Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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EXTENDED FORECAST , w _ ' vJl\ A xiHr W JUtS www.dailveamecock.com ♦ TODAY ♦ TUESDAY ♦ WEDNESDAY ♦ THURSDAY ♦ FRIDAY ^ Look for these stories in Tuesday's online edition: THE MIX No Limits: Find more information I SPORTS Michael Finnegan previews the tennis ^ about the third annual FIRST LEGO League team’s match and Todd Green gives his opinion on High 52 High 50 High 53 High 52 High 53 tournament, to be held Saturday at the convention j the T.O. situation. Low 31 Low 28 Low 30 Low 31 Low 33 center. STATE Gang violence forum discusses prevention About 300 community and law enforcement leaders from across the state discussed ideas to prevent youth violence at a statewide gang summit. Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said he hoped the summit > would become an annual event. Icy weather across much of the state Saturday cut the summit short, and attendance was less than anticipated. Social Services limits child-care providers HILTON HEAD ISLAND — The state Department of Social Services wants to lower the number of children day-care employees can supervise. The agency’s plan would be phased in over four years so day-care owners would have time to prepare. The new rules must be approved by the General Assembly. A House committee is reviewing the rules. The regulations would reduce the number of children each day-care employee can watch. For example, one adult now can look after up to 10 2 year-olds. After the phase-in period, one adult could supervise only seven children. NATION Storm kills 2, leaves thousands in the cold ATLANTA — More than 230,000 customers had no electricity Sunday in Georgia while crews worked to repair power lines snapped by an ice storm, and the city’s airport reopened all its runways as temperatures rose above freezing. Twfo traffic deaths in Georgia and one in South Carolina were blamed on the storm that spread sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Southeast on Saturday. By Sunday, all four runways at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were operational again. About 300 stranded airline passengers spent the night at the airport because their flights were canceled. U.S. officials unable to track Iraq funding WASHINGTON — The U.S. occupation authority in Iraq was unable to keep track of nearly $9 billion it transferred to government ministries, which lacked financial controls, security, communications and adequate staff, an inspector general has found. The U.S. officials relied on Iraqi audit agencies to account for the funds but those offices were not even functioning when the funds were transferred between October 2003 and June 2004; according to an audit by a special U.S. inspector general. The findings were released Sunday by Stuart Bowen Jr., special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. WORLD Palestinians prepare for Israeli withdrawal RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian police commanders began preparations Sunday to take control of four West Bank towns by midweek, after top Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed on a security plan for the West Bank. If the calm holds, Israel promises to move all its troops back to positions they held before the latest Palestinian uprising began in September 2000, turning the populated areas of the West Bank back to Palestinian control and making a major step toward resuming peace talks. Cease-fire hope ends amid tsunami burials BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Workers buried more tsunami victims in Aceh province Sunday as a premature end to cease-fire talks between the Indonesian government and separatist rebels dampened hopes for a quick resolution to a 30-year-old conflict in the devastated province. Five weeks after the tsunami disaster, the government said nearly 5.000 dead were found over the past week in Aceh, increasing the death toll to between 150,000 and 178,000 across 11 nations.. Some 26,500 to 142.000 are missing, most of whom are presumed dead. BRIEFS FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Selection I 'l jury trial SANTA MARIA, Calif. — The child molestation case against Michael Jackson is finally ready for a trial that promises to be like no other. Jury selection begins Monday, with Jackson expected to appear, in a case that has become a symbol of the American obsession with celebrity. Early Sunday, Jackson issued a court-approved video statement on his Web site, calling recent media leaks in the case “disgusting and false” and predicting he would be acquitted. “Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court,” Jackson said, looking directly into the camera. “I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.” The uphill task of finding jurors who haven’t prejudged the case is a mere prelude to a courtroom contest that will include testimony from the boy who accuses the pop icon of molesting him. On the defense side of court sits a glittering superstar who appears in makeup and theatrical outfits and has millions of fans worldwide who don’t believe he could be a pedophile. Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting the cancer patient, then age 13, now 15, after plying him with alcohol. On the prosecution side is STEPHEN OSMAN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Michael Jackson speaks at a news conference after his arraignment at the Santa Maria, Calif., courthouse, April 30, 2004. Jackson on Sunday condemned recent media leaks in his child molestation case as “disgusting and false,” predicting on the eve of his trial that he would be acquitted. Jackson’s longtime nemesis, a balding, mustachioed Santa Barbara County district attorney. For more than a decade Tom Sneddon has pursued Jackson and what happens at his Neverland Ranch. Jackson has derided him in song as a “cold man” with a vendetta and likened the case to persecution. The referee is Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, 63, a veteran of the bench who has refused to tolerate tardiness or even, in one case, a bathroom break for the defendant. At the final pretrial hearing Friday, Melville made it clear that a gag order stands and he won’t abide lawyers attacking each other. “I expect and know that you will, mid id hi mane mem aware I m / that there is another use at 3> / Ik Isf the library that is more than just about books. Even today ^ "*■* the people are using the 7« / <-y t library for professional Monday, January 31,200) reasons.” DAN BARRON " “ use COLLEGE OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES RESEARCHER. ON TH^LIBRARY all, on both sides, carry the burden of showing the world what a fine system we have,” Melville said. From the start Melville has tried to clamp an extraordinary lid of secrecy on information. His decisions to withhold many documents, and heavily edit those he does release, have triggered protests from the news media, whose lawyers assert Melville is violating First Amendment guarantees of public access to court information. As jury selection neared, competition for a scoop undermined Melville’s efforts. The 1,900-page transcript of the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury that indicted Jackson was leaked this month to thesmokinggun.com and ABC News. Unlike the O.J. Simpson trial, cameras have been forbidden in the courtroom, but E! Entertainment Television plans to use actors to create daily re-enactments. Family drama wins top Sundance prize The family drama “Forty Shades of Blue,” centering on a modern Oedipal triangle involving a music producer, a Russian wife half his age and his son, won top dramatic honors at the Sundance Film Festival. “Why We Fight,” examining the chronically militant stance of the United States over the last half century, took Sundance’s grand jury prize for documentaries. Awards were presented Saturday, with top winners screening one last time on Sunday as the 11-day independent-filrfi showcase ended in Park City, Utah. Directed and co-written by Ira Sachs, “Forty Shades of Blue” stars Rip Torn as the aging husband, Dina Korzun as his Russian bride and Darren Burrows as the estranged son whose visit hurls their lives into turmoil. “Why We Fight” was directed by Eugene Jarecki, brother of Andrew Jarecki, whose “Capturing the Friedmans” won the Sundance documentary prize in 2003. The audience award for dramatic films, chosen in voting by Sundance film-goers, went to “Hustle & Flow,” the tale of a two-bit pimp and drug-dealer (Terrence Howard) who enlists an odd assortment of allies in a bid to break into the hip hop music scene. Written and directed by Craig Brewer, “Hustle & Flow” was produced by John Singleton. Sundance movie-goers chose directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Murdefball,” a portrait of the competitive spirit of wheelchair bound athletes, as the audience award winner for documentaries. Filmmaker Zeze Gamboa’s “The Hero,” set in the aftermath of decades of civil war in Angola, earned the grand jury prize among world-cinema dramatic contenders. “Shape of the Moon,” Dutch director Leonard Retel Helmrich’s portrait of a Christian family in Muslim-dominated Indonesia, took top honors in the world-cinema documentary category. Danish director Susanne Bier’s “Brothers,” about two siblings whose lives are drastically altered when one is deployed on a United Nations mission to Afghanistan, received the world-cinema audience honor. Canada’s “Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire” won the audience award for world-cinema documentary. Directed by Peter Raymont, the film centers on the Canadian military man who had to stand by helplessly during the Rwandan genocide because the token U.N. force he led was too small to intervene. Special jury prizes for acting were given to Amy Adams, who plays a childlike Southern waif captivated by h$r worldly new sister-in-law from up north in “Junebug,” and to Lou Pucci as a teenager whose oral fixation for his thumb causes a ruckus among his family in “Thumbsucker.” Russian president praises Coppola MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the works of director Francis Ford Coppola as the two met for tea at the Kremlin before Coppola received a film award. “In Russia your works are well known and highly valued,” Putin told Coppola during a televised portion of the meeting Saturday. He said he was not just referring to “The Godfather” which is extremely popular in Russia — but also to films “that so accurately tell of the horrors of war.” Coppola, in turn, lauded Putin’s speech marking the 60 th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops, during which Putin said he was ashamed of anti-Semitism’s existence in Russia. “Excellent speech,” Coppola said. “But in person you look much younger than you did on TV.” Coppola was in Moscow