DETROIT (AP) — A former vice president at the United Auto Workers has been charged with conspiracy in a scheme with Fiat Chrysler to buy meals, golf and other perks with money from the automaker. It’s the latest development in the government’s investigation of how officials at Fiat Chrysler and the UAW enriched themselves by using money set aside for a job-training center. At least seven people have pleaded guilty. The conspiracy charge against Norwood Jewell was filed Monday as a criminal information, which means a guilty plea is likely. Defense attorney Michael Manley tells The Detroit News that Jewell […]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Grand Rapids’ police chief says an officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while the use of force during an arrest is investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs Unit. Interim Chief David Kiddle said Monday he was concerned after watching video footage of the incident that showed an officer using profanity and punching a man “close to 30 times” in the leg to gain compliance following a traffic stop. Police didn’t release the name of the officer. The Grand Rapids Press reports the video of the encounter Sunday night was shot by a resident […]

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State registration will be required shortly for pet shops, nurseries and other businesses or individuals selling live, non-native aquatic species in Michigan. The Department of Natural Resources says the requirement will take effect Thursday. The deadline was set under legislation enacted at the end of 2018. Registration must be updated every year and expires Dec. 31 of the issuing year. It can be completed online . DNR aquatic species manager Seth Herbst says the annual registrations will give regulators a better picture of the types of live water-dwelling organisms being sold in Michigan. That will help […]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hundreds of homes flooded in several Midwestern states after rivers breached at least a dozen levees following heavy rain and snowmelt in the region, authorities said Monday while warning that the flooding was expected to linger. About 200 miles of levees were compromised — either breached or overtopped — in four states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. Even in places where the water level peaked in those states — Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas — the current was fast and the water so high that damage continued to pile up. The flooding was […]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) —The mayor of the Dutch city of Utrecht says that three people have been killed in an attack on a tram and adds that a “terror motive” is the most plausible option. Jan van Zanen also said that nine have been wounded, three of them seriously. Van Zanen said that “we cannot exclude, even stronger, we assume a terror motive. Likely there is one attacker, but there could be more.” Dutch authorities have named a 37-year-old Turkey-born man as linked to the tram shooting. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says that “our nation was hit by an […]

(Mlive) — Grand Rapids police are investigating a report of a car plunging into Plaster Creek late Saturday evening, according to the department. The vehicle was recovered but they are still looking for the person who was driving the car at the time. A section of Market Avenue SW between I-196 and Godfrey Avenue SW  was closed while police investigated. The car went into Plaster Creek where the Grand River meets near the waste water treatment plant.

(Mlive) — President Donald Trump is coming to Michigan for a March 28 rally in Grand Rapids, Trump’s re-election campaign announced Friday. The rally will be at Van Andel Arena. Michigan GOP Chair Laura Cox said she is “thrilled” that Trump is coming to Michigan, which helped elect the president in 2016. “This visit is proof that the president is making Michigan a priority in 2020 and the Michigan Republican Party will do everything in our power to deliver our state’s 16 electoral votes to his re-election,” Cox said in a statement. Trump visited Michigan several times during the 2016 election. […]

ALLEGAN, Mich. (AP) — High school students in a western Michigan county have the opportunity to earn diplomas and associate degrees or pre-apprenticeships with up to 62 college credits at no cost. The state’s Talent and Economic Development Department says professors at Lake Michigan College travel to teach at the Early College Allegan County program in Allegan, southwest of Grand Rapids. The 3-year program allows students to extend high school by one year. Upon completion, they are able to transfer credits earned from Lake Michigan College to a 4-year university, continue in their apprenticeships or join the workforce. Early College […]

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — AAA Michigan says average gas prices statewide are up about 7 cents from a week ago to about $2.59 per gallon. The Dearborn-based auto club says Monday the average price for self-serve regular unleaded is about 3 cents more than a year ago. AAA says the statewide average rose to a new 2019 high of $2.62 per gallon last Wednesday before easing later in the week. AAA says more increases are expected. The state’s highest average was about $2.65 a gallon in the Traverse City area. The lowest average was about $2.53 in the Flint area. […]

LONDON (AP)- British lawmakers have voted to delay Brexit, just 15 days before the country is scheduled to leave the European Union. The House of Commons voted 413-202 Thursday in favor of seeking to postpone the U.K.’s departure for at least three months beyond the scheduled March 29 departure from the EU. The number in favor was raised to 413 after being announced earlier as 412 in the chamber. The motion commits Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government to seek an extension until June 30 if Parliament approves a U.K.-EU withdrawal deal next week. British lawmakers have already rejected May’s […]

MATTAWAN, Mich. (AP) — The Humane Society of the United States is pushing for the release of three dozen dogs from a west Michigan laboratory, alleging that the animals are being fed fungicides. The animal rights organization on Tuesday released the findings of an undercover investigation it conducted last year at Charles River Laboratories in Mattawan. The humane society says the lab was hired to use 36 beagles in a yearlong pesticide test for a new product being developed by Corteva Agriscience, which is a division of DowDuPont. The society alleges that the dogs will be euthanized in July. Corteva […]

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Authorities have identified two women found fatally shot at a home in western Michigan. The Grand Rapids Police Department says the Kent County Medical Examiner has ruled the deaths of 47-year-old Charletta Baber-Bey and 25-year-old Keyona Griffin to be homicides. Baber-Bey and Griffin were found dead in their home around 1 p.m. Wednesday. Officers went there after getting a 911 call from someone inside the home. The relationship between the women wasn’t immediately known. Police say Baber-Bey’s 45-year-old boyfriend who also lived at the home is a person of interest in the case.

(AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Shiawassee County. The White Lake-based weather service says a tornado touched down at 7:03 p.m. Thursday in Vernon, about 21 miles (33.79 kilometers) southwest of Flint. Officials say the same tornado touched down in nearby Durand at about 7:05 p.m. Severe weather also was reported in nearby Genesee County. Michigan State Police said first-responders confirmed at least 21 homes were damaged, but no injuries were immediately reported. Power lines also were downed. Weather service officials say an unconfirmed tornado in Flushing, near Flint in Genesee County, […]

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Mass shootings at two mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers killed 49 people on what the prime minister called “one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” as authorities charged one person, detained three others and defused explosive devices in what appeared to be a carefully planned racist attack. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the events in Christchurch represented “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence” and acknowledged many of those affected may be migrants and refugees. In addition to the dead, she said more than 20 people were seriously wounded. “It is clear that this […]

Federal safety officials say they want a crackdown on impaired and distracted drivers, wider use of collision-avoidance technology in cars, and tougher regulations for operators of air tours and medical flights. The National Transportation Safety Board laid out a wish list Monday to improve safety on roads, trains and in the sky. The board, which investigates accidents, has 1,200 pending recommendations that have not been acted on by agencies including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration. The safety board planned to unveil its top issues last month but was delayed by the government shutdown. Board […]