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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

Kilpatrick explains the plastic surgery splurge

By Ed Brayton | 12.09.09 | 7:05 am

In case you were wondering how former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would attempt to explain why he was pleading poverty while simultaneously spending more than $15,000 on plastic surgery for his wife (not to mention while living in a mansion in a gated community in Texas and making a base salary of $120,000 a year), the Detroit News documents his explanation on the witness stand in his restitution hearing on Tuesday:

Kilpatrick choked up as he explained why he paid more than $15,000 for plastic surgery for his wife at the same time he owed Detroit taxpayers almost $1 million in restitution.

“I embarrassed her. I cheated on her. I lied to her,” he said in Wayne County Circuit Court. “It’s the least I could do. I caused her an incredible amount of pain.”

The elective surgery helped repair damage caused by an emergency Caesarean when Carlita Kilpatrick gave birth to the couple’s twin sons.

“I told her if I ever got some money, I’d pay for it,” he said. “I wanted her to make her feel beautiful.”

Later, when discussing $71,000 paid to rent a house in Texas, Kilpatrick said he described his wife’s devotion as a “miracle.”

“I didn’t care how much a miracle cost … it was a miracle for me to be in that house,” Kilpatrick said.

I suspect that explanation would fly a lot better on a trash TV talk show than it will in a court of law.

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