The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, January 31, 2013- 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
PONTIAC, Mich.
Weather varies
across state
Michigan is seeing it all, with
temperatures nearing 70 in the
south and a blizzard dumping
up to eight inches of snow in the
north, forcing a halt in bus service
across the Upper Peninsula.
The National Weather Service
predicts a 30-degree temperature
in parts of the Lower Peninsula,
where Wednesday's highs reached
68 at Pontiac, 65 at Lambertville
near Lansing and 64 in the Detroit
suburb of Troy.
Indian Trails says it canceled
all upper Michigan bus service
Wednesday night. WSGW-AM
says the company cites safety
concerns. By 6 p.m., eight inches
of new snow was on the ground
in Menominee County and seven
inches in Schoolraft County.
NEW YORK
Seven injured
in NYC crane
collapse
A crane operator and a con-
tractor didn't inspect equipment,
failed to take proper precautions
and ran the rig unsafely before it
collapsed while building a New
York City apartment tower and
injured seven construction work-
ers, officials said Wednesday.
Crane operator Paul Geer and
contractor Cross Country Con-
struction LLC have each been
cited with five violations stem-
ming from the Jan. 9 collapse,
which occurred as the crane tried
to lift more than double its capac-
ity, the city Buildings Department
said. Geer and the company each
face at least $64,000 in fines; the
developer and a site safety man-
ager also were cited with a viola-
tion apiece.
"Neither the crane operator
nor his supervisors made sure the
operation was being performed
according to approved plans," city
Buildings Commissioner Robert
LiMandri said in a statement.
SANTA MARIA, Brazil
Nightclub lacked
proper safety
measures
The owner of a nightclub in
southern Brazil where more than
230 people died in a fire last week-
end deflected blame to "the whole
country," as well as to architects
and inspectors charged with mak-
ing sure the building was safe, his
lawyer said Wednesday.
*Attorney Jader Marques said
his client, Elissandro Spohr,
"regretted having ever been born"
because of his grief over the fire,
but still blamed Sunday's tragedy
on "a succession of errors made by
the whole country."
Police investigating the blaze
have said it likely started when
a country music band perform-
ing at the Kiss nightclub in the
college town of Santa Maria lit a
flare, which ignited flammable
soundproofing foam on the ceil-
ing. That initial error was com-
pounded by the near-total lack of
emergency infrastructure such as
a fire alarms or sprinkler systems,
police have said. The club also had
only one working door and a faulty
fire extinguisher.
LONDON
15-year-old Taliban
victim to undergo
final surgery
A Pakistani girl whose defiance
of the Taliban turned her into
an international icon is headed
toward recovery once she under-
goes a final surgery to reconstruct
her skull, doctors said Wednesday.
Dr. Dave Rosser of Birming-
ham's Queen Elizabeth Hospi-
tal said that 15-year-old Malala
Yousufzai needs the operation to
replace the bone shattered when
a Taliban gunman, angered at her
objection to the group's restric-
tions on girls' education, sent a
bullet through her skull. Rosser
said that Malala had made a
"remarkable recovery."
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Union exhibit honors
Holocaust hero, alum
Ross FRANKLIN/AP
A member of the Phoenix Police Department SWAT team leads a female neighbor away to safety.
One dead in Ariz. shooting
Two wounded in
Phoenix office,
armed suspect
still at large
PHOENIX (AP) - A gun-
man opened fire at a Phoenix
office complex on Wednesday,
killing one person, wounding
two others and setting off a
manhunt. Police warned the
public that he was "armed and
dangerous."
Authorities identified the
suspect as 70-year-old Arthur
Douglas Harmon, who they
said opened fire at the end of a
mediation session. They identi-
fied a man who died hours after
the late morning shooting as
48-year-old Steve Singer.
Police said a 43-year-old man
was listed in critical condition
and a 32-year-old woman suf-
fered non-life threatening inju-
ries.
"We believe the two men
were the targets. It was not a
random shooting," said Sgt.
Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix
police spokesman.
Thompson said authorities
believe Harmon acted alone
and fled the scene in acar after
the 10:30 a.m. shooting.
Harmon allegedly shot at
someone who tried to follow
him after the shooting in an
attempt to get his license plate
number, according to authori-
ties.
Police didn't immediate-
ly release the names of the
wounded. But a Phoenix law
firm, Osborn Maledon, said one
of its lawyers, Mark Hummels,
was among the wounded. The
firm said he "was representing
a client in a mediation" when he
was shot.
According to court docu-
ments, Harmon was scheduled
to go to a law office in the same
building where the shooting
took place for a settlement con-
ference in a lawsuit he filed last
April against Scottsdale-based
Fusion Contact Centers LLC,
where Singer was the CEO.
The company had hired him
to refurbish office cubicles at
two call centers in California,
but a contract dispute arose.
