Snake causes car crash in s.Lebanon, 11 wounded

BEIRUT: Eleven people, including six children, were wounded in south Lebanon after a mother swerved to avoid a snake in the road, with the SUV she was driving overturning after she lost control of it.

The National News Agency said Fatmeh Daoud Yassin was driving her Range Rover on the Maifadoun-Kfar Djal road when she saw a large snake crossing the street.

She swerved to avoid it, but the vehicle toppled, rolling down toward the side of the road, NNA said.

The mother and her four children, between 2 and 6 years old, were injured in the accident Thursday evening.

Also wounded were Amal Rida Nasser, Yassin’s friend, and her three children – ages 2, 7 and 9.

Two other people in Yassin’s care were also injured, according to NNA.

It said Yassin and her youngest son, Hussein, were in critical condition.

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – May 23, 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to The Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Akhbar

Geagea informs Hariri of readiness to step down as candidate

The Lebanese Forces seriously want to find a way out of the presidential crisis. LF leader Samir Geagea has informed former Prime Minister Saad Hariri that he is willing to step down as a candidate in favor of Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel or Minister Boutros Harb.

Meanwhile, March 14 sources told Al-Akhbar that March 14 leaders planned to discuss names of new candidates, who are close to Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, after the constitutional deadline to elect a president has expired.

Ad-Diyar

March 8, March 14 Christians agree to boycott legislation

March 8 and March 14 Christians, under the patronage of Bkirki, have agreed to boycott legislative sessions in the wake of a presidential vacuum.

Among those boycotting the legislature are the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has rejected an offer from Bkirki to extend President Michel Sleiman’s term until a new head of state has been elected.

Hezbollah’s rejection was made during a recent meeting of the follow-up committee between Hezbollah and Bkirki.

Al-Mustaqbal

Iran is behind any March 8 decision to disrupt Cabinet

March 14 sources told Al-Mustaqbal that should any party from the March 8 coalition decide to “disrupt” the election, then it was Iran that was seeking disruption, pointing out that the four ministers from MP Michel Aoun’s bloc could not cause a disruption unless they were joined by Hezbollah and Amal ministers.

Al-Liwaa

Sleiman: I was embarrassed when I was elected president, but now I’m proud

President Michel Sleiman told Baabda Palace employees as he said goodbye Thursday that “I was embarrassed when I was elected president after May 7, 2008, but now I am proud that I’m leaving the presidency within the democratic norms.”

An-Nahar

Pay hike victim of presidential vacuum

The controversial salary raise draft law is going to be the foremost “victim" of a presidential vacuum, as talk began to surface that the government would take over the president’s powers, something that would affect the decision-making mechanism.

Detroit motorists under siege in 'Carjack City'

DETROIT -- When they pull up to a gas station these days, Detroit drivers are looking beyond the price per gallon at a far more threatening concern: carjackers.

The armed auto thieves have become so common here that parts of the bankrupt metropolis are referred to as "Carjack City," and many motorists fear getting out of their vehicles even for a few moments to fill a tank.

So gas stations are taking steps to protect customers, and the city has formed a special police team to go after suspects. Convicted carjackers will even get their faces and prison sentences plastered onto billboards.

"You need to catch these people and make a good example of them," said Mousa Bazzi, who owns a Mobil station in a semi-desolate neighborhood bordering Detroit's east riverfront. He keeps his business well-lit and continually has two to four employees inside to ensure "there's always an extra hand or two" in case of trouble.

Authorities blame many of the carjackings, ironically, on improvements in vehicle security. Anti-theft equipment, GPS systems and advanced locks now prevent many vehicles from being driven without a key in the ignition.

That makes it difficult or impossible for thieves to steal parked cars, leading them to target vehicles that are occupied, said Jonathan Parnell, of Detroit's auto-theft squad.

Also contributing to the thefts is a strong demand for stolen wheels and tires, police said.

Bazzi's station displays pale-green decals depicting a lighthouse — a symbol that his business has joined the city's anti-carjacking effort. To be part of the program, stations must have security cameras, good lighting, be open 24 hours and have clerks willing to help motorists and provide a phone for emergency calls.

"There is a waiting list," Sgt. Michael Woody said. "We have so many gas stations that want to become a lighthouse. You get better protection with that big sticker in the window that tells criminals there is proper equipment that will help police investigate these crimes."

Detroit police reported 720 carjackings last year in the city of fewer than 700,000 people. That's down from nearly 850 in 2011 and 1,231 in 2008.

The decline may partly be due to Detroit's freefalling population, but the thefts still exceed the carjackings in some comparably sized U.S. cities.

Sharlonda Buckman, executive director of a Detroit nonprofit, was at a gas station on an October morning when she ran inside for aspirin. Back inside her SUV, she was just closing the door when she saw a carjacker shove his gun inside.

