The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - 3 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September10, 2013 - 3 NEWS BRIEFS CAMBRIDGE, Mich. 9/11 tribute to be set up at speedway CAMBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Three-thousand American flags are going up in a field at Michigan International Speedway in honor of the victims of 9/11. The speedway says members of the Columbia Central High School National Honor Society are helping to put up the display. Other participants include mem- bers of the Brooklyn America Legion, Cambridge Township Fire Department, Gleaner Arbor in Adrian and speedway staff members. The speedway is in Lenawee County's Cambridge Township, near Brooklyn. The speedway also is holding a Blood Drive on Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the Al Qaeda attacks on New York and Wash- ington. It says people should reg- ister in advance at its website or by phone because of a limit of 600 donors. WASHINGTON NAACP searches for new CEO WASHINGTON (AP) - Lead- ers of the nation's largest civil rights group pledged to continue fighting for voting rights, health care, a higher minimum wage and immigration reform, even as the NAACP begins searching for a new president and CEO. After suffering turbulent lead- ership changes and scandals in the past, NAACP board mem- bers said the 104-year-old group is poised for a smooth transition this time as it seeks to replace outgoing President Benjamin Jealous. He announced on Sun- day that he would step down at the end of the year. Chairwoman Roslyn Brock said the board is disappointed Jealous is leaving after five years but that the group remains ener- gized on issues nationwide. "'TNf A? CP is alive~~ind t's well," Brock said. "We have a strategic plan in place that will help guide our work for the next 50 years." Brock said the NAACP's board is forming a search committee to find someone to succeed Jealous. * BAGHDAD Five policemen killed in attack BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi authorities say shootings and bombings have killed eight peo- ple, including five policemen, in central Iraq. Police officials said the deadli- est of Monday's attacks occurred when a police patrol came under fire by gunmen near the city of Tikrit. Five policemen were killed in the attack. Police said a government employee was killed after a sticky bomb attached to his car exploded in eastern Baghdad. Also, authori- ties said a body with gunshot wounds to the back was found near a school in western Baghdad. In a town just south of Bagh- dad, police said a bomb exploded in a commercial street, killing one person and wounding eight others. YEMEN Yemen fears al- Qaida attacks SANAA, Yemen (AP) - Yemeni officials are warning of imminent attacks, distributing a photo of a suspected al-Qaida militant believed to be plotting suicide bombings with others. New intelligence shows a wanted militant in his 20s is believed to be preparing car bombs to use in suicide attacks along with two others, an offi-. cial said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the press. He added that security mea- sures were beefed up near foreign missions and state insti- tutions in Sanaa. -Compiled from Daily wire reports Increases on Wall Street, stocks see rise Geroge Zimmerman, far right, is escorted toa home by a Lake Mary police officer, center, and Shawn Vincent, as assistant to his attorney, Monday. Zimmerman arrested, Wife and father drop charges Florida man in police custody again following Trayvon Martin case LAKE MARY, Fla. (AP) - The sobbing wife of George Zimmerman called 911 Monday to report that her estranged husband was threatening her with a gun and had punched her father in the nose, but hours later decided not to press charg- es against the man acquitted of all charges for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin. Lake Mary police officers were still investigating the encounter as a domestic dis- pute, but no charges had been filed Monday afternoon. Shellie Zimmerman left the house after being questioned by police. George Zimmerman remained there into early evening and his attorney denied any wrongdo- ing by his client. He was not arrested. Shellie Zimmerman, who has filed for divorce, initially told a 911 dispatcher that her husband had ihs hadiosghisgci ~ alib sat in his car outside the home she was at with her father. She said she was scared because she wasn't sure what Zimmerman was capable of doing. Hours later she changed her story and said she never saw a firearm, said Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell. For the time being, "domes- tic violence can't be invoked because she has changed her story and says she didn't see a firearm," Bracknell said. On the 911 call, Shellie Zim- merman is sobbing and repeat- ing "Oh my God" as she talks to a police dispatcher. She yells at her father to get inside the house, saying Zimmerman may start shooting at them. "He's threatening all of us with a firearm... He punched my dad in the nose," Shellie Zim- merman said on the call. "I don't know what he's capable of. I'm really scared." She also said he grabbed an iPad from her hand and smashed it. Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said his client never threatened his estranged wife and her father with a gun and never punched his father-in-law. Shellie Ziimernian had col- lected most of her belongings Saturday from the house, which is owned by her parents, where she and George had both been staying there until she moved out. She had returned unex- pectedly Monday to gather the remaining items. Emotions got out of control, but neither side is filing charges against the other, O'Mara said. "I know the 911 tape sug- gests that Shellie was saying something but I think that was heightened emotions," O'Mara said. "There may have been some pushing and touching. That happens alot in divorce sit- uations ... Nobody was injured." Her father also declined to press charges, the police chief said. Prosecutors could still build a case based on surveillance video from cameras outside the house and also video from the squad cars of officers who responded. Floridalaw allows policeofficers to arrest someone for domestic violence without the consent of the victim. Police spokesman Zach Hud- son said the estranged husband and wife were blaming each other for being the aggressor and that 'olice officers were sorting through their accounts. Boost attributed to electronics, homes and major deals The stock market got a boost on Monday from mergers, homes, and phones. Stocks posted their biggest gains in almost two months. Two big deals suggested grow- ing confidence in the economy: Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus was sold for $6billion, andKoch Industries bought electronics component maker Molex for $7.2 billion. Homebuilding stocks were some of the biggest gainers in the Standard & Poor's 500 index after Hovnavian Enterprises said home prices are rising and its backlog jumped almost 27 percent from a year earlier. Hovnanian rose 11 cents, or 2.2 percent, to close at $5.15. PulteGroup, D.R. Horton and Lennar alsogained. Homebuild- er MDC Holdings rose $1.72, or 6.2 percent, to $29.37 after an upgrade from a Citi analyst. Homebuilding stocks have had a volatile year. Investors have been bullish because the housing market is recovering, but worried that rising inter- est rates make mortgages more expensive for home buyers. Apple rose. It's expected to announce a new iPhone on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 140.62 points, or 1 percent, to 15,063.12. The Dow hit an all-time high of 15,658 on Aug. 2. But worries about Syria and rising interest rates pushed stocks down since then. The last time the Dow closed above 15,000 was Aug. 23. The S&P 500 index rose 16.54 points, or 1 percent, to 1,671.71. The Nasdaq composite rose 46.17 points, or 1.3percent, tb~ 3,706.18. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 had their biggest daily gains since July11. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 rose. The index rose for the fifth day in a row, the longest since eight days of gains in July. Two things about the Koch- Molex deal grabbed investors' attention: Its components show up in a wide variety of products, including housing and autos, so Koch's interest suggests that it sees broad economic improve- ment. Also, Koch is paying a large premium for Molex. Koch is paying $38.50 per share, 31 percent over Molex's stock price on Friday. Molex soared $9.29, or almost 32 per- cent, to $38.63 on Monday. "I think it's really exciting for just about everybody to see that big of a deal go through," said Kim Forrest, senior ana- lyst with portfolio management firm Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. Apple rose back above $500 per share. It last closed above that level on Aug. 26. Apple gained $7.95, or 1.6 per- cent, to $506.17 on Monday in advance of an expected iPhone announcement on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines jumped $1.87, or 9.4 percent, to $21.76 after news that it would be added to the S&P 500 index. That bene- fits Delta because mutual funds and other investors that track the S&P 500 will now have to buy Delta's stock. JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker estimated that inclusion in the index will add demand for almost 89 mil- lion Delta shares. Stocks in Asia rose lifted by Tokyo's win for the 2020 Sum- mer Olympics, Chinese export growth and an election vic- tory by Australia's conservative coalition. The coalition supports repealing a 30 percent tax on coal and iron ore miners' profits, which could help mining and other raw material companies. Caterpillar, which makes min- ing gear used in China and Aus- tralia, rose $2.20, or 2.6 percent,. to $85.59, and mining company Cliffs Natural Resourceswas up $1.33, or 6.1 percent, to $23.18. The positive news out of the Asia-Pacific region helped outweigh worries about ris- ing interest rates and Syria, said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING U.S. Invest- ment Management. "The risk of taking action seems too great for them to act," he said. "I'm watching it daily, but I'm cer- tainly not worried about it." In U.S. government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.92 per- cent from 2.94 percent late Fri- day. It traded as high as 3 percent last Thursday, a key psychologi- cal level because the 10-year yield is the most widely used benchmark for borrowing in the U.S. President of Kenya charged with orchestration of election violence Kenyan president charged with deadly post-election violence THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Against a backdrop of risingskepticism and opposition in Kenya, the country's deputy president goes on trial Tuesday at the International Criminal Court, charged with helping orchestrate deadly violence that erupted after disputed 2007 elections. Final preparations for the landmark trial - the first time a sitting vice president has been tried at the ICC - were over- shadowed Monday by pros- ecutors alleging widespread witness intimidation and Ruto's lawyer claiming the case was built on false testimony. "What the truth will show is that there has been a cabal put together that has concocted stories that have been swal- lowed hook, line and sinker by the prosecution," Ruto's lawyer Karim Khan said. He called the prosecution case "a lamentable shambles" and "parody of jus- tice." Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, meanwhile, said there had been repeated deliberate attempts to undermine her case by intimi- dating witnesses, some of whom have pulled out of the trial. Bensouda would not say what impact the intimidation had on her evidence, but vowed to go after people targeting wit- nesses. "This is ongoing, it is orga- nized, it is happening," she told reporters at the court. "Those who are committing these crimes are goingto great lengths to cover their identity." Ruto is charged alongside broadcaster Joshua Arap Sang with murder, deportation and persecution - all crimes against humanity - linked to weeks of savage tribe-on-tribe attacks violence that left more than 1,000 Kenyans dead and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Both men insist they are innocent. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta faces similar charges of helping to orchestrate the vio- lence. His trial is scheduled to start in November. Ruto's trial is the culmination of years of work by International Criminal Court investigators after Kenyan authorities failed to hold to account any of the leaders of the violence. While Kenyans once over- whelmingly supported the inter- vention of the ICC, opinion has turned against the international body, soured in part by the long passage of time. Kenya's parliament last week passed a voice vote motion to withdraw from the ICC. The vote is symbolic and non-bind- ing; only Kenya's government can decide to withdraw from the ICC and it will have no effect on the trials of Kenyatta and Ruto. But the vote was carried out by the majority in Parliament, which Kenyan voters put into office in March, the same time theyvoted in Kenyatta and Ruto, who were under indictments by the ICC. The pair's election campaign had played up the idea that the West was meddling in Kenyan affairs. The court's registrar, Herman von Hebel, said the motion sent the "wrongmessage" in the fight against impunity in Kenya. "Victims of the future should not feel that they are without redress to this court and to international justice," he said. Rights activists welcomed the opening of the trial as a way of breaking a cycle of violence after recent Kenyan elections. "For decades those who have turned Kenya's elections into bloodbaths have gotten away with murder," said Dan- iel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "This ICC trial tackles an impunity crisis in the country and offers a chance for justice denied to Kenyans by their own govern- ment." Ngujiri Wambugu, a promi- nent social activist in Kenya, once helped collect more than 1 million signatures in support of an ICC intervention, after Kenyan prosecutors failed to bring forward significant judi- cial action. Today, Wambugu is against the ICC intervention. "It is quite clear ICC is not being fair," Wambugu said in a column that asked why the lead- ers of the United States and Brit- ain haven't been indicted for the invasion of Iraq, or why Syrian President Bashar Assad is not being held responsible for the tens of thousands of deaths over the last year in Syria. That is a sentiment shared across large parts of Africa. The court so far has indicted only suspects from Africa, lead- ing to charges on that continent that it is biased. The court so far has indicted only suspects from Africa, lead- ing to charges on that continent that it is biased. The chairman of the African Union earlier this year said that ICC prosecutions "have degenerated into some kind of race hunt." Kennyatta and Ruto spent the weekend in Kenya's Rift Valley, where hundreds of Kenyan fam- ilies booted from their homes during the 2007-08 violence still live in shabby United Nations tents. The government gave the internally displaced families a check for about $5,000 each - enough to buy a small plot of land - inan attempt to close one of the sadder chapters of Kenya's internal violence. St. Clair River woes are deemed to be cyclical, water levels still down Low water levels continue to be a problem for midwest rivers MILWAUKEE (AP) - Placing water retention structures in the St. Clair River may not be enough to counteract the effects of a warming climate and raise Lakes Huron and Michigantotheirnor- mallevelsexperts said Monday. As water surface tempera- tures and evaporation rates continue to rise, low water is likely to be a long-term problem despite significant improvement this year following heavy snows in winter and a rainy spring, according to testimony during the annual meeting of the Great Lakes Commission. "Water levels go up and down," said Scudder Mackey, coastal management chief with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "It's a natural pro- cess, something that we have to learn to live with." Levels have been mostly below normal on all five Great Lakes since the late 1990s, but the drop-off has been most severe on Huron and Michigan, which scientists consider one lake because they are connected. Huron-Michigan has jumped 20 inches since January, exceed- ing its usual seasonal rise, said Keith Kompoltowicz, a meteo- rologist with the Detroit office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers. Still, it remains 17 inches below its long-term average. Lake Superior is also slightly below its long-term average, while Lakes Erie and Ontario have exceeded theirs. Groups representing shore- line interests in Lake Huron, particularly in sprawling Geor- gian Bay, say climate isn't the only reason water there is extraordinarily low. They blame dredging, gravel mining and other activities that eroded the floor of the St. Clair River on Huron's southern end, acceler- ating the flow toward Lake Erie. Studies have shown those actions caused Huron and Michi- gan to fall 10 to 16 inches. Some groups put the loss at 20 inches. In April, the International Joint Commission - which advises the U.S. and Canada about the Great Lakes and other shared waters - recommended a study of installing structures resembling underwater speed bumps in the St. Clair that could raise Huron and Michi- gan by 5 to 10 inches. Neither federal government has acted on the proposal. 4