MICHIGAN FLOOD

Report says Michigan 2020 dam failures were 'preventable'

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Experts say the 2020 failure of two dams on a Michigan river was “foreseeable and preventable.” A five-member panel appointed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released a report Wednesday. It says the disaster resulted from flaws in the design and construction of the Edenville Dam in the 1920s, along with operation and maintenance shortcomings over the years. The dam on the Tittabawassee River in central Michigan collapsed May 19, 2020. It released a torrent that overtopped the downstream Sanford Dam and flooded the city of Midland. Thousands of people were evacuated and 150 homes were destroyed, with damages exceeding $200 million.

MICHIGAN BUDGET

Michigan Senate passes 5% base funding increase for schools

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Republican-led Michigan Senate has approved a 5% increase in base funding for K-12 schools but pared back Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposals to recruit and retain teachers and didn't include her proposed $1 billion fund for school infrastructure projects. The school aid bill was advanced along mostly party lines Wednesday. It sets the stage for budget talks with the Democratic governor and the House. Under the Senate plan, a $500 million grant program would be created to help combining districts retire some debt to avoid raising property taxes. Schools could get extra funding to address pandemic-related learning loss.

XGR-VICTIM COMPENSATION

Michigan Legislature approves crime victim fund expansion

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Eligibility for a Michigan fund that reimburses crime victims and their survivors for health care costs and funeral expenses would be expanded under a bill passed Wednesday by the legislature. Current law allows funding eligibility for limited individuals including victims and those “related by blood or affinity". The legislation refines some of the language to include those who a crime victim was a guardian or primary caregiver of. Others would include roommates and those the victim was frequently dating. The current law requires claimants to file for reimbursement within one year of the crime. Under the new legislation, victims would have five years. The bill now goes to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

FLINT WATER

Court hears challenge to grand jury in Flint water cases

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has heard arguments that could wipe out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight others in the Flint water scandal. Defense lawyers are challenging a rarely used method to investigate crimes and file indictments. Snyder and others were indicted by a judge who served as a one-person grand jury in Genesee County. Evidence was offered in private by the attorney general’s office. People charged with felonies in Michigan typically have a right to a hearing where they can argue there’s not enough evidence to send a case to trial. But the one-person grand jury process doesn’t allow it. Defense lawyers claim it's unconstitutional. Prosecutors say they're simply following a method approved by the Legislature.

WATERFALL DEATH

Woman dies after falling into Upper Peninsula waterfall

ISHPEMING, Mich. (AP) — Police say a woman has died after falling into a waterfall in the Upper Peninsula. The woman, believed to be 68 or 69 years old, fell into Black River Falls, 8 miles southwest of Ishpeming in the Escanaba River State Forest. The fall occurred around 2:00 p.m. Wednesday. The body was found around 4:30 p.m., police said. The woman’s name was not immediately released.

FATAL POLICE SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Muskegon man who died in police shootout took own life

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors say a western Michigan man who died in an exchange of gunfire with state police last month took his own life. A report Wednesday from the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office said 37-year-old Joseph Miller of Muskegon died by suicide, not by gunshots fired by police as previously reported. Prosecutors wrote in a dispositional report that details their findings that, “the cause of death is a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head of the suspect.” Initial reports indicated two troopers shot and killed Miller on April 4 while investigating a home invasion in Muskegon County’s Laketon Township. Neither of the troopers were injured.

ELECTION 2022-MICHIGAN-RAPE COMMENTS

Dem flips Michigan seat after GOP candidate's rape comments

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Democratic legislative candidate in Michigan has won a special election for a heavily Republican seat over a GOP opponent who made controversial comments about rape, Russia’s war in Ukraine and other issues. Carol Glanville defeated Robert “RJ” Regan Tuesday in a Kent County district. Regan was denounced by Republican leaders after his upset primary victory. In March, while advocating for decertifying the 2020 presidential election, Regan responded to someone who said it's too late to do anything that her attitude is like what he tells his three daughters: “Well if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it. That’s not how we roll." Regan said he regretted using the analogy but claimed it was taken out of context.

BC-US-SUPREME-COURT-ABORTION-STATES-WHAT’S-NEXT

Abortion battles in states fire up after Supreme Court leak

The Supreme Court’s apparent intention to abolish a nationwide right to abortion, spelled out in a draft opinion leaked this week, will not be the final chapter in the nation’s most pitched culture battle. Democrats in states where the right to abortion is enshrined in law are bracing for a wave of legal attacks and other maneuvers seeking to undermine access, including from other states. California and Colorado are pushing to protect access to abortion in their state constitutions. Connecticut and Washington state are shielding providers from possible lawsuits as they anticipate that women seeking abortions will need to cross state lines.

AP-US-AMERICAN-DETAINEES

Fueled by momentum, families of hostages lobby White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatives of American hostages and wrongful detainees are trying to get the Biden administration's attention in hopes of getting their loved ones home. A group gathered outside the White House on Wednesday to call on the U.S. government to do what it can to bring the prisoners home. It comes on the heels of a prisoner swap last week that resulted in U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed being freed from a Russian prison in exchange for a convicted Russian drug trafficker. Several of the families urged the administration to consider additional swaps like that.

MICHIGAN BUDGET

Michigan Senate OKs new scholarships, boosts college funding

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Senate has overwhelmingly approved a spending bill that would fund new college scholarship program for high school graduates and increase operations funding for state universities by 11% overall. The legislation, one of 14 budget bills that cleared the chamber Tuesday, was passed 31-4 and will be further negotiated in talks with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the House. It would be the largest higher education increase and budget in decades, at a time the state has surplus tax revenue. Senators propose awarding “achievement” scholarships. Students attending in-state four-year colleges could get up to $6,000 a year, while those at in-state two-year colleges could qualify for up to $3,000 annually.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022