The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT License plate will raise awareness for organ donation Michigan's secretary of state is launching a new license plate designed to encourage people to donate organs and tissues. Ruth Johnson announced the Donate Life license plates. Wednesday at the North Ameri- can International Auto Show in Detroit. The cost of the plates includes a $25 donation to promote organ donation. Life of Michigan President Richard Pietroski says Michigan alone has more than 3,O0 waiting for organ transplants.About 3 mil- lion people now are on the state's organ donation registry. HOUSTON Second suspect possibly involved in college shooting A second suspect may emerge in the aftermath of the shoot- ing at a Houston-area commu- nity college that left three people injured, the Harris County sher- iff said Wednesday. At least 10 shots were fired Tuesday during a dispute between two men outside the library at the North Harris cam- pus of Lone Star College, Sheriff Adrian Garcia said. Authorities were still looking for the hand- gun that was used. Carlton Berry, 22, is charged with two felony counts of aggra- vated assault with a deadly weap- on. Garcia offered no additional details on the role of a possible second suspect. He said investi- gators were trying to determine what caused the argument, add- ing that the dispute was "idiocy, stupidity." WELLINGTON, New Zealand Plane presumably crashed, three on board A small plane carrying three Canadians disappeared while flying over an Antarctic moun- tainr range, and bad weather Thursday was hampering a search. . The flight was going from a U.S. station near the South Pole to an Italian research base in Terra Nova Bay. Its emergency locator started transmitting about 10 p.m. Wednesday in a mountainous area about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of the pole. New Zealand, U.S. and Italian authorities are working together to find the de Havilland Twin Otter plane, which they presume has crashed. It was carrying sur- vival equipment including tents and food, according to New Zea- land Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator John Ashby. GAZA CITY Hamas rulers arrest six local reporters A Palestinian rights group says Gaza's Hamas rulers have detained six journalists suspect- ed of affiliation to a rival group, Fatah. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Wednes- day that Hamas security forces seized the men and their equip- ment over the past two days. The group said the detentions were part of a wider arrest sweep this week of two dozen suspect- ed Fatah loyalists. Hamas expelled Fatah mem- bers in 2007 and took control of Gaza. Fatah is headed by Pal- estinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The arrests could undermine reconciliation efforts between WHamas and Fatah. While both groups routinely crack down on rivals, it's unusual for six report- ers to be picked up in one sweep. -Compiled from Daily wire reports Women allowed in front-line roles J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE/AP Secretaryof State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearingonthe deadlylSeptember attackon theU.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. DeiWant Cinton addresses lawmakers on Libya crisis, Speaks on Obama administration's handling of crisis WASHINGTON (AP) - Sec- retary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered fiery rejoin- ders Wednesday to Republican critics of the Obama adminis- tration's handling of the deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Beng- hazi, facing off with lawmakers who included potential 2016 presidential rivals. At times emotional and fre- quently combative, ' Clinton rejected GOP suggestions in two congressional hearings that the administration tried to mislead the country about the Sept. 11 attack that killed Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans. She. insisted the State Department is moving swiftly and aggressively to strengthen security at diplo- matic posts worldwide. In her last formal testimony before Congress as America's top diplomat - but perhaps not her last time on the political stage - Clinton once again took responsibility for the depart- ment's missteps and failures leading up to the assault. But she also said that requests for more security at the diplomatic mis- sion in Benghazi didn't reach her desk, and reminded law- makers that they have a respon- sibility to fund security-related budget requests. Three weeks after her release from a New York hospital - admitted for complications after a concussion - Clinton was at times defiant, compli- mentary and willing to chastise lawmakers during more than 5 1/2 hours of testimony before two separate committees. She tangled with some who could be rivals in 2016 if she decides to seek the presidency again. Her voice cracking at one point, Clinton said the attack and the aftermath were highly personal tragedies for the fami- lies of the victims who died - Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty - as well as herself. "I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children," she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a packed hearing. Clearly annoyed with Repub- lican complaints about the ini- tial explanation for the attack, she rose to the defense of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who was vilified for widely debunked claims five days after the attack that protests precipitated the raid rather than terrorism. Clinton said, "People were trying in real time to get to the best information." And she said her own focus was on looking ahead on howsto improve securi- ty rather than revisiting the talk- ing points and Rice's comments. Pentagon opens combat positions not allowed before WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in combat, open- ing hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and poten- tially elite commando jobs after generations of limits on their service, defense officials said Wednesday. The changes, set to be announced Thursday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, will not happen overnight. The ser- vices must now develop plans for allowing women to seek the combat positions, a senior mili- tary official said. Some jobs may open as soon as this year, while assessments for others, such as special operations forces, including Navy SEALS and the Army's Delta Force, may take longer. The services will have until January 2016 to make a case to that some positions should remain closed to women. The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Officials briefed The Associ- ated Press on the changes on condition of anonymity so they could speak ahead of the official announcement. There long has been oppo- sition to putting women in combat, based on questions of whether they have the necessary strength and stamina for certain jobs, or whether their presence might hurt unit cohesion. But as news of Panetta's expected order got out, mem- bers of Congress, including the Senate Armed Services Com- mittee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced their support. "It reflects the reality of 21st century military operations," Levin said. