http://www.aikenstandard.com/ All Stories from The Aiken Standard en-us http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-soar-aerospace-summer-camp-applications
The Celebrate Freedom Foundation is pleased to announce it is accepting student applications to its SOaR Aviation Aerospace Summer Camp. The camp is open to all sophomore and junior high school students in the state of South Carolina. The camp will be held at the University of South Carolina on July 15-20, 2012, free of charge. Only 50 applicants will be accepted. Applications are due by March 31. More information can be found at www.thecelebratefreedomfoundation.org. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:37:22 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-soar-aerospace-summer-camp-applications http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-local-events-in-aiken-county AllAboutAiken.

Thursday, Feb. 23

The Aiken PFLAG will meet Thursday at the Aiken Unitarian Universalist Church, 115 Gregg Ave., at 7 p.m. The film “Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case that Made History” will be shown.

4 Cats in the Doghouse will play at The Willcox on Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. They will feature guest trumpeter Eric Hillman.

Overeaters Anonymous will meet at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 104 Newberry St. N.W., in room 121, every Thursday evening at 7 p.m.

Aiken Regional Medical Centers will host Weems R. Pennington III who will present Interventional Cardiology today at Edgefield Baptist Church on Thursday. RSVP to (800) 882-7445.

VFW Post 5877, 116 Midway Circle, will host karaoke with Johnny Barry on Thursday from 8 p.m. to midnight. For more information, call 648-0119.

Blessing for Our Community Law Enforcement and Prayers for the Fallen will be held on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, on the corner of Park Avenue and York Street. For more information, call 649-4777.

The Center for African American History, Art and Culture will hold “Hometown History” on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Aiken County Historical Museum, 435 Newberry St. Blue-Bistro Theatre of Augusta will present historical moments that have taken place in the CSRA. For more information, call Jo-Anne Saunders at (706) 664-3989.

SouthernCare will sponsor a grief support group on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Cumberland Village, 3335 Wise Creek Drive, in the third floor library. For more information, call 643-0073.

National Alliance on Mental Illness will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. in the parlor room of First Baptist Church in down town Aiken. For more information, call 257-2385.

Friday, Feb. 24

The First Tee of Aiken spring clinic and league kick-off will be held Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. For more information, call 226-0053.

4The Edgefield County Theatre Company will present “Barefoot In The Park” as the third offering of its 2011-2012 season. The performance dates are Friday and Saturday at the William Miller Bouknight Theatre, 405 Main St., Edgefield. For tickets or more information, call 637-3833.

The Town of Jackson youth sports will take signups for all baseball and softball age groups. Sign up at Jackson Town Hall, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bring a copy of a birth certificate. The fees are $40 for Tee ball, $55 for baseball and softball 5 and $75 for the Pony League. The deadline to signup is Friday.

“You Can’t Take it With You” will be performed at the Aiken Community Playhouse at the URS Center for the Performing Arts, 126 Newberry St. S.W. on Friday and Saturday, as well as March 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. For more information, call 648-1438 or visit www.aikencommunityplayhouse.com.

The Sigma Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. will host its annual Mardi Gras Dance on Friday from 8 p.m. until midnight at the North Augusta Community Center. Proceeds will support the group’s community programs. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and there will be door prizes. Mardi Gras masks are welcomed. Tickets are $25 per person.

The Guild of Poetic Intent: Savannah River Poets of USC Aiken will host an open mic poetry reading at 7 p.m. on Friday in the memorial room of USC Aiken’s Gregg-Graniteville Library. There is no cost. Refreshments will be provided. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:40:33 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-local-events-in-aiken-county http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Developments-in-Google-bid-for-Motorola-Mobility--3808882
Aug. 15, 2011: Google announces plans to spend $12.5 billion to buy Motorola Mobility. Google would get Motorola's lineup of cellphones, tablet computers and cable set-top boxes. More important, Google would get Motorola's more than 17,000 patents -- a crucial weapon in an intellectual arms race with Apple, Microsoft and others to gain more control over the increasingly lucrative market for mobile devices.

Aug. 16: Standard & Poor's says investors should sell Google's stock because it believes the decision to buy Motorola Mobility increases the risk to the company and its shares. S&P says that although the acquisition would include a patent trove, that might not be enough to keep Google's Android mobile operating software from encountering intellectual-property issues.

Aug. 22: Standard & Poor's reverses course, saying Google shares have fallen so much they've now become a good deal.

Sept. 13: In a regulatory filing, Google reveals that the $12.5 billion purchase price is 33 percent more than Google initially offered. If the deal falls through, Google will still have to pay Motorola Mobility $2.5 billion.

Sept. 28: It's disclosed that the U.S. Justice Department is taking a closer look at the deal. The move had been widely expected.

Oct. 27: Motorola Mobility reports smaller net loss in the July-September quarter as phone shipments rises by more than 25 percent from a year earlier.

Nov. 17: Motorola Mobility says its shareholders have overwhelmingly voted to accept the proposed sale.

Dec. 2: With the Motorola deal still pending, the U.S. Justice Department approves Google's acquisition of online advertising service Admeld after concluding the deal wouldn't diminish competition in one of the Internet's most lucrative marketing niches.

Jan. 26, 2012: Motorola Mobility issues disappointing results for the last three months of the year. It reports a loss, mirroring preliminary numbers issued three weeks earlier, amid fierce competition in the markets for smartphones and tablet computers. Some analysts have already been worried that Motorola Mobility will become a financial millstone that could drag down Google's earnings growth. If that happens, Google's stock price would likely suffer.

Feb. 13: European antitrust regulators clear the deal. Although regulators say they didn't find a reason to believe that the transaction would pose any competitive problems, they raise concerns about Motorola's aggressive enforcement of its patents. Hours later, the U.S. Department of Justice also approves the deal.

Wednesday: Microsoft lodges a formal complaint with the European Union's competition regulator accusing Motorola Mobility of breaking competition rules with its aggressive enforcement of patent rights against rivals. The complaint also names Google, which Microsoft fears will continue Motorola Mobility's tight hold on key patents. It follows a similar complaint from Apple. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:01:43 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Developments-in-Google-bid-for-Motorola-Mobility--3808882 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Apple-defends-use-of-iPad-name-in-Chinese-court--3808634
SHANGHAI -- Apple defended its right to use the iPad trademark in China in a heated court hearing Wednesday that pitted the electronics giant against a struggling company that denies it sold the mainland China rights to the tablet's name.

Shenzhen Proview Technology's lawyer Xie Xianghui argued that the sale of the iPad trademark to Apple Inc. by Proview's Taiwan affiliate in 2009 was invalid.

"Apple has no right to sell iPads under that name," Xie said. Apple countered that Proview violated the sales contract by failing to transfer the trademark rights in mainland China.

It also contends that the Chinese LCD maker has not marketed or sold its own "IPAD," or Internet Personal Access Device for years, thus possibly invalidating its claim to the trademark.

The hearing adjourned after a fractious four-hour session which saw the judge repeatedly admonishing both sides to observe proper court protocol as they argued across the courtroom. No date was announced for a judgment or further hearings.

Proview is suing to stop Apple selling the iPad in China under that name. It has also asked commercial authorities in many cities to stop sales of the device. So far, iPads have been pulled from shelves in some Chinese cities but there has been no sign of action at the national level.

Ma Dongxiao, another Proview lawyer, said after the hearing that the company plans to file lawsuits against Apple in more cities.

