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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2005)
Today Friday Saturday High: 54 High: 51 High: 51 Low: 39 Low: 39 Low: 35 Precip: 20% Precip: 30% Precip: 30% Student Senate elects new vice president The Student Senate elected Sena tor Eden Cortez as the new Senate vice president by secret ballot during a brief session Wednesday night. Cortez, who holds Programs Fi nance Committee Seat 1, replaces former Senator Colin Andries as the vice president. Senators also unanimously ap proved four students for the ASUO Elections Board, which will oversee student government elections this spring. The Senate released $75 for the eighth-annual Sustainable Business Symposium, which will be held March 30 through April 2 at the Lillis Business Complex. It also approved $61 for the Women’s Law Forum to host Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy at a brown bag luncheon Feb. 2. ASUO Vice President Mena Ravassipour announced during the meeting that EMU Board of Directors member Brandon Rhodes has started a petition to fully fund the EMU master plan for renovation by 2010. She said the renovation would add as much as 50,000 sq. ft. to the aging building. Copies of the petition are available in the ASUO office. The Senate currently has $36,770 in surplus funds. — Parker Howell i Israelis, Palestinians make progress toward peace JERUSALEM — Israeli and Palestin ian negotiators achieved significant progress Wednesday toward ending vi olence and resuming peace talks, com pleting a plan for deploying Palestinian forces in the southern Gaza Strip and aiming for a summit within two weeks between the leaders. New violence, however, under scored the fragility of the new momen tum for peace. A Palestinian preschool er in southern Gaza was killed by Israeli gunfire after militants fired a rocket at Israel. Israeli troops shot a Palestinian militant to death and wounded two others in a West Bank arrest raid. About 100 Jewish settlers disrupted a meeting between Israeli and Palestin ian commanders in southern Gaza, throwing stones and slashing tires of participants’ vehicles. None of this appeared to spoil a new flurry of peace moves following the Nov. 11 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Rice wins confirmation after heated debate on war WASHINGTON, D.C. — Condoleez za Rice won confirmation as secretary of state Wednesday despite blistering criticism from Senate Democrats who accused her of misleading statements and said she must share the blame for mistakes and war deaths in Iraq. The tally, though one-sided at 85-13, was still the largest “no” vote against any secretary of state nomi nee since 1825. Separately, a Senate committee vot ed to send Alberto Gonzales’ attorney general nomination to the full Senate. Jim Nicholson and Michael Leavitt won confirmation as the new secre taries of veterans affairs and health and human services respectively. — The Associated Press Train wreck leaves 10 dead, more than 180 injured Two commuter trains collide Wednesday morning near Los Angeles after a man parks his SUV on the tracks BY TIM MOLLOY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GLENDALE, Calif. — A suicidal man parked his SUV on the rail road tracks and set off a crash of two commuter trains Wednesday that hurled passengers down the aisles and turned rail cars into smoking, twisted heaps of steel, authorities said. At least 10 people were killed and more than 180 in jured in the nation’s deadliest train accident in nearly six years The SUV driver got out at the last moment and survived. The collision took place just be fore daybreak on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Employees at a Cost co store rushed to the scene and pulled riders from the tipped-over double-deck cars before the flames reached them. “1 heard a noise. It got louder and louder,” said passenger Diane Brady, 56. “And next thing I knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half... It was a complete nightmare.” Dozens of the injured were in criti cal condition, and more than 120 peo ple were sent to hospitals. Killed were one woman and nine men. Before his rescue, one trapped man apparently used his own blood to write a note on a seat bot tom. Using the heart symbol, he wrote “I love my kids” and “I love Leslie.” The man’s identity was not known, but Los Angeles Fire De partment spokesman Rex Vilaubi said the man was alive when he was removed. The wreck set in motion a huge rescue operation involving more than 300 firefighters, some of whom climbed ladders to reach the windows of the battered train cars. A triage center was set up in a parking lot, where the injured lay sprawled on color-coded mats — red for those with severe injuries, green for those less seriously hurt. Authorities said Juan Manuel Al varez, 25, of Compton, parked his Jeep Grand Cherokee on the tracks and got out before a Metrolink train smashed into the SUV. The train then derailed and collided with another train going in the op posite direction. That train also jumped the tracks. Alvarez was arrested and expect ed to be booked for investigation of a “homicide-related offense,” police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. Alvarez had also slashed his wrists and stabbed himself, but the injuries were not life-threatening. Authorities said Al varez had a criminal record that in volved drugs. District Attorney Steve Cooley said no decision had been made on charges in the wreck. Derailed commuter train kills 10 Burbank. .Glendale Los Angeles rn A commuter train smashed into an SUV left on a crossing by a suicidal man, causing it to derail and crash into another train killing 10 people and injuring more than 180. SOURCE: ESRI 'V \ ' Glendale Los Angeles Suicidal man left vehicle on tracks, derailing train AP THURSDAY, LEARN HOW YOU CAN LEAD THE MOVEMENT TO END EDUCATIONAL INEQUITY. Thursday, January 27, 4:00 p.m. • EMU Lower Level, Ben Linder Room featuring alumnus guest speaker Jon Schetky ‘04 \. THE N> i.iiNAKiONAL | Students In Low-Income Areas 7 Times Less Likely f To Graduate From College Than High-Income Peers r B\LViMcr:;-Pisuici > — _ v... . />*”**. ■' vmdk*-#*^** %L.«rTTjj? '■ •-.> u-. ,*. . OUR GENERATION MUST TAKE ON THIS ISSUE. www.teachforamerica.org For individuals of all academic majors and career interests. Full salary and health benefits.
