A wildfire in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that started a week ago has burned 95 buildings, with no reports of injuries or deaths.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources in a statement on Monday said that while “inspections are ongoing,” damages for the entire fire have not been fully taken into account. The state agency said it investigated 31 properties, with some experiencing multiple structure losses.

The Duck Lake Fire, as it is called, has burned more than 20,000 acres in sparsely populated Luce County. Rain and moisture levels in the region have been consistently low this season, leading to the wildfire.

“Rainfall will help reduce the risk of wildfires in the short-term for those areas receiving precipitation,” said Bill O’Neill, the head of the state’s Forest Resources Division, in a statement.

“It’s important for the public to understand that the high risk of wildfire is expected to increase again in these areas,” he said.

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A wildfire in northern Michigan’s Upper Peninsula slightly decreased, according local officials, who said 20,000 acres have been burned.

Michigan authorities said that nearly half of the fire had been contained as of Sunday, according to MLive.com.

Overall, around 100 people were evacuated from nearby areas, Dean Wilson, a spokesperson for the fire management team, told The Associated Press.

Many of those evacuated were senior citizens who retired along the Pike Lake area. “They’re very stressed. The hospital is busy. They need to get their medicines,” evacuee Amy Witherspoon told MLive.

More than 40 structures have been threatened and six are confirmed to have been lost in the fire, but it is unclear if they are houses.

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Fitzgerald, 51, is credited with convicting two former Illinois governors, including Rod Blagojevich, and a former vice presidential aide. He has held the position since Sept. 1, 2001, making him the longest-serving U.S. attorney in Chicago.

He added, “I believe that even more now after having the privilege of working alongside hundreds of dedicated prosecutors and agents. I have tried not to get in their way.”

His office did not give a reason why he is stepping down from his position, but noted that he has no immediate plans for employment.

The statement says Fitzgerald served Illinois with “utmost integrity and a steadfast commitment to the cause of justice.”

After employees at a St. Louis Goodwill found over $14,000 in cash in a box of Christmas decorations, 15 people have since come forth to claim the money as theirs, local station KMOV reported.

“I was mesmerized. It wasn’t Monopoly money so I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ and the more we counted it was just like wow,” store manager Tina Wells, who found the money while sorting through old clothes and household items, told another local station, KPLR.

As the court reviews claims of ownership for the next thirty days, the money is being kept at a local bank.

The money was discovered in the donation box in the 10000 block of Baptist Church Road last Wednesday. After reviewing surveillance video, store officials concluded the donor dropped off the box at 3 p.m. while driving a green Ford F150 truck.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the former city treasurer are facing new federal allegations that they received $125,000 worth of private jet travel and other benefits in an influence-peddling scheme.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Kilpatrick, who was once dubbed the “hip-hop mayor,” and former treasurer Jeffrey Beasley were “involved in a secret exchange of lavish gifts to peddle influence over the funds’ investment process.”

“It is a disappointing day when pension fund trustees such as ex-Mayor Kilpatrick and others corrupt the investment process by selling out hardworking police officers, firefighters and other municipal employees for the price of a few vacations and paltry extras like concert tickets and rounds of golf,” stated Robert Khuzami, the SEC enforcement director.

Kilpatrick, who was forced to resign in 2008 over scandals, has already served 99 days in jail after pleading guilty to assaulting a police officer who attempted to subpoena a friend of his.

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Just a day after Wisconsin’s Democratic primary and a month before a June 5 recall election for its Republican Gov. Scott Walker, voters and elected officials alike have become deeply polarized over the future of the politically active state.  

According to a Marquette University Law School poll released last week, Walker and his new Democratic opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who won the primary on Tuesday, face voters who are only 4 percent undecided.

The poll shows that half of the voters said they had tried to persuade other voters of their views, one-fifth have contributed money to a candidate, and 18 percent said they had attended a rally or demonstration over the past 16 months.

The polarization became much of a family affair for 36-year-old Jeffrey A. Radle and 30-year-old Amanda M. Radle, a married couple living In the Western Wisconsin city of Chippewa Falls, when an argument over Wisconsin’s Democratic primaries landed the husband in hospital on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

When she attempted to drive around her estranged husband, he jumped in front of the vehicle and was hit, with head, neck, and back injuries.

The recall election is only the third of such contests in American history. Gov. Scott Walker became the target of mass protests last year when he proposed stripping collective bargaining rights for most public sector employees in the state.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture made the announcement on Monday, clearing the way to return two leopards, two monkeys, and a bear, reported ONN-TV. Medical records showed that the animals are free of infectious diseases and can be freed from quarantine.

The state said that Marian Thompson, the wife of Terry Thompson, who had opened the animals’ cages, could not be prevented from getting the animals back. Ohio is one of the few states that have no restrictions on owning exotic animals.

Police and other officials were forced to shoot 48 tigers, lions, and other exotic animals last year after they were spotted walking around Zanesville, ONN reported.

The release of the exotic animals forced lawmakers to again look at the state’s restrictions on owning exotic pets.

The five—three of which described themselves as anarchists—were arrested on Monday. They were charged with conspiracy and attempted use of explosive material to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce, according to the FBI.

The indictments charged the men, aged 20 to 35, of conspiring to use eight packages of C-4 explosives to blow up the Ohio 82 Bridge by sending text messages through a cellphone, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

However, the bombs were inert and were designed by the FBI to look genuine, the newspaper reported. An undercover FBI agent sold the devices to the men for $900.

The men attempted to blow up the bridge, which failed, and called the agent to confirm the access code. After that, FBI agents made the arrests.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker raised $13 million over the past three months for the upcoming recall election to oust him, according to his campaign.

“We continue to see strong grassroots support for Gov. Walker, his bold reforms, and his plans for moving Wisconsin forward,” said Walker spokeswoman Ciara Matthews, in a statement.

“Because of the overwhelming support for the governor, we can continue to speak to voters about how Gov. Walker plans to move Wisconsin forward, while his Democrat opponents plan to take Wisconsin backward to higher taxes, record job loss, and massive deficits,” she added.

His main Democratic challengers in the recall election have raised far less. Former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk raised $977,059 since January, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett raised $831,508, according to Politico.

Falk accused Walker of playing politics while the state loses jobs.

“While Wisconsin loses more jobs than any other state, Gov. Walker has spent his time trying to save his own job,” said Falk. “He raised $13 million from across the country because he’s delivered an extreme agenda that isn’t our Wisconsin values.”

The FBI on Tuesday arrested five people they described as anarchists for plotting to blow up a bridge in Ohio on May Day.

The five men, aged 20 to 35, were arrested by the FBI on Monday evening on charges of conspiracy and attempting to use explosive materials to damage property.

“The public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by an undercover FBI employee,” the FBI stated. “The defendants were closely monitored by law enforcement.”

The explosives, the FBI said, that were allegedly purchased by the men “were inoperable and posed no threat to the public.”

Three of five of the men are self-proclaimed anarchists who formed a group to plot attacks over several months, the FBI said. None of the suspects are linked to foreign terror groups.

They ultimately conspired to purchase C-4 explosives contained in two IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and remotely detonate them, according to the law enforcement agency.

Alton L. Hayes, 18, was charged with a hate crime, attempted robbery, and aggravated battery, the Chicago Tribune reported. Hayes, who is black, is accused of beating up a 19-year-old white male in Oak Park, which is west of Chicago.

A 15-year-old black male was also charged in the incident.

“During the course of the investigation, we learned that the crime was related to the victim’s race,” Oak Park Cmdr. LaDon Reynolds told the Tribune.

Police told Fox Chicago that the two punched the victim “numerous times” in the head after going through the victim’s pockets.

