SCHOOL SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Prosecutor: Don't name Michigan teen during parents' trial

A prosecutor is asking a judge to rule that a Michigan teen charged in a fatal school shooting shouldn’t be named in court during his parents’ separate criminal trial. Prosecutor Karen McDonald filed a motion Wednesday in Oakland County Circuit Court requesting that Ethan Crumbley’s name not be spoken openly in court or used in writing in the case against James and Jennifer Crumbley. McDonald said she wanted to avoid giving any notions of fame or notoriety to their son, who is accused of fatally shooting four students last year at Oxford High School. McDonald said in a statement that “shooters want to be famous.”

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT

Informant gives key details about plot against Gov. Whitmer

Jurors in Michigan have heard from an Army veteran who became an FBI informant after hearing members of a militia talk about killing police. Dan Chappel says four men wanted to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before the 2020 election. Chappel says they believed Whitmer might get extra security if Joe Biden won the election and the governor was in line to get a job in Washington. Chappel is a major witness for prosecutors in the trial of four men charged with a kidnapping conspiracy. Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are on trial in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prosecutors say they turned their anger toward government into a plot to kidnap Whitmer over her COVID-19 restrictions.

TRUMP-MICHIGAN

Trump holding Detroit-area rally for candidates April 2

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump plans to hold a rally in suburban Detroit April 2 to support candidates he has endorsed in Michigan’s elections this year. He announced Friday he'll headline a rally in at the Michigan Stars Sports Center in Macomb County’s Washington Township at 7 p.m. that day. Trump is backing Matthew DePerno in the race for attorney general and Kristina Karamo for secretary of state. Both are in competitive races for GOP nominations on April 23 when Republican delegates will endorse nominees at a state convention in Grand Rapids.

UNEMPLOYMENT AGENCY-AUDIT

Audit flags problems with hiring of unemployment workers

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State auditors say Michigan’s unemployment agency did not require worker background checks or quickly deactivate former contract and state employees’ computer access to the confidential benefits system amid unprecedented jobless claims early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Their review released Friday flagged four material conditions, the most serious type of finding. The audit concluded that the agency did an insufficient job both “onboarding” and “offboarding” thousands of workers to help with the deluge of new and continued claims. The Unemployment Insurance Agency agreed mistakes were made and pledged to make improvements.

TAX CUTS

Gov. Whitmer vetoes Republicans' $2.5B tax cut legislation

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed Republicans’ proposal to permanently cut the state income tax, make more seniors eligible for deductions and restore a child tax credit. She said Friday it would strip funding for basic government services. The veto, which was expected, may prompt negotiations between Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic governor, who has called for more targeted tax breaks for retirees and lower-wage workers. While Michigan has a budget surplus, her administration says it's largely one-time revenue that can't be counted on in future years. Republicans accused Whitmer of missing an opportunity to help residents grappling with inflation.

9/11 VICTIM-PHOTO FOUND

9/11 victim photo search leads to Michigan school yearbook

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Albert Ogletree was a name represented by an image of an oak leaf at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York until a bit of sleuthing led to a 1966 Michigan high school yearbook. The Detroit Free Press reports that on Tuesday the museum added Ogletree’s Romulus High School freshman year photo to its Memorial Exhibition Gallery. His photo was one of only two of the nearly 3,000 that the museum had not been able to locate since it opened in 2014. Ogletree was working in a cafeteria in the World Trade Center’s North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew a hijacked plane into the building.

GAS TAX-FREEZE

Whitmer calls for temporary freeze on 6% gasoline sales tax

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing to temporarily freeze Michigan’s 6% sales tax on gasoline and diesel fuel as a way to lower pump prices and keep intact road funding. The Democratic governor’s statement Friday came as she told legislators she will veto Republicans’ attempt to suspend the 27.2-cents-per-gallon gas and diesel taxes. Whitmer says pausing the sales tax on fuel protects funding for road repairs and construction jobs. Senate leaders are open to eliminating or suspending the fuel sales tax. But House Republicans aren't on board, saying motorists would save more if the per-gallon tax is halted.

COLD CASE-ARREST

Man pleads no contest in Michigan woman's 1987 slaying

NILES, Mich. (AP) — An Indiana man has pleaded no contest in the 1987 killing of a woman whose husband found her dead in their southwestern Michigan home. The Berrien County Prosecutor’s office says 67-seven-year-old Patrick Gilham pleaded no contest Friday to second-degree murder and has agreed to a minimum 23-year prison sentence. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is used as such at sentencing. Gilham was arrested last month on open murder and other charges in the killing of 30-year-old Roxanne Leigh Wood. Her husband found her dead, with her throat cut, in their Niles Township home in February 1987.

ELECTION 2022-MICHIGAN GOVERNOR

‘We are ready to run’: Whitmer submits reelection petitions

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has submitted voter signatures to run for reelection, saying Michigan needs continued strong leadership as it emerges from tough times during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first-term Democrat thanked about 100 boisterous supporters near the Capitol Thursday before she and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist submitted the petitions that candidates must file. She said they encountered surprises like “something out of fiction” but “stood our ground and delivered” for residents. After, the governor declined to assess the 10-plus Republican candidates vying to challenge her. The field will narrow after the April 19 filing deadline.

ELECTION BILLS

Michigan Legislature sends more election bills to governor

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Legislature has sent more election-related bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, this time to address inaccurate addresses and dates of birth in Michigan’s voter file. Republicans say the legislation would fix issues uncovered by 2019 and 2022 audits and ensure the database is accurate. The measures are opposed by Democrats including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, however, making vetoes likely. The bills would require the secretary of state in certain circumstances to remove voters who were given a “placeholder” date of birth — because the actual date is unknown and needs follow-up — or who haven't voted since 2000.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022