The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thuesday, February 28, 2013 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thuesday, February 28, 2013 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS ROYAL OAK, Mich. One killed in house explosion north of Detroit A man has been killed in an * explosion that destroyed a home in a suburb north of Detroit. The Oakland County medical examiner's office says the death and explosion in Royal Oak are under investigation. No other details about the victim were released. Residents along Cooper near Woodward and 13 Mile Road say they heard the explosion about 5 p.m. Wednesday and that it shook their homes and shattered win- dows. CLINTON, Miss. Michelle Obama highlights obesity progress in Miss. Michelle Obama on Wednesday congratulated this Southern state for a more than 13 percent drop in its child obesity rates, saying its example should inspire the rest of the country. It's the reason she made Mis- sissippi the first stop on a two- day tour to promote her signature effort, the anti-childhood obe- sity campaign she launched three years ago called "Let's Move." In remarks at an elementary school near Jackson, the first lady cited new research showing that childhood obesity rates among elementary school pupils in the state had declined by 13.3 percent between 2005 and 2011. "What's happeninghere in Mis- sissippi is really what 'Let's Move' is all about," she told an audience of state officials, school nutrition professionals and parents. She urged them to keep on doing what they've been doing. DUBLIN Algerian in 'Jihad Jane' plot faces U.S. extradition An Algerian man wanted by U.S. authorities over the abortive "Jihad Jane" plot to assassinate a Swedish artist is expected to face extradition hearings in an Irish courthouse Wednesday after his surprise arrest. Ali Charaf Damache, 47, had just walked free from court after three years in an Irish prisonwhen detectives acting on an American extradition warrant rearrested and escorted him, handcuffed, to an unmarked police car. Court officials said he was expected to face U.S. extradition demands Thursday in Dublin High Court. The FBI and U.S. Justice Department accuse Damache of being the ringleader behind an unrealized 2009 conspiracy to target artist Lars Vilks in Sweden over his series of drawings depict- ing the Muslim prophet Muham- mad as a dog. Muslim extremists in Iraq had offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who killed Vilks, who was never attacked. WELLINGTON, New Zealand Loved ones salute New Zealand dad killed by shark About 150 friends and family of Adam Strange wrote messages to him in the sand and stepped into the water Thursday at a New Zealand beach to say goodbye a day after he was killed by a large shark while training for an endur- ance swim. Strange, 46, was an award- winning television and short film director and the father of a 2-year-old girl. He was swimming near popular Muriwai Beach on Wednesday when he was attacked by the shark that was possibly 14 feet (4 meters) long. Police attempting to save him raced out in inflatable boats and fired gunshots at the enormous predator, which they say rolled away and disappeared. They couldn't confirm if they'd killed it. Police were able to recover Strange's body. -Compiled from Daily wire reports D iplomats make compromises to keep nuclear discussion alive ALESSANDRA TARANTINO/AP Pope Benedict XVI waves to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Wednesday. Pope addresses 150,000 in address before resignation Recalls joy,' difficulties in final audience VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI bid an emotional farewell Wednesday on the eve of his retirement, recalling moments of "joy and light" dur- ing his papacy, but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping." Some 150,000 people, many waving banners proclaiming "Grazie!" flooded St. Peter's Square, eager to bear witness to the final hours of a papacy that will go down in history as the first in 600 years to end in resig- nation rather than death. Benedict basked in the emo- tional send-off, taking a long victory lap around the square in an open-sided car, and stopping to kiss and bless half a dozen babies. Seventy cardinals, some tearful, sat in solemn attendance - and gave him a standing ova- tion at the end of his speech. Benedict then made a quick exit, forgoing the meet-and- greet session that typically follows his weekly general audi- ence, as if to not prolong the goodbye. Given the weight of the moment, Benedict also replaced his usual Wednesday catechism lesson with a heartfelt final address, explaining once again why he was retiring and assur- ing his flock of 1.2 billion that he was not abandoningthem. "To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself," Benedict said to thundering applause. He noted that a pontiff has no privacy - neither as pope, nor in his future role as emeritus pope: "He belongs always and forever to everyone, to the whole church." During his eight years as pope, Benedict said he had had "moments of joy and light, but also moments that haven't been easy. ... Moments of turbulent seas and rough winds, as has occurred in the history of the church, when it seemed like the Lord was sleeping." But he said he never felt alone, that God always guided