After he was arrested, Hayes told police that he was upset over the Martin murder case, saying he beat the victim up because he is white, Fox reported.

Martin, 17, was shot and killed in Florida by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February, sparking nationwide outrage.

The fire chief of cash-strapped Detroit is proposing to let vacant homes burn down instead of trying to put them out in order to save money, it was reported on Tuesday.

Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin told the Detroit Free Press that he has been ordered to cut around 15 percent of his budget.

“Name another city in the United States that lost 200,000 people in 10 years,” he said. “So we’re in a unique position. And I believe it takes unique approaches to deal with situations that are not the norm.”

Around 40 to 60 percent of the fires in Detroit are in vacant homes, he told the publication.

“I believe the sooner we can get rid of these vacant homes, the better off we’re going to be,” he said.

Justin Lyon from the Chicago Architecture Foundation stands beside a model of the city. Protesters will march through the city to end up at the McCormick Place Convention Center, which is just about where Mr. Lyons's leg meets the model. (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)

The 25th summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be held in Chicago next month, and city dwellers are battening down for the onslaught with mixed feelings.

“We are excited, but we are a little nervous too about what might happen,” Justin Lyons, director of communications for the Chicago Architecture Foundation told The Epoch Times, “I think the entire city is embracing it, but cautiously embracing it.”

The summit will see 50 heads of state and government descend upon the Windy City from May 19–21. Along with officials and ensuing media, approximately 10,000 people are expected.

Protesters are also expected through groups like Occupy Chicago, hacking group Anonymous, and the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda (CANG8). A joint People’s Summit will be held in Chicago the week prior, with a rally at Daley Plaza, May 20, followed by a march through the city to the summit venue, McCormick Place Convention Center, just outside the main city loop.

A YouTube video, allegedly from Anonymous, is calling for 50,000 protesters to come to Chicago for the entire month of May.

“We will set up tents, barricades, kitchens, and peacefully occupy Chicago for one month,” the video post says.

Security Tight

Security forces have also been preparing. Melissa Stratton, director of news affairs for the Chicago Police Department, said officers have been trained by the Center for Domestic Preparedness as part of national security protocol for an event of NATO’s magnitude.

“Training has been designed to provide our officers with knowledge of tactical, logistical, and legal issues relevant to hosting these special events, and also to improve understanding of the dynamics of crowd management, and First Amendment activity,” Ms. Stratton said.

State-of-the-art solar bins, which are scattered throughout downtown Chicago, will be removed from around the city because they are not transparent, making it difficult to determine if there is anything dangerous inside. They will be replaced with wire bins for the duration of the NATO event. (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)

Permits for four events have been issued, from Friday, May 18 through Sunday, May 20, she said. The police department estimates approximately 7,500 protesters overall.

Chicago media have reported that military helicopters have been running drills over the city, that over 1,000 new shields have been purchased for riot police, and that as many as 600 Illinois National Guard soldiers will be employed to ferry delegations around town.

Every detail is being covered, right down to the trash bins. Chicago is the proud owner of 400 solar-powered garbage containers, known as BigBelly or “smart cans” because they are programmed to send emails informing workers when they are full. But the bins, which are scattered along downtown protest routes, are not transparent, making it difficult to determine if anything dangerous may be lingering inside. To make for a safer event, officials want to replace the cans with wire baskets, the Chicago Tribune reported.

NATO

NATO has 28 member countries and 22 partner countries. At the summit, nations are expected to reaffirm their transatlantic connection, focusing on three main themes, according to a NATO statement: “the Alliance’s commitment to Afghanistan through transition and beyond; ensuring the Alliance has the capabilities it needs to defend its population and territory and to deal with the challenges of the 21st century; and strengthening NATO’s network of partners across the globe.”

Chicago, President Obama’s hometown, will be the first U.S. city outside the nation’s capital to hold a NATO summit. Also known as the “City of the Big Shoulders,” Chicago was originally planned to host dual summits with the G8 joining in. The venue was changed, however, earlier this year when Obama suggested the informal environment at Camp David as more appropriate for the G8.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said all the more attention could now be focused on NATO.

“Hosting the NATO Summit is a tremendous opportunity to showcase Chicago to the world and the world to Chicago, and we are proud to host the 50 heads of state, foreign and defense ministers from the NATO and ISAF countries in our great city May 19–21.”

But even with only one summit of world powers, protestors are expected in full force, and demonstrators are encouraged that their participation will have a significant impact. According to protest groups, the change in venue for the G8 already represents a victory.

“The leaders of the 1 percent are moving because of the overwhelming resistance to the NATO/G8 war and poverty agenda in Chicago,” the Coalition Against NATO/G8 said in a statement.

The group blamed world leaders for the economic crisis and said the upcoming protests will focus on “Jobs, Housing, Healthcare, Education, Our Pensions, the Environment: Not War.”

But it’s not just world leaders, protestors are taking shots at city officials too. In preparation for the event, the Chicago City Council raised fines for resisting arrest from as little as $25 to as much as $1,000 and will be closing public parks, playgrounds, and beaches in the area.

“The city has carried out a campaign to intimidate and vilify protesters, claiming that protests lead to violence,” the coalition said. “In fact, the main source of violence in the world today is the wars being waged by NATO and the United States.”

Chicago’s Time to Shine

Meanwhile, Chicago businesses are excited that the world will soon gain a deeper understanding of their city. They hope people will learn it’s much more than just gangster Al Capone and sports star Michael Jordan.

Mr. Lyons from the city’s Architecture Foundation said Chicago actually had the distinction of being one of America’s greenest cities. “There’s a lot to do here,” he said, mentioning the beautiful parks and public art. The Architecture Foundation alone runs over 80 tours around the city and they expect the NATO summit to be a busy week for them.

“Any chance we get to have people come internationally and take them on tours, we are happy to do so,” he said.

“Take advantage of this opportunity and just embrace it,” Mr. Lyons said.

Four jail inmates, including a convicted murderer, escaped custody on Wednesday in Kansas, it was reported.

The inmates were being held at the Ottawa County Jail in Minneapolis, Kan., after they were transferred from state prisons due to overcrowding, the Kansas City Star reported.

One of the inmates was captured shortly after he broke free and a second man was captured on Wednesday night in Nebraska, the newspaper said.

“We are so caught up with trying to find the inmates right now, while we certainly know a little bit about the actual escape, we will be delving into that more once we secure the public’s safety by having them back in our incarceration,” Jeremy Barclay, a spokesperson with the Kansas Department of Corrections, told the Star.

Damage from a tornado is seen April 14, 2012 in Thurman, Iowa. A storm system with tornadoes has hit the U.S. midwest, with Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma cities being hit hardest. (Eric Francis/Getty Images)

Oklahoma, along with the other U.S. Midwest states of Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska, continues to be battered by tornadoes and bad weather this weekend, with 5 people reported to have been killed by the inclement weather. The National Weather Service reported that as many as 121 tornadoes had already touched down in the area during this past week, and that a larger disaster had been averted partly due to accurate forecasting of this particular storm system and because the majority of the tornadoes had hit sparsely populated areas.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla, which specializes in the forecast of tornadoes, had warned about this storm for days. A spokesman from the center said that the threat of further tornadoes was far from over with more storms predicted for Sunday over a large area of the continental mid-west United States, ranging all the way from Southern Texas to Northern Michigan. The storm system and weather has been called a “high-end, life-threatening event” by the Storm Prediction Center.

Before Oklahoma, it was Wichita, Kansas, that was hit hardest by the storm system weather.  The McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita and manufacturing plants belonging to airline Spirit and plane manufacturer Boeing were also hit heavily. While no casualties were reported in Wichita and Kansas in general, the damage to the city was severe, with houses destroyed and trees uprooted.