As evidence in court, Proview presented a flat, thin computer packed in a cardboard box that it said is its "IPAD."

The company's lawyers argued the success of the iPad had prevented Proview's product from succeeding in China. Apple's side noted that the iPad only began selling in 2010, long after Proview launched its product in 2000.

Apple's attorneys said that stopping iPad sales in China would cause the company huge losses. The tablet's popularity has benefited China through tax revenues and jobs created in its manufacturing, they said.

"They have no market, no sales, no customers. They have nothing," Apple lawyer Qu Miao said of Proview. "The iPad is so popular that it is in short supply. We have to consider the public good."

That, Xie said, is irrelevant.

"Whether people will go hungry because you can't sell iPads in China is not the issue," he said. "The court must rule according to the law. Do you absolutely have to sell the product? Can't you sell it using a different name?"

The trademark case is highlighting mixed attitudes toward Apple in China. Chinese are just as crazy about iPads and iPhones as consumers anywhere else and the devices are manufactured in China, employing hundreds of thousands of people.

But public awareness has been growing of criticism over the labor and environmental practices of huge factories that assemble the devices. Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, which makes iPads in China, has been under intense scrutiny after a spate of worker suicides. It recently raised wages by up to 25 percent in the second major salary hike in less than two years.

Apple has appealed an earlier ruling in favor of Proview in a court in Shenzhen, a city in southern China's Guangdong province. The Guangdong High Court is due to hear that case on Feb. 29.

Xie on Tuesday said that since no final decisions have been reached in various legal disputes over the issue, both sides were "still able to sit together and reach an out-of-court settlement." Apple has shown no indication of willingness to settle.

The current trademark battle is unlikely to have much effect on sales of the iPad 2 but could affect future iterations of the device, said Xu Jia, chief editor of the Chinese magazine PC Home.

"It could affect a future iPad 3," Xu said. "If the official products are banned from being sold in China, we will see how the products in the black market start to have very good sales."

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, insists it holds the trademark rights to the iPad in China, having purchased them from Proview for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000) through a company set up for that purpose.

A court in Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system from mainland China, ruled in July that Proview had acted with the intention of "injuring Apple." Proview's lawyers argued Wednesday that any rulings in Hong Kong were not admissible in Chinese courts.

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Researcher Fu Ting contributed to this report.

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Follow Elaine Kurtenbach on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ekurtenbachsh ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:01:40 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Apple-defends-use-of-iPad-name-in-Chinese-court--3808634 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Santorum-makes-prenatal-testing-a-campaign-issue--3808273
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- First birth control, now prenatal testing? Once again a fact of life for many American women has become a jarring issue in the presidential race.

Republican candidate Rick Santorum is making free screenings for birth defects part of his attack on President Barack Obama's health care law. Santorum charges that the law requiring insurers to cover the tests is a way to encourage more women to have abortions that will "cull the ranks of the disabled in our society."

Obama re-election campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith called Santorum's remarks "misinformed and dangerous." She said the tests help bring about safer deliveries for mothers and babies.

Federal health officials and doctors recommend that all pregnant women be offered blood tests and an ultrasound exam that assess the risk of having a baby with a birth defect or genetic disorder, including Down syndrome. If a screening test raises concern, a woman may choose further testing, such as amniocentesis.

How did these commonplace tests spark so much controversy?

--Some women don't want the tests because they know they wouldn't abort their fetus no matter what the results. Others who wouldn't consider an abortion still want the tests, so they can be emotionally prepared and plan for a disabled baby's more complicated care. Babies with Down syndrome can need specialized care at delivery that affects hospital selection.

--Some women avoid amniocentesis, which involves withdrawing amniotic fluid with a needle, because of the small chance it could cause a miscarriage. There are less invasive tests available and newer ones on the way.

--As Santorum noted, studies show that in the vast majority of cases where amniocentesis reveals Down syndrome, women decide on abortion.

--Advocates for the disabled, including many parents of Down syndrome children, worry that couples are choosing abortion without fully considering that their child could lead a happy, fulfilling life. About one in 800 babies has Down syndrome, a condition in which having an extra chromosome causes mental retardation, a characteristic broad, flat face and, often, serious heart defects.

The prenatal testing issues have been debated by abortion foes and obstetricians and wrestled with by prospective parents. But the ethical quandaries and painful emotional decisions received scant public attention before the politically charged remarks from Santorum, who also opposes the government requiring birth control coverage for employees of religiously affiliated organizations.

Until now, perhaps the best-known public reflections on the prenatal testing issue came from two well-known conservatives, each the parent of a Down syndrome child, who reached different conclusions about prenatal screening:

--"I was grateful to have all those months to prepare. I can't imagine the moms that are surprised at the end. I think they have it a lot harder," Sarah Palin said during her 2008 campaign for the vice presidency about the amniocentesis results she received before her son, Trig, was born.

--"What is antiseptically called 'screening' for Down syndrome is, much more often than not, a search-and-destroy mission: At least 85 percent of pregnancies in which Down syndrome is diagnosed are ended by abortions," columnist George Will wrote in a highly personal 2007 column about his grown son, Jon.

Santorum, whose youngest daughter has a different genetic disorder, Trisomy 18, said in a CBS interview on Sunday, "Almost 100 percent of Trisomy 18 children are encouraged to be aborted, so I know what I'm talking about here."

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:43:25 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Santorum-makes-prenatal-testing-a-campaign-issue--3808273 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-NYPD-built-secret-files-on-NJ-Long-Island-mosques--3808892
NEWARK, N.J.-- Americans living and working in New Jersey's largest city were subjected to surveillance as part of the New York Police Department's effort to build databases of where Muslims work, shop and pray. The operation in Newark was so secretive even the city's mayor says he was kept in the dark.

For months in mid-2007, plainclothes officers from the NYPD's Demographics Units fanned out across Newark, taking pictures and eavesdropping on conversations inside businesses owned or frequented by Muslims.

The result was a 60-page report, obtained by The Associated Press, containing brief summaries of businesses and their clientele. Police also photographed and mapped 16 mosques, listing them as "Islamic Religious Institutions."

The report cited no evidence of terrorism or criminal behavior. It was a guide to Newark's Muslims.

According to the report, the operation was carried out in collaboration with the Newark Police Department. But the Newark chief at the time said no local officers participated. And Newark's mayor, Cory Booker, said he never authorized the spying and was never told about it.

"Wow," he said as the AP laid out the details of the report. "This raises a number of concerns. It's just very, very sobering."

Police conducted similar operations outside their jurisdiction in New York's Suffolk and Nassau counties on suburban Long Island, according to police records.

Such surveillance has become commonplace in New York City in the decade since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Police have built databases showing where Muslims live, where they buy groceries, even what Internet cafes they use and where they watch sports. Dozens of mosques and student groups have been infiltrated and police have built detailed profiles of ethnic communities, from Moroccans to Egyptians to Albanians.

The documents obtained by the AP show, for the first time in any detail, how those efforts stretched outside the NYPD's jurisdiction. New Jersey and Long Island residents had no reason to suspect the NYPD was watching them. And since the NYPD isn't accountable to their votes or tax dollars, those non-New Yorkers had little recourse to stop it.

"All of these are innocent people," Nagiba el-Sioufi of Newark said while her husband, Mohammed, flipped through the NYPD report, looking at photos of mosques and storefronts frequented by their friends.

