The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
US November auto
sales struggle to
gain ground
U.S. auto sales struggled to
gain ground in November and big
improvements aren't expected until
people stop worrying about losing
theirjobs.
Sales were flat compared to
last November, according to Auto-
data Corp. Even higher incentives
couldn't push the needle much
beyond the dismal lows seen a year
ago, when a credit freeze and the
financial meltdown kept car buyers
at home.
Fuel-efficient cars showed con-
tinued strength, as did crossovers,
which are as roomy as SUVs but are
built on lower car frames, bolster-
ing fuel economy. Truck sales were
again weak.
Last month's big winner was
South Korea's Hyundai, which post-
ed double-digit sales growth. Sales
at the top three sellers in the U.S. -
General Motors, Ford and Toyota -
held steady, while Chrysler struggled
for yet another month.
Sales were down 11 percent from
October. But Jeff Schuster, executive
director of automotive forecasting
for J.D. Power and Associates, said
the industry is encouraged by the
seasonally adjusted sales rate, which
takes into account perennial factors
like higher sales in the spring and
summer.
EAST LANSING, Mich.
Michigan State
suspends 8 more
football players
Michigan State University has
suspended eight more football play-
ers for being present at a distur-
bance at a campus dorm.
The university says in a statement
that Coach Mark Dantonio yester-
day suspended starting receivers
Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham
and defensive back Chris L. Rucker.
Others suspended are reserves:
running back Ashton Leggett,
receiver Fred Smith, defensive back
Brynden Trawick, defensive line-
man Ishmyl Johnson and linebacker
Jamiihr Williams.
Dantonio imposed the suspen-
sions pending the outcome of an
investigation by campus police
into the Nov. 22 incident at Rather
Hall. The university says police
have identified 10 suspects and are
attempting to identify five others
present at the disturbance.
Dantonio earlier dismissed run-
ning back Glenn Winston and
defensive back Roderick Jenrette.
SEATTLE
Seattle police kill
suspect in officer
slayings
A lone officer on patrol in the
middle of the night Tuesday spotted
a stolen car, its hood up and engine
running, and pulled over to check it
out.Asthe patrolman sat in his cruis-
er, a burly man with a large mole on
his cheek came up from behind.
The officer turned and instantly
recognized the most wanted man in
the Pacific Northwest - the ex-con
accused of gunning down four cops
at a coffee shop.
Moments later, Maurice Clem-
mons,37,lay dead inthe street,shot by
the patrolman after Clemmons made
a move for a gun he had taken from
one of the slain officers, police said.
Clemmons' death brought to an
end two days of fear across the Seat-
tle-Tacoma area and one of the big-
gest manhunts the region has ever
seen. Dozens of police officers milled
around at the scene afterward, some
solemnly shaking hands and patting
each other on the back.
WASHINGTON
DC Council takes
first vote on same-
sex marriage
In the first of two votes on allow-
ingsame-sexmarriageinthenation's
capital, the District of Columbia City
Council has passed the bill 11to 2.
The D.C. Council voted for the
first time Tuesday. The bill had
been expected to pass, as 10 of the
13 council members co-sponsored
its introduction. A second, final vote
is expected later in the month, and
D.C.'s mayor has promised to sign
the bill.
Marriages would begin in the city
as soon as the bill passes a period of
Congressionalreview. Congress like-
ly will not alter the law.
- Compiled from
Dpily wire reports
Obama will
boost troop
levels in
Afghan war
In this July 10, 2009 file photo General Motors Corp., Fritz Henderson addresses the media during a news conference at the
company's headquarters in Detroit. People familiar with the matter yesterday said Henderson is resigning as CEO.
Fritz Henderson resigns
as General -Motors CEO
Chairman Ed
Whitacre Jr. will
serve as interim CEO
DETROIT (AP) - General
Motors' CEO Frederick "Fritz"
Henderson has resigned after
eight turbulent months as head
of the largest U.S. automaker.
The company said Tuesday
that Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr.
will serve as interim CEO. The
company plans an international
search for a new president and
chief executive.
At a press conference here, Whit-
GENDER-NEUTRAL
From Page 1A
semester, the University's under-
graduate chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union worked to
move the proposal forward.
Though it passed by alarge major-
ity - 23 votes in favor to 3 opposed
- some representatives disagreed
with the premise of the resolution.
