The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News & Arts Tuesday, March 17, 2015 — 7 JEFF ROBERSON/AP St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch, left, speaks during a news conference as St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar listens Sunday, March 15, 2015, in Clayton, Mo. McCulloch said 20-year-old Jeffrey Williams has been charged in the shooting of two St. Louis-area officers. Ferguson prosecutors prepare to try police shooting suspect DON RYANY/AP Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signs an automatic voter registration bill, Monday, March 16 in Salem, Ore. Oregon adopts automatic voter registration system Williams declines to make statement during trial briefing CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — The man accused of shooting two police officers last week in Fer- guson appeared in court Mon- day, a day after his arrest on charges that he fired on the men during a late-night protest. Williams, 20, did not make any statements during the brief hear- ing. St. Louis television station KTVI said a judge read the charg- es — felony assault, armed crimi- nal action and a weapons offense — and gave Williams a list of pos- sible private attorneys. His next appearance was set for March 31. Williams is accused of shooting the two officers Thursday outside Ferguson’s police station, which has been the scene of protests since last summer’s fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Williams told investigators he was not targeting law enforce- ment and had been aiming instead at someone with whom he was in dispute, authorities said. “We’re not sure we com- pletely buy that part of it,” St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch said. Williams used a handgun that matches the shell casings at the scene, McCulloch said. He was being held on $300,000 bond. Ferguson activist Derrick Rob- inson said Sunday that Williams told him during a jail visit that he had been robbed earlier on the day of the shooting and returned to the protest zone to retaliate. On Monday, Robinson referred inquiries to Wiliams’ lawyer, who did not immediately respond to an interview request. The shooting happened as a demonstration outside the police department began to break up. The protest followed the resignation of city Police Chief Tom Jackson in the wake of a Justice Department report that found widespread racial bias in the city’s police practices. Protesters did not recognize Williams as one of their own, and he was not well known among neighbors. Brittany Ferrell, 26, a protest leader with the group Millen- nial Activists United, said no one in her group knew Williams, and they checked with other frequent protesters, who also had not heard of him. John Gaskin, a St. Louis NAACP leader, said of Williams, “I don’t know him. I’ve never seen him.” On Monday, no one answered the door of the north St Louis County home Williams listed as his address on court records, and several neighbors said Mon- day they did not know him. The home is about 5 miles northeast of the police department. According to 2014 county court records, Williams lived in the nearby community of Jen- nings, parts of which border Ferguson. But no one answered the door at that home either. Online state court records show a man by the name of Jef- frey Williams at the address police provided Sunday was charged in 2013 with receiving stolen property and fraudulent use of a credit/debit device. New protocol aims to broaden participation SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Seven- teen years after Oregon decided to become the first state to hold all elections with mail-in ballots, it took another pioneering step on Monday to broaden participa- tion by automatically registering people to vote. Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill that puts the burden of registra- tion on the state instead of voters. Under the legislation, every adult citizen in Oregon who has interacted with the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division since 2013 but hasn’t registered to vote will receive a ballot in the mail at least 20 days before the next statewide election. The measure is expected to add about 300,000 new voters to the rolls. “It just changes expectations for who’s responsible for mak- ing elections work,” said Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wis- consin in Madison and director of the Elections Research Cen- ter. “In every other state it’s the responsibility for the voters to make sure it happens.” Some other states have consid- ered such legislation but none has gone as far as Oregon. Minnesota nearly implement- ed automatic voter registration in 2009 before the plan was vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who said “registering to vote should be a voluntary, intentional act.” Similar concerns were raised by Oregon’s minority Republi- cans. “Simply because it makes us unique or makes us first does not necessarily mean that it actually improves on what we’re doing,” said state Sen. Jackie Winters, a