The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, September 17, 2010 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS LANSING State community colleges could expand programs Community colleges would be allowed to offer a few types of bachelor's degrees under legisla- tion approved by the Michigan House. The main bill in the package passed the Democratic-led House by a 55-49 vote yesterday. It now advances to the Republican-led Senate. The bill would allow the com- munity colleges, which tradition- ally offer two-year degrees, to offer four-year bachelor's degrees for nursing, culinary arts, cement technology and maritime technol- ogy. The bills cause some competitive concern among representatives of * four-year universities. They would prefer that community colleges stick to two-year degrees and pre- paring students to transfer to four- year schools. RIVERSIDE, Calif. Group seeks halt to 'don't ask, don't tell' A gay rights organization that won a federal court ruling declar- ing the military's ban on openly gay troops unconstitutional wants the judge to immediately stop the policy from being used to discharge military personnel. Lawyers for the Log Cabin Republicans say their proposal filed yesterday in the Riverside, Calif., court asks Judge Virginia A. Phil- lips to impose a worldwide injunc- tion on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. She ruled last week that the policy violates the due-process and free-speech rights of gays and les- bians. Phillips asked the group for input on drafting an injunction. The government has a week to respond. Department of Justice attorneys said they would object to an injunction and the issue should be decided by Congress. NEW YORK Key witness in jeopardy for detainee's NYC trial A judge yesterday said he might not decide for weeks whether the ;harsh interrogation of the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried - tn civilian courts means the gov- ernment's biggest witness can't "testify at his trial on charges stemming from the deadly bomb- lngs of two U.S. embassies in Africa. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's decision not to rush a ruling in the case against Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani after a three-day hearingin Manhattan left prosecu- tors scrambling to configure their case with and without the testi- mony of Hussein Abebe, who said he sold Ghailani explosives. The judge said he might not rule until after opening statements, scheduled for Oct. 4. It was the kind of legal hurdle that was anticipated when it was decided to bring some Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees to U.S. civil- ian courts with evidence that was sometimes collected for the pur- pose of preventing future terror- ism rather than buildinga criminal case. WASHINGTON D.C. * Senate panel recommends nuclear treatywith Russia A major arms control treaty with Russia drew support from three Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yes- terday, a sign that one of President Barack Obama's top foreign policy goals might have the bipartisan support required for ratification. The committee approved the New START treaty in a 14-4 vote. Whether the full Senate would consider the treaty this year, with midterm elections looming in November, remained unclear. Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty in April. It would shrink the limit on strategic warheads to 1,550 for each country, down about a third from the current ceiling of 2,200. It also would imple- 9 ment changes in current proce- dures that allow both countries to inspect each other's arsenals and verify compliance. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. Key to peace talk progress: Israel's settlements Israel pressured to halt settlement construction AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Two days of Mideast peace talks appear to have brought Israel and the Palestinians closer to a deal that would allow those talks to continue, but even if the nego- tiations move forward far more difficult issues lay ahead. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak suggested a compro- mise over Israel's plan to lift its partial ban on construction on the West Bank later this month, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday he sees no alternative to con- tinuing negotiations in search of peace with Israel. U.S. Secretary of State Hill- ary Clinton, speakingin Amman, said she is convinced that Netan- yahu and Abbas are trying to seek common ground. "They are committed and they have begun to grapple with the hard but necessary questions," she said, shortly before leaving for the U.S. "I am convinced that this is the time and these are the leaders to achieve the result we all seek." Abbas' comments came as Israel was coming under increas- ing pressure to extend its curb on Jewish settlement construc- tion, and aides to the Palestinian leader suggested there might be movement toward a compromise on that issue. Abbas had said previously that the talks could not survive if the Israeli building restrictions were lifted as planned. "We all know there is no alter- native to peace through negotia- tions, so we have no alternative other than to continue these efforts," Abbas said yesterday, speaking through an inter- preter in Ramallah, where the headquarters of the Palestinian National Authority is located. It was unclear from Abbas' remarks whether he was signal- ing that the Palestinians would remain committed to the talks even if Israel does not extend the