Egyptian immigrants and American citizens, the couple raised two daughters in the United States. Mohammed works as an accountant and is vice president of the Islamic Culture Center, a mosque a few blocks from Newark City Hall.

"If you have an accusation on us, then spend the money on doing this to us," Nagiba said. "But you have no accusation."

The Newark chief at the time, Chief Garry McCarthy, is now in charge of the Chicago Police Department. He said the NYPD initiated the operation and none of his officers participated.

"The NYPD reached out to us as a courtesy when they were coming into Newark. Period," McCarthy said in a brief phone interview Wednesday.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne did not return a message seeking comment about the report.

The goal of the report, like others the Demographics Unit compiled, was to give police at-their-fingertips access to information about Muslim neighborhoods. If police got a tip about an Egyptian terrorist in the area, for instance, they wanted to immediately know where he was likely to find a cheap room to rent, where he might buy his lunch and at what mosque he probably would attend Friday prayers.

"These locations provide the maximum ability to assess the general opinions and general activity of these communities," the Newark report said.

The effect of the program was that hundreds of American citizens were cataloged -- sometimes by name, sometimes simply by their businesses and their ethnicity -- in secret police files that spanned hundreds of pages:

-- "A Black Muslim male named Mussa was working in the rear of store," an NYPD detective wrote after a clandestine visit to a dollar store in Shirley, N.Y., on Long Island.

-- "The manager of this restaurant is an Indian Muslim male named Vicky Amin" was the report back from an Indian restaurant in Lindenhurst, N.Y., also on Long Island.

-- "Owned and operated by an African Muslim (possibly Sudanese) male named Abdullah Ddita" was the summary from another dollar store in Shirley, N.Y., just off the highway on the way to the Hamptons, the wealthy Long Island getaway.

In one report, an officer describes how he put people at ease by speaking in Punjabi and Urdu, languages commonly spoken in Pakistan.

Last summer, when the AP first began reporting about the NYPD's surveillance efforts, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his police do not consider religion in their policing.

On Tuesday, following an AP story that showed the NYPD monitored Muslim student groups around the Northeast, school leaders including Yale president Richard Levin expressed outrage over the tactics. Bloomberg fired back in what was the most vigorous defense yet of his department.

"The police department goes where there are allegations. And they look to see whether those allegations are true," he told reporters. "That's what you'd expect them to do. That's what you'd want them to do. Remind yourself when you turn out the light tonight."

There are no allegations of terrorism in the Demographics Unit reports and the documents make clear that police were only interested in locations frequented by Muslims. The canvas of businesses in Newark mentions Islam and Muslims 27 times. In one section of the report, police wrote that the largest immigrant groups in Newark were from Portugal and Brazil. But they did not photograph businesses or churches for those groups.

"No Muslim component within these communities was identified," police wrote, except for one business owned by a Brazilian Muslim of Palestinian descent.

Polls show that most New Yorkers strongly support the NYPD's counterterrorism efforts and don't believe police unfairly target Muslims. The Muslim community, however, has called for Police Commissioner Ray Kelly's resignation over the spying and the department's screening of a video that portrays Muslims as wanting to dominate the United States.

In Newark, the report was met with a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Come, look at yourself on film," Abdul Kareem Abdullah called to his wife as he flipped through the NYPD files at the lunch counter of their restaurant, Hamidah's Cafe.

An American-born citizen who converted to Islam decades ago, Abdullah said he understands why, after the 9/11 terror attacks, people are afraid of Muslims. But he said he wishes the police would stop by, say hello, meet him and his customers and get to know them. The documents show police have no interest in that, he said.

"They just want to keep tabs on us," he said. "If they really wanted to understand, they'd come talk to us."

After the AP approached Booker, he said the mayor's office had launched an investigation.

"We're going to get to the bottom of this," he said.

Booker met with Islamic leaders while campaigning for mayor. Those interviewed by the AP said they wanted to believe he didn't authorize the spying but wanted to hear from him directly.

"I have to look in his eyes," Mohammed el-Sioufi said at his mosque. "I know him. I met him. He was here."

Ironically, because officers conducted the operation covertly, the reports contain mistakes that could have been easily corrected had the officers talked to store owners or imams. If police ever had to rely on the database during an unfolding terrorism emergency as they had planned, those errors would have hindered their efforts.

For instance, locals said several businesses identified as belonging to African-American Muslims actually were owned by Afghans or Pakistanis. El-Sioufi's mosque is listed as an African-American mosque, but he said the imam is from Egypt and the congregation is a roughly even mix of black converts and people of foreign ancestries.

"We're not trying to hide anything. We are out in the open," said Abdul A. Muhammad, the imam of the Masjid Ali Muslim mosque in Newark. "You want to come in? We have an open door policy."

By choosing instead to conduct such widespread surveillance, Mohammed el-Sioufi said, police send the message that the whole community is suspect.

"When you spy on someone, you are kind of accusing them. You are not accepting them for choosing Islam," Nagiba el-Sioufi said. "This doesn't say, 'This guy did something wrong.' This says, 'Everyone here is a Muslim."'

"It makes you feel uncomfortable, like this is not your country," she added. "This is our country."

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Online:

Read the documents:

Newark, N.J.: http://apne.ws/wBk7Hg

Nassau County: http://apne.ws/xhHxNx

Suffolk County: http://apne.ws/zmCvMU

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Contact the AP's Washington investigative team at DCinvestigations (at) ap.org

Follow Apuzzo and Goldman at http://twitter.com/mattapuzzo and http://twitter.com/goldmandc

Associated Press writer Dave Porter contributed to this report

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:31:14 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-NYPD-built-secret-files-on-NJ-Long-Island-mosques--3808892 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-American-war-reporter-Marie-Colvin-killed-in-Syria--3808593
LONDON -- Respected American journalist Marie Colvin, who spent decades reporting on conflicts from Sri Lanka to Syria, focusing on the suffering of women and children in wartime, died in a fierce shelling attack Wednesday in Syria.

Colvin, who was 57, was known for her courage behind the front lines and immediately recognizable for an eye patch that hid an injury suffered in a Sri Lankan ambush. She had been holed up in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Sunday Times editor John Witherow confirmed her death during a "devastating bombardment by the Syrian army."

French photojournalist Remi Ochlik died alongside Colvin, the French government announced. Freelance photographer Paul Conroy and journalist Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro were wounded, according to Witherow and Le Figaro.

Colvin, from Oyster Bay, New York, had been a foreign correspondent for Britain's Sunday Times for the past two decades, making a specialty of reporting from the world's most dangerous places. Her final dispatch Tuesday from a cellar offering refuge for women and children hinted at the horrors that eventually took her own life.

"It is a city of the cold and hungry, echoing to exploding shells and bursts of gunfire," she wrote. "There are no telephones and the electricity has been cut off. ... Freezing rain fills potholes and snow drifts in through windows empty of glass. No shops are open, so families are sharing what they have with relatives and neighbors. Many of the dead and injured are those who risked foraging for food.

"Fearing the snipers' merciless eyes, families resorted last week to throwing bread across rooftops, or breaking through communal walls to pass unseen."

Colvin often focused on the plight of women and children in battles and Syria was no different. She gave interviews to major British broadcasters on the eve of her death, appealing for the world to notice the slaughter taking place.

"I watched a little baby die today," she told the BBC on Tuesday. "Absolutely horrific, a 2-year old child had been hit. They stripped it and found the shrapnel had gone into the left chest and the doctor said 'I can't do anything."'