Fusion said Harmon was
paid nearly $30,000 under the
$47,000 contract. But the com-
pany asked him to repay much
of the money when it discov-
ered that the cubicles could not
be refurbished, according to
the documents.
Harmon argued Fusion hung
him out to dry by telling him to
remove and store 206 "worth-
less" work stations after the
mix-up was discovered. Har-
mon said Fusion then told him
that the company decided to
use a competitor.
Harmon's lawsuit had sought
payment for the remainder of
the contract, $20,000 in dam-
ages and reimbursement for
storage fees and legal costs.
Pro tempore Judge Ira
Schwartz, who scheduled the
meeting, did not immediately
return an email seeking com-
ment. A message left Wednes-
day at the home of Singer also
wasn't immediately returned.
Hummels was representing
Fusion in the lawsuit.
Wallenberg saved
thousands of
Hungarian Jews
By ERIN FORSYTHE
Daily StaffReporter
Visitors entered the dimly
lit Art Lounge in the Michigan
Union Wednesday evening to
view an exhibition on University
alum Raoul Wallenberg, who res-
cued thousands during the Holo-
caust.
On the centennial of Wal-
lenberg's birth, the University
collaborated with the Swedish
Consulate General of Detroit to
host a historical display on the
incredible life of the Wallenberg,
who is Swedish. Wallenberg
attended the University from
1931 to 1935, graduating with a
degree in architecture. He went
on to save the lives of thousands
of Hungarian Jews from Nazi
death camps.
The exhibition opened in
Budapest last year and has since
traveled to other cities around
the world, including Berlin,
WashingtonD.C. and Moscow.
The atmosphere in the Union
exhibit was quiet, with visitors
shifting between illuminated
panels on the floor document-
ing the humanitarian's life. The
display features notable quotes
by Wallenberg along the paneled
walls and banners of individuals
whose lives he saved during the
Holocaust.
Before the opening of the
exhibit, an event was held in the
Rogel Ballroom of the Michigan
Union to commemorate Wallen-
berg.
A crowd of about 300 gath-
ered to listen to guest speakers,
which included Ingrid Carlberg,
journalist and author of a new
biography on Wallenberg; Mon-
ica Ponce de Leon, dean of the
Taubman College of Architec-
ture and Urban Planning; Swed-
ish Ambassador Jonas Hafstrfm;
and University President Mary
Sue Coleman.
Coleman spoke about Wal-
lenberg's extraordinary contri-
butions to the world and briefly
reflected on his time at the Uni-
versity.
"With this beautiful exhibit
we continue to remember Raoul
Wallenberg and remember the
Holocaust and its devastating
toll," Coleman said. "And most
significantly, we remember a
Michigan graduate who stepped
forward to help others."
Ponce de Leon remarked on
the college's role in relation to the
hero while speaking at the event.
"We have a special respon-
sibility at Taubman College to
preserve and honor the legacy of
thisgreathumanitarian andindi-
vidual," Ponce de Leon said.
Architecture and Urban Plan-
ning seniors are required to take
part in a project inspired by Wal-
lenberg's work. Students submit
proposals based on the humani-
tarian projects they created and
compete for the Wallenberg Stu-
dio Award.
Architecture and Urban Plan-
ning senior Jordan Butler said
the student projects take a uni-
versalist focus.
"All of our projects are cen-
tered around architecture in the
past for humanitarian or service-
based work - kind of as a tribute
to the work that Wallenberg did,"
Butler said.
Architecture and Urban Plan-
ning senior Solomon Tucker said
the competition helped him learn
more about Wallenberg.
"It's a way for us all to be
involved and understand who
Wallenberg is and how he went
to this (University) and what he
meant to the Architecture school
as well," Tucker said. "It's good
for us to see what people were
going through and how we can
intervene and have an impact,
like Raoul Wallenberg did, with
our talents."
Israel strikes Syrian
military in air strike
South Korea launches first satellite
I
Rocket to Pyongyang's banned ballistic
missile technology.
help country North Korearecently acknowl-
edged that its long-range rockets
have both scientific and military
uses, and Kong Chang-duk, a pro-
fessor of rocket science at South
Korea's Chosun University, said
ful" satellite launch.
She said there was no basis
for comparing the South and the
North's rocket programs. Unlike
the North, the South has devel-
oped its technology responsibly
and is an active participant in
international nonproliferation
Hostility increases
between nations
and Lebanese
militant group
BEIRUT (AP) - Israel's air
force launched a rare airstrike
on a military site inside Syria,
the Syrian government and U.S.
officials said Wednesday, add-
ing a potentially flammable new
element to regional tensions
already heightened by Syria's
civil war.
The strike appeared to be the
latest salvo in Israel's long-run-
ning effort to disrupt the Leba-
nese militant group Hezbollah's
quest to build an arsenal capable
of defending against Israel's air
force and spreading destruction
inside the Jewish state.
