The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS ANN ARBOR Borders cuts jobs at A2 headquarters " Borders Group Inc. says it elimi- nated 45 jobs at its corporate head- quarters as the bookseller works to cut costs. The job cuts disclosed yesterday came in several areas of opera- tions, including human resources, finance, merchandising and dis- tribution centers. Spokeswoman Mary Davis said in an e-mailed statement employees who lost jobs will receive severance. Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Bor- ders is facing stiff competition from online retailers, discount stores and the growing electronic book industry. It announced plans last week to close a Tennessee distribution center and eliminate 310 jobs. The No. 2 traditional book seller in the U.S. said last month it delayed payments to vendors to preserve cash as it works to refi- nance its debt. Borders launched its e-book- store last summer. It is expanding a selection of e-readers in its stores and children's toys and games. DETROIT Detectives search for attacker of seven women Detectives are searching for a man who they believe sexu- ally assaulted seven women since New Year's Day and tried to attack another, Detroit's police chief said yesterday. The first attack happened before dawn on Jan. 1, and the most recent attack happened at 2:40 a.m. Thursday, hours before volunteers hit the streets to warn women and to circulate a sketch of the suspect, Chief Ralph Godbee said at a news conference. "We don't want people to be gripped by fear. ... We're not going to let this monster cripple us," Godbee said. The suspect is described as black, in his 30s and about 5 feet 9 inches tall. All of the victims are black, and they range in age from 17 to 33 years old, the chief said. All of the attacks happened about five miles from downtown Detroit, and in most cases, the victims were waiting for a bus or walking to or from a bus stop, God- bee said. MIAMI Suspicious cargo ! found on Florida- bound flight Authorities say an empty holder for detonators used in construction or oil drilling prompted a bomb squad inspection of an American Airlines plane that arrived yester- day at Miami International Air- port from Brazil. A Miami-Dade Police bomb squad was dispatched to the plane after baggage handlers found a suspicious item in the cargo hold of Flight 930 from Sao Paolol. Authorities said the holder was discovered rattling around inside a container during an inspection of the plane's cargo shipments. All of the flight's 169 passengers had already deplaned. "They found what appeared to be detonator devices, but it turned out to be empty containers that are made to hold detonators. There were no explosives inside them," said police spokeswoman Det. Edna Hernandez. American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith called the detonator holder "nothing threatening." TOLUCA, Mexico Eight dead in drug dealer shootout Police say eight people have died in a shootout among drug dealers in a poor suburb of Mexico City. Mexico State Attorney General Alfredo Castillo says drug deal- ers who once worked together are fighting over control of the La Esperanza neighborhood in the city of Nezahualcoyotl. State investigators say in a statement that gunmen arrived in three cars at a house in the gritty neighborhood and opened fire on a group of people gathered there on Sunday. Turf battles between drug car- tels have left more than 30,000 people dead since December 2006 but the capital has been spared of the violence. -Compiled from Daily wire reports Destiney Scott, 16, used her day off from school to join her friends in the 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. parade which begins at City Park next to the Dr. Martin Luther King I Have Dream Memorial and continues west down Colfax Ave. Nation honors Dr. Martin Luther KIng In light of shooting, thousands gather to remember King's message of peace ATLANTA (AP) - The nation observed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday yesterday with thousands volunteering for ser- vice projects and more reflecting on his lessons of nonviolence and civility in the week following the shootings in Arizona. Six people were killed in Tucson and Democratic Con- gresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is fighting for her life. The vio- lent outburst was a reminder to many gathered at King's former church in Atlanta that the Bap- tist preacher's message remained relevant nearly four decades after his own untimely death at the hands of an assassin. Attorney General Eric Hold- er praised him as "our nation's greatest drum major of peace" and said the Jan. 8 bloodshed was a call to recommit to King's values of nonviolence, tolerance, compassion and justice. "Last week a senseless ram- page in Tucson reminded us that more than 40 years after Dr. King's own tragic death, our struggle to eradicate violence and to promote peace goes on," Holder said. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle volunteered to paint for a service project at a middle school in Washington's Capitol Hill. He urged Americans to get out into their communities - a step he suggested would have special meaning following the shootings. "After a painful week where so many of us were focused on the tragedy, it's good for us to remind ourselves of what this country is all about," he said. National and local politicians joined members of the King fam- ily at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to mark what would have been the civil rights icon's 82nd birthday. Members of the King family also laid a wreath at the tombs of King and his widow, Coretta Scott King, on the 25th anniversary of the federal holi- day established to honor the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner. The largely African American audience of about 2,000 gath- ered at Ebenezer - where King preached from 1960 until his death in 1968 - included par- ents and children, members of the clergy, politicians and foot- soldiers of the civil rights move- ment. Two of the Kings' four chil- dren, Martin Luther KingII and the Rev. Bernice King attended Monday's ceremony. Their broth- er, Dexter King, was unable to attend the service because he is recovering from injuries he received in a car crash last year. Yolanda King, the eldest of the King siblings, died in 2007. Ber- nice King is also president-elect of the Southern Christian Lead- ership Conference, which her father co-founded in 1957. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, who worked with King during the civil rights movement, issued a renewed call for Americans to unite in peace and love as King preached during his lifetime. "If Dr. King could speak to us today, he would tell us that it does not matter how much we disap- prove of another person's point of view, there is never a reason to deny another human being the respect he or she deserves," Lewis said. The Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer, called for members of Congress to show solidarity during the State of the Union Address this month. Quoting the Bible and Abraham Lincoln, Warnock said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." "Maybe after Arizona what our children need to see is us sit- ting together," Warnock said. In Philadelphia, hundreds of volunteers including Mayor Michael Nutter helped refurbish computers for needy residents as part of the city's "day of service" events to mark the King holiday. "The computer is your pass- port, not only to the future but to knowing what's going around you," Nutter said. Tunisia works toward developing government Three days after president flees, citizens protest former ruling party TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) - Tuni- sia took a step toward democracy and reconciliation yesterday, promising to free political pris- oners and opening its govern- ment to opposition forces long shut out of power - but the old guard held onto the key posts, angering protesters. Demonstrators carrying signs reading "GET OUTt demanded that the former ruling party be banished altogether - a sign more troubles lie ahead for the new unity government as secu- rity forces struggle to contain violent reprisals, shootings and looting three days after the coun- try's longtime president fled under pressure from the streets. "We're afraid that the presi- dent has left, but the powers- that-be remain," said Hylel Belhassen, a 51-year-old insur- ance salesman. Even before the new government was announced yesterday, security forces fired tear gas to repel demonstrators who see the change of power as Tunisia's first real chance at democracy. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Friday to Saudi Arabia after a month of protests over unemployment and corrup- tion led to his downfall after 23 years in power. The government announced yesterday that 78 civilians have died in the month of unrest - an announcement that underlined the depth of the violence in the usually placid Mediterranean tourist destina- tion. Under autocratic Ben Ali, Tunisia was effectively under one-party rule. The new govern- ment named yesterday includes three ministers from the oppo- sition - a first in Tunisia - but members of Ben Ali's RCD party held onto mostofthejobs, includ- ing the most important posts. Security forces have gotten an image makeover in the pub- lic mind. The once-feared police have been fighting snipers and armed groups widely believed to be Ben Ali loyalists. Nearby nations, meanwhile, faced a wave of self-immolation attempts yeseterday, apparently influencedby the desperate Tuni- sian man who set himself on fire a month ago, sparking the protests that brought his president down. In Tunisia, hundreds of stranded tourists were still being evacuated and foreign airlines gradually resumed flights that were halted when Tunisian air- space closed amid the upheaval. Besides the 78 civilians killed in the monthlong protests, Interi- or Minister Ahmed Friaa said 94 civilians were injured - a jump from the previous official death toll of 23. The new figure- does not include members of security forces, some of whom also died, Friaa said. Among victims of the violence was a French photojournalist who died Monday after being hit in the face with a tear gas canis- ter three days earlier. The French Foreign Ministry said Loucas Von Zabiensky-Mebrouk, 32, was the "victim of a deliberate homi- cidal act." The troubles have reverber- ated to the tourist-based Tuni- sian economy, which Friaa said has lost $2 billion because of the unrest. Resort towns like Ham- mamet are boarded up and under police control, said Norredine Gohdbani, who worked in a res- taurant there and has returned to stay with his family in Tunis. Friaa told reporters that 85 police stations have been dam- aged around the country, along with 13 town halls, 43 banks, 11 factories and 66 stores or shop- ping centers. Streets of the capital appeared calmer Monday but police were posted on most corners in down- town Tunis, with busloads of forces waiting to deploy. Most shops remained shuttered, but a rare eatery, a pizza restaurant, opened its doors - filled mostly with hungry police officers. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi offered a number of concessions to try to appease Ben Ali's critics, while maintain- ing the ruling party's dominance of government and public posts around the country. Ghannouchi, a longtime Ben Ali ally who has been premier since 1999, retained his post, as did the current ministers of defense, interior and foreign affairs. Three opposition figures, including Nejib Chebbi, a founder of the opposition PDP party, will take up posts in the new govern- ment. More significantly, Ghannou- chi pledged such measures as freeing political prisoners and lifting restrictions on a leading humanrightsgroup, the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights. He said the government would create three new state commissions to study political reform, investigate corruption and bribery, and examine abuses during the recent upheaval. However, at least one union leader said the changes were not enough and predicted demon- strations would continue until all key figures ruling party had been swept from power. "It (the ruling RCD) left by the back door and is coming back through the window," said Habib Jerjir, a member of the executive bureau of the Regional Workers' Union of Tunis.