The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEWS BRIEFS WASHINGTON " In Iraq, US troop levels will hold steady until Feb. President Bush plans to keep the number ofU.S. troops in Iraq near the current level through the end of the year and will pull home about 8,000 U.S. troops by February, when the next presi- dent will be in charge of war- time decision-making. If security in Iraq keeps improving, Bush says, "addition- al reductions will be possible in the first half of 2009." The president's decisions amount to perhaps his last major 0 troop strategy in a war that has come to define his presidency. One Marine battalion, num- bering about 1,000 troops, will go home on schedule in Novem- ber and not be replaced. An " Army brigade of between 3,500 and 4,000 troops will leave in February. Accompanying that combat drawdown will be the withdrawal of about 3,400 sup- port forces. KEY WEST, Florida Ike misses Keys;, still targets Gulf Residents in the Florida Keys breathed asighofreliefyesterday . as a fierce Hurricane Ike turned west on a path away from the low-lying island chain. But Gulf Coast states watched anxiously to see if the storm was gunning for them instead. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned that, after passing into the Gulf of Mexico sometime tonight, Ike could make landfall in the U.S. " over the weekend near the Tex- as-Louisiana border, possibly not far from Houston. InLouisiana,where thousands remain without power after Hur- ricane Gustav hit last week, Gov. Bobby Jindal urged residents to start stockpiling food, water, bat- teries and other supplies. LANSING, Michigan Mich. Supreme Court rules in state ballot case voters are unlikely to weigh in on a sweeping ballot measure that would have rewritten large sections of the state constitution now that the Michigan Supreme Court has agreed with the state Court of Appeals. In a 6-1 decision, many of the justices said it- wasn't possible to communicate in a 100-word summary what the 19,000-word ballot proposal would do. The Supreme Court also turned down leave to appeal other issues in the case. Dianne Byrum, a spokeswom- an for the Reform Michigan Gov- ernment Now proposal, called the decision "judicial activism at its worst." LONDON Mixed verdict reached in 2006 bombing attempt Three men were convicted yesterday of conspiracy to mur- der in a terrorist bombing cam- paign, but the jury could not reach a verdict on allegations they plotted to use liquid explo- sives to down trans-Atlantic air- liners. The jury failed to reach any verdict at all for four defendants, and one man was acquitted in a case that caused travel chaos in 2006 at the height of the sum- mer vacation season. Prosecu- tors said they were considering a retrial. Prosecutors said a group of British Muslims led by Abdul- la Ahmed Ali planned to use explosive hydrogen peroxide disguised as a soft drink and considered national infrastruc- ture targets. - Compiled from Daily wire reports SU'. DEAT." 4,155 Number of American service members who have died in the war in Iraq, according to The Associated Press. There were no deaths identified yesterday. Transition set to begin for Detroit's new mayor City Council president will take over in two weeks DETROIT (AP) _ Efficient and effective. That's howKen Cockrel Jr. expects the scandal-plagued Detroit mayor's office to operate once he takes over for the dis- graced Kwame Kilpatrick. With just under two weeks before Kilpatrick steps down as part of a plea deal in two crimi- nal cases, his successor is putting his own mark on the position as leader of the nation's 11th largest city. Cockrel, the City Council president, on Monday named his point person in deadlocked nego- tiations over the expansion of the city's economically vital conven- tion center. He also announced meetings with Michigan's gov- ernor on city issues and even his plans to streamline the number of mayoral bodyguards. Kilpatrick and Cockrel spent over an hour going over the tran- sition. The two Democrats also went to a side room where they spoke alone for about 20 minutes, Kilpatrick attorney and transition team chair Sharon McPhail said. "Nobody's angry. Nobody's bitter. Nobody's being mean," McPhail said. "We're going to OBAMA From Page 1 to hold smaller town-hall-style meetings like those in Farmington Hills and Flint if the Democratic nominee wants to win in Michi- gan. "Obama has to provide some specifics to respond to his critics who say he is lacking in that area," Hutchings said. The events on Monday were smaller and more intimate than the mnajority of his previous appearances in the state, which have drawn thousands of support- ers to rally for their candidate. make sure that the rest of Mayor Kilpatrick's term, things go as well as they have in terms of city services, and I think everyone is on the same page with that." Cockrel described the meeting as "very productive." "The mayor was very open. Frankly, he was also very help- ful," Cockrel said. The meeting was the first of a series of get-togethers over the next two weeks with various city departments. The 38-year-old Kilpatrick pleaded guilty last week to two counts of obstruction of justice stemming from false testimony he gave during a whistle-blowers' trial. Kilpatrick also pleaded no con- test to one count of assault in a confrontation with an investiga- tor serving a subpoena on a Kil- patrick ally in the earlier perjury case. He will serve four months in