The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, September 6,, 2012 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September 6, 2012 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. Many dead fish litter Ontario shore of Lake Erie Canadian officials say tens of thousands of dead fish are it- tering a section of Lake Erie's northern shoreline. Ontario Ministry of the Envi- ronment spokeswoman Kate Jordan said Wednesday that the fish washed ashore last weekend. She says they likely died of natu- ral causes, although officials are still awaitinglab analysis results. The fish were scattered along a 25-mile stretch between the cities of Windsor and London. She says a likely explanation for the fish deaths was a so- called "inversion." That happens when temperature changes send water with low oxygen levels from the bottom to the surface, causing fish to suffocate. DENVER 7-year-old Colo. girl recovers from bubonic plague The parents of 7-year-old Sierra Jane Downing thought she had the flu when she felt sick days after camping in southwest Colorado. It wasn't until she had a sei- zure that her father knew some- thing was seriously wrong and rushed her to a hospital in their town of Pagosa Springs. She had a"107-degree fever, and doctors were baffled by the cause. "I didn't know what was going on. I just reacted," Sean Down- ing said. "I thought she died." The Downings eventually learned their daughter was ill with one of the last things they would've thought: bubonic plague, a disease that wiped out one-third of Europe in the 14th century but is now exceedingly rare - it hasn't been confirmed in Colorado since 2006 - and treatable if caught early. PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. Kitten goes for 100-mile ride on woman's bumper A woman says a 6-week-old kitten hitched a ride on the out- side of her vehicle as she drove about 100 miles over upstate New York roads. Stacey Pulsifer tells the Press- Republican of Plattsburgh that she recentlydrovefromherhome in Plattsburgh to Elizabethtown in the Adirondacks, then back to her apartment. Along the way she stopped for coffee and heard meowing conming from her Jeep. She asked two friends to help her search the vehicle. They . finally found the kitten wedged behind a bumper and had to cut it free. Pulsifer has since adopted the hitchhiker and named it Pump- kin. She estimates the lucky black cat was lodged in the car for about 22 hours and traveled some 100 miles. She suffered a broken paw during the ride. PARIS France giving aid to rebel-held Syrian cities France has started providing direct aid and money to five reb- el-held Syrian cities as it intensi- fies efforts to weaken President Bashar Assad, in the first such move by a western power, a dip- lomatic source said Wednesday. The French aid comes as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized the Security Council on Wednesday for failing to take action to protect Syrians facing violence that has led to thou- sands of deaths. Amid mounting calls for the international community to do more to prevent bloodshed, France - Syria's onetime colo- nial ruler - has pushed to secure "liberated zones" in Syria. -Compiled from Daily wire reports CALLIE MCCOYVIA INSTAGRAM/, President Barack Obama joins former President Bill Clinton on stage after Clinton addressed delegates at the Demo- cratic National Convention Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C. Clinon offers passionate 'defense of Obamna's record Former president says GOP has been unwilling to compromise CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - In an impassioned speech that rocked the Democratic Nation- al Convention, former Presi- dent Bill Clinton proclaimed Wednesday night, "I know we're coming back" from the worst economic mess in generations and appealed to hard-pressed Americans to stick with Barack Obama for a second term in the White House. Obama strode onstage as Clinton concluded his speech. The 42nd president bowed, and was pulled into an embrace by the 44th as thousands of del- egates jammed into the conven- tion hall roared their approval. Clinton, conceding that many struggling in a slow-recovery economy don't yet feel improve- merst, said circumstances are indeed getting better, "and if you'll renew the president's con- tract you will feel it." To more cheers, he said of Obama, "I want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside but who burns for America on the inside." Not long afterward, the del- egates formally awarded Obama their nomination to a second term in a post-midnight roll call of the states. Clinton spoke as Obama's high command worked to con- trol the political fallout from an embarrassing retreat on the party platform, just two months from Election Day in the tight race with Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Under criticism from Rom- ney, the Obama camp abruptly rewrote the day-old document to insert a reference to God and to declare that Jerusalem "is and will remain the capital of Israel." Some delegates objected loudly, but Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, presiding in the largely-empty hall, ruled them outvoted. White House aides said Obama had personal- ly ordered the changes, but they did not disclose whether he had approved the earlier version. The convention concludes Thursday with Obama's accep- tance speech before a prime- time national TV audience. Aides announced he would speak in the convention hall rather than a nearby 74,000- seat football stadium as origi- nally planned. They cited weather concerns as the reason for the switch in a city that has been hit by heavy rains in recept days. Romney, nominated at his own convention last week, spent his second straight day in Ver- mont preparing for next month's debates with Obama. Clinton's speech was deemed so important by Obama's cam- paign aides that they delayed the president's formal nomi- nation to a second term until it was over. The familiar roll call of the states began well after television prime time in the eastern part of the country, and the hall was emptying out rapidly as it dragged on past midnight. Obama's campaign hoped the former president would prove especially persuasive in an era of sluggish economic growth and 8.3 percent unemployment. Clinton is exceptionally popu- lar 12 years after he left office, particularly among white men, a group among whom Obama polls poorly. The speech was vintage Clin- ton, overlong for sure, insults delivered with a folksy grin, references to his own time in office and his wife Hillary, all designed to improve Obama's shaky re-election prospects. The convention hall rocked with delegates' applause and cheers the former president strode onstage to sounds of "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," his 1992 campaign theme song. He sought to rebut every major criticism Republicans leveled against the presidept at their own convention last week in Tampa, and said that in fact, since 1961, far more jobs have been created under Democratic presidents than when Repub- licans sat in the White House, by a margin of 42 million to 24 million. Controversial part of Ariz. immigration law upheld by