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  • Over half of Republicans running for federal, statewide office have raised unfounded doubts about 2020 election

    Over half of Republicans running for federal, statewide office have raised unfounded doubts about 2020 election

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    Over half of all Republican midterm candidates running for federal and statewide office have raised unfounded doubts about the validity or integrity of the 2020 election results, and according to CBS News’ analysis, all of the states but two — Rhode Island and North Dakota — have a candidate on the the ballot who is an “election denier,” that is, who denies the results of the 2020 election were valid.

    Among the 597 GOP candidates running for state or federal office this November, 308 have raised unfounded doubts about the results of the 2020 election. 

    Here’s the candidate breakdown:

    • 20 out of 37 Republicans running for governor (2 Republicans are running for Alaska’s gubernatorial seat under the state’s ranked choice voting)
    • 9 out of 31 Republicans running for lieutenant governor
    • 9 out of 30 Republicans running for attorney general
    • 12 out of 27 Republicans running for secretary of state 
    • 20 out of 36 Republicans running for the U.S. Senate (2 Senate races in Oklahoma)
    • 238 out of 436 Republicans running for U.S. House (2 Republicans are running for the Alaska at large seat under the state’s ranked choice voting)

    Many GOP candidates have voiced support for continued “Stop the Steal” efforts, falsely claiming that President Biden is in the White House illegitimately and must be removed. Others acknowledge he’s the president but won’t say whether he was legitimately elected, and they incorrectly suggest there was wide-ranging fraud in the 2020 election. Some objected to the 2020 Electoral College certification or signed an amicus brief in a Texas lawsuit arguing electoral votes in battleground states Mr. Biden won should be tossed. 

    Other candidates backtracked after their primary races, hoping to appear less extreme to a wider electorate. CBS News still considers these candidates to have questioned the integrity of the election, even if they have since changed course.

    Should GOP election deniers who are running for governor or secretary of state in the 2020 battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin win on Nov. 8, it’s possible that state-level certifications of the 2024 presidential election will be in the hands of officials who continue to propagate the idea that Joe Biden did not win in 2020.

    In Arizona, where there are election deniers running for governor, secretary of state, and attorney general, Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem could have the final say in certifying the state’s 2024 election results. Lake has already said that she would not have accepted the state’s results in 2020 had she been Arizona’s governor, and Mark Finchem has suggested that he wouldn’t either. 

    The same is true in Michigan, where Tudor Dixon and Kristina Karamo, running for governor and secretary of state, have also said they wouldn’t have certified Mr. Biden’s 2020 victory. 

    Other races to watch include the governor’s races in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where the far-right Republican nominees Doug Mastriano of Pennsylvania and Tim Michels of Wisconsin are on the ballot.

    Below are profiles of some of the candidates who meet one or more of the following criteria:

    • Said they believe the 2020 election was stolen;
    • Repeated disproven claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020;
    • Supported a type of post 2020-audit, sometimes following recounts or canvassing;
    • Signed onto the Texas lawsuit looking to overturn the 2020 election results in several battleground states;
    • Objected to certify the 2020 electoral college results in Arizona and Pennsylvania on Jan. 6, 2021; or
    • Have at least once, if not more, been unclear when asked if they believe President Joe Biden was legitimately elected.

    U.S. Senate candidates: 20 of 36 GOP candidates

    Adam Laxalt (Nevada): Former Nevada Attorney General and Trump Nevada campaign co-chair Adam Laxalt said in a radio interview in August 2021, “There’s no question that they rigged the election.” He also worked with the 2020 Trump campaign in filing a lawsuit in November 2020 with Ric Grenell, the Trump-appointed former director of national intelligence to try to convince a judge to “stop the counting of improper votes.” Laxalt also spread a false claim about thousands of illegal votes in an op-ed after Mr. Biden had been certified as the winner. 

    Laxalt has since acknowledged Mr. Biden is the president, but has not explicitly said he was legitimately elected. “I know you want to make this entire election about this. We have major issues going on in our country right now,” he said, avoiding the question in October 2021. 

    JD Vance (Ohio): “I believe the election was stolen too, but why are we talking about the past,” JD Vance said during a campaign event in January. When asked by Spectrum News Ohio that same month if he felt the election had been stolen, Vance affirmed that he does. “The fundamental problem is we had a massive effort to shift the election by very powerful people in this country. I don’t care whether you say it’s rigged, whether you say it’s stolen, like I’ll say what I’m going to say about it,” he said. 

    Herschel Walker (Georgia): While he was aggressive in saying the election was stolen in 2020, Herschel Walker has since softened his tone. Days after the election, on Nov. 6, 2020, Walker was suggesting several battleground states should vote again. On Dec. 27, 2020 he said on Fox News that he was certain “Biden didn’t get 50 million people voting for him, yet people think he won this election.”

    Walker expressed doubt that the Jan. 6 rioters were Trump supporters, calling them “Trojan horses” and tweeting that Trump has the power “right now to see who they really are and to get the bottom of who stole this election!” In May, Walker claimed he’d never heard Trump say the election was stolen. 

    Don Bolduc (New Hampshire): In August, Don Bolduc said, “I signed a letter … saying that Trump won the election, and, damn it, I stand by my letter.” He added: “I’m not switching horses, baby. This is it.” After winning his primary, Bolduc reversed course “I’ve come to the conclusion, and I want to be definitive on this: The election was not stolen,” he said, adding that while he still believes there was fraud, “elections have consequences and, unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country.”

    Rep. Ted Budd (North Carolina): As a congressman, Budd voted to object to the Electoral College results in Arizona and Pennsylvania on Jan. 6, 2021. He also voiced support for the Texas lawsuit that tried to contest Mr. Biden’s victories in several battleground states in the Supreme Court. “Millions of Americans do not have faith in the November election. One of the best ways to air out the legitimate concerns over voter fraud, machine irregularities, and mail-in ballots is at the Supreme Court,” he tweeted in December 2020.

    But more recently, Budd has said that he does believe Biden is “the legitimate president.” He told Fox 46 in April, “He is the president, but I have tremendous constitutional concerns about how the election of 2020 happened.” 

    Mehmet Oz (Pennsylvania): While he said during a debate in April that “we cannot move on” from the 2020 election, he also said on conservative network “Real America’s Voice” that he wants “to be careful” about how he talks about the 2020 election. “I know for sure we’ve got to deal with 2020, but this is about knowing what exactly the diagnosis is so we can give it the right treatment,” he said. During the general election campaign, however, Oz said that he would have voted to certify Mr. Biden’s election. In September, Oz said that he would have certified the 2020 election for Joe Biden. “I would not have objected to it,” Oz said. “By the time the delegates and those reports are sent to the U.S. Senate, our job was to approve it. That’s what I would have done.”

    Blake Masters (Arizona): Before his primary, Blake Masters said in a campaign ad, “I think Trump won in 2020,” and he called the 2020 election “really messed up.” He also claimed, “If we had had a free and fair election, President Trump would be sitting in the Oval Office today.” But after winning the GOP primary, he shifted his stance to say that Joe Biden had won — with help from and interference by the FBI and the media.

    Gubernatorial candidates: 20 of 36 GOP candidates

    Doug Mastriano (Pennsylvania): In addition to being near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and spending thousands of dollars from his campaign account to arrange buses from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., that day, Doug Mastriano, a state senator, held a hearing weeks after the 2020 election and called Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani to testify “on election issues.” Mastriano and other Pennsylvania Republicans challenged the state’s new mail ballot law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — which upheld the legality of the rules. On Nov. 27, 2020, he introduced a bill asking Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar “to withdraw and vacate the certification of the presidential election.”

    In Pennsylvania, the governor appoints the secretary of state and in April, Mastriano said he already has someone in mind, though he hasn’t released a name. He’s also contemplating forcing all voters to re-register in Pennsylvania. He said on “The John Fredericks Show” that he has the power to decertify or certify “any machines or anything else involved with elections… with the stroke of a pen, I can decertify every single machine in the state.”

    Kari Lake (Arizona): Kari Lake has never backed away from remarks she’s made denying the 2020 election’s legitimacy. She has said, “If you think that election was fair, put down Hunter’s crack pipe.” She has also said she would not have certified Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Arizona if she had been governor. She called late-night ballot counting that favored Mr. Biden over Trump “magic.” On “Face the Nation” in October, Lake refused to say whether Mr. Biden is the legitimate president, and she has also appeared on QAnon-affiliated talk shows.

