The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Judge asks city to
keep mediating
with their creditors
A judge urged Detroit and its
creditors to keep negotiating
Thursday in a 150-page opinion
that mimics his decision earlier
this week that the city is eligible
for a makeover in bankruptcy
court.
Judge Steven Rhodes didn't
* break new ground since
announcing the decision Tues-
day during a 90-minute address
to a packed courtroom. But a
written opinion was necessary,
especially for unions and pen-
sion funds that 'are pursuing
appeals.
Rhodes said Detroit is eligible
for Chapter 9 protection because
the city is broke and any nego-
tiations with thousands of credi-
tors before the July filing would
have been impossible. As part of
his ruling, he found pensions are
like any other contract and can
be broken in bankruptcy, despite
protections in the Michigan
Constitution.
* TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
Charges dropped
for Heisman front-
runner Winston
Florida State quarterback and
Heisman hopeful Jameis Win-
ston will not face any charges
in a sexual assault case, mostly
because there were too many
gaps in his accuser's story, a
prosecutor said Thursday.
State Attorney Willie Meggs
said the woman's memory lapses
about the events last December
were problematic and there was
not enough evidence to win a
conviction.
"It's not inconsistencies, it's
lack of memory most of the
time," Meggs said.
The woman told police she
had been drinking at a bar with
" friends and went home with a
man she didn't know. She said
she the alleged assault took place
at an off-campus apartment, but
she couldn't remember where it
was.
A month later, she identified
her alleged attacker as the quar-
terback.
MINNEAPOLIS
City archdiocese
releases list of
accused preists
Amid mounting public pres-
sure and under order from a
court, the Archdiocese of St.
Paul and Minneapolis on Thurs-
day published a list of 34 priests
who have been accused of sexu-
ally abusing minors.
The list includes the names of
eight men who had not been pub-
licly named previously as alleged
abusers.
It places the men in two cat-
egories: 30 are believed to have
molested children, while the
remaining four have claims
against them that could not be
substantiated. For example,
one of those four cases involved
a sexual relationship with an
adult.
MANAMA, Bahrain
Hagel to reassure
U.S. allies in Gulf
of treaty with Iran
Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel faces a tough challenge
as he looks to reassure nervous
allies in the Gulf that the U.S.
will continue its strong military
support to the region, even as
world powers move forward on
the nuclear pact with Iran.
Hagel, who arrived in Bahrain
Thursday, is slated to speak to a
gathering of Gulf leaders later
this week at a security confer-
ence. U.S. officials said that he
will stress America's commit-
ment to the region, including
sales of military weapons and
ongoing efforts to improve the
region's ability to defend itself.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
PROTEST according to a University of
California Berkeley Labor Cen-
From Page 1A ter and University of Illinois
study.
University's USAS to bring sim- Historically, teenagers have
ilar protests to Ann Arbor. The been the majority of minimum
movement began last Decem- wage employees, but 40 per-
ber and has steadily gained cent of current minimum-wage
momentum. workers are between the ages
"This is a big day for Fight for of 25 and 54, according to the
15," Menhennick said. "There Bureau of Labor Statistics.
was some action over the sum- LSA junior Max Lerner, who
mer, but this is the first day participated in the protest, said
that there has been a nation- he believes he minimum wage
wide collective movement at all struggle is one of the defining
once." issues in American politics as
The letter given to Wendy's more people are working in
and Taco Bell detailed the low-payingservice jobs due to a
group's concerns about their sluggish economic recovery.
employees' livelihood. The pre- "If they are forced to have
vailing wages paid to fast food poverty wages then there is
workers - a nationwide median really no future for the middle
of $8.94 an hour - leaves over class in this country," Lerner
half of employees relying on said. "That's why the minimum
public assistance programs wage and raising it is such a key
to cover their basic needs, issue."
nation's devastation. When the
PHILIPPINES clinic ran out of liquid vitamins
From Page 1A that were needed to sustain the
newborns, the group was forced
to use adult vitamins as a sub-
Roxas City on Panay Island for stitute.
11 days. On a typical day, Launius
Hisfirst day workingon relief woke up at 7 a.m. in a hotel that
efforts took place at a damaged used a generator for power and
church powered by a generator. was without safe water. He
Throughout the day, more than would then drive a van to an
300 patients sought assistance area prepared by an advanced
with injuries that had festered team.
for weeks without attention. Though he tended to patients
Launius' lighter days of all ages, Launius said helping
involved helping approximately childrenrwas the most memo-
150 patients. Many those receiv- rable part of his trip. On his
ing treatment suffered from first day of work, children who
infections because their make- were thought to be suffering
shift housing was contaminated from trauma were brought in
from the typhoon's storm surge and asked to draw pictures of
and accumulated. their homes before and after the
The team also confronted storm. Launius said the activity
a shortage of medications, was heartbreaking to watch.
meaning nurses had to request Launius is no stranger to pro-
prescriptions for alternative viding relief effort, having sup-
medications, including vitamin ported relief efforts in the wake
supplements for malnourished of Hurricane Katrina at a Texas
newborns. diabetic clinic.
