Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 1

in miiwn iiht(iiiiiiiiii'iiii r-rii iti ti iiri wmni i iijwimiwiaiin iritniiimnnim Early- years Look back at Bush, Kerry during their student days Sunday, 1L Safe? seato Rosritestt 1 Mo ffeatr Back seat shoulder belt Lions hope to get back 1Wwy7m or nan9'n9 tou9n rule may keep kids safev on track against Giants uommm wnen y0U g0 shopping Business, 1C Sports, 1D High, 63; Low, 48 The Way We Live, 1 llhi Betake: Mews liree mum AND Metro Bnni5 U-M takes steam oet of Perdee Wolverines' last-minute play secures victory; they need 3 more for share of Big Ten title. Close call U-M relies on defense, key fumble for win. Page 10 BOB WOJBOYSXI 35-yard field goal the winner. After that, U-M's dominant defense wrapped it up, when Leon Hall recovered a Purdue fumble, forced by Ernest ferocious hit. All day long, the Wolverines delivered most of the hits and won a game that could set them up for another champi onship run.

Now 7-1 (5-0 in the Big Ten), U-M next faces Michigan State and needs three more victories to grab at least a share of the Big Ten title, and perhaps climb into national-title contentioa Please see WOJO, Page 13A from Michael Hart's legs to kicker Garrett Rivas' foot, the Wolverines grabbed their biggest victory of the season, snatching a 16-14 victory over Purdue that saved all the thrills for the end. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. They had laid low long enough. In the biggest game, on the toughest day, the Michigan Wolverines grew up, and rose up. Needing every limb they had, Steve Healey Indianapolis Star Michigan running back Michael Hart, a freshman, finished with 206 yards in Saturday's win over Purdue.

from true freshman Hart, who finished with 206 yards. The Wolverines made all the important plays at the end, with Rivas' U-M earned this one with a grinding, clutch effort, highlighted by a spectacular performance The Detroit News EXCUiSrYE EEPC.TT GM retirees fear loss of benefits TvW 1W (.1 retool Mr Analysis: Despite fiscal improvements, student achievement still lags, dropout rates high. ml The Detroit News yHT POLL Gambling vote may be headed for defeat Proposal 1 support slips in face of heavy TV ad campaign. By Mark Hornbeck and Charlie Cain Detroit News Lansing Bureau The state ballot proposal calling for voter approval of gambling expansion may be headed for defeat, thanks largely to an opposition TV ad campaign led by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

The Proposal 1 constitutional amendment has been losing ground all week, a Detroit News tracking poll shows. Support dropped from 48 percent to 44 percent from Monday to Thursday, while opposition now stands at 38 percent, with 18 percent undecided. Experts say that if a ballot proposal has less than 50 percent support this close to Election Day it likely will fail. That's because late undecided voters typically break against ballot -measures. Television commercials featuring Granholm and Republican leaders warning that passage of Proposal 1 threatens school funding are taking a toll, said Steve Mitchell, who conducted the survey for The News.

"It's dropping like a rock," said Mitchell, who polled 600 likely voters last week. "It's clear that the strong negative advertising with the governor, (House Speaker) Rick Johnson and (Oakland County Executive) Brooks Patterson is having a real impact on this ballot proposal." Please see POLL, Page 6A Bush widens lead Latest numbers show gap grows In presidential race. Page 6A Photos by Charles V. Tines The Detroit News Keith Taylor of De Witt, with his wife, Linda, says salaried GM retirees are being forced to contribute more than their fair share for health care coverage. He retired from the automaker in 1095.

Ex-workers band together to protest automaker's cuts Clarence Tabb r. The Hermit Sews Malik Mims, 9, takes a test at Detroit's Charles H. Wright Academy. District test scores have dropped compared to other urban schools. Reform roadblocks Experts say charters, cutbacks hinder improvement Page 11A Board or boss? Nov.

