The Detroit News Workers relying on jobless aid in the form of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation can now reopen or certify their claims for the extra $300 in federal aid authorized by Congress in December. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is jobless aid available to those not always eligible for unemployment, such as self-employed or gig workers. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation is for those who exhausted state benefits last year.People seeking to apply under PUA and PEUC have been delayed since December as they waited...…The Detroit News Workers relying on jobless aid in the form of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation can now reopen or certify their claims for the extra $300 in federal aid authorized by Congress in December. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is jobless aid available to those not always eligible for unemployment, such as self-employed or gig workers. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation is for those who exhausted state benefits last year.People seeking to apply under PUA and PEUC have been delayed since December as they waited...WW…

The Detroit News Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel plans to appeal a Monday ruling in which a state Court of Claims judge found the state's anti-discrimination law did not extend to those treated unequally on the basis of their sexual orientation.Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray ruled Monday that the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act's ban on discrimination on the basis of sex applies to gender identity, but not sexual orientation.The case arose when two companies argued Michigan's civil rights law did not bar them from denying service on religious grounds to a same-sex...…The Detroit News Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel plans to appeal a Monday ruling in which a state Court of Claims judge found the state's anti-discrimination law did not extend to those treated unequally on the basis of their sexual orientation.Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray ruled Monday that the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act's ban on discrimination on the basis of sex applies to gender identity, but not sexual orientation.The case arose when two companies argued Michigan's civil rights law did not bar them from denying service on religious grounds to a same-sex...WW…

The Detroit News Lansing — Fewer Black Michigan residents are getting and dying from COVID-19, according to a recent report from the Michigan Task Force on Racial Disparities.The number of cases between March and October dropped from 176 cases per million people per day to 59 cases per million people per day, according to the report issued during a Thursday press conference.Likewise, deaths have dropped between April and October from 21.7 deaths per million people per day to 1 death per million people per day. Michigan was one of the first states in the nation to begin...…The Detroit News Lansing — Fewer Black Michigan residents are getting and dying from COVID-19, according to a recent report from the Michigan Task Force on Racial Disparities.The number of cases between March and October dropped from 176 cases per million people per day to 59 cases per million people per day, according to the report issued during a Thursday press conference.Likewise, deaths have dropped between April and October from 21.7 deaths per million people per day to 1 death per million people per day. Michigan was one of the first states in the nation to begin...WW…

The Detroit News A conservative legal group has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to take custody of all Nov. 3 election materials to give the Michigan Legislature time to audit the results, investigate all claims of ballot irregularities and fraud, and "finish its constitutionally-mandated work to pick Michigan's electors."The lawsuit filed Thursday seeking the collection of ballots, pollbooks and ballot boxes also asks the court to stop the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Board of State Canvassers from giving final certification to the state's election results until a...…The Detroit News A conservative legal group has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to take custody of all Nov. 3 election materials to give the Michigan Legislature time to audit the results, investigate all claims of ballot irregularities and fraud, and "finish its constitutionally-mandated work to pick Michigan's electors."The lawsuit filed Thursday seeking the collection of ballots, pollbooks and ballot boxes also asks the court to stop the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the Board of State Canvassers from giving final certification to the state's election results until a...WW…

The Detroit News A record of more than 5.2 million Michigan residents voted in Tuesday's election, but a group of about 100,000 in four Democratic-leaning cities ended up pushing the state's results into Wednesday evening. Election workers in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and some small communities worked throughout Wednesday to process a little more than 100,000 ballots, most of them among the 3.26 million absentee ballots cast and processed in Michigan this election cycle.As the counts were processed, they prompted a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's...…The Detroit News A record of more than 5.2 million Michigan residents voted in Tuesday's election, but a group of about 100,000 in four Democratic-leaning cities ended up pushing the state's results into Wednesday evening. Election workers in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and some small communities worked throughout Wednesday to process a little more than 100,000 ballots, most of them among the 3.26 million absentee ballots cast and processed in Michigan this election cycle.As the counts were processed, they prompted a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's...WW…