to receive a Golden Eagle award from Russia’s National Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences for his contribution to world cinematography. Coppola gave Putin a DVD of “Lost in Translation,” for which his daughter, Sofia Coppola, won an Oscar for best original screenplay in 2004. Coppola told Putin that both he and his daughter had won their first Oscar at age 32, and the Russian president responded, “Now your granddaughter must do it.” Rodman resolves copyright dispute NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Former NBA star Dennis Rodman said he has resolved a dispute with an industry group that accused him of using copyrighted music without permission at his California restaurant. Rodman has agreed to pay licensing fees back to 2002 and has signed a new agreement with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, his publicist, Shannon Barr, told the Los Angeles Times for Saturday’s editions. Rodman said he was unhappy about the ASCAP’s rule that commercial establishments must pay fees for the use of any of its eight million copyrighted songs and compositions performed live, played on jukeboxes or piped in from radio stations. COMING UP@USC TODAY Langston Hughes Tribute — An evening of jazz and poetry celebrations: 8 p.m. Capstone LAST DAY TO APPLY FOR MAY GRADUATION TUESDAY Printmaking Workshop: 11:30 a.m.-l p.m. McKissick Museum WEDNESDAY Men’s Basketball vs. Arkansas: 7:30 p.m. Colonial Center THURSDAY Alley Brunson Junior Vocal Recital: 4 p.m. School of Music Recital Hall “Nucleons at High Momentum Transfers”: 4 p.m. Jones Physical Science Center 409 FRIDAY “The Merry Wives of Windsor": 7:30 p.m. Keenan High School USC BRIEFS Theater to show Kushner drama USC’s Theatre South Carolina will present Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner’s “The Illusion,” directed by USC alumnus Tyler Marchant, Friday through Feb. 13 at Drayton Hall. The plot follows a father’s quest for news of his son. He consults a sorcerer, who conjures three episodes from the young man’s life. Student tickets are $10. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at Longstreet Theatre. McKissick offers printmaking class The McKissick Museum invites students to create their own works of art on Tuesdays and Thursdays through March 17 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The opportunity is offered in conjunction with the exhibition “Off the Stage & Onto the Wall: The Evolution of a Ballet.” The exhibition features screen prints produced by USC art students. Opera to perform ‘Merry Wives’ Opera at USC will perform Otto Nicolai’s comedic adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” Friday and Sunday. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Keenan Theatre on Pinebelt Road in Columbia. Student tickets are $5. HORSIN’AROUND KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Cocky mounts a horse from the equestrian team during its display in front of the Colonial Center last week at the Vanderbilt basketball game. POLICE REPORT Each number on the map stands for a crime corresponding with numbered descriptions in the list below. DAY CRIMES (6 a.m.-6 p.m.) □ Violent O Nonviolent NIGHT CRIMES (6 p.m.-6 a.m.) ■ Violent # Nonviolent CRIMES AT UNKNOWN HOURS B Violent 0 Nonviolent Reports taken from the USC Police Department. * ? JAN. 22 QLarceny of Bicycle, Coker Life Sciences Building, 715 Sumter St. The complaint said someone removed a Trek bicycle. The rear tire was flat. The location where the bike was stored was secured, and there were no signs of forced entry. Reporting officer: A. Mitchell. JAN. 23 ^ Malicious Injury to Personal Property, Blossom Street Garage, 1300 Blossom St. The victim’s vehicle sustained damage to the passenger-side window. The windshield was shattered. Nothing appeared to be missing from the vehicle. Estimated damage: $200. Reporting officer: G. Kerwin. JAN. 24 ©Illegal use of telephone, Rutledge Chapel, 902 Sumter St. The victim said someone has called her office multiple times. Each time she answers the phone there is no answer I and the person hangs up. The victim 5 said this happens three to five times a day. r Reporting officer: A. Mitchell. t l ©Auto Break-in, Petit Larceny, Blossom Street Garage, 1300 Blossom St. The victim said someone entered his vehicle by breaking out the passenger- ( side rear wing window. There was F approximately $500 damage. Once S inside, the subjects removed a radio worth about $400, and 10 CDs worth e about $150. There were no signs of $ fingerprints reported by reporting 3 officer M.P. Weiss. r J ©Malicious Injury to Real Property, c Carolina Gardens, 101 Pickens St. c The complaint said someone broke c the right rear door window of the I victim’s vehicle. Estimated damage: r $200. Reporting officer: J.M. Simmons. AN. 25 ) Larceny of Fog Lamp, 600 Park treet The complaint said someone :moved a fog lamp that was attached j the front of the victim’s vehicle. The rand and model is unknown. Reporting officer: J.M. Simmons. AN. 28 I Malicious Injury to Personal roperty, 1112 Greene St., USC chool of Law The complainant said someone ntered an unlocked area and caused 200 damage to a Star ATM machine, 200 damage to two Pepsi vending lachines and $100 damage to an quafina vending machine. Reporting fficer J. Wittifield observed a 12-inch rowbar on a chair in this area. The rowbar was placed into evidence, ivestigator Snyder was notified and rsponded.