The tornado that struck Oklahoma hardest hit the town of Woodward, about 140 miles away from Oklahoma City, shortly after midnight on Sunday. The tornado siren had not gone off during the storm, catching a lot of residents by surprise. It was still unclear why the weather radar system failed, with a probable cause being attributed to a lightning strike on the radar system.

The storm hit the western part of the Oklahoma town, an area with a mix of businesses and residences. Although rescue crews were pressed into action and the Red Cross also provided volunteers, heavy rainfall and darkness made it a difficult task.

A shelter has been established for those rendered homeless and food, water and medical supplies were provided to them.

Tornadoes are not new to this region of the United States, which had a bad storm and weather season around the same time last year. The killer tornado of April 1947 still ranks as the worst tornado in Oklahoma history with more than 116 people getting killed.

Natural gas is burned off next to an oil well being drilled by workers at a site August 23, 2011 near Tioga, North Dakota. A new oil boom in western North Dakota has produced thousands of jobs as the Bakken formation is tapped for the liquid commodity. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

North Dakota continues to boom during this economic downtime due to its vast oil industry. The Department of the Interior (DOI) visited North Dakota last week and revealed new plans to expedite domestic oil processing in the area. However, there may be many additional economic benefits to local tribes and other affiliated parties vastly overlooked.

The DOI plans include initiatives to speed up development of energy resources on U.S. public lands, as well as Indian trust lands in North Dakota and the neighboring states, such as Montana, and throughout the nation.

The major initiative incorporates a new automated tracking system spearheaded by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The DOI’s efficiency projections include a two-thirds reduction in time for the permit review period, which could be reduced down to as few as 60 days. In turn, sales and oil processing from federal lands and gas leases is expected to increase as a result.

The objective of the new tracking system will be to seek out and flag absent or incomplete information. The hope is to reduce or eliminate the unnecessary delay amended paperwork would take for oil companies and the BLM.

“By upgrading and improving our oil and gas drilling permit processing systems and technologies, we believe we can improve efficiencies while ensuring thorough reviews for safety and compliance,” commented Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in a DOI press release.

Fifteen thousand applications for permits to drill have already been filed and processed by industry companies and the BLM since 2008. An estimated 5,500 are expected this year. More approved permits means more jobs for Americans, and oil for both domestic and exportation use.

However, a major overlooked economic gain includes Indian tribes that will benefit from the Dakota oil boom. Specifically, a partnership between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the three tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in the center of the Bakken play area of North Dakota has together seized an economic cooperation that is mutually profitable.

Individual landowners and tribal governments alike have already increased their royalty revenues. From 2008 to 2011, Indian trust lands increased royalty revenues from $1.8 million to $106.7 million, showing a $104.9 million gain. Sixty million dollars in royalties have already been paid for the first quarter of 2012.

“Interior is committed to expanding safe and responsible oil and gas development on public lands and Indian trust lands,” said Salazar. “With the help of new technology, the Bakken play here in North Dakota is generating impressive energy production for our country and creating thousands of American jobs, as well as substantial royalty revenues for the state, tribes, and taxpayers.

Additionally, the DOI also has plans for a new leasing system that will expedite the leasing process. Government leasing returns tremendous revenue to the state. Conducted through the BLM, the quarterly lease sales are competitive, with half the revenue going back to the state.

The suspects involved in the Tulsa mass shootings that left three people dead and four injured confessed, it was reported on Tuesday.

Jake England, 19, confessed to shooting three people, and Alvin Watts, 32, confessed to shooting two, according to police documents.

Watts, according to the police documents, said he “confessed to being” with England and shot “two of the three victims that died.”

The documents also show that England agreed to speak with detectives and confessed to driving a car while Watts shot two people. England also told police that he shot three people, including one that died, and revealed where the murder weapon was located.

The men are currently being held but have not been formally charged with three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and possession of a firearm with the intent to kill.

Two suspects were arrested early on Sunday in connection with the string of shootings in Tusla, Okla., that left three people dead and two wounded, it was reported.

Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, were arrested just two days after the victims were discovered, reported the Tulsa World newspaper. The shootings were apparently random and targeted black residents.

“Our sympathy goes out to the families of the victims, and we hope that our efforts can bring some resolution and closure to these heinous acts,” the Tulsa Police Department said in a release obtained by the newspaper.

The suspects, who are both white, were arrested at a home north of Tusla at 1:47 a.m. on Sunday, the newspaper said.

An 80-year-old Wisconsin woman successfully landed a small plane after her husband, who was the pilot, apparently died, media reports said.

The woman was not a licensed pilot and knew little about flying a plane, reported WLUK-TV.

“A couple in their 80s were flying and he went unconscious due to a medical condition he had. She took over the aircraft. She’s not a licensed pilot and has very little [knowledge] on flying an aircraft,” Door County Sheriff Terry Vogel told the station.

The woman was identified as Helen Collins by the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Her husband, 81-year-old John Collins, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The couple was flying from Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., to Marco Island, Fla., the newspaper reported. They were flying in a twin-engine Cessna airplane.

The plan would not only rebuild parts of the city, but would reinvigorate the local economy by creating around 30,000 new jobs in the next three years, his office said.

“No city in America relies on its infrastructure more than Chicago. While our infrastructure challenges are not unique, our resolve and determination to see them through is,” Emanuel said in a statement.

The mayor said that the funds would go toward improving Chicago’s parks, railways, buildings, bridges, roads, and pipe systems. The money would renovate, rebuild, or repair more than 100 transit stations.

Around $1.4 billion of those funds will go toward investments into the O’Hare airport over the next three years, including the opening of two new runways, which will create around 5,900 jobs in total, Emanuel’s office said.

David Stone and Joshua Stone pleaded guilty for possessing a machine gun, according to the newspaper. The two and five other militia members, however, were acquitted on all major conspiracy and sedition charges.

“They put me in the dark and kept me in the dark for two years,” Stone told the Free Press, referring to the two years he has already spent in prison. “I’m glad to be out of one of the worst county jails in the country.”

Stone added that his case “could happen to anybody.”

Federal authorities had accused the militia members of wanting to use a weapon of mass destruction against the government.

Federal District Judge Victoria Roberts found that evidence acquired by the FBI adequately proved that its members were going to carry out an attack.

Workers remove mercury contaminated sediments from the Polar Star Mine Superfund site in this file photo. The EPA added two new sites to its priority cleanup list last week. (Courtesy of EPA.gov)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this past week that it will be adding two sites to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. The two sites are in the heartland of Illinois and Ohio and under the federal superfund program they will be investigated and cleaned up.

The Bautsch-Gray Mine near Galena, Ill., and the West Troy Contaminated Aquifer in Troy, Ohio are the new additions to the list. Under the Superfund program they will be assessed in depth before the lengthy cleanup process.

Bautsch-Gray used to be the site of mining and milling in Rice Township, Jo Daviess County, Ill. Left behind from the long vacant operations are 40 acres of a mine tailings pile, 4.8 acres of surface impoundment, and 4.9 acres of soil contaminated with lead, zinc, arsenic, and cadmium.

The West Troy Contaminated Aquifer represents a water system polluted with toxic organic compounds. Troy, Ohio, has two well fields along the Great Miami River stretching approximately 1.25 miles long. Additionally, Troy has four wells on the east side of the river, known as the West Well Field.

The hazardous organic material was first discovered during a test in 1986.

“Protecting human health and the environment, and restoring contaminated properties to environmental and economic vitality are EPA priorities,” said Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus of the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, in an Environmental News Service story March 13.

