The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, November 3, 2011 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, November 3, 2011 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS MILWAUKEE Coal ash spills into Lake Michigan A spokesman for a Wisconsin utility confirms debris spilled into Lake Michigan during a landslide this week contained an unknown amount of coal ash. Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal. It contains low con- centrations of arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury but isn't classi- fied as hazardous. We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said yesterday it's too early to know how much coal ash ended up in the lake. He says the majority stayed on land and debris in the water has been largely contained. A scientist with a freshwater institute in Milwaukee says any environmental damage to Lake Michigan probably will be limited to the immediate area of the spill. The spill happened Monday when a section of cliff gave way at the utility's coal-fired power plant near Milwaukee. ATLANTA More than 40 Atlanta schools to lose federal status Georgia has revoked the fed- eral standing for more than 40 Atlanta elementary and middle schools named in a massive cheat- ing scandal. The Georgia Department of Educationreleased datayesterday morning showing that a hand- ful of the schools have lost their status under the federal No Child Left Behind Act dating back to 2001. The majority of the schools had their standing yanked for only 2009. That means the schools can face sanctions under federal law andmayhaveto returnthousands of dollars in federal money for each year they reported inflated test scores. It's the first time the state has released the federal standing for Atlanta schools since July, when state investigators revealed wide- spread cheating in nearly half of the district's 100 schools. WASHINGTON Senators offer * plan to keep Postal Service solvent Senators announced a bipar- tisan plan yesterday to help keep the financially ailing Postal Ser- vice solvent and continue six-day mail delivery for at least two more years. The proposal would lift the agency "from the brink of bank- ruptcy," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Home- land and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Postal Service lost $8 bil- lion last year and could report even larger losses when its 2011 budget year report comes out in mid-November. "We're not crying wolf here" about the agency, said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republi- can on the committee. ISLAMABAD Pakistan ready to normalize trade with India Pakistan says it has decided to normalize trade relations with its giant rival and neighbor India. Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan says the Cabinet yesterdays approved a decision to give India the status of the "Most Favored Nation." The trove is hailed as a posi- tive first step in normalizing diplomatic and other links with India. The two nuclear-armed coun- tries have fought three wars since they were created in 1947. Granting the most-favored status means the two countries can now trade on equal terms, typically giving each other low tariffs and high import quotas. -Compiled from Daily wire reports TSA to expand test for faster airport security KHALID MOHAMMED/AP US. soldiers begin their journey home at al-Asad airbase, west of Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday. The U.S. has promised to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year as required by a 2008 security agreement. Brigade headed to Kuwait as other troops withdrawal About 280,000 frequent fliers in program WASHINGTON (AP) - Test- ing for a new program aimed at getting certain travelers through airport security with less hassle has gone so well that the Obama administration plans to expand it to another round of airports and travelers, the government said yesterday. The expanded testing will not affect most travelers expected to crowd the airports during this year's busy Thanksgiving travel season. But the government has made other changes in the past year that could make for a less intrusive trip through airport security. Invasive pat-downs and full- body imaging machines are still a central part of the air traveler's experience in the U.S. But now children 12-and-under are less likelyto be patted down or forced to take off their shoes. And about half of the full-body imag- ing machines have been upgraded to show an outline of a person instead of a blurry naked image, a feature of all new machines the government purchases, Trans- portation Security Administrator John Pistole told Congress. The pre-screening test pro- gram and policy changes repre- sent the Obama administration's attempts at a more risk-based, intelligence-driven passenger screening program aimed at responding to complaints that the government is not using common sense when it screens all travelers the same way at airports. Details of which airports and airlines would be eligible for the next round of testing for the pre- screening program are still being hammered out, Pistole said. Cur- rently about 280,000 frequent fliers from American and Delta airlines - the two airlines eligi- ble for the first round of testing - are participating in the program, accordingto TSA. The program is being tested at airports in Atlan- ta, Dallas, Detroit and Miami. "This new screening system holds great potential to strength- en security while significantly enhancing the travel experience, whenever possible, for passen- gers," Pistole said in a prepared statement at a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. But some enhanced security measures put in place at U.S. air- ports sincethe 2001 terrorattacks continue to be controversial. Some travelers and privacy advocates object to the intimate pat-down, a measure Pistole called for to give screeners the best chance at catching some- one hiding a bomb in his under- wear like the man authorities say nearly brought down an airliner over Detroit onChristmas Day in 2009. Also, not everyone is comfort- able going through a full-body imaging machine that produces a blurry image of their naked bodies so that TSA screeners can check for contraband. And there are still complaints about having to take off shoes to go through the machines. 