The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 3 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 3 NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Kilpatrick, father plea not guilty to * indictment charges Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father sat together as criminal defendants at the first court hearings since pros- ecutors filed asweepingindictment that charges them with turning city hall into a den of corruption. Not-guilty pleas were entered yesterday on behalf of Kilpatrick, Bernard Kilpatrick and three oth- ers accused of a multi-year racke- teering conspiracy. At a subsequent hearing an hour later, a judge said the "unusual and complex" case won't be on a fast track. The 89-page indictment returned in December describes a brazen pay-to-play scheme in which the Kilpatricks took kick- backs and bribes to steer city business to certain contractors. Prosecutors call it the "Kilpatrick enterprise." Defense attorney James Thomas says Kilpatrick is in good spirits and plans to fight the case. OKALAHOMA CITY, Okla. Oklahoma's first female governor takes office Republican Mary Fallin (FAY- lihn) has taken her oath of office to become Oklahoma's first female governor. During her inauguration yester- day, Fallin recognized the historic nature of the day, but she stressed that she is foremost an Oklahoma conservative and vowed to improve the state's economy. Fallin says she is excited about returning to her home state after spending four years in Congress. She reiterated her campaign promise to make Oklahoma more business friendly, improve public education and reduce the size of state government. Fallin is Oklahoma's 27th gov- ernor and replaces Democrat Brad Henry, who left office after eight years because of term limits. NEW YORK, NY. Judge rules teacher performance ratings maybe disclosed A judge has ruled that New York City's Department of Education can release performance ratings for 12,000 teachers. Justice Cynthia Kern of Man- hattan state Supreme Court issued the ruling yesterday. She says releasing the ratings with the teachers' names attached would not be arbitrary or capricious under the law. The judge denied a petition by the United Federation of Teachers to keep the teachers' names private. A lawyer for the union argued last month that releasing the data would unfairly subject teachers to public ridicule. The union said it would appeal the decision. The teacher ratings are based on how well students performed on standardized tests. Five media organizations filed Freedom of Information Law requests for them. ACAPULCO, Mexico 31 victims killed in resort city over past four days The body of a murdered man was found yesterday on the main highway to Acapulco, bringing to 31 the number of people killed in the Pacific resort city over four days. The unidentified man was shot several times in the head and found under a pedestrian bridge with his shirt pulled over his face, said Fernando Monreal Leyva, director of the investigative police for Guerrero state, where Acapul- co is located. Leyva said federal, state and local police planned to meet yes- terday with the military to con- sider ways to beef up security in Acapulco, where 14 decapitated men and two police officers were among the unusually high body count since Friday evening. Most of the killings occurred in just a few hours from Friday night W to Saturday in non-tourist areas of the city. But the officers were shot to death in front of tourists on Ave- nida Costero Miguel Aleman, the hotel-lined thoroughfare that runs along the bay. -Compiled from Daily wire reports Suspected Az. shooter faces federal judge Nine year-old Kasandra Ortiz, of Los Angeles, plays in the snow for the first time in her life at Fraziez Park, Calif. Winter storms blanket Southern United States Up to 13 inches of snow recorded in areas of Tennessee ATLANTA (AP) - Southerners more accustomed to sunshine than snow began digging out yesterday from a wintry blast that stranded drivers and air travelers, cut power to thousands of homes, and even forced Auburn University to can- celviewing parties for the national championship bowl game. Snow ranging from several inches to more than a foot blan- keted states from Louisiana to the Carolinas - a region where many cities have only a handful of snow plows, if any. And more misery was on the way: The snow began turning to freezing rain in numer- ous areas, threatening to make untreated roads even more treach- erous. "If you're off the main roads, it's a skating rink," said Tim Loucks, manager of the Pilot Truck Stop in Haughton, La. The storm shut down most cit- ies and towns, closed many busi- nesses, and canceled almost every flight at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jack- son International Airport, the world's busiest. At least eight peo- ple were killed in weather-related traffic accidents. Worried shoppers left grocery store shelves bare, and families without electricity huddled in dark, chilly homes. Predicted overnight lows in the 20s, raised the threat of more outages caused by snow and freezing rain