The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com T DmMonday, December 13, 2010 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS WASHINGTON Veteran diplomat in critical condition after heart surgery Veteran diplomat Richard Hol- brooke, who is a special envoy on the Afghanistan war, was in criti- cal condition after surgery to fix a tear in the large artery that moves blood from the heart. President Barack Obama said in a statement that he and first lady Michelle Obama were praying for Holbrooke's recovery. He called Holbrooke, "a tower- ing figure in American foreign pol- icy" who has been a critical player in developing the administration's policy on Afghanistan. The 69-year-old Holbrooke was meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton about midmorning Friday at the State Department when he collapsed. LOS ANGELES Parents of gang kids ordered to classes It's a Saturday morning and a half-dozen adults are sitting in a high school classroom, staring at grim photos of sickly drug addicts and hearing about the deadly con- sequences of gang crime. They'd rather not be here, but a judge made them come. The moms and dads were ordered to attend the class under a new California law giving judges the option of sending parents for training when their kids are con- victed of gang crimes for the first time. Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, the lawmaker behind the Parent Accountability Act, said it is the first state law to give judges the power to order parents of gang members to school, though other court-mandated classes exist at the local level. "A lot of parents do not know how tohandle teenagers," Mendoza said. "Now more than ever, parents need a guide." The new law went into effect in January and eventually will be in place across California. NEWNAVEN, Conn. I'm not a witch' is year's top quote, according to Yale Christine O'Donnell's TV ad declaration "I'm not a witch" during her U.S. Senate campaign topped this year's het quotes, according to a Yale University librarian. O'Donnell's quote is cited by mFred Shapiro, associate librarian Wat Yale Law School, who released his fifth annual list of the most notable quotations of the year. In the ad, O'Donnell was respond- ing to reports of her revelations that she had dabbled in witchcraft years ago. "It was such a remarkable unconventional quote to be a part of the political discourse," Shapiro said. The quote by O'Donnell, a tea party favorite running in Dela- ware, tied for first place with "I'd like my life back," the lament made in May by BP's CEO Tony Hay- ward after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. . ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast poll winner tries to lead from hotel room From a hotel room just big enough to hold a bed and a desk, the man considered the legiti- mate president of Ivory Coast is trying to govern a troubled nation whose sitting president refuses to leave. Alassane Ouattara does not have access to the presidential palace, so he holds Cabinet meet- ings in a tent on the hotel lawn. His administration has taken over the hotel manager's office, where the fax machine is used to communicate with embassies abroad. And the neighboring golf course's sloping fairways may soon house soldiers defecting from the army still controlled by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo. In the upside-down world that has taken root in this corner of Africa, 68-year-old Ouattara was declared winner of last month's presidential election by his coun- * try's election commission in an outcome certified by the United Nations. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. MICHIGAN'S INNO VATJNG FUTURE Snyder: 'We're going to go out, and we're going to make this an entrepreneur and innovation state' By PATRICIA SNIDER DailyStaffReporter Republican Governor elect- Rick Snyder attended an event on campus to hear the winners of the Accelerate Michigan Inno- vation Competition - a program Snyder said is a preview of what he envisions for the future of the state. "You are getting a snapshot of what I believe will happen 365 days a year in Michigan's future," Snyder told a crowd gathered at the North Campus Research Complex on Saturday. "We're going to go out, and we're going to make this an entrepreneur and innovation state." The competition, developed by Ann Arbor SPARK - a company to which Snyder founded - and other organizations, aims to pro- mote economic growth in the state of Michigan. On Saturday, several start-up companies, won prizes of up to $500,000 for their work. Awards were presented at the culmination of a three-day event, featuring presentations, panels and networking opportunities as well as speeches from Snyder and University President Mary Sue Coleman. The ceremony took