Michigan News

 DETROIT (AP) - General Motors is recalling nearly 1.2 million SUVs for defective side air bags. 

Law enforcement boosting drunken driving patrols  Local, county and state law enforcement officials say they're stepping up patrols to catch drunken drivers during a period that includes St. Patrick's Day, the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments and spring break.

Policing will increase this spring at the Michigan Capitol, but officials say they have no plans to add metal detectors.  

 State police will bring more personnel to the Capitol area and will enhance its technology as well.     That includes making better use of video camera monitoring and introducing thermal imaging to spot intruders in parking lots and outside the Capitol after dark.

  Chrysler Group is recalling 18,092 Fiat 500L cars in the U.S. because the transmission shifter can be delayed or stop working.

  Five years after Michigan targeted copper thefts plaguing cities like Detroit and disrupting railroads and utilities, plans to better restrict sales of stolen scrap metal are caught in a legislative fight.

  University of Michigan students and staff gathered in the school's Union ballroom to celebrate retiring president Mary Sue Coleman.

  Local, county and state law enforcement officials say they're stepping up patrols to catch drunken drivers during a period that includes St. Patrick's Day, the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments and spring break.

  Wayne County Parks is promising a sweet time for those who sign up for its hands-on maple sugaring program.

  The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is awarding $357,450 in grants for scrap tire cleanup projects.

About 145,000 Michigan residents have selected private insurance plans under the federal health care law. Updated figures released Tuesday by the Health and Human Services Department show about 314,000 people in the state have completed an application and are eligible to enroll in a marketplace plan.

Michigan lawmakers are working to draw more medical providers to low-resource areas by raising caps for a loan repayment program for health professionals in those areas.  

A person briefed on the matter says the Justice Department is investigating whether General Motors broke any laws with its slow response to a deadly problem with ignition switches on certain small cars.  The probe is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the investigation is not public.

Legislation nearing Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's desk would let community service be a requirement to receive welfare benefits. The legislation is sponsored by Republican Senator Joe Hune of Livingston County's Hamburg Township. The state Human Services Department already includes community service among the work participation programs it can require for cash assistance recipients. A bill approved 91-19 Tuesday by Republican-led House would codify the practice into law.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Legislation nearing the desk of Gov. Rick Snyder would let high schools award diplomas to Vietnam War-era veterans who enlisted or were drafted before graduating. State law already lets schools grant diplomas to veterans who served honorably during World War II or the Korean War. The Michigan House on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill making Vietnam veterans eligible.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has relentlessly attacked Democrat Gary Peters for supporting the federal health care law.  

The final phase of demolition has begun for a well-known vacant Detroit housing project that once was home to boxer Joe Louis and members of the Supremes.  Active demolition began Monday on four 15-story towers that are part of the former Frederick Douglass Homes, better known as the Brewster projects.  Louis once lived at the project near downtown Detroit, as did members of the Supremes before the musical trio became vital voices of the Motown sound. Other demolition work began at the site last year.

       Legislation to rewrite or clarify recent changes in Michigan's foreclosure rules has taken a step forward.

     The bill approved 107-3 by the House last week retains main elements of a law signed last summer by Governor Rick Snyder, including taking away someone's right to save his or her property if an inspector discovers the home's in bad shape due to neglect or other reasons.

       Michigan cities are getting behind legislation to create local stock exchanges allowing residents to invest in smaller businesses.

Actress Mariska Hargitay plans to join Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to discuss proposed legislation that would speed up sexual assault kit testing.  Worthy's office also says the Detroit Rape Kit Project will be discussed at the press conference later today. She has been pushing for more funding to process the backlog of kits. 

Hargitay stars on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She also is founder and president of the Joyful Heart Foundation. The foundation works with police and prosecutors on eliminating the backlog of testing for sexual assault kits. 

William Clay Ford Senior, who helped steer Ford Motor Company for more than five decades and owned the NFL's Detroit Lions, has died at the age of 88.  The company said in a statement Sunday that Ford died of pneumonia at his home. He was the last surviving grandson of company founder Henry Ford.  Ford served as an employee and board member of the automaker for more than half of its 100-year history. The company says in a statement that he was instrumental in setting the design direction for the company's vehicles. CEO Alan Mulally says in a statement that Ford had a profound impact on the company.