Republican from Salem. Oregon Republicans also voiced worry about potential voter fraud, the cost of imple- menting the measure, and wheth- er the DMV can ensure personal information remains secure. Information the DMV has on file, such as age, residential infor- mation, signature and citizenship status, will be transferred to the secretary of state, who will then automatically update registration information. When it came up for a vote in the state Senate last week, all Republicans and one Democrat voted against it. The Democrats hold a 18-12 advantage in the Sen- ate so the bill easily passed. State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, a Portland Democrat who carried the bill in the Senate, said there were rumblings the measure was a “secret plot” to enroll more Democrats. But she denied that was true. Oregon already has one of the highest voter registration rates in the nation — 73 percent of Orego- nians were registered to vote and 70 percent of them cast ballots during the 2014 general election. Tony Green, spokesman for the secretary of state, said the legislation is expected to even- tually capture all unregistered voters who are in the DMV data- base after taking actions such as obtaining or renewing a driver’s license. Two years ago, when the mea- sure was first proposed, Green said there were questions about whether the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division records were confidential under fed- eral law. The legislative coun- sel determined the secretary of state and the division could share information as long as it was for legitimate government purposes, he said. People eligible to vote will get a postcard saying they’ve been registered and have three weeks to opt out. They’ll be automatical- ly registered as unaffiliated but can select a political party from the postcard and return it to elec- tion officials through the mail. Automatic registration is not uncommon in other countries. Police reflect on moments leading to suspect’s arrest BOSTON (AP) — Three police officers on Monday described an onslaught of gunfire and bombs thrown during a violent confron- tation with the Boston Marathon bombers days after the deadly attack and one suspect’s furious escape in a stolen car that ended with him dragging his brother’s body through the street. The testimony by Watertown officers came hours after jurors in the federal death penalty trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to see the bullet-ridden boat he was found hiding in the evening of April 19, 2013. Earlier that day, shortly after midnight, one officer spot- ted a carjacked Mercedes SUV on a quiet residential street. That set off a frenzied clash in which Dzhokhar and his older brother, Tamerlan, hurled explosives at police, including two pipe bombs and one pres- sure-cooker bomb similar to those used near the marathon finish line that killed 3 people and injured more than 260 oth- ers, the officers testified. Joseph Reynolds, the first officer at the scene, said he “locked eyes” with the SUV driver, who was later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Reyn- olds said Tamerlan got out of the car and began firing at him. “All I could see was muzzle flashes,” he said. “I couldn’t count it. It was nonstop.” The shots continued as other officers began to arrive, Reyn- olds said. He saw a wick and a lighter and then watched as an object flew through the air, landed in the street and exploded, he said, shaking him to his knees. “I could feel all the debris landing on top of me,” he said. Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese said he cut through backyards to get closer to the bombers, and he eventually could see their feet illuminated by car headlights. He said he aimed at the ground near their feet in the hope that the bullets would ricochet into their ankles. But Tamerlan saw him and came charging up the street, firing at him, said Pugliese, who fired back. The two men came face to face, with only 6 to 8 feet sepa- rating them, Pugliese said. But Tamerlan had a problem with his pistol, the officer said. “He kind of looked at his gun. He looked at me. We looked at each other,” Pugliese said. “I think out of frustra- tion, he threw his gun at me.” Pugliese said Tamerlan began to run away, but he tack- led him. Tamerlan struggled as three officers tried to hand- cuff him, even though he was wounded and bleeding, Pug- liese said. That’s when they saw the sto- len car speeding toward them with Dzhokhar behind the wheel, Pugliese said. The officer stepped out of the witness box to demonstrate how he tried to pull Tamerlan out of the way and how he rolled over to get himself out of the car’s path. “The black SUV, it was right in my face,” he said. “I looked down, and I saw the front wheels were over Tamerlan.” Marina and the Diamonds mines new depth in ‘Froot’ Pop musician balances bubblegum and meaning in latest album By REGAN DETWILER For The Daily With the release of her third album, Froot, Welsh-born musician Marina and the Diamonds appears to have found her artistic