State News
University of Michigan defensive end Frank Clark plead guilty to taking a laptop from a dorm room and continues to play for the team. Clark plead guilty to a felony, second-degree home invasion on Tuesday, Sept. 11. If he completes probation he can have the conviction dismissed from his record under a first-time offenders program. Clark was suspended by coach Brady Hoke for a week of preseason practice and the opener game against Alabama. Hoke said Clark had to pay for his bad choice, but he continues to be a part of the team and family. Clark’s sentencing will be on Oct. 23, the same day U of M’s running back Fitzgerald Toussaint is set for sentencing after pleading guilty to drunk driving.
National News
Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against a mandate in the U.S.’s health care laws that requires employers to cover the morning-after pill and similar drugs. As a Christian-oriented company, the owners of Hobby Lobby feel it is against their religious beliefs to provide contraceptives to its employees. By failing to provide coverage of these drugs, Hobby Lobby could be looking at fines of up to $1.3 million a day, according to the company. The representative for Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. Kyle Duncan said this lawsuit does not challenge the rules on preventative birth control, only on the morning-after pill and similar contraceptive drugs. He also said that 27 other similar lawsuits were filed nationwide because of the new mandate.
International News
The United States Embassy in Libya was attacked on Wednesday, Sept. 12 by Islamic gunmen who were angered by an American film that mocked the Prophet Mohammad. Four people were killed in the attack, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others who were employed by the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Nearly 17 other victims were injured during the attack in which the gunmen not only attacked the embassy, but also set the consolate on fire. The attack on the U.S. consolate in Libya was followed closely by a similar attack on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, however no one was killed in the Cairo incident. In a striking resemblance to a 2005 Danish newspaper, which also mocked the Prophet Mohammad, an amateur American film represented the Prophet as a religious fake and a fool. The video, which was also released on YouTube, was highly offensive to Muslims, who hold the position that anything insulting the Prophet Mohammad is blasphemous.
Weird News
A homeless Florida man was arrested after he stole a credit card from a vehicle and attempted to buy beer from the bartender who was the owner of the credit card. The 53-year-old man was arrested and later charged with credit card fraud and theft in Miami Beach, Fla. on Sept. 10. The bartender called the police when he saw the homeless man was trying to use his credit card. According to the police, Weber told them he found the credit card on the ground.