place in the University's North Campus Research Complex and both student and profession- al finalists were chosen from among 600 entries to be awarded more than $1 million. Ann Arbor SPARK, a non- profit business incubator, was given $750,000 in funding from the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan to create the program on behalf of the Busi- ness Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan. In her opening remarks, Cole- man said the competition is cru- cial for recognizing business efforts to revitalize the state's economy. While many students were focused on Saturday's hockey game against Michigan State University in Michigan Stadium, Coleman said the com- petition should be just as excit- ing for the University since it is making strides to improve the state. "This is our field of dreams, ANNA SCHULTE/Daily Michigan Governor-elect Rick Snyder speaks at the North Campus Research Center about the Accelerate Michigan Business Competition on Saturday. and you embody our aspira- tions, for a thriving and innova- tive Michigan," Coleman said. "There is a lot of excitement in Ann Arbor for the hockey game, but the real story in Ann Arbor is the talent and ideas that are pres- ent in this room." Coleman added that the final- ists in the competition are Mich- igan's future and play a critical role in changing the state's strug- gling economy. "We are now ready for you, your products, your services, your technology and your solu- tions," Coleman said. "The real winners are the people of Michi- gan. All of us benefit from your creativity." In his keynote address, Sny- der presented five key strategies on how to create an atmosphere conducive to innovation in the state. The tactics include har- nessing and improving tech- nology, infrastructure, capital, people and culture. Snyder said that without all of these things, achieving success as an entrepre- neur would be difficult. "If you are -missing any of these, it's going to be extremely challenging to create an innova- tive and creative environment," Snyder said. Snyder said that programs like the Accelerate Michigan Innova- tive Competition allow Michigan to highlight talent within the state and showcase companies that are working toward eco- nomic development. "We have the most talented people in the world in our state," Snyder said. "And we're mak- ing great progress, but we need to continue that organizational effort." University of Michigan stu- dent teams won all four of the cash awards in the student team portion, totaling $60,000. Uni- versity students Zaher Andraus, Vimal Bhalodia and Matthew Neagle received the $15,000 first runner-up prize for their com- pany Reveal Design Automation - a business that develops soft- ware tools to authenticate digital chips in electronics. Bhalodia, a graduate student in the Business School, wrote in an e-mail interview Saturday that in addition to the monetary award his team received, they also gained important skills in networking and career develop- ment. "We've found the experi- ence of pitching in front of and networking with members of the investment community and other people interested in spon- soring innovation to be extreme- ly valuable," Bhalodia wrote. "While the prize money is nice, some of the leads we walk away with for both business develop- ment as well as funding were just as important." Bhalodia also wrote that the competition has the potential to make an impact on both the state of Michigan and the University. "We think it can have a huge impact on Michigan's future," Bhalodia wrote. "Showcasing-the best companies in the area and giving them a forum to meet and learn from like-minded entre- preneurs as well as experienced members of the investment com- munity is invaluable to helping these companies succeed." "Accelerate Michigan is a per- fect complement, offering anoth- er high profile opportunity for U-M to showcase its best inno- vations and brightest entrepre- neurs," he added. ReGenerate, a company that developed the Compact Organic Waste System, which produces a renewable source of electricity and nutrient-rich compost, from the conversion of unwanted and expensive organic waste, won the grand prize in the student competition. COWS is aimed at university cafeterias and super- markets. Armune BioScience of Kal- amazoo won the grand prize of $500,000 in the company com- petition. The company works to create protein-based examina- tions for cancer, helping doctors and patients decide on more spe- cialized treatment options. ElizabethEdwards eulogizedas a guide, source of strength for many Friends and family us - a point of guidance when we John Edwards, her estranged McElroy and Glenn Bergenfield, mist. t" Cate Edwards said. husband did not sneak. The coule also gave euloies "She knew who she was