She screamed and jumped out of the vehicle. The carjacker jumped in and drove off. Three other customers gave chase in their vehicles. One caught up to the SUV and got shot in the leg by the carjacker, who was later arrested.

Now, Buckman said, she tries not to pump gas at all.

"If the night catches me, I won't pump gas in the city," she said. "Or I'll call somebody to meet me."

It's difficult to know how Detroit's carjackings rank nationally because many police agencies lump carjackings with all armed robberies in annual reports to the FBI.

Newark, New Jersey, with a population of 280,000, had 382 carjackings last year, giving it a per capita rate that is actually higher than Detroit's. Memphis, Tennessee, with a population of 655,000, had slightly more than 400 carjackings over three years from 2011 through 2013. El Paso, a rapidly growing western Texas city of 670,000, reported only 15 carjackings last year and 18 in 2012.

Through May 19, Detroit has recorded 191 carjackings in 2014, including the Feb. 24 shooting death of CVS security guard Courtney Meeks, who rushed toward a car being taken by three men, and the Feb. 4 slaying of Donald Bradshaw, a 68-year-old man who was beaten to death with a tire iron after he was carjacked at an intersection.

Prosecutors, the FBI and Detroit police recently announced a campaign to spread the word about stiffer federal penalties for carjacking, which can include the death penalty if someone is killed. A similar campaign that includes billboards with photos of convicted carjackers started last summer in Newark.

Detroit police have also announced a partnership with General Motors' OnStar roadside assistance service to track down stolen vehicles and promote rewards tied to an anonymous tip line.

To avoid becoming a victim, security guard Greg Champion wears a handgun on his hip whenever he's pumping gas.

"I don't want to surprise you," Champion said. "I want you to know I'm armed, and I want you to know I can defend myself, and I want you to go somewhere else."

Christine Reed takes the opposite approach. The 27-year-old mother of two won't stop for gas in Detroit. She lives north of the city in Warren and works four days a week cleaning offices downtown.

If she's in a bad section of town, Reed said, she passes through red lights because it's tougher to carjack a moving target.

"It's not a safe place anymore," Reed said. "It's dangerous."

The state-appointed emergency manager tasked with restructuring Detroit's $18 billion in debt has said crime needs to be reduced to make the city attractive to new residents and businesses.

That's going to take more and better resources, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who complains that she has only a few assistants to try carjackings.

"When nobody has any resources ... all we can be is reactive," she said.

State lottery chief taps down revenue expectations

POWELL, Wyo. -- Wyoming's lottery chief has low initial revenue expectations as the games make their debut in the state, the Powell Tribune reports.

"It's not going to be a whole lot in the first year or two," Wyoming Lottery Corporation CEO Jon Clontz said in an interview (http://bit.ly/RgjiAC ) this week.

Clontz said the lottery is expected to bring in $13 million to $17 million as it debuts. Expenses are expected to take between 35 to 45 percent of revenue, leaving $6 million for counties, cities and towns and the remaining for the common school account in the state land trust fund.

Earlier reports had suggested the state would bring in up to $20 million, but Clontz says to hit that mark, more games are needed beyond the Powerball and Mega Millions games for which tickets will go on sale Aug. 24. Video lottery and scratch tickets are among the games banned under the lottery authorization bill signed into law in 2013.

"I'd like to see scratch tickets come in," Clontz said. "They're fun. People like them. I'm getting asked a lot about them. Me personally, I hope we get to do scratch tickets."

Clontz said he knows the Legislature and governor would have to modify the law to allow scratch tickets or video lottery. The board can add a Wyoming-specific lottery, raffles or other forms of gambling without permission from the state, he said.

Clontz comes to Wyoming after two years as the deputy director and chief operating officer for the Oregon Lottery. He said he was attracted by the challenge of starting a state lottery.

Gap's 1st-quarter net income declines 22 percent

NEW YORK -- Gap says first-quarter profit fell 22 percent, as the clothing chain had to step up discounting to bring in customers earlier in the year when unusually cold weather chilled business.

The San Francisco-based retailer, which operates stores under Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, reiterated its annual profit outlook

Gap says it earned $260 million, or 58 cents per share, in the three-month period ended May 3. That compares with $333 million, or 71 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose 1.2 percent to $3.77 billion.

Analysts had expected earnings per share of 57 cents on revenue of $3.76 billion, according to FactSet.

Revenue at stores opened at least a year fell 1 percent.

Savannah River can apparently handle new port

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It appears the Savannah River can handle a second major container port.

A joint board from South Carolina and Georgia developing a $3 billion container ship terminal learned Thursday that a capacity study indicates the river can handle ships from both the existing Georgia ports and the planned Jasper Ocean Terminal. The study should be finalized this summer.