Business Rep. John Lin, who
voted against the proposal, said
he felt non-LGBT students would
take advantageof the system by
taking up space that could be used
for those who truly need it.
"I do not have a problem with
LGBT students," Lin said. "I have
a problem doing this for all stu-
dents on campus."
Armstrong, LGBT Commission
chair, said MSA and the LGBT
acre read a brief statement thanking
Henderson for his work during a
period of challenge and change.
Henderson, 51, succeeded Rick
Wagoner on March 29 after the
Obama administration ousted
GM's former CEO as the com-
pany worked through a govern-
ment-led reorganization.
Henderson spent the next few
months working with the gov-
ernment to reorganize the auto-
maker outside of bankruptcy, but
eventually took the company into
Chapter 11 protection in June.
With the government's help,
the company emerged from court
protection injust4o days cleansed
community share a similar goal
of improving student life on cam-
pus, and by working together, they
have the potential to implement
positive changes at the University.
"If this is an option a lot of peo-
ple are interested in, I think it will
enhance a lotofpeople'sexperience
with housing," Armstrong said.
Serwer, chair of MSA's Campus
Improvement Commission, said
MSA members are working with
representatives from the Resi-
dence Hall Association, the Spec-
trum Center Student Advisory
Board and other student groups to
gain support for the proposal.
"We're proving to Housing that
we have student support behind
this," Serwer said. "So we're talk-
ing to as many student organiza-
tions as we possibly can."
MSA is encouraging student
organizations to fill out a state-
of massive debt and burdensome
contracts that would have sunk it
without federal loans.
Henderson continued to
downsize the automaker after
its emergence from bankruptcy.
He sought to scale down GM to
just four core brands: Chevrolet,
Cadillac, Buick and GMC.
While he has largely succeed-
ed in that goal, attempts to sell
the company's other brands have
hit obstacles.
The company is winding down
Pontiac and was successful in
winning a tentative sale of Hum-
mer to a Chinese construction
machinery maker.
ment of support for the campaign.
"We join the Gender-Neutral
Housing Student Campaign in
calling for expanded gender-neu-
tral housing options because we
believe that the University's com-
mitment to diversity and inclu-
siveness necessitates this policy
change," the statement read.
University Housing Spokesman
Peter Logan said in a Sept. 30 arti-
cle in The Michigan Daily that he
has been exploring the option of
gender-neutral housing based on
the experiences of other universi-
ties already offeringthe option.
"We're watching those schools
and are in touch with them so we
can see what their experiences
and successes have been," Logan
told the Daily at the time.
- Daily Staff Reporter Stephanie
Steinberg contributed to this report.
President says forces
will begin coming
home in July 2011
WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) -
Declaring"our securityis at stake,"
President Barack Obama ordered
an additional 30,000 U.S. troops
into the long war in Afghanistan
Tuesday night, nearly tripling the
force he inherited as commander
in chief He promised an impatient
public he would begin bringing
units home in18 months.
The buildup to about 100,000
troops will begin almost immedi-
ately - the first Marines will be in
place by Christmas - and will cost
$30 billion for the first year alone.
In a prime-time speech at the
U.S. Military Academy, the presi-
dent told the nation his new policy
was designed to "bring this war to
a successful conclusion," though
he made no mention of defeating
Taliban insurgents or capturing
al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama
bin Laden.
"We must deny al-Qaida a
safe haven," Obama said in spell-
ing out U.S. military goals for a
war that has dragged on for eight
years. "We must reverse the Tal-
iban's momentum. ... And we must
strengthen the capacity of Afghan-
istan's security forces and govern-
ment."
The president said the addi-
tional forces would be deployed at
"the fastest pace possible so that
they can target the insurgency and
secure key population centers."
Their destination: "the epicen-
ter of the violent extremism prac-
ticed by al-Qaida."
"It is from here that we were
attacked on 9/11, and it is from here
that new attacks are being plotted
as I speak," the president said.
It marked the second time in
his young presidency that Obama.
has added to the American force
in Afghanistan, where the Tal-
iban has recently made signifi-
cant advances. When he became,
president last January, there were
roughly 34,000 troops on the
ground; there now are 71,000.
After the speech, cadets in the
audience - some of whom could
end up in combat because of
Obama's decision - climbed over
chairs to shake hands with their
commander in chief and take his%
picture.
