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Michigan House Republicans have proposed a $3.5 billion coronavirus recovery plan that threatens to withhold billions to K-12 schools unless Governor Gretchen Whitmer gives her administration's power to prohibit in-person instruction and sports to local health departments.

Dearborn City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to change the name of the Hubbard Ballroom in its civic center, the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center. The venue used for weddings and other events will now be called the Lincoln Ballroom in honor of President Abraham Lincoln.

Orville Hubbard was the longest serving mayor of Dearborn, but gained notoriety for his racist remarks and fervent support of racial segregation. 

Federal prosecutors have reached a plea agreement with one of the men charged in the alleged plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Under the agreement, Ty Garbin of Hartland Township, agrees to plead guilty to the charge of conspiring to kidnap the Governor. The charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison, but under the agreement, prosecutors have agreed to recommend a lesser sentence.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is set to give her third State of the State address Wednesday, January 27 at 7 p.m. According to the state, Whitmer will reflect on "actions she has taken as governor to support Michiganders, eradicating COVID-19 and strengthening the state’s economy, and fixing the road ahead." 

Anthony Adams, a former deputy mayor under Kwame Kilpatrick, announced on Tuesday that he will run for mayor of Detroit against incumbent Mike Duggan who is seeking a third term. 

In an announcement on Facebook Live, Adams listed off the local businesses he frequents — from shoe shiners to jazz clubs — and his record in public office, which includes serving as the Executive Assistant to Former Mayor Coleman Young and as President of the Detroit Public School Board. 

The city of Detroit will dismiss most misdemeanor citations issued last spring during several days of protests against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Most of the tickets written May 31 and June 2 were for curfew violations as hundreds of people demonstrated in downtown Detroit.

Gelman Sciences wants a Washtenaw County judge to pause court proceedings in the 1-4 dioxane pollution cleanup case.

Gelman is responsible for a plume of contaminated groundwater that's been spreading in the Ann Arbor area for at least 37 years.  

Attorneys for former Governor Rick Snyder are formally asking a judge to toss two misdemeanor charges tied to the Flint water crisis.

Snyder was formally charged with willful neglect of duty as part of an investigation by the Michigan attorney general's office into alleged criminal activity tied to Flint’s lead tainted tap water.

A federal judge has denied bond for a Michigan man charged in connection with this month’s riot at the nation’s Capitol.

During a detention hearing Monday, assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Moon called 29-year-old Michael Foy “one of the most violent of the capitol rioters.”

Moon showed video and still photos purporting to show Foy allegedly striking a Capitol police officer ten times with a hockey stick during the riot.

It’s going to take about a week for the state’s lab to answer an urgent question.

“Can we take some more proactive and aggressive action [against the more contagious COVID-19 variant] and really control these clusters that we're currently seeing?” Susan Ringler-Cerniglia, a Washtenaw County Health Department spokesperson, said Monday. “Or is, in fact, the variant already circulating more than we've detected?”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and state health officials say they are very concerned about a new variant of COVID-19 that’s been found in Michigan. And that could affect the course of the state’s response and the pace of re-opening more schools, sports, and businesses.

Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives are introducing legislation to ban guns in and around the state Capitol.

House Bill 4023 would add the Capitol building, its grounds, and the Anderson House Office Building and Binsfield Senate Office Building to the list of places in Michigan where possessing a firearm is illegal, with the exception of law enforcement.

The Michigan Department of Education again has asked the U.S. Department of Education to waive standardized testing for the 2020-2021 school year so Michigan teachers can focus on making sure students are caught up in their education.

Many Michigan counties are looking for volunteers to help vaccinate people against COVID-19. And in some counties, those volunteers are able to get their shots as well.

Washtenaw County is offering that option, said county health department spokeswoman Susan Cerniglia. The county is currently operating one mass vaccination site, with plans to open another when vaccine supplies increase. They also use volunteers on mobile teams that go out to vaccinate vulnerable populations.

President Joe Biden's long-time reliance on Amtrak to get between his home and work in Washington, D.C is well-known.

And Pete Buttigieg, the man Biden has nominated for U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary, says he hopes to carve out $1.5 billion for public transit across the U.S.

The Michigan Supreme Court is likely to be the last stop for a group that's trying to put a fracking ban on the ballot.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a controversial process involving pumping large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into deep into the ground to break up shale deposits releasing oil or natural gas.   

Fracking has boosted oil and natural gas production. But critics say it damages the environment.

The Great Lakes have been slow to freeze this year, compared to years past. Currently, around 2.4% of the Great Lakes are covered by ice, concentrated in the Green Bay region off Lake Michigan and Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. That's lower than 11% cover at this time last year.

Jia Wang is an ice climatologist for NOAA. He says it's been a warm winter in the Great Lakes region.

"[Ice cover] is very very low, unusually low this year, compared to other years and compared to the average. This year, air temperatures are so warm. Air temperature has a negative correlation with ice cover. Of course, if it's warmer, there's less ice cover," he says.

More than half a million Michiganders have received a first dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, according to the state's health department. But a smaller cohort, as participants in clinical trials, have received vaccines made by other companies.

A lottery ticket purchased in Novi is the winner of Friday’s $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot.

The top prize drawn on Friday is the third-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.

According to the Michigan Lottery, the winning ticket was bought at the Kroger store, located at 47650 Grand River Avenue in Novi.   The holder of the winning ticket has not yet come forward.

COVID-19 tests, rent payment and food were the top three pandemic-related issues for state residents who reached out to Michigan 211, a subsidiary of the Michigan Association of United Ways that connects people to resources for free through text, chat or calling 211.

Michigan Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon announced his resignation on Friday via Twitter, without offering explanation. 

“Today, I am resigning from the Whitmer Administration,” Gordon said in a tweet Friday around 3 p.m. “It's been an honor to serve alongside wonderful colleagues. I look forward to the next chapter.”

Gordon’s resignation came just hours after signing a revised public health order allowing restaurants to resume indoor dining on February 1. Then Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office released a lengthy press release announcing Gordon’s appointed successor: Elizabeth Hertel, who until now was the Senior Chief Deputy Director for Administration for MDHHS.

Health organizations in Grand Rapids are setting up a vaccine clinic that they hope will eventually be able to vaccinate 20,000 people per day. The clinic will be at the DeVos Place convention center in downtown Grand Rapids.

The Kent County Health Department, Spectrum Health and Mercy Health are working together to create the clinic.