Both sites will be entered into the National Register along with an additional 8 sites recently added, with 10 more sites proposed.

The federal government’s Superfund program seeks to solve the issue of abandoned toxic waste sites across the United States. Superfund is additionally the name of the fund that was enacted by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA).

CERLA was enacted after the discovery of several irresponsible toxic waste dumpsites in the 1970s. The Superfund program grants the EPA the responsibility to clean up said sites while holding responsible parties accountable, either with cooperative cleanup, or monetarily.

The cleanup process is a long-term process that occurs over years—or even decades—depending on the contamination. The steps taken during the process involve: removal of toxic material and holding responsible parties accountable; local community and state involvement; ensuring the site remains protected for years to come.

“When property is cleaned up and revitalized, the reuse may result in new income to the community in the form of taxes, jobs to local residents, increases to the values of properties nearby cleaned up sites, or it may provide recreational or other services to make the community a better place to live,” Stanislaus said.

According to the EPA, 359 National Priorities List sites have been cleaned, with 1,302 still remaining on the list.

Members of a Midwestern militia group who are on trial had a list of names of people they intended to kill, according to an FBI agent who testified in court on Tuesday.

The agent, Steve Haug, said the list had names including former U.S. presidents, President Barack Obama, other high-level government officials, and Congress members, reported Reuters.

Haug intercepted the Michigan-based militia group when he posed undercover as a truck driver, saying he saw the list during the wedding of David Brian Stone, the leader of the Hutaree, to Tina Stone, his wife and also a member. Stone, his wife, and five members face sedition charges, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, and other offenses.

On Friday, Haug previously testified that he was “shocked” over Stone’s knowledge of explosives and said he was concerned about what he would do with it.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) (Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a prominent Democratic member of the House of Representatives and two-time presidential candidate, lost the primary to Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a redrawn Ohio House district.

Kucinich, the longest serving House member in Ohio, conceded defeat on Wednesday. “This has been a very tough campaign in many ways,” he said, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

He added, “Now I would like to be able to congratulate Congresswoman Kaptur, but I do have to say that she ran a campaign in the Cleveland media market that was utterly lacking in integrity with false statements, half-truths and misrepresentations.”

Kaptur is the longest serving woman in the House and had to face off against Kucinich due to congressional redistricting.

Tony Sherrard searches for family keepsakes through debris that used to be his home on March 3 in Marysville, Ind. Dozens of people were killed as severe weather and tornadoes ripped through the South and Midwest on Friday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Residents are picking up the pieces after an early season storm that spawned several powerful tornadoes that smashed into towns in Indiana, Kentucky, and several other states, killing dozens.

“There’s toys everywhere and stuff embedded in trees,” said Harrisburg, Ill. resident Alice Retzloff, according to a report from WMC-TV in Memphis. “I’m nervous, I’m shaky, I’m tired. I just don’t even have words for everything that you feel.”

For folks in the vacation destination of Branson, Mo., the answer to the question of whether to stay and rebuild was clear.

“It’s going to be tough, and it’s going to be tough on Branson,” Bob Pavelonis said, according to a report from Louisiana’s KPLC 7 News. “But knowing the spirit of Branson, they’re going to rebuild.”

At least 38 people were killed in Friday’s storms across five states, with local officials saying that 21 deaths were reported in Kentucky and 12 in Indiana.

Kentucky’s Magoffin, Menifee, and Morgan counties were hit the hardest in the storms—considered the worst to hit the eastern part of the state in 25 years, reported the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper.

The Indiana city of Henryville, located right on the state’s southern border with Kentucky, was perhaps the worst affected area during Friday’s storms, with images showing the wanton destruction left by several powerful tornadoes, according to the RTV-6 television station.

The two tornadoes that hit Henryville and nearby Chelsea were ranked EF-4, with both having winds of 166 to 200 miles per hour, reported Indiana-based WISH television, citing the National Weather Service.

The tornadoes left a large amount of debris on major roads including Interstate 65, which prevented rescue workers and others from getting to communities that were devastated. “Right now, we’re getting by through the night as best we can,” Maj. Chuck Adams of the Clark County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana told RTV-6.

Aliene Hamm of Henryville said that while she was waiting in her car on Friday before the storms hit, she could see a funnel cloud. “It was about four miles from our house, but it was so large I could see it,” she told the Indianapolis Star.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced that he would travel to the affected areas on Saturday, according to a statement from his office.

“We’ve learned so much and improved so much in disaster preparedness, warning systems and responder communications but still we are no match for Mother Nature at her worst,” he said in the statement.

On Saturday, after the storms passed, many local residents were tasked with sifting through the wreckage.

In West Liberty, Ky., where the National Weather Service said was hit by an EF3 tornado, local Martha Hall said she prepared just in time.

“We covered ourselves just in time,” she told the Red Cross, who published her quotes on its website. “It went boom. You could feel the house move.”

Across several states, where blizzard-like conditions are impending, the Red Cross opened 25 shelters to provide help for around 250 people.

Lane was also charged in court with two counts of attempted murder and a single count of assault, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

Officials and witnesses say that Lane opened fire on several students at Chardon High School’s cafeteria on Monday morning. Three students were killed, and two were seriously injured, while one student’s ear was grazed by a bullet.

A prosecutor in the case, David Joyce, told the WKYC television station that there would be a hearing later this month to ascertain whether Lane should be tried as an adult.

Joyce said that if Lane were convicted as a juvenile, he would receive a few years in prison, but if he were convicted as an adult, life imprisonment would likely be his punishment, the station reported.

At least nine people were killed in a powerful storm system and its accompanying tornadoes throughout the Midwest on Wednesday, according to reports.

Six people were confirmed dead in the Illinois town of Harrisburg and three were killed across Missouri in the storms, reported CNN. Many others lost their businesses or were left homeless, as some of the tornadoes completely destroyed houses and buildings throughout the region.

“When the sirens were going on this morning … it was eerily quiet. I had a gut feeling something was wrong,” Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg told CNN.

The tornado that hit Harrisburg was an EF4, which is the second highest rating, officials told the news agency.

Another tornado smashed through the music town of Branson, Mo., and damaged some of the city’s landmark theaters and other tourist attractions, reported The Associated Press.

“We were blessed with several things—the time of year and certainly the time of day, when people were not in their vehicles or outdoors,” Mayor Raeanne Presley told AP, referring to the town’s busy tourist season that draws tens of thousands.

A third student has died in the Ohio high-school shooting on Monday, media reports said on Tuesday.

Demetrius Hewlin, a junior at Chardon High School, was pronounced dead at a local hospital, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

“We are very saddened by the loss of our son and others in our Chardon community,” his family said in a statement obtained by the newspaper.

“Demetrius was a happy young man who loved life and his family and friends. We will miss him very much but we are proud that he will be able to help others through organ donation.”

Another student who was shot, 17-year-old Russell King Jr., died early on Tuesday. Daniel Parmertor, 16, died on Monday, according to the publication. The other students who were shot are recovering.

T.J. Lane, the suspect in the shooting, was expected to appear in court on Tuesday. In the incident, students said Lane walked up to a group of students at the school’s cafeteria in the morning and opened fire.

One student was killed and another four were injured after a gunman opened fire at an Ohio high school on Monday, according to local reports.

A 16-year-old identified as Daniel Parmertor died in a nearby hospital after the shooter opened fire at Chardon High School cafeteria, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

“We are shocked by this senseless tragedy,” his parents said in a statement, according to the newspaper. “Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. The family is torn by this loss.”

The gunman in the attack was later identified as T.J. Lane, according to CBS News. Lane was caught near the high school around 20 minutes after the attack.