U.S. officials said the target
was a convoy oftrucks thatIsrael
believed contained anti-aircraft
weapons bound for Hezbollah in
Lebanon. They spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity because they
were not authorized to speak
about the operation.
Regional officials said the
shipment included sophisticated
Russian-made SA-17 anti-air-
craft missiles, which if acquired
by Hezbollah would be "game-
changing," enabling the mili-
tants to shoot down Israeli jets,
helicopters and surveillance
drones.
Regional security officials
said the strike, which occurred
overnight Tuesday, targeted a
site near the Lebanese border,
while a Syrian army statement
said it destroyed a military
research center northwest of
the capital, Damascus. They
appeared to be referring to the
same incident.
The Israeli military and a
Hezbollah spokesman both
declined to comment, and Syria
denied the existence of any such
weapons shipment. All officials
spoke on condition of anonym-
ity because they were not autho-
rized to brief the media.
The strike follows decades of
enmity between Israel and allies
Syria and Hezbollah, which
consider the Jewish state their
mortal enemy. The situation has
been further complicated by the
civil war raging in Syria between
the forces of President Bashar
Assad and rebel brigades seeking
his ouster,
The war has sapped Assad's
power and threatens to deprive
Hezbollah of a key supporter, in
addition to its land corridor to
Iran. The two countries provide
Hezbollah with the bulk of its
funding and arms.
Many in Israel worry that
as Assad loses power, he could
strike back by transferring
chemical or advanced weapons
to Hezbollah, which is neigh-
boring Lebanon's most powerful
military force and is committed
to Israel's destruction.
Israel and Hezbollah fought
an inconclusive 34-day war in
2006 that left 1,200 Lebanese
and 160 Israelis dead.
While the border has been
largely quiet since, the struggle
has taken other forms. Hezbol-
lah has accused Israel of assas-
sinating a top commander, and
Israel blamed Hezbollah and
Iran for a July 2012 attack on
Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. In
October, Hezbollah launched an
Iranian-made reconnaissance
drone over Israel, using the inci-
dent to brag about its expanding
capabilities.
Israeli officials believe that
despite their best efforts, Hez-
bollah's arsenal has markedly
improved since 2006, now boast-
ing tens of thousands of rockets
and missiles and the ability to
strike almost anywhere inside
Israel.
Israel suspectsthatDamascus
obtained abattery ofSA-17s from
Russia after an alleged Israeli
airstrike in 2007 that destroyed
an unfinished Syrian nuclear
reactor.
Earlier this week, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu warned of the dan-
gers of Syria's "deadly weap-
ons," saying the country is
"increasingly coming apart."
SEIOUL, South Korea (AP) - the same argument could apply agreements, showing its program
South Korea launched a satellite to the South. has no military intent, she said.
into space from its own soil for Seoul may eventually be able "The North should not see
the first time Wednesday amid "to build better missiles and it as a threat because they too
increased tensions after archri- scrutinize North Korea with can enjoy the same transpar-
val North Korea accomplished a a better satellite," Kong said. ency with regard to the program
similar feat and was condemned "... There are dual purposes in that the rest of us have, which
by the United Nations. space technology." is a far cry from how the DPRK
The South Korean rocket State Department spokes- behaves," Nuland told report-
blasted off from a launch pad in woman Victoria Nuland said the ers. DPRK stands for the formal
the southwestern coastal village U.S. had observed the "success- name for North Korea.
of Goheung. Science officials
told cheering spectators min-
utes later that the rocket deliv-
ered an observational satellite o a OOhel
into orbit. Officials expected QO y sfnd ansWers
to know Thursday whetherndr t .
the satellite is operating as The Department of i
intended. at the University of Michigan is conducting a We are looking for:
A crowd gathered around a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMR1) Men and w
TV at a train station in down- .
town Seoul to watch the to learn how the brain functions of those adults With
launch. "I'm proud we have ADH D as well as healthy individuals without ADHD.Pceate will hi
entered the ranks of satellitetso
powers," office worker Hyun compensation
Day-sun said. Psych-study
The launch is a culmina-
tion of years of efforts by D
South Korea - Asia's fourth-
largest economy - to advance
its space program and cement
its standing as a technology
powerhouse whose semicon-
ductors, smartphones and 1 5 4 9 3
automobiles, command global
demand. North Korea's long- 4 5
range rocket program, in
contrast, has generated inter-
national fears that it is getting
closer to developing nuclear
missiles capable of striking the 7 9
U.S.
South Korea's success comes 1 7 2
amid increased tension on the
Korean Peninsula over North
Korea's threat to explode its
third nuclear device. Pyong-
yang is angry over tough new 2 6 3 1 7 4
international sanctions over its
Dec. 12 rocket launch and has
accused its rivals of applying
double standards toward the
two Koreas' space programs.
Washington and Seoul have
called North Korea's rocket '
launch a cover for a test of
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