The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Jury picked in
ex-Detroit mayor's
corruption trial
A jury was picked Wednesday
in the corruption trial of former
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpat-
rick, ending a nine-day process
peppered with legal wrangling
over whether enough blacks
were being considered for the
panel.
Five of the 12 jurors are black
as well as three of the six alter-
nates who also will sit in the box
for a trial that could stretch into
2013.
Kilpatrick, who quit the may-
or's office in 2008 due to a dif-
ferent scandal, is charged with
a series of crimes related to an
alleged scheme to pocket hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars
through racketeering and extor-
tion. The government says many
of his targets were contractors
who did business with the city
and were desperate to keep it.
His father, Bernard Kilpat-
rick, also is on trial, along with
construction contractor Bobby
Ferguson and former Detroit
water boss Victor Mercado.
PHOENIX
Groups protest
Ariz. immigration
law's enforcement
A day after the most conten-
tious provision of Arizona's
immigration law took effect, ral-
lies were held around Phoenix
to protest the mandate that civil
rights activists say will lead to
systematic racial profiling.
More than three dozen activ-
ists stood outside aU.S. Immigra-
tion and Customs Enforcement
building along a busy thorough-
fare Wednesday evening. They
chanted: "No papers, no fear."
Carlos Garcia, an organizer
with the immigrant rights group
S the Puente Movement, said the
strategy is to urge people not
to cooperate with immigration
enforcement efforts - whether
they're in the country legally or
not.
Tempe resident Beatrice
Jernigan said friends who are in
the country illegally are scared.
NEW ORLEANS, LA
Texas town 's
rental ban gets
second hearing
A Dallas suburb asked a fed-
eral appeals court Wednesday to
uphold an ordinance that would
ban undocumented immigrants
from renting homes in the town.
The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals agreed to rehear the
case after a three-judge panel
from the court ruled in March
that Farmers Branch's ordinance
is unconstitutional and imper-
missibly interferes with the fed-
eral immigration system.
The court's 15 judges didn't
indicate when they would
rule after hearing arguments
Wednesday from attorneys for
the town and a group of land-
lords and tenants who sued to
block the ordinance's enforce-
ment.
GAZA CITY
Palestinians: Two
killed in Israeli
strike in Gaza
An Israeli airstrike on a vehi-
cle in the southern Gaza Strip
Wednesday killed two people,
Hamas and health officials said.
A Hamas security official said
the strike hit a car that belonged
to the group's interior minis-
try driving east of the town of
Rafah. He spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to the press.
In a statement, the Israeli
military confirmed the strike,
saying it targeted "two terror
operatives" - a man suspected
of planning an attack against
Israeli civilians and one accused
of selling weapons.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Voters have mixed
reactions to video
of Mitt Romney
BEATRICE RICHARDSON/AP
Kent Terry Sr., father of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, andRichard "Rick"Barlow, chief patrol agentof the Tucson sector, share a quietmoment.
Justice Dept. faulted in
gun-trafficking operati on
'Forty-seven
percent' comments
ripple across the
country
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)
- Mitt Romney's off-handed
comment that as a candidate
he doesn't worry about the 47
percent of Americans who pay
no income taxes has quickly
entered the bloodstream in the
presidential campaign's most
hard-fought states.
His comment, in a video
revealed this week, is prompting
expressions of shock - but also
shrugs - from Nevada to Flori-
da to New Hampshire and the
handful ofbattleground states in
between.
Will it sway an election
expected to be close?
There was much discussion
in the relatively few states that
are still considered competitive,
likely to decide the race. Here,
as elsewhere, the question was
whether Romney was show-
ing himself to be insensitive or
merely delivering the hard truth
a nation at an economic cross-
roads must face.
People's answers could make
an Election Day difference in
states where the race is tight.
"It sounds like he's leaving out
half of America, if you ask me,"
said Gary Gabriel, an indepen-
dent from suburban Columbus,
Ohio, who decided in light of
Romney's comments to support
President Barack Obama.
But the remarks also reaf-
firmed the opinions of some
Romney supporters.
"I worry a lot about the soci-
ety we're turning into, more of
an entitlement mentality," said
Randy Schumaker, a Denver-
area IT manager.
It all underscored the cam-
paign's focus on the economy.
And it stoked deeper questions
about voters' expectations about
the government's role in Ameri-
cans' daily lives.
Outrage. Nodding approval.
