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April 11, 2013 - Image 3

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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, April 11, 2013 - 3A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, April 11, 2013 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
GROSSE POINTE, Mich.
Santorum school
speech requires
permission slips
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santo-
rum says it's unfortunate that
students will need a permis-
sion slip to hear him speak at a
Detroit-area school.
) Grosse Pointe South High
School reversed course Wednes-
day and said Santorum can
appear on April 24. But students
will need approval from parents
to hear his speech on leadership.
The Pennsylvania Republican
served in Congress for 16 years
and was a conservative GOP can-
didate for president last year.
South principal Matt Outlaw
had canceled the event Monday,
partly because the group spon-
soring Santorum's visit wouldn't
share a copy of his speech ahead
of the appearance. But Outlaw
says he talked to Santorum by
phone and apologized.
SAN FRANCISCO
Bill aimed at boy
scouts' gay ban
makes progress
A bill aimed at pressuring the
Boy Scouts of America to lift its
ban on gay members by making
the organization ineligible for
nonprofit tax breaks cleared its
first vote on Wednesday in the
California Legislature.
The Senate Governance and
Finance Committee voted 5 to 2
to move the first-of-its-kind bill
to the Senate Appropriations
Committee for review.
The Youth Equality Act, spon-
sored by Sen. Ricardo Lara,
D-Long Beach, would deny tax-
exempt status to youth groups
that discriminate on the basis of
gender identity, race, sexual ori-
entation, nationality, religion or
religious affiliation.
PARIS
Gay attack victim
becomes celebrity
for rights cause
The shockingphoto ofahomo-
phobic attack victim in Paris
that went viral on social media
this week and caused the French
interior minister to weigh in was
used as an emblem in a pro-gay
rally Wednesday evening.
The bloody image of Wilfred de
Bruijn's cut and bruised face was
brandished by gay groups during
a demonstration of several thou-
sand people as evidence of their
claim that homophobic acts have
tripled nationwide over opposi-
tion to a law legalizing gay mar-
riage.
This week, the French sen-
ate will conclude its debate on
a controversial law - which is

expected to pass - legalizing
same-sex marriage and adop-
tion. It's been a rocky run since
it was unveiled last November
by President Francois Hollande's
Socialists and split the majority-
Catholic country.
LONDON
Bomb found by
gardeners during
competition-
Gardeners in Britain who
were digging flowerbeds for a
village horticultural competition
have instead uncovered a World
War II bomb.
Police say a bomb disposal unit
was sent to a crossing near Naffer-
ton train station in the northeast
of England after residents report-
ed finding the explosive device.
The area near railway tracks
was cordoned off to prevent
vibrations from trains setting the
device off, and local train servic-
es were temporarily stopped as a
precaution.
Officers said Wednesday the
object turned out to be an inert
two-pound (one-kilogram) air-
craft bomb. They have removed
the device to safely dispose of it.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports

. Scon tAppewnite/AP
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., left, meets in his office with families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School
shooting in Newtown, Conn., on the day he announced that he reached a bipartisan deal on expanding background
checks to more gun buyers, on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday.
Senators com-promnise for
background check increase

Gun laws still to
be put through
Congress
WASHINGTON (AP)
Conservative senators from
both parties announced their
support for expanding back-
ground checks for gun buy-
ers Wednesday, giving a burst
of momentum to advocates of
stronger restrictions. But big
questions remain about wheth-
er President Barack Obama can
push significant gun controls
through Congress.
The compromise between
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa.,
boosted the chances that the
Senate will agree to broaden
required background checks, a
step gun control groups laud as
an effective way to keep weap-
ons from criminals and the
mentally ill. The senators are
among the most conservative
members of their parties, both
have received "A" ratings from
the National Rifle Association,
and their endorsements could
make it easier for hesitant col-
leagues to back the effort.
Gun control advocates still
face opposition from many
Republican senators and resis-
tance from moderate Demo-
crats, including several facing
re-election next year in GOP-
leaning states. In the Repub-
lican-run House, leaders have
shown little enthusiasm for
Obama's ideas, making that

chamber an even higher hur-
dle.
Under the agreement the
two senators announced at the
Capitol, background checks
would be expanded to all for-

office, telling them that "this
will not be in vain." He became
choked up when a reporter
asked about the impact of the
family members' visit, saying,
"I'm a parent, a grandparent...

