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/ 4 1 « * CAROLINA © BRIEF Economic researchers headline conference USC’s 25th annual Economic Outlook Conference will be held today at the ' Marriott Columbia City Center. William C. Harris is the keynote speaker. The conference will feature USC research economists Donald Schunk and Doug Woodward and their outlook for S.C.’s economy in 2006, along with busirifcss leaders and economic experts discussing the state’s economy. THIS WEEK © USC TODAY English horn master class with Atlanta Symphony’s Pat ■ McFarland: 12:15 p.m. School of Music 206 Ian Jeffress doctoral saxophone recital: 4 p.m. School of Music 206 Edwards trombone studio recital: 7:30 p.m. School of Music 206 TUESDAY Roger Keane senior tuba recital: 4:30 p.m. School of Music 206 N.C. mans fossil finds putting state in limelight The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — Vince Schneider, self-taught fossil hunter and paleontology curator at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, has pulled hundreds of rare fossils from the clay basins of central North Carolina. Bone by bone, Schneider’s work is making North Carolina a mandatory stop for scientists trying to unlock secrets from a very distant past. “What he is finding, in a word, is extraordinary,” said Hans-Dieter Sues, collections director at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. “A lot of the animals he is finding we didn’t • • k. T I 1 * KJ1UW WCIC 111 l^UlLll VxllUlllltl, or we didn’t know them at all.” Schneider’s finds from Durham, Chatham, Lee and Anson counties are said to be 220 million years old, They date back the Triassic Period, a geologic era that is said to predate the days when dinosaurs ruled Earth. Most of them come from reptiles that, while strangers to most people, are considered early relatives to all animals living today. Triassic soils are abundant in central North Carolina in a string of basins, known as red beds, that cut through the Triangle and continue south. Few traces of the Triassic survive, especially in eastern North America, which means anything Schneider finds could be valuable. On THE WEB © WWW.DAILYGAMEC0CK.COM Read online five days a week. Smashing. Weather Forecast TODAY THU—plHHj t High 63 High 60 High 58 Low 05 Low 31 Low 33 No HOOP FOR YOU _ w ....;~ 13S IP? IS 88S8®** IMXidF/d ;>■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Juan Bias/THE GAMECOCK Rocky Trice, right, defends against a Toledo player during Sunday’s game. USC won 83-75. State ‘Microquake’ rumbles outside Summerville SUMMERVILLE — The U.S. Geological Survey reported a “microquake” Saturday afternoon near Summerville. The minor earthquake occurred at 3:59 p.m. about 1 mile from Summerville, according to the agency’s Web site. John Bellini, a geophysicist with the survey’s National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., said it was so small, seismologists were having a hard time determining its magnitude and depth. He estimated the magnitude at 2.4 on the Richter scale. “It was a very small microquake," Bellini said. “It was barely large enough for people to feel it at all." Summerville police said no injuries were reported. Nation Tropical Storm Gamma could threaten Florida MIAMI — Tropical Storm Gamma blew along the coasts of Belize and Honduras on •Saturday as it threatened to turn onto a path that could threaten South Florida this coming week. The storm already had caused flooding and landslides in Honduras that killed at least two people and prompted the government to evacuate hundreds from coastal towns. Gamma, the 24th storm of the busiest hurricane season on record, had top sustained wind near 45 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in Miami. Gamma was expected to turn toward the north and east on Sunday, sending it across the northeastern Caribbean and toward western Cuba. Gamma could cross Cuba and approach the Florida Keys island chain on Monday. World Eight terror suspects killed by U.S. forces BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu* Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead. In Washington, a U.S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed was unknown. Asked if they could include al Zarqawi, the official replied: “There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed." American soldiers maintained control of the site, imposing extraordinary security measures, a day after a fierce gunbatde that broke out when Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers surrounded a house after reports that al-Qaida in Iraq members were inside. mcDoniiLD • connnuED FROm I « the Association of African American Students, has made plenty of friends at USC since he started here in spring 2005, but stays in touch with some of the soldiers he fought alongside. He said they are “a lot easier to talk to ... because they’ve been through what I’ve been through — they can relate to my experiences,” unlike many of his classmates. During his next deployment, during which McDonald expects to spend about seven months in Iraq, he will likely meet a new set of soldiers to keep in touch with, as he faces new challenges in the landscape of a rapidly changing country. During his previous deployment, McDonalds company controlled an airfield but also got “passed out” to do convoy security and guard duty. “Out there it didn’t really matter what your job was. It mattered what needed to be done,” he said, noting that he did some work that he wasn’t technically qualified to do. Much of the military efforts in Iraq are focused on establishing a democratic government instead of overthrowing a dictatorship, and many of the Iraqi people are now friendlier to the American soldiers. Terrorists still exist in Iraq, where suicide bombings are a frequent occurrence. McDonald doesn’t know where he will be stationed in Iraq or what he’ll be doing, but he said that he doesn’t mind. “I don’t diink in specifics of why we’re over there,” he said. “It’s more about serving my country than anything.