ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — General Motors Co. has announced it’s investing more than $4.2 billion in assembly plants in Indiana, Michigan and Texas to prepare for the launch of its next generation of pickups and SUVs. The company said Tuesday that it’s increasing capacity, improving operating efficiencies and making other upgrades at plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Flint, Michigan; and Arlington, Texas. GM says new investments also are occurring at plants in Ohio ahead of the release of 2021 models of pickups and SUVs. The Texas site manufactures popular SUV brands, including the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. Officials say […]

MIAMI (AP) — Ten presidential candidates, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, will converge on the debate stage on Wednesday on the first night of Democratic debates to offer their pitches to voters and attempt a breakout moment for their campaigns. For many of the White House hopefuls, it will be the highest-profile opportunity yet to offer their vision for the country and, if for just two hours, chip into a political news cycle often dominated by President Donald Trump. Given the massive field , the debate will be split over two nights , with 10 other candidates — including former […]

-Perrigo Company announced the voluntary recall of its Parent’s Choice Advantage Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron. The company has not received any reports of illness caused by contamination but issued the recall out of “an abundance of caution,” according to a notice posted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Stores across the country are recalling the containers in fear that the milk powder may contain “metal foreign matter.” The company, based in Ireland and Michigan, only sells the 35-ounce tub of infant formula to Walmart. The affected containers have the code “C26EVFV” printed on the bottom and a […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a $28.8 million mid-year spending bill to help ensure an accurate 2020 census count, implement voter-approved laws and combat lead in drinking water. The law enacted Monday also expands a program enabling people on food assistance to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables, and replenishes a compensation fund for exonerated inmates. The measure includes funding to implement marijuana legalization and expanded-voting ballot initiatives, and for the state’s investigation of sexual abuse by clergy. The Democratic governor line-item vetoed a provision that would have directed the auditor general to immediately review the […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan on Monday launched a $2 million educational campaign aimed at boosting the state’s low recycling rate and cutting the amount of materials improperly left in curbside bins. Just 15% of solid waste is recycled in the state, which is lowest in the Great Lakes Region despite Michigan’s 10-cent bottle-return law. Officials said a contributing factor is people mistakenly trying to recycle plastic bags and not rinsing their plastics, glass and metal — leading to contamination that makes materials unrecyclable and increases costs for local governments. Jack Schinderle, materials management division director at the state Department […]

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — CVS Pharmacy is stepping up efforts in Michigan to curb pharmacy robberies and help keep narcotic medications including opioids more secure. The retail division of CVS Health Corp. announced Monday that it’s completed the rollout of time delay safes in its 318 CVS Pharmacy locations in the state, including those Target stores. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says in a statement she anticipates the effort will help control access to opioids. Signs will warn that the safes are in use. CVS Pharmacy says it first implemented time delay safes in Indianapolis in 2015 when the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that calls for upfront disclosure by hospitals of actual prices for common tests and procedures to help keep costs down . The idea is to give patients practical information that they can use to save money. For example, if a hospital charges your insurer $3,500 for a type of echocardiogram and the same test costs $550 in a doctor’s office, you might go for the lower-price procedure to save on copays. But insurers said the idea could backfire, prompting hospitals that now give deeper discounts to try to raise […]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks Monday with the Saudi king and crown prince after days of mounting tensions following the downing of a U.S drone last week and after President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of retaliatory military strikes on Iran. Iran’s naval commander, meanwhile, warned that Iranian forces would not hesitate to act again and shoot down more U.S. surveillance drones that violate Iranian airspace. The U.S. denies the drone, valued at more than $100 million, violated Iranian airspace. Trump said he backed away from planned strikes after […]

ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP, MI (Mlive) – An 81-year-old man was killed Sunday afternoon after he was struck by a car while crossing the street in a motorized wheelchair, according to the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office. The crash occurred around 3 p.m. Sunday, June 23, on 68th Avenue in Allendale Township, just north of Lake Michigan Drive, according to a release issued by the sheriff’s office. The man, of Allendale Township, was leaving his driveway to cross 68th Avenue in the motorized wheelchair. He pulled into the path of a southbound black Chrysler 200, driven by a 25-year-old Grand Rapids woman, according […]

