The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 3A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
PONTIAC, Mich
Mich. woman
'feared' grandson
she shot and killed
A 75-year-old woman charged
with first-degree murder sobbed
on the witness stand Wednesday
as she told jurors how she repeat-
edly shot her teenage grandson
afterhe kicked her inthe abdomen
and demanded money and a car to
leave Michigan.
Sandra Layne described herself
as an overwhelmed grandmother
who took Jonathan Hoffman into
her Detroit-area home after his
parents divorced and moved to
Arizona. She said she "adored"
the 17-year-old, but their relation-
ship changed when the teen got
involved with drugs.
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio
Prosecutor: Ohio
school rape victim
didn't consent
A "substantially impaired"
16-year-old girl was unable to con-
sent to sex and suffered humili-
ation and degradation when she
was raped by two high school
football players after an alcohol-
fueled party, a prosecutor said
Wednesday at the start of a trial
that's drawn international atten-
tion to a small, football-loving city
in eastern Ohio.
The first day of the juvenile
trial became a contest between
prosecutors determined to show
the girl was so drunk she couldn't
have been a willing participant
that night, and defense attorneys
soliciting comments from wit-
nesses that would indicate that the
girl, though drunk, knew what she
was doing.
HERKIMER, N.Y.
Upstate man fires
on police and
civilians, kills four
A man neighbors said rarely
spoke to them started a fire in his
apartment on Wednesday, shot
four people dead at a couple of
 businesses in his hometown and
a neighboring village and then
exchanged gunfire with police
officers who surrounded an aban-
doned building where he appar-
ently was holed up, authorities
said.
Police officers were fired on
from the upstate New York build-
ing on Wednesday afternoon
while looking for 64-year-old Kurt
Myers, state police Superinten-
dent Joseph D'Amico said. At least
one officer returned fire, and later
it was unknown if Myers was still
alive, D'Amico said.
"We're in no rush to bring this
to a conclusion," D'Amico said,
adding that the main objective
was to make sure no one else was
hurt.
CAIRO
Brotherhood blasts

UN women's safety
 document
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
sharply criticized an anticipated
U.N. document on combatting vio-
lence against women, saying on
Wednesday that it was "deceitful,"
clashed with Islamic principles
and undermined family values.
The text of the document has
not been published because nego-
tiations are continuing, regarding
how to address sexual violence
and rights of women to control
their sexuality as well as sexual
and reproductive health and
rights.
Diplomats and observers track-
ing the debate are optimistic of
agreement before the two-week
meeting of the U.N. Commission
on the Status of Women wraps
up Friday in New York. One par-
ticipant said Egypt is seeking to
introduce an opt-out clause to
allow each country to implement
thedocument accordingto its own
- Complied from
Daily wire reports

Pope Francis speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio
who chose the name of Francis, is the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
New Pope chosen, first
ever from Latin America

Jorge Bergoglio
takes name
'Francis'
VATICAN CITY (AP) -
Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina
was elected pope Wednesday,
becoming the first pontiff from
the Americas and the first from
outside Europe in more than a
millennium. He chose the name
Francis, associating himself
with the humble 13th-century
Italian preacher who lived a life
of poverty.
Looking stunned, Francis
shyly waved to the crowd of
more than 100,000 people who
packed a rain-soaked St. Peter's
Square for the announcement,
marveling that the cardinals
needed to look to "the end of the
earth" to find a bishop of Rome.
In choosing a 76-year-old
pope, the cardinals clearly
decided that they didn't need a
vigorous, young pope who would
reign for decades but rather a
seasoned, popular and humble
pastor who would draw follow-
ers to the faith and help rebuild a
church stained by scandal.
The cardinal electors over-
came deep divisions about the
future of the church to select the
266th pontiff in a remarkably
fast, five-ballot conclave.

Francis asked for prayers for
himself, and for retired Pope
Benedict XVI, whose stunning
resignation paved the way for
the conclave that brought the
first Jesuit to the papacy. Fran-
cis also spoke by phone with
Benedict after his election and
plans to see him in the coming
days, the Vatican said.
"Brothers and sisters, good
evening," Francis said to wild
cheers in his first public remarks
as pontiff from the loggia of St.
Peter's Basilica.
"You know that the work of
the conclave is to give a bishop to
Rome. It seems as if my brother
cardinals went to find him from
the end of the earth, but here
we are. Thank you for the wel-
come," he said.
In one of his first acts as pope,
Francis on Thursday morning
planned to visit Benedict at the
papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo
south of Rome.
American Cardinal Timothy
Dolan said Wednesday night at
the North American College,
the U.S. seminary in Rome, that
Francis told fellow cardinals fol-
lowing the conclave that made
him pope: "Tomorrow morning,
I'm going to visit Benedict."
The visit was significant
because Benedict's resigna-
tion has raised concerns about
potential power conflicts emerg-

ing from the peculiar situation
of having a reigning pope and a
retired one.
No such worries troubled
people in Francis' home conti-
nent.
Latin Americans burst into
tears and jubilation at news that
the region, which counts 40 per-
cent of the world's Catholics,
finally had a pope to call its own.
"It's a huge gift for all of Latin
America. We waited 20 centu-
ries. It was worth the wait," said
Jose Antonio Cruz, a Franciscan
friar at the St. Francis of Assisi
church in the colonial Old San
Juan district in Puerto Rico.
Bergoglio had reportedly fin-
ished second in the 2005 con-
clave that produced Benedict
- who last month became the
first pope to resign in 600 years.
The speed with which he was
elected pope this time around
indicates that - even though
he is 76 and has slowed down
from the effects of having a lung
removed as a teenager - he still
had the trust of cardinals to do
the job.
After announcing "Habemus
Papam" - "We have a pope!" -
a cardinal standing on the bal-
cony of St. Peter's Basilica on
Wednesday revealed the iden-
tity of the new pontiff, using his
Latin name, and announced he
would be called Francis.