Colvin's boss, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, described her as "one of the most outstanding foreign correspondents of her generation."

Colvin worked in the Balkans, where she went on patrol with the Kosovo Liberation Army as it engaged Serb military forces. She worked in Chechnya, where she came under fire from Russian jets while reporting on Chechen rebels. She also covered the conflict in East Timor after its people voted for independence; she was one of the few reporters to interview ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in his final days.

She was outspoken in her defense of independent journalism, and a fervent advocate for the cause of unfettered war reporting. During a tribute service for slain journalists at Fleet Street's St. Bride's Church in November 2010, she offered a stirring appeal to media executives, pressing the case to continue investing in conflict zone reporting.

"Our mission is to speak the truth to power," she said. "We send home that first rough draft of history. We can and do make a difference in exposing the horrors of war and especially the atrocities that befall civilians."

Her death comes only days after two other respected journalists died while reporting on the uprising against Syria's president, Bashar Assad. Two-time Pulitzer prize winning reporter Anthony Shadid, a correspondent for The New York Times, died last week of an apparent asthma attack while slipping into Syria.

Award-winning French TV reporter Gilles Jacquier was killed in an explosion in Homs on Jan. 11, becoming the first Western journalist to die since the uprising began. His colleagues believe he was murdered in an elaborate trap set up by Syrian authorities -- a claim that Assad's government denies.

British Prime Minister David Cameron led tributes to Colvin. Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the death of the "talented and respected foreign correspondent" was "a desperately sad reminder of the risks journalists take to inform the world of what is happening and the dreadful events in Syria."

British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband called Colvin "a brave and tireless reporter ... an inspiration to women in her profession."

"Her reports in the hours before her death showed her work at its finest," he said.

Author Salman Rushdie, who spent years in hiding from death threats, sent a message to his followers on Twitter, noting that it was "dreadful news. A great reporter, fine writer and fearless woman is gone. Her many friends are devastated."

Colvin lost her sight in one eye during an ambush in Sri Lanka in 2001 but promised not to "hang up my flak jacket" and kept reporting on the world's most troubled places.

"So, was I stupid? Stupid I would feel writing a column about the dinner party I went to last night," she wrote in the Sunday Times after the attack. "Equally, I'd rather be in that middle ground between a desk job and getting shot, no offense to desk jobs.

"For my part, the next war I cover, I'll be more awed than ever by the quiet bravery of civilians who endure far more than I ever will. They must stay where they are; I can come home to London."

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Associated Press Writers Jill Lawless and Raphael Satter also contributed to this story.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:28:10 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-American-war-reporter-Marie-Colvin-killed-in-Syria--3808593 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-7-killed-in-Afghan-protests-over-Quran-burning--3808681
KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Interior Ministry on Wednesday said seven people were killed in clashes between Afghan security forces and protesters demonstrating against the burning of Muslim holy books at a NATO military base.

The anger over the Quran burning has sparked two days of protests across Afghanistan and tapped into anti-foreign sentiment fueled by a popular perception that foreign troops disrespect Afghan culture and Islam. The demonstrations prompted the U.S. to lock down its embassy and bar its staff from traveling.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement that clashes during a protest in the eastern province of Parwan left four people dead. It said an investigation was under way to determine what happened.

The other deaths occurred at a U.S. base outside Kabul, where security guards killed one person, and in Jalalabad and Logar province, the ministry said.

The demonstration in Kabul drew thousands of protesters, who chanted "Death to America," hurled rocks and set tires alight outside a complex that is home to foreign contractors, police and some coalition military forces. Nearby, angry demonstrators set a fuel truck ablaze on a main highway running east out of the city, sending black smoke billowing into the air.

The U.S. apologized Tuesday for burning the copies of the Quran, which had been pulled from the shelves of the Parwan Detention Facility, adjoining Bagram Air Field, because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions.

U.S. Gen. John Allen, the top commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said after the books had been mistakenly given to troops to be burned at a garbage pit without realizing it.

"It was not a decision that was made because they were religious materials," Allen said Tuesday, one day after Afghan workers at the garbage pit found the books. "It was not a decision that was made with respect to the faith of Islam. It was a mistake. It was an error. The moment we found out about it we immediately stopped and we intervened."

A Western military official with knowledge of the incident said it appeared that the copies of the Quran and other Islamic readings in the library were being used to fuel extremism, and that detainees were writing on the documents to exchange extremist messages. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

As Wednesday's rally in Kabul turned violent, city police chief Mohammad Ayub Salangi arrived at the scene with hundreds of reinforcements who broke up the protest.

"They have the right to demonstrate, but they have to do it in accordance with the law," said Salangi's deputy, Daud Amin. "It is their right to demonstrate. ... We are also Muslim and we say it was a wrong action from the Islamic point of view."

Several miles (kilometers) away, hundreds of protesters were throwing rocks at Camp Phoenix, a U.S. military base, said Kabul provincial police spokesman Ashmatullah Stanekzai. Shots were also fired in the air at Camp Phoenix.

After the Quran burning was made public Tuesday, more than 2,000 Afghans protested outside the Bagram air base near the capital.

In Parwan, provincial police chief Akram Bigzad said about 2,000 protesters were demonstrating outside a district headquarters when some of them opened fire with weapons.

"In the crowd there were rebels and Taliban who had weapons. They opened fire and fighting started. Four were killed and 10 were wounded. They are Talib," Bigzad said.

A protest in Logar province also turned violent after someone in a group of about 300 demonstrators opened fire on police. Police returned fire, killing one protester, said provincial police chief Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Roogh Lawanay.

Two protesters and two police officers were also wounded, he added. He said the protesters had come from neighboring Wardak province, an insurgent hotbed.

Lawanay said a protest by about 400 people in Logar's capital Pule Alam ended peacefully.

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Associated Press writers Amir Shah, Deb Riechmann and Patrick Quinn contributed to this report.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:28:06 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-7-killed-in-Afghan-protests-over-Quran-burning--3808681 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Nepalese-man-72-claims-to-be-world-s-shortest--3808722
KATMANDU, Nepal -- He has never worked outside the home or seen a doctor, and until Wednesday, he had never left his remote mountain village in western Nepal. So 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi only recently learned he might be the world's shortest man.

Dangi says he's only 22 inches (56 centimeters) tall -- about the size of a toddler -- and he's hoping to claim the title. Guinness World Records said in an email Wednesday that its officials would arrive in Nepal's capital Sunday to measure Dangi.

Dangi took his first trip outside his village and his first trip on a plane to reach Katmandu on Wednesday.

"I am very happy to be in Katmandu for the first time in my life. I am here so I can take the Guinness title," Dangi told reporters at the airport.

Dangi, who has never been married, lives with his eldest brother and his family in Rhimkholi village, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Katmandu. Because of his height, he has never worked outside the house, doing only household chores. His five brothers are of average size.

His family is not sure when he stopped growing, and Dangi said he has never been checked by a medical doctor. He attended a few classes in the village school, but soon dropped out.

Dangi eats mainly rice and vegetables, and occasionally meat, but in small portions.

Since the village is so remote, it was only recently that Dangi gained notice. A forest contractor cutting timber in the village met him and informed local media after Dangi's height was measured.

Dangi's nephew, Dolak Dangi, said that before the contractor's visit, the family did not know his uncle's exact height, and that he was shorter than the world's shortest man.

Guinness currently recognizes Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who is 23.5 inches (60 centimeters) tall.