Both followed Romney's conten-
tion that 47 percent of Ameri-
cans support Obama and that
they "are dependent upon gov-
ernment" and "believe that they
are victims, who believe that
government has a responsibility
to care for them."
In a Gallup poll taken Tues-
day, about a third of the sur-
veyed registered voters said they
would be less likely to support
Romney in light of the remarks,
But more said the comments
would not affecttheirvotes. And
most voters have already made
up their minds on whom they
will support, according to this
and other surveys.
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Th
ast and furious that Holder was informed about
the Fast and Furious operation
eport results before Jan. 31, 2011, or that the
attorney general was told about
in official's the much-disputed gun-walk-
ing tactic employed by the ATF.
resignation Gun-walking was an experi-
mental tactic, barred under
kSHINGTON (AP) - The long-standing department
e Department's internal policy. ATF agents in Arizona
idog on Wednesday fault- allowed suspected "straw pur-
e agency for misguided chasers," in these cases believed
gies, errors in judgment to be working for Mexican drug
management failures dur- gangs, to leave Phoenix-area
bungled gun-trafficking gun stores with weapons in
in Arizona that disre- order to track them and bring
d public safety and result- charges against gun-smuggling
hundreds of weapons kingpins who long had eluded
ng up at crime scenes in prosecution, but they lost track
.S. and Mexico. of most of the guns.
ormer head of the depart- The experimental operations
s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac- were a response to widespread
rearms and Explosives and criticisms of the agency's anti-
uty assistant attorney gen- smuggling efforts. Because of
nJustice's criminal division thin ATF staffing and weak
ashington left the depart- penalties, the traditional strat-
upon the report's release egy of arresting suspected
first by retirement, the sec- straw buyers as soon as pos-
y resignation. sible had failed to stop the flow
the 471-page report, of tens of thousands of guns to
ctor General Michael Mexico - more than 68,000 in
witz referred more than the past five years.
zen people for possible The inspector general found
tment disciplinary action fault with the work of the
eir roles in Operation Fast senior ATF leadership, the ATF
Furious and a separate, staff and U.S. attorney's office
r probe known as Wide in Phoenix and senior officials
ver, undertaken during of Justice's criminal division
eorge W. Bush adminis- in Washington. He also said
n. A former acting deputy that poor internal informa-
ney general and the head tion-gathering and drafting
e criminal division were at Justice and ATF caused the
ized for actions and omis- department to initially misin-
related to operations sub- form Congress about Fast and
nt to and preceding Fast Furious, beginning with a Feb.
urious. 4, 2011, letter.
e report did not criticize "The inspector general's
ney General Eric Holder, report confirms findings by
aid lower-level officials Congress' investigation of a
d have briefed him about near total disregard for public
vestigation much earlier. safety in Operation Fast and
e report found no evidence Furious," said Rep. Darrell Issa,
R-Calif., chairman of the House
Oversight and Government
Reform Committee, which has
been investigating Operation
Fast and Furious since early
2011. Horowitz is to testify
before Issa's panel Thursday.
During the investiga-
tion President Barack Obama
ordered Holder to withhold
from the committee, under
executive privilege, some
documents describing how
the department responded to
the panel. The Republican-
controlled House voted to hold
Holder in contempt and has
authorized a civil lawsuit to
make the administration turn
over the documents. Horowitz
said he was not denied access to
any of the documents.
Two of the 2,000 weapons
thought to have been acquired
by illicit buyers in the Fast and
Furious investigation were
recovered at the scene of a
shootout that claimed the life of
U.S. border agent Brian Terry.
About 1,400 of the total have
yet to be recovered.
Holder noted in a statement
that the report confirmed his
assertions that the flawed
strategies were driven by field
agents without his knowledge
or approval and that depart-
ment did not set out to misin-
form Congress.
He said the report's disci-
plinary recommendations are
being pursued and "we now
have two men in custody and
we will continue to aggressive-
ly pursue the remaining fugi-
tives to ensure justice for Agent
Terry, his family and his fellow
law enforcement agents."
Fast and Furious has pro-
duced charges against 20 gun
traffickers, 14 of whom have
pleaded guilty so far.
After strike, Chicago
teachers return to work
Students missed
seven days of
school because of
work stoppage
CHICAGO (AP) - Mayor
Rahm Emanuel secured an
extension of Chicago's school
day and empowered principals
to hire the teachers they want.
Teachers were able to soften a
new evaluation process and win
some job protections.