An Ohio woman was charged with attempting to hire a hit man to murder a person at random for wearing fur, reported local media, citing the FBI and prosecutors.

Meredith Marie Lowell, 27, of Cleveland Heights, was arrested by FBI agents for offering to pay an undercover agent $850 to make the hit.

In an email allegedly sent by Lowell obtained by ONN TV, which was included in the affidavit, she implored the undercover agent that she “[wants] the person to be dead in less than two minutes” and suggested bringing a gun with a silencer or a knife.

“I’m appalled and horrified that somebody would think that committing violence is going to further a cause that is all about nonviolence,” Cleveland Animal Rights Alliance co-founder Jennifer Kaden told FOX-8 television, responding to Lowell’s case.

The quake hit at around 4:00 a.m. local time near East Prairie in the southern portion of the state, according to the Survey, which also said that the quake was 3.1 miles deep.

Only minor damage was reported, but the quake could be felt in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and even as far away as North Carolina, as well as other states, according to reports given to the geologic agency.

The quake was in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which is considered by seismologists as having the potential to produce powerful earthquakes in the future. As the Chicago Tribune noted, four of the largest recorded quakes in North America took place in this zone in the early 19th century.

Police arrested 17 students at Texas Christian University on Wednesday, including four members of the school’s football team, for dealing drugs on and around the campus, according to a statement released by the school and media reports.

The students were selling drugs on TCU’s campus and near the vicinity, the school said. “The students involved were immediately separated from TCU and criminally trespassed from campus,” reads the statement.

“All of those arrested are drug dealers,” TCU Police Chief Steven McGee told reporters at a conference, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. McGee said that the drugs that were sold included marijuana, Ecstasy, LSD, cocaine, and prescription drugs—some of which were sold to undercover officers.

TCU football coach Gary Patterson said, “As I heard the news this morning, I was first shocked, then hurt, and now I am mad,” according to the Telegram. The four players were dismissed from the football program.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks during a press conference on the deck of a boat idling in front of a coal-fired power plant in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 21, 2011. Bloomberg announced to donate 50 million US dollars to Sierra Club for their 'Beyond Coal Campaign' aimed to move America toward cleaner energy. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

The Ohio-based First Energy Corporation, which serves about 6 million customers from the Indiana-Ohio border to the Jersey shore, announced Feb. 8 that it would close three coal-fired power plants in its fleet.

Earlier this year, environmentalists were overjoyed at the announcement that the company would be retiring six coal-fired power plants. The addition of these three Monongahela Power Company (a subsidiary of First Energy) power plants leaves the company’s total closures at nine for 2012.

Environmentalists and clean-energy advocates alike seem pleased, while the announcement might positively affect First Energy stock prices and additionally affect consumer’s home energy bills.

The three plants slated to close are in America’s coal capital, West Virginia. The six plants announced earlier this year are in Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. West Virginia’s Albright Power Station, Willow Island Power Station, and Rivesville Power Station will no longer be in operation after Sept. 1, 2012.

The closures of these plants will terminate approximately 660 megawatts (MW) of electricity in the local power grid.

First Energy decided to close these plants as a result of the Environmental Protection Agency’s finalization of the Mercury Air and Toxic Standards (MATS).

“The high cost to implement MATS and other environmental rules is the reason these Mon [Monongahela] Power plants are being retired,” said James R. Haney, regional president of Mon Power and president of West Virginia Operations for First Energy, in the official First Energy announcement, Feb. 8, 2012.

“This is good news for West Virginia, because those plants will no longer be polluting our air and water like they have been for sixty years,” said Jim Sconyers, chair of the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, in a Sierra Club press release. “We want to ensure that the company has made a commitment to their workforce’s welfare once these plants close.”

Much of the staff of all three plants (totaling about 105 workers) has already been transferred or will be transferred as the plants begin their official shutdown process. The Rivesville Power Station has already started its shutdown process with its workforce already transferred.

First Energy stock prices rose 3.3 percent on Feb. 2 after their initial announcement, according to the Wall Street Journal.

However, the First Energy customers will probably see higher costs for their electricity due to the decrease in the potential supply of electricity. This is especially true for the initial six closures, which will reduce available grid power by 2,689 MW.

The Busch Agricultural Research facility in Fargo, North Dakota. The Oglala Sioux Tribe at Pine Ridge reservation is some of the largest beer manufacturers, including Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Molson Coorsfor $500 million in damages. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

Near the site of the bloody massacre at Wounded Knee, a new lawsuit addresses an old problem. The Oglala Sioux Tribe at Pine Ridge reservation is suing local alcohol distributors, and some of the nation’s largest beer manufacturers—including Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Molson Coors—for $500 million.

Alcohol has proven a devastating drug to the Lakota people, including the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST), and alcohol related illness at Pine Ridge is many times higher than the national average. One in four children born at the reservation is diagnosed with either fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. 

“The Oglala Sioux Tribe seeks compensation for all of the damages the Lakota people have suffered as a result of illegal alcohol sales,” said attorney Tom White at a press conference in Omaha, Neb. 

White, a former Nebraska state senator and now legal counsel for the OST, said the entities profiting from beer sales knowingly prey upon the Oglala people, and actively assist in the illegal importation of alcohol onto the reservation.

Aside from a brief stint with legalization in the early 1970s, the sale and possession of alcohol has been outlawed at Pine Ridge since the South Dakota reservation was created. U.S. President Chester Arthur even decreed a 50-square-mile buffer zone around the area in 1882 to protect residents from exploitative whiskey merchants. 

But despite Pine Ridge’s longtime, “dry” status, a drink isn’t hard to come by here. Several liquor stores in a neighboring Nebraska town are conveniently located just a few yards away from the nation’s second largest Native American reservation.

According to the 2008 documentary “The Battle for Whiteclay,” in 1904 the reservation’s buffer zone was diminished considerably and, despite strong protest from tribal leaders and local officials, nearly all of the White Clay Extension fell into the public domain, effectively opening the door to easy alcohol sales.

With a population of only about a dozen people, Whiteclay doesn’t have any schools, churches, or even local law enforcement, but it does sell a lot of beer, especially malt liquor. The drink is favored among the nearby OST for its low price and high alcohol content. Locals describe it as the crack cocaine of the reservation, and most of it comes from Whiteclay. The town has four liquor stores licensed by the state, which collectively sell about 12,500 cans a day. 

The lawsuit accuses Whiteclay liquor stores of selling large quantities of alcoholic beverages to individuals who funnel it onto reservation for resale, and blames beer companies for supplying “volumes of beer far in excess of an amount that could be sold in compliance with the laws of the state.”

While state law prohibits the resale of alcohol purchased at retail outlets like those found in Whiteclay, the bootlegging scheme has been an open secret for decades. The lawsuit states that those who are in the business of making and distributing the alcohol sold in Whiteclay “actually knew or at the very least should have known of the facts described above for over 10 years.”

Over the years Whiteclay’s liquor loophole has seen protests, legislative hearings, a move to shut down the stores, and a federally funded program to train Pine Ridge officers to enforce the law on both sides of the border. But the problem has continued to worsen.

Now the poverty stricken OST wants help dealing with the financial burden that an exploited alcohol addiction has cost its community. They note the enormous strain the problem has placed on its social services, and say they are ill equipped to adequately care for their alcohol-ravaged population.

“The police, jails, and court systems of the OST are overwhelmed by crimes caused, in whole or in part, by the illegal transport, sale, and consumption of alcohol sold out of Whiteclay,” the lawsuit states. “The OST does not have the resources to properly address families, which have been torn apart by alcohol. There are not sufficient resources available to place children in safe homes. There is a shortage of beds for detoxification and treatment of alcohol addiction.”

