Michigan judge rules defendants accused in false elector scheme will not have charges dropped

October 7, 2023

LANSING — Michigan defendants accused of participating in a fake elector scheme will not have their charges dropped after the state attorney general said the group was “brainwashed” into believing former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election, a judge ruled Friday morning. The decision comes after motions to dismiss charges were filed last week by two defendants, Clifford Frost and Mari-Ann Henry. The two defendants are part of a group of 16 Michigan Republicans who investigators say met following the 2020 election and signed a document falsely stating they were the ...

UAW strike shows worker pay disparities

October 6, 2023

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — When Rhonda Naus got a job inspecting Jeep Wranglers fresh off the assembly line, her paycheck added up to roughly half of what her co-workers were making. But with that came an expectation that her temporary status eventually would become permanent with a big jump in wages. Six years later, she’s still doing the same work as her colleagues at Stellantis and still making a lot less. “I knew I had to start at the bottom. I didn’t think I’d be at the bottom forever,” said Naus, who’s among thousands of striking United Auto Workers nationwide pushing ...

US automakers’ sales rose sharply over the summer, despite high prices and interest rates

October 5, 2023

DETROIT — Automakers posted big increases in new vehicle sales during the summer, despite high prices, rising interest rates and even a limited strike against Detroit companies. Industry sales rose 16.3% from July through September as consumer demand stayed strong, even given an average new vehicle loan rate of 7.4% and an average vehicle price of more than $45,500. Vehicle supplies also continued to recover from shortages of computer chips and other parts that began during the pandemic and are finally abating. With increased selection, more people bought vehicles, despite an ...

Michigan school shooter’s parents cleared to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges

October 4, 2023

DETROIT — The Michigan Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday that cleared the way for the parents of a teenager who fatally shot four students at Oxford High School to face trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. James and Jennifer Crumbley are accused of making a gun accessible to Ethan Crumbley and ignoring his mental health needs. The state appeals court said in March that the couple could face trial, and the Supreme Court let that decision stand in a one-sentence order. Prosecutors in suburban Detroit had to show only that there was probable cause to put the parents on ...

Man who sought to expose sexual predators fatally shot

October 3, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — A 40-year-old Detroit-area man who posed as a 15-year-old girl on social media to identify alleged sexual predators has been fatally shot during an argument in a restaurant. Police arrested two males, ages 17 and 18, Saturday in Friday night’s slaying of Robert Wayne Lee of Pontiac, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said. Lee had gone by the name “Boopac Shakur” on social media. His crusade had led to criminal charges against several men — including a jail deputy, but his work also misidentified one person as a sexual predator, according to the ...

Michigan teen shooter eligible for life prison sentence for killing 4 students, judge rules

October 2, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — A teenager who killed four fellow students at Michigan’s Oxford High School is eligible for life in prison with no chance for parole, a judge ruled Friday, finding only a “slim” chance for rehabilitation after the 2021 attack. Judge Kwamé Rowe announced the decision over video conference, weeks after hearing from experts who clashed over Ethan Crumbley’s mental health and witnesses who described the terror of the day in sharp detail. He will be sentenced in Oakland County court on Dec. 8, a day when survivors and families can tell the judge about how the ...