<. -tra ,g . r -

sales at gun shows and online,
with records kept by licensed
gun-dealers who would han-
dle the paperwork. Exempt-
ed would be noncommercial
transactions such as between
relatives. Currently, the sys-
tem applies only to sales by
the country's 55,000 federally
licensed firearms dealers.
The agreement also con-
tains provisions expanding
firearms rights, and that con-
cerns gun control supporters.
Some restrictions on trans-
porting guns across state lines
would be eased, sellers would
be shielded from lawsuits if
the buyer passed a check but
later used a firearm in a crime
and gun dealers could conduct
business in states where they
don't live.
"Truly the events at New-
town changed us all," said
Manchin, citing the Connecti-
cut town where December's
murders of 20 first-graders
and six educators propelled
gun control to the top rank of
national issues. "Americans on
both sides of the debate can and
must find common ground."
Emotion, always prominent
in the gun issue, cropped up
late Wednesday when Man-
chin met with relatives of the
Newtown victims in his Senate

71*11

aid Toomey: "Criminals
and the dangerously mentally
ill shouldn't have guns. I don't
know anyone who disagrees
with that premise." He said
that expanding the checks
wasn't gun control, "just com-
mon sense."
The agreement makes it all
but certain that the Senate will
reject a conservative blockade
and vote Thursday to begin
debating Democrats' gun leg-
islation. Besides broader back-
ground check requirements,
the bill would also toughen
laws against illicit firearms
sales and provide a small
increase in school security aid.
Underscoring that the
fight was far from over, NRA
spokesman Andrew Arula-
nandam said the organization
opposes the Manchin-Toomey
accord. The group, which has
fought most of Obama's gun
proposals and claims nearly
5 million members, said the
focus should be on improv-
ing the nation's mental health
system and sources of violence
like gangs.
"Expanding background
checks at gun shows will not
prevent the next shooting, will
not solve violent crime and
will not keep our kids safe in
schools," the NRA said.

N. Korea missle test
masked by holiday
Newscasts focus on Downtown, schoolchildren
marched toward statues of the
national holiday, two late leaders, Kim II Sung and
Kim Jong II, dragging brooms to
not preperation for sweep the hilltop plaza where
they tower over Pyongyang.
potential war Women with coats thrown
over traditional dresses rushed
PYONGYANG, North Korea through the spring chill after
(AP) - As the world braced for leaving a rehearsal for a dance
a provocative missile launch by planned for Kim II Sung's birth-
North Korea, with newscasts day celebrations.
worldwide playing up tensions At the base of Mansu Hill,
on the Korean Peninsula, the a group of young people held a
center of the storm was strangely small rally to pledge their loyalty
calm. to Kim Jong Un and to sing the
The focus in Pyongyang on Kim ode, "We Will Defend the
Wednesday was less on prepar- Marshal With Our Lives."
ing for war and more on beau- Kim Un Chol, the 40-year-old
tifying the capital ahead of the head of a political unit at Pyong-
nation's biggest holiday: the yang's tobacco factory, said he
April 15 birthday of the nation's had been discharged from the
founder, Kim Il Sung. Soldiers military but was willing to re-
put down their rifles to blanket enlist if war breaks out. He said
the barren ground with sod and North Koreans were resolute.
students picked up shovels to "The people of Pyongyang are
help plant trees. confident. They know we can win
But the impoverished, tightly any war," he told The Associated
controlled nation that has his- Press. "We now have nuclear
torically used major holidays to weapons. So you won't see any
draw the world's attention by worry on people's faces, even if
showing off its military power the situation is tense."
could well mark the occasion Kim Jong Il elevated the mili-
by testing a missile designednto tary's role during his 17-year rule
strike U.S. military installations under a policy of "military first,"
in Japan and Guam. and the government devotes a
South Korea's foreign minister significant chunk of its annu-
said the prospect of a medium- al budget to defense. Human
range missile launch is "consid- rights groups say the massive
erably high." spending on the military and
North Korean officials have on development of missile and
not announced plans to launch a nuclear technology comes at the
missile in defiance of U.N. Secu- expense of most of its 24 million
rity Council resolutions barring people. Two-thirds face chronic
Pyongyang from nuclear and food shortages, according to the
missile activity. World Food Program.
But they have told foreign dip- North Koreans are taught
lomats in Pyongyang that they from childhood to hate the U.S.
will not be able to guarantee and to gird against an invasion
their safety starting Wednes- by "imperialists" intent on tak-
day and urged tourists in South ing over the entire Korean Pen-
Korea to take cover, warning that insula.
a nuclear war is imminent. Most Guns and tanks are popular
diplomats and foreign residents toys for children in the highly
in both capitals appeared to be militarized society, and young
staying put. North Koreans learn to fire guns
The European Union said when they are teenagers, resi-
there was no need for member dents say. As young adults, they
states to evacuate or relocate attend camps to learn military
their diplomatic missions, but it techniques.
called on North Korea to "refrain But there was no sign North
from further provocative decla- Koreans were brushing up on
rations or action." their skills Wednesday. Pyong-
The threats are largely seen yang sporadically holds civil air
as rhetoric and an attempt by raid drills in which citizens prac-
North Korea to scare foreigners tice blacking out their windows
into pressing their governments and seeking shelter. But no such
to pressure Washington and drills have been held in recent
Seoul to change their policies months, residents said.
toward Pyongyang, as well as to Last year, the days surround-
boost the military credentials of ing the centennial of the birth
its young leader, Kim Jong Un. of Kim I Sung, grandfather of
North Korea does not have dip- the current ruler, were marked
lomatic relations with the U.S. by parades of tanks, missiles and
and South Korea, its foes during goose-stepping soldiers, as well
the Korean War of the 1950s, and as the failed launch of a satellite-
has pushed for a peace treaty to carrying rocket widely believed
replace a60-year-old armistice. by the U.S. and its allies to be a
On the streets of Pyongyang, test of ballistic missile technol-
there was no sense of panic. ogy.
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Technology stocks reach record
high, double analysts' expectations

