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ByKimberlyHefling TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON From huge state universities to small colleges and the Ivy League, 55 schools across America are facing federal investi- gation for the way they handle sex- ual abuse allegations by their stu- dents. For the first time, the Educa- tion Department revealed its list of colleges under investigation on Thursday — though no details of the complaints — as the Obama administration sought to bring more openness to the issue of sex- ual violence on and around the na- tion's campuses. The schools range from public universities, including Ohio State, the University of California, Berke- ley and Arizona State, to private schools including Knox College in Illinois, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and Catholic Univer- sity of America in the District of Columbia. Ivy League schools in- cluding Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth are also on the list. The government emphasized the list was about investigations of complaints, not judgments. Ed- ucation Secretary Arne Duncan said there was "absolutely zero presumption" of guilt. Few details of individual cases are known, but some are. One, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, involves allegations of mis- handling of a matter involving a football player. The investigation began after federal authorities re- ceived complaints related to the expulsion of Brendan Gibbons, a former placekicker. A student group examined the school's student sexual miscon- duct policy and last month deter- mined the university failed to ex- plain a yearslong delay between the alleged incident and Gibbons' expulsion in December. Spokes- man Rick Fitzgerald says the uni- versity has been "fully cooperat- ing." Schools on the list, for the most part, were unwilling to talk about specific incidents but said they have been working with the federal department to be more responsive to student complaints. "We are hopeful at the end of this there will be a resolution that will strengthen our internal pro- cesses and result in a safer com- munity," said Dartmouth spokes- man Justin Anderson. "There's al- ways something we can learn and ways to get better." The Obama administration's ef- fort to bring more attention to the issue of sexual assaults is not lim- ited to colleges. Separately on Thursday, the Pentagon said that reports of as- saults by members of the military have risen 50 percent since the be- ginning of a campaign to persuade more victims to come forward. De- fense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he is ordering six initiatives to deal with sexual assaults, including ef- forts to get more male victims to speak up. TitleIXaction The college investigations are done under Title IX of a U.S. law, which prohibits gender discrimi- nation at schools that receive fed- eral funds. It is the same law that guarantees girls and women equal access to sports, but it also regu- lates institutions' handling of sex- ual violence and increasingly is be- ing used by victims who say their schools failed to protect them. The agency previously would confirm such Title IX investiga- tions when asked, but students and others were often unaware of them. Duncan said there had been "lots of internal debate" about whether to release the list but that transparency is important. "No one probably loves to have their name on that list," Duncan said during a White House brief- ing. "But we'll investigate; we'll go where the facts are. And where they have done everything per- fectly, we'll be very loud and clear that they've done everything per- fectly." The department can withhold federal funding from a school that doesn't comply with the law, but it so far has not used that power and instead has negotiated voluntary resolutions for violators. About half of all states have schools under investigation. Massachusetts has six, includ- ing Harvard College. Harvard students filed formal complaints in late March to the department saying the college did not respond promptly to reports of sexual violence, that students were subjected to a sexually hostile en- vironment, and that in some cases assault victims were forced to live in the same residence buildings as their alleged assailants. "Harvard has taken a number of steps to foster prevention ef- forts and to support students who have experienced sexual miscon- duct," spokesman Jeff Neal said. They include appointing a Title IX officer to review policies and pro- cedures. Pennsylvania had five schools listed. California, Colorado and New York each had four. Some investigations were prompted by complaints directly to the federal department; others were initiated by the department following compliance reviews trig- gered by other factors, such as news stories, the department said. Some schools wanted to note what triggered the investigation. EDUCATION AND CRIME 55 schools face federal probes over sex assaults Education Secretary Arne Duncan speaks in New York on April 10. Duncan said there had been "lots of internal debate" about whether to release the list of colleges and universities being investigated over their handling of sexual abuse complaints but that he believes in transparency. MICHAEL SISAK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS News feed OKLAHOMA CITY The head of Oklahoma's Department of Corrections said in a letter to the governor Thursday that the state must change its ex- ecution procedures to allow for more oversight after an inmate suffered an agonizing death this week as the state tried to put him to death. Clayton Lockett died of an apparent heart attack 10 minutes after prisons direc- tor Robert Patton halted the execution. A second execu- tion set for Tuesday night was initially rescheduled for May 13, but Patton called Thursday for an indefinite stay. In his letter to the gover- nor, Patton said it was wrong to leave "all responsibil- ity and decision-making" to the warden of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAl- ester, where executions are carried out. "Those decisions should rest on upper management and ultimately on the Di- rector of Corrections," Pat- ton wrote in a four-page let- ter detailing Lockett's last day. He shared the letter at a Board of Corrections meet- ing Thursday. — The Associated Press OKLAHOMA Prison chief calls for execution review WASHINGTON Senate sup- porters of the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline con- ceded Thursday they lack the 60 votes necessary to pass legislation authorizing im- mediate construction of the