The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com . Friday, October 28, 2011 - 3 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October 28, 2011 - 3 NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Chrysler closes in on first full-year profit since 2005 Chrysler is moving closer to its first full-year profit since 2005 as customers buy more of its cars and trucks at higher prices. It's another sign that the once- troubled carmaker is turning around. Chrysler was the most- improved brand in a recent reli- ability survey from Consumer Reports, moving up from the bottom of the list because of new and better products. It's also reached a new labor agreement that limits its costs. And it's rais- ing its full-year profit forecast. The company, now run by Italy's Fiat SpA, said its fortunes have improved because of rising demand for its new or revamped Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram cars and trucks. ST. PAUL, Minn. Student loan plan called abuse by Rep. Bachmann ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Republican presidential can- didate Michele Bachmann is ripping a move by President Barack Obama to ease student loan debt as an "abuse of power" that will give people incentive to dodge debt. Bachmann reacted yesterday to a decision Obama announced a day earlier to cap payments for some college loan borrowers and forgive payments for others after 20 years. He used executive authority to accelerate a law that wasn't supposed to go into effect until 2014. The Minnesota congresswom- an made her remarks during an education forum put on by The College Board and News Corp. NEW YORK European debt crisis spikes Dow Jones, S & P An agreement to contain the European debt crisis electrified the stock market yesterday, driv- ing the Dow Jones Industrial average up nearly 340 points and putting the Standard & Poor's 500 index on track for its best month since 1974. Investors were relieved after European leaders crafted a deal to slash Greece's debt load and prevent the crisis there from engulfing larger countries like Italy. The package is aimed at preventing another financial disaster like the one that hap- pened in September 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. But some analysts cautioned that Europe's problems remained unsolved. "The market keeps on think- ing that it's put Europe's prob- lems to bed, but it's like putting a three-year old to bed: You might put it there but it won't stay there," said David Kelly, chief market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds. TOPEKA, Kan. New abortion law prompts lawsuits Attorneys for three doctors say they'll challenge revised regula- tions for abortion providers in Kansas. The attorneys said yesterday that a legal challenge in federal court is coming despite recent changes meant to placate the physicians, who've already per- suaded a federal judge to block the earlier version of the rules. The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights says it will sue. It represents Dr. Herbert Hodes and his daughter, Dr. Traci Nauser, who perform abortions at their medical office in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. Later, Cheryl Pilate, an attor- ney representing Dr. Ronald Yeo- mans, said he'd also be involved. Yeomans performs abortions at a Kansas City, Kan., clinic. -Compiled from Daily wire reports Interest groups pour millions into judicial elections KHAIL HAMRA/AP An Egyptian security officer holds a gun as he guards prisoners released from Israeli jails, during a celebration ceremony held upon their arrival to Egypt yesterday. ' e Israel trades Egyptian prisone-trs for U.S. citizen 25 Egyptians swapped for American-Israeli Thursday in Jerusalem, Grapel said Egyptian authorities "made sure that I was fed well, respect- ed me and made sure no one harmed me in any way." Grapel said he was held on JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel "trumped-up allegations." Isra- said yesterday that it agreed to el's government, his family and trade Egyptian prisoners for a friends insisted all along that U.S.-Israeli citizen imprisoned Grapel was not a spy. in Cairo on unsubstantiated Many Israelis scoffed at the suspicions of spying to defuse a need for a deal to free a citizen potential crisis between the two arrested by a friendly nation on neighboring countries. what were widely believed to be Israel's agreement to such falsified charges. a swap highlights how brittle Israel Hasson, an Israeli law- relations have become between maker dispatched to Israel to the two since the fall of Egypt's escort Grapel from Egypt, said longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, the Israeli government agreed and that many on both sides to free prisoners to ease recent want to preserve them. tensions. Israel released 25 jailed Egyp- "This event could have devel- tians, most of them smugglers, oped into a crisis and we don't for the U.S.-born Ilan Grapel, think either country needs that," who was arrested in Cairo in Hasson told Israel Radio. "This June and who previously served was not a prisoner exchange. This in the Israeli military. was crisis prevention between The freed Egyptian prisoners Israel, the U.S. and Egypt." passed into Sinai through a land In 1979, Israel and Egypt crossing from Israel. TV broad- signed a U.S.