DETROIT SYMPHONY-CEO

Erik Rönmark selected as Detroit Symphony CEO, president

DETROIT (AP) — Current Detroit Symphony Orchestra Vice President and General Manager Erik Rönmark has been selected as its new chief executive. The DSO says Wednesday that he will succeed Anne Parsons and also serve as the organization’s president. The orchestra says Rönmark led the search committee that brought new music director Jader Bignamini to the orchestra and also shepherded it through the COVID-19 pandemic with innovative musical selections and resourceful use of the orchestra’s streaming capabilities. Rönmark has been DSO general manager for the past eight years and its vice president for the past five years. Parsons will continue to serve as president and CEO until March 7, 2022. She will remain with the DSO through next November as president emeritus.

CAPITOL BREACH-MICHIGAN

Michigan man charged in assault on officers in Capitol riot

ROMEO, Mich. (AP) — A 41-year-old Michigan man has been arrested and accused of using chemical spray on law enforcement officers as part of a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., says Tim Boughner was charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon. Boughner is from Romeo, north of Detroit. He had an appearance Wednesday in federal court in Detroit and was ordered jailed pending a detention hearing Thursday. The government says video shows him using a chemical spray against officers attempting to secure the Capitol.

BUSINESS INCENTIVES

Michigan House OKs incentives to land major business deals

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan would create new economic development funds to help the state land major business expansions, including possible electric vehicle and battery plants, under fast-tracked bills that have received initial approval. Lawmakers aren't saying how much money they will put into the accounts to offer manufacturers and other companies and create shovel-ready industrial sites. Proponents said Wednesday the state must stay competitive in the auto industry. They pointed to Ford and Toyota’s recently announced plans to build battery factories in southern states. The House passed the bills 83-21 and sent them to the Senate, which is expected to consider them in the coming days.

MICHIGAN REDISTRICTING

Newspapers sue redistricting panel over closed meeting

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Newspapers have sued Michigan's redistricting commission, demanding it release a recording of a closed meeting and make public two memos commissioners discussed in the meeting. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, The Center for Michigan Inc./Bridge Michigan and Michigan Press Association. It asks the Michigan Supreme Court to declare that commissioners violated the constitution by conducting business in a nonpublic meeting, must do all future business in open meetings and release all materials used to develop redistricting plans. The commission's spokesman says it “looks forward to asserting its right to attorney-client privilege in court.”

ALL STATE-DIVISION 5-6

Nolan Ziegler named Michigan AP D5-6 football player of year

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The 2021 Michigan Associated Press Division 5-6 All-State football team has been selected by a statewide panel of 12 sports writers in the state. Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior receiver and linebacker Nolan Ziegler is the player of the year. Ziegler finished the season with 67 catches for 1,343 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also had 105 tackles, and seven sacks plus a pick-6.

PACKAGE THEFTS-TRAFFIC STOP

Detroit police investigating crash find 41 stolen packages

DETROIT (AP) — More than three dozen stolen packages have been found in a vehicle stopped by Detroit police as part of a hit-and-run crash investigation. Detroit police say a man flagged down officers about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday on the city’s westside and told them the driver of a van had fled after a crash. Officers later spotted the van and stopped it. While speaking with the driver they noticed a large number of packages — 41 in all — in the van. Police said the driver could not provide a good explanation for the packages. The packages were addressed to homes in Farmington and Farmington Hills, west of Detroit. The van’s driver was arrested.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

Record-high Michigan COVID-19 hospitalizations still rising

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s COVID-19 hospitalizations has reached a new high, exceeding the previous record for the fifth straight time that the state has reported data. Nearly 4,700 patients were in the hospital statewide Wednesday a fourth surge in infections. The roughly 4,400 hospitalized adults with confirmed cases was at the highest point in the 21-month coronavirus pandemic and 150 more than a week ago. The state health department reports the total three times a week. Michigan recorded 351 additional deaths, including 166 in the most recent 48-hour period.

SCHOOL THREATS-MICHIGAN STUDENTS

Students charged in school threats face court hearings

DETROIT (AP) — Nine Detroit-area students face hearings in juvenile court accused of making threats against schools in the wake of a shooting at Oxford High School in Oakland County that left four students dead. The Wayne County prosecutor's office said Wednesday that eight of the students is charged with intentional threat to commit an act of violence against a school employee or students. One faces a false report or threat of terrorism charge. Six also are charged with malicious use of a telecommunications device. The threats occurred in early December in Detroit, Wayne, Grosse Pointe Farms, Melvindale and Wyandotte. Ten students and a teacher were shot Nov. 30 at the Oxford school, roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.

OBIT-JULIUS SCOTT

Julius S. Scott, author of 'The Common Wind,' dies at 66

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius S. Scott, a groundbreaking scholar of slavery and Atlantic history who wove together stories of Black rebellion for a doctoral thesis once likened to “an underground mix-tape” and for the acclaimed 2018 book “The Common Wind,” has died. He was 66. Through his teaching, mentoring and writing, Scott was celebrated as a leader and innovator of “history from below,” how slaves themselves in the 18th century formed underground communities throughout the Americas, spreading the word through “inter-island mobility _ the world of ships and sailors.”

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK

COVID cases spike even as US hits 200M vaccine milestone

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The U.S. has reached a COVID-19 milestone of 200 million fully vaccinated people, but cases and hospitalizations are still spiking, even in highly immunized pockets of the country like New England. The situation is not as dire as last year’s post-holiday surge before the public had any access to vaccines, but experts say the roughly currently 60% vaccinated U.S. population is not enough to prevent hotspots. And the winter weather, Thanksgiving holiday and pandemic fatigue are all playing a role. At the same time questions remain about the role of the new omicron variant.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021