has
backed a Democratic effort in
Congress to repeal the law, rather
than in an executive order or in
court.
But U.S. District Judge Vir-
ginia Phillips' injunction leaves
the administration with a choice:
Continue defending a law it
opposes with an appeal, or do
nothing, let the policy be over-
turned, and add an explosive
issue to a midterm election with
Republicans poised to make
major gains.
Department of Justice and
Pentagon officials were review-
ing the judge's decision and said
they had no immediate comment.
"The whole thing has become
a giant game of hot potato," said
Diane H. Mazur, a legal expert
at the Palm Center, a think tank
at the University of California
at Santa Barbara that supports a
repeal. "There isn't anyone who
wants to be responsible, it seems,
for actually ending this policy.
"The potato has been passed
around so manytimes that I think
the grown-up in the roomis going
to be the federal courts."
A federal judge in Tacoma,
Wash., ruled in a different case
last month that a decorated flight
nurse discharged from the Air
Force for being gay should be
given her job back.
Phillips, based in Riverside,
Calif., issued a landmark ruling
on Sept. 9, declaring the policy
unconstitutional and asked both
sides to give her input about an
injunction. The judge said the
policy violates due process rights,
freedom of speech and the right
to petition the government for
redress of grievances guaranteed
by the First Amendment.
Gay rights groups hailed Phil-
lips' latest move, crediting her
with what the administration and
Washington have not been able to
do.
"For a single federal judge
to tell the government to stop
enforcing this policy worldwide,
this afternoon, with no time to
think about it or plan for it, is
almost unprecedented," said
Richard Socarides, a former Clin-
ton White House adviser on gay
rights.
"This judge was sure. There
was nothing in her mind that
could justify this even for one
more day, one more hour."
Gay rights advocates, howev-
er, tempered their celebrations,
warning service members to
avoid revealing their sexuality for
fear that the injunction could be
tossed out during an appeal and
they would be left open to being
discharged.
If the government does not
appeal, the injunction cannot
be reversed and would remain
in effect. If it does, it can seek
a temporary freeze, or stay, of
her ruling. An appeal would go
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 9th Circuit. Either side could
then take it to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
The Pentagon did not imme-
diately comment, and a Justice
Department spokeswoman said
the government was reviewing
the decision. Meanwhile, a group
of 19 Democrat senators signed a
letter sent to U.S. Attorney Gen-
eral Eric Holder urging him to let
the injunction stand.
A "don't ask, don't tell" sup-
porter said Phillips overstepped
her bounds.
"The judge ignored the evi-
dence to impose her ill-informed
and biased opinion on our mili-
tary, endangering morale, health
and security of our military at a
time of war," said Wendy Wright,
president of Concerned Women
for America, a public policy
group.
Wright said Phillips should
have let Congress continue to
investigate the impact of the
repeal.
Phillips' order goes into effect
immediately, said Dan Woods,
the attorney who represented the
Log Cabin Republicans, the gay
rights group that filed the lawsuit
in 2004 to stop the ban's enforce-
ment.
In this photo released by the Chilean government, Chile's Health Minister Jaime Manalich, left, looks at the rescue capsule that
will be used to rescue the 33 trapped miners one by one from the collapsed San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, on Tuesday Oct.
12, 2010.
Escape capsule rescues
trapped Chilean miners
The 33 miners have
been trapped nearly
a half mile under-
ground for 69 days
SAN JOSE MINE, Chile (AP)
- To hugs, cheers and tears, res-
cuers using a missile-like escape
capsule began pulling 33 men one
by one to fresh air and freedom at
last early today, 69 days after they
were trapped in a collapsed mine
almost a half-mile underground.
Rescued first was Florencio
Avalos, who wore a helmet and
sunglasses to protect him from
the glare of bright lights. He
smiled broadly as he emerged and
hugged his sobbing 7-year-old
son, Bairon, and wife, then got a
bearhug from Chilean President
Sebastian Pinera shortly after
midnight local time.
A second miner, Mario Sepulve-
da Espina, was pulled to the surface
about an hour later - his shouts
heard even before the capsule sur-
faced. After hugging his wife, Elvi-
ra, he jubilantly handed souvenir
rocks from his underground prison
to laughing rescuers.
Then he jumped up and down
as if to prove his strength to
everyone before the medical team
took him into a triage unit.
Eachrideuptheshaft wasexpect-
ed to take about 20 minutes, and
authorities were working to haul
up one miner per hour at the site
in the chilly Chilean desert. When
the last man surfaces, it promises
to end a national crisis that began
when 700,000 tons of rock collapsed
Aug. 5, sealing the men in the lower
reaches ofthe mine.
The miners captivated the
world with their endurance and
unity as Chile meticulously pre-
pared their rescue.
After the first capsule came
out of the manhole-sized open-
ing, Avalos emerged as bystanders
cheered, clapped and broke into
a chant of "Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le!
Le!" - the country's name.
Avalos gave a thumbs-up as
he was led to an ambulance and
medical tests following his more
than two months deep below the
Chilean desert - the longest any-
one has ever been trapped under-
ground and survived.
Avalos, the 31-year-old sec-
ond-in-command of the miners,
was chosen to be first because he
was in the best condition. He has
been so shy that he volunteered
to handle the camera rescuers
sent down so he wouldn't have to
appear on the videos that the min-
ers sent up.
Pinera later explained that they
had not planned for Avalos' fam-
ily to join rescuers at the opening
of the shaft, but that little Bairon.
insisted on being there.
"I told Florencio that few times
have I ever seen a son show so
much love for his father," the
president said.
"This won't be over until all 33
are out," he added. "Hopefully the
spirit of these miners will remain
forever with us. ... This country is
capable of great things."