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (Mlive) – A West Michigan couple has been identified as two of the three victims in an Alaska plane crash. Traci and Mike Timmer died Friday, June 21, in the crash, Kent County Administrator/Controller Wayman Britt said. Traci Timmer had worked in the county’s Clinics Division for several years, Britt said. She was a “wonderful and kind person,” he said. “The Timmers were enjoying a long-awaited vacation to a visit a property they had purchased in the Alaskan wilderness,” Britt said. Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot who also died as Kem Sibbitt, 63, of Fairbanks, the […]

WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Additional portions of a school in western Michigan have collapsed about two weeks after a roof collapsed into a classroom . The collapses occurred at Lee Middle and High School in Wyoming, which is located in the Grand Rapids area and is part of the Godfrey-Lee district. . Superintendent Kevin Polston says a portion of the outside wall and second-story floor crumbled in the same area as the roof collapse. That section of the school was built nearly a century ago in 1925. It’s not yet known whether the building will be available for use in […]

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Operators of refineries in Ohio are worried that a potential shutdown of a Great Lakes oil pipeline in Michigan could push up their costs or even force them to close. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sent Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a letter this past week asking her to not let the pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac shut down permanently. Michigan’s governor wants the company that owns the oil pipeline to finish its replacement within two years, but the company says it can’t be done until 2024. Talks over the timeline broke down earlier this month. Environmentalists […]

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — AAA Michigan says average gas prices statewide have risen about 7 cents from a week ago at about $2.70 per gallon. The Dearborn-based auto club says Monday the average price for self-serve regular unleaded is about 20 cents less than a year ago. AAA says the state’s highest average was in Marquette at around $2.76. The lowest price was in the Jackson area at roughly $2.60 per gallon. Prices in the Detroit area were about $2.74 per gallon, up about 3 cents from a week ago. AAA Michigan surveys daily fuel prices at 2,800 gas stations […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Legislature is allocating $15 million to a low-interest loan program to help farmers grappling with crop losses associated with historic rainfall. The bill won quick approval Thursday from the Senate and House, and goes to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature. The legislation would appropriate $15 million into the Agricultural Disaster Loan Origination Program. Growers, processors and handlers can get a 1% interest rate on loans. Republican Sen. Dan Lauwers of St. Clair County says the loans give farmers an option for bridging revenue losses. Whitmer has asked the federal government to approve farmers […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan school districts would no longer be required to administer a workforce-readiness test to 11th-graders as part of the state’s standardized assessment under a bill advancing in the Legislature. The Republican-led House approved the measure 85-24 Thursday and sent it to the Senate for further consideration. The ACT WorkKeys assessment was touted as a way for employers to find prospective workers, but critics say it has not met expectations. Few employers refer to WorkKeys or a career-readiness certificate in job postings. Supporters of the bill say the WorkKeys test is unnecessary, duplicative and costly. Opponents say […]

WALKER, Mich. (AP) — A judge says the Michigan parole board needs to take another look at a woman who has spent 30 years in prison for the deaths of residents at a nursing home. Catherine Wood last year was granted parole. But Kent County Judge Joe Rossi says the board didn’t properly assess the risk to the public if Wood is released. He also cited other reasons for a review Thursday. She remains in custody. Five people were suffocated at the Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker, near Grand Rapids, in the late 1980s. Wood pleaded guilty to second-degree […]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — There are overnight developments in the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States. Iran’s foreign ministry has warned the United States over violating Iranian airspace after the Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S drone earlier in the day. A ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, is quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying that Iran cannot condone the “illegal trespassing and invading of the country’s skies by any kind of foreign flying object.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it shot down the American drone over Iranian airspace, while U.S. officials […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2% in May while the number of jobless workers increased for a third straight month. Figures released Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget show the state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was six-tenths of a percentage point higher than last month’s national unemployment rate of 3.6%. Total employment was unchanged in May while the number of jobless workers increased by 5,000. The department says the 207,000 unemployed workers last month was the state’s highest total since April 2018. Director Jason Palmer of the Bureau of Labor Market […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking the federal government to approve Michigan farmers for disaster assistance because of wet weather that’s making it hard to plant crops. Whitmer made the request Wednesday in a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Michigan is going through one of its wettest periods on record, with nearly 38 inches of rain between May 1, 2018, and April 30. As of June 9, only 3.5 days this year had provided proper conditions for field work. About 63 percent of the state’s corn crop had been planted, down from 88 percent on […]