Another Nepalese man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, was known as the world's shortest man, at 26.4 inches (67 centimeters), before Balawing took over the title on his 18th birthday in June.

In December, Guinness recognized an Indian teenager as the world's shortest woman. Jyoti Amge is 24.7 inches (62.8 centimeters) tall and wants to attend university and become a Bollywood star.

Aside from a Guinness certificate, the titles not come with any cash award.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:25:01 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Nepalese-man-72-claims-to-be-world-s-shortest--3808722 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Black-history-museum-to-break-ground-with-Obama--3808569
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new national museum telling the history of black life, art, and culture will soon begin taking shape as the 19th museum in the Smithsonian Institution to explore stories that have sometimes been left out on the National Mall.

President Barack Obama and former first lady Laura Bush will join Wednesday in celebrating the start of construction for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which comes during Black History Month.

It will be built between the Washington Monument and the National Museum of American History as a seven-level structure with much of its exhibit space below ground. A bronze-coated "corona," a crown that rises as an inverse pyramid, will be its most distinctive feature. Organizers said the design is inspired by African-American metalwork from New Orleans and Charleston, S.C., and also evokes African roots.

Some exhibits will eventually include a Jim Crow-era segregated railroad car, galleries devoted to military and sports history and Louis Armstrong's trumpet, among thousands of items. There will also be a court for quiet reflection, Museum Director Lonnie Bunch said.

"We will have stories that will make you smile and stories that will make you cry," he told The Associated Press. "In a positive sense, this will be an emotional roller coaster, so you want to give people chances to reflect and to think about what this means to them."

In many ways, the museum already exists. It has staff collecting artifacts and working to raise $250 million to fund the construction. Congress pledged to provide half the $500 million construction cost. It is scheduled to open in 2015.

The future museum already has a gallery at the Smithsonian's American history museum with rotating exhibits to showcase its new collection and test different themes and approaches with visitors.

The newest exhibit explores Thomas Jefferson's lifelong ownership of slaves and his conflict and advocacy against slavery, while also looking at the lives of six slave families who lived on his Monticello plantation in Virginia to humanize the issue of slavery.

Telling such stories has been taboo at many museums in the past and missing from the National Mall. Bunch said that by presenting a fuller view of history and dealing directly with difficult issues like race, the Smithsonian can present a fuller view of history and what it means to be an American.

"What this museum can do is if we tell the unvarnished truth in a way that's engaging and not preachy, what I think will happen is that by illuminating all the dark corners of the American experience, we will help people find reconciliation and healing," he said.

Curators estimate that 15,000 to 20,000 artifacts already are in hand. Bunch estimates they will need about 35,000 artifacts to choose from to create the museum's permanent galleries. The staff is working to collect more material on popular culture and music, earlier materials from military history from World War I and earlier and artifacts to tell stories from the 19th century, including slavery and Reconstruction.

In Washington, the black history museum will follow major museums devoted to the Holocaust and to Native American history. Legislation has also been introduced in Congress to create a Smithsonian American Latino Museum.

Actress Phylicia Rashad, famous from TV's "The Cosby Show," is hosting the groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday. In an interview, she said African-American history is interconnected with many other groups.

"This is what makes America really great and unique is that there are different peoples living here who come together as one people, she said, adding that she hopes to be surprised by what the new museum can offer. "I would like to see some stories I've never imagined. I'd like to see some stories that aren't so well talked about but that have documentation to back them up."

The groundbreaking also marks the start of a public fundraising campaign to build the museum. Officials revealed about $100 million has been raised to date in private funds. This includes $5 million gifts from Wal-Mart, American Express, Boeing, Target and UnitedHealth Group. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Lilly Endowment each gave $10 million in recent years.

Some celebrities also are supporting the project, including Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey, whose foundation gave $1 million.

Delphia Duckens, the museum's associate director for fundraising, said the museum will begin a regional campaign targeting key markets of New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington.

They are modeling the strategy to seek individual donors on the recent effort to build a Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and on Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, she said. Those campaigns maximized the value of drawing many small gifts online, in addition to major donors, she said.

"This is a museum for everybody," she said. "We want to model it such that everybody can say they had a part in making this a reality."

------

National Museum of African American History and Culture: http://www.nmaahc.si.edu

------

Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:18:54 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Black-history-museum-to-break-ground-with-Obama--3808569 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Summerville-woman-admits-role-in-child-death--3808632
Twenty-six-year-old Grace Trotman also pleaded guilty to desecration of human remains.

Police say Trotman helped her boyfriend wrap 2-year-old Rodricus Fred Williams' body in garbage bags, put it in a trash can and fill the can with 400 pounds of cement in 2010.

She faces up to life in prison on the homicide charge and as much as 10 years in prison on the desecration charge.

The Berkeley County coroner ruled the boy died of a blow to the head.

Thirty-one-year-old Roger Williams is awaiting trial in Berkeley County on a charge of homicide by child abuse.

The body was found behind an abandoned mobile home in Orangeburg County.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:12:48 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-Summerville-woman-admits-role-in-child-death--3808632 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-SC-man-admits-making-up-9-11-story-at-remembrance--3808774
Jordan Liflander dressed in a uniform with a FDNY patch and was one of a number of speakers at the Wofford College event. Liflander said he retired as a captain of Ladder Company 133 and that he attended 47 funerals in three weeks for those who died in the terrorist attacks.

Frank Dwyer with the New York Fire Department media office says no one named Jordan Liflander has ever served with the department.

Liflander says he got caught up in the moment and tried represent views of New Yorkers.

A call seeking comment from Liflander wasn't immediately returned Wednesday.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:12:44 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-SC-man-admits-making-up-9-11-story-at-remembrance--3808774 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-10-homeless-people-evicted-from-makeshift-SC-camp--3808646
The camp is on private property and the owner asked county police to evict those staying there.

Horry County Police Sgt. Robert Kegler said officers began contacting those at the camp last week telling them they would have to leave. Officers started making arrests and by late afternoon Tuesday, 10 people had been arrested for trespassing.

Officials say many of those living in the camp said they didn't stay at a local homeless shelter because of conflicts with the people running the shelter.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:12:40 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-ap-10-homeless-people-evicted-from-makeshift-SC-camp--3808646 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-usca-basketball--38073942012-02-22T07-42-16
USC Aiken basketball fans have not experienced the feeling of going home from the Convocation Center unhappy all season long. If the Pacers can keep it that way tonight when they face Francis Marion, they'll make history in the process.

The USCA women (21-3, 14-2) will put their 11-0 home record on the line tonight at 5:30, and the Pacer men (18-6, 12-4) will follow, trying to move to 14-0 at home. With a win, the women will finish perfect at home for the first time since the 1977-78 season, and the men would be undefeated in their home floor for the first time since going 13-0 in 2007-08. It would be the first time in school history that the programs accomplished the feat in the same year.

There's much more on the line than keeping the Pacer supporters happy, though. With a pair of wins over Augusta State and Lander last week, the USCA women moved to No. 10 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. They're tied for first place in the Peach Belt Conference East Division but hold the tiebreaker over Lander thanks to a season sweep. If they can win tonight and Saturday at Flagler, the Pacers will be a No. 1 seed in the PBC Tournament, which will be held March 1-4 in Columbus, Ga.

USCA is also playing for the top spot in the Southeast Region standings. The Pacers were ranked second, behind only Clayton State, in the latest rankings.

