WRBB News February 9, 2007

Sorry about missed newsness! I had a computer malfunction! Here is news for FRIDAY!
Please make sure to credit sources.

WORLD NEWS
US air strike kills Iraqi troops

Eight Iraqi soldiers have been killed and six wounded in a US air strike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, local officials have said.
The officials described Friday's incident as an act of "friendly fire", saying the target was an Iraqi army position in the east of the city.

The US military said five men were killed, and said the intended target had been a suspected al-Qaeda cell. It expressed its "deepest sympathies" to the families of the dead. The US said the attack was launched after its soldiers had identified armed men in a bunker near a building that was reportedly used for bomb-making.

The troops called for the men to put down their weapons in Arabic and Kurdish, before launching the strike, the US said. It is not clear if a rocket was fired by a helicopter or a plane. The men who died were all Kurdish.

One local official told the BBC that the victims were Peshmerga fighters. Peshmergas spent decades resisting the Saddam Hussein regime.

US NEWS
Casey confirmed as US army chief

Gen Casey has commanded US troops in Iraq since July 2004
Senators in the United States have approved the nomination of General George Casey as the country's next army chief of staff.
Lawmakers backed Gen Casey, who has commanded US forces in Iraq for more than two years, by 83 votes to 14.

But some key senators - both Republican and Democrat - voted against him for failing to stem the violence in Iraq. Earlier, a senate panel backed John Negroponte, the outgoing intelligence chief, as deputy secretary of state. Mr Negroponte, who has served as ambassador to Iraq and the United Nations, must now be confirmed by the full Senate.

Mr Negroponte was named as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy last month, filling a role left vacant since Robert Zoellick left the post last July. (BBC NEWS)


Playboy model Smith autopsy due

A post mortem examination is due to be carried on the body of Anna Nicole Smith, an ex-Playboy model and widow of an octogenarian oil tycoon.
There will also be an emergency hearing into her baby's paternity, disputed by her partner and an ex-boyfriend. The 39-year-old was rushed to hospital late on Thursday after she collapsed in a hotel in the US state of Florida.

LOCAL NEWS
T credits Charlie Card with halting fare jumpers

The introduction of the Charlie Card has boosted MBTA revenues significantly, as the automated system makes it more difficult for riders to avoid paying fares.

The T, which previously projected that the new system would boost revenues 3 percent, now expects a jump of 9 percent -- or about $21 million -- in fare collections by the end of this fiscal year, June 30.

That increase is over and above the 25 percent fare increase that took place Jan. 1, MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said. "The numbers that we have seem to indicate strongly that fare evasion was greater throughout the system than we thought," he said.

The effort to curb fare evasion is being helped by additional security cameras , new, higher fare gates, and more T "ambassadors," who assist passengers in learning the new pay method but also are alert to people trying to jump the gates.

T officials yesterday declined to release January revenue numbers, saying they had yet to tabulate them. But the December figures show revenues up 7.5 percent over December 2005, with the T taking in $27.5 million.

T riders are adopting the new technology largely because the CharlieCard offers the lowest fares. On Jan. 1, subway fares rose to $1.70 from $1.25 and bus fares to $1.25 from 90 cents. Those using the paper CharlieTickets or paying with cash are charged more.

The new automated fare collection system, however, has not been without problems, including faulty smart cards and vending machines that took riders' money but issued nothing back.

Members of the T Riders Union, a rider advocacy group, have said the new fare system could also force some of the T's most loyal riders to pay the surcharge because they can't easily get to a vending machine to load money on to a CharlieCard.

Based on the statistics released yesterday, by the end of January, 86 percent of T riders were using CharlieCards and 14 percent used CharlieTickets or paid cash and had to pay the surcharge. Grabauskas hopes to lower the percentage of people who rely on the paper tickets in the next several months. (The Boston Globe)

News Directors Comments: BOO Million Dollar T!


CAMPUS NEWS
NU Decides to Finally Stop Throwing Social Security Numbers Around Like Candy

A 9-digit number will be replacing student social security numbers on most University records and systems after February 20. Students will need this number to conduct business throughout the University after that date.

Due to the conversion of social security numbers to NU ID, students will not have access to most business transactions and services beginning at the close of business Friday, February 16 through Wednesday, February 21.

Students will need to conclude all business-related services before end of the day on Friday, February 16*. This includes the following:
Adding funds to Husky Cards
Payments made to the University on-line or through the Phone system
Requesting cash releases (Students need to request cash releases prior to the end of the business day on Tuesday, February 13.)

E-mail and blackboard services are expected to remain available through the conversion. Students will be notified when affected services are available.
(www.myneu.edu)