UAW says over 1,000 workers at VW plant in Tennessee have signed cards seeking union representation

December 8, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — More than 1,000 workers at Volkswagen’s Tennessee factory have signed cards authorizing a vote on representation by the United Auto Workers, the first plant in the nation to reach that milestone in the UAW’s quest to organize more than a dozen nonunion factories. The union says in a statement Thursday that the VW workers signed on in less than a week. The factory in Chattanooga employs about 3,800 people who make the VW ID.4 electric vehicle and the Atlas family of gas-powered SUVs. It could become the first test of the union’s strategy to simultaneously try to ...

Judge orders prison, probation in last sentencings tied to plot to kidnap Whitmer

December 8, 2023

A judge handed down the last sentences Thursday in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, sending one man to prison and putting another on probation, the climax to a remarkable investigation that became public on the eve of the 2020 presidential election but produced mixed results in ...

AI’s future could be ‘open-source’ or closed

December 6, 2023

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Tech leaders have been vocal proponents of the need to regulate artificial intelligence, but they’re also lobbying hard to make sure the new rules work in their favor. That’s not to say they all want the same thing. Facebook parent Meta and ...

Detroit-area performing arts center reopens after body is removed from vent system

December 5, 2023

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A performing arts center in suburban Detroit reopened over the weekend with performances of “The Nutcracker,” days after a body was found in the building’s ventilation system. The body was discovered on Nov. 26 while authorities were investigating a foul odor at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts in Clinton Township, which is part of Macomb Community College. Foul play was ruled out. Investigators believe Jason Thompson, 36, of Clinton Township squeezed himself into the vent system through an opening on the roof, probably in late ...

Soo Lock’s MacArthur Lock closing for season

December 5, 2023

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The Soo Locks’ MacArthur Lock will close for the navigation season at 7 a.m. on Dec. 17 through April 24 to perform dam safety inspections and routine maintenance. The Poe Lock will remain open until Jan. 15, or until commercial traffic ceases, whichever occurs first. The Soo Locks operating season is fixed by federal regulations. “The 800-foot-long MacArthur Lock, built in 1943, is 80 years old; the maintenance period is critical to keeping the lock in operation during the shipping season,” Maintenance Branch Chief Nicholas Pettit said. “The Soo ...

Second fire damages Alpena theater on Sunday

December 5, 2023

By The Alpena News ALPENA — For the second time in just over three years, the Thunder Bay Theatre suffered damage from a fire. After undergoing damage from a fire that destroyed the former John A. Lau restaurant in July 2020, a large section of the theater was destroyed by a blaze in the early morning hours of Sunday. Renovations to repair the damage caused by the 2020 fire began in September. The hopes were it would reopen in the fall of next year. Thunder Bay Theatre President Anne Gentry said as sad as the news is, things could have been worse. She said the hard work and ...