limits on building. Egypt's leader said in a radio interview that he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- yahu to extend the restrictions for three more months to give peacemaking a chance. Mubarak said he told Netan- yahu the delay could give the two sides time to draft their future borders. After those lines are agreed, Mubarak reasoned, Israel can build within its future ASTRONAUT From Page 1A to 20 recipients nationwide this year, is the largest offered for science and engineering under- graduate students based solely on merit. After receiving the scholar- ship, Montague thanked his professors and the ASF for the award. He said he was overjoyed that Worden had come to person- ally deliver the grant. "I know math isn't necessarily the most excitingfield, especially compared to a space launch from earth," he said. "ButI'll try to live up to your expectations in what- ever way that Ican." In an interview after the pre- sentation, Montague, who says he plans to enter academia, said he will most likely use the schol- arship money to help pay for graduate school. After the scholarship pre- sentation, Worden detailed his experiences aboard Apollo 15, in which he logged nearly 300 days in space, and showed photo- graphs from the flight. Thirty-nine years ago, at age 39, Worden traveled aboard Apollo 15 with David Scott and James B. Irwin - also both Uni- versity alumni. "We are all Michigan gradu- ates and that's the thing we are most proud of," he said. "Those of you who watch the football games on television instead of going to the Big House will see us at all of the games." Worden also told the audience about the preparation for the flight, which involved simula- tions of the launch. After detail- ing the morning of the launch, he played the 9:34 a.m. launch tape, allowing audience members to borders and the Palestinians within theirs. In comments to Israel's Chan- nel 10 before she left the region, Clinton said for the first time that the U.S. would back a lim- ited extension of the partial con- struction moratorium, calling the idea "extremely useful." "I don't think a limited exten- sion would undermine the pro- cess going forward if there were a decision agreed to by both par- ties," she said. Netanyahu's office said yes- terday that Israel doesn't plan to extend the current limits, which are due to expire in late September. But Israeli officials said they hoped to reach a compromise well before the current restric- tions expire on Sept. 26 in hopes of avoiding a major crisis. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal decisions have been made. Aides to Abbas said no deal had been reached on the settle- ment issue, but said they accept Mubarak's proposal and expect that a compromise will be found. Previously, the Palestinians have said they would walk out on the talks if any construction resumes. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a sensitive diplomatic matter. Michele Dunne, a Mideast .expert at the Carnegie Endow- ment for International Peace, said Thursday the talks appear to have edged the process forward, although bigger challenges lay ahead. The discussions in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh and Jerusalem "got the talks rolling toward a possible compromise on the settlements moratorium issue, which probably will be reached over the next week or so," she said. "But once again the parties are spending weeks dealing with a short-term issue to avert a cri- sis rather than getting down to the larger problems." Yesterday, Clinton and Abbas met at the Palestinian Author- ity's West Bank headquarters. Abbas thanked the Obama administration for its efforts to broker the current talks, the first in two years. "I know that this time is difficult and the circum- stances are difficult, but tlieAmer- icans are exerting active efforts to achieve this peace," he said. Later, Clinton traveled to Amman for lunch with Jordan's King Abdullah, whose country already has a peace treaty with Israel and is a strong support- er of efforts to work out a deal between Israel and the Palestin- ians. listen firsthand to the experi- ence. Worden said he wouldn't have been able to reach the moon without his University educa- tion. "You don't need an education to drive a car or a plane," he said. "But you need one for space- crafts. We don't just fly machines so it takes alot of time and effort and a good education." After the presentation, Wor- den said in an interview that he didn't always know he wanted to be an astronaut. He said he originally planned to be a test pilot and applied to the astro- naut program essentially on a whim. "I just tried to do what I could to get as far as I could in my own profession," he said. "And what I found was that if you work hard in your field, and if you do well, lots of doors will open." Worden said that what he remembered most during his time at the University was the intense level of coursework. "Friday night to Sunday after- noon it was study, study, study," he said. "I spent every weekend studying because I always had so much catching up to do." Worden offered a few words of advice for students. "It sounds trite but it's the truth that you get what you deserve out of life," he said. "The harder you work to achieve something, the better off you're going to be once you get there." A strong education is the most important part of securing a suc- cessful future, he added. "Don't be satisfied with a lazy education," he said. "Go outthere and get it." - Jeff Waraniak contributed to this report.