AP-US-ELECTION-2022-MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR

Ex-Detroit top cop loses bid to get on ballot for governor

DETROIT (AP) — A judge has declined to put a former Detroit police chief on the Republican ballot for Michigan governor. James Craig is the third candidate to lose a court challenge after state election staff said campaign petitions were marred by fraudulent signatures. It’s a remarkable setback for Craig, who has high name recognition in southeastern Michigan. A judge says she must abide by a Michigan appeals court decision released Wednesday that kept two other Republicans off the Aug. 2 ballot. They didn't meet the 15,000-signature threshold because of fraudulent signatures on petitions. The appeals court says state election staff didn't have to go line by line.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-GOVERNMENT-AID

Local governments turn away $73M of federal pandemic aid

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Local governments across the U.S. have turned down a potential total of $73 million in federal pandemic relief funds. An Associated Press analysis found that 1,468 smaller cities, towns, villages and counties effectively said “no” to their share of the American Rescue Plan. Some local officials told the AP they had no need for the money. Others said they didn't want the hassle of dealing with the federal government. Some expressed political opposition to the relief package enacted last year by the Democratic-led Congress and President Joe Biden. The rejected money amounts to a small percentage of the $350 billion of government aid.

FATAL SHOOTINGS-FAMILY

Police ID woman, two daughters slain in western Michigan

WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Police have identified a Wyoming woman and her two children who were allegedly shot and killed by her boyfriend who then killed himself. The Grand Rapids Press reports police have identified 33-year-old Liliana Landa-Sanchez and her daughters, 13-year-old Joelin Hernandez-Landa and 11-yar-old Ayzy Hernandez-Landa. They were found slain early Tuesday in their home in Wyoming, just southwest of Grand Rapids. Police said they believe that Oscar Moran-Hernandez, 43, shot the three victims. Police say three other children, ages 2, 5, and 9, were in the house but not physically harmed, police said. Landa-Sanchez and Moran-Hernandez were parents to the younger two children. The killings were discovered around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

AP-US-2020-CENSUS

Austin is largest US city to challenge 2020 census numbers

One of the most booming cities in the U.S. over the past decade thinks that it grew even bigger than the U.S. Census Bureau says it did. Austin, Texas, has become the largest U.S. city to challenge its 2020 census figures. It filed an appeal with the Census Bureau last week saying that it has more than the 961,855 residents tallied during the nation’s once-a-decade head count. Austin officials believe 7,000 housing units were missed. Among the 50 biggest U.S. cities, Austin had the second-largest growth rate in the nation: almost 22% between 2010 and 2020. Fort Worth, Texas, experienced the largest growth rate: 24%.

AP-US-FORD-FACTORY-JOBS

Ford plans to add 6,200 jobs in Ohio, Michigan and Missouri

AVON LAKE, Ohio (AP) — Ford will add 6,200 factory jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio as it prepares to build more electric vehicles and roll out two redesigned combustion-engine models. The company says it will invest $3.7 billion in the three states, and it will convert about 3,000 temporary workers to full-time status with benefits. A factory near Cleveland will be expanded so it can build an unidentified new electric commercial vehicle, with 1,800 new jobs. A plant in Claycomo, Missouri, near Kansas City, that makes big electric and combustion-engine vans will get a third shift of 1,100 workers. And in Michigan, the company will add 2,000 jobs at three assembly plants as well as another 1,200 at other facilities.

AP-US-MED-MELATONIN-KIDS

Melatonin poisoning reports are up in kids, study says

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study is drawing attention to a rise in poisonings in children involving the sleep aid melatonin. Last year, U.S. poison control centers received more than 52,000 calls of children consuming worrisome amounts of melatonin. That's a six-fold increase in what was reported about a decade earlier. Most such poisonings are children ages 5 and younger, who accidentally got into bottles of melatonin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the study Thursday. The Michigan pediatrician who was the lead author says parents might think of melatonin as a vitamin, but she says it really belongs in the medicine cabinet.

MICHIGAN COURTS-JUNETEENTH

Juneteenth becomes 13th Michigan court holiday

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has declared Juneteenth a statewide court holiday. Two Republican justices objected, saying taxpayers will be shortchanged. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Congress and President Joe Biden created a federal holiday a year ago. Tom Boyd, state court administrator, says making Juneteenth a holiday sends a message that Michigan’s court system "values the life experiences of all who seek justice.” Juneteenth will be the 13th paid holiday when Michigan courts are closed. Justice David Viviano says courts slogging through a COVID-19 backlog of cases now will face another burden.

BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE

Biden says he wasn't informed early on of baby formula woes

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he wasn't briefed on the prospect of nationwide shortages of infant formula for about two months. And he's acknowledging the strain on families while his administration struggles to address the situation. Yet company executives at a meeting Biden hosted from the White House on Wednesday told the president they knew the substantial impact that the shutdown of a major production plant in February would have on the U.S. supply almost immediately. Biden's administration has imported foreign supplies and used a federal law to speed domestic production. But those steps didn't begin until mid-May, once retailers began rationing supplies and store shelves were emptying.

AP-US-FORD-AUTOMOBILE-PRICE-WAR

Ford CEO sees electric vehicle price war as EV costs decline

DETROIT (AP) — Ford’s chief executive says the global auto industry is headed for a huge price war in the coming years as electric vehicle costs drop and companies sell EVs priced around $25,000. CEO Jim Farley told the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Wednesday that the $25,000 electric vehicle will democratize EVs. Currently it costs way more to build an EV than one with a gas engine. But Farley said big cost reductions are coming with new battery chemistries that use fewer precious metals such as nickel and cobalt. Plus, he said EVs will take less time and labor to build, saving more money. Ford also plans to cut distribution and advertising costs.

GUN VIOLENCE-MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

After Uvalde, holiday weekend sees shootings nationwide

CHICAGO (AP) — Even as the United States reeled over the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas, multiple mass shootings happened elsewhere over the Memorial Day weekend. Single-death shootings still accounted for most gun fatalities, however. Police chiefs in Chicago and other cities cancelled days off to boost the numbers of officers over the holiday, hoping a heightened presence would be a deterrent. Some cities said they would strictly enforce curfews. The strategies may have worked in specific cases, but statistics from several cities didn’t indicate violence was kept at or below previous years' levels. At least nine people were killed over the weekend in Chicago, up from three a year ago.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022