Obama's announcement drew
less-wholehearted support from'
congressional Democrats. Many
of them favor a quick withdrawal,
but others have already proposed
higher taxes to pay for the fighting.
Republicans reacted warily,
as well. Officials said Sen. John
McCain, who was Obama's Repub-
lican opponent in last year's presi-
dential campaign,told Obama at an,
early evening meeting attended by'
numerous lawmakers that declar-
ing a timetable for a withdrawal
would merely send the Taliban
underground until the Americans,
began to leave.
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CHRIS DZOMBAK/Daily
University Director of Community Affairs Jim Kosteva speaks during the Ann Arbor Planning Commission meeting last night.
SOCCER STADIUM
From Page 1A
ing districts on all sides of the par-
cel. Currently, the facility does not
comply with the city's master plan
recommendations, which allots
the space for parklands.
By rezoning, the University
would be able to continue to use
the space for a sports venue and
continue construction, allowing
the facility to be connected to the
city's sewer and water systems.
Homeowners in the area were
notified of the proposal by post-
cards in the mail but there have
been no complaints, accord-
ing to Thatcher. One resident
HIV/AIDS
From Page 1A
He would also work to pre-
vent the spread of HIV/AIDS by
informing the large number of
pregnant teenage mothers in his
class how to take care of them-
selves and limit the chance of
passing the disease to their babies.
"(We wanted) to empower a
mother to understand that if she is
HIV positive she is capable of liv-
ing a normal life and that she can
take steps to make sure her baby
will not be HIV positive when it's
born,"TPompe said. J
did request clarification about
entrance into the stadium and
how it might crowd that area
of Main Street during games,
Thatcher said.
Jim Kosteva, director of com-
munity relations for the Univer-
sity, said he has held multiple
neighborhood meetings since the
plan was formulated.
Kosteva said access to the sta-
dium will be limited to South
State Street to avoid heavy traffic
on the Main Street side. This will
be done to prevent interruptions
to local residents and stop busi-
nesses from losing parking spots
to sports fans. The Main Street
side will only be used for mainte-
nance and care purposes and will
Pompe said the mothers could
do this by regularly taking anti-
retroviral medication - which
he said is abundant and free in
Namibia - and to stop breastfeed-
ing. Pompe said breastfeeding is
the primary way HIV is spread
from mother to child.
When babies start eating solid
food for the first time they often
develop micro abrasions in their
esophagus. If a mother continues
breastfeeding at this point, the
disease could be spread through
the breast milk when it comes
into contact with these abrasions,
Pompe said.
Mahima Mahadeyn, assis-
be fenced off, he said.
The planning commission also
addressed noise levels of the new
facility. Kosteva said he did not
foresee noise being a problem.
Planning Commissioner Jean
Carlberg said she was concerned
that night games would disturb
families in the proximity.
Kosteva said the complex has
had night games for the past two
years and no complaints have
been filed, and that of the 15 to 20
home games between the men's
and women's teams, only between
30 and 40 percent will be night
games.
Kosteva said the complex is
expected to be completed in time
for the upcoming fall season.
tant coordinator at the Univer-
sity's Peace Corps office, said
that around 21 percent of Peace
Corps volunteers choose to work
on projects in the field of health
and HIV/AIDS, second only to
education.
Pompe said, however, that a
much greater percentage of volun-
teers deal with HIV/AIDS, even
though they don't specifically go
into that field.
"The statistic is that 80 per-
cent of all Peace Corps positions
now are either going to be facing
HIV/AIDS in some way," Pompe
said. "That's across the globe, not
just Africa.")jy
Global Policy Perspectives Symposium:
Media, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Elizabeth Mary Talbert Moderator
MPP Candidate 2010, Ford School of Public Policy
University of Michigan
Matthew Baum Panelist
Marvin Kalb Professor of Global Communication, John F. Kennedy
School of Government and Department of Government
Harvard University
Adam Berinskv Panelist
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
Massachusetts Institute of-Technology
Phil Potter PanelistE
Assistant Professor, Ford School of Public Policy and Department
of Political Science
University of Michigan
Sponsored hy:
Thursday, December 3, 2009
4:00-5:30 p.m. Reception to follow.
Ford School of Public Policy
Annenberg Auditorium, 1120 Weill Hall inerafItal Policy(enter
For moreminfo, callZanaat (734)674-3429 e64sairsh,'otvscvln