Prosecutor yells
in Arizona death
penalty trial
Defendant that Arias took time to think
about what she was doing during
concludes testimony the attack.
"You didn't have the knife in
after 18 days your hand when you shot him,"
he said. "So that means, if you
PHOENIX (AP) - A pros- didn't have the knife in your
ecutor spent much of Wednes- hand, you had to go get it from
day pointing at Jodi Arias and somewhere, right?"
angrily raising his voice, clearly "I don't know," Arias replied.
frustrated with her unresponsive Alexander suffered nearly
answers on the witness stand in 30 knife wounds, was shot in
her Arizona death penalty trial. the head and had his throat slit
Arias concluded her testimony before Arias dragged his body
after more than six weeks. Trial into his shower.
was set to resume Thursday as Arias has said she remembers
defense attorneys call additional little from the day of the killing
witnesses. but recalls Alexander attacking
Arias is charged with first- her in a fury. She says she ran
degree murder in the June 2008 into his closet to retrieve a gun
death ofherloverinhis suburban he kept on a shelf and fired in
Phoenix home. self-defense. She said she has no
She testified for 18 days during memory of stabbing him.
which she described her abusive Martinez seized on her mem-
childhood, cheating boyfriends, ory lapses, noting it seemed
dead-end jobs, a raunchy sexual unusual she could remember
relationship with the victim and some key details, like Alexander
her contention that Travis Alex- screaming ather and threatening
ander had grown physically abu- her life, but not much else.
sive in the months leading to his "Youdon'trememberanything,
death, once even choking her into right?" Martinez asked loudly.
unconsciousness. "In general there is a huge
Authorities say she planned gap," Arias replied softly, her
Alexander's killing in a jealous eyes fixed on jurors.
rage, but Arias says it was self- The questioning elicited
defense when he attacked her repeated objections from defense
after a day of sex. attorneys as Arias often replied
"You fired the gun. You shot smugly to yes or no questions
him in the head and then you with answers such as "If you say
killed him, right?" prosecutor so" and "I presume."
Juan Martinez asked loudly on "I would like some certainty
Wednesday. from you," Martinez barked at
"Yeah," Arias replied softly. one point.
Martinez repeatedly pointed Jurors peppered her with
out that Arias' version of the their own questions, clearly not
events on the day Alexander died satisfied with her ever-changing
seems impossible. He showed her stories in the case - about 220
two photographs taken 62 sec- queries last week and an addi-
onds apart - one of Alexander tional10 on Wednesday.
alive in the shower, the other a Arizona law allows jurors to
portion of his bloodied body. quiz defendants through written
Arias has said she was tak- questions read aloud bythe judge.
ing provocative pictures of At least one juror question on
Alexander in the shower when Wednesday seemed to indicate
she dropped his camera and he the panel still isn't satisfied with
became enraged, forcing her to Arias'story.
fight for her life. "If you still felt threatened
"You drop the camera ... you after having shot Mr. Alexander,
are body-slammed, you get away, why did you use a knife rather
you go down the hallway, you go than just shooting him again?"
in the closet, yougetthe gun, you the judge read.
go into the bathroom ... You shoot "I know I dropped the gun
him, he goes down ... and then, when he hit me and I don't know
after you're able to get away, you where the gun went," Arias
go get the knife and you end up replied. "I don't remember pick-
at the end of the hallway? All of ing up the knife. I just remember
this in 62 seconds?" Martinez feeling threatened."
snapped. Arias has acknowledged try-
"No, that's not what I'm say- ing to clean the scene of the
ing," Arias replied, reminding killing, dumping the gun in the
the prosecutor of her memory desert and leaving the victim
gaps from the day of the killing. a voicemail on his cellphone
"Definitely after the gun wentoff hours later in an attempt to
I don't know, it starts to get a avoid suspicion. She says she
little more confusing." was too scared and ashamed to
Martinez was trying to show tell the truth.

Fla. politician resigns, 57
charged in money scandal

Lieutenant style games, which have come
under scrutiny in Florida but
governor stepS are in a gray legal area.
down after Even so, investigators said
the charity was a fraud and
gambling charges executives gave precious little
to veterans while lavishing
millions on themselves, spend-
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - ing it on boats, beachfront con-
Florida's lieutenant governor dos and Maseratis, Ferraris
resigned and nearly 60 other and Porsches.
people were charged in a scan- Florida Attorney General
dal involving a purported vet- Pam Bondi called the alleged
erans charity that authorities scam "callous" and "despica-
said Wednesday was a front for ble" and said it "insults every
a $300 million gambling opera- American who ever wore a
tion. military uniform."
The organization, Allied Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll was
Veterans of the World, runs not among those charged but
nearly 50 Internet parlors with resigned a day after she was
computerized slot machine- questioned by investigators.

The public relations firm she
co-owned, 3 N&JC, did work
for St. Augustine-based Allied
Veterans. A Navy veteran who
served in the Gulf War, Carroll
also appeared in a TV ad in 2011
promoting the organization's
work on behalf of veterans and
their families.
Authorities refused to discuss
any ties between the 53-year-old
Republican and the investiga-
tion. Her aides had no comment.
Carroll said in a statement
Wednesday that neither she nor
the public relations firm was
targeted in the probe, and she
stepped down so that her ties to
the organization would not be a
distraction for Republican Gov.
Rick Scott's administration.


C

)litics & Economics


Applications are now being accepted for the Undergraduate Program
Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE)
Deadline is March 27. Visit
www.isa.umich.edu/ppe
for more information

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