The Detroit News Federal agents on Thursday arrested two men, including the self-proclaimed leader of the Base, a violent, white supremacist group, as part of a continuing crackdown on extremism in Michigan three weeks after the FBI said it thwarted a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.A team of FBI agents arrested Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, the self-proclaimed leader of the Base, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, during a pair of raids across Michigan, a source told The Detroit News.They are linked to a December 2019 incident in Dexter in which a local family was...…The Detroit News Federal agents on Thursday arrested two men, including the self-proclaimed leader of the Base, a violent, white supremacist group, as part of a continuing crackdown on extremism in Michigan three weeks after the FBI said it thwarted a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.A team of FBI agents arrested Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, the self-proclaimed leader of the Base, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, during a pair of raids across Michigan, a source told The Detroit News.They are linked to a December 2019 incident in Dexter in which a local family was...WW…

The Detroit News Democratic former President Barack Obama will join his former running mate Joe Biden Saturday as Biden campaigns for president in Michigan, Biden's Michigan campaign confirmed Wednesday.While details such as the location or time of the Saturday campaign stop are still unknown, Biden's campaign said Monday the former vice president would be in the Great Lakes state three days before the election.The campaign said Biden would "discuss bringing Americans together to address the crises facing the country and win the battle for the soul of the nation."President Donald Trump...…The Detroit News Democratic former President Barack Obama will join his former running mate Joe Biden Saturday as Biden campaigns for president in Michigan, Biden's Michigan campaign confirmed Wednesday.While details such as the location or time of the Saturday campaign stop are still unknown, Biden's campaign said Monday the former vice president would be in the Great Lakes state three days before the election.The campaign said Biden would "discuss bringing Americans together to address the crises facing the country and win the battle for the soul of the nation."President Donald Trump...WW…

The Detroit News About 2.85 million people have requested absentee ballot applications ahead of the Nov. 3 election and nearly 1 million people have returned completed ballots, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office.Clerks across the state have issued about 2.8 million ballots and received 977,000 back, Benson’s spokesman Jake Rollow said Tuesday.The numbers are at least triple the amount from 22 days before the 2016 election, when 916,000 absentee ballots had been requested and 248,000 returned to clerks.Benson’s office has recruited more than 30,000 election...…The Detroit News About 2.85 million people have requested absentee ballot applications ahead of the Nov. 3 election and nearly 1 million people have returned completed ballots, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office.Clerks across the state have issued about 2.8 million ballots and received 977,000 back, Benson’s spokesman Jake Rollow said Tuesday.The numbers are at least triple the amount from 22 days before the 2016 election, when 916,000 absentee ballots had been requested and 248,000 returned to clerks.Benson’s office has recruited more than 30,000 election...WW…

The Detroit News Michigan added 1,237 new coronavirus cases and 30 more deaths on Tuesday — putting October on pace to generate Michigan's biggest month for new cases since April, when the virus peaked in the state. The daily average for new cases has increased each month since June. "It is very possible that this is the beginning of a second wave," Michigan Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun told a Tuesday meeting of state and public health officials.In a Detroit News interview last week, Khaldun said she is  about the upward trend of...…The Detroit News Michigan added 1,237 new coronavirus cases and 30 more deaths on Tuesday — putting October on pace to generate Michigan's biggest month for new cases since April, when the virus peaked in the state. The daily average for new cases has increased each month since June. "It is very possible that this is the beginning of a second wave," Michigan Chief Medical Executive Joneigh Khaldun told a Tuesday meeting of state and public health officials.In a Detroit News interview last week, Khaldun said she is  about the upward trend of...WW…

The Detroit News Three Michigan women are suing the state Treasury Department to end sales and use taxes paid on feminine hygiene products, alleging the taxes violate equal protection clauses of the state and U.S. constitutions because they discriminate based on sex. Emily Beggs, Clare Pfeiffer and Wei Ho are seeking class action status on behalf of all Michigan women paying the "tampon tax" and demanding a refund with interest of the sales and use taxes paid by women for menstrual products over the last four years. They estimate the class of women paying...…The Detroit News Three Michigan women are suing the state Treasury Department to end sales and use taxes paid on feminine hygiene products, alleging the taxes violate equal protection clauses of the state and U.S. constitutions because they discriminate based on sex. Emily Beggs, Clare Pfeiffer and Wei Ho are seeking class action status on behalf of all Michigan women paying the "tampon tax" and demanding a refund with interest of the sales and use taxes paid by women for menstrual products over the last four years. They estimate the class of women paying...WW…