    Gov. Greg Abbott (Texas): In December 2020, Gov. Greg Abbott supported the Texas lawsuit led by Attorney General Ken Paxton that sought to toss the election results of four battleground states that Mr. Biden won (Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin). Abbott said of the case, which was appealed to  the U.S. Supreme Court, that Paxton was trying to “accelerate the process, providing certainty and clarity about the entire election process.”

    In Sept. 2021, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced an audit of the 2020 election. Abbott defended the audit in an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” saying, “Why do we audit everything in this world, but people raise their hands in concern when we audit elections?” Abbott approved $4 million in funding for the audit in Nov. 2021, which found very few issues with the 2020 election, according to the Texas Tribune. 

    Tudor Dixon (Michigan): In a primary debate, Tudor Dixon raised her hand along with the rest of the Republican gubernatorial field when they were asked if there was enough fraud to impact the 2020 election results. In another debate, she was asked if she believed Trump had legitimately won Michigan. She replied, “Yes,” even though Mr. Biden had won the state by about 154,000 votes. After his victory,  Dixon, in a since-deleted tweet, wrote the election had been stolen and claimed Democrats had committed “sloppy and obvious” voter fraud, according to MLive, but she offered no evidence to support her accusation. 

    Dan Cox (Maryland): In December 2020, Dan Cox suggested on Facebook that Trump should seize voting machines as a way to prove fraud had occurred. Cox also sponsored buses to take people to the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6. That afternoon, Cox tweeted: “Mike Pence is a traitor.” Cox later deleted the tweet. In a July 2021 Facebook post, Cox wrote: “I was in Philadelphia with President Trump’s team for three weeks during the 2020 election and witnessed PA election fraud.” Cox also posted tweets containing QAnon rhetoric ahead of the 2020 election.

    Secretary of state: 12 of 27 GOP candidates

    Kristina Karamo (Michigan): In December, Kristina Karamo tweeted that “corrupt politicians with the help of the lying media were trying to steal the election, ain’t going to happen.” Karamo gained a following after the 2020 election, when she claimed to have witnessed fraudulent activity where Detroit was counting absentee ballots. She made several cable news appearances to spread unfounded claims of widespread fraud and filed to intervene in Texas’ lawsuit to overturn the election. One of Karamo’s central fraud claims was about a ballot that had straight-ticket voting bubbles filled out for both Democrats and Republicans. She claimed a worker had wanted to count the ballot for Democrats and a supervisor told the worker to “push it through.” Chris Thomas, the longtime elections director in Michigan who was at the absentee counting facility in Detroit, told CBS News that “push it through” meant that the ballot would be registered as an overvote and would not count for either party. 

    During New Jersey’s gubernatorial election last November, Karamo claimed that ballots for Democrat incumbent Governor Phil Murphy were “magically” appearing. “Can’t make this stuff up, but again you’re ‘insurrectionist’ and a ‘big lie proponent’ for pointing out the obvious,” she tweeted. Ahead of her election this November, Karamo has claimed that election machines in Detroit are illegal.

    Mark Finchem (Arizona): “The 2020 General Election is irredeemably compromised, and it is impossible to name a clear winner of the contest,” Mark Finchem, a state House member, wrote in a resolution he introduced in the Arizona Legislature to decertify the 2020 election results in Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties. Finchem attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally and was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. He also supported the Maricopa County GOP-led state Senate-mandated audit that ultimately found President Biden had won the county by about 45,000 votes, a handful more than the original count. He has also attended conferences and fundraisers hosted by QAnon influencers.

    Jim Marchant (Nevada): Jim Marchant, who was the Republican nominee for Nevada’s 4th District in 2020, falsely claimed that the election had been “stolen” from him and from Trump and filed a lawsuit over his own 33,000 vote loss in 2020. The challenge was dismissed. He lost to Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford in 2020. Now, as the GOP nominee to be secretary of state, Marchant has told The Guardian that he would be open to sending an alternate slate of electors to Congress in 2024. Marchant and former Clark County District Court Judge Richard Scotti, another Nevada Secretary of State Republican candidate in the race, have said they would push to decertify Dominion voting machines, which are used by nearly all of Nevada’s counties. Like Mastriano, Marchant also said he supported a proposal to “re-register” voters, which was used by segregationists to restrict the votes of Black Americans during Reconstruction and through the 1960s. Marchant has also attended QAnon-affiliated conferences and spoke on panels about election fraud- and has falsely claimed that Nevada has not “elected anybody since 2006,” but politicians in the state have been “installed by the deep state cabal.”

    Audrey Trujillo (New Mexico): In June, Trujillo called for county commissioners to remove all Dominion machines and all drop boxes, and said the state’s primary results couldn’t be certified until counties did a hand recount, forensic audit and a cast vote record has been provided. In a Facebook interview in March, she said the 2020 election “was a huge, huge, I would say coup to really unseat a president who had the best interests of Americans.”

    House candidates: 238 of 436* GOP candidates

    *2 Republicans are running for the Alaska at large seat under the state’s ranked choice voting

    Sarah Palin (Alaska): When broadcaster Piers Morgan asked her if she accepted that Biden won the election “fair and square,” she said, “Evidently he did because he is sworn in as our president, but no one will convince me, nor anyone else with common sense and a sense of justice — no one will convince us that there was not shenanigans.”

    Kevin McCarthy (California): The House minority leader and potential future House speaker voted to object to the Electoral College certification and said on Fox News right after the election that “President Trump won this election, so everyone who’s listening, do not be quiet. We cannot allow this to happen before our very eyes.” At a press conference June, McCarthy said that Joe Biden was president, but did not say if he was legitimately elected.

    Lauren Boebert (Colorado): Before the 2020 election, Boebert wrote in a tweet that “the only way Democrats can win [in 2020] is through election fraud.” Ahead of Jan. 6, she tweeted about “video footage, voice recordings, data analysis, statistical improbabilities,” and more disproven allegations of mass election fraud. She also objected to the Electoral College certification the morning of Jan. 6. Rep. Boebert, now the incumbent in 2024,  was at Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse and tweeted that morning, “Today is 1776.” 

    Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia): Marjorie Taylor Greene was also one of the 10 Republican members of Congress who attended a Trump White House meeting that focused on efforts to overturn the 2020 election. She voted to object to the Electoral College Certification on Jan. 6 and continues to incorrectly insist that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

    John Gibbs (Michigan): During a debate with his primary opponent, incumbent Rep. Peter Meijer, in late June, John Gibbs made the unfounded claim that there were “anomalies” in the 2020 election results “that are simply mathematically impossible.” On his campaign website, Gibbs calls for a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 election and writes that there should be an ID required to vote and an elimination of the early voting period. He also says the “mass mailing of ballots to every voter… would be considered corrupt if used in any developing country.”

    JR Majewski (Ohio): JR Majewski was in Washington, D.C.,on Jan. 6 and in since-deleted tweets first reported by CNN, Majewski tweeted ahead of the Capitol Hill riot that “it’s going down” on Jan. 6. He also has shared QAnon memes and language on his Parler social media account that was later deleted.

    Mayra Flores (Texas): Mayra Flores has suggested that the Capitol riot was caused by Antifa and “infiltrators.”  A CNN review of – tweets leading up to January 2021 that have since been deleted, noted that Flores had shown admiration for  Trump attorney Sidney Powell, calling her an “American hero.” Powell filed a number of baseless lawsuits that alleged massive fraud in the 2020 election. Powell is being sued for defamation over some of her claims and has been sanctioned by a federal judge for a failure to do her due diligence before submitting one of her lawsuits.  Flores wrote that “this election is not over” in late November 2020.

    Harriet Hageman (Wyoming): Harriet Hageman, who defeated incumbent Rep. Liz Cheney in the GOP primary, said the 2022 election was “rigged” and told  a primary debate audience that “we have serious questions” about the 2020 election.

    Contributions by Sierra Sanders, Grace Kazarian, Fritz Farrow, Scott MacFarlane and Major Garrett

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  • Michigan man gets 70 to 100 years for hammer murders

    Michigan man gets 70 to 100 years for hammer murders

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    LANSING, Mich. — A man charged in the hammer killings of two women after he showed cellphone photos of their beaten bodies to sheriff’s deputies during a traffic stop was sentenced Wednesday to 70 to100 years in prison.

