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MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT

Defense rests in trial of 4 men in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot

The defense has rested and evidence is over in the trial of four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Only one man decided to testify in his own defense Thursday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Daniel Harris repeatedly said “absolutely not” when asked by his lawyer if he agreed to abduct Whitmer. Harris, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., and Brandon Caserta are accused of planning to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in 2020 in response to her tough COVID-19 restrictions and their disgust with government. Defense attorneys say the group was engaged in a lot of wild talk but no conspiracy.

DIVISION 1 ALL-STATE GIRLS

Forest Hills Central’s Hallock AP Division 1 top player

Forest Hills Central’s Theryn Hallock has been named The Associated Press player of the year for Division 1 girls’ basketball. The Michigan State University commit averaged 26 points, 11.4 rebounds, 6.5 steals, 4.8 blocks and shot 54.3% from the floor this season. Hallock finished her career with a school-record 1,589 points. This marks the second consecutive year that Hallock has been voted first-team all-state, having averaged over 23 points last season. Coach of the year is Kyle Theisen of Midland Dow. The Division 1 girls’ basketball All-State team was selected by a panel of eight sports writers.

GIRL KILLED-GYM

Court reinstates lawsuit over girl’s death at school gym

GWINN, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned a decision and reinstated a lawsuit by the family of a 4-year-old girl who was accidentally killed at an Upper Peninsula school. Civil immunity can sometimes apply to schools under Michigan’s personal-injury law. But the Supreme Court says there still are questions of fact to be sorted out in Marquette County court. Amarah Filizetti died when a 325-pound panel fell on her at Gwinn High School in 2015. Staff were in the process of putting the panel in place to shield a portable stage. The state appeals court had dismissed the lawsuit, saying the panel wasn’t part of a building defect. But the Supreme Court says a reasonable jury could conclude that the panel constituted a ‘dangerous or defective condition.’

HOMELESS MAN SLAIN

Three people charged in slaying of homeless man in Pontiac

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Three people have been charged with murder in the slaying of a homeless man whose body was found near a lake northwest of Detroit. The Oakland County sheriff’s office says Brian Bonner, Alice Anthony and Romaro Wilson were arraigned Thursday in Pontiac District Court and ordered held without bond. A passersby found Tobby Farrington’s body after seeing an arm and leg protruding from beneath a bed comforter Friday in a grassy area near Terry Lake in Pontiac. The 50-year-old Farrington had been beaten, stabbed and strangled with a rope. A plastic bag was over his head. Detectives say Farrington was slain inside a Pontiac home where he had been staying and receiving drugs for performing odd jobs.

PIPELINE ACCIDENTS

US will require valves on new pipelines to prevent disasters

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials are adopting a long delayed rule aimed at reducing deaths and environmental damage from oil and gas pipeline ruptures. But safety advocates said Thursday’s move by the U.S. Transportation Department would not have averted the accidents that prompted the new rule. That’s because it applies only to new pipelines and not to hundreds of thousands of miles of lines that already crisscross the country, many of them decades old and corroding. The rule is in response to a massive gas explosion in San Bruno, California, that killed eight people in 2010 and to large oil spills into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River and Montana’s Yellowstone River.

AP-US-BOOK-BAN-PRISONERS

Historian sues NY prisons over ban of Attica uprising book

NEW YORK (AP) — The author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the revolt at the Attica Correctional Facility in 1971 has sued New York state prison authorities, saying they’ve unconstitutionally banned her book. Author Heather Ann Thompson is a University of Michigan professor. She brought the lawsuit Thursday in Manhattan federal court. The suit contends the ban is unconstitutional and asked the court to stop the state from blocking the book’s distribution to prisoners. A New York State Department of Corrections spokesperson declined to comment. Named as defendants were the agency’s acting commissioner and a second official who has decision-making authority regarding censorship determinations.

CALIFORNIA-REPARATIONS-INFLUENCE

California reparations plan advances movement, advocates say

DETROIT (AP) — California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality by tackling the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible to receive reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism. A state task force narrowly decided in favor of limiting compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century. But whether the Tuesday vote spurs other states and cities to advance their own proposals, and whether they adopt California’s controversial standard for who would benefit, remains to be seen.

SEVERE WEATHER-MICHIGAN

High winds cause thousands to lose power in Michigan

DETROIT (AP) — About 65,000 homes and businesses in southeastern Michigan have lost power after high winds swept across parts of the state. Detroit-based DTE Energy says wind gusts reached more than 50 mph (80 kph) early Thursday, knocking down utility poles and causing tree branches to fall onto power lines. The utility said crews were out trying to restore power as quickly as possible. Warren Mayor James Fouts said police in the Detroit suburb were patrolling intersections due to traffic signals being out.

DETROIT DEVELOPMENT

Vacant United Artists Building in Detroit to be redeveloped

DETROIT (AP) — A building that featured a former movie theater on the outskirts of downtown Detroit will be redeveloped into affordable housing. The $75 million project at the United Artists Building was announced Thursday by Mayor Mike Duggan and other city leaders. The city says the nearly 100-year-old building will have 148 apartments and retail and dining space when it opens late next year. The 18-story building was designed by Detroit architect C. Howard Crane and opened in 1928. It has been mostly vacant for almost five decades. Its redevelopment follows a number of other projects where once-vacant structures in Detroit are being reimagined for other uses.

REDISTRICTING COMMISSION-PAY

Michigan redistricting commission reverses 7% pay raise

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Facing backlash, Michigan’s redistricting panel have reversed course and ended a 7% pay raise the commissioners gave themselves a month ago. Commissioners voted last year to be paid $55,755 a year and, in February, approved an increase to nearly $60,000 on an 8-3 vote. They described it as a cost-of-living adjustment to account for high inflation. The commissioners voted 12-1 Thursday to return their pay to $55,755. They drew new congressional and legislative maps late last year but continue to meet as groups challenge the plans in court.