While no one disputes that excessive alcohol consumption has poisoned Pine Ridge, some argue that drinking is a choice, and say the OST needs to take more responsibility for its actions. Critics contend that a lawsuit laying blame on big beer companies only serves as a frivolous publicity stunt. Beer makers contacted for a statement did not respond by press time.

But attorney White insists that both beer companies and local stores have failed to make reasonable efforts to ensure their products are lawfully distributed. “The illegal trade in alcohol could not occur without the knowing cooperation and assistance of every defendant in the chain of supply,” states the lawsuit. 

Seven members of a Michigan-based militia known as the Hutaree have begun their trial over allegations that they wanted to overthrow the U.S. government.

Members of the militia have been charged with rebellion, firearms offenses, attempting to use weapons of mass destruction, and others, according to the Detroit Free Press. If convicted, they could face life in prison.

“These individuals, led by David Stone Sr., wanted an armed confrontation with law enforcement and the federal government,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Graveline said in front of a U.S. District Court jury, according to the newspaper. “They wanted to start the war. … Patriots rising up against the government.”

Tina Mae Stone, a co-defendant and the wife of Stone, who is considered the leader of the group, said, “It was just a bunch of good ol’ boys out to have fun,” according to WDIV-4 television.

A Sioux tribe in South Dakota has sued several of the world’s largest beer makers on Thursday over alcohol-related problems on its reservation.

The Oglala Sioux tribe filed a lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev, SAB Miller, Molson Coors Brewing Company, MillerCoors, and Pabst Brewing Company, according to a press release.

The suit also targets several beer stores in Whiteclay, Neb., near the reservation. The stores sold nearly 5 million cans of beer in 2010. Only about 10 people live in the town.

Whiteclay lies less than 250 feet from the border of Pine Ridge, where tribe members have suffered from high poverty and alcoholism rates.

“The defendants have failed to make reasonable efforts to ensure their products are distributed and sold in obedience to the laws of the state of Nebraska and the Oglala Sioux Tribe,” said Tom White, the tribe’s attorney, according to a press release.

State officials in Indiana handed out a fine over safety violations when a stage collapsed and killed seven people and injured more over the summer.

On Aug. 13, the outdoor concert stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed. The Indiana Department of Labor cited Mid-America Sound Corp. for $63,000 for knowing about violations, according to Reuters.

“The evidence demonstrated that the Mid-America Sound Corporation was aware of the appropriate requirements and demonstrated a plain indifference with those requirements,” Indiana Labor Commissioner Lori Torres said.

In December, the state paid out $5 million in claim funds to victims and to the estates of those who died in the accident, reported Indiana Public Media.

“Plan or no plan, the wind blew over the stage structure,” she told AP. “It was their duty to evacuate timely.”

Detroit is slated to close down 16 public schools permanently by the end of the year and will have to convert another four into charter schools by this fall.

Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts said that the schools are being closed because they are underused and children attending those schools will be merged into other schools.

“We have been using an outdated educational model that we must discard,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Detroit’s school system “must embark on a bold and ambitious journey that I believe will return this city to its rightful place as the world class leader in public education, a position it once held,” he added.

Detroit has seats for around 110,000 students but only serves around 70,000 after preschool students are included. “The vacant seats, taken together, represent what would be equivalent to the second largest school district in the state,” the statement said.

Indiana Rep. Dan Burton, a Republican, said on Tuesday that he will not seek another term, according to media reports.

Burton, a 16-term Congressman, told reporters at the Indiana House that his time in office has “been a wonderful run,” according to the Indianapolis Star newspaper.

“I got to meet presidents, kings, princes; been all over the world. It’s been an experience that I just cherish. I think I’m the luckiest man on the face of the earth,” he said.

Burton added that he is “not getting involved” in the primary elections, which have a deadline for filing in February.

Illinois could be facing a debt of more than $34.8 billion in the next five years unless the state attempts to pay off a slew of bills that have accumulated, a fiscal watchdog warned in a report on Monday, saying that the situation could turn catastrophic.

“Failure to address unsustainable trends in the state’s pension and Medicaid systems will only result in financial disaster for the state of Illinois,” stated Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation watchdog. He added that the Illinois governor and legislative body need to act quickly.

The report showed that Illinois had a backlog of bills owed to vendors that will rise to $9.2 billion after the 2012 fiscal year ends.

A courtroom drawing showing the trial of Tahawwur Rana (left, white hair) during closing arguments of his closely watched terrorism trial in Chicago in June. The days of the sketch artist in Illinois may be numbered with the recent decision to allow cameras into the state's circuit court system. (L.D. Chukman/AFP/Getty Images)

CHICAGO—The days of the sketch artist may be numbered in Illinois, with the announcement of a decision to invite cameras into the Land of Lincoln courtrooms. The Illinois Supreme Court this week announced a pilot program to allow electronic news media inside the state’s circuit courts.

While the state’s Supreme and Appellate courts have allowed cameras since 1983, electronic media has been previously rejected in trial courts. Until this approval, Illinois was one of only 14 states that did not allow camera coverage.

“This is another step to bring more transparency and more accountability to the Illinois court system,” said Chief Justice Kilbride in a statement this week. “The provisions of this new policy keep discretion in the chief circuit judge and the trial judge to assure that a fair and impartial trial is not compromised, yet affords a closer look at the workings of our court system to the public through the eyes of the electronic news media and news photographers.”

According to Illinois Supreme Court Press Secretary Joseph Tybor, the cameras in trial courts initiative came from Chief Justice Kilbride himself. Since he came to his post in October 2010, Chief Justice Kilbride has worked to bring state courts into the digital age, making them more efficient and accessible.

Tybor says the changes have largely been welcomed, and so far the same holds true for the electronic media coverage initiative. All seven Illinois Supreme Court justices voted in favor of the camera experiment.

“The media, of course, has been overwhelmingly in favor of the experiment,” said Tybor. “But there have been preliminary indications on several of the 23 circuits that said they will apply for approval. For example, the chief judge of Cook County—one of the largest trial courts in the nation—has been very enthusiastic about the idea. There are indications that several circuits intend to apply.”

Effective immediately, the policy invites all of the state’s circuit courts to apply for approval to take part in the program. Once a circuit is approved by the Supreme Court, the media may request to film the eligible cases in that circuit.

But the new courtroom lens comes with some appropriate discretion. The jury will not have to face the cameras, and unless there is victim consent, prosecutions involving sexual abuse will not be granted extended media coverage of the testimony. The policy gives police informants, undercover agents, and relocated witnesses similar protections.

The policy also prohibits media coverage in any juvenile, divorce, adoption, child custody, evidence suppression, and trade secret cases, and gives absolute discretion to the trial judge on whether to allow extended media coverage of a proceeding. The policy states that any decision by a chief judge or judge to deny, limit, or terminate extended media coverage cannot be appealed.

Whether the use of courtroom cameras is viewed as a vulgar distraction or a valuable lens for public scrutiny, the policy for Illinois’s pilot program is certainly not without precedent. While it’s unique to the state, Tybor says the policy is modeled after some of the provisions contained in the Iowa Rules for Expanded Media Coverage.

According to Chief Justice Kilbride, although electronic media is new to Illinois courts, “It has been standard practice in many other states.

Napolean Elvord, a Vietnam veteran, played the lotto on Jan. 14, with the winning ticket sitting on his table days before he realized it.

“I think it was a mistake because I was trying to play the Powerball,” he told the Wisconsin State Journal. Elvord will be getting a lump sum payment of $10.2 million and will have to pay $6.87 million in taxes.