Launius said mothers' grief He added that having an
prompted by their inability to impact on people in need is the
provide for their children was most rewarding aspect of the
the moststrikingexample of the nursing profession.
States looking to
impress Boeing for
jobs and revenue
COLLEGE
From Page 1A
House and No Thai are popular
on both campuses.
"You look at Menna's wher-
ever else they are. They're on
every college campus except
TAMAKI
From Page 1A
and the portions are large," Chen
said.
FAMILIES
From Page 1A
Soubani, MSA's president, 235
students and faculty fasted this
year.
The end of fasting came at 4:30
p.m. Thursday. MSA and Fast-
a-Thon participants gathered in
the Rackham Amphitheater to
celebrate. The event began with
LSA freshman Aiman Almas-
naah, who recied a verse from the
Quran, followed by an English
rendition of the same verse by
LSA senior Zainab Masood.
here," Cavender said. "When I
announced that we did this deal,
people are just thrilled about
it. We're excited to see how
well they do. I think they'll just
crank."
Michigan State University
junior Michael Higer said Men-
na's has a large present on his
LSA freshman Jacob Wellner
enjoyed the food on his visit to
Tamaki, but noted the long wait
compared to alternatives, such as
Chipotle.
"Sushi can't be prepared as fast
Safi, the event's guest speak-
er discussed the importance of
fasting in the keynote address.
The three stages of fasting, he
explained, were staying away
from food and water, staying away
from moral vices and fastingfrom
anything other than God.
"There are people in this coun-
try, not just outside of this coun-
try, who are in need, and so the
ancient religion of God in differ-
ent manifestations encourages us
to give to other people," Safi said.
LSA sophomore Sarah Khan,
MSA's on-site chair, said Fast-a-
Thon is usually held during a day
Friday, December 6, 2013 - 3
school's campus.
"It's been one of the most
popular restaurants on campus,"
Higer said. "Imagine your typi-
cal burrito place, but with any-
thing you want in it."
as burritos, so there was a lot of
backup," Wellner said.
Despite the stiff competition,
Cheng said he plans to open other
Tamaki locations in the Ann
Arbor area in the future.
in Ramadan, but since that holi-
day took place over summer this
year, the Fast-a-Thon was held
this month.
At the end of the event, partici-
pants broke their fast by eating a
date, a nutritious fruit custom-
arily eaten during Ramadan.
Afterward, they ate a free dinner
offered by MSA.
Nursing sophomore Heather
Raymond had planned for weeks
to attend the Fast-a-Thon, she
said after Safi's speech while
other participants prayed.
"I fasted for understanding,"
Raymond said.
Yemen's Defense Ministry
attacked by militant group
U.S. military vows
protection and
voices support for
political allies
ADEN, Yemen (AP) - Mili-
tants stormed the Defense Min-
istry in the heart of Yemen's
capital Thursday, killing 52
people, including at least seven
foreigners, in a suicide car bomb-
ing and assault by gunmen. The
brazen, al-Qaida-style attack fol-
lows a rise in U.S. drone strikes
in this key American ally in the
Middle East.
The two-stage operation came
as the defense minister was in
Washington for talks. The U.S.
military increased its regional
alert status after the attack and
is "fully prepared to support our
Yemeni partners," a senior U.S.
defense official said.
At least 167 people were
wounded, nine seriously, in the
bombing and fierce firefight,
which underscored the ability of
insurgents to take advantage of
Yemen's instability and tenuous
security - even at the headquar-
ters of its military.
Amongthe dead atthe Defense
Ministry complex, which also
houses a military hospital, were
soldiers and civilians, includ-
ing seven foreigners - two aid
workers from Germany, two doc-
tors from Vietnam, two nurses
from the Philippines and a nurse
from India, accordingto Yemen's
Supreme Security Commission,
which issued the casualty fig-
ures. Among the Yemeni civil-
ians killed were a doctor and a
senior judge, it said.
There was no immediate claim
of responsibility for the attack,
the deadliest in Sanaa since May
2012. Such suicide bombings and
complex attacks are the hall-
marks of al-Qaida.
The U.S. considers Yemen's al-
Qaida branch, known as al-Qaida
in the Arabian Peninsula, to be
the most active in the world. In
recent months, Washington has
sharply escalated drone attacks
against the militants in the
impoverished nation. U.S. forces
also have been training and arm-
ing Yemeni special forces, and
exchanging intelligence with the
central government.
The terrorist network gained
a major foothold in the south,
taking over several towns in
the chaos that followed the 2011
uprising that ousted longtime
President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The drone strikes and a series of
U.S.-backed military offensives
helped uproot several key mili-
tant strongholds, but al-Qaida
continues to fight back.