accumu- lating on tree branches and power lines. "The problem here is that they're not used to it, so the equip- ment and the sanitation removal and the snow removal is not really geared for this kind of situation," said Tino Grana, 48, of New York City, who traveled to Atlanta to sell art at a downtown trade show. Atlanta, which got 4 to 7 inches, has just eight snow plows. The city hired a fleet of 11 privately run trucks to help spread salt and gravel. The heaviest snow fell in parts of Tennessee that received as much as 13 inches. The weather began rolling across the South on Sunday, coat- ing bridges and roads with snow, sleet and freezing rain. The gov- ernors of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee declared emergencies. Schools and colleges called off classes. More than 2,000 flights were canceled around the South - affecting passengers as far away as Scandinavia - and Atlanta's air- port was nearly deserted on what would normally be a busy Monday morning. For those whose flights made it to Atlanta, the sight of snow-cov- ered runways was disorienting. Larry and Judy Keefauver, of Buffalo, N.Y., thought their flight from Sacramento had landed somewhere else when they looked out the window. "I have been flying (through Atlanta) since the early '70s, and I've never landed on snow here ever," said Larry Keefauver, 62. In Georgia, the storm forced inauguration ceremonies for newly elected Gov. Nathan deal to be moved from the state Capitol steps inside. The inaugural gala was scrapped to keep supporters off the roads. Arkansas officials planned to move their inaugura- tion indoors today. And in Alabama, Auburn Uni- versity students looked for some- where other than campus to watch the Tigers play in the champion- ship bowl game yesterday after the school canceled all viewing par- ties. Gov. Bob Riley called off his trip to Glendale, Ariz., to see the game in person. In tiny Oxford, Miss., where the historic town square got 8 inches of snow, city workers used back- hoes to clean up because they had no snow plows.. "They aren't as good as plows, but they do a pretty good job," Mayor Pat Patterson said. Drivers struggled to stay on slippery pavement, and roads were littered with abandoned vehicles. Some motorists got out in the mid- dle of the interstate to push their cars up ice-covered ramps. "Towns down here just don't have the equipment to deal with this much snow," said Joel Weems, a worker at the University of Mis- sissippi. Icy roads were blamed in acci- dents that killed two people Sun- day in Louisiana. Two others died in Oklahoma: a woman whose car went off an icy road and into a pond and a man whose pickup slid off an interstate and hit a tree. In Kansas, a woman went out of con- trol on a slick road and struck a sport utility vehicle. Three more drivers were killed in Arkansas when they veered off the pavement. 2 1 rece PHC got its 22-yea ing to Giffori shaved temple scanne sat dov IHis "Unab whispe The he und life in1 alty - John R in the fords' on Satt "Yes lecturr suit. H stoodx shal. The held w Thri televis outside where from eral b becaus Hou observ 2year old could the victims of the rampage, from the South Lawn of the White ive death penalty House and the steps of the U.S. Capitol to legislature beyond Ari- if convicted zona and the International Space Station. XENIX (AP) - The nation There, Giffords' brother-in- first look yesterday at the law, Scott, the commanding offi- r-old loner accused of try- cer, spoke over the radio. Flight assassinate Rep. Gabrielle controllers in Houston fell silent. ds. Jared Loughner, head "As I lookout thewindow, Isee , a cut above the right a very beautiful planet that seems and his hands cuffed, very inviting and peaceful," he 'd a packed courtroom and said. "Unfortunately, it is not." wn. "These days, we are constantly attorney, who defended reminded of the unspeakable acts omber" Ted Kaczynski, of violence and damage we can ered to him. inflict upon one another, not just judge asked Loughner if with our actions, but also with lerstood that he could get our irresponsible words," he said. prison - or the death pen- "We're better than this," he for killing federal Judge said. "We must do better." oll, one of the six who died On a frigid morning outside the shooting rampage at Gif- White House, President Barack meeting with constituents Obama and first lady Michelle urday in Tucson. Obama stood side by side, each ," he said, standing at a with their hands clasped, heads n in his beige prison jump- bowed and eyes closed. [is attorney, Judy Clarke, On the steps of the U.S. Capi- nearby, as did a U.S. mar- tol, congressional staff and other employees did the same. judge ordered Loughner At the Supreme Court, the ithout bail. justices paused for a moment of ongs of reporters and silence between the two cases ion news crews lined up they were hearing yesterday e the federal courthouse, morning. Arizona's chief federal the hearing was moved judge, John Roll, was killed in Tucson. The entire fed- the attack. ench there recused itself The president called for the :e Roll was the chief