him, and he thanked his cardinals and colleagues for their support and for "understanding and respect- ing this important decision." The pope's tenure has been beset by the clerical sex abuse scandal, discord over everything from priestly celibacy to wom- en's ordination, and mostrecent- ly the betrayal by his own butler, who stole his private papers and leaked them to a journalist. Under a bright sun and blue skies, the square was overflow- ing with pilgrims and curiosity- seekers. Those who couldn't get in watched on giant TV screens set up along the main boulevard leading to the square. About 50,000 tickets were requested, and in the end, the Vatican estimated that 150,000 people flocked to the farewell. "It's difficult - the emo- tion is so big," said Jan Marie, a 53-year-old Roman in his first years as a seminarian. "We came to support the pope's decision." With chants of "Benedetto!" the mood was far more buoy- ant than during the pope's final Sunday blessing. It recalled the jubilant turnouts that often accompanied him at World Youth Days and events involv- ing his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. Benedict has said he decided to retire after realizing that, at 85, he simply didn't have the "strength of mind or body" to carry on. "I have taken this step with the full understanding of the seriousness and also the nov- elty of the decision, but with a profound serenity in my soul," Benedict told the crowd. He will meet Thursday morn- ing with his cardinals for a final time, then fly by helicopterto the papal residence at Castel Gan- dolfo south of Rome. There, at 8 p.m., the doors of the palazzo will close and the Swiss Guards in attendance will go off duty, their service pro- tecting the head of the Catholic Church over - for now. Many of the cardinals who will choose Benedict's successor were in St. Peter's Square for his final audience. Among them was retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, the object of a grass-roots campaign in the U.S. to persuade him to recuse him- self for having covered up for sexually abusive priests. Maho- ny has said he will be among the 115 cardinals voting for the next pope. "God bless you," Mahony said when asked by television crews about the U.S. campaign. Also in attendance were car- dinals over 80, who can'tpartici- pate in the conclave but will take part in meetings next week to discuss the problems facing the church and the qualities needed in a new pope. "I am joining the entire church in praying that the car- dinal electors will have the help of the Holy Spirit," 82-year-old Spanish Cardinal Julian Her- ranz said. Herranz has been authorized by the pope to brief voting-age cardinals on his investigation into the leaks of papal docu- ments that exposed corruption in the Vatican administration. Vatican officials say cardinals will begin meeting Monday to decide when to set the date for the conclave. Still, the rank-and-file faith- ful weren't so concerned with the future: They wanted to savor the final moments of a pope they have known for years. "I came to thank him for the testimony that he has given the church," said Maria Cristina Chiarini, a 52-year-old home- maker who traveled by train from Lugo in central Italy with about 60 members of her par- ish. "There's nostalgia, human nostalgia, but also comfort. Because as Christians we have hope. The Lord won't leave us without a guide." Iran hails concessions as a 'turning point' ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) - World powers offered broader concessions than ever to Iran in attempts Wednesday to keep alive diplomatic channels that seek to rein in the Islamic Repub- lic's nuclear program and pre- vent it from building an atomic weapon. The offer was hailed by Saeed Jalili, Iran's top official at diplo- matic talks in Kazakhstan, who said it represented a "turning point" by world powers to com- promise on Tehran's uranium enrichment program after years of delicate negotiationsthat near- ly dissolved last June. The proposal allows Iran to keep a limited amount of highly enriched uranium - but not make any more - stops short of demanding the full shutdown of an underground nuclear facility, and offers to remove some trade sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy. Still, a senior U.S. official said, crippling sanctions on Iran's oil and financial industries would remain in place as negotiations continue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks more candidly. The latest offer marked a small but significant shift from ear- lier, harder-line proposals that prompted Iran to dig in its heels amid fears that an arms race in neighboring states could sow yet more instability in the already turbulent Mideast. Israel has repeatedly hinted its readiness to strike Iranian nuclear facilities - a military venture the United States likely would be dragged into. The new offer also is expected to force Iran to respond with a reasonable plan of its own - or be seen as a recalcitrant negotiator unwilling to compromise. The proposal "was more real- istic than before and had tried to get closer to the Iranian view- point in some cases," Jalili told reporters at the end of two days of negotiations in Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty. "We consid- er this positive - although there is a long distance to