Al-Qaida's Yemen branch
is linked to the foiled plot on
Christmas 2009 in which a pas-
senger on a Detroit-bound plane
allegedly tried to detonate explo-
sives in his underwear, as well as
explosives-laden parcels inter-
cepted on cargo flights a year
later.
Defense Minister Mohammed
Nasser Ahmed was in Washing-
ton for consultations with U.S.
officials, part of a "strategic dia-
logue" to aid Yemen's political
transition and security coopera-
tion.
Thursday's attacks "will not
deter the security forces, the
armed forces and the honorable
sons of the nation from carry-
ing out their religious and patri-
otic duty in the face of terrorists
wherever they may be," said the
statement by the Supreme Secu-
rity Commission. It is led by
President Abed Rabbo Mansour
Hadi, who succeeded Saleh, and
includes the country's top mili-
tary and intelligence officials.
The senior U.S. defense offi-
cial said the U.S. military "has
increased its regional alert status
following the terrorist attack on
the Yemeni Republic Ministry of
Defense."
"The United States military
is fully prepared to support our
Yemeni partners in the wake of
this incident," added the official,
who was not authorized to speak
publicly about the matter and
requested anonymity.
The U.S. State Department
condemned the attack.
"We stand with Yemen against
this violence and remain firmly
committed to supporting the
Yemeni people," said a statement
from the State Department's
deputy spokeswoman, Marie
Harf.
Sam Wilkin, a Dubai-based
Middle East analyst for the Con-
trol Risks consulting firm, said
the attack displayed the ability of
the militants to move explosives
and armed fighters to a part of
the capital that should be heavily
protected.
"It suggests al-Qaida's current
strategy is to degrade the capa-
bilities of the security forces and
demoralize them to the extent
they're no longer able to control
certain areas of the country," he
said.
At that point, "al-Qaida will
probably try to fill that vacuum
and effectively take control of
certain areas," Wilkin added.
Although al-Qaida militants
are concentered in the south-
ern and eastern parts of Yemen,
they occasionally strike in the
capital. In May 2012, a suicide
bombing near the presidential
palace in Sanaa killed 93 army
conscripts.
Production location
for the 777X jetliner
tobe decided
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
(AP) - With Boeing the king
of U.S. aircraft manufacturing,
more than a dozen states are
groveling before the throne for
a share of the riches to be made
from the next-generation 777
jetliner.
From coast to coast, states
are rushing to impress Boeing
with lavish incentive pack-
ages that offer property, labor
deals and billions of dollars
in tax breaks. All this in the
hopes that the aerospace giant
will select them to assemble
the new 777X - or at least give
them a wing to construct.
The competition under-
scores Boeing's commanding
bargaining position in an econ-
omy where top-notch manu-
facturing jobs remain scarce
and elected officials feel obli-
gated to pursue every growth
opportunity, no matter how
improbable.
"We have gotten a tremen-
dous response, and it's obvi-
ously created a lot of interest
and alot of excitement," Boeing
spokesman Doug Alder said.
The contest unfolded in a
mere matter of weeks after a
machinists' union in Wash-
ington state rejected Boeing's
proposed contract for the 777X
because it would have replaced
their traditional pension with
a defined-contribution savings
plan.
The Chicago-based compa-
ny said it would look elsewhere
and gave states until Tuesday
to submit proposals. Winners
will be announced early next
year.
The Boeing buzz has been
loudest in Missouri, where
Gov. Jay Nixon immediately
convened a special legislative
session to approve an incen-
tive package valued at up to
$1.7 billion over more than two
decades. The plan passed the
Senate with bipartisan sup-
port Wednesday and could win
final approval in the House on
Friday. Boeing never even had
to send a lobbyist to talk to a
lawmaker.
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt,
a Republican hoping to entice
Boeing to expand in his home-
town of St. Louis, called the
package "a transformational
opportunity."
Other states are keeping the
details of their offers out of the
public spotlight - and away
from the inquisitive eyes of
their rivals- by crafting them
through administrative agen-
cies shielded by non-disclosure
laws.
Last year, Alabama lured
Boeing's biggest world-
wide rival, Airbus, to build a
$600 million assembly plant
in Mobile by offering tax
breaks and $158 million for
bond expenses, site and road
improvements, building costs
and worker training.
This time, Gov. Robert Bent-
ley is stressing more than just
financial incentives. He's tap-
ping into Boeing's recent union
frustrations by highlight-
ing that Alabama is a "right-
to-work" state, where union
fees cannot be a condition of
employment.
Bentley said Boeing officials
told him that Alabama was
their first state to visit after
the union deal fell through. But
other states also have reason to
hope.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said
Boeing leaders reached out
to him, too. Utah officials are
emphasizing that they have
the youngest workforce in the
U.S., as well as right-to-work
rules. And it doesn't hurt that
Boeing is already set to open an
850,000-square foot factory in
a Salt Lake City suburb to make
tail parts for a different model
of plane.
Other states in the hunt -
including Kansas, North and
South Carolina and Texas -
are banking on right-to-work
laws of their own.
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