OFFICER INJURED-CHASE

Officer hurt, 2 Michigan men arrested after chase in Indiana

PORTER, Ind. (AP) — Police say an officer was seriously injured after a kidnapping suspect drove at three police cars during a chase in northwest Indiana and hit one vehicle head-on. Indiana State Police received a call around 7 p.m. Saturday from someone who said their daughter was being held against her will in a vehicle. The caller said the offender had a handgun and was traveling eastbound on Interstate 94 from the Illinois state line. Police located the vehicle but the driver sped away. The suspect later turned his vehicle around and drove at the police cars hitting a Porter, Indiana officer. His injuries were not life-threatening. Two men from Kalamazoo, Michigan were arrested. A female in the vehicle was taken to a local hospital.

PASTOR-EMBEZZLEMENT PLEA

Ex-pastor pleads guilty to stealing from mid-Michigan church

CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors say the former pastor of a mid-Michigan church has pleaded guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church over several years. Douglas Hammond pleaded guilty as charged to one count of embezzlement over $100,000 during a court hearing earlier this month in an Eaton County court. The Lansing State Journal reports that Hammond was accused of stealing $285,000 from Olivet Assembly of God Church over nearly six years, from January 2014 through November 2019, when he was a pastor there. Hammond's attorney, David Carter, says his client pleaded guilty on Nov. 12 because he “wanted to do what was right.”

SOLAR PROJECTS-MICHIGAN

Consumers Energy to add clean energy from 3 solar projects

JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan utility says it will add enough renewable energy through three solar projects in 2023 to power nearly 190,000 homes. Jackson-based Consumers Energy says the projects in the southern-central part of the state are expected to produce 375 megawatts of clean energy. Consumers Energy would own and operate one facility, while purchasing power from the other two. Agreements are awaiting approval by the Michigan Public Service Commission. The utility says the solar developments are part of the company’s Clean Energy Plan to dramatically increase renewable energy, eliminate coal as a fuel source for electricity by 2025 and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. The projects would come online in 2023.

KELLOGG'S STRIKE

Kellogg's to restart talks with striking cereal workers

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Kellogg Co. will reopen contract talks this week with its 1,400 cereal plant workers who have been on strike since Oct. 5. The Battle Creek, Michigan-based company said negotiations are scheduled to resume Monday with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that represents those workers. This week’s session will be the first time the two sides have met since the beginning of the month when they were unable to reach an agreement after two days of bargaining. The strike includes four plants in Battle Creek; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee that make all of Kellogg’s brands of cereal, including Rice Krispies and Apple Jacks.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

More schools take holiday week off as illnesses climb

ELK RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — More Michigan schools are shutting down for the entire week of Thanksgiving, giving staff and families an opportunity to recover from illness, including COVID-19. The decisions come as the state continues to post the worst new case rate in the U.S. In northern Michigan, Kingsley, Elk Rapids and Kalkaska schools added Monday and Tuesday to the Thanksgiving break. Elk Rapids was conducting over 100 rapid tests for COVID-19 but ran out of supplies. The Kalkaska district says its schools would undergo a “thorough, deep cleaning” during the break.

ABORTION-WHAT IF ROE CRUMBLES

Conflict over abortion laws won't abate if Roe v. Wade falls

On both sides of America’s abortion debate, activists are convinced that the 1973 Supreme Court ruling establishing a nationwide right to abortion is imperiled as never before. Yet no matter how the current conservative-dominated court handles pending high-profile abortion cases, there will be no monolithic, nationwide change. Instead, the fractious state-by-state battle over abortion access will continue. The demise of Roe v. Wade would return abortion policymaking to the states. At least 20 Republican-governed states would likely impose sweeping bans; perhaps 15 Democratic-governed states would reaffirm their strong support for abortion access.

BOY KILLED-MURDER CHARGE

Man charged with murder after crash kills boy, 5, on bicycle

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit man who had been free on bond following a June crash that killed a 5-year-old boy is back in custody after new evidence led a judge to increase the charge he faces to second-degree murder. Twenty-two-year-old Maurice Sumler, was originally charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash after he struck and killed Preston Singleton as the boy was on his bicycle crossing an intersection in the Detroit suburb of Warren. But the Macomb Daily reports that a judge raised the charge to second-degree murder after a preliminary examination showed Sumler was driving at least 59 mph and had smoked marijuana before the crash.

BORDER-COLD CELL

US wins appeal over keeping man in cold Detroit border cell

DETROIT (AP) — A man detained for hours in a cold cell at a Detroit border crossing has lost his lawsuit against a federal agent. An appeals court ruled in favor of the U.S. border officer on technical grounds and dismissed the case. Anas Elhady, a U.S. citizen and a Muslim, was detained at the Ambassador Bridge while returning to Michigan from Canada in 2015. He claims he’s on a watch list and gets harassed when he travels. Elhady says he had to give up his coat and shoes and sit in a cold cell for four hours. The appeals court says different liability standards apply at the border.

PURE MICHIGAN-WINTER CAMPAIGN

Michigan's winter focus of ads aimed at shoppers, travelers

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Pure Michigan is marketing the state’s upcoming winter season in an advertising campaign running in key regional and state markets. Michigan's Economic Development Corp. says the Still Pure Michigan campaign is expected to run through the end of February and use broadcast and connected television, online video and digital ads, and social media. Much of the focus of the tourism and marketing campaign will be on travel and shopping. Advertising spots will run in some of Michigan's largest cities. They also will be seen in Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kentucky. This year’s total winter advertising budget tops $3 million.

HOFFA SEARCH

FBI looks at land near NJ landfill for Jimmy Hoffa's remains

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — The decadeslong odyssey to find the remains of former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa apparently has turned to land near a former New Jersey landfill that sits below an elevated highway. The FBI says it obtained a search warrant to "conduct a site survey underneath the Pulaski Skyway." The work was done in late October. An FBI spokeswoman, Mara Schneider, declined to offer any details. Hoffa was last seen in 1975 when he was supposed to meet with reputed mob figures at a suburban Detroit restaurant. The latest effort appears to be tied to interviews given by a man named Frank Cappola. He says his father, Paul Cappola, explained how he buried Hoffa's remains in a barrel in Jersey City in 1975. Both Cappolas are deceased.

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