    Kiernan Brown, 30, of Delta Township, was sentenced in Ingham County after pleading guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder in the deaths of 26-year-old Kaylee Ann Brock of Holt and 32-year-old Julie Ann Mooney of Williamston in May 2019.

    Authorities said at the time that Brown was arrested on Interstate 69, about 108 miles (174 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, after an ex-girlfriend reported that he had been violating a personal protection order by banging on her door and sending disturbing texts. She was not among the victims.

    During his plea hearing, Brown said he killed Brock and Mooney with a hammer.

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  • Michigan State President: Post-Game Melee ‘Unacceptable’

    Michigan State President: Post-Game Melee ‘Unacceptable’

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    ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State President Samuel Stanley called actions by Spartans football players involved in a postgame melee with members of rival Michigan’s team “unacceptable” and said Sunday those involved would be held responsible by coach Mel Tucker.

    “I’m extremely saddened by this incident and the unacceptable behavior

    depicted by members of our football program,” Stanley said in a statement. “On behalf of Michigan State University, my heartfelt apology to the University of Michigan and the student athletes who were injured.

    “There is no provocation that could justify the behavior we are seeing on the videos. Rivalries can be intense but should never be violent.”

    The scuffle broke out in the Michigan Stadium tunnel after fourth-ranked Wolverines beat the Spartans 29-7 Saturday night. Social media posts showed at least three Michigan State players pushing, punching and kicking Michigan’s Ja’Den McBurrows in and near a hallway that doesn’t lead to either locker room.

    McBurrows and defensive back Gemon Green went up the tunnel, walking alongside the Spartans, after the game while much of Michigan’s team was waving them off the field after beating their in-state rivals for the first time in three years.

    Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Saturday night that one of the players, who he did not identify, might have a broken nose. A social media post on Sunday showed a Wolverine, who appears to be Green, getting roughed up by Spartans.

    “Two of our players were assaulted,” Harbaugh said. “I saw on the one video. 10 on one. It was pretty bad. It needs to be investigated.”

    Tucker said in a tweet Sunday that his program will cooperate with law enforcement and the Big Ten in any investigation.

    “As Spartans, our program has a responsibility to uphold the highest level of sportsmanship. While emotions were very high at the conclusion of our rivalry game at Michigan Stadium, there is no excuse for behavior that puts our team or our opponents at risk,” Tucker said. “In complete cooperation with law enforcement, the Big Ten Conference and MSU and UM leadership, we will evaluate the events in Ann Arbor and take swift and appropriate action.”

    University of Michigan Deputy Police Chief Melissa Overton said an investigation is underway in partnership with Michigan State police, and Michigan’s athletic department and football program.

    “The investigation takes some time,” Overton said Sunday.

    Stanley said the university will be cooperating with all related investigations by law enforcement and the Big Ten.

    The Big Ten said in a statement: “The conference is currently gathering information, will thoroughly review the facts, and will take appropriate action.”

    It was the second straight game at Michigan that included an altercation in the long, narrow tunnel that goes from the locker rooms to the field.

    Earlier this month, Penn State coach James Franklin said a policy change was needed to provide a more orderly use of the tunnel.

    Some heated words were exchanged, and Michigan players said Penn State players threw peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at them as the teams headed to the locker room at halftime of a close game the Wolverines ultimately won in a 41-17 rout on Oct. 15.

    Harbaugh said Franklin acted as a “ringleader” and claimed the Nittany Lions stopped in the tunnel to prevent his team from accessing its locker room.

    More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF

    More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF

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  • Arizona, Michigan GOP ask voters to mail in ballots and use drop boxes as candidates and officials blast the practice | CNN Politics

    Arizona, Michigan GOP ask voters to mail in ballots and use drop boxes as candidates and officials blast the practice | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The Arizona and Michigan state Republican Parties are calling voters urging them to return their ballots by mail or to drop boxes in those battleground states, despite their candidates promoting false claims that such practices are rife for voter fraud.

    Calls to voters’ phones in the last week from both state parties have urged voters to take advantage of early voting and make sure to return their ballots by the appropriate deadlines, as did a call from Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake on the behalf of a ballot initiative.

    Both states are considered battlegrounds with tight races in Arizona for governor and Senate and in Michigan for the governorship and multiple competitive US House seats as Republicans seek to take back control of that chamber. In one day, the calls combined were made to nearly a million different cell phones, according to data from the anti-robo tracking company NoMoRobo.

    Gustavo Portela, the communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, said the call was part of their “absentee chase program,” calling it “something the party has done for decades and will continue to do because we believe in reminding Republican voters who pulled absentee ballots they should return them and have their voices heard in the midterm elections.”

    The Arizona Republican Party and Lake did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

    The Arizona Republican Party sent calls to voters’ cell phones asking them to return mail-in ballots after the group lost a lawsuit over the summer that sought to end no excuse for mail-in voting in the state – the most popular and widely-used form of voting in the state.

    “Please vote Republican from top to bottom in every race as soon as your ballot arrives and return it by mail or drop it off in person at an early voting center starting Wednesday, October 12,” the Arizona call says. “The longer you wait, the more time Democrats have to build up a lead. Do not rest your vote by waiting to return their ballot.”

    Kelli Ward, the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, has baselessly suggested voting by mail is insecure and said the practices should only be used by the military or disabled voters.

    “Security of elections far outweighs convenience,” she wrote in a tweet. “All mail in voting is a recipe for abuse, fraud, and the loss of election integrity,” she said in another.

    There is no widespread voter fraud in US elections and there are safeguards in place to prevent fraud. In Arizona, even sham audits have shown President Joe Biden did indeed beat then-President Donald Trump in the state.

    Similarly, Lake, who has endorsed vote-by-mail conspiracy theories and said the 2020 election was stolen and that Biden is “illegitimate,” voiced a call on the behalf of Arizonians for Voter ID asking voters to return their mail-in ballots.

    “By mail or on November 8,” Lake says. “Join me, Kari Lake, in voting yes on Proposition 309.” Proposition 309 would increase voter identification requirements for both mail-in ballots and in-person voting.

    On Twitter in September, Lake endorsed a claim from Trump’s spokeswoman that Democrats rig American elections using mail-in ballots.

    In Michigan, multiple calls from the state party ask voters to return their ballots either by mail or at drop boxes – two voting methods regularly decried by some of the Republicans who are on the ballot.

    “You can return your ballot in person at your local clerk’s office or return through the postal service or deliver it to a drop box,” the call in Michigan says.

    Tudor Dixon, the party’s nominee for governor, says on her campaign page she wants to ban drop boxes and has called for reforming vote by mail.

    Kristina Karamo, the secretary of state nominee, is also part of the America First Secretary of State Coalition, a group of election deniers seeking state election posts who have made election conspiracies the centerpiece of their platform. Arizona secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem is also a member of that coalition.

    The group’s platform calls to eliminate mail voting, implement an “aggressive voter roll clean-up” and move to single-day voting.

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  • Judge to rule if ex-cop will stand trial in fatal shooting

    Judge to rule if ex-cop will stand trial in fatal shooting

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    A judge is expected to rule by next week on whether a former Michigan police officer who fatally shot a Black motorist in the back of the head during a struggle over a Taser will stand trial for second-degree murder.

    Grand Rapids District Court Judge Nicholas Ayoub said Friday during the final day of Christopher Schurr’s preliminary examination that he will review the evidence and issue a written opinion on Monday.

    Schurr is charged in the April 4 slaying of Patrick Lyoya, 26, following a traffic stop, short foot chase and scuffle across lawns in a Grand Rapids neighborhood.

    The traffic stop, Schurr’s questioning of Lyoya and struggle were captured on the officer’s body camera video. Lyoya’s shooting was recorded on the cellphone of a passenger in his car.

    Lyoya, a native of the Congo, was on the ground when he was shot.

    Schurr, who is white, later was fired by the police department.

    The only witness called Friday was Grand Rapids police Capt. Chad McKersie, who testified on behalf of the defense and said Lyoya had gained some advantage over Schurr.

    “You can see Officer Schurr present the weapon, and it was immediately grabbed by Mr. Lyoya,” McKersie said of the Taser. It “appears the officer was unable to control that individual.”

    McKersie said the officer’s police body camera video appears to show Schurr tiring as he and Lyoya fought. McKersie also said that Lyoya appeared to have a weight advantage.