judge 'Show me other grounds. The Obama administration's your papers' case was based on the argu- ment that federal immigration provision ruled law trumped Arizona law. The Constitutional challenge didn't confront racial COR~it~t~nal profiling. Arizona's law, known as PHOENIX (AP) - A federal SB1070, was passed in 2010 judge ruled Wednesday that amid voter frustration with the Arizona authorities can enforce state's role as the busiest illegal the most contentious section entry point into the country. of the state's immigration law, Five other states - Alabama, which critics have dubbed the Georgia, Indiana, South Caro- "show me your papers" provi- lina and Utah - have adopted sion. variations. The ruling by U.S. District To the supporters, the ques- Judge Susan Bolton clears the tioning requirement was the way for police to carry out most important part of Arizo- the requirement that officers, na's law, which aimed to reduce while enforcing other laws, the problems associated with question the immigration sta- illegal immigration through tus of those they suspect are in enforcement of the state's pol- the country illegally. icy. The provision has been at Immigrant rights groups say the center of a two-year legal the requirement presents the battle that resulted in a U.S. most opportunities for civil Supreme Court decision in rights abuses. June upholding the require- Shortly before the law was ment, ruling against the Obama to take effect in July 2010, administration, which filed the Bolton prevented police from initial challenge. enforcing the questioning The Obama administration requirement and other parts of declared a measure of vie- the statute, ruling the Obama tory at the time, as the court administration would likely said local police cannot detain succeed in its challenge. anyone on an immigration vio- Brewer, who signed the lation unless federal immigra- measure, appealed the ruling, tion officials say so. lost at the 9th Circuit Court of After the nation's highest Appeals and took her, case to court weighed in, opponents the Supreme Court. asked Bolton to block the provi- Less controversial sections sion outright by arguirig that it of the law have been in effect would lead to systematic racial since late July 2010, but have profiling and unreasonably rarely been used. long detentions of Latinos if it's Brewer's office said the law enforced. is expected to go into effect Lawyers for Arizona Gov. shortly. Jan Brewer, however, urged the "Certainly Gov. Brewer is judge to let the requirement pleased with this decision," said go into effect, saying the law's agovernor's spokesman Matthew opppnents were merely specu- Benson. "She believes it's time lating in their racial profiling SB1070 is implemented and so claims. The Republican gov- that we can see how effective ernor's office also said police this law is in practice." have received training to avoid Karen Tumlin, an attorney discriminatory practices and for the National Immigration that officers must have reason- Law Center, said her office was able suspicion that a person is "considering our legal options" in the country illegally to trig- after Bolton's ruling., ger the requirement. "We were surprised and dis- In her ruling, Bolton said the appointed," said Dan Pochoda, court will not ignore the clear legal director for the American direction from the Supreme Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. Court that the provision "can- The chief sponsor of SB1070, not be challenged further on former state Senate President its face before the law takes Russell Pearce, didn't immedi- effect." She reiterated the high ately return a call for comment court's interpretation that the Wednesday afternoon and nei- law might be able to be chal- ther did the office of Maricopa lenged as unconstitutional on County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. COME TO OUR MASS MEETINGS SEPT. 9,12,13,19,23 A LL M EE TINGS AT 7:30 P.M. AT 420 MAYNARD ST. -5-, Oil from BP spill uncovered by Isaac's waves on La. beach Natural break ers to clean up the oil on the Fourchon beach in Louisiana. down process sped He said crews would be there up by urricane NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Waves from Hurricane Isaac uncovered oil previously bur- ied along Gulf Coast beaches, exposing crude that wasn't cleaned up after the BP spill in 2010. Since Isaac made landfall more than a week ago, the water the storm has receded and tar balls and oil have been reported on shores in Alabama and Loui- siana, where officials closed a 13-mile stretch of beach Tues- day. BP said Wednesday some of that oil was from the spill, but said some of the crude may be from other sources, too. "If there's something good about this storm it made it vis- ible where we can clean it up," BP spokesman Ray Melick said. BP' still has hundreds of cleanup workers on the Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Hori- zon drilling rig exploded, killing 11 workers and leading to the nation's largest offshore spill. Melick said the company was working with the Coast Guard, state officials and land manag- today. , Isaac made landfall near Fourchon on Aug. 28 as a Cat- egory 1 storm, pummeling the coast with waves, wind and rain. Seven people were killed in .Louisiana and Mississippi.. Ed Overton, a chemist and oil spill expert at Louisiana State University, said the exposed oil was weathered and less toxic, though it could still harm ani- mals - such as crabs, crawfish and bait fish. He said the storm helped speed up natural processes that break down oil and it might take several more storms to stir up the rest of the oil buried along the coast. "We don't like to say it, but hurricanes are Mother Nature's way of takinga bath," he said. The reappearance of oil frus- trated state officials. Garret Graves, a top coastal aide to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, accused BP of not being aggressive enough with its ini- tial cleanup. "If they would put just a frac- tion of the dollars they're put- ting into their PR campaign into cleanup, we'd certainly be much farther ahead than we are now," he said. BP has spent millions of dol- lars on its public relations cam- paign, but the company has not said exactly how much it has invested. Its cleanup and response costs over the last two years were more than $14 bil- lion and more than 66 million man-hours have gone to protect and treat the Gulf shoreline, the company has said. BP also gave $1 million to the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army to help victims of Isaac. Along the oiled Fourchon beach, officials restricted fish- ing in waters extending one mile offshore. The state Wildlife and Fisheries Department said there was a large mat of tar on one beach and concentrations of tar balls on nearby shores. In Alabama, officials said the tar was more of an unsightly nuisance than a health hazard, describing globs as ranging in size from a dime to a half dollar coin. "There are areas where there are significant deposits," said Phillip West, coastal resources manager in Orange Beach, Ala. Samples from both states were being tested to determine whether the tar was from BP's Macondo well.