reach the suitable point." British Foreign Minister Wil- liam Hague called the talks "use- ful" and said the new proposal aimed "to build confidence on both sides and move negotiations forward." "Ilook forward to further prog- ress," Hague said in a statement. Iran maintains it has the right under international law to enrich uranium to 20 percent -" a level that can quickly be elevated into use for nuclear warheads. Teh- ran claims it needs that level of enriched uranium for reactor fuel and medical isotopes, and has signaled it does not intend to stop. U.N. nuclear inspectors last week confirmed Iran has begun a major upgrade of its program at the country's main uranium enrichment site. Iran also insists, as a starting point, that world powers must recognize the republic's right to enrich uranium, and Jalili repeated Wednesday that Teh- ran must be able to enrich to 20 percent. "Whatever we need, we will of course pursue that - whether it is 5 percent or 20 percent," Jalili said. "It is important to us to have the 20 percent." However, that remains a red line to negotiators from the world powers - the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany - who put their continued demand that Iran end any uranium enrichment that nears or reaches 20 percent at the heart of the new offer. The senior U.S. official said Iran would be required to restrict its current stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium but, in a new development, would be allowed to keep enough to fuel a research reactor in Tehran. Also, Iran would have to suspend opera- tions at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo - and make it difficult to restart it quickly - but would no longer be required to fully shut it down. In return, the official said, the U.S. and EU would lift a number of unspecified sanctions on Iran, which was hit with harsh trade restrictions last year in Western hopes they would force Tehran to bend on its nuclear program. Additionally, the U.N. Secu- rity Council and the EU would impose no new nuclear sanctions against Iran. However, the hardest-hitting sanctions - on Iran's oil and finan- cial industries - will remain in place during the negotiations, the official said. The tough sanctions have caused unemployment and inflation in Iran to skyrocket, while depressing its daily oil output and value of its currency, the rial. JC Penney sales drop, again TME EW UhE (CINE5E CU5I E iAa qardRn o RlWEOEN N T !OW uclatwug i Ne IuAs.uE I WE kREALOO 7 34-99-178 It6$. $IN STREET VL HM AM netNIq Mn-TH A00 A8 0 E K - ui si Changes lead to fourth straight quarterly loss NEW YORK (AP) - Boy, it just wasn't J.C. Penney's year. The mid-priced department store chain reported another much larger-than-expected loss in the fiscal fourth quarter on a nearly 30 percent plunge in rev- enue in the latest sign shoppers aren't happy with the changes it's made in the past year. The results mark a full year of massive quarterly losses and revenue declines that miss Wall Street estimates since J.C. Pen- ney Co. began a turnaround strategy that included ditching most of its coupons and sales events in favor of everyday low prices, bringing in hipper designer brands such as Betsy Johnson and remaking outdat- ed stores. The quarterly performance puts additional pressure on CEO Ron Johnson, the former Apple Inc. executive who was brought about a year ago to turn the stodgy retailer that was los- ing money into a hip and profit- able company that can compete with the likes of Macy's or H&M. In the past year since Johnson rolled out his plan, though, even once loyal custom- ers have strayed away from the 1,100-store chain. While acknowledging that Penney made some mistakes during a conference call with investors, Johnson said on Wednesday that Penney will start offering more sales in stores - about 100 of the 600 or so the chain offered prior to the turnaround plan. That's in addition to the sales events that the company said last month that it would start offering dur- ing holidays and other key sales periods throughout the year. "Experience is making mis- takes and learning from them, and I have learned a lot," John- son said. "We worked really hard and tried many things to help the customer understand that she shop any time on her terms. But we learned she pre- fers a sale. At times, she loves a coupon. And she always needs a reference price." Teresa Cansell agrees. She used to make the 45-mile trek from her farm near Leon, Kan., to a Penney store in Wichita about once a month. But since Penney started making changes last year, she's only been twice. And on her latest trip in Decem- ber, shewalked outemptyhand- ed because she couldn't find a leather jacket she wanted. "I loved the old J.C. Penney. I liked the coupons," Cansell, 53, said. "I used to go to Pen- ney every time I got them in the mail. I would buy a ton of stuff." Penney's results show that other shoppers feel the same way. During the fourth quar- ter that ended Feb. 2, Penney's revenue at stores opened at least a year - a figure the retail industry uses to measure of a store's health - dropped 31.7 percent. That's on top of hefty drops in the previous three quarters of 26.1 percent in the third, 21.7 percent inthe second and 19 per- cent in the first. And it's steeper than the decline of 26.1 percent Wall Street had expected.