The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, November 1, 2012 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, November 1, 2012 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Mich. police have
many obstacles in
shooting spree
Clues appear to be few: slugs
and bullet fragments embedded in
cars, metal casings on roadways,
a simple black and white sketch
of the shooter and vague descrip-
tions of the car he drove.
Investigators searching for a
man responsible for shooting at
two dozen vehicles along free-
way corridors in four counties
are up against anonymity and a
100-mile-long crime scene that
slices through suburbia, shopping
malls and Michigan farm pas-
tures.
Fear has prompted some to
drive along side streets rather
than heavily used thoroughfares.
In Wixom - where 10 of the 24
shootings have been reported -
police planned special Halloween
patrolstoprotecttrick-or-treaters.
From Oakland County, northwest
of Detroit, to Shiawassee County,
northeast of Lansing, authorities
are stopping cars resembling the
shooter's.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas
Louisiana ex-con
executed for 2003
Texas killing
Donnie Lee Roberts, convicted
in his girlfriend's 2003 slaying in
Texas, was executed Wednesday
for fatally shooting the woman
and taking items from her home
to sell or trade to support his drug
habit.
Roberts, 41, became the 12th
inmate to be put to death this year
in the nation's most active capital
punishment state. He was given
a lethal injection for the killing
of Vicki Bowen at her East Texas
home.
"I'm really sorry. I never meant
to cause you all so much pain,"
Roberts said to Bowen's father,
who was seated in a chair close to
the glass surrounding the death
chamber. "I hope you can go on
with your life.
"I lovedyour daughter. Ihope to
God he lets me see her in Heaven
so I can apologize to her and see
her and tell her."
Roberts took several deep
breaths a the lethal drug began
taking effect, then began snoring
briefly. He was pronounced dead
23 minutes later - at 6:39 p.m.
CDT.
LONDON
Town to burn
Lance Armstrong
in effigy
His career is in ruins and now
an effigy of Lance Armstrong is
about to go up in smoke.
The disgraced American cyclist
has been chosen as the latest celeb-
rity to be burned 'in effigy dur-
ing an English town's nationally
famous Bonfire Night celebrations.
Edenbridge in southeast Eng-
land has built a 30-foot (9-meter)
model of Armstrong, who was
stripped recently of his seven Tour
de France titles for doping offens-
es.
The effigy, to be burnt Saturday,
sports a sign saying "For sale, rac-
ingbike, no longer required."
PARIS
Israeli, French
leaders push for
Iranian sanctions
Israeli Prime Minister Ben-
jamin Netanyahu won pledges
Wednesday from France's presi-
dent to push harder for new sanc-
tions against Iran to keep it from
developing nuclear weapons -
but no sympathy for any possible
Israeli militarystrike againstIran.
In a visit to Paris, Netanyahu
praised French pressure on Iran
and called for "even tougher sanc-
tions" than the ones currently in
place.
"The sanctions are taking a bite
out of Iran's economy ... unfortu-
nately they have not stopped the
Iranian program," he said.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
'+ , Y
f ~ f
-
Greece'outlines
new austerity plan
Painful cuts and tax Healthcare spending will be
trimmed by a further 4455 mil-
FRANK FRANKLIN II/
Anthony Rivera, right, hands out bottled water to residents of Rockaway Beach while they wait in line for pampers, socks aFdgoe roie l
The Legacy Center, after hurricane Sandy Wednesday, Oct.31, 2012, inthe Queens borough of New York.
New Yorkers searc for
food,water and power
Residents try to find
basic necessities
after Sandy
NEW YORK (AP) - The
people gathered around the
side of a building on Third
Avenue looked like refugees
huddled around a campfire.
But instead of crackling flames,
their warmth came from more
advanced technology: a power
strip that had been offered to
charge cellphones.
It was a sign of just how des-
perate for electricity some New
Yorkers have become since
Superstorm Sandy darkened
parts of the city.
Among the crowd was Pat-
rick Dugan; who resorted to
using a pay phone Wednesday
as he trekked uptown from his
powerless apartment, seeking
electricity.
"How much does a pay phone
cost?" asked Steve Breslawski,
who had been watching his
phone charge up for nearly an
hour.
"It's still 25 cents for local, 75
cents for long distance," Dugan'
explained.
Most people scraped by with
resilience and good humor in
the storm's aftermath, navigat-
ing a city without stoplights
or subways. Many residents in
dark downtown neighborhoods
headed north to stay with
friends. Others stayed home
with canned goods and candle-
light.
In an urban landscape of
shuttered bodegas and board-
ed-up restaurants, they roamed
in search of food, power and a
hot shower.
The demarcation line of elec-
tricity was clearly drawn on
certain streets, with buildings
alight on one side and dark on
the other. Life was remarkably
normal uptown, albeit slower
and quieter without public
transportation. But downtown
was a different matter entirely.
