Detroit News

Detroit --The brother of a Detroit Lions football player was convicted today of second-degree murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend in a Dearborn hotel. Full Story »

Pittsfield Township -- No charges have been filed against a 34-year old Pittsfield Township man accused of killing Michael Robert Rajchel, 28, of Van Buren Township Wednesday morning. Full Story »

Detroit -- Police in several Metro Detroit communities have launched an effort to arrest suburbanites who take buses into Detroit to buy drugs because they don't want their vehicles seized. Full Story »

Lansing -- Finding money to soften school aid cuts, enacting education reforms to lure federal dollars and finally passing a workplace smoking ban are the top items on House Speaker Andy Dillon's to-do list before the end of the year. Full Story »

A tentative agreement between the state and a key employees' union averts layoffs for now, but calls for workers to take banked leave time and increases health care premiums and co-pays for new hires Full Story »

Detroit -- Two high-ranking officials in the administration of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- Kandia Milton and his brother DeDan -- received kickbacks in connection with the city's 2007 sale of Camp Brighton in Livingston County, a federal judge was told today. Kandia Milton at the time was Kilpatrick's liaison to the City Council. He later served as chief of staff and Deputy Mayor ... Full Story »

The Wayne County Commission gathered Thursday for the last time in the grand ballroom at 600 Randolph. By Christmas, the Beaux-Arts landmark will become virtually empty. Full Story »

The city's finances are so shaky that officials repeatedly borrow money to cover day-to-day bills, rarely go after deadbeats and have sat on millions of dollars in property tax overpayments for years, according to two recent audits. Full Story »

Detroit -- City water officials are investigating why a city-owned Ford Focus assigned to an upper-level security officer was briefly seized by police last month outside a known crack house on the city's west side. Full Story »

Washington -- Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said at a White House Jobs Summit on Thursday that the Obama administration needs to do more to help struggling cities. Full Story »

Detroit -- A former Detroit Public Schools executive defended real estate deals for a new headquarters and high schools, and accused the district's emergency financial manager of a "premature rush to judgment" in investigating the transactions. Full Story »

Macomb Township -- Two years ago, sisters Catherine and Mary Jo Imbronone announced the upcoming opening of Tavern at Tina's, a bar to complement their 28-year-old banquet facility next door, Tina's Country House, on North Avenue. Full Story »

After introducing thousands of gallons of toxin into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and monitoring results for a day, biologists recovered one Asian carp Thursday in a canal leading to Lake Michigan, the nearest the destructive species has come to the Great Lakes, Illinois environmental officials said. Full Story »

Benton Harbor charter boat captain Russ Clark has taken clients on the St. Joseph River to chase steelhead and salmon for roughly a quarter century. Business has been good. He'd like it to continue. Full Story »

On the Illinois River near Peoria, the battle over the Asian carp has been decided. The fish are there, in large numbers, the kind that produce memorable YouTube videos of the carp leaping from the water in the wake of cruising boats. Full Story »

The Secretary of State Office will merge offices throughout the state after more people have turned to the Internet for the department's services. Full Story »

Detroit -- Muslims in America continue to face persecution and profiling, according to a Council on American-Islamic Relations' annual report on the status of Muslim civil rights in the United States. Full Story »

Detroit -- Detroit Public Schools and its teachers' union announced they've reached a deal that will boost teacher accountability and avoid bankruptcy. Full Story »

Washington -- Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said today he wanted to see the Obama administration boost aid to help the city tackle its 70,000 abandoned properties. Full Story »

Detroit --The city may still be battling a monster $300 million deficit, but Detroit has landed a national award for the way it dealt with another financial crisis. Full Story »

Pontiac -- A verdict has yet to be reached in the Rib Rack murder trial against Jerome Hamilton, 16, of Southfield. A jury remained out today reviewing witness testimony and deliberations are expected to resume Friday morning, for the seventh day. Full Story »

The Michigan State Police and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children are asking for the public's help in locating an endangered runaway. Full Story »

A 26-year-old Shelby Township man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase through Shelby Township, Sterling Heights and Troy on Monday called the 911 emergency number in an attempt to throw authorities off of his trail, officials said Thursday. Full Story »

Romulus --Authorities were releasing little information today regarding a search for two men they believe are responsible for the rape of a woman whose car broke down along I-94 in suburban Detroit early Wednesday morning. Full Story »

Dearborn -- Two of about 100 Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes taken in by a Detroit-area animal shelter this summer following a hoarding case are getting some big exposure this holiday season. Full Story »