GOP: No aid unless counties control school, sports closures

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan House Republicans on Wednesday proposed a $3.5 billion coronavirus recovery plan but threatened to withhold billions to K-12 schools unless Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cedes her administration's power to prohibit in-person instruction and sports to local health departments. Senate...

Whitmer seeks common ground with Legislature to end pandemic

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought “common ground” with the Republican-led Legislature in her State of the State address Wednesday, calling for quick passage of a multibillion-dollar relief plan that would prioritize coronavirus vaccinations and additional aid to Michigan...

States lift restrictions gradually amid fears of new variant

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — States are loosening their coronavirus restrictions on restaurants and other businesses because of improved infection and hospitalization numbers but are moving gradually and cautiously, in part because of the more contagious variant taking hold in the U.S. While the easing could...

Man pleads guilty in conspiracy to kidnap Michigan governor

DETROIT (AP) — One of six men charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy, admitting that the group discussed an incredible scheme to snatch her at her lakeside vacation home and destroy a bridge to slow down police. Ty Garbin’s guilty...

Court filing: Man agrees to plead guilty to conspiracy in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Washington considers open carry ban at demonstrations

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The open carry of guns and other weapons would be banned on the Capitol campus and at or near any public demonstration across Washington under a measure that received a remote public hearing Tuesday, with proponents calling it a common-sense measure amid heightened political divisions...

Whitmer mum on health chief's resignation, sports ban

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday refused to discuss the circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of Michigan's health director during the coronavirus pandemic, including whether she asked for his resignation. The Democratic governor also declined to set a date for the return of...

The Latest: Hong Kong ends lockdown in Kowloon neighborhood

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s government on Monday morning ended an unprecedented lockdown after testing thousands of residents living in an area that had reported an increasing number of coronavirus cases, authorities said. The lockdown, which was implemented in the early hours of Saturday, covered 16...

Vaccine shortage slows Michigan's effort to end pandemic

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — If Michigan could administer 50,000 coronavirus vaccine doses a day, it could hit its goal of inoculating 70% of people age 16 and older by August. At the current rate, about 29,000 per day, it would not finish until a year from now. The issue is limited supplies — something...

Michigan health director resigns; Whitmer names successor

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon, who issued sweeping orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's powers were upended by a court ruling, abruptly resigned Friday. No explanation for the resignation was given. In a tweet, he said...