Both teams are 21-2 in region play. If USCA can find a way to overtake the defending champion Lakers down the stretch, hosting a regional at the Convocation Center could become a huge advantage.

The first step is to knock off a struggling Francis Marion squad, which has lost seven of its last 10 games. The Patriots (9-16, 4-13) have one of the league's best scorers in sophomore guard Brittany Christian (12.3 ppg.) and a strong rebounding presence with both T.T. Belcher (9.0 rpg.) and Carmella Thompson (8.4 rpg.) crashing the boards.

The rest of the numbers, though, haven't been so impressive. The Patriots are turning the ball over 21.6 times per game, more than any other team in the league, and shooting just 36.5 percent from the field.

That's not good news against a USCA squad that's giving up just 52.6 points per game and has two players - sophomore guard Kayla Harris (14.5 ppg.) and senior forward Hannah DeGraffinreed (12.6 ppg.) among the league's top scorers.

The Pacer women will be trying to extend their winning streak to six games.

On paper, the men's game, scheduled to begin around 7:30 p.m., could be much more closely contested.

Francis Marion (16-11, 9-8) will come to Aiken fighting for its postseason life. The Patriots have stayed alive by winning two straight, but they still trail Lander (9-7) for fourth place in the PBC East by a half a game. Only four teams from each division will earn a spot in the PBC Tournament, making tonight's season finale critical.

FMU is led by senior forward Liki Turner, who's averaging 17.9 points and nine rebounds per contest. Marcus Wright, a senior guard, is a big-time 3-point threat, knocking down 42.3 percent of his long range attempts.

Tonight's game is also a big one for the Pacers, who hold a one-game lead over Augusta State (15-9, 11-5) for first place in the PBC East with two games to play. It also holds a game-and-a-half lead over PBC West leader Montevallo (10-5) for the top overall spot in the conference.

Nationally, USCA fell out of the NABC Coaches' Poll this week, but it was ranked third in the Southeast Region in the latest rankings and could lock up a good seed in the tournament with some wins down the stretch.

A pair of point guards in Re'mon Nelson and Sterling Council lead the Pacer attack, averaging 21.9 points and 6.7 assists per game between them. Ronald Zimmerman is also averaging double figures with 10.4 points per game, while Joel Gierbolini leads the team with 6.9 boards per outing.

Tonight's doubleheader will serve as Senior Day for both programs.

Cam Huffman has been the sports editor of the Aiken Standard since November 2006. He is a Lewisburg, W.Va., native and a graduate of West Virginia University. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:42:16 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-usca-basketball--38073942012-02-22T07-42-16 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/0222-OtherViews-column--3806685
The South Carolina Senate took a major step toward making state government more efficient and accountable when it passed a measure to abolish the Budget and Control Board and create a Department of Administration.

South Carolina has suffered under an antiquated government structure that is inefficient, fragments authority and frustrates accountability. The Budget and Control Board was the poster child of the need for restructuring in this state.

The five-person board allowed the legislative branch to control many of the executive functions of state government. It is part of the reason the Palmetto State lacks the checks and balances that strengthen the federal system and other state governments.

By a 40-0 vote, the Senate approved a package of changes that parcel out the responsibilities of the board. The functions that belong in the Governor's Office have been moved there, and the responsibilities that belong in the legislative branch have been moved to the General Assembly.

The new Department of Administration would handle many of the details of state government, such as managing its fleet of vehicles, real estate, computer systems and personnel.

While the Governor's Office gets new authority over administrative matters, the General Assembly will take responsibility for budgets and spending.

State agencies will have to ask the Legislature rather than the Budget and Control Board for permission to run a deficit.

And if state revenues are more than 2 percent under projections, the Legislature will come back into session to make targeted budget cuts.

These will replace the across-the-board budget cuts made by the Budget and Control Board.

State purchasing will be handled by the Department of Administration and overseen by a legislative procurement board.

That allows dual examinations of state contracts and purchases.

But for all the good this bill would do, Sen. John Courson, R-Columbia, was only partially right when he told The Associated Press that it brings our government structure "kicking and screaming into the 21st century."

There is still much to be done. ... That said, the Senate took a giant step forward by passing this bill. The House has already passed a similar bill, but there are differences. The two houses should work quickly on a compromise version that the governor can sign. If the General Assembly does nothing else significant this year, this legislative session would be a success.

- From the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:42:13 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/0222-OtherViews-column--3806685 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/0222-cultural-center-editorial-column--3806378
In Washington, D.C., today, President Barack Obama will speak at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. It's fitting that the ceremony be held in February, Black History Month.

It's a month set aside to celebrate the rich and diverse African American culture and history.

The new national museum is expected to be opened in 2015. The $500 million center will be built near the Washington Monument in the heart of our nation's capital.

Here in Aiken, the renovation of the Center for African American History, Art and Culture continues in the old Immanuel Institute, an historical landmark constructed more than 120 years ago and originally serving as an educational facility for newly freed slaves, continues.

The beautifully renovated building and park at the northeast corner of York Street and Richland Avenue makes a grand statement to one of the city's most strategic intersection. When it opens, it will be a resource for education on local African American history and a source of community pride. To understand who we are, we must also understand where we came from. The new center will give us insight into a part of our local history that in many ways has been ignored. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:42:07 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/0222-cultural-center-editorial-column--3806378 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-talkback-whitney-trees-neighboorhood-watch Trees

I thought my cognitive skills were degenerating, particularly in the area of visual processing. Specifically, I thought all the trees in South Carolina were just the right height but was afraid to say this. I feared people would think I was crazy. But now I’m free to come out of the closet.

Whitney

I am a Marine and all these death condolences for Whitney Houston is making me mad. We have many men and women serving overseas right now that are losing their lives, and America is too busy mourning over the death of Whitney Houston to take a moment out of their day to think about these fallen men and women. I would just like to say that America’s priorities are wrong. We look up to these “celebrities” for what? Because they star in a movie or sing? America, please wake up and honor those who actually fight for the freedom for you to watch what you want and listen to what you want.

Neighborhood watch

A group of criminals were burglarizing homes; during a burglary, an 80-year-old woman was assaulted. The criminals were captured because a police officer happened to notice one of the perpetrators carrying a backpack late at night; it was filled with stolen items. Join a neighborhood watch program, communicate with law enforcement; you may save lives. I remember a new Sheriff’s deputy driving through my neighborhood; he stopped to tell me, “This appears to be a nice neighborhood.” I told him, “It is, we communicate with each other and law enforcement to keep it nice and safe.” Learn how to effectively communicate with your neighbors and law enforcement, you and your family will sleep better.

Call our TalkBack hot line at (803) 644-2384 and leave your message, or email it to us at editorial@aikenstandard.com. Readers’ names are not necessary to make a comment and will not be published in the newspaper. Comments should be brief and to the point, and the Aiken Standard reserves the right to edit for space and content. ]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:35:08 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/022212-talkback-whitney-trees-neighboorhood-watch http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/a1338-BC-US-PalinAide-Book-2ndLd-Writethru-02-22-0373
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A former aide to Sarah Palin has been fined for using confidential emails to write a tell-all book.

The Anchorage Daily News reports Frank Bailey was fined just under $12,000 for violating the state's ethics law.

An activist filed the complaint with the attorney general's office after hearing of Bailey's plans to use the emails he obtained while a member of Palin's gubernatorial staff. He wrote "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin," which came out last spring.

The fines include penalties for disclosing confidential information to Bailey's two co-authors in drafting the book and also for publishing some information after being told it was not to be released.