center. Froot features bubblegum pop beats juxtaposed with lyr- ics steeped in meaning, ranging from intimate personal reflec- tion to dark social commentary. It’s impossible to take a good look at Froot without Marina’s previous two albums in mind. Marina first came into the spot- light with her 2010 debut album The Family Jewels, which fell somewhere along the lines of electronic indie-pop, being remi- niscent of Lily Allen or The Ting Tings. Branded as more personal by the alternative music press, the album secured her place as opener for Katy Perry on her Cal- ifornia Dreams Tour and Cold- play’s Mylo Xyloto Tour. Her 2012 album Electra Heart leans much more heavily toward pop. With tracks “How To Be A Heartbreaker,” “Bubblegum Bitch” and the popular “Prima- donna,” the album’s themes are centered in a ruthless depic- tion of American culture and especially its expectations for women. Without listening to the lyrics, Electra Heart might seem like an album filled with top-down convertible, feel good pop beats, but Marina’s highly intellectual and socially charged words create a differ- ent picture. Her second release definitely widened the artist’s audience with its pop sound, but also served to upset some of her original fans who liked what was perceived as her more per- sonal side. Interviews with the musician reveal that this is exactly what she’s about: she’s an artist whose work is highly personal, but is also created within a broader social and musical context – and she knows it. She explains Elec- tra Heart in an interview with music website The Line of Best Fit that “when I was projecting cynicism, or when I was being snarky or whatever, I was myself all the time.” She emphasizes her personal relationship with her music again in a 2013 Huffington Post interview, Marina said of her music, “I’ll always be present because I’m writing it.” The artist, who will turn 30 years old later this year, seems to have matured with Froot. After years of unhappiness and a lack of self-assuredness, her lat- est release opens with the song “Happy,” with peaceful, dreamy, yet still slightly melancholy mel- ody and lyrics of vulnerability and self-acceptance that com- municate, “So now you know, you know it all/That I’ve been desperately alone,” but that “I’ve found what I’ve been looking for in myself.” She lets listeners know right away that although she’s faced hardship and regret, she’s at peace. Without a dull moment, Marina picks things up straight away with the title track “Froot,” which appeals to her pop side with a fast, electronic and swinging beat. Its candy sweet, feel good sound is remi- niscent of some kind of hybrid of Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and ABBA’s catchy ’70s beats. Similarly, listeners won’t be able to keep their shoulders from swaying to subsequent tracks “Blue,” “I’m a Ruin” and “Can’t Pin Me Down.” These tracks are fun and upbeat but with an edge, “Blue” and “I’m a Ruin” being about bad relationship habits and “Can’t Pin Me Down” play- ing with some ideas about the American female archetype she explored in Electra Heart. While she does let her pop tendencies show with Froot, Marina doesn’t forget the explicitly personal and insightful musician she’s always been. Even her brightest, lightest songs have an underlying eeriness because of the electronic minor vocals she incorporates into the harmonies of all her songs. In addition, no matter how happy and light her melodies and beats may seem, Marina’s lyrics are always steeped in critical introspection or insightful social commentary. Directly appealing to her darker side are tracks “Solitaire” and “Weeds,” both covering deeply personal subject matter, using bass beats and dreamy electronic sounds in the background to create a heavier, more serious tone. “Solitaire” pairs sweet, twinkling, chime- like instrumentals and echoing vocals with lyrics describing the emptiness of consumerism and materialism, saying “I see people and cars covered in gold / And I’m happy to be on my own.” So many songs with weighty lyrics about bad habits, mistakes and a certain cynicism do seem a little unexpected in the context of the album’s opening track, “Happy.” It seems like this song should be at the end of the album, the conclusion to all of the inner turmoil expressed throughout the rest of the collection. Instead, Froot ends with “Immortal,” its dark sounds and lyrics dealing with issues of human life’s meaning in context of its brevity, making sure listeners know she’s not to be taken lightly as an artist and a mind. Froot is undoubtedly a step forward for Marina and the Dia- monds. She clearly has reached a level of self-acceptance as an individual and an artist with songs appealing to both pop elements and deeply personal elements, and not without the streak of intellectual social commentary that she’s become known for. People who aren’t yet Marina fans are sure to gain a newfound respect for her as an artist if they give this album a serious listen. A Froot Marina and the Diamonds Atlantic Records Officers testify in Boston trial ARTS