“It’s still going through my head,” he added, saying that he bought it at the Kelley Williamson Mobil station along with coffee.

Elvord came into the lottery office to check if he won the grand prize and realized he was the winner. “The first thing they asked me was, ‘Did you make up the ticket?’” he told the newspaper.

His first priority, Elvord said, is to get health care insurance because he is in need of a kidney transplant and has been on dialysis for several years, according to the Journal. He would also like to move back to Texas, where he was originally from.

Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

It’s only his second year in elected office, but businessman turned Michigan governor, Rick Snyder, is already making big waves in the financially troubled Great Lakes State and its ailing metropolis, Detroit.

Whether those waves are good or not depends on whom you ask.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Monday at Gov. Snyder’s private home near Ann Arbor, decrying the state’s use of emergency financial managers. These managers have taken over Michigan cities and public institutions that are facing financial crisis—including the cities of Flint, Benton Harbor, and Pontiac—as well as Detroit Public Schools and Highland Park Schools.

“We don’t want our elected officials to be unilaterally dismissed,” said Detroit-based the Rev. Charles E. Williams II at the protest, according to Annarbor.com. “And that’s the message that we’re sending here today.”

In response to criticism over emergency financial managers, Gov. Snyder told MLive.com last month: “It’s not a normal situation. It’s not business as usual, or government as usual. There’s an emergency. Something needs to be done because there truly has been a failure from a financial point of view. So the question is, how do you do that as effectively and quickly and get out?”

Michigan is often ranked among the worst economies in the country, and the state has set up conditions for implementing emergency financial managers.

When a local government shows signs of certain financial stress, Michigan’s State Financial Authority begins a review process. If it deems certain conditions of financial stress have been met, the governor then assigns his own review team, consisting of the state treasurer and other state officials, to determine the extent of the crisis.

If the team determines the problem a financial emergency, the governor “is required to declare the unit of local government in receivership and appoint an emergency manager,” according to Michigan.gov

Not unprecedented among the powers wielded by U.S. states, Michigan’s emergency financial managers have the ability to throw out union contracts, dismiss elected officials, and privatize public services.

The city of Detroit itself is undergoing formal review right now, which could lead to an emergency financial manager being introduced. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced in November that the Motor City is facing a large budget shortfall and debt problems.

Despite the criticisms, Gov. Snyder said that bankruptcy would be worse. “One thing I would put in perspective is the emergency manager doesn’t have the powers that exist under bankruptcy. Bankruptcy powers would go beyond what an emergency manager would have. So it’s not the most extreme answer by any means,” he said.

Most recent takeover

The most recent emergency manager takeover happened last week, when Gov. Snyder declared a financial emergency in the school district of Highland Park, a small city that is almost entirely surrounded by Detroit.

The determination—which may presage a takeover of Detroit—came following the report of a 10-member, independent financial review team.

“Through the comprehensive reviews that have been conducted, it is clear the district faces monumental financial challenges,” Gov. Snyder said in a release.

The review team found that the school district’s cumulative deficit increased by 51 percent over the past fiscal year, growing from $6.6 million to $11.3 million. Also, while the deficit of the school district climbed, student enrollment has decreased by 58 percent since 2006.

“It is critical that students in the Highland Park School District get the education they need and deserve. For that to continue, the Highland Park School District must have stable finances,” said Gov. Snyder.

The Highland Park school board is challenging the takeover in an upcoming hearing.

Real results

Like them or hate them, the emergency financial managers are getting real results. Through spending cuts, debt refinancing, and federal revenue, Detroit Public Schools were able to achieve a $43 million budget surplus last year, for the first time in four years, avoiding a $327 million budget deficit, according to The Associated Press.

“We are moving solidly in the right direction,” emergency manager Roy Roberts said, according to AP.

Michigan’s economy overall is also recovering.

“The Michigan economy is two years into a recovery. … Job growth up until now has outpaced the nation,” according to top quantitative economist George A. Fulton at the University of Michigan in a November report. “This year has been one of solid growth, by our estimate a gain of 62,600 jobs, and we do see the recovery continuing at least through 2013.”

Gov. Snyder lauded the economic improvements on Wednesday night in his annual State of the State address.

But, he also tempered his statements with admissions that Michigan has a long way to go in terms of its unemployment rate and crime. The Michigan cities of Saginaw, Flint, Detroit, and Pontiac are ranked among the worst for violent crimes, he said.

Organic grower Craig Murphy windrows wheat on his farm near Morris, Minnesota. (Bruce Fritz/USDA)

A pilot program agreement between Minnesota and the federal government may ensure cleaner waterways, but will come at a price. A Memorandum of Understanding between Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), aims to establish a program to reward members of the agriculture industry who agree to meet certain water protection standards.

The voluntary program will give farm operators who adopt practices from the Clean Water Act (CWA) an exemption from future state and federal water quality standards for a certain period of time. The exemption period could last as long as 10 years. The CWA regulates pollutant discharges into U.S. waters and quality standards for surface waters.

The USDA is calling the agreement “historic,” and says it will “encourage farmers to protect local rivers, streams, and other waters by reducing fertilizer runoff and soil erosion.”

“Participating farmers would agree to implement the plan; in exchange for implementing that, they would have a period that the farm would be meeting state water quality goals,” said Michael Schommer of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. “It would be simply saying this is the bar we want you to meet and we would not want you to do anything additional.”

Schommer says the exemption period is intentionally vague, and the details—including periods of participation—are still being worked out.

Schommer says the exemption period is intentionally vague, and the details—including periods of participation—are still being worked out.

Some say that the vague nature of the plan could present problems.

“There’s never been a well-developed way that the EPA regulates agriculture,” said Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food & Water Watch. “The devil is always in the details.”

Lovera adds that it’s typically a struggle to get the agriculture community to comply with the CWA. Especially when that community includes everything from people raising sugar beets and corn to people running a large livestock operation or a small farm.

“When it comes to EPA and large-scale agriculture, they don’t have a lot of ability or political will to make them comply with the Clean Water Act; they rely on the states,” said Lovera. “I think they’re trying to tackle it in a different way [by] asking them to do something.”

According to Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), the American agriculture sector has been exempt from “programs that require measurable and enforceable reductions in water pollution” since the CWA’s 1972 passage.

The organization says they were caught by surprise about the new state-federal agreement, and that it’s not as groundbreaking as the government is making it seem.

A recall volunteer holds up recall badges as she carries one of the boxes containing signatures to recall Gov. Scott Walker on Jan. 17 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Mark Hirsch/Getty Images)

The organizers of an initiative to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said on Tuesday that it submitted more than a million signatures, which is nearly twice as many as are needed to force an election.

United Wisconsin said it gathered more than a million signatures to recall Walker, a Republican, by the Jan. 17 deadline. It needed around 540 thousand signatures to initiate a new election.

“The collection of more than one million signatures represents a crystal clear indication of how strong the appetite is to stop the damage and turmoil that Scott Walker has caused Wisconsin,” stated Ryan Lawler, board member for United Wisconsin.

If it goes through, Walker would be the third governor in U.S. history to be recalled. Former California Gov. Gray Davis was recalled in 2003, leading to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s election.

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brad Courtney said in statement on Tuesday that the initiative against Walker was a “shameful recall attempt.”

House Democrats continued their boycott of Indiana’s 2012 legislative session Thursday after shutting business down Jan. 4, the first day back to work for the Indiana House of Representatives.

The latest walkout is an extension of a five-week boycott by Democrats at the end of the 2011 session. In an effort to stall a controversial “right-to-work” bill and leverage bargaining power through public support, most Democratic members of the House stayed away, preventing the session from starting (two-thirds of representatives must be present).