4,000 U.S. soldiers to remain in Iraq until year's end WASHINGTON (AP) - While all but a small number of U.S. troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year, they won't all be home for the holidays as President Barack Obama prom- ised last month. The Pentagon is poised to move at least 4,000 soldiers from Iraq to Kuwait at the end of the year, pending a final deci- sion expected soon by Pentagon and Kuwaiti leaders, U.S. offi- cials said yesterday. The move is part of a still- developing Pentagon strategy that ends the Iraq war but posi- tions a strong U.S. force just across the border in Kuwait and across the region to reinforce the United States' commitment to the Middle East and prevent a power vacuum when the tens of thousands of U.S. forces who have served in Iraq are gone. According to officials, the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, which is currently in Iraq, will be shifted to Kuwait, where troops will be close enough to serve as a quick reaction force if needed in Iraq or any of the nearby countries. The officials spoke on condition of anonym- ity because the decision has not been finalized by Defense Sec- retary Leon Panetta. The plan to beef up U.S. pres- ence in Kuwait also must be approved by the Kuwaiti lead- ers, although most officials do not believe that will be a prob- lem. The U.S. has had a sub- stantial presence in Kuwait for years, even before the start of the Iraq war. Other plans still under dis- cussion would affect several Army National Guard units that are scheduled to go to Iraq in the coming weeks. It is not yet clear whether they will be told to go to Iraq and return home in two months or if they will sim- ply stay. home or be deployed elsewhere - such as Kuwait, other nations in the region or even other posts in the U.S. Pentagon officials have been clear all along that they expect to continue and expand U.S. military relations with coun- tries in the Middle East, partic- ularly as a hedge against Iran. And Panetta has said that he expect that about 40,000 U.S. troops to be stationed across the Middle East after troops are pulled out of Iraq. Over the next two months, the U.S. will methodically with- draw the remaining 34,000 or so American forces from Iraq as Obama pledged. The final exit date was sealed after months of intensive talks between Wash- ington and Baghdad failed to reach agreement on conditions for leaving several thousand U.S. troops in Iraq as a train- ing force. The U.S. also had been interested in keeping a small force to help the Iraqis deal with possible Iranian med- dling. So late last month, Obama announced that the eight-year Iraq war would be over by year's end, and he declared that all U.S. troops "will definitely be home for the holidays." That vow is now changed a bit, as the 1st Cavalry Brigade, which is based at Fort Hood, Texas, will spend some months in Kuwait, while U.S. leaders grapple with how to redistrib- ute troops around the region for the long term. Egypt pardons 334 sentenced in military tribunals since Feb. Nonpartisan group has Plan B for picking 2012 candidate Move part of effort to maintain communication with youth in revolt CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's rul- ing generals announced yester- day the pardon of 334 Egyptian civilians who were sentenced in military tribunals since the upris- ing that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February. In a statement posted on its Facebook page yesterday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said the move was to sup- port "the continued communi- cation with the great Egyptian people and the youth of the revo- lution." It did not say what those par- doned were sentenced for or when they would be released. It said the names would be released later. At least 12,000 people have been tried by military courts since January. Human rights groups and Egyptian activists have harshly criticized the practice. The U.S. government has also called on Egypt to try civilians in civilian courts. Late Wednesday, an Egyptian border guard was wounded by gunfire when a group of African migrants assisted by Bedouin smugglers attempted to infiltrate across the border into Israel, the state news agency MENA said. American Elect to offer alternate candidates in all 50 states WASHINGTON (AP) - Lots of people complain about the shortcomings of the country's two-party system for picking a president. Now a nonpartisan group is gathering millions of petition signatures - and dollars - to offer people a Plan B. Americans Elect, which grew out of a failed 2008 effort to pro- vide an alternative in the presi- dential race, aims to secure a slot on the November ballot in all 50 states for a to-be-determined candidate who would be nomi- nated in the nation's first online convention next summer. The group, whose backers include both Republicans and Democrats anxious to open up the political process, has raised $22 million so far and secured ballot slots in Florida, Alaska, Nevada, Kansas, Arizona and Michigan. It has submitted sig- natures for certification in Cali- fornia, Utah and Hawaii. Americans Elect, whose slo- gan is "pick a president, not a party," appears to be on track to secure ballot access across the country, with 1.9 million signa- tures collected so far. But how it will affect the 2012 race depends on what kind of candidate its delegates select in next June's online convention, which will be open to any registered voter. "It's a fascinating experiment in trying to empower the disen- franchised center in American politics," says Will Marshall, one of the group's leaders and the president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Dem- ocratic think tank. "It uses the power of the Internet and social media to provide a new means for political participation." Even Marshall admits, though, that he approaches the effort with some trepidation. "I'd hate to see a scenario in which a vibrant third choice in some way threw the 2012 elec- tion to a right-winger like a Rick Perry or a Michele Bachmann," he says. Americans Elect rejects the notion its candidate could turn out to be a spoiler and says that putting the choice in the hands - or clicks - of millions of reg- istered voters will ensure the selection of a qualified nomi- nee. Leading candidates for the group's nomination will be required to choose a running mate who is not from their own party to ensure political balance, it says. Mark McKinnon, a GOP strat- egist who advised George W. Bush in his presidential cam- paign, says he got involved in the effort because "the system is broken and the traditional parties are only making a bad situation worse." He sees the Americans Elect effort as a rei- magining of democracy and how the country selects its leaders. Getting on the ballot in all 50 states isn't all that unusual: The New Alliance Party's Lenora Fulani did in 1988. The Libertar- ians have done it multiple times. But none of them garnered a big share of the vote. Other outsider candidates have been more successful: Ross Perot got 19 percent of the vote in 1992 and 8 percent in 1996; John Anderson, 7 percent in 1980: and George Wallace, 13 'percent in 1968.