Latest Michigan news, sports, business and entertainment at 9:20 p.m. EDT

AP-US-SUPREME-COURT-SHACKLING-CASE

High court rules for state in case of man shackled at trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says that a federal appeals court was wrong to order Michigan to retry or release a convicted murderer because his rights were violated when he was shackled at trial. In a decision that split the court 6-3 along ideological lines, the court’s conservative majority said the appeals court should have applied two different legal tests, not just one, and that Ervine Davenport’s case didn’t pass the second test. State courts had agreed that shackling him at his trial violated his rights but said the error was harmless because it did not affect the verdict in his case. But a federal appeals court concluded he should be released or retried. The Supreme Court reversed that decision.

WRONGFUL CONVICTION

Man cleared of kidnapping, other charges after 15 years

DETROIT (AP) — A man who has been in prison for 15 years for kidnapping and sexual assault didn’t commit the crimes. A judge will be asked Friday to clear the convictions and exonerate Terance Calhoun at the request of the Wayne County prosecutor. In 2007, Calhoun pleaded no contest to kidnapping and other charges and was sentenced to at least 17 years in prison. Calhoun was identified by two teen victims after a sketch was posted at a Detroit liquor store. But prosecutors say new evidence has resulted in the identification of another man. Calhoun was represented by the State Appellate Defender Office in the exoneration effort.

AP-US-INFRASTRUCTURE-WATER-PROJECTS

Feds award $420M for dam repairs and flood-control projects

Federal officials are spending $420 million to repair hazardous dams and fund flood control projects in numerous states. The projects announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are funded through an infrastructure law signed last year by President Joe Biden. The largest allotment of nearly $96 million will go to Arkansas for 19 flood-control projects, including several in impoverished areas. Georgia will get about $69 million. Some of that will go to repair three high-hazard dams in poor condition that could result in deaths were they to fail. The funding is in addition to $166 million for nationwide projects announced last month by the Agriculture Department.

AP-US-GYM-DOCTOR-SEXUAL-ABUSE

13 Nassar victims seeking $130M from FBI over bungled probe

DETROIT (AP) — Thirteen sexual assault victims of Larry Nassar are seeking $10 million each from the FBI. They claim the agency’s bungled investigation led to more abuse by the sports doctor. The Justice Department’s inspector general concluded last year that the FBI made fundamental errors when it became aware of allegations against Nassar. He was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts. Under federal law, tort claims must be a filed with a government agency, which then has six months to reply. A lawsuit could follow depending on the FBI’s response. The agency declined to comment Thursday.

SCHOOL SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Teen in Oxford High school shooting set for Sept. 6 trial

DETROIT (AP) — A judge has set a Sept. 6 trial date for a teenager charged with murder and other crimes in a Michigan school shooting that killed four students. Oakland County Judge Kwame Rowe said during a hearing in Pontiac that the date could change, however. Ethan Crumbley, who turns 16 next week, is accused of shooting fellow students at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. A prosecutor disclosed that the state Center for Forensic Psychiatry has completed a report about the teen’s mental health status at the time of the shooting and whether he could be held criminally responsible. She didn’t disclose the conclusion and the prosecutor’s office later said it couldn’t publicly discuss it. Defense lawyers indicated in January that they would pursue an insanity defense.

MICHIGAN REPUBLICANS-CONVENTION

Trump sways convention races for Michigan AG, elections jobs

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to mold Republicans’ 2022 tickets will be put to the test this weekend in Michigan, where thousands of party activists will endorse candidates including for attorney general and secretary of state. Trump, who continues to levy false claims about his 2020 loss, wants to oust Democratic officials who ensured the results stayed intact and replace them with allies. His preferred slate for the state’s top law enforcement and election jobs is drawing criticism, however, within a wing of the GOP that views the candidates as unelectable in November.

MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS-GROOMING ATTACK

Michigan lawmaker’s forceful speech rebuts ‘grooming’ attack

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan lawmaker, mother and LGBTQ rights supporter who was accused by a Republican colleague of wanting to “groom” schoolchildren says her impassioned response resonated because people are sick of such attacks. Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s remarks went viral after Republican Sen. Lana Theis attacked her in a fundraising email. McMorrow had criticized Theis for giving an invocation in which she claimed children are under attack by “forces” that want to indoctrinate them with ideas not supported by their parents. The salvos are among the latest to draw attention as conservatives push to make education a political wedge issue.

BIDEN-INFRASTRUCTURE-NUCLEAR

Gov. Whitmer wants federal aid to keep nuclear plant open

Michigan’s Democratic governor wants a nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan to stay open and she’s asking the federal government to pay for it. But the owner of the Palisades Power Plant says it’s too late and that the plant will shut down in May as scheduled. The Biden administration launched a $6 billion effort to rescue nuclear power plants at risk of closing on Tuesday, citing the need to continue nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of power that helps to combat climate change. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm Wednesday to urge the department to keep the plant open.

FOUR DEAD-MOBILE HOME FIRE

Lapeer County home fire that killed 4 set by victim: police

DRYDEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police say a 39-year-old woman set the mid-Michigan mobile home fire last month that killed her, her grandmother and two teenage children. The March 21 fire in Lapeer County’s Dryden Township, about 56 miles north of Detroit, killed Candice Turton, 87-year-old Zola Rodgers, 15-year-old Kylie Young and 17-year-old Nathan Young. Dryden Township Police Chief Shawn Peters said Wednesday that the case is now considered an arson/homicide/suicide. He says Candice Turton is the lone suspect in this case given evidence obtained to this point. The fire was reported about 5 a.m. Police said when they arrived the home was fully engulfed in flames.

AP-US-AFGHAN-REFUGEES-DETROIT

Network forms to assist Afghan refugees settle in Detroit

DETROIT (AP) — A group of Detroit corporate and community leaders has come together to provide support services to refugees from Afghanistan and other nations as they resettle in the city. The launch of the Detroit Refugee Network was announced Wednesday by Samaritas, a statewide health and human services organization that operates one of Michigan’s largest refugee resettlement programs. The network’s formation comes at a key time, as refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofits nationwide gear up to help Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. They were already hard at work trying to help tens of thousands of asylum-seeking Afghans who fled the Taliban takeover.