Sarah Hulett

A new study links workplace exposure to plastics to a dramatically increased risk of breast cancer.

A team of researchers compared the work histories of women in the Windsor, Ontario area who had breast cancer against a group of women who did not.

They factored in things like smoking, exercise habits, and family history.

And they found that pre-menopausal women who worked in automotive plastics factories were nearly five times more likely to develop breast cancer.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has reached a deal with the state Treasurer that will allow the city to tap the proceeds of a $137 million dollar bond sale, and avoid payless paydays.

Under the terms of the deal, Detroit has to meet certain benchmarks. They include hiring a firm to restructure the city's finances, and another firm to implement those recommendations. Outsourcing the city's payroll system and changing the way contracts are bid out are also part of the benchmarks.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers is suing the city's public school system on behalf of more than 400 teachers the union says were laid off improperly.

Detroit Public Schools used a new evaluation system this year, following changes to Michigan's teacher tenure law that allow districts to call back laid-off teachers without using seniority as the first factor.

The union says the system the district came up with is not fair or transparent. And Detroit Federation of Teachers President Keith Johnson says on top of that, the school system didn't even follow its own rules when it came time to decide who would be called back to work.

Johnson says the lawsuit seeks any remedy available under the law.

"That would include reinstatement, it could include punitive damages, because there are some teachers who have had their lives literally turned upside down."

The school district did not comment directly on the lawsuit. But in a statement, it says the evaluation system ensured the most highly effective teachers would be placed in every classroom.

After she signs her name on closing documents a few dozen times tomorrow, Tisha Friday will get a set of keys to her brand new house in Hamtramck.

Friday is part of the plaintiffs class in what some say is the longest-running housing discrimination lawsuit in the country. And with every closing, Hamtramck inches a little closer to closing an ugly chapter in its history.

The Wayne State University Board of Governors is expected to vote Monday to establish a search committee for a new president. The university needs to replace Allan Gilmour, who plans to retire when his two-year contract is up in June.

Gilmour is credited with making the school's admissions standards more rigorous, after criticism that it admitted students who couldn't succeed. But his successor will still have some work to do. According to the Web site college results dot org, fewer than a third of Wayne State students graduate within six years.

The top ranks of Detroit's police department are getting reshuffled.

Mayor Dave Bing announced the plan today. He says the appointment of two new assistant chiefs, along with some high-level reassignments and promotions, will make the department more efficient and responsive.

"We're all concerned about the safety of the people here in this city and we've made these recommendation new leadership, and we think we're going to see results immediately," Bing said.

The department is struggling to keep a lid on crime as it deals with a string of internal sex scandals.

Some people hoping to avoid long lines tomorrow by voting absentee in person today found themselves waiting hours to cast ballots.

At least that was the story in Detroit, where Willie Ann Brown stood outside the Department of Elections still holding a number after nearly three hours of waiting to get a ballot.

"Actually I've been to two of the satellite locations, and they had, like four hour waits and I have to get to work, so I've been trying get to vote," said Brown. "I'm going to vote."

Michigan does not technically offer early voting, like some states do. But people can vote absentee if they provide a reason they won't be able to vote in-person on Election Day.

Calvin Trent took friends to vote at two locations in Detroit. He says the crowds looking to cast ballots early this election are much bigger than he's seen in previous elections.

"Well, the ballot is so long, and people think they're going to be in line forever tomorrow," said Trent. "So that's why people are trying to vote early."

Detroit voters face 18 proposals on the ballot, including questions from the city, the county and the state.

If you're planning to vote in tomorrow's election and you haven't done your homework, it's time to cram. The ballot questions facing voters are so complicated, some voters might wish they could consult an economist or an attorney to make sense of them. Vince Keenan is with the voter education Web site publius.org. He says many voters also may not know what groups are behind each question, "the sort of back story as to who's behind what is the sort of information that any staffer in the halls of the Legislature would have readily at their disposal, but voters don't." Voters can look at their ballots ahead of time at the publius Web site.  There they can also view video clips that analyze ballot questions, along with a few hundred candidate videos from districts scattered across the state.

A disability rights group says far too many polling locations in the city of Detroit have accessibility problems for disabled voters.

Chris Rodriguez is with Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service. He says the group visited 70 polling sites during the August primary, and found problems with almost all of them. Rodriguez says the problems at many sites were "egregious."

"When I say egregious I mean not just, you know, a sign might not be at the right height," Rodriguez said. "I'm talking about stairs... completely inaccessible locations to vote."

City officials dispute the group's claims. Rodriguez says in written correspondence, the city clerk has said it's found only seven polling sites were out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Rodriguez says litigation could be the next step if the city fails to correct the problems.

A federal appeals court has upheld a suburban Detroit bus system's refusal to put anti-Muslim ads on its buses.

The ads read in part, "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam?" And publicized a website called refugefromislam.com.

SMART rejected the ads as too political.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative sued on free speech and equal protection grounds, and a lower court ruled against SMART.

The city of Lansing faces an $11 million budget deficit in the coming fiscal year.

City officials say the shortfall is due largely to a steep decline in property tax revenues. Rising pension, health care, and salaries are also to blame. The numbers take into account the extra money the city is taking in from a new tax levy voters approved a year ago, but the city has almost reached its constitutional limit on how much money it can raise in new taxes.  In a press release, Mayor Virg Bernero says the funding model for Michigan cities is "broken." 

A five-day strike by workers at the water department serving southeast Michigan has ended.

Officials with AFSCME Local 207 say the strike ended in victory.

Shanta Driver is a lawyer for the union. She says the agreement brokered with Detroit Water and Sewerage Department management calls for the 34 workers who received termination notices to keep their jobs.

"All of those people are certain not to get terminated," Driver said. "Everybody's termination has been rescinded."

Hamtramck laid off half its fire department today, and there's more pain to come.

Kyle Tertzag is Hamtramck's acting city manager.

"Financially, the city is in a dire situation. There's not sugar coating it. That's what it is."

Firefighters rejected $575,000 in concessions to help the city balance its budget. Tertzag says that rejection "complicates" the city's effort to secure a $3 million loan from the state. That's because the city's deficit elimination plan filed with the state assumed those concessions.

Meanwhile, Firefighters Local 750 President, Lieutenant William Diamond, says there will be a huge need for overtime this month.

"We need 7 firefighters on duty every day and there’s going to be 15 guys to fill those 7 slots," Diamond says, adding that the department's remaining firefighters will have to alternate working 24-hour shifts.

A new report suggests school districts in Michigan are not doing a good job of evaluating their teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom. A state law passed in 2011 requires districts to evaluate teachers, and rate them as highly effective, effective, minimally effective, or ineffective.