As students returned to the
classroom Wednesday after
a seven-day teachers strike,
both sides found reasons to cel-
ebrate victory. But neither the
school-reform movement nor
organized labor achieved the
decisive breakthrough it had
sought. And whether the impli-
cations extend beyond Chicago
may depend on the next case
having a similar cast of charac-
ters and political pressures.
Unions hoped the walkout
would prove they were still rel-
evant, and some reform groups
were disappointed with the
city's concessions.
At times, the contract talks
seemed overshadowed by per-
sonalities, with the mayor and
union leaders occasionally trad-
ing insults and questioning each
other's motives.
Still, everyone involved in
the dispute emerged with an
achievement to trumpet: Teach-
ers said the strike sparked an
important national conversa-
tion about school reform. Union
activists said it helped inspire
public employee unions that
have been losingground. Eman-
uel declared it a boon for stu-
dents trapped in failing schools.
The president of the Ameri-
can Federation of Teachers said
the strike showed that teach-
ers want a voice in improving
schools rather than shouldering
the blame for those that are fail-
ing.
"The bottom line is ... you
had teachers standing up for
what they need to teach and
what students need to learn,"
Randi Weingarten said, citing
concerns about school closings,
standardized tests and a lack
of classroom resources that are
common across the U.S.
But in lots of places, the cir-
cumstances that led to Chica-
go's walkout don't apply. For one
thing, many states forbid strikes
by teachers and other public-
employee unions. Some teachers
unions and school districts have
been able to work collaborative-
ly to achieve changes, in sharp
contrast to the clash in Chicago,
a union-built town where orga-
nized labor still wields consid-
erable power but new mayor is
seeking more control over edu-
cation.
"I think alot of what went on
to a certain extent is peculiar to
Chicago," said Martin Malin,
director of the Institute for Law
and the Workplace at the Kent
College of Law in Chicago.
French magazine publishes crude
cartoons of prophet Muhammad
Images could incite
outrage in the
Middle East
PARIS (AP) - France stepped
up security Wednesday at its
embassies across the Muslim
world after a French satirical
weekly revived a formula that
it has already used to capture
attention: Publishingcrude, lewd
caricatures of Islam's Prophet
Muhammad.
Wednesday's issue of the pro-
vocative satirical weekly Char-
lie Hebdo, whose offices were
firebombed last year, raised
concerns that France could face
violent protests like the ones tar-
geting the United States over an
amateur video produced in Cali-
fornia that have left at least 30
people dead.
The drawings, some of which
depicted Muhammad naked
and in demeaning or porno-
graphic poses, were met with
a swift rebuke by the French
government, which warned the
magazine could be inflaming
tensions, even as it reiterated
France's free speech protec-
tions.
The principle of freedom
of expression "must not be
infringed," Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius said, speaking
on France Inter radio.
But he added: "Is it perti-
nent, intelligent, in this con-
text to pour oil on the fire? The
answer is no."
Anger over the film "Inno-
cence of Muslims" has fueled vio-
lent protests from Asia to Africa.
In the Lebanese port city of
Tyre, tens of thousands of people
marched in the streets Wednes-
day, chanting "Oh, America, you
are God's enemy!"
Worried France might be tar-
geted, the government ordered
its embassies, cultural centers,
schools and other official sites
to close on Friday - the Muslim
holy day - in 20 countries. It
also immediately shut down its
embassy and the French school
in Tunisia, the site of deadly
protests at the U.S. Embassy
last week.
The French Foreign Ministry
issued a travel warning urging
French citizens in the Muslim
world to exercise "the great-
est vigilance," avoiding pub-
lic gatherings and "sensitive
buildings."
The controversy could
prove tricky for France, which
has struggled to integrate its
Muslim population, West-
ern Europe's largest. Many
Muslims believe the Prophet
Muhammad should not be
depicted at all - even in a flat-
tering way - because it might
encourage idolatry.
Violence provoked by the
anti-Islam video, which por-
trays the prophet as a fraud,
womanizer and child molester,
began with a Sept. 11 attack on
the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, then
quickly spread to Libya, where
an attack on the U.S. Consulate
in Benghazi left the U.S. ambas-
sador and three other Ameri-
cans dead.
In Washington, White House
spokesman Jay Carney said the
Obama administration believed
the French magazine images
"will be deeply offensive to
many and have the potential to
be inflammatory."
"We don't question the right
of something like this to be pub-
lished," he said, pointing to the
U.S. Constitution's protections
of free expression. "We just
question the judgment behind
the decision to publish it."
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