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Show Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Page 2 WorldeiNatiOn Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com Geneva Auto Show: Hybrid or Hype? ClarifyCorrect The policy of The Utah Statesman is to correct any error made as soon as possible. If you find something you would like clarified or find unfair, please contact the editor at statesmaneditor@aggiemail.usu.edu GENEVA (AP) — Hybrid or hype? More and more automakers rolled out their newest hybrids, or announced plans to do so, at the Geneva Auto Show on Tuesday, begging the question: Is the future now, or is this just attention-grabbing while the real powerhouse of the automotive world remains king combustion? For the time being most automakers are hedging their bets. Porsche kicked off the show with a hybrid version of its Cayenne S sports utility vehicle. French group PSA Peugeot Citroen SA is launching hybrids in 2012. And Toyota aims to have a hybrid across every model range by 2020. Executives cite consumer demand for gasoline-electric powered cars and the drive to stay competitive as fuel efficiency standards get stricter. "Our experience with Prius and other hybrids tells us that market acceptance of hybrids is growing," said Toyota Europea Vice President Andrea Formica. Last year, 530,000 customers purchased hybrids around the world, up 24 percent from 2008, and in Europe, Prius sales in a difficult market increased 3 percent in 2009 to 44,000 units. "Drivers of hybrids are no longer pioneers or earlyadapters. They are more and more mainstream buyers," Formica said. But while the world's largest car company can point to the third generation of its successful Prius range for its green credentials, most manufacturers have bet the firm on improving their gas-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future. Some appeared content to offer hybrids as little more than a moral fig leaf for consumers who feel guilty about their carbon footprint. Celebs&People CHICAGO (AP) —Jessica Simpson says she's "a little bit angry" with ex-boyfriend John Mayer for an interview he gave to Playboy magazine in which he called the SIMPSON singer "sexual napalm." In quotes provided by Harpo Productions, Simpson says on the Wednesday episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that she doesn't want people "to know how I am in bed." In the interview, Mayer talked about Simpson's sexual ability and said Simpson "is like crack cocaine to me." NewsBriefs THE NEW PORSCHE Cayenne Hybrid is shown during the press day at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show, Tuesday, March 2, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Motor Show will open its gates to public from March 4- 14, presenting more than 1,000 brands with more than 100 World and European firsts. AP photo "Hybrid sales are not booming in any part of the world," said Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson. "One reason being, of course, is it is a very expensive proposition and today's gasoline and diesel applications are getting more and more efficient." "Many people are asking themselves, for another two miles per gallon or whatever it might be, is it really worthwhile paying $5,000 or $6,000 for a hybrid solution?" he asked. "I think the hybrids need to be a little more cost efficient until we see a volume." Saab, of course, has its own set of problems, relaunching an automaker that sputtered to a standstill in the absence of buyers until the Dutch automaker Spyker made a deal in December. Right now Saab is focusing on restarting production and filling its distribution chain — but Acker says hybrid solutions will be part of all vehicles in the future. I See AUTO, page 10 Washington changes method of execution Racist incidents set off storm at UC campuses OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) —Washington state has changed its method of execution from a three-drug cocktail to a onedrug system, according to paperwork filed Tuesday with the state Supreme Court. The filing by state Attorney General Rob McKenna reveals that the state made the decision last Thursday. It wants the high court to dismiss portions of the appeal of death-row inmate Darold Stenson, arguing that a challenge of the drug protocol's constitutionality is now moot. LOS ANGELES (AP) — A firestorm over racially and ethnically charged incidents at several University of California campuses spread Tuesday as UC San Diego announced a KKK-style hood was found on campus and students in Los Angeles and Irvine demonstrated against intolerance. "What kind of campus promotes an environment that allows people to think it's acceptable to target people for their ethnicity, gender or sexuality?" said Corey Matthews, one of about 200 mostly minority UCLA students who held a lunchtime rally. "It's something about the tone of the environment that allows this." At UC Irvine, about 250 people gathered for a "student solidarity speakout" LateNiteHumor to condemn the recent spate of racist incidents at UC San Diego that targeted black students and another incident last month at UC Davis, which targeted a Jewish student with a swastika carved on her door, said Marya Bangee, an event organizer. The protests came on the same day UC San Diego announced the discovery of a white pillowcase fashioned into a KKK-style hood — the third racist incident around the campus in as many weeks — and a day after UC Santa Cruz officials found an image of a noose scribbled on the inside of a bathroom door. Officials found the hood, which bore a hand-drawn circle and cross, on a statue of children's book author Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, outside the main UC San Diego campus police said they had completed