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, who will be the top Republican on the Armed Services panel, said, however, that he does not believe this will be abroad open- ing of combat roles for women because there are practical bar- riers that have to be overcome in order to protect the safety and privacy of all members of the military. Panetta's move comes in his final weeks as Pentagon chief and just days after President Barack Obama's inaugural speech in which he spoke pas- sionately about equal rights for all. The new order expands the department's action of nearly a year ago to open about 14,00 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the Army. Panetta's decision could open more than 230,000 jobs, many in Army and Marine infantry units, to women. In addition to questions of strength and performance, there also have been suggestions that the American public would not tolerate large numbers of women being killed in war. Under the 1994 Pentagon policy, women were prohib- ited from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each. Historically, bri- gades were based farther from the front lines and they often included top command and support staff. The necessities of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, propelled women into jobs as medics, military police and intelligence officers that were sometimes attached - but not formally assigned - to battal- ions. So while awoman couldn't be assigned as an infantryman in a battalion going out on patrol, she could fly the heli- copter supporting the unit, or move in to provide medical aid if troops were injured. And these conflicts, where battlefield lines are blurred and insurgents can lurk around every corner, have made it almost impossible to keep women clear of combat. Still, as recent surveys and experiences have shown, it will not be an easy transition. Whenthe Marine Corps sought women to go through its tough infantry course last year, two volunteered and both failed to complete the course. And there may not be a wide clam- oring from women for the more intense, dangerous and difficult jobs - including some infantry and commando positions. In the Navy, however, women have begun moving into the submarine force, with several officers already beginning to serve. Jon Soltz, who served two Army tours in Iraq and is the chairman of the veterans group VoteVets.org, said it may be dif- ficult for the military services to carve out exceptions to the new rule. And while he acknowl- edged that not all women are interested in pursuing some of the gritty combat jobs, "some of them are, and when you're looking for the best of the best you cast a wide net. There are women who can meet these standards, and they have a right to compete." Panel pushes laws after gang rape Indian government urges enforcement of sexual assault legislation NEW DELHI (AP) - On the eve of a trial over a fatal gang rape that horrified Indians, a government panel recommend- ed that India strictly enforce sexual assault laws, commit to holding speedy rape trials and change the antiquated penal code to protect women. The panel, formed in response to last month's brutal attack on a New Delhi bus, received more than 80,000 suggestions for a complete overhaul in the crimi- nal justice system's treatment of violence against women. The suggestions included banning a traumatic vaginal exam of rape victims and ending political interference in sex crime cases. The panel issued its findings Wednesday. On Thursday, a trial is set to be begin for five men accused in the case. The case of a sixth suspect who says he is a juvenile is being handled sepa- rately. Police say the victim and a male friend were attacked after boarding the bus Dec. 16. The attackers beat the man and raped the woman, inflicting massive internal injuries with a metal bar, police said. The victimswere dumped on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later in a Singapore hospital. The government set up the panel a month ago to help quell street protests sparked by the rape. Women say they feel under siege and are so frightened they have structured their entire lives to protect themselves from harassment and attack. Many travel in groups, go out of their homes only during the day and carry sharp objects to stab men who grope them on public buses. Those who are raped are often blamed by their families for the attack. If they report the crime, the police often refuse to file a reportor try to get the victim and attacker to reach a settlement. If it reaches court, the case can drag on for years in the overbur- dened justice system. "Failure of good governance is the obvious root cause for the current unsafe environment, eroding the rule of law and not the want of knee-jerk legisla- tion," said retired Chief Justice J.S. Verma, who headed the three-member panel. The panel recommended to the government that police and other officials who fail to act against crimes against women be punished. It called for a crack- down on dowry payments to enhance women's status, since families are often forced into massive debt to get their daugh- ters married. It also suggested the government appoint more judges to lessen the backlog of cases and ensure swift justice, and it called for updating the law to include crimes such as voyeur- ism and stalking. "We hope the Parliament will take the legislative suggestions given by the committee," and translate these into law, Verma said. Verma advocated strict punishment to prevent sexual harassment and assaults against women and sought reforms in how police treat rape victims. He called for speedy justice and the settingof a time frame to deal with cases of crimes against women.