project, but said they remain hopeful of prevailing. "At this point we're still working to get 60," said Sen. John Hoeven. R-N.D., as he and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., introduced a biparti- san bill to end the delays and build the proposed pipeline. Landrieu, who chairs the Senate Energy Commit- tee, faces a tough re-elec- tion challenge this fall, and has said she will use all her power to make sure the proj- ect is built. In their statement, Landrieu and Hoeven said the legislation has the sup- port of 11 Democrats and all 45 of the Senate's Republi- cans, a total of 56 of the 60 that will be needed. "A vote on the bill is expected in the coming days," they added. The proposed pipeline would carry oil from Canada to the United States, where it eventually would reach Gulf Coast refineries. — The Associated Press WASHINGTON Supporters: Keystone bill short of 60 votes ABUJA, NIGERIA An appar- ent car bomb exploded near a checkpoint at a busy road lined with traffic in Nigeria's capital Thursday night, near the site of an April 14 bombing that killed at least 75 people, officials and witnesses said. Civil Defense Corps spokes- man Eman Ekeh said rescuers have rushed to the scene on May Day, a public holiday in the West African nation that is hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa next week in Abuja. Ekeh said there were casualties, but he had no idea of how many. Witnesses said a car laden with explosives appeared to blow up near the checkpoint where traffic had built up as soldiers and police search vehicles. The checkpoint was set up after the bombing earlier this month. The wit- nesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety. The Boko Haram Islamic extremist network claimed the April 14 bombing at rush hour at a busy bus sta- tion in a working class sub- urb. It killed at least 75 Mus- lims and Christians, and wounded 141. — The Associated Press AFRICA ExplosionrocksNigerian capital,2ndin3weeks TORONTO Toronto Mayor Rob Ford began a leave of ab- sence and headed for a rehab center Thursday, leaving his scandalized city in the dark about his political future af- ter a report surfaced of sec- ond video of him apparently smoking crack cocaine. Ford announced Wednesday that he would take leave for an unspecified amount of time from both his mayoral post and his re-election campaign, but he did not abandon his bid for a second term as mayor of Cana- da's second largest city. One of his campaign rivals and other Toronto politicians demanded he resign. Toronto police said they were looking into the new video, which was reported by the Globe and Mail newspaper. A day after announcing his decision, Ford boarded a plane for a treatment program outside Toronto that will last at least 30 days, his lawyer Dennis Morris told The As- sociated Press. The mayor's brother, Doug Ford, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that Ford would enter a 30- day inpatient treatment at one of the best rehab facilities in North America but he de- clined to name the location. — The Associated Press CANADA Toronto mayor takes leave, heads to rehab PENSACOLA, FLA. An appar- ent gas explosion all but de- stroyed a jail in the Florida Panhandle,killingtwoinmates and injuring more than 180 people, and officials lost track of three inmates in the chaos, authorities said Thursday. The three inmates were al- ways under authorities con- trol, but went unaccounted for in the confusion as hun- dreds of inmates were bused to hospitals and others were taken to nearby jails because the crippled building had to be evacuated, Escambia County spokeswoman Kath- leen Castro said. Officials said it was unclear if the weather had anything to do with the explosion. The fire marshal would ultimately determine the cause of the blast, County spokeswoman Kathleen Castro said. Authorities blocked off roads leading to the deten- tion center and relatives and attorneys for the inmates stood behind police tape, try- ing to figure out where loved ones had been taken and who was injured and killed. About 600 inmates were in the building at the time of the explosion. — The Associated Press FLORIDA Three inmates missing a er jail blast located By Peter Leonard The Associated Press DONETSK, UKRAINE Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Ukraine should withdraw its military from the eastern and southern regions of the country, a statement that could bolster anti-govern- ment insurgents who are seiz- ing buildings. Hours later, Ukraine's act- ing president ordered that the military draft be renewed, cit- ing "threats of encroachment on the nation's territorial in- tegrity" and interference by Russia in its internal affairs. Moscow has consistently denounced Ukrainian secu- rity forces' largely ineffectual operation against the eastern insurgents and warned they should not commit violence against civilians. In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor An- gela Merkel, Putin said the re- moval of military units was the "main thing," but it was unclear if that could be con- strued as an outright demand. Oleksandr Turchynov's con- scription order marked a turn- around for the country, which last year announced plans to end military conscription in favor of an all-volunteer force. His order did not spec- ify where conscript-bolstered forces could be deployed. The renewal of military conscrip- tion affects only men 18 to 25 years old. Earlier in the week, the act- ing president said police and security forces had been effec- tively "helpless" against insur- gents in the Donetsk and Lu- hansk regions, the heart of the unrest, and that efforts should be focused on preventing the instability from spreading to other parts of the country. In the regional capital city of Donetsk, anti-government demonstrators took over the regional prosecutor's office Thursday. Several dozen riot police standing guard at the office fired stun grenades and tear gas when some at the front of the crowd of several hundred people attempted to force their way into the building. As the confrontation esca- lated, some in the crowd threw rocks and managed to wrest away shields from police. Donetsk is the heartland of support for Russia-friendly former President Viktor Ya- nukovych, who was ousted in February after months of pro- tests in the capital. Opponents of the government that suc- ceeded him have seized build- ings in about a dozen cities and towns in eastern Ukraine. EUROPE Putin wants troops out of Ukraine's east NEWS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, May 2, 2014 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4