jail and five years probation after an Oct. 28 sentencing. Kilpatrick also is required to repay the city $1 million in restitution for his role in an $8.4 million whistle- blowers' settlement. Cockrel, 42, is expected to be sworn in as mayor on Sept. 19, a day after Kilpatrick's resignation becomes official. The city council could vote Tuesday to set a spe- cial mayoral primary in Febru- LSA junior Andrea Littles was one of the thousands at Obama's rally in Hart Plaza last week, but said it was the less scripted atmo- sphere of Monday night's town- hall event that helped her get to know the candidate better. "I definitely got a better under- standing of what he was trying to do," Littles said. She added that she was glad to hear Obama explain his plans for economic reform, education and energy in more detail, especially because his earlier Detroit visit "was more general and we didn't have the opportunity to ask questions." Like Obama, John McCain's last visit to Michigan also broke the ary, followed by a special general election in May. The regularly scheduled 2009 mayoral primary still would be held next August, followed by the general election in November. Cockrel has said city finances and the budget would be among his first orders of business. On Monday, he also said the future of aging Cobo Center is important and named Detroit Economic Growth Corp. president George Jackson to lead the city's negotia- tions inthe matter. The Economic Growth Corp. is a nonprofit organization that works with the city to pro- mote economic development in Detroit. Kilpatrick had launched a $288 million proposal last month for expanding the popular down- townconventionvenue by166,700 square feet. Negotiations over the project have been held up due to financing issues. But modernizing Cobo is seen as a key to retaining the North American International Auto Show and drawing other conven- tion business. Jackson has not been part of past Cobo negotiations. "In my view, I think that needs to change," Cockrel said. Cockrel also said he hopes to meet later this week with Gov. Jennifer Granholm about Cobo. mold, as the Arizona senator who thrives in town-hall discussions instead opted for a rally in Sterling Heights on Friday with more than 10,000 in the audience. And though he says McCain's message to voters doesn't neces- sarily translate as well in a rally format, Hutchings believes that McCain would benefit from host- ing more larger rallies between now and Election Day. "McCain needs to generate some enthusiasm from his base," Hutchings said. "At the end of the day, you need to get people out to vote, and these little town hall meetings aren't necessarily going to get that done." VENDORS From Page 1 do what they could to still allow us to operate." Miriam Lindsey, owner of Nawnie's Dog Gone Hot Dogs, said she wouldn't mind a rule that prohibits leaving carts unattended. "I never did anyway," she, said. "That's an $8,000 stand out there." Kunselman said the council will give the ordinance a second read within the next month. Before taking effect, the council mustvote to approve athird and final draft of the ordinance. Daily Staff Reporter Trevor Calero contributed to this report. Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 3 ENDOWMENT From Page 1 billion, or about 20 percent of the endowment, for student aid. Since 1997, the University's endowment has increased almost four-fold. According to the National Asso- ciation of College and University Business Officers, the University's endowment was the eighth-highest among American universities last year. It was second-highest among public university systems, topped only by the University of Texas Sys- tem, which reported an endowment of about $15.6 billion. The University recorded the high- est growth, 25.4 percent, among the country's ten best-endowed univer- sities. Teaching Martial Arts at UM since 1968 Learn self-defense and Olympic- style fighting Improve conditioning and flexihility Register online at www.umich.edu/-unove 6-7 PM Tue, Thu CCR - Rm#: 2275 The University of Michigan Thirteenth Annual ENERGiY FEST Promoting energy conservation, renewable energy, and a sustainable environment Tuesday, September 9 Central Campus Diag: 11:00 to 2:00 Live Music with Justine Blazer from-1'2-1 Thursday, September 11 North Campus Portico Plaza: 11:00to 2:00 Exhibits! Door Prizes! Cnerfo5SstinbeSystem Sponsored by Plant Operations and the Center for Sustainable Systems www.css.snre.umich.edu wwwenergymanagement. umich.edu U.S. AIR FORCE +*O T+ C INTERNING WITH. US ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. THEN AGAIN, MAYBE IT IS. The U.S. Air Force is looking for electrical, computer and environmental engineering students who want to work with some of the most advanced technology in the world and at the same time get paid well to do it. If all this sounds intriguing to you, contact AFROTC and learn how you can spend your summer on the cutting edge. Pay is $4,500 for 10 weeks Round-trip airfare, lodging and living expenses Rental car Students who complete the program may be offered AFROTC scholarships. Pays 100% of tuition and fees $900/year for books $400-500 tax-free monthly stipend Call 1-734-764-2403 or visit AFROTC.com. Arden's father has died suddenly, and her mother has been deployed to Iraq. Now, Arden must say good-bye to the home she loves, and to the life she misses. Light Years R HCB/a.o/ns N www.randomhouse.com/teens Now in Paperback!