    During “a long, drawn-out struggle, you can only go at 100% for so long,” McKersie said.

    Prosecution witness Wayne Butler testified Thursday during the first day of Schurr’s preliminary examination that the officer “always had the upper hand” during the struggle with Lyoya.

    Butler lives in the neighborhood where Schurr pulled over a car being driven by Lyoya. Butler saw the struggle, but not the actual shooting.

    Video shows Schurr telling Lyoya that he stopped his car because the license plate didn’t match the vehicle. Roughly a minute later, Lyoya began to run after he was asked to produce a driver’s license.

    Schurr fired the fatal shot while demanding that Lyoya let go of the officer’s Taser. The device discharges small amounts of electricity to incapacitate someone.

    Schurr’s attorney, Matt Borgula, argued Friday that the shooting was justified because Schurr was met with force during a lawful arrest.

    “There is absolutely no evidence … that he did anything unlawful,” Borgula said of Schurr. “And there is absolutely no evidence that Patrick Lyoya did anything but fight the entire time. He pushed. He shoved, popped his arms.”

    Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker said the only issue in the case is whether there is some sort of justification for the shooting.

    “Ultimately, that’s a jury question,” he said. “It’s going to be up to 12 people from Kent County to make this decision as to whether this is reasonable or whether this is necessary.”

    Grand Rapids, which has a population of about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit.

    ———

    Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan.

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  • GM says its U.S. facilities will be powered by renewables by 2025

    GM says its U.S. facilities will be powered by renewables by 2025

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    General Motors said Wednesday that it has secured all of the renewable energy it needs to power all of its U.S. facilities by 2025, 25 years ahead of earlier projections.

    The Detroit automaker, which initially targeted the year 2050 to achieve its all-renewables goal, said it secured sourcing agreements from 16 renewable energy plants across 10 states.

    In early 2021, GM moved up its all-renewables target date to 2030, then advanced that goal by five years this week.

    The five-year difference will help erase an estimated 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equal to the emissions produced by burning 1 billion pounds of coal, GM said.

    “We believe it is critical — to ourselves, to our customers and to the future of the planet — to step up our efforts and reach ambitious targets that move us closer to a more sustainable world,” said Kristen Siemen, the company’s chief sustainability officer. “Securing the renewable energy we need to achieve our goal demonstrates tangible progress in reducing our emissions in all aspects of our business, ultimately moving us closer to our vision of a future with zero emissions.”


    General Motors CEO Mary Barra predicts EV dominance by mid-decade

    04:44

    $35 million investment in carbon-neutral vision

    In recent years, the Detroit automaker has committed to invest $35 billion into electric and autonomous vehicle production with the goal of eliminating tailpipe emissions from its U.S. light-duty autos by 2035. By 2040, the company plans to become carbon neutral, according to a GM press release. 

    “General Motors has been a trailblazer in corporate clean energy procurement for manufacturing facilities for over a decade,” said Miranda Ballentine, CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association. “Today’s announcement of securing the energy needed to achieve their 2025 goal is another example of their leadership.”

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  • In Michigan governor’s debate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer accuses Tudor Dixon of “stoking violence”

    In Michigan governor’s debate, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer accuses Tudor Dixon of “stoking violence”

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    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer accused her Republican challenger, Tudor Dixon, of “stoking violence” and pushing conspiracy theories meant to divide people, while Dixon said voters have felt the pain of the Democrat’s failures and told Michiganders “you deserve better.”

    The two faced each other in their final debate before the midterm elections in two weeks. Dixon, a former businesswoman and conservative commentator endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is hoping a late surge of support will help her unseat the first-term incumbent Democrat, who has a multimillion-dollar fundraising advantage.

    Whitmer and fellow Democrats spent months pummeling Dixon with ads before the Republican and her supporters — including the family of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — responded. The final weeks of the campaign have seemed more competitive, with both hopefuls running TV ads and the candidates holding public events around the state.

    “We always knew that this would be a close race,” Whitmer told reporters after the debate. “This is a great state, but it’s a divided state at times. I take no person, no vote, or no community for granted.”

    Economy and inflation

    Addressing the persistent inflation and high prices on voters’ minds, Dixon said Whitmer “has not done anything to help.” She criticized the governor for vetoing a GOP measure earlier this year to freeze the state’s 27-cents-per-gallon gas tax and warned that a recession is “at our doorstep.”

    Whitmer called the measure the Republican-led Legislature approved “a gimmick.” It would have frozen the tax for six months effective in 2023 — a delay Whitmer said wouldn’t have provided immediate help to people who need it.

    “I don’t have time for games, and I don’t think you do either,” Whitmer said, adding that inflation is a problem around the globe. She said her administration was able to help people in Michigan by providing help such as free or low-cost child care.

    Whitmer questioned how Dixon – who supports repealing the state’s income tax – would balance the state budget and ensure sufficient funding for areas like education without the roughly $12 billion the state receives from income taxes.

    Dixon countered that she would eliminate the tax over time, suggesting it could be done over eight to 10 years, and noted there are other states without an income tax and argued that it’s not a “radical” idea.

    School safety

    One of Whitmer’s sharpest lines of the night addressed school safety. The debate at Oakland University was held about 15 miles from Oxford High School, where a teenage student fatally shot four students last year. The 16-year-old shooter on Monday pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree murder.

    In an exchange about education, Dixon criticized Whitmer’s administration for allowing books in school libraries that she says are inappropriate because they reference sex and gender. 

    “Do you really think books are more dangerous than guns?” Whitmer asked. She dismissed the book issue as a distraction at a time when deadly school shootings occur with regularity. The governor called for stricter gun laws, including background checks and secure gun storage.

    Asked after the debate about the remark, Dixon said she doesn’t differentiate.

    “I think there are dangers all over for our children. I don’t rank one as different than the other,” she said. “I want to make sure our kids are safe no matter what.”

    Dixon is endorsed by the National Rifle Association and said during the debate that she supports having armed guards at schools and single-entry buildings. She pointed to a report on how to better secure schools and said if it had been implemented at Oxford “we might have saved lives.”

    Whitmer, a former prosecutor, countered, “Ask yourself, who’s going to keep your kids safe? A former prosecutor with plans or a candidate with thoughts and prayers?”

    Abortion

    The first question of the night once again centered on abortion, a topic that’s dominated the race since the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the landmark case granting the right to abortion. Before the high court’s decision, Whitmer filed a lawsuit to stop a 1931 abortion ban from taking effect in Michigan.

    A proposal on the state’s November ballot will let voters decide whether to enshrine the right to the procedure in the state constitution. The two candidates disagreed on what the constitutional amendment would allow.

    Dixon, who opposes abortion except to save the life of the mother, claimed the proposal would allow abortion “up to the moment of birth for any reason” while calling it the “most radical abortion law in the country.” But Dixon said voters could vote how they wanted on the proposal – while also voting for her.

    Whitmer said the proposal would return abortion rights that had been in place for 49 years before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and said none of what Dixon said about the proposal was true.

    Women candidates

    Asked by moderators to say something nice about their opponents, each focused on the other’s role as a mother. Dixon has four school-aged daughters, while Whitmer has two college-aged daughters and three stepsons.

    Dixon praised Whitmer’s emphasis on her daughters and her fight for women, while Whitmer said of Dixon that she appreciates “how hard it is to run for office and raise kids.”

    The race between Dixon and Whitmer is the first time two women have competed against each other for Michigan governor. Nationally, there are five woman-vs.-woman races this fall. That’s more than there have been, combined, in all elections in the country’s history, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

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  • Berlin conductor Petrenko worried `no one needs us anymore’

    Berlin conductor Petrenko worried `no one needs us anymore’

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    Kirill Petrenko thought back to the spring of 2020, when his first season as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic was abruptly stopped by the coronavirus pandemic.

    “We all were very destroyed because at a certain point we thought no one needs us anymore,” he said. “Their life goes on. The concert halls are closed. The theaters are closed. Some people are making their jobs, but we are sitting at home.”

    Public performances were suspended on March 12, 2020. When concerts resumed with a chamber-sized orchestra in Berlin’s empty Philharmonie that May 1 with a digital feed, Petrenko likened it to when Glenn Gould abandoned playing piano live and retreated to the recording studio.

    Regular performances in front of a full audience didn’t return until May 2022.

