Tagged: Stateside

How much will Michigan residents actually feel the effects of the sequester?

Well, we're still waiting to find out. 

The lack of clarity concerning the real amount of jobs being furloughed and cuts to departments and agencies is largely due to a continuing resolution that President Obama will sign this week.

The resolution will fund the government for the next six months in order to get the country through the next fiscal year. 

Todd Spangler covers the nation's Capitol for the Detroit Free Press and joined us from Washington  D.C.

It's been 80 years since the Detroit Industry murals debuted at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

On today's show, we'll take a look at the controversy surrounding those famous works by Diego Rivera

Just what would the artist think about labor and industry in present-day Michigan?

Also, the TSA will allow small knives onboard flights, and we'll have more on the biodiversity bill in front of the Michigan Legislature.

We also met up with Ryan Stegman. From his basement studio in Grand Blanc, Stegman is drawing Spiderman. He's been commissioned to draw the firs three issues of the brand-new "Superior Spider Man" series.

But first up on today's show, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette this morning called for a grand jury investigation into contaminated steroids linked to hundreds of cases of illness and 14 deaths in Michigan.

The request was filed today with the state Court of Appeals.

If the court says yes to the investigation, the judge who would lead it and the grand jurors would be drawn from Macomb, Genesee, Livingston, and Grand Traverse counties. Those are the counties where the clinics that administered the contaminated steroid injections are located.

It’s a somewhat unusual step to ask for a grand jury investigation.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted cert to another affirmative action case, agreeing to hear a case involving the University of Michigan's effort to ban consideration of race in college admissions.

The case has been added to the list the Court will begin hearing in their next session which will begin in October.

The justices are already considering a challenge to a University of Texas program that takes account of race, among other factors.

Michigan Public Radio Network's Rick Pluta joined Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty to explain what this means for both cases.

Listen to the full interview above.

The oral arguments for two gay marriage cases will be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court this week.

The court will focus on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California's Prop 8 case.

Though they are both cases related to same-sex marriage, each case is different.

There are all sorts of infographics that have been created to accompany commentary on shifting support for gay marriage on a national scale, but what's going on in the Michigan LGBT community?

Michigan Radio's Lester Graham spoke with Cynthia Canty on today's Stateside about the lack of legal protection for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in Michigan and what these cases could mean for them.

Graham is working on a series of reports looking at the legal rights of the LGBT community.

You can listen to Graham's first report here.

And you can listen to our conversation with him above.

Kevyn Orr referred to his new job as Detroit's emergency manager as an olympic-sized task.

Starting today at 7:30 a.m., he reported for duty at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building for his first day on the job.

So, how'd he do?

Cynthia Canty spoke with Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek who has been following the emergency manager appointment for Detroit.

Listen to the full audio above.