-brokered peace casts showed some of the Egyp- treaty, the first between Israel tian men kneeling to kiss the and an Arabstate. Relations have asphalt after crossing through a , always been cool, but Mubarak blue metal gate at the border. carefully upheld the accord. At a news conference late Egypt's new military leaders have vowed to do so as well, but they have taken a tougher stance on Israel and grown closer to its enemy, the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza - a tiny coastal Palestinian territorythat borders both countries. Egypt's improved ties with Hamas appear to have helped secure a long-elusive prisoner swap last week, in which Israel agreed to trade more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for a single Israeli soldier, Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured and held by Hamas in Gaza for more than five years. But Grapel is no Schalit. He was volunteering at a legal aid group in Cairo when he was arrested in early June on suspi- cion of spying for Israel during the grass roots revolt that overthrew Mubarak. He was never charged. Grapel made no secret of his Israeli background, entered Egypt under his real name and his Facebook page had photos of him in an Israeli military uniform. Such openness about his identity suggested he was not a spy, and even in Egypt, where hostility toward Israel runs high, the arrest was wide- ly ridiculed. Spending on elections threatens judicial impartiality WASHINGTON (AP) - Inter- est groups pumped millions of dol- lars into state judicial elections at unprecedented levels around the country inthe last election cycle, a trend that threatens to undermine the impartiality of judges, a report issued yesterday said. Political parties and advocacy groups working independently from the candidates are account- ing for a greater share of spending on judicial elections. Such inde- pendent expenditures accounted for $11.5 million, or nearly 30 pei- cent, of the money spent in the 2009-2010 election cycle. That's up more than 60 percent from the 2005-06 election cycle. That growth helps explain the nasty tone of some judicial elec- tions.While candidates ran mostly positive advertisements, interest groups accounted for three out of every four attack ads, said the report, which was compiled by three organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. "The story of the 2009-10 elec- tions, and their aftermath in state legislatures in 2011, reveals a coalescing national campaign that seeks to intimidate America's state judges into becoming accountable to money and ideologies instead of the constitution and the law," said the report. High-court candidates across the U.S. spent $38.4 million dur- ing the 2009-2010 election cycle. Retention races in four states - Illinois, Iowa, Alaska and Colo- rado - cost nearly $4.9 million, more than double the $2.2 million for all retention elections nation- wide for the entire decade. The most expensive high-court elections took place in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois, where the courts were closely divided along party lines. The nation's costliest reten- tion election in a quarter century took place last year when Illinois Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride faced a simple up-or-down vote to keep his seat. Business groups sought his ouster after he helped overturn a state law capping dam- ages in medical malpractice cases. Kilbride raised $2.8 million while businessgroups drew $688,000 in their campaign. In Michigan, the state GOP spent an estimated $4 million and the Michigan Democratic Party spent $1.6 million. The report said the independent spending dwarfed that of the candidates, to the point that the candidates "seemed like bystanders in their own elections." The judicial elec- tions in Michigan were the most expensive in the country. Perhaps the most abrupt change took place in Iowa where not a single penny was spent in state high-court elections from 2000 to 2009. That changed when the Iowa Supreme Court struck down a state law banning same- sex marriage. Nationalgroups, led by the National Organization for Marriage, spent nearly $1 million to vote out three state justices try- ing to retain their seats. A group called Fair Courts for Us, led by former governor Robert Ray, also spent about $400,000 in an unsuccessful bid to support the incumbents. The report described the results of the Iowa election as chilling because the campaign was intended to send a warning to judges in all states. But Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said he believes talk of intimidation by interest groups is just incorrect. Rather, he said, that the groups are putting their trust in voters. "Is it intimidation when some- one saysto a politician you've gone too far. I can't vote for you again?" Brown said. "That's not intimida- tion. That's democracy at work." The report also noted that a patchwork of disclosure laws can leave the public in the doubt about who funds the indepen- dent expenditure efforts to elect or remove judicial candidates. In Iowa, the laws made it clear who was supporting the effort to remove three justices. But in Michigan, the report said it was impossible to confirm who bank- rolled the two party's spending in the judicial elections. Amid criticism, Perry drops out of upcomillg debates Ohio gym teacher convicted of having sex with students Gov. will not join debate at Oakland University AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Rick Perry may skip some upcoming GOP presidential debates, side- stepping a campaign staple that hasn't been kind to the Texas governor in his first two months on the national stage. It's a deci- sion that ultimately could cause other Republicans to bow out of the more than half-dozen face- offs scheduledbetween now and the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3. Perry does plan to participate in a Nov. 9 debate at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. - his sixth - but he hasn't com- mitted to any others beyond that as political advisers hunker down to determine how best to proceed. He's juggling fundrais- ing and retail campaigning with only two months before the first votes in the Republican nomina- tion fight are cast. "We haven't said no, but we're looking at each debate," campaign spokesman Mark Miner said yesterday. "There are numerous - 15, 16, 17 - debates, and we're taking a look at each one and we're makingthe appro- priate consideration." He said that "while debates are part of the process, they're just one part." Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, considered the Republican candidate to beat because of his leads in national polls, fundraising and organi- zation, also has not committed to debating beyond Michigan. His campaign has made debate commitments on a case-by-case basis depending on how each fits his schedule and strategy. For instance, he skipped the leadoff debate in South Carolina in June when the GOP field was stillgell- ing and few top-tier candidates participated. For Perry, who is not nearly as well-known as Romney, there's more to it than time manage- ment. As he reboots his fledgling campaign, Perry clearly also is trying to reintroduce himself to the nation on his own terms. After a couple of recent rocky debate performances hurt his poll standings, he's returning to the play-it-safe strategy he suc- cessfully employed in running threetimesforgovernorofTexas. The state's longest-serving governor, he never has lost an election and has debated his rivals only when it couldn't be avoided. Perry has long conced- ed he's not a strong debater, and he contends that his up-close charisma and ability to take a more personalized message directly to voters is the key to his success. His closest advisers have built campaigns around that approach and their candi- date's ferocious campaign-trail energy. It's unclear whether this approach will work in a nation- al campaign, where debates provide candidates new to the national stage with a huge dose of free media as they look to make themselves better known to primary voters. The stakes are high. Do well, and you could enjoy a burst of momentum as Minnesota Rep. Michele Bach- mann did over the summer. Do poorly, andyou riskfallingout'of favor as Perry can attest. This year, the Republican pri- mary debates have drawn large audiences and have significantly shaped the contours of the race. Eight debates already have been held, and nearly a dozen more are scheduled before January's end. Media companies and state Republican Party leaders sched- ule them without the campaigns' consent. It's up to the candidates to decide whether they partici- pate. Perry has made his disdain for the encounters clear. "These debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down the candidate," he said Tuesday on The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. "So, you know, if there was a mistake made, it was probably ever doing one of the (debates) when all they're inter- ested in is stirring up between the candidates instead of really talking about the issues that are important to the American people." Rival campaigns jumped on Perry. "You have to go to debates if you want to succeed in the new era," chided Steve Grubbs, chair- man of Herman Cain's Iowa campaign. But Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, a former aide to John McCain's 2008 presi- dential campaign, said Perry must play to his strength, not his weakness. "During those debates, he looks like the Washington Gen- erals while Mitt Romney is the Harlem Globetrotters scoring all around him," O'Connell said. Judge rejects teacher's insanity plea for having sex with five students LEBANON, Ohio (AP) - A high school teacher was convict- ed yesterday of having sex with five students, some of them foot- ball players, after an Ohio judge rejected an insanity defense that argued the teens took advantage of her. Stacy Schuler was sentenced to a total of four years in prison for the encounters with the Mason High School students at her home in Springboro in southwest Ohio in2010. She can ask ajudge to free her from prison after six months. The 33-year-old Schuler, who could have faced decades in pris- on, cried as she was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom. The five'teens testified that Schuler, a health and gym teach- er, had been drinking alcohol at the time of the encounters and was a willing participant who ini- tiated much of the contact. The teens were about 17 at the time. The age of consent in Ohio is 16, but it's illegal for a teacher to have sex with a student. "This is a noble profession that you have, and I've heard a lot of good things about you, but I know that you had the opportu- nity, as all teachers do, to affect the lives of our children," War- ren County Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler said. "You crossed a line." Schuler's lawyers argued that she had medical and psychologi- cal issues and couldn't remember the encounters. Before sentencing Schuler on 16 counts of sexual battery and three counts of providing alcohol to a minor, the judge said it would be a "magnificent leap" to believe she didn't know her actions were wrong. Schuler didn't testify during the four-day nonjury trial, and she and her attorneys declined to address the judge before he sen- tenced her. But parents of two of the teen victims made tearful statements. A father spoke of his son's depression and lost motivation and said the teen almost didn't go to college. He asked the judge to hand down a sentence to send a message that Schuler's acts are not acceptable and there are seri- ousconsequences. "it impacts the teaching com- munity as a whole, how a single teacher who made the wrong decision multiple times overshad- ows 99.9 percent of the teachers that truly do care, not pretend to care, about their students," he said. A mother said her son turned to and trusted Schuler during an extremely low period when his father had cancer and related health problems. "These young men may appear pas if they are tough guys, but in reality, they are truly hurting," she said. "She took advantage of their vulnerability. She crossed the line and it is unacceptable."