In an email Tuesday, Bailey said he agreed to pay the fine because despite his best efforts, two items were left in the book that the state did not want published. He also said the state deemed it against ethics rules to share his own personal emails with his co-authors.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:33:22 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/a1338-BC-US-PalinAide-Book-2ndLd-Writethru-02-22-0373 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/a1118-BC-US-Teacher-Classroom-3rdLd-Writethru-02-21-0544
LOS ANGELES -- A former teacher whose arrest sparked a scandal at an elementary school that led to the replacement of all of its teachers pleaded not guilty Tuesday to committing lewd acts with 23 children in his classroom.

Mark Berndt, 61, remained jailed on $23 million bail. He was the first of two teachers arrested within a week on molestation charges involving students at Miramonte Elementary School.

Martin Springer, 49, previously pleaded not guilty after he was charged with committing three lewd acts on one girl in 2009. He is free on $300,000 bail.

The entire Miramonte staff was replaced - at least temporarily - as the investigation proceeds.

Former students have sued, alleging other molestation incidents.

Outside the courtroom where Berndt was arraigned, his attorney, Victor Acevedo, complained that deputies used a loudspeaker system at the jail to identify Berndt to other inmates as a child molestation suspect.

He said the actions "put a bulls-eye on his head," placing his client in danger.

"Anyone accused of these charges, who is in the custody of the Sheriff's Department, always runs the risk of their personal safety, for obvious reasons," Acevedo said.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told City News Service that an investigation has been launched into the claim.

Berndt was a teacher for more than 30 years at Miramonte. He was arrested in January and charged with committing lewd acts on children as young as 6.

Hundreds of photographs were found of children with blindfolds and tape over their mouths. Some photos depicted children being fed a white liquid which authorities allege was the teacher's semen.

Berndt was ordered back to court on March 28, when a date will be set for his preliminary hearing.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:33:19 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/a1118-BC-US-Teacher-Classroom-3rdLd-Writethru-02-21-0544 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1061-BC-SC-XGR-SCBudget-4thLd-Writethru-02-21-0981
COLUMBIA -- The House budget-writing committee approved Tuesday closing a teacher bonus program to new entries, creating a fund to pay for deepening the Charleston harbor, and renewing a tax-free weekend for gun buyers.

Those are among the actions taken on the opening day of debate by the full Ways and Means Committee. Members hope to wrap up debate this week on the state's spending plan for 2012-13. Floor debate is set to start in mid-March.

The committee voted to suspend the incentive program for teachers who earn a national certification, which provides an annual bonus of either $5,000 or $7,500 - depending on when they applied - for the 10-year life of the certificate. There would be no bonus for those who apply after June 30. Nothing would change for teachers already receiving the money or going through the process, which can take up to three years.

South Carolina consistently ranks third nationwide in National Board Certified teachers, with more than 8,000 statewide. The program is expected to cost more than $68 million this year.

After more than a decade, the bonuses have not led to discernible increases in student performance, said House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham.

"How much longer can we let this snowball grow?" asked Rep. Mike Anthony, D-Union, a former teacher and coach, calling it fiscally irresponsible.

Teacher groups have argued the bonus is the only way South Carolina rewards good teachers.

Bingham and others counter it's unfair to those who choose not to go through the process. There has to be a more equitable way of rewarding quality teachers, he said.

"It doesn't mean they're not exceptional teachers, but they're not rewarded for it," said Bingham, a former school board member. "The whole idea is not to shrink the pot of money going to teachers but creating incentives that pay for performance."

While the budget clause would suspend the program for a year, the push is to end it, while developing a pay-for-performance system. Legislators of both parties agree that's a good idea. The debate lies in determining how to fairly evaluate teachers.

Previous attempts to scrap the National Board stipends have died. But the idea stands a good chance this year, with the support of Superintendent Mick Zais, Gov. Nikki Haley, and members of both parties.

The committee also voted to create a reserve fund for harbor deepening. South Carolina is in a race to deepen the Charleston harbor to accommodate mega-size ships following the widening of the Panama Canal in 2014. Some are already calling, but are restricted to a two-hour window at high tide.

The approved clause included no money.

"This is a huge step getting us ahead of the game," said Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Charleston.

Discussion on an amount is expected Wednesday. Haley's budget proposal would set aside $25 million for the ports.

South Carolina will need to pick up 60 percent of the $300 million expected price tag.

Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Mount Pleasant, said he hopes legislators will put in the full $180 million state match, calling the federal government's projected 2024 completion date absurd. The state's economy depends on that project to be fast-tracked, he said.

Also Tuesday, the committee voted 21-2 to insert into the state budget a sales-tax-free weekend for gun purchases on some of the busiest shopping days of the year. The "Second Amendment Weekend" would be the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Legislators approved the sales tax holiday for three consecutive years but removed it from the current budget.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said it would be more fiscally responsible to leave the tax break out as legislators consider tax reform. Republicans say they will introduce a measure this session eliminating many sales tax breaks.

Its sponsor, Republican Rep. Mike Pitts, said he believes residual sales of ammunition and gun accessories over the weekend, which remain taxed during the break, make up for any lost state revenue.

Legislators also made it known that local governments will again receive less money from the state than law requires.

The committee voted 15-7 to advance a bill allowing legislators to ignore a law mandating that cities and counties receive 4.5 percent of the previous year's general revenue. Complying would cost roughly $80 million more.

The "local government fund" has been cut from $280 million in 2008 to $183 million in the current budget, as legislators repeatedly passed measures giving them flexibility as revenue plummeted during the Great Recession. The money is distributed based on population, with 83 percent going to counties.

An approved amendment would allow local governments to offset the loss with a corresponding cut for state-mandated programs - which range from animal shelters to building code enforcement to office space for state agencies - saying they shouldn't pass along unfunded mandates. But legislators specified that courts and solicitors are exempt from the reductions.

A similar clause exists in the current budget. But Republican legislators said they received complaints from chief prosecutors in several counties.

"They need to use it as intended," Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, said about the flexibility. "It's not free rein to pare down the criminal justice system."

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:33:15 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1061-BC-SC-XGR-SCBudget-4thLd-Writethru-02-21-0981 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1059-BC-SC-XGR-KeelConfirmat-2ndLd-Writethru-02-21-0773
COLUMBIA SEmD The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a new term for Mark Keel as chief of South Carolina's state police force.

The decision to give Keel a new, six-year term as chief of the State Law Enforcement Division term now goes to the full Senate, which last year voted 33-0 to let Keel step in as interim chief when former U.S. Attorney Reggie Lloyd stepped down from the post.

SLED is South Carolina's top law enforcement agency, tasked with investigating crimes and serving as the hub for the state's homeland security operations and assisting local law enforcement agencies - a task Keel said is his top priority.

"My goal at this time is to put SLED back on the path of what the Legislature intended SLED to do, and that is to support local law enforcement, to be there, to assist our sheriff's department our police departments," Keel said Tuesday.

If eventually confirmed by the full Senate, this would be Keel's first full term in the top slot.

"My life has been spent at SLED," Keel said. "I love this agency. ... It's just an honor for me to serve and to serve SLED as the chief."

Keel, only the fourth chief at the agency that was established in 1947, joined SLED in 1979 and worked his way through the ranks, serving as a helicopter pilot and hostage negotiator and also completing a law degree from the University of South Carolina.