their investigation into the noose incident and turned their results over to the city attorney on Tuesday for possible hate crime charges. One of the students responsible for the noose apologized to the university community in an anonymous letter published Monday in the campus newspaper. She said the noose was formed while she and friends were playing around with a piece of rope and had no meaning as a lynching symbol. The student said she is not black, but is a minority. The incident also is under investigation by law enforcement agencies, campus spokeswoman Judy Piercey said. Senate votes after days of Republican stalling Monday, March 1, 2010 Top 10 Signs You Have Winter Olympics Withdrawal WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Tuesday passed a $10 billion measure to maintain unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and provide stopgap funding for highway programs after a holdout Republican dropped stalling tactics that had generated a Washington firestorm. Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning had been holding up action for days but conceded after pressure intensified with Monday's cutoff of road funding and extended unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless. Bunning wanted to force Democrats to find ways to finance the bill so that it wouldn't add to the deficit, but his move sparked a political tempest that subjected Republicans to withering media coverage and cost the party politically. Bunning's support among Republicans was dwindling, while Democrats used to being on the defensive over health care and the deficit seemed to relish the battle. The bill passed by a 78-19 vote. It passed the House last week and President 10. Will only eat your pancakes if arranged like Olympic rings. 9. You excercise on Nordictrack with a rifle strapped to your back. 8. You weep uncontrollably every time you see snow. 7. Turned your closet into a "kiss and cry" area. 6. Office manager says, "We're getting complaints about your speed skating body suit.' 5. You're curling on your patio with a Swiffer and a fruit cake. 4. Now only watch television if it's on a nine hour tape delay. 3. Already purchased snacks for the 2014 Winter Olympics. 2. Brushing your teeth involves an opening and closing ceremony. 1. You sold your BMW and bought a bobsled. Barack Obama is likely sign the bill into law quickly so that 2,000 furloughed Transportation Department workers can go back to work on Wednesday. Doctors faced the prospect of a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments, and federal flood insurance programs had lapsed with Monday's expiration of an earlier stopgap bill that passed late last year. Tuesday's action will provide a monthlong extension of the expired programs to give Congress time to pass a yearlong — and far more costly — fix that's also pending. Without the legislation, about 200,000 jobless people would have lost federal benefits this week alone, according to the liberal-leaning National Employment Law Project. Jobless people normally get 26 weeks of unemployment benefits and 20 more weeks in states with higher unemployment rates. The legislation extends several additional layers of benefits added since 2008 because of the stubborn recession. 20% OF ANY REGULAR PRICE 077tvil!* DOOR-BUSTERS, HUGE DISCOUNTS, HELPFUL CLINICS, AND FREE STUFF FROM: CAMELBAK 4:47 ass° campus library late Monday. A rose had been inserted between the statue's fingers. Detectives were analyzing the pillowcase for fingerprints and DNA evidence, a university statement said. UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox vowed to punish the culprits to the fullest extent of the law. We will not tolerate these despicable actions," she said in the statement. The hood came on the heels two other UC San Diego incidents: a February offcampus, student-organized "Compton Cookout" party that mocked Black History Month with ghetto stereotypes; and a noose found hanging from a library bookshelf last week. Bloc k Diamond MONDAY DAILY DEAL: L-) Kelty Colwell 25 Down Sleeping Bag: $60, Reg. $160 6 7 PM: FREE Cross country ski clinic - GOGIRL ,LITOOOR RESEWRC, TUESDAY CI DAILY DEAL: Gregory Z22 Backpack: $45, Reg. $110 6 7 PM: FREE Hiking clinic w/Vasque rep - GRAND March 5-13 MEWS ()SIT E). '''17/7611cs`d G I_ 1 1_ JETBOIL. 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"Today we have a clear-cut example to show the American people just what's wrong with Washington, D.C.," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. "That is because today one single Republican senator is standing in the way of the unemployment benefits of 400,000 Americans." FRIDAY 3 - SOLE 41.1P A. OPENING * contests * *Limit one sale item per person. O Earlier on Tuesday, Bunning objected to a request by Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a fellow Republican, to pass a 30-day extension of jobless benefits and other expired measures. When asked Tuesday if Bunning was hurting the Republican Party, Collins said, "He's hurting the American people." Other Republicans were more diplomatic in their assessments of Bunning, who has a stubborn and often irascible personality. Bunning is reluctantly retiring at the end of the current term and enjoys a tense relationship with homestate colleague and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who privately urged Bunning to step aside. Bunning had blocked the stopgap legislation since Thursday, insisting that Democrats find offsetting revenues or spending cuts to finance the bill. Instead, he settled for a vote to close a tax loophole enjoyed by paper companies that get a credit from burning "black liquor," a pulp-making byproduct, as if it were an alternative fuel. 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