    “Then we understand one more time a little bit what our profession is about, because of communication,” Petrenko said during a Zoom interview with U.S. media on Monday. “It’s not just music-making, it’s music-making in front of someone or for someone or to provide our knowledge but also to change someone who is in this room right now, This is what was missing so much.”

    Petrenko will lead the Berlin Philharmonic in their first U.S. tour in six years. He conducts Mahler’s Seventh Symphony at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 10 and 12, and has a concert in the middle with Andrew Norman’s “Unstuck,” Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with soloist Noah Bendix-Balgley and Korngold’s Symphony in F-sharp. The tour includes the Mahler in Chicago (Nov. 16); Ann Arbor, Michigan (Nov. 19); and Naples, Florida (Nov. 22); and the other program in Boston (Nov. 13), Ann Arbor (Nov. 18) and Naples (Nov. 21).

    The orchestra has played 74 Carnegie concerts, starting with its first U.S. tour in 1955. It is returning to New York for the first time since 2016.

    More than 30 musicians will participate in education efforts, principal horn Stefan Dohr said, including master classes, question-and-answers sessions with educators, talks with students and chamber concerts at schools, WQXR radio will broadcast the Nov. 10 performance. As part of the tour, an American Circle support group will be launched while at Carnegie.

    “We aim to build an American family of friends and donors for the orchestra,” said Andrea Zietzschmann, who became the orchestra’s general manager for the 2017-18 season.

    Petrenko is Berlin’s fourth chief conductor in seven decades. Now 50, he was born in Omsk, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1972, and his family moved to Austria when he was 18. Having studied piano, he conducted at the Vienna Volksoper from 1997-99, served as music director of Germany’s Meininger State Theater from 1999-02 and spent five years as music director of Berlin’s Komische Oper.

    Petrenko first guest conducted Berlin in 2006 and a decade later was hired as music director for the 2019-20 season. He took over an orchestra steeped in a resonant and pristine sound.

    “The Berlin Philharmonic is the most special orchestra in the world. It takes a little time for a conductor to transform such an orchestra sound-wise to what a conductor is imagining,” Petrenko said. “The Berlin Philharmonic first of all always should sound like the Berlin Philharmonic. I don’t want to break some traditions. Some natural sounds just come out of this orchestra. I would like have, so to say, my stamp on it. And it is first of all based on a beautiful, huge and transparent string sound.”

    His goal is to combine woodwinds, brass and percussion to create a sound that is “big, transparent and light.” He says it should be different in Debussy than Brahms, while at the same time the orchestra will refine connections to German and Austrian traditions of Mozart, Brahms, Richard Strauss, Mahler and Schubert.

    “This sort of work will take at least five or six years more,” he said. “Then we can talk about what happened, what changed, what we preserved, what we’d like to achieve, what we’d like to transform, what we’d like to develop again.”

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  • Michigan teen pleads guilty in school shooting

    Michigan teen pleads guilty in school shooting

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    Michigan teen pleads guilty in school shooting – CBS News


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    Ethan Crumbley, who fatally shot four of his classmates, pleaded guilty to 24 felony counts, including murder and terrorism, in a Michigan courtroom. He could face life in prison and may be called to testify when his parents go on trial for supplying him with a gun.

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  • Michigan teen expected to plead guilty in deadly Oxford school shooting, prosecutor says

    Michigan teen expected to plead guilty in deadly Oxford school shooting, prosecutor says

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    A teenager accused of killing four fellow students and wounding seven others at a Michigan high school is expected to plead guilty to murder this week, according to prosecutors. Ethan Crumbley had created images of violence during a classroom assignment last November but was not sent home from Oxford High School in southeast Michigan. He pulled out a gun a few hours later and committed a mass shooting, authorities said.

    “We can confirm that the shooter is expected to plead guilty to all 24 charges, including terrorism, and the prosecutor has notified the victims,” David Williams, chief assistant prosecutor in Oakland County, said on Friday in a statement to CBS News.

    The 16-year-old suspect is due in court Monday. He was 15 when the shooting occurred at Oxford High, which is roughly 30 miles north of Detroit.

    His parents had been summoned to school that day to discuss their son’s ominous writings. A teacher had found a drawing with a gun pointing at the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”

    The teenager is charged with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder and 12 counts related to use of a gun. A first-degree murder conviction typically brings an automatic life sentence in Michigan. But teenagers are entitled to a hearing where their lawyer can argue for a shorter term.


    Lawsuit filed against school district reveals disturbing claims of inaction ahead of school shooting

    02:31

    James and Jennifer Crumbley had said they would get him counseling but declined to take him home from school that day, according to investigators. The parents are facing involuntary manslaughter charges, a rare case of prosecutors trying to make parents responsible for a school shooting. They are accused of making a gun accessible to their son and ignoring his need for mental health treatment, and were also due in court this week.

    “Put simply, they created an environment in which their son’s violent tendencies flourished. They were aware their son was troubled, and then they bought him a gun,” prosecutors said in a court filing.

    The parents said they were unaware of their son’s plan. They also dispute that the gun was easy to get at home.

    Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling were killed, while six students and a teacher were injured.

    In court documents, prosecutors have revealed portions of the suspected gunman’s personal journal. He said his grades were poor and that his parents hated each other and had no money.

    “This just furthers my desire to shoot up the school or do something else,” the teen wrote.

    The parents and their son are being held at the Oakland County jail, though the suspected gunman is kept away from adults.

    Ven Johnson, an attorney who is suing the Oxford school district, said parents of the shooting victims would withhold comment until after the court hearing.

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  • Ethan Crumbley is expected to plead guilty Monday in shooting at Michigan high school that killed 4 students, prosecutors say | CNN

    Ethan Crumbley is expected to plead guilty Monday in shooting at Michigan high school that killed 4 students, prosecutors say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A teenager accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at a Michigan high school last year is expected to plead guilty to murder charges Monday, prosecutors said.

    Ethan Crumbley is set to plead guilty to all 24 charges against him, including one count of terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder, for fatally shooting the four students at Oxford High School on November 30, according to the prosecutor’s office.

    Crumbley, who was 15 when the shooting happened, previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but is expected to change his plea at a hearing in Oakland County Circuit Court.

    Crumbley will receive no plea deal, according to Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams.

    CNN has reached out to Crumbley’s attorneys for comment.

    The teenager’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter related to the shooting after prosecutors accused them of giving their son easy access to a gun and ignoring signs that he was a threat before the shooting.

    Prosecutors argued Jennifer and James Crumbley played “a much larger role than just buying their son a gun,” and there were many things the parents could have done, other than simply locking up the gun, which could have prevented the tragedy.

    The parents have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have argued in court documents the charges have no legal justification and the couple should not be held responsible for the killings their son is accused of committing.

    The trial for the parents was initially scheduled to begin Monday but was postponed last month to start in January. Meanwhile, Jennifer and James Crumbley remain in custody at a county jail.

    James Crumbley had purchased the gun used in the shooting just four days before the deadly attack, prosecutors have said.

    During the teenager’s arraignment, prosecutors described Ethan Crumbley “methodically and deliberately” walking the hallways, aiming a gun at students and firing at close range after emerging from a school restroom holding the firearm.

    Students and teachers relied on tactics they’d learned in active shooter drills to protect themselves. When the gunfire erupted, frightened students barricaded doors, turned off the lights, and called for help. Some of the children armed themselves with scissors, in case they needed to fight back.

    Four students died that day: Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six other students and one teacher were injured.

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  • Michigan family of 4 who went missing for a week has been found | CNN

    Michigan family of 4 who went missing for a week has been found | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A family of four that “unexpectedly left their home” in Fremont, Michigan and went missing for nearly a week were located by authorities on Sunday.

    Anthony Cirigliano, 51, and Suzette Cirigliano, 51, along with their two sons Brandon, 19, and Noah, 15, who both have autism, were found in Wisconsin, Fremont Police said.

    The family had not been heard from since October 16, and the couple and their sons were last seen on Monday at a gas station nearly five hours north of their home. Surveillance footage showed the family “purchasing fuel and food,” police said earlier.

    Fremont Police Chief Tim Rodwell said Friday that the family left Suzette’s mother in the home alone. She was later found by a neighbor and is now being looked after by other family members, Rodwell said.

    Fermont Police also received a call from the father, Anthony Cirigliano, that raised concern about the family’s welfare.

