News - The Eastern Echo

Pakastani troops move to risky area to make new strikes

By Alex Rodriguez · Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The move by Pakistan’s military into the Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold of South Waziristan on Saturday launched a risky offensive widely seen as the key to crushing a militancy that has destabilized the nuclear-armed nation. The challenges are daunting: The military will face unforgiving terrain along the Afghan border that has long been viewed as a possible hide-out for Osama bin Laden, as well as a battle-hardened enemy likely to respond by stepping up bloody attacks across the country.

Japanese government has tough budget choices to face

By Tadashi Isozumi and Takeo Azuma · Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

TOKYO – Now all the budgetary requests by government entities have been made, the Cabinet will face two choices: either turn a blind eye to the nation’s huge debt and place priority on realizing the ruling bloc’s campaign pledges, or avoid further issuance of government bonds and give up on certain campaign pledges. The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama effectively bloated the total amount of budgetary requests to realize campaign pledges made for the Aug.

EMU offers autism education and services

By Alyssa Eckles · Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

The Autism Collaborative Center, a place for individuals and families struggling with autism, is opening its doors on Eastern Michigan University’s campus this fall with an open house on Wednesday. The center will offer services to the community as well as interdisciplinary learning for students at EMU.

Aggravated assault on Huron Drive under police investigation

By Dan DuChene · Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

Police are investigating an aggravated assault that took place near Eastern Michigan University Monday, according to a release from EMU Police. According to an e-mail release to the “campus community” this afternoon, an EMU student was assaulted by three men on the 800 block of Huron River Drive near Ann Street at 9 p.m.

Tow truck strikes pedestrian crossing Michigan Ave. wednesday

By Dan DuChene · Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

An 18-year-old Ypsilanti Township resident is listed in critical condition after being struck by a tow truck Wednesday. A release issued by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office today said the incident occurred at 8:30 p.m.

Kaiser Elementary students entertain board of education before meeting

By Andrew Cipolla · Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

The Willow Run Board of Education was entertained at Kaiser Elementary School Thursday by student performances and a short video during an excellence in education showcase.

Tiny technology may yield new discoveries, possible perils

By Fred Tasker · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

MIAMI— Imagine a particle so small it would take a million of them to stretch across the period at the end of this sentence.

Afghan War Holbrooke's toughest career challenge

By Paul Richter · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

KABUL – The American envoy’s armed convoy rumbled through Kabul’s dusty streets, stopping at one polling place, then another as Afghans voted in their first contested presidential election. In the August heat, Richard Holbrooke watched the voting with a mixture of concern and satisfaction.

Colleges face need for greener classes

By Kathleen Carroll · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Students on college campuses are clamoring for environmentally friendly classes, all the better to prepare for an expected wave of green-collar jobs.

Russia rejects talk about trade sanctions for Iran

By Tom Lasseter · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

MOSCOW — If Hillary Clinton was hoping to win Russian support for efforts to use a threat of sanctions to pressure Iran to come clean about its nuclear ambitions, her first trip to Moscow as secretary of state got off to a rocky start Tuesday.

Weir discusses Palestinian, Israeli perceptions at EMU

By Katrease Stafford · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

Author and journalist Alison Weir addressed a packed room in the Student Center about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict Tuesday. Weir believes the media have created an unfair portrayal of Palestinians.

A view down the central hallway of Eastern Michigan University’s highly rated business college.

EMU business school honored as one of the best

By Alyssa Eckles · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

For the sixth year in a row, Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business has been named one of the nation’s best by The Princeton Review.

Police Blotter

By Jordan Dekker · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

10/9 A locked vehicle allegedly was broken into at the Convocation Center between 6:30 and 10:15 p.m.

Fire Department to bill for services

By Dan DuChene · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

The Ypsilanti Fire Department hopes to generate as much as $36,000 a year in revenue after City Council approved the ability to bill for services. An ordinance approved unanimously on second reading by City Council Tuesday allows the department to bill for costs rendered during emergency calls, unless the call is a structure fire.

Grad rates among the lowest in Michigan

By Krista Gjestland · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Eastern Michigan University is struggling to graduate its students even as it has remained one of the more affordable university options. According to a study recently released by College Results Online, which is run by a non-profit organization, The Education Trust, only 38.8 percent of EMU students will earn a degree within six years of enrolling.

Journalist talks Arab-Israeli conflict

By Michael Hintz · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Freelance journalist Alison Weir, founder and executive director of the Web site and non-profit organization “If Americans Knew,” will be coming to Eastern Michigan University’s campus.

Municipal employee's union files grievance in Ypsilanti Township

By Christine Laughren · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Ypsilanti Township’s municipal employees union have filed a grievance against the township. Township officials said the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union filed its grievance shortly after the Township reduced hours for municipal employees to 32 hours a week.

Student carjacking claim false

By Alyssa Eckles · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

The claim of an attempted carjacking in Eastern Michigan University’s Oakwood south lot was found to be false.

Obama: Nobel prize a 'call to action' not award for past accomplishments

By Greg Miller , Janet Hook and Mark Silva · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, who has pledged to place diplomacy ahead of confrontation in world affairs, won the Nobel Prize for Peace on Friday, a remarkable and controversial honor for a leader nine months in office. Obama, as if acknowledging the unusual nature of the award, accepted it “as a call to action” rather than as a reward for past accomplishments. “This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity,” Obama said at a Rose Garden appearance. The gold medallion given to recipients of the prize does not come with a ribbon, but the award could end up being a weight around Obama’s neck. Intended to honor how Obama has altered the nation’s diplomatic direction, the peace prize is likely to call attention to how much of the administration’s agenda – from closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay to winding down the war in Iraq – remains undone. The prize also poses political risks for a president routinely depicted by Republicans as more focused on seeking international approval than defending the security interests of the United States. That criticism could be compounded if Obama rejects the military’s request for an additional 40,000 troops in Afghanistan. Mindful of such perils, the president sought to downplay the significance of the Nobel, describing it as a “means to give momentum” to causes that others also embrace, and saying, “To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve” it. The award undoubtedly carries benefits.

Rural hosiptals worry reforms won't be helpful

By Halimah Abdullah · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Peach County Regional Medical Center, a small, Cold War-era hospital in Fort Valley, Ga., 40 miles from the nearest trauma center in Macon, is in critical condition. Medical specialists and surgeons – physicians who are hard to recruit to rural areas – often take one look at the hospital’s worn and soiled carpet and peeling wallpaper and decide to hang their shingles elsewhere. The emergency room has only five beds, so when patients with serious injuries or illnesses are admitted other less critical patients must get out of bed and walk or are rolled to a nearby waiting room. Most of those patients are uninsured and can pay little, if anything, toward their treatment, forcing the hospital to absorb the costs.