The Barnwell native served as chief of staff and heir apparent at SLED to retiring Chief Robert Stewart in 2008 and as interim chief when Stewart stepped down after two decades at the agency. But then-Gov. Mark Sanford instead tapped former Lloyd to lead the agency, saying he saw an opportunity to appoint a minority.

Sanford sent Keel to run the Department of Public Safety, which was then under state and federal investigations after troopers were caught mistreating suspects in incidents captured on dashboard video.

One trooper used a derogatory term for blacks while pursuing a suspect on foot. He was acquitted of a federal civil rights charge. A trooper seen hitting a suspect with his patrol car was sentenced to community service. A third trooper seen kicking a suspect received probation.

Then-director James Schweitzer and Highway Patrol Col. Russell Roark ultimately resigned amid questions about trooper discipline. Keel emphasized reforming trooper ethics and lax discipline and changing how issues of conduct were handled. He fired four troopers in his first several months in office.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also on Tuesday voted to give a full term heading up the state Department of Public Safety to Leroy Smith, a law enforcement veteran who has served as the agency's interim director since November.

"Our No. 1 goal is to protect and serve, to save lives," Smith said Tuesday.

Smith had been with the Florida Highway Patrol since 1989 and was named that agency's chief of investigations in January 2010. During questioning from senators on Tuesday, Smith said his force needs more troopers and better pay, although he acknowledged that budgetary restraints may make some requests difficult to fill.

"I need 200 troopers, but in actuality I know we're not going to get that," Smith said.

---

Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:33:11 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1059-BC-SC-XGR-KeelConfirmat-2ndLd-Writethru-02-21-0773 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1050-BC-SC-CitadelSexAbuse-1stLd-Writethru-02-21-0657
CHARLESTON -- The Citadel wants a judge to toss out a lawsuit that alleges a young boy was sexually abused because the military college never told police about an abuse complaint concerning one of its former camp counselors.

The college received a 2007 complaint from a camper who alleged he had been molested by Louis "Skip" ReVille, a counselor at the school's summer camp almost a decade ago. While the college did an internal investigation, it never reported ReVille to police.

ReVille, a Citadel graduate, is now charged with molesting nine youngsters after he left The Citadel when he was a teacher and coach in Charleston area schools, recreation programs and churches.

In December, a mother who lives out of state sued, alleging that her son would not have been abused later by ReVille had the military college reported him to police.

"ReVille in fact was dangerous to children due to the sexual interest ReVille had in children which in 2007 was known only to ReVille, his victim and The Citadel," according to the suit brought by nationally-known abuse victim attorney Jeff Anderson.

In a response, attorney Randell Stoney said the military school "specifically denies any and all allegations that imply or suggest it knew of ReVille's dangerousness in 2007."

The school's response said the suit doesn't prove parental emotional distress and the claims are barred under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, which says in part that a governmental entity is not liable for a loss resulting from "the criminal actions of third persons."

The lawsuit alleged the youth was molested in 2007 and 2008.

The suit seeks unspecified damages as well as an injunction requiring the college to report abuse allegations to law enforcement in the future.

In November, college president retired Lt. Gen. John Rosa said more should have been done when The Citadel received the 2007 complaint.

"At the time, we took what we thought were the necessary steps. It's now clear we should have done more," he said.

Emails released by the school show the internal investigation was an attempt to prevent outside involvement.

"I am hopeful that, by conducting an investigation on behalf of the school, no 'formal' investigation - criminal or civil - will occur," Citadel general counsel Mark Brandenburg wrote in a May 8, 2007, email.

During that internal investigation, ReVille denied the camper's allegation.

He is now in jail on bond of more than $1 million. His attorney said at a bond hearing his client is "extremely remorseful" for the pain he's caused.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:33:07 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1050-BC-SC-CitadelSexAbuse-1stLd-Writethru-02-21-0657 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1047-BC-SC-XGR-FOIBills-02-21-0338
COLUMBIA (AP) -- A legislative panel has approved a measure that could reduce costs for South Carolina citizens seeking documents under open records laws.

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that bars public agencies from charging more than fair market rates for copies. The proposal would also keep agencies from charging any more than the actual cost of searching for a record.

Some public bodies have passed on the cost of having a lawyer review the records before they are released.

The bill also prohibits copy charges for electronic records and requires public agencies to respond to public records requests within 30 days unless records are more than two years old.

The panel also approved an amendment that removes a policy exempting lawmakers from Freedom of Information Act requests.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:33:03 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1047-BC-SC-XGR-FOIBills-02-21-0338 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1042-BC-SC-FourDead-Liberty-02-21-0323
PICKENS (AP) -- A grand jury in Pickens County has indicted a woman on four counts of murder in the deaths of her relatives.

Solicitor Walt Wilkins said the indictments were handed down Tuesday against 48-year-old Susan Hendricks.

Hendricks was arrested about a week after two of her sons, her ex-husband and her stepmother were found shot to death in neighboring homes in Liberty in October. Deputies said Hendricks tried to frame one of her sons by placing the gun used to kill all four of them on a nightstand beside his bed and leaving behind a note.

Prosecutors have said Hendricks killed her relatives because she wanted to collect $700,000 in life insurance policies. Wilkins has not said if he will seek the death penalty.

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:32:58 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1042-BC-SC-FourDead-Liberty-02-21-0323 http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1039-BC-SC-CockysReadingExp-3rdLdWritethru-02-21-0663
USC unveils new bus for reading program

COLUMBIA (AP) -- The University of South Carolina and its mascot Cocky celebrated getting a new set of wheels Tuesday to advance the school's statewide reading and literacy program for disadvantaged kids.

To the strains of the theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey," the large red rooster popped out of a custom-designed bus that rolled up the street in front of the university library. The bus was purchased for the program known as Cocky's Reading Express with a $75,000 donation from the oil company BP, university officials said.

Children from the university's child development center waved their arms and cheered alongside school officials and student volunteers gathered for the unveiling.

"Our goal is that every child in South Carolina has access to books and that every child reads on grade level," said Kim Jeffcoat, executive director of the center that coordinates the program with USC's School of Library and Information Science and the student government association.

The effort has delivered about 40,000 books to children across the state since it was first developed in 2005. It only visits high-poverty schools that get federal Title I funds.

Student volunteers help Cocky during the visits. The mascot, who doesn't speak, acts out stories as the volunteers read and then he gives a book to each child. All the children promise Cocky they will continue to read at home.

The program has had 400 student volunteers and visited 237 sites. It has expanded to offer sessions for parents on reading, healthy eating and financial planning, Jeffcoat said.

The new bus will enhance the program's ability to travel, Jeffcoat said. In the past it was dependent upon the availability of state vans or private vehicles.

"You know, Cocky is so big, he takes up two seats!" she said with a laugh.

Because the new bus is outfitted with DVD players and Wi-Fi, student volunteers will be able to watch training videos to help them understand reading problems and better work with the youngsters on the visits, she said.

The new van has storage space to carry the hundreds of books they take on each trip.

Tommy Preston, who was student government treasurer when the program was launched, attended the unveiling and said he was astonished at its growth.

"When we started, we thought of it as just a weeklong program to talk about literacy," said the 26-year-old, who is an attorney with the firm Nexsen Pruet. "Within a month, we got hundreds of requests to come to other schools. Now, it is getting national recognition and other universities want to model programs after it."

]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:32:54 GMT All Stories http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1039-BC-SC-CockysReadingExp-3rdLdWritethru-02-21-0663