    In the recording of the 911 call obtained by CNN, made just after midnight on October 16, Cirigliano said he needed someone from the Fremont Police Department immediately.

    “I need some police protection immediately,” Cirigliano can be heard telling the 911 operator. “It is of vital national interest. It is related to September 11th, and people want to erase me from the face of the Earth.”

    When asked by the 911 operator if he had any weapons, Cirigliano said he had none and added that everyone was okay.

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  • The November Races That Will Determine If The 2024 Election Is Fair

    The November Races That Will Determine If The 2024 Election Is Fair

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    The scenario that keeps Adrian Fontes up at night goes something like this: It’s December 2024, a month after President Joe Biden has, by all honest accounts, narrowly won reelection. A tight race came down to Arizona and its 11 Electoral College votes, which pushed Biden across the 270-vote threshold necessary to secure a second term.

    But Mark Finchem, after winning Arizona’s secretary of state race in November 2022, has refused to certify the results of Biden’s second consecutive victory in the state, just as he suggested he would. Four years after embracing the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, Finchem has followed through on his pledge to keep Democrats from “stealing” the election again.

    “What happens to our democracy?” Fontes asked in a recent interview. “It’s upturned.”

    Democrats like Fontes, a former elections official and Finchem’s opponent in Arizona’s Nov. 8 secretary of state contest, are desperately seeking to prevent that scenario from having any chance to come to fruition.

    Finchem, who met with Trump’s attorneys as they plotted the “fake electors” scheme in an effort to overturn the 2020 election, is among a cadre of election deniers who used this year’s primary contests to almost completely take over the Republican Party. Such candidates won more than half of the GOP’s primaries, including 11 for secretary of state positions and 11 more in attorney general contests ― roles that in most states would give them a direct hand in the oversight and management of elections.

    The problem is particularly stark in places like Arizona, one of three swing states ― along with Michigan and Nevada ― where election deniers won GOP nominations for both secretary of state and attorney general.

    The ability of election deniers to triumph in GOP primaries has heightened the stakes of typically sleepy down-ballot races, and Democrats in recent weeks have more clearly laid out the implications to voters: The 2024 presidential election and American democracy as a whole, they have argued, hang in the balance of this November’s races.

    “These are the offices that make democracy work,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), whose Republican opponent, attorney Matthew DePerno, spread conspiracy theories that electronic voting machines were rigged against Trump; met with Trump officials in Washington, D.C., on the day of the 2021 Capitol insurrection; and launched legal challenges seeking to overturn the results in one Michigan county.

    “If we have the wrong people in these offices, it’s not just that democracy won’t function well,” Nessel said. “We won’t have a functioning democracy at all.”

    From left, Kristina Karamo, candidate for Michigan secretary of state, Mark Finchem, candidate for Arizona secretary of state, and Jim Marchant, candidate for Nevada secretary of state, attend a conference on conspiracy theories about voting machines and discredited claims about the 2020 presidential election at a hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sept. 10, 2022.

    Jim Rassol via Associated Press

    Many experts have long considered the decentralized nature of the U.S. election system ― in which the country’s political contests are managed at the state and local level ― an important safeguard against the type of takeovers that have turned other democracies into so-called “competitive authoritarian” states. That term is used to describe nations that hold elections and maintain the pretense of democracy, but in which one party uses its power to create and maintain distinct advantages that render political opposition effectively powerless.

    That diffuse system, however, has now become “the soft underbelly of democracy” in the U.S., said Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political science professor and a co-organizer of Bright Line Watch, an academic collective that monitors and highlights risks to the country’s democracy.

    “The lack of centralization made it hard to rig an election simultaneously across the country,” Nyhan said. “But it also means that the system is permeable. That institutional choice has turned out to create a terrible vulnerability right now.”

    It has also given the GOP a massive structural advantage. The Republican Party’s near-total capitulation to its authoritarian impulses has left Democrats as the only bulwark against democratic collapse. To vanquish the threat that Republicans pose to the 2024 election and democracy as a whole, Democratic candidates need to win every race ― at least in major battleground states. Republican election deniers, by contrast, only have to win one such race in order to open the door to the kind of scenario Fontes describes.

    “We’re in this position where the poor Democrats have to win every election, have to run good candidates and not make mistakes…just to save democracy,” said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political science professor and the author of “How Democracies Die,” a book originally published in 2018. “That’s not a position we want to be in.”

    Democrats would have to win numerous razor-thin races in order to pull off a clean sweep of swing state contests against the GOP’s most prominent conspiracy theorists.

    Polls in down-ballot races are limited, but the Arizona secretary of state’s race is a dead heat, with Finchem holding slight leads that land within the margin of error. In Nevada, former state Rep. Jim Marchant, a Republican, holds a lead in the secretary of state’s race. Marchant has spread conspiracies about the 2020 contest, said he wouldn’t have certified the outcome of that race, and waged a legal challenge seeking to overturn his own loss in a congressional race two years ago.

    The Democrats’ prospects look better in Pennsylvania, where Republican election denier Doug Mastriano would appoint the secretary of state if he won his bid for governor. He is currently trailing state Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) by roughly 10 points in polling averages.

    In Michigan, incumbent Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) leads her election-denying opponent, Kristina Karamo, according to polls. The attorney general’s race between Nessel and DePerno, however, is within the margin of error.

    Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania collectively represent a critical 51 Electoral College votes, and in a close race, any one state could prove decisive.

    The GOP’s embrace of election lies remains broadly unpopular. Sixty percent of independents and 54% of voters overall say they wouldn’t be comfortable casting a ballot for a candidate who spread election lies, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Tuesday.

    Overall, however, voters appear to be prioritizing economic issues, including rising inflation, over the maintenance of democracy, and the first midterms of a new presidency historically favor the party not in the White House. In a two-party system, that has made election denial a more powerful political force than it might be in a multiparty democracy.

    “In a democracy, both parties win,” Levitsky said. “In a democracy, inflation and crime rates piss people off, so they vote for the opposition party. But right now, when we vote for the opposition party, it’s a bunch of authoritarian thugs. That’s the risk: As long as the Republicans are an authoritarian party, every midterm election is going to be that way.”

    Democrats like Fontes and Nessel have tried to make those risks clear to voters. A hostile secretary of state like Finchem, Fontes argued, could cause a litany of problems even before it came time to certify an election result. He could decertify electronic tabulation machines, or overhaul the election procedures manual that acts as a rulebook for election officials across the state. Fontes warned that Finchem and the GOP-controlled Arizona legislature could further target mail-in voting, the method by which roughly 90% of Arizonans typically cast ballots.

    “We’ve been running against the guy who has basically said he’s willing to pick the winners, and stop people from voting, to muck up the system on purpose,” Fontes said of Finchem. “He has said it repeatedly and in a variety of different ways.”

    DePerno, who won Trump’s endorsement in the Michigan GOP primary, is currently under investigation from the state attorney general’s office, which in August alleged that he helped orchestrate a scheme to improperly access and tamper with election machines in three Michigan counties. A special prosecutor is overseeing the case.

    As attorney general, DePerno could “wreak havoc” on Michigan’s contests, Nessel said, leaving the state vulnerable to the sort of conspiratorial election challenges that DePerno helped lead in 2020.

    “This is a man that has spread more misinformation and disinformation in his career than any attorney that I’ve ever seen. He was hand-selected by Donald Trump in order to do his bidding,” Nessel said. “This is a man who does not even believe in the basic concept that we’re a democracy, that the person who gets the most votes wins an election. And he’s demonstrated that over and over again.”

    The Times/Siena poll, however, found that while nearly three-quarters of American voters believe democracy to be under threat, few regard it as a major concern in this election. Democratic candidates acknowledge that it’s been tough, at times, to persuade voters that their democracy is truly in peril.

    “I have shouted this from the rooftops, and I’ve done that ever since the experience I had in 2020,” Nessel said. “But candidly, sometimes I feel like I’m screaming into the wind.”

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is among the Democrats running against Republican election deniers this November. Her opponent, Matthew DePerno, led legal challenges that sought to overturn the 2020 election and is under investigation for allegedly tampering with voting machines.
    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is among the Democrats running against Republican election deniers this November. Her opponent, Matthew DePerno, led legal challenges that sought to overturn the 2020 election and is under investigation for allegedly tampering with voting machines.

