THREE SLAIN-DETROIT

Teen charged in slayings of boy, 5, and 2 adults in Detroit

DETROIT (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been charged as an adult in the fatal shootings of three people, including a mother and her 5-year-old son, in a Detroit home. The Wayne County prosecutor's office said Friday that the teen is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on three counts of felony murder, three counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery and gun charges. The bodies of 32-year-old Aaron Benson, 28-year-old LaShon Marshall, and her son, Caleb Harris, were discovered Feb. 18. Police have said the adults' bodies were in one room. The boy’s body was in a bedroom. Each had been shot multiple times.

BIRD FLU-MICHIGAN-ZOO

Bird flu in Michigan prompts zoo to move birds indoors

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — A majority of birds on exhibit at the Detroit Zoo are being moved indoors as a precaution against the bird flu which federal and state officials have confirmed to be in Michigan. The Detroit Zoological Society says Friday that the birds will remain indoors as long as necessary to ensure their health and safety, and many will be out of public view. Flamingos, ostrich, cassowary, sandhill cranes and the zoo-roaming peafowl will be among the birds out of view, as will all birds housed in the Matilda R. Wilson Free-Flight Aviary. Federal officials said a strain of the virus had been detected in a noncommercial backyard flock of birds in Kalamazoo County in southwestern Michigan.

COLD CASE-COUNCIL BLUFFS

Police: DNA links slain Illinois man to 1982 killing in Iowa

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Investigators in Iowa say they used genealogical data to link the 1982 fatal stabbing of a woman to an Illinois trucker who was found shot to death in a shallow grave months later. Police in Council Bluffs, which sits on Iowa’s western border, said Friday that they believe Thomas O. Freeman killed 32-year-old Lee Rotatori at a local hotel in June of 1982. Rotatori, who had just moved to Council Bluffs from Nunica, Michigan, was stabbed once and was sexually assaulted. Police didn't have any suspects after the killing, but they submitted DNA evidence to a lab that determined last year that it was Freeman's. He was found dead in a shallow grave near Cobden, Illinois, in October of 1982.

COUNTRY-CLUB-FIRE

Report: Propane tanks, heater found at burned golf clubhouse

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Investigators looking into a blaze that destroyed a century-old clubhouse at Oakland Hills Country Club in suburban Detroit recovered two propane tanks, a propane heater and a propane torch. The Feb. 17 blaze ripped through the roof of the structure, which was built in 1922. The fire started in the clubhouse’s attic space and spread quickly throughout much of the building. No one was hurt. Firefighters found signs of a fire in the rear wall of the building, which had been under construction, according to police reports obtained by the Detroit Free Press. Bloomfield Township Fire Marshal Peter Vlahos indicated that workers had been using a propane torch and heater near the building. Club officials said the clubhouse will be rebuilt.

AP-US-VOTING-INSIDER-THREATS

Attacks from within seen as a growing threat to elections

Election officials preparing for this year’s midterms have yet another security concern to add to an already long list – threats from within. In a handful of states, authorities are investigating whether local officials directed or aided in suspected security breaches at their own election offices. At least some have expressed doubt about the 2020 presidential election, and information gleaned from the breaches has surfaced in conspiracy theories pushed by allies of former President Donald Trump. Adding to the concern is a wave of candidates for state and local election offices who parrot Trump’s false claims. Giving them authority over elections is like putting arsonists in charge of a fire department, one election official says.

AP-US-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Parents of teen charged in school shooting to stand trial

A judge has ordered the parents of a 15-year-old boy charged with killing four students at his Michigan high school to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Rochester Hills District Court Judge Julie Nicholson said following Thursday’s preliminary examination for Jennifer and James Crumbley that she found enough evidence to send their case to circuit court. They are accused of making the gun used in the shooting available to the teen and failing to intervene when he showed signs of mental distress at home and at school. Ethan Crumbley is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism and gun charges in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School.

TAX CUT

House GOP plan: Cut income tax, expand exemption for seniors

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — House Republicans have begun passing legislation that would cut Michigan’s income tax, provide tax breaks for more retirees and help local governments reduce their pension debt. One bill would cut the 4.25% income tax rate to 3.9%. It would lower the age at which filers can deduct up to $20,000 individually or $40,000 jointly from 67 to 62. Another measure would spend $1.5 billion in surplus revenue to shore up pension systems. Two Republican-led House committees unveiled and approved the bills at a joint meeting. The tax cuts are broader than ones proposed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

AP-US-BIRD-FLU-MICHIGAN

Federal agency: Bird flu detected in backyard Michigan flock

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Federal authorities say a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in Michigan in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds in Kalamazoo County. The Michigan cases were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through laboratory testing. The USDA said Thursday that Michigan officials have quarantined the Kalamazoo County site and 34 birds at that property “will be depopulated to prevent the spread of disease.” The bird flu cases are among the latest in the U.S. that have put farms that raise turkeys and chickens for meat and eggs on high alert, fearing a repeat of a 2015 bird flu outbreak that killed 50 million birds across 15 states.

REDISTRICTING COMMISSION-PAY

Michigan redistricting commissioners give themselves a raise

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Members of Michigan’s redistricting commission have voted to give themselves a 7% pay raise two months after finalizing new congressional and legislative maps. The 13-member panel continues to hold meetings — albeit much less frequently — while its lawyers defend against lawsuits challenging the plans. The state constitutional amendment that created the commission says members must make at least $39,825 annually. Commissioners voted last year to be paid $55,755 a year. On an 8-3 vote Thursday, they approved a roughly $3,900 increase to nearly $60,000, describing it as a cost-of-living adjustment to account for high inflation. Critics says it's outrageous.

CAPITOL RIOT-CHARGES

Genesee County man charged in Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Another Michigan resident has been charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol after being arrested this week. The Flint Journal reports 63-year-old Matthew Thomas Krol of Genesee County was arrested Tuesday in Linden and charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon or inflicting bodily injury, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and related offenses. Court documents say Krol is the self-professed executive officer of the Genesee County Volunteer Militia. Prosecutors say he attacked officers. Krol's among more than a dozen Michiganders arrested since the Jan. 6 breach.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022