Abigail Censky

Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris stopped in Michigan on Tuesday for the first time after she was added to the ticket.

To soundtrack of Motown, Lizzo and Mary J. Blige, Harris traveled from Flint to Detroit, campaigning less than 45 days ahead of the presidential election.

Outside of the Detroit Pistons’ practice facility, Harris talked about her reason for returning to the state.

“To be here and to be present. You know, Jill Biden was here last week, Joe was here the week before. We will keep coming back because so goes Michigan, so goes the rest of the country as far as we’re concerned,” she said.

Protesters gathered on the Michigan state Capitol lawn Friday to plead for the governor or the Michigan High School Athletic Association to bring back high school football this fall.

Families and players decked out in high school spirit wear and football jerseys chanted, “Let us play” and held signs that said “Don’t Dim Our Friday Night Lights.”

They were protesting MHSSA’s announcement that the fall season would move to spring because of the high-risk categorization of the sport for its potential to spread COVID-19 due to high player-to-player contact.

Though coronavirus cases in the state appear to be plateauing, Michigan is still under a state of emergency.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says as cases continue to decline in the state, businesses may be allowed to reopen based on the risk of COVID-19 exposure.

But the state of emergency will likely remain in place.

During the opening night of the virtual Democratic National Convention, Governor Gretchen Whitmer hammered President Donald Trump for what she called a weak coronavirus response.

Governor Whitmer’s short speech followed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo; both are considered leaders by many for their actions in states hit hard by the coronavirus early on.

She said many lives were saved in Michigan as she made an elevator pitch for the Democratic ticket, contrasting the Democrats’ approach with the President’s.

Police departments across the country already submit use of force reports to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Now, departments in Michigan will be encouraged to submit reports for state-specific data.

The Law Enforcement Transparency Collaborative, announced Wednesday, will be the first statewide collection of use of force data.

Hundreds of people marched from the Lansing Center to the state Capitol on Wednesday as part of a march against police brutality.

The words "Black Lives Matter" echoed across the Capitol lawn at the NAACP’s “We are Done Dying” march.

Nathanael Jefferson has been to several protests in Detroit and Lansing. He says he has personally been profiled in Lansing and sees police profiling all the time.

More than one hundred protesters gathered on the state capitol steps Sunday marking a week of protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man, by a white police officer.

The New York Times reported Michiganders are no longer staying at home in the same numbers, despite still being under a stay-at-home order. Governor Gretchen Whitmer called the data concerning.

In her Wednesday briefing Whitmer said movement itself isn’t the problem, so long as people still wear their masks outside and follow social distancing and handwashing.

After easing restrictions for industries like landscaping and construction over the past two weeks, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced today in a press briefing that the state will need to have a waiting period before making decisions about other industries going back to work.

Governor Whitmer announced last week construction could begin again on May 7. She says now the state will study if cases of COVID-19 begin to increase again when some sectors of the economy return to work.

After extending the state of emergency through late May without legislative approval, Governor Gretchen Whitmer condemned actions by lawmakers and protesters on Thursday.

Gov. Whitmer called Thursday’s protest, which drew hundreds to the capitol, political theater.

Hundreds of protesters flocked to the Capitol lawn for the second time in weeks to protest Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders.

The protest was much smaller than the first protest, "Operation Gridlock," two weeks ago, but still attracted hundreds who didn’t observe social distancing or wear face masks.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says it’s time to start re-engaging Michigan’s economy as the COVID-19 outbreak is plateauing in the state.

Following her decision to allow landscapers to get back to work last week, the governor says construction and outdoor businesses will likely be next. The governor says she’s loosening restrictions on commercial and residential construction.

Lawmakers returned to Lansing Friday for an unexpected special session.

Legislators wore homemade masks, and went through temperature screening before entering the capitol for the second time under the stay-at-home order.

The Republican majority called legislators back to create an oversight committee on pandemic response and vote on bills to curb the governor’s emergency powers.

In a Wednesday briefing, Governor Whitmer said there will likely be a short-term extension of the stay-at-home order in Michigan.

“There will be some kind of a stay at home order in effect for a long-time here. And I know when I say that, people will speculate ‘What does that mean?’ And what it simply means is that for the near future we know that it’s not going to be safe for especially the vulnerable population to be out and about publicly.”

More than a million Michiganders, or more than a quarter of the state’s workforce, have applied for unemployment during the coronavirus outbreak.

Jeff Donofrio is the director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. He says while the state isn’t unique, Michigan has seen some of the biggest surges in unemployment applications.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer spent much of her Monday briefing on the coronavirus outbreak defending the extension of the stay at home order.

Last week the Governor extended the stay-at-home order through the end of April. The move was called for by the state’s health officials, but harshly criticized by Republican leadership in the state legislature.

The state of Michigan now has more than 17,000 cases of COVID-19. But there's not enough personal protective equipment to last through the week at several hospitals in Southeast Michigan.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says the state is dangerously low on equipment to protect healthcare workers.

Less than a week ahead of the Michigan presidential primary, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is warning results may come late.

She says there’s been an 80% increase in absentee ballots.

2020 is the first presidential election year Michigan voters will have access to no-reason absentee voting, and election clerks are expecting a surge in absentee ballots. A set of bills passed out of the state Senate Elections Committee Thursday will allow clerks to remove ballots from the mailing envelope, but not the secrecy sleeve the day before the election.

A special task force on jails and pretrial incarceration handed over 18 policy recommendations Tuesday to leadership in the state Legislature.