    Bill Pugliano via Getty Images

    More than half of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was stolen, and nearly half have little confidence that the 2022 elections will be legitimate, according to an Associated Press poll released this week. Nearly three-quarters of GOP voters are fine voting for an election denier, the Times/Siena poll found. That GOP voters want anti-democratic candidates, or at least will tolerate them, has made reaching across the aisle for pro-democracy votes almost impossible.

    A third of independent voters, meanwhile, are comfortable voting for an election denier, the Times/Siena poll found, and just 7% consider democracy their top priority ― potentially making it difficult to convince such voters that contests like the Arizona secretary of state race are existential battles for the country’s future.

    “It’s kind of hard, because when you run around screaming ‘The sky is falling,’ not a lot of people want to listen,” Fontes said. “Even if the sky is actually falling, and people really do need to be paying attention.”

    Many Americans, Nyhan said, may not realize how close Trump came to actually stealing the 2020 election. Instead, people might lean on the more comforting idea that the country’s democratic institutions ultimately held ― and will do so again.

    “Sometimes people have taken too much confidence from what happened in 2020, and they say, well, it would be hard to steal an election,” he said. “But you don’t have to steal it in the sense of literally stuffing the ballot box. All you have to do is create confusion and doubt. And I think that’s unfortunately a much lower bar to clear than convincingly stealing an election.”

    Voters’ prioritization of other issues over fundamental questions of democracy is something frequently seen in countries where democracy is on the brink.

    “Americans are broadly supportive of democracy in the abstract,” Nyhan said. “But at the same time, they may not have well-developed views about exactly what it means. And they may trade off those relatively abstract values for factors… that are closer to their core concerns.”

    Across the world, he said, voters have proved “a weaker constraint on authoritarianism than we might hope.”

    Democrats running for Senate or Congress, or to be a state’s governor, can prioritize other policies that match voters’ concerns. But that’s a tougher task for down-ballot candidates for whom the economy isn’t really a central responsibility of the office they’re seeking.

    In an effort to broaden their appeal, Nessel and other Democratic attorney general candidates have presented themselves as bulwarks against the GOP’s aggressive anti-abortion policies in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade this summer. Nessel has also touted her efforts to target price gouging amid concerns about high gas prices.

    Fontes, meanwhile, has leaned on his background as the county recorder in Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest. He oversaw the county’s elections in that role, and says he’s introduced himself to voters as an official who’s “done this before and isn’t trying to upset the applecart.”

    Democrats remain hopeful that their warnings will alarm voters who are just now tuning in to down-ballot races that don’t often garner much attention early in campaign cycles. The party’s campaign arms ― the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State and the Democratic Attorneys General Association ― have brought in record fundraising hauls that could help boost candidates in the final stages, and individual campaigns are financially well-positioned for the stretch run.

    Democrats have also sought to turn voters’ attention to the contests in the closing stages of the race. Every Eligible American, an affiliate of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, recently launched a campaign aimed at young voters, who typically turn out in lower numbers for midterm elections. “Go Down for Democracy,” as the campaign is known, is laced with humor and sexual innuendos ― a recent ad promoting vote-by-mail is called “Lick It & Stick It” ― that its focus groups say are more likely to engage millennial and Generation Z voters than traditional campaign messaging.

    “You’ve just got to tell them, then you just keep telling them and keep telling them and keep telling them,” Fontes said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was a lot of pressure. But it’s the battle of our generation.”

    “We will be looking to the American people to decide if they want to live in a democracy, or if they don’t,” he said. “It’s a binary choice. There’s no middle ground here.”

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  • Michigan family of 4 missing after father calls 911 asking for police protection: What we know

    Michigan family of 4 missing after father calls 911 asking for police protection: What we know

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    FREMONT, Mich. – A family from Fremont, Michigan has been missing for five days following “paranoid” behavior from the father.

    Fremont is in Newaygo County, north of Grand Rapids. The Fremont Police Department put out an alert for the missing family on Wednesday night.

    Police said the Cirigliano family is “very concerned” about their missing family members Anthony (Tony), 51, Suzette, 51, Brandon, 19, and Noah, 15. Other family last had contact with them on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022.

    Suzette Cirigliano’s mother, who has dementia and needs full-time care, was found walking around the neighborhood around 9 p.m. on Monday, according to News 8. Neighbors called police and that’s when the search for the family began.

    According to the report, the home’s doors were locked and the family’s minivan, a 2005 Toyota Sienna with the license plate DJL1982, was missing. Pets were left at the home.

    Silver colored 2005 Toyota Sienna LE (not actual vehicle) (Fremont Police)

    Relatives told News 8 that Suzette Cirigliano’s cell phone was still in the house, but Tony Cirigliano’s cell phone is missing. Police said the family’s phones were off.

    Brandon and Noah both have autism, according to police. The two sons were homeschooled and the family kept to themselves, relatives told News 8.

    Previous: Police look for missing Michigan family of 4; Father was exhibiting ‘paranoid’ behaviors

    Listen to the 911 call Tony Cirigliano made on Sunday: ‘People want to erase me from the face of the Earth’

    Police told News 8 that Tony Cirigliano was “exhibiting some signs of paranoia” before the family vanished.

    Tony Cirigliano called 911 just after midnight on Sunday and two officers went to his home.

    “Tony was talking about issues or information that he had regarding the Sept. 11 attacks. But, really, what my officers were spending a great deal of time doing was talking to everyone making sure everybody was safe and trying to make sure that mental illness wasn’t putting anybody in jeopardy,” Fremont Police Chief Tim Rodwell told News 8.

    According to the report, officers spent around 45 minutes to an hour talking to Tony Cirigliano and his wife. Family told News 8 that they do not believe Tony Cirigliano would hurt his family, and believe that he may be trying to protect him.

    They said he was troubled over the weekend and believed “bad things” were going to happen.

    You can read a transcript of the 911 call below:

    Operator: Newaygo County 911.

    Tony Cirigliano: Yes, hello. This is Anthony John Cirigliano. (Says address).

    Operator: OK, what’s going on tonight?

    *30 seconds of silence in the recording*

    Tony Cirigliano: Yes. Everyone is OK. But I need the Fremont Police Department and I believe he is Captain Jon Geeting. I need some police protection immediately.

    Operator: (Intelligible).

    Tony Cirigliano: It is of vital national interest. It is related to Sept. 11 and people want to erase me from the face of the Earth. I’m not crazy. Mr. Geeting knows me. I’m a Christian. I just need some help and then the U.S. government will take it from here. I know this sounds crazy. You don’t have instructions for this. Please send someone that knows Geeting and can talk to U.S. authorities, please.

    Operator: OK, And do you have any weapons there?

    Tony Cirigliano: No weapons at all. Not even a BB gun.

    Operator: Alright, and how do we spell your last name?

    Tony Cirigliano: Sure, it’s C-I-R-I-G-L-I-A-N-O.

    Operator: And your phone number?

    Tony Cirigliano: We have no landline.

    Operator: OK, alright, we’ll get him over there for you. (Address).

    Tony Cirigliano: Can they come with their lights off not to frighten my children, please.

    Operator: Yep. Definitely.

    Cirigliano: OK. I’ll look for them and knock on the door. Please try to send Mr. Geeting even if he has to be awoke from his sleep. It’s that important, please.

    Operator: Yep. He’s on right now.

    Cirigliano: OK, thank you.

    Operator: Yep, bye.

    Family is concerned: ‘We definitely just want to let him know there’s nothing to be scared of’

    Tony’s brother, Paul Cirigliano, told Local 4 it’s unlike them to be out of touch.

    “They usually wouldn’t even go so far as like Walmart without letting somebody know, so it’s very unlike them,” said Paul Cirigliano. “It’s certainly not an abrupt vacation by any means.”

    Paul Cirigliano found the 911 call made by his brother concerning.

    “We think maybe he might be having mental health sort of issue, and maybe he’s scared of something, but we definitely just want to let him know there’s nothing to be scared of, and he can reach out, and we’ll help him,” Paul Cirigliano said.

    Surveillance footage shows the Cirigliano family at a gas station in the Upper Peninsula. (WOOD)

    Family stopped at UP gas station Monday, report says

    According to a report from News 8, the family was spotted at 10:48 a.m. Monday at a gas station in the Upper Peninsula.

    The family was seen at the Blaney Park Quik Stop on US-2 near M-77, northeast of Manistique and about 70 miles west of the Mackinac Bridge. News 8 said the Fremont Police Department says surveillance video confirmed it was the Ciriglianos.