Street corners were chaotic
below the general vicinity of
30th Street as people tried in
vain to catch taxis. Without
traffic lights or police officers
to maintain some semblance of
order, most intersections were
treacherous for pedestrians.
As a fire hydrant spouted
water on West 16th Street,
9-year-old Shiyin Ge and her
brother, 12-year-old Shiyuan
Ge, stood in line to fill up buck-
ets of water. But unlike the
adults,-the two kids held plastic
Halloween candy pails painted
with grinning jack-o-lanterns.
"There's no water in our
house," said Shiyin Ge, who had
planned to dress up as a lady-
bug for Halloween. She did not
know if she would get to trick-
or-treat at all this year.
Rachel Booth sat outside of
the Tribeca Treats bakery sell-
ing bags of colorful Halloween
cookies, brownies and cake
pops decorated to look like eye-
balls. The bakery, still without
lights, was also selling a few
treats indoors.
"We wanted to bring a little
bit of Halloween to people," she
said.
In ghostlike lower Manhat-
tan, Nancy Yates picked up
canned chicken noodle soup
at a bodega that was lit by
flashlight and candlelight on
Wednesday morning. Although
her building was mostly dark,
the superintendent had set up
power strips on every floor in
single outlets linked to a gen-
erator.
"The freezer's gone," Yates
said. "I'm worried about the
coming days. I'm alone."
Herneighbor, NormaFontane,
has been running an extension
cord from the hall to her apart-
ment to read by lamplight.
"We've all been in the build-
inga longtime," she said. "We're
kind of looking out for one
another.",
Nick Maenhout lives on West
37th Street, about six blocks
above the blackout zone and
can see the darkened section
of Manhattan from his win-
dows. He was stocking up on
orange juice and chicken at a
nearby supermarket to help feed
friends who are crashing at his
apartment.
"In case people come over
and want something to eat,
there'll be something in the
fridge," he said.
increases implented
as debt load rises
ATHENS, Greece (AP)
- Greece's government on
Wednesday outlined the new
austerity measures it intends to
take over the next two years, a
series of painful spending cuts
and tax hikes that its inter-
national bailout creditors, are
demanding in exchange for res-
cue loans.
The country's finance min-
ister also submitted a revised
draft budget for 2013, with fig-
ures predictingthe debt load will
increase sharply as the recession
deepens into a sixth straight
year.
Unions responded by
announcing a 48-hour general
strike for next week, when the
new measures are expected to be
voted on in Parliament.
The 413.5 billion ($17.5 bil-
lion) worth of cutbacks for 2013-
14 include a two-year increase
in the retirement age, from the
current average of 65, salary and
pension cuts and another round
of tax increases, including rais-
ing taxes for the interest on bank
deposits from10 to 15 percent.
The vast majority of the mea-
sures, about 49.2 billion, are to
be taken next year. They include
a 4.6 billion cut in pensions and
a 41.17 billion cut from salaries.
REGENT
From Page 1A
sity's $7.8-billion endowment
can't be accessed, Bernstein
suggested implementing a pro-
gram that would automatically
allocate 5 percent of the Uni-
versity's funds to finance finan-
cial aid. He also said he thinks
10 percent of any growth in the
endowment should go toward
this fund,
Conversely, Ryder Diggs said
the regents and University lead-
ership must lobby more strongly
for state appropriations.
"I think there are ways to
make U of M just as financially
attractive as other institutions
around the country," Ryder
Diggs said. "I do think that the
regents and the administra-
tion ... could have a leadership
role in trying to encourage the
Legislature to continue to pay
appropriations (to the) Univer-
sity."
Ryder Diggs, who graduated
from the University's Medical
School before starting a private
general, cosmetic and laser
dermatology practice in Grosse
Pointe Farms, emphasized
the importance of encourag-
lion.
Parliamentary approval of the
measures is essential if Greece is
to receive the next installment
of its bailout loans - this time
a hefty 431 billion. Without the
funds, the country has said it will
run out of money on Nov.16.
Greece's three governing par-
ties have spent' months nego-
tiating these measures with
international debt inspectors,
who have yet to formally approve
them. The talks have severely
strained ties in the already
uneasy coalition of conserva-
tives, socialists and a small left-
wing party.
With just days to go before an
expected Parliamentary vote on
the measures, the Democratic
Left has insisted it cannot back
them. Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras has warned that the
country will face financial chaos
if they are not passed.
Finance ministers from the
other 16 countries that use the
euro said after a telephone con-
ference Wednesday that they
hope to decide on Nov.12 wheth-
er to give Greece its next bailout
installment, provided the coun-
try agrees to the reforms.
German Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schaeuble, however,
warned it was unlikely for that
deadline to be met since the Ger-
man Parliament would have to
vote on the issue.
ing donors to give directly to
a tuition fund that would help
fund grants instead of loans.
Both candidates suggested
the University should also con-
tinue to lower operating costs.
The University eliminated
$235 million from the general
fund budget between 2003 and
2012, and by 2017 the Universi-
ty plans to reduce or reallocate
costs by $120 million.
Bernstein advocated for a
plan that would offer more
classes during spring and sum-
mer months to better utilize
space at the University. He
would also like to reduce costs
per credit during less popular
.times to takes classes.
With University President
Mary Sue Coleman's contract
expiring in 2014, Ryder Diggs
and Bernstein also emphasized
that one of the most important
roles of the regents in the com-
ing years will to be to select the
University's next leader.
"Electing'the leadership of
the University I think would
probably be the number one"
challenge, Ryder Digg said.
"Because that encompasses
everything else and the leader-
ship will then make a decision
about"
Syrian regime intensifies attacks,
United Nations-backed truce fails
Thrkey distances
itself from calls for a
no-fly zone
BEIRUT (AP) - Syrian war-
planes fired missiles at oppo-
sition strongholds around
Damascus and in the north on
Wednesday as Turkey, a key
backer of the anti-regime rebels,
appeared to distance itself from
an earlier call to impose a no-fly
zone.
The Syrian regime has inten-
sified airstrikes in recent days
following the failure of a U.N.-
backed holiday truce over a four-
day holiday that never took hold.
Activists said at least 110 people
were killed nationwide in air-
strikes, artillery shelling and
fighting Wednesday.
Wednesday's casualties
pushed the death toll since the
conflict began in March 2011
to more than 36,000, accord-
ing to Rami Abdul-Rahman, the
head of the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights.
Much of the violence took
place in rebellious suburbs of
the capital Damascus and in the
northern provinces of Idlib and
Aleppo. The Observatory said
government jets carried out mul-
tiple strikes in the eastern Ghou-
ta district, a rebel stronghold
close to the capital.
Airstrikes also hit the rebel-
held city of Maaret al-Numan,
according to Observatory, which
gathers reports from a network
of activists on the ground. The
city straddles a key supply route
from Damascus to Aleppo and
has become a main front in the
civil war.
In the past weeks, the regime
has intensified airstrikes on
rebel positions and strongholds,
particularly Maaret al-Numan,
a city of 180,000 people that fell
to rebel forces on Oct. 10. A for-
mer resident of the city said more
than 70 homes have been leveled
as a result of air bombardments
this week alone.
"The Syrian air force doesn't
leave the skies. When the war-
plane goes, the helicopter
comes," the resident who iden-
tified himself as Ahmad told
The Associated Press in a phone
interview. He spoke from a near-
by village and would only give
his first name for fear of reprisals
from the regime.
Most of the city's inhabitants
have fled due to heavy fighting,
Ahmad said.
"Everyone has fled, you can't
live here anymore," Ahmad said,
adding that rebel groups, includ-
ing the al-Qaida inspired Jabhat
al-Nusra, had flocked to the area
to defend it.
A bomb hidden in a garbage
bag exploded in an area near
Damascus that is home to a Shiite
Muslim shrine, killing 11 people
and wounding 39, state-run news
agency SANA said. The blast was
in a suburb of the capital hous-
ing the golden-domed shrine
of Sayeda Zeinab, the Prophet
Muhammad's granddaughter,
which is popular with Iranian
worshippers and tourists.
SANA also reported a car
bomb explosion in the Damascus
suburb of Moaddamiya and said
it said caused several casualties.
By late Wednesday, the Obser-
vatory had reported more than
130 casualties nationwide, more
than 40 of them government sol-
diers.
The U.N. refugee agency,
meanwhile, said it delivered
badly needed humanitarian aid
to internally displaced Syrians in
the northern cities of Aleppo and
Idlib, as well as in Homs in the
center of the country and Has-
sakeh and Raqqa in the north-
east.
Speaking in Jordan,
UNHCR's regional spokesman
Ron Redmond said cooking
materials, blankets, mattress-
es, and sanitary supplies were
delivered to almost 3,000 Syr-
ians who fled the fighting in the
past weeks and have been left
homeless.
The international community
remains at a loss about how to
stop the war in Syria. The U.S.
and other Western and Arab
nations have called on Assad
to step down, while China and
Russia have stood by the regime
and blocked moves to censure
Syria at the U.N. Security Coun-
cil. Iran also backs the regime.
Internationally sanctioned
cease-fires have failed and
world powers appear to have
stepped away from previous talk
of imposing a no-fly zone or set-
ting up a safe area in the coun-
try's north for civilians fleeing
the violence.