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma has reportedly threatened to fine those Democrats who are not attending $1,000 a day, a measure implemented last year in an attempt to end the boycott.

Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer said he was told by Speaker Bosma in a private meeting that the fines would begin on Friday. “It’s a significant issue. We think it’s another assault against free speech,” Bauer said, according to ABC.

Despite disagreeing with the Republican right-to-work proposal, not every Democrat is boycotting. “Last year they were taking my bank account, this year they’re taking my home,” Democratic Rep. David Cheatham of North Vernon said in the ABC report. Cheatham is one of a few who have showed up in disagreement with the stall tactics.

The controversial right-to-work bill would prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers that currently force employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment, even if they do not wish to become union members. Currently 22 states have right-to-work laws.

The Republicans and their supporters in favor of the law argue that not having right-to-work laws actually creates a forced union state, even if the employee does not wish to have the services of the union, or disagrees with certain union ideology. Many argue that not having right-to-work laws are a deterrence for some employers to move into a state, which in turn raises unemployment.

Those opposed to the law argue that unions use collective bargaining to fight for the rights of all workers, which would include non-union members who do not pay dues. Even though they did not pay dues, they would be getting the benefits that the unions provide. According to the AFL-CIO union, right-to-work laws lower wages for everyone, citing that an average worker in a right-to-work state makes about $5,333 less per year than in a non-right-to-work state.

Bosma said that job creation in the state of Indiana is the party’s reason behind the proposal, claiming that “economic development experts tell us that removing the last barriers to job creation in our state will help the quarter of a million unemployed Hoosiers get back to work. That is why my top priority this session is to make Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state in the nation.”

On a video posed on Rep. Bosma’s website, he quotes Larry Gigerich, managing director of Ginovus, an Indiana-based consulting company. “While a state is not always eliminated from consideration if it is not right-to-work, it is a majority of the time when it is a manufacturing and distribution facility project,” Gigerich is quoted. “As a result, Indiana is eliminated from consideration often for these types of projects.”

In a press release in October, House Democratic Leader Bauer said, “Despite ample evidence presented in several hearings that right-to-work does not bring additional jobs to a state, but does lower wages and make workplaces more dangerous, it appears that the party in control of our state government is hell-bent on bringing this ruinous policy to Indiana.”

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee speaks to supporters during his caucus night event at the Embassy Suites January 3, 2008 in Des Moines, Iowa. According to early results Huckabee is leading the race over U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

The Iowa caucuses, the first major electoral event in figuring out who to nominate for president for both Republicans and Democrats, are set to begin on Jan. 3.

The caucuses gain a huge amount of media attention and for some presidential hopefuls, can make or break their campaigns; They serve as an early indicator of who might win the nomination of their political party.

Four years ago, President Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination in the last caucuses. Since 1980, four presidential candidates with both the Democrats and the GOP have won the Iowa caucus and eventually become president.

2008: The winners of the caucuses were Barack Obama, a former Illinois senator, for the Democrats with 38 percent and eventually won the presidency. Then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the caucuses with 34 percent on the Republican side. Arizona Sen. John McCain, who received 13 percent, eventually took the GOP nomination for president.

2004: Sen. John Kerry won the Democratic nomination with 38 percent, while incumbent President George W. Bush ran unopposed for the Republicans and eventually won.

2000: Former Vice President Al Gore took the Democratic nomination with 63 percent, and eventually won the primaries. Ex-Texas Gov. George W. Bush took 41 percent, before eventually winning the presidency.

1996: Kansas Sen. Bob Dole won the caucuses for the Republicans with 26 percent while incumbent President Bill Clinton ran unopposed for the Democrats.

1992: Former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton took only 3 percent of the votes during the caucuses, while Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin took 76 percent of the vote for the Democrats. Clinton eventually won the primary and then the presidency. Incumbent President George H. W. Bush ran unopposed for the Republicans.

1988: Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt won 31 percent of the votes for the Democratic Party during the caucuses, while former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis took 22 percent of the vote, ultimately winning his party’s nominations. Kansas Sen. Bob Dole won 26 percent of the Republican vote and Vice President George H. W. Bush took only 19 percent of the vote, but ultimately won the primary and eventually the presidency.

The GOP presidential race for the state of Iowa has not let down amid the holiday season, as contenders continued campaigning throughout the weekend, with former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) being the only exceptions. Huntsman is focusing his campaign efforts on the New Hampshire primaries, while Paul decided to spend the holidays with his family.

The Iowa poll released Saturday by the Des Moines Register showed a tight, volatile three-way race for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Congressman Ron Paul, and former Sen. Rick Santorum. Romney has 24 percent of likely Republican caucus voters, while Paul is at 22 percent.

Santorum, despite polling third place at 15 percent support among likely caucus voters, has experienced a dramatic late surge during the days the poll was conducted. At this point, he is seen as the favorite evangelical candidate over Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is at 11 percent; and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is at 7 percent.

Former front-runner Newt Gingrich, who led the Iowa poll as recently as a month ago, has fallen back to 12 percent support among likely GOP caucus goers.

As a reminder that there is still much uncertainty only a few days ahead of the Iowa caucus 41 percent of respondents to the poll stated that they had a first choice but could be persuaded to change their minds to support a different candidate. Fifty-one percent of respondents had made up their minds.

As primary season opens up, Republican voters will be forced to choose between “their head and their heart,” as Romney, who is considered the safe GOP establishment pick, battles against candidates who are perceived to be more conservative, such as Gingrich, Paul, and Santorum. Romney is also considered the heavy favorite in the New Hampshire primaries.

Romney’s campaign is still touting him as the strongest Republican candidate capable of beating President Barack Obama in a general election.

“This is a process not just of putting your name or your hand next to someone who you kind of like. It’s also selecting who our nominee ought to be, who you think could beat Barack Obama, who you think can get the 1,150 delegates it takes to become our nominee,” said Romney to a crowd of supporters last week. “So look at the candidates and decide who you like and decide who also could become president and who could lead the country at a time of challenge.”

This contrasts sharply with the rhetoric of candidates like Santorum, who is urging voters to adhere to their conservative values.

“I understand they’re all saying who can win and cannot. Trust your own heart. Trust your head. Trust your gut. And vote for who you think is best,” said Santorum in a speech on Saturday.

A Michigan-based dairy announced the recall of two cheese products due to possible listeria contamination, according to a statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration late Tuesday.

Green Cedar Dairy of Dearborn, Mich., is recalling the products after local health officials investigated recent cases of listeriosis linked to the cheese, the FDA said. Listeriosis, which is relatively uncommon, is potentially fatal to very young, the pregnant, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems.

The FDA said local officials found traces of listeria monocytogenes in samples of Green Cedar Dairy’s All Natural Chives Cheese and its All Natural Ackawi Cheese. Both products have a sell-by date of July 1, 2012.

In the United States an estimated 1,600 people become ill from listeriosis each year and around 250 die.

Sen. Nelson, who at one time served as Nebraska’s governor said, “it’s time for me to step away from elective office, spend more time with my family, and look for new ways to serve our state and nation,” according to the statement.

“Therefore, I am announcing today that I will not seek re-election. Simply put: It is time to move on,” he said.

His announcement to retire could potentially damage the Democrats’ chances to retain a majority in the Senate. The Democrats, who lead the congressional chamber with 53 seats, are defending 23 seats in 2012 while the Republicans are only defending 10.

Nelson’s decision could tip the scales for Republicans in Nebraska, as he is the only Democrat who was elected to a statewide office. Sen. Mike Johanns, who is not up for re-election next year, is a Republican.