The board is working together to develop the 1,500-acre Jasper terminal on the South Carolina side of the river just downstream from Savannah. The idea is to have the new terminal operational when the existing ports in Savannah and Charleston run out of capacity.

"There are no red flags" from the study said James Balloun, of Georgia and chairman of the joint board. He said the board hopes to apply for a federal permit for the new terminal in September next year.

While time schedules can be uncertain, officials expect the new port could be permitted, built and operational by around 2030.

The river capacity study being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considers everything from the width and depth of the river, tides, the size of ships and space at the terminals to determine how many ships the river can accommodate.

"By the end of the study we will have a basic understanding of the impact of adding Jasper to the river," said Michael Rieger of the consulting firm of Moffatt & Nichol told the board as he updated members on the study's progress.

He said that before the federal permit can be sought several tasks need to be completed.

They include additional design work and a more detailed plan of where the terminal will link with U.S. 17 and railroads. There also needs to be tests of soil and river sediment. In addition, a study of the economic impact of the terminal, including the jobs and taxes it will create in Jasper County, one of the poorest in South Carolina, is required.

Jim Newsome, the president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority, said the board should also conduct a more extensive financial analysis of the port operation and how it will be financed.

"This is one of the largest terminal projects of its type in the United States," he said. "At some point we need a more sophisticated financial analysis."

Balloun agreed such a study needs to be done "sooner rather than later."

House defies Pentagon on defense spending

WASHINGTON -- The House defied the Pentagon on Thursday, overwhelmingly backing a $601 billion defense authorization bill that saves the Cold War-era U-2 spy plane, military bases and Navy cruisers despite warnings that it will undercut military readiness.

A White House veto threat — reiterated just hours before the vote — had little impact in an election year as lawmakers embraced the popular measure that includes a 1.8 percent pay raise for the troops and adds up to hundreds of thousands of jobs back home. The vote was 325-98 for the legislation, with 216 Republicans and 109 Democrats backing the bill.

Hours later, the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee announced the completion of its version of the bill that backs several of the Pentagon proposals while breaking with the administration on some weapons.

Most notably, the Senate panel "created a path to close Guantanamo," said the committee's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a long-sought goal of President Barack Obama. Under a provision of the bill, the administration would have to produce a comprehensive plan for transferring terror suspects from the U.S. naval facility in Cuba that would be subject to a congressional vote.

The Senate panel backed the administration on some personnel benefits and a 1 percent pay raise for the military, while breaking with the administration by sparing the A-10 Warthog close-support plane and an aircraft carrier.

Certain to frustrate the administration was a provision that would authorize the military to train and equip vetted Syrian rebels battling forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The Senate bill must be reconciled with the House version.

Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, defended his House bill and rejected the suggestion that the measure was a "sop to parochial interests," arguing it makes "the tough decisions that put the troops first."

But the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, complained that the House rejected the Pentagon's cost-saving proposals and came up with no alternatives.

"We ducked every difficult decision," Smith said.

With the ending of two wars and diminishing budgets, the Pentagon had proposed retiring the U-2 and the A-10, taking 11 Navy cruisers out of the normal rotation for modernization and increasing out-of-pocket costs for housing and health care.

Republicans, even tea partyers who came to Congress demanding deep cuts in federal spending, and Democrats rejected the Pentagon budget, sparing the aircraft, ships and troop benefits.

An increasingly antagonistic White House issued a veto threat on Monday, and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough reinforced that message in a private meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday morning. Late Wednesday, the White House issued another veto threat over restrictions in the bill on President Barack Obama's ability to transfer terror suspects from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The full-throated message had little influence.

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., highlighted her vote for the bill and its importance to her home state, where more than 150,000 have defense or defense-related jobs. Her colleague, Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., praised the A-10 Warthog, which trains in Tucson.

In committee, Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., a former pilot and tea party favorite elected in 2012, spared three of seven AWACS aircraft based at Tinker Air Force Base in his home state.

The House engaged in a spirited debate over post-Sept. 11 laws and practices, and whether they are overly broad and still viable nearly 13 years after the terror attacks. Lawmakers pressed to sunset the authorization given to the president to use military force, to end the indefinite detention of terror suspects captured on U.S. soil and to close the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The House rejected all three amendments to change current law.

To address the pervasive problem of sexual assault in the military, the bill would change the military rules of evidence to prohibit the accused from using good military character as defense in court-martial proceedings unless it was directly relevant to the alleged crime.

The "good soldier defense" could encompass a defendant's military record of reliability, dependability, professionalism and reputation as an individual who could be counted on in war and peacetime.

Overall, the legislation would provide $495.8 billion for the core defense budget, $17.9 billion for energy programs within Pentagon spending and $79.4 billion for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas operations.