She e remember and celebrate life of political spouse RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Whether it was advice about politics, clothes or boys, Elizabeth Edwards was always ready dispense her wisdom. Family and friends of Elizabeth Edwards remembered her Saturday as a political sage, an idealistic law student who challenged professors and a matriarch who comforted her family even as she was dying of breast cancer. Elizabeth's oldest daughter, Cate, eulogized her mother, recalling her strength, grace and witty recom- mendations about everything from clothing (there .are always fewer regrets wearing solids than pat- terns) to marriage (don't settle for the first boy you ever meet). "She's been a lighthouse to all of U1C1;5, LUU1UdU 1. Edwards' funeral drew hun- dreds to Edenton Street United Methodist Church, where she once mourned her 16-year-old son, Wade, after he died in a car crash in 1996. She was buried next to him during a private ceremony. Speakers reflected on a multi- faceted personality: Edwards, 61, was an intellectual who frequented discount clothing stores like T.J. Maxx, a fiery competitor without an ego and a public figure who won the private confidence of virtually everyone she met. "There aren't words that are good enough," Cate Edwards said. Her eulogy contained a passage from a letter her mother spent years preparing to leave to her children after she was gone. . "I've loved you in the best ways I've known how," the letter said. "All I ever really needed was you, your love, your presence, to make my life complete." 116d1, UU p1V btd . 11 pVL had four children together. John Edwards sat alongside 28-year-old Cate, 12-year-old Emma Claire and 10-year-old Jack. They held hands as they followed the casket into the sanctuary. Their oldest daughter talked of how her mother comforted those around her as she lay dying - at one point barely able to speak - while she held her daughter and John's hands, looking back and forth to each, repeating, "I'm OK. I'm OK." "She was way more worried about us than we were about her," Cate Edwards said. The memorial brought several political figures, including Sen. John Kerry, who led the Demo- cratic presidential ticket in 2004 that included John Edwards, and North Carolina Gov. Beverly Per- due. Two of Elizabeth Edwards' longtime friends, Hargrave McElroy spoke admiringly of the fiery woman who first became a close friend as the couple raised their young children, telling stories of Edwards' expertise at any pur- suit that required intellect - from board games to sports trivia. She said Edwards was always an opti- 0116 itcw aav aac wa. UI never held back. She was without pretense," McElroy said. Bergenfield described a woman he first met in law school who challenged her professors with a vibrant mind and who possessed "big world, head-turning, walk- into-the-pole gorgeous" looks. Sign up and SAVE! $100 Off anyMCAT, LSAT, GMAT or GRE cour. Now isuthe perfect time to prepwith one of the nations leaders in test preparation ~Small Classe Expert Ins ructors -Free Extra Help nPinceo *5Ue Stockholm hit by two blasts in suspected terrorist attacks Suspected suicide bomber the sole casualty in attacks STOCKHOLM (AP) - No one died except for the suspected bomber, but two explosions in Sweden's capital tore at the fabric of this tolerant and open nation - a society that hadn't seen a ter- rorist attack in more than three decades. Two people were wounded in central Stockholm on Saturday in what appeared to be the first suicide bombing in the history of Sweden, which has been spared the major terrorist strikes seen in several other European countries. A car exploded in the middle of the seasonal shopping frenzy, shooting flames and causing sev- eral smaller blasts as people ran screaming from the scene. The blast that killed the alleged bomb- er came moments later further a few blocks away from the car explosion on a busy pedestrian street. Experts said the alleged bomb- er probably didn't succeed in detonating all the explosives and could have caused much greater damage. While police haven't confirmed Saturday's attack was motivated by Islamist views, an audio file sent to Swedish news agency TT shortly before the blast referred to jihad, Sweden's military pres- ence in Afghanistan and a car- toon by a Swedish artist that depicted the Prophet Muham- mad as a dog, enraging the Mus- lim world. It hasn't been verified that the speaker is the person who set off the explosive, but police have said they are investigating that possibility. "Now the Islamic state has been created. We now exist here in Europe and in Sweden. We are a reality," the voice said in the file, submitted to The Associated Press by TT. "I don't want to say more about this. Our actions will speak for themselves."