judge. country to come together in prayer rs earlier, the nation or reflection for those killed and ed a moment of silence for those fighting to recover. Wiklascreates tough diplomacy obstacles for U.S. Snowstorm causes plane to crash in Iran, 77 dead Singapore leaders show caution in talks with America SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapor- ean officials mustbe more cautious in discussions with U.S. diplomats, the country's foreign affairs min- ister said yesterday, calling the release of classified documents by WikiLeaks disastrous for Ameri- can diplomacy. Singapore officials will be less open when speaking with U.S. diplomats for fear their conversa- tions will be made public, Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said inparliament. "The WikiLeaks disclosures have been disastrous for U.S.diplo- macy," Yen said. "We have to be more guarded in our communica- tions with U.S. diplomats. If it hap- pened once, it can happen again, so we've got tobemore careful." Last month, WikiLeaks released a document showing Singapore statesman Lee Kuan Yew describ- ing Myanmar's junta leaders as "stupid," and calling North Korea's leaders "psychopathic types" in conversationswith U.S. diplomats. Another confidential cable quot- ed Singapore diplomats making unflattering remarks about Malay- sia, India, Japan and Thailand dur- ing meetings with U.S. officials. Yeo said he would not comment on specific leaks. Home Affairs and Law Minis- ter K. Shanmugam warned news media and private citizens they could be prosecuted under Sin- gapore law for receiving or pub- lishing confidential government information. "Everyone involved with the leak of information, whether in government or outside, should be dealt with firmly," he said yester- day in parliament. "Public interest in the free flow of information can- notjustifythe abuse of confidential information." Black box recovered to analyze failure of Boeing-727 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Inves- tigators yesterday found the black box from a passenger jet that broke to pieces on impact while trying an emergency landing in a snowstorm in northwestern Iran, killing at least 77 people. The pilots of the Boeing-727, operated by Iran's national airline and carrying 104 passengers and crew, reported a technical failure to the control tower before try- ing to make the landing Sunday night, state-run TV reported. The IranAir aircraft broke into several pieces, but Mahmoud Mozaffar, head of the rescue department of Iran's Red Crescent Society, said there was no explosion or fire. Footage on state TV showed the plane's crumpled fuselage lying in a field, torn apart in several places, under whirling snow in the dark- ness as rescue workers and local farmers searched for survivors in the hours after the crash. Heavy spow hampered rescue efforts, the semiofficial Fars news agency cited the head of the state emergency center, Gholam Reza Masoumi, as saying. That report also mentioned fog in the area. State TVsaid the aircraft disap- peared from radar and went down in farmland after makinga second attempt to land at the airport in the northwestern city of Orumi- yeh. The nature of the technical failure was not clear. Iran's Transport Minister Hamid Behbahani said 77 people died and 27 were injured, some critically. Behbahani said the flight was carrying 104 passen- gers and crew, correcting earlier reports of 105 on board. The state news agency IRNA said two chil- dren were among the dead. Behbahani said the plane's flight data recorder, known as the black box, has been recovered "and is now being studied by a committee probing the crash." Four Iraqi nationals were aboard the plane, the official IRNA news agency reported late Monday. Two of them were among the victims while two others were in the list of those injured. Some of the passengers were able to walk away from the landing, said Abbas Mosayebi, a spokesman for the civil aviation authority. There were conflict- ing accounts on whether all 104 on board were accounted for, with some TV reports saying all were found and others saying two remained missing. President Mahmoud Ahma- dinejad sent a message of con- dolence to the families of the victims and ordered a quick investigation of the cause of the crash. The aircraft was headed from Tehran to Orumiyeh, capital of West Azerbaijan province, a dis- tance of about 460 miles, or 700 kilometers. Iran has a history of frequent air accidents blamed on its aging aircraft and poor main- tenance. Many of the Boeing aircraft in IranAir's fleet were bought before the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which disrupted ties with the U.S. and Europe. Iranian airlines, includ- ing those run by the state, are chronically strapped for cash, and maintenance has suffered, experts say. U.S. sanctions pre- vent Iran from updating its 30-year-old American aircraft and make it difficult to get Euro- pean spare parts or planes as well. The country has come to rely on Russian aircraft, many of them Soviet-era planes that are harder to get parts for since the Soviet Union's fall.