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockneuts@givm.sc. edu POLICE REPORT THURSDAY, NOV. 17 Vandalism, malicious injury to realproperty, 7 a.m. Practice Field, 1000 George Rogers Blvd. Someone sprayed orange paint on the practice fields. Reporting ojjicer: D. Davis Larceny of rings, 2:39 p.m. Patterson Hal!, 1520 Devine St. The victim reported that between Oct. 28 and Nov. 2, someone removed two rings, one gold with diamonds and a silver-and-gold one with a blue stone, from her room. Reporting officer: M.A. Winnington PRIRIL • COflTtflUGD PRQm I some cleavage and wear shorter skirts for the amusement of the horny old Legislature over there,” Ariail said. “I drew a cartoon of a page wearing a burka with a tag that said ‘page.’” An anti-defamation league for Muslims saw the cartoon and said he didn’t understand their culture and was making fun of their women. “My reaction to what happened was that it didn’t have anything to do with any of that,” Ariail said. “The point of the cartoon was to show the outfit that covers the most skin than any other outfit in the world. They didn’t want to hear that and they started some e-mail campaign, and I was getting calls from all over the place like Indonesia and other Muslim countries. That’s just part of the job. It ebbs and flows.” Ariail depicted the controversy on the cover of his most recent “Ariail!!!,” a book of his cartoons. “My first idea was to draw myself running from a bunch of Muslims, women in burkas, but my editor said I should draw it with everyone pissed off and chasing after me and that’s what I did,” Ariail said. “I just have everyone on it running after me.” His third book was one of Columbia’s bestselling books in 2001. And while he realizes it was easy for him to begin his career as a cartoonist, he knows it isn’t and will not be that easy for everyone. “Right now, there are less political cartoonists than when I started 20 years ago by probably half,” Ariail said. “Papers just don’t have cartoonists anymore. A lot of papers have chosen not to have them because their cartoonist has died or moved somewhere else and they just don’t rehire. Occasionally a paper that didn’t have a cartoonist before will hire one, generally smaller papers. It’s tough to break into.” Experience, talent and tenacity are what will help open the door to prospective cartoonists, Ariail said. “It is best to get a feel for the job by working for a paper while you’re in school,” Ariail said. “Generally you can get on a paper and be a cartoonist if you offer to do it and you have some talent at it. You have to be very tenacious. You have to knock on a lot of doors. In most cases you would probably have to work for the paper in other capacities in order to get your stuff published. Once you get your foot in the door, then you can be a full time cartoonist once you prove yourself.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gum.sc.edu PROTEST • CODTIIHIED PROU11 country, taking part in the two-day rally that ended Sunday night. Cutright, a third-year English student, said speakers took turns Saturday recalling encounters with terrorism in Central America. “Most of them were uplifting stories about how they brought their torturers to trial,” Cutright said. On Sunday, the women participated in a mock funeral procession to the triple fences surrounding the fort. The crowd was estimated at 15,000. Many carried flowers and crosses bearing the names of people killed in Central America. “Everyone was carrying crosses and they stuck them in the fence as they walked by,” said Jenkins, a third-year baccalaureate student. “There were thousands of white crosses by the end.” Lohman, a third-year exercise science and Spanish student, said the community of Columbus has grown to expect the annual protest, now in it’s 16th year. “People were (at the march site) with tables of food. They were charging pretty reasonable prices. There also was a parking lot roped off (for incoming protesters’ vehicles) that you had to pay for,” Lohman said. “We camped out. There’s a few camping grounds about 15, 20 minutes away so we camped with other people who . were going to the protest,”® Cutright said. Lohman said she learned about the protest a few years ago through the Carolina Peace Resource Center, who also sent some members to the rally Sunday. Jenkins is trying to make such activism part of her post collegiate future. “I’m interested in making human rights my career, possibly as a human rights attorney,” Jenkins said, “We knew some people who went last year, so we did some research on it and learned about the School. I think anyone who understands the situation could sympathize with (the oppressed). ” The three women travelled with two Colombian students from Benedict College. Earlier this year, eight members of a Colombian peace organization were killed, and witnesses claim that a military brigade commanded by a School of the Americas graduate was at the scene around the time of the killings. “It was really cool to be a part of something so big. It was sad but energizing at the same time,” Jenkins said. “It was very moving, very solemn,” Lohman said. “There was a very hopeful attitude. I think the most important thing was that you took a moment and reflected on hope for the future.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecock news@gwm. sc. edu I