Michigan

USA: Despite virus risk, 2020 hopefuls keep up campaigns for now

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — As the coronavirus hits more states, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday his campaign is gauging when it may become necessary to cancel the large campaign rallies that public health experts say could be breeding grounds to spread the potentially deadly illness.

“Obviously what is most important to us is to protect the health of the American people,” Sanders said as he appeared in a series of TV interviews. “And what I will tell you, we are talking to public health officials all over this country.”

USA: Sanders, Biden up attacks as head-to-head race takes shape

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — The Democratic presidential primary is down to two major candidates, and it shows.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are spending their first weekend as their party’s last top White House contenders increasingly taking aim at one another. Each wants to show he’s the best choice before six more states — Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington — vote on Tuesday.

USA: Black voters power Biden’s Super Tuesday success

DETROIT (AP) — Joe Biden’s presidential campaign spent the past month on the verge of collapse after disappointing finishes in the overwhelmingly white states that launched the Democratic primary. As he watched the turmoil unfold from Gadsden, Alabama, Robert Avery thought the race would change dramatically when it moved into the South.

“He knows us, he cares about us,” the 71-year-old community organizer said. “People have given us no credit as to knowing what’s going on or being involved, and that’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

Michigan governor to take national stage to rebut Trump

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democrats are putting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan on the national stage Tuesday to rebut President Donald Trump, elevating a fresh face and casting an election-year spotlight on a swing state in the Midwest as the party looks to win back states Trump narrowly captured.

AG suspends investigation of Michigan State over Nassar

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State Attorney General Dana Nessel has suspended a nearly two-year-long criminal investigation into Michigan State University’s handling of complaints against now-imprisoned serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The probe, which began under Nessel’s predecessor, has resulted in charges against three former school officials. One was convicted. Two others, including former president Lou Anna Simon, were ordered to trial. Their cases will continue to be prosecuted.

Defiant Trump rallies supporters as House impeaches him

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — Defiant in the face of a historic rebuke, President Donald Trump labeled his impeachment by the House of Representatives on Wednesday “a suicide march” for the Democratic Partyas he delivered a rambling two-hour rally speech that overlapped the vote.

“Crazy Nancy Pelosi’s House Democrats have branded themselves with an eternal mark of shame,” Trump told the crowd in battleground Michigan, where he took the stage just minutes before becoming only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. “It’s a disgrace”

Impeachment may complicate 2020 for lonely Michigan moderate

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — For more than 30 years and under five presidents, Republican Rep. Fred Upton easily won reelection to his southwest Michigan House seat by touting “common-sense values” and bipartisan accomplishments.

Republicans and even many Democrats have appreciated his moderate views and the way he hustled around the district on his days back home, meeting people at schools and senior homes and doing weekly radio interviews.

Professor’s survey in Michigan criticized for racist remarks

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A survey by a Michigan State University professor to determine how people respond to derogatory online comments has been removed from a school website after sparking outrage because it included racist statements.

The Lansing State Journal reported that Saleem Alhabash, an associate professor of public relations and social media, sent his survey to select students Monday. The survey asked students to rate statements taken directly from social media and other online sites.

GM-UAW talks take turn for worse; settlement not near

DETROIT (AP) — Contract talks aimed at ending a 21-day strike by the United Auto Workers against General Motors have taken a turn for the worse, hitting a big snag over product commitments for U.S. factories, a union official wrote in an email to members.

The letter from UAW Vice President Terry Dittes casts doubt on whether there will be a quick settlement in the contract dispute, which sent 49,000 workers to the picket lines on Sept. 16, crippling GM’s factories.

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