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Ousted Michigan Republican Party chair loses key ruling at appeals court

DETROIT — The ousted former leader of the Michigan Republican Party lost a key court ruling Thursday in her effort to regain the top post. The Michigan Court of Appeals said it won’t suspend a lower court’s order affirming Kristina Karamo’s removal by party members. Karamo was hoping that a stay would clear the way for her to lead a meeting Saturday in Detroit to select presidential delegates for the party’s national convention. Former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, with backing from the national party and former President Donald Trump, is recognized as the new chair of the ...

Michigan man gets 30 years in death of brother

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who pleaded guilty in his disabled brother’s starvation death was sentenced Monday to a minimum of 30 years in prison by a judge who said the defendant is “one step away from becoming a psychopath.” Paul Ferguson, 21, pleaded guilty in December to first-degree child abuse in the death of 15-year-old Timothy Ferguson. He was sentenced Monday to a minimum 30 years and maximum 100 years in prison. Timothy Ferguson, who had autism and was speech- and motor-impaired, weighed only 69 pounds (31.3 kilograms) when he died in July 2022 at the ...

Primary apathy in Michigan: Democrats, GOP struggle as supporters mull whether to even vote

LANSING — Rev. Steve Bland Jr. remembers the massive get-out-the-vote effort he helped mobilize four years ago, when pastors and community leaders spread out across Detroit neighborhoods, made phone calls and worked around the clock to encourage people to vote. He’s not seeing that kind of enthusiasm this time around. Madeleine Byrne, a 25-year-old from Bloomfield Hills in Oakland County, a wealthy suburban enclave that proved pivotal in Michigan’s swing back toward Democrats in recent years, said she likes how former President Donald Trump has “put America first” but has ...

Flint council member known for outbursts and activism in city water crisis dies

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Eric Mays, a Flint, Michigan, city council member known for activism during the city’s water crisis and for disruptive behavior at public meetings, has died. City officials made the announcement late Saturday, without listing a cause of death. Mays was 65. “This is a tremendous loss for our community and a shock to all friends and family,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said in a statement. “As our community grieves during this difficult time, on behalf of Councilman Mays’ family, we ask that community members respect their privacy and allow them time and ...

Biden ally meets Arab American leaders in Michigan

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — As Thursday dawned in Dearborn, Michigan, Arab American leaders entered a local coffee shop and greeted Rep. Ro Khanna of California before pulling up chairs at a table. Over the next two hours, the leaders spoke about how they were personally affected by the war in Gaza and criticized President Joe Biden over the growing number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Khanna, a Biden campaign surrogate who organized the meeting independently, listened intently. It was a rare unfiltered conversation between two sides that ...

After child shoots self, man becomes first person charged under new law

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man whose 2-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver last week pleaded not guilty after becoming the first person charged under the state’s new law requiring safe storage of guns. Michael Tolbert, 44, of Flint, was arraigned Monday on nine felony charges including single counts of first-degree child abuse and violation of Michigan’s gun storage law, said John Potbury, Genesee County’s deputy chief assistant prosecuting attorney. Tolbert’s daughter remained hospitalized Wednesday in critical condition from the Feb. 14 ...