The Associated PressA business owner checking a trash container for scrap cardboard was alarmed by something else: gas masks, maps, an M-80 explosive, arson photos and anti-government writings.
"It was kinda scary," Andy Wishaw recalled. "Some of my employees said it's nothing. I thought, 'What's it going to hurt to call the police?'"
The discovery turned out to be a big break for the FBI.
Agents on the trail of eco-terrorism used the contents to help solve more than a dozen acts of arson and tree spikings in Michigan and Indiana committed in the name of a radical group, the Earth Liberation Front, known as ELF, from 1999 through 2003.
Details on the trash and other evidence against two key figures are in search warrants in federal court in western Michigan. The warrants and affidavits are sealed, but they've landed on the Internet, offering a look at how the FBI closed in on Frank Ambrose and Marie Mason.
The Sports NetworkMatt 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.
USATODAY.comA lawsuit has been filed to challenge what Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign says is an attempt to keep people facing foreclosure from voting.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal district court in Detroit by Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee and several Macomb County voters.
It asks for an injunction prohibiting the Macomb County GOP, the Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Committee or anyone connected with them from challenging Michigan voters whose homes are on foreclosure lists.
mlive.comDeal or no deal?
A judge has called Christine Beatty back to court Monday to learn whether the ex-top aide to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will strike a deal with prosecutors or go to trial.
No agreement was reached Thursday in her perjury case, but Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner seemed optimistic that an accord could be near.
Chicagotribune.comMichigan's history of racial tensions is tugging against its Democratic tendencies, giving Barack Obama fits when most everything else potentially benefits Democrats: a soaring unemployment rate, shrinking auto industry and depressed housing market.
The first minority candidate with a serious shot at the presidency is not running as well as his Democratic predecessors among working-class whites in this pivotal Midwestern swing state, partly because of the color of his skin.
"I've got a lot of friends ... (who) are like, `Oh, no,"' when it comes to voting for a black presidential candidate, said John Martin, a 42-year-old Democrat from Macomb County's Harrison Township who backs Obama. "They're all working people, all in unions, plumbers and stuff like that. ... A few of them have said they're not even going to vote."
Detroit Free PressResidents can share their concerns with city officials Wednesday when the City Council discusses plans to redevelop the Livonia Mall, bringing the city closer to rehabilitating a long-standing eyesore in northeast Livonia.
The structure will be demolished, and rather than a single structure with a common, enclosed space connecting stores replacing it, the new Livonia Marketplace will look more like Wonderland Village and Tel-12 shopping center in Southfield.
But one issue expected to generate debate is the possibility of a 24-hour operation in the complex.
Daily TribuneLocal communities have been warned to expect taxable property values to decline in the coming year.
The Oakland County Equalization Division, the county's tax assessing arm, sent letters to the communities on Sept. 3.
"It's so they can begin to budget appropriately," said county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The county Equalization Division does the property tax assessing for 47 of the county's 61 communities.
Detroit Free PressCindy McCain said her husband is not a man for all times, but he is a man for these times.
"He's what we need now," said the presidential candidate's wife, speaking Saturday night before 600 Oakland County Republicans in Pontiac.
"This is not the time for someone to be in there that doesn't understand about sending people into combat, but more important, bringing them home in honor and victory," she said.