2 vote will determine how district is led. Page 11A By Christine MacDonald and Brad Heath The Detroit News After five years under state control Detroit Public Schools is falling behind other urban failing districts on state tests, and just as many students don't finish high school. Before 1999, for instance, Detroit's fourth-graders were more likely to pass state tests measuring basic reading skills than kids in the state's other urban schools. Now fewer of them pass. And the district's graduation rate hasn't budged, with about half of the students who enter high school leaving without a diploma.

The reform has brought new school buildings and success to some of the district's poorest-performing schools. It's swept away the last of the coal-fired boilers used to heat classrooms and ended widespread corruption that had board members being chauf-feured to meetings. But the reform's shortcomings still mean students aren't learning as much as their peers around the state. And they're just as likely not to graduate, leaving them at greater risk of failing to find a job that leads to a secure future. Annette Robinson has been considering pulling her oldest daughter out of the district since she spent her junior year with five substitutes teaching her English class.

MTiiaiunims By Ed Garsten The Detroit News LANSING When Gerald McKouen accepted an offer to retire early, at age 60, from General Motors Corp. in 1980, he figured he was set. After 40 years as a salaried tool foreman at GM's Oldsmobile plant in Lansing, he was eager to punch out and collect the company pension and cost-free health care insurance. Like many other retirees, he counted on GMs generous retirement coverage. It was written in black and white in the automaker's retiree benefits book.

But in 1985, the automaker announced it reserved the right to amend, change or terminate the retirement plans and programs. Since then, moving to lower its enormous post-retirement benefit obligations, GM has forced salaried retirees to begin paying monthly premiums for health insurance and co-payments for medical treatment. But at the same time, union contracts have guaranteed certain benefit levels for hourly retirees. "While we were working they treated us great," said McKouen, "but once we walked out the door, it was 'the heck with Once again, salaried work ers fear the automaker will chip even further at their benefits to lower operating costs and boost lackluster profits. They now openly commiserate at numerous clubs scattered around the country and have taken to Internet chat rooms established to give them a voice.

Squeezed by dismal earnings in its core automotive operations and slipping market share, GM is in the same tenuous situation as many other major corporations that offer retiree pension plans and retiree health care. Please see RETIREES, Page 13A "I love my city, I would never leave. But we have got to get it together," Robinson said. "We've got to give them a foundatioa" Low test scores, high dropout rates and financial mismanagement were key reasons for the state's decision to disband the elected board and turn much of the power over the schools to a chief executive. Please see REFORM, Page 11A "1 want what I was promised," says Gerald McKouen, 83, of De Witt, who took early retirement from Oldsmobile in 1980.

The Detroit News 131st year, No. 63 The Detroit News MNtBT Printed in the USA FBI chases election threats MEAP scores Percent of students passing these key tests over the last five years KEY Statewide Detroit Urban schools 6 Recycled newsprint is used to print The Detroit News and Free Press. 3C N.Y. Times Crossword 17A Obituaries 2B Opinions 17A Sports ID Stocks 6C Weather 2A Business 1C Class index 1N Commentary 15A Deaths 20 Editorials 16A Horoscope 2N Lottery 2A Metro IB Note: Breaks tn graphs indicate test scoring changes GRAM 4 READING GRAM 7 READING 70 petroitifttc Press GUDC 4 MATH 8 71.7 70 I 58.5 61 '53 mm The Detroit News Anit available OnflM Officials cite new clues that terrorists plan to disrupt vote. jssociafed Press WASHINGTON FBI investigators have made, new arrests and developed leads that reinforce concerns that terrorists plan to strike around the presidential election, officials said Saturday, even though the CIA has discredited a person who told its agents of such a plot involving al-Qaida.

FBI officials said some of the leads were culled from thousands of interviews that agents have conducted in the Muslim community. Several people have been taken into custody recently on charges unrelated to terrorism, but officials are investigating whether they may have been involved in terror activities. James Carafano, a homeland security expert with the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, said there's little doubt that al-Qaida wants Km "59.4 1(V 60'4 to send a message with an attack. "I think they're probably less concerned with affecting the outcome of the election, whether Bush or Kerry wins, but it would be more prestigious, the capability to do something before the election and really undermine the confidence of the United States," he said. Top government officials have warned since the spring about al-Qaida's desire to attack during the election.

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