Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Jury selection started Tuesday in the second trial of two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 over their disgust with restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors are putting Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. on trial again after a jury in April couldn’t reach a verdict. Two co-defendants were acquitted and two more pleaded guilty earlier.

Dozens of prospective jurors from western and northern Michigan reported to the federal courthouse in Grand Rapids.

DETROIT (AP) — A tax credit of up to $7,500 could be used to defray the cost of an electric vehicle under the Inflation Reduction Act now moving toward final approval in Congress.

But the auto industry is warning that the vast majority of EV purchases won’t qualify for a tax credit that large.

That’s mainly because of the bill’s requirement that, to qualify for the credit, an electric vehicle must contain a battery built in North America with minerals mined or recycled on the continent.

(AP) --- Two men accused of crafting a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 and ignite a national rebellion are facing a second trial this week, months after a jury couldn’t reach a verdict on the pair while acquitting two others.

The result in April was a blow to federal prosecutors, who had set out to show that extremists were committed to snatching Whitmer and causing chaos close to the election between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Attorney General’s office is asking that a special prosecutor investigate whether the Republican candidate for state attorney general and others should be charged in connection with an effort to gain access to voting machines after the 2020 election, according to published reports.

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area water utility said Tuesday that it will deny flooding claims stemming from a damaging storm last summer based on an independent review that found the flooding was caused by the amount of rainfall and not a defect in its wastewater collection and pumping system.

The Great Lakes Water Authority said in a statement that Michigan law also holds that a public entity can only be held liable for a sewage disposal system event if a defect in the system caused at least half of the problem and damage.

DETROIT (AP) — A judge had no authority to issue indictments in the Flint water scandal, the Michigan Supreme Court said Tuesday in an extraordinary decision that wipes out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder, his health director and seven other people.

It’s an astonishing defeat for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, got rid of a special prosecutor and put together a new team to investigate whether crimes were committed when lead contaminated Flint’s water system in 2014-15.

DETROIT (AP) — High gas prices have Wallace Reid looking for a new career.

Reid, who drives for Uber and Lyft in New York, fills up his Lexus at least three times a week. He pays around $95 each time, about double what he was paying last year. To make up for that, he’s driving more often, but he’s also applying for other jobs that wouldn’t require his car.

“It’s more hours, more stress,” he said. “New York City is not an easy city to work and it’s affecting our lives.”

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday rejected a final appeal from sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting gymnasts, including Olympic medalists.

The court declined to take the case. Attorneys for Nassar said he was treated unfairly in 2018 and deserved a new hearing, based on vengeful remarks by a judge who called him a “monster” who would “wither” in prison like the wicked witch in “The Wizard of Oz.”

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor filed a second-degree murder charge Thursday against the Michigan police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head following a traffic stop captured on a bystander’s phone.

Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker announced his decision against Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr, who killed Lyoya minutes after a traffic stop on April 4. Video from a passenger in the car captured the final chilling moments.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor said he will announce Thursday whether charges will be filed in the death of Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head by a Michigan police officer.

Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker gave no hints Wednesday, saying only that he would disclose his “charging decision” at an afternoon news conference in Grand Rapids.

Lyoya, 26, a refugee from Congo, was killed by Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr after a traffic stop on April 4.