Stock market
reverses course,
rising three days
straight
NEW YORK (AP) - Tech-
nology stocks roared back
Wednesday, driving the Stan-
dard & Poor's 500 and Dow
Jones industrial average to
record highs.
The industry has lagged the
broader market this year, but
surged after network com-
munications company Adtran
reported earnings that were
double what Wall Street ana-
lysts expected. That boosted
optimism that businesses will
increase spending on technol-
ogy equipment.
Chipmakers Micron and
Intel jumped, as did other
network equipment makers
like Cisco and JDS Uniphase.
Stocks were also up on an opti-
mistic reading of the Federal
Reserve's latest minutes.
Technology stocks rose 1.8
percent, the most of the 10
industry groups in the S&P.
That's a big change from tech's
weak performance this year.
The group is up just 4.7 per-
cent, trailing the S&P's gain of
11.3 percent.
"Tech has performed so
poorly, it's oversold and war-
rants some interest here," said
Scott Wren, a senior equity
strategist at Wells Fargo Advi-
sors. "If the economy contin-
ues to improve there is going to

be some capital spending."
The stock market has
reversed course this week, ris-
ing three straight days. Last
week, investors' confidence
fell because of an unexpect-
edly poor report on the U.S. job
market and other signs that the
economy slowed in March.
The Dow Jones industrial
average jumped 128.78 points
Wednesday, or 0.9 percent, to
14,802.24. It was the biggest
one-day rise in a month. The
Dow is up 13 percent in 2013.
The Nasdaq composite,
which is heavily weighted with
technology stocks, had the
biggest percentage gainof the
three main indexes Wednes-
day, rising 59.39 points, or 1.8
percent, to 3,297.25. The S&P
rose 19.12 points, or 1.2 per-
cent, to 1,587.73.
Investors viewed positively
the minutes from the Fed-
eral Reserve's latest meeting,
which were released before the
market opened. The minutes
revealed that policy makers
are becoming more confident
that the U.S. economy can
grow without stimulus from
the Fed, said Brian Gendreau,
a market strategist at Cetera
Financial Group.
The Fed released the min-
utes at 9 a.m. Eastern, five
hours ahead of schedule, after
the document was inadvertent-
ly distributed to congressional
staff and trade group officials.
The market rose steadily in
the morning and stayed high
through the afternoon.
A majority of the Fed's 12

policymakers want to con-
tinue the stimulus. Still, many
members indicated they want
to slow and eventually end the
program before the end of the
year, as long as the job market
and economy show sustained,
improvement. The Fed didn't
disclose how many of its poli-
cymakers held those views.
That suggests that a num-
ber of Fed officials think the
economy may be doing well
enough to stand on its own.
The Fed has been buying $85
billion worth of bonds each
month to keep interest rates
extremely low, encourage
borrowing and spending and
drive money into riskier assets
like stocks.
"The idea that the Fed
thinks that we are closer to the
restoration of normality might
be positive for the market,"
said Gendreau.
While the Dow and S&P
have been setting record
highs frequently over the past
month, the Nasdaq remains
35 percent below its record
of 5,048 set March 10, 2000.
The index surged the during
the technology bubble of the
late 1990s. The Nasdaq is at its
highest level in more than 12
years.
Among stocks making big
moves, Facebook rose 98 cents,
or 3.7 percent, to $27.57 after
General Motors said it would
start running ads on the social
network site. Adtran rose
$2.75, or 14 percent, to $22.46,
and JDS Uniphase rose 64
cents, or 4.8 percent, to $13.98.

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