    News 8 spoke to the gas station manager, Heidi Bowler, who told them the mother and two sons came into the gas station to use the restroom. One of the sons asked to use a phone to make a call, but didn’t know how to use it.

    “He was acting a little strange, so we were just watching him,” Bowler told News 8. “The only reason we paid attention to them is because the boys were a little different. I thought, ‘I wonder what’s wrong. Like, why is he using the phone? No one else is asking.’ It was just a little odd.”

    According to the report, the family was only there for about 15 minutes. Police said they got gas and purchased some food.

    Bowler said she was scrolling through Facebook when she saw a post about the missing family.

    “I looked at it and I thought, ‘Oh my God, that lady looks very familiar,’ and then once I looked at the boys, I was like, ‘Wow, they look familiar, too,’” she told News 8.

    She decided to watch the surveillance footage, checked the license plate and was sure it was them. She did contact the police.

    Police continue searching for family

    Police do not know if the family is still in Michigan, somewhere in the Midwest or somewhere else. They hope the family will see news reports and contact police or their family.

    Name Height Weight Other
    Tony Cirigliano 5′6′’ 180 lbs Brown hair, clean-shaven
    Suzette Cirigliano 5′9′’ 120 lbs Blonde hair, glasses
    Brandon Cirigliano 5′8′’ 120 lbs Brown hair, brown eyes
    Noah Cirigliano 5′6′’ 120 lbs Brown hair, brown eyes

    News 8 reported that police are going through the family’s financial information and trying to ping their cell phones.

    Michigan State Police are now involved in the search. Suzette Cirigliano’s mother is in the care of other family members.

    Anyone with information is asked to call the Fremont Police Department at 231-924-2400, Silent Observer at 231-652-1121 or 911.

    Previous report: Michigan family of 4 vanishes after bizarre 911 call from father

    Police in West Michigan are looking for a missing family of four who was last contacted on Sunday. The Cirigliano family is from Fremont, which is in Newaygo County, north of Grand Rapids. The Fremont Police Department put out an alert for the missing family on Wednesday night.

    Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.

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  • Search of landfill for suburban Detroit teen’s remains ends

    Search of landfill for suburban Detroit teen’s remains ends

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    LENOX TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police have ended a five-month search at a rural landfill for the remains of a 17-year-old suburban Detroit girl who disappeared in early January.

    Investigators have said they believe Zion Foster’s body was placed in a dumpster, which later was emptied into a garbage truck and taken about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Detroit to Lenox Township.

    Searchers began combing through debris and garbage at the end of May at Pine Tree Acres landfill but came up empty even after going through 3,500 truckloads — 7,500 tons (6,800 metric tons) — of material from Michigan and Canada.

    Police believed they were in the right area based on GPS readings from the truck and other evidence.

    “Ending the search without recovering Zion’s remains is very difficult for all of us,” Detroit Police Chief James White said Friday. ”I can only imagine the pain Zion’s family is going through, and we all certainly share in that pain.”

    No one has been charged in her death, though a cousin, Jaylin Brazier, admitted in court that he was present when she died. He is in prison for lying to investigators.

    Investigators have submitted a warrant package to the Wayne County prosecutor’s office for review.

    “While this operation has concluded, our investigation has not, and we are confident in the work our investigators have done,” White said.

    Zion, a high school senior from Eastpointe, was wearing a fast-food uniform when she was last seen. Eastpointe borders Detroit, but Detroit police took charge because the death occurred in the city.

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  • Michigan Parents Outraged Over LGBTQ Colors, Imagined ‘Witchcraft’ Symbols In Student Mural

    Michigan Parents Outraged Over LGBTQ Colors, Imagined ‘Witchcraft’ Symbols In Student Mural

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    Several parents expressed their outrage at a school board meeting earlier this month over a student mural at a Michigan middle school that included colors representing the LGBTQ community and what they claimed were secret symbols of “witchcraft.”

    High school sophomore Evelyn Gonzales won a contest to “brighten up” the health center at Grant Middle School in the town of Grant by painting the mural on an interior wall. Gonzales said she was dumbfounded and hurt by the parents’ remarks.

    “I put my art up there to make people feel welcome,” Gonzales said in footage from the meeting that was shown on Grand Rapids news station WZZM-Channel 13 TV.

    As for Satanism or witchcraft, “that’s not what I’m a part of,” Gonzales said. “That’s not what I’m trying to put out there.”

    One critic called the brightly colored mural “hate material.”

    The mural, shown above, features a smiling, diverse group of kids as well as hearts, a rabbit and bear wearing first aid hats, a peace sign, hands, a rainbow decoration on one student’s overalls and a message that said: “Stay healthy.”

    Parents complained about the rainbow and blasted the colors of two students’ clothing which they claimed represented the transgender and bisexual Pride flags.

    Parents were also incensed that the painting included a face inspired by the popular video game Genshin Impact, and a “Hamsa hand,” also known as the Hand of Fatima or Hand of Mary. The design, which a number of parents said was a sign of witchcraft, has been a symbol for good luck or protection for centuries in many cultures.

    Not all of the adults at the meeting took issue with the artwork.

    “I am a conservative, right-wing, gun-loving American, and I’ve never seen more bigoted people in my life,” Tracy Hargreaves, who has two children in the Grant public school system, said at the meeting.

    Hargreaves later told Today.com that the meeting turned into a vicious “hate fest.”

    Usually 10 people appear at the board meetings, but 50 showed up that night, she noted.

    “It wasn’t even about the mural,” Hargreaves added. “People were talking about how we need to pray the gay away.”

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  • How Gretchen Whitmer Became An Outlier Among Democratic Governors

    How Gretchen Whitmer Became An Outlier Among Democratic Governors

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    Twenty eight of the nation’s 50 governors are Republicans and 22 are Democrats. With 36 gubernatorial contests to be decided in the 2022 midterm elections, millions of dollars are now being spent by and on behalf of both parties to increase their gubernatorial ranks. A midwestern race that was previously thought to be uncompetitive is now, according to recent polls, tightening up and presenting a pickup opportunity for Republicans to gain control of another governorship.

    As the 2022 election cycle enters the home stretch, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) finds herself on the defensive and with her challenger gaining ground less than 20 days before the final votes are cast. Whitmer’s Republican opponent in the November 8 general election, Tudor Dixon, has focused on Whitmer’s support for various tax increases in recent media interviews. Another point Dixon is hitting as part of her closing message is to highlight not just the tax increases for which Gretchen Whitmer has advocated, but also the tax relief from which Michiganders could be benefitting had Governor Whitmer not blocked it with her veto.

    Vetoing Republican-passed tax cuts might not sound like an unusual move for a Democratic governor and historically it hasn’t been one. But these days Gretchen Whitmer’s rejection of legislatively approved state income tax relief makes her an outlier, even compared to her Democratic counterparts in other states and how they responded when similar tax relief packages hit their desks.

    Acting in contrast to Whitmer are Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D), Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D), and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D), all of whom have signed significant income tax cuts passed by their GOP-led state legislatures over the past two years. Governor Edwards went so far as to support a package that could phase out Louisiana’s income tax in the coming years.

    Gretchen Whitmer, meanwhile, has vetoed personal income tax cuts and other tax relief sent to her desk by the Republican-led Michigan House and Senate. This past summer on June 10, for example, Governor Whitmer vetoed a bill that would’ve reduced the personal income tax rate from 4.25% to 4.0%, increased the Earned Income Tax Credit, established a $500 child tax credit, and boosted tax breaks for disabled military veterans and seniors.

    The tax cut that Whitmer vetoed in June would’ve resulted in a $2.7 billion annual net tax cut. While Whitmer blocked income tax relief for Michigan families and employers with her veto, on the campaign trail in nearby Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is now touting the income tax cuts he signed last year, which were approved by the GOP-led Wisconsin Senate and Assembly.

    Governor Roy Cooper signed a new budget last November that will phase out North Carolina’s corporate income tax entirely by the end of 2030. Four months after Cooper signed that corporate income tax-eliminating budget, Governor Whitmer vetoed legislation that would’ve cut Michigan’s corporate income tax rate from 6% to 3.9%. Five months after Whitmer vetoed that corporate tax cut, her Democratic counterpart in Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf (D), was touting his signing of a bipartisan reform that will cut the Keystone State’s corporate income tax