Minutes earlier, mine rescue
expert Manuel Gonzalez of the
state copper company Codelco
grinned and made the sign of the
cross as he was lowered to the
trapped' men - apparently with-
out incident. He was followed by
Roberto Ros, a paramedic with
the Chilean navy's special forces.
Together they will prepare the
miners for their rescue - expect-
ed to take as many as 36 hours for
all to surface.
"We made a promise to never
surrender, and we kept it," Pinera
said as he waited to greetthe min-
ers, whose endurance and unity
captivated the world as Chile
meticulously prepared their res-
cue.
The last miner out has been
decided: Shift foreman Luis
Urzua, whose leadership was
credited for helping the men
endure 17 days with no out-
side contact after the collapse.
The men made 48 hours' worth
of rations last before rescuers
reached them with a narrow
borehole to send down more food.
Janette Marin, sister-in-law
of miner Dario Segovia, said the
order of rescue didn't matter.
"This won't be a success unless
they all get out," she said, echo-
ing the solidarity that the min-
ers and people across Chile have
expressed.
The paramedics can change the
order of rescue based on a brief
medical check once they're in
the mine. First out will be those
best able to handle any difficul-
ties and tell their comrades what
to expect. Then, the weakest and
the ill - in this case, about 10 suf-
fer from hypertension, diabetes,
dental and respiratory infections
and skin lesions from the mine's
oppressive humidity. The last
should be people who are both
physically fit and strong of char-
acter.
Fastest-growing U.S. areas show big income drop
Census shows
Hispanics driving
growth in South
WASHINGTON (AP) - Call it
the migration bust: Many of the
fast-growing U.S. areas during the
housing boom are now yielding
some of the biggest income-drops
in the economic downturn.
That could have broad impact
on the political map in the coming
weeks. Voters discontent over the
economy and related issues such as
immigration head to the polls on
Nov. 2 to decide whether to keep
Democrats in Congress.
Whites and blacks have taken
big hits since 2007 in once-torrid
Sunbelt regions offering warm
climates and open spaces, includ-
ing Florida, Colorado, Arizona and
Nevada, according to 2009 census
data. Hispanics suffered paycheck
losses in many "new immigrant"
destinations in the interior U.S.,
which previously offered con-
struction jobs and affordable hous-
ing, such as Tennessee, Georgia
and North Carolina.
The few bright spots: Wash-
ington, D.C., San Jose, Calif.,
San Francisco and Boston. Their
household incomes remained
among the highest in the nation
last year partly due to steady
demand for government and high-
tech work.
"As a whole, the income chang-
es represent a sharp U-turn from
the mid-decade gains," said Wil-
liam H. Frey, a demographer at
the Brookings Institution who
reviewed the household income
data. "The last two years have left
those who couldn't move stuck in
place with lower incomes."
In December, the Census
Bureau will release 2010 popu-
lation counts, which trigger a
politically contentious process of
divvying up House seats. In all,
Southern and Western states are
expected to take seats away the
Midwest and Northeast. But last-
minute shifts could affect a hand-
ful of states hanging in the balance,
including California, which is hop-
ing to avoid losing its first seat ever,
and Arizona, which may now gain
just one seat rather than two based
partly on slowing Hispanic popu-
lation growth.
The census data show that His-
panics, the nation's largest and
fastest-growing minority group,
are helping drive growth in several
Southern states.
Five states have seen their num-
bers double over the last decade
- South Carolina, Tennessee,
Alabama and Arkansas in the
South and South Dakota in the
Upper Midwest. Other big gain-
ers include Georgia and North
Carolina.
Several of those states, South
Carolina, Georgia and possibly
North Carolina, stand to gain
House seatsbased partly on that
fast growth.
At the same time, the Latino
population remains a relatively
smaller share of the popula-
tion in those states, numbering
about 8 percent or less. There,
they also tend to be dispropor-
tionately low-income workers
who lack a high-school educa-
tion, speak mostly Spanish and
don't vote in elections, which
analysts say may be driving
some of the tensions over immi-
gration and jobs.
In recent months, the rheto-
ric has ranged from a call for
English-only policies in states
and localities that wish to mini-
mize the use of Spanish and
other languages, to a call to strip
birthright citizenship for illegal
immigrants.
"Hispanics' recent growth
and sharp disparity with exist-
ing white populations may have
something to do with the anti-
immigrant backlash now being
observed in large parts of the
country," Frey said.
Hispanics had the highest
income in metro areas such as
Washington, D.C., Baltimore,
Dayton, Ohio, and Virginia Beach,
where they also were more likely to
have a college degree. Lower-edu-
cated Hispanics also had strong
earnings in San Francisco and San
Jose, Calif., two areas with high
costs of living where more-afford-
able immigrant labor tends to be in
greater demand.
Nationally, the government
reported last month that median
household incomes dipped to
$49,777, the lowest since 1997,
with the sharpest drop-offs in
the Midwest and Northeast. Bro-
ken down by race, blacks had the
biggest income losses, dropping
to $32,584. They were followed
by non-Hispanic whites, whose
income fell to $54,461. Asian
incomes remained flat at $65,469.
Income among Hispanics edged
higher but lagged whites signifi-
cantly at $38,039.
The findings are part of a
broad array of 2009 data released
over the past month that have
highlighted the impact of the
recession - from soaring poverty
and a widening gap between rich
and poor to record levels of food
stamp use.
Yesterday, the Census Bureau
posted additional 2009 findings.
Among them:
-Declining home values. Medi-
an values for owner-occupied
homes dropped 5.8 percent last
year to $185,200. They ranged
from a high of $638,300 in San
Jose, Calif., to a low of $76,100 in
McAllen, Texas. In all, five of the
10 highest property values were
located in California, with the rest
in New York, Washington, D.C.,
Boston, Seattle and Baltimore.
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