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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Leading US automakers General Motors and Chrysler are engaged in preliminary talks that may result in their merger, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on their websites.

October 2, 2008 - 09:55 ET A 15-year Detroit radio reporter was fired for wearing an Obama T-Shirt while on the job covering an Obama rally. As a result of this major breach of ethics, WWJ Newsradio 950 showed reporter Karen Dinkins the door -- that's right, she was fired. I must say that it is pretty amazing to see a media outlet uphold ethics like this, especially in Detroit. But there you have it. According to the local Fox affiliate, the radio station issued a press release. WWJ Newsradio 950 Believes that our credibility with our listeners rests on...

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — A Detroit police sergeant whose wife was shot to death in a suspected contract killing has been found hanged in a suburban park.

How The West Was Won The rapid and unexpected decline of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq was officially recognized this week, when Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commanding the Marine Expeditionary Force, turned operational control of Anbar Province over to the Iraqi army and police. Anbar, a vast expanse of desert the size of North Carolina, had been the stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. For years, foreign fighters loyal to al-Qaida had sneaked across Iraq's northwestern border with Syria, into Anbar and down a "rat line" of safe houses in Haditha, Ramadi and Hit. From Fallujah, the arch terrorist Zarqawi...

Link to article here.

DETROIT - The Detroit police crime lab was shut down by the city's new mayor and police chief after an outside audit found errors in some evidence used to prosecute cases involving murder and other crimes, officials said Thursday. An audit by Michigan State Police found erroneous or false findings in 10 percent of 200 random cases and subpar quality control compliance at the lab, said Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy. The report revealed a "shocking level of imcompetence" in the lab and constitutes a systemic problem, she said at a news conference. When it came to recognized work standards,...

In Washington these days, an 11-figure expenditure barely attracts notice. With Congress preoccupied with the massive, $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have finally secured Part One of their own federal rescue plan. A bill set to be passed by Congress and signed by President Bush as early as this weekend—separate from the controversial Wall Street bailout plan—includes $25 billion in loans for the beleaguered Detroit automakers and several of their suppliers. "It seemed like a lot when we first started pushing this," says Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, one of the...

Matt Millen is reportedly out as Lions president and general manager. WDFN-AM in Detroit is reporting that Millen was informed of the decision late Tuesday night. The move comes just days after Bill Ford Jr., the son of Lions owner William Clay Ford, stated publicly he would have fired Millen if the decision were his. Millen had been in charge of the Lions since 2001. The team has produced an NFL-worst record of just 31-84 in that time, including 0-3 this season. The Lions were in postseason contention last year after opening the campaign with a record of 6-2, but...

Abandoned as a baby, this executive wouldn't have survived without help from others. Now he's returning the favor James McElya was abandoned, at six weeks old, on the doorstep of the Salvation Army in West Chester, Pa. A succession of 11 families took him in until he was old enough to fend for himself. "These were poor people trying to raise their own families," McElya, now 61, recalls about the informal network of foster homes. "They were not getting paid to take me in. I was the last thing they needed. They kept me for as long as they could,...

Detroit, MI (AHN) - City Council President Ken Cockrel took over as Detroit's interim mayor at exactly noon on Friday, a little more than two weeks after former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned and pleaded guilty to two felony charges. "From this moment on, the past is the past and we as a community, as a city, and as a region are moving forward. This is our time to breathe life back into the city," Cockrel said during a remarks at the City Council auditorium, according to the Detroit Free Press. He was sworn in during a private ceremony two days...

(WXYZ) Detroit businessman Dave Bing is ending the speculation, and officially throwing his hat into the ring as a candidate for mayor of the city of Detroit. The Detroit Free Press says Bing confirmed his run in an exclusive interview Thursday night. At least a half dozen other people, including Interim Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr., have also said they will run in the February 24 special primary. In preparation for a run for the mayor's office, Bing has moved into the City of Detroit, and changed his voter registration. He is the only outsider, with no official connection to the...

Fri September 12, 2008 Defending The Indefensible By Leonard Pitts Jr. The Miami Herald If Kwame Kilpatrick were white, don't you think he'd have been thrown out of office a long time ago? Heck, he'd be out of jail by now and shopping his memoirs. Instead, it was just last week, after a year of scandal and revelation that has paralyzed his city and made it the punchline to an international joke, that Detroit's mayor surrendered his office and copped a plea: 120 days in jail, five years probation and a $1 million fine. Because, you see, Kilpatrick is not...

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809140383

The Motor City’s train wreck of a mayor finally steps aside—for now. ___ Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation as Detroit mayor is effective September 18, but the city will be dealing with the legacy of his administration for years to come. Kilpatrick agreed to resign as part of a plea agreement on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and official misconduct, filed after hundreds of sexually explicit text messages, printed in local papers, proved that he had committed perjury when he testified in a civil trial that he had not had an affair with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty. The case...

Since the First Amendment loving Detroit Free Press has put a block on their material being posted to Free Republic, I can not link to the article that appeared in today's Free Press. I tried. Google the title of this thread plus Detroit Free Press and read for yourselves about what's been going on with ACORN in S.E. Michigan.

Detroit, Mich. (Detroit Free Press) - A moving truck left the Manoogian Mansion at 4 p.m. today, just five days before Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is expected to vacate the residence. The North American Van Lines vehicle pulled out of the driveway about a half hour before a black Cadillac Escalade left, followed by a black sedan. Immediately after, a black Chevrolet Impala parked in the mansion's driveway to block the entrance. Kilpatrick is expected to leave the premises when he officially steps down as mayor on Thursday. By CHRISTY ARBOSCELLO, FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

It started in 1961 with chicken. Trying to stop a surge of chicken imports into Germany, the European Common Market bowed to the European poultry lobby and almost tripled the tariff on frozen chicken from the United States. Washington, of course, struck back. In 1963, it raised tariffs on a range of European products: brandy to hit the French; dextrine, a food and glue component, to hit the Dutch. To target Germany, the Johnson administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on light-truck imports, a barrier that fell on Volkswagen, which exported vans to the United States. “Why should we be...

(WXYZ) Sacred items have been stolen from a catholic church in Corktown, near Southwest Detroit.

Battered by weak sales, declining market share and miserable credit ratings, Detroit's Big Three automakers are now turning to the US government for help. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC will be launching a campaign in the coming days to secure at least 25 billion dollars in federal loans to help get past the current economic malaise. "This isn't a bail out," said Greg Martin, Washington spokesman for GM, the largest US automaker which has been awash in speculation for months that it is running short of cash. "These are direct loans that we have to pay...

Kilpatrick may get extended stay in Manoogian9/6/2008, 9:11 p.m. EDT The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his family may remain in the official mayoral residence after he leaves office later this month. A spokesman for Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. told The Detroit News on Friday that the Kilpatricks may be able to stay in the Manoogian Mansion for a while. Cockrel is set to become mayor Sept. 19. Kilpatrick resigned on Thursday as part of a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and pleaded no contest to...

He has agreed to plead guilty to corruption charges with a one million dollar fine.

Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick To Resign in Plea Agreement By KATE LINEBAUGH September 4, 2008 11:56 a.m. DETROIT -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick agreed to resign Thursday after pleading guilty to two felony counts in a deal with prosecutors, ending six-month-long legal saga that had all but paralyzed the city. The 38-year-old, two-term mayor agreed to spend 120 days in jail, to pay the city $1 million in restitution, and to give up his pension benefits. He will resign office immediately. City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. will assume the mayor's responsibilities until the city elects a new mayor.

Long before sex, lies and texting caused Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to plead guilty to two felonies and resign on Thursday, he and Barack Obama shared a warm man-hug before a huge Motown crowd. It came 16 months ago, as Obama was launching his campaign for president with a scalding speech to the Detroit Economic Club upbraiding Detroit's automakers for not building more fuel-efficient cars. But while that speech gave Obama green street-cred, his praise of Kilpatrick as a "great mayor" who will do "astounding things for many years to come" backfired. As Kilpatrick now heads to jail for four...

(WXYZ) In the wake of his resignation, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's name will be taken off the water tower at the Detroit Zoo.

WXYZ) - With an air of confidence, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick addressed the city of Detroit saying "There's another day for me." The speech came on the heels of the Mayor's guilty plea to felony charges.

Full story to follow shortly.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has pleaded guilty to felony charges in Wayne County Circuit Court. He will be forced to resign immediately.

(WXYZ) From the Wayne County Prosecutor: A plea may be imminent in the Kilpatrick text scandal case. It is expected that Defendant Kwame Kilpatrick will plead guilty today at 5:15 p.m. The plea will be take place before Judge Edward Ewell in Frank Murphy Hall of Justice Courtroom 302. Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy will be making a brief statement and a press release will be sent out after the plea is entered on the record. On the date of sentencing she will hold a press conference.

Removal hearing set to begin for Detroit mayorBy ED WHITE and COREY WILLIAMS,Associated Press Writers AP - 1 hour 37 minutes ago DETROIT - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has failed to stop Gov. Jennifer Granholm from moving ahead with an extraordinary public hearing that could cost him his job in a scandal over steamy text messages and millions of tax dollars. Kilpatrick's lawyers struck out with pleas to a Wayne County judge and the Michigan Court of Appeals, clearing the way for Granholm to begin hearing evidence Wednesday about the mayor's role in a $8.4 million settlement with fired police officers...

Detroit has been shaken by claims of lurid conduct and a cover-up at city hall. He is an ordinary 15-year-old boy who wants to know what happened to his murdered mother. Yet Jonathan Bond’s painful and protracted quest for justice has plunged him into the heart of an explosive political scandal that has shaken Detroit ... Bond is the son of Tamara Greene, a statuesque black stripper known as Strawberry, whose murder in 2003 triggered an avalanche of sordid allegations about mayoral misconduct, police cover-ups, aromatic bubble baths, lurid text messages, extramarital affairs and a talking turtle. The case pits...

(WXYZ) Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal team is asking the court to step in and stop removal hearings that are set to take place on September 3rd. In a complaint filed with the court, the mayor's attorneys argue that Governor Jennifer Granholm has made prior statements indicating that she has prejudged the matter and will be predisposed to remove Kilpatrick from office. Attached is a Summons, Complaint and Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction which was filed today. A hearing before Judge Ziolkowski is scheduled for Friday, August 29th at 10:00 a.m.

Detroit (WWJ) -- A plea deal has been offered during an arraignment for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. But defense attorneys say no deal.

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in an important shift, said on Friday he backs a plan for the federal government to provide low- interest loans to struggling U.S. auto makers. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the loans are needed to help auto makers build the next generation of cars and become financially stable. "Our auto companies are rising to the challenge of building the next generation of American cars, but are doing so in times when credit conditions cripple the funding for the facilities and technologies to take the steps to the future," McCain said in a...

Independents, women and Wayne County voters helped boost Democrat Barack Obama to a 7-point lead over Republican John McCain in the presidential race in Michigan, according to a Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll conducted this week. Obama's 46% to 39% statewide advantage is especially aided by a 39-point bulge among voters in Wayne County, including Detroit. Elsewhere in metro Detroit and outstate, Sens. McCain and Obama are virtually tied, according to the poll of 600 likely voters. Twelve percent are undecided and 3% support third-party candidates. Obama has significantly more support among voters younger than 35 and an 11-point...

A judge has ruled that the Detroit City Council cannot hold a hearing to try to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office.

FBI probe targets father of embattled Detroit mayor Leftist link only...

DETROIT — A judge ruled Friday there is enough evidence for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to stand trial on two felony assault charges stemming from a confrontation with two investigators. The investigators testified that an angry Kilpatrick shoved one of them into the other and made racial remarks while they were trying to deliver a subpoena in the mayor's perjury case to a Kilpatrick friend last month. Judge Ronald Giles made the ruling after hearing several hours of testimony and arguments in 36th District Court. The mayor remains free on bond ahead of an Aug. 22 arraignment in Wayne County Circuit...

DETROIT -- Wayne County District Court Judge Ronald Giles ruled there is enough evidence for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to stand trial on felony assault charges.

UPDATE: (WXYZ) Mayor Kilpatrick has issued the following statement about the Convention situation. The nomination of Sen. Obama at the Democratic National Convention will be a historic event, however I'm focused on running the city and I don't want anything to distract from that extraordinary moment. The focus should remain on uniting the party and leading our great nation in a different direction.

DETROIT (AP) — Barack Obama doesn't want Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his legal troubles to be a distraction at the upcoming Democratic National Convention, and he got his wish Thursday when a judge ordered the city executive to stay home. A Michigan spokesman for Obama, Brent Colburn, said in an e-mail Thursday that the focus of the convention in Denver this month should be on Obama and not on what Colburn called "the troubles of one individual," a reference to Kilpatrick and the two criminal cases he's facing. Kilpatrick, who would have gone to the convention as a superdelegate,...

Hours after being told to remove his electronic tether by one judge Thursday, embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was ordered by another judge to put it back on, a game of legal pingpong between his two separate criminal cases. Kilpatrick also gained, then quickly lost, a break in travel restrictions that could have allowed him to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver this month. The point might have been moot anyway: The mayor is a superdelegate, but a spokesman for presumptive nominee Barack Obama said Kilpatrick isn't wanted there. The day began when a judge overseeing Kilpatrick's arraignment on perjury...

I’m not sure which is more compelling in this news clip — the political tension between Barack Obama’s national and Michigan operations over what to do with Kwame Kilpatrick, or Jennifer Granholm’s resigned hypocrisy over tying a presidential candidate to their political allies. Hey, Governor, maybe you should read the news from time to time and learn more about the McSame Project at Team Obama:

Judge Leonard Townsend ruled Kilpatrick's tether can be removed and travel restrictions will be lifted, so the mayor can attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Detroit (WWJ) -- There are new calls for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign amid the scandal that has the mayor facing ten criminal charges. Congressman John Dingell issued a statement Wednesday calling for the mayor to resign.

A Detroit Emergency Medical Technician’s union grievance hearing abruptly ended this morning because his attorney refused to stop tape recording the proceeding. The hearing was to address the firing of Detroit EMT Doug Bayer, who is suing the City of Detroit, Fire Department Commissioner Tyrone Scott, and other supervisors. Bayer accuses the department of terminating him because he spoke to the media and the Michigan State Police about what he says he knows about the alleged Manoogian Mansion party.

The predictable reaction’s ensuing as we speak, in fact, as Politico presses Tennessee GOP spokesman Bill Hobbs for an explanation. Hobbs should have consulted his rulebook. Verdict: Racist. Sentence: A prominent mention in Peter Beinart’s next column.

DETROIT -- With a picture of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's face next to it, "No More” read the headline of the well-respected African American Detroit newspaper, the Michigan Chronicle. "If (Kilpatrick's) love of Detroit is as strong as he professes, he will make the right decision, which we believe, is to step down," the paper wrote in Wednesday's morning edition.

The Detroit City Council’s attorney William Goodman must provide the names of all witnesses he plans to call at the removal hearing of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick by August 15, according to an order Governor Jennifer Granholm issued today. Sharon McPhail, Kilpatrick’s General Counsel, must submit their list of witnesses on August 25.

According to the affidavit, Carlita had witnessed Greene touching the mayor "in a manner that upset the mayor's wife." She was later shot and killed and the homicide remains unsolved.

DETROIT -- The Michigan attorney general has filed a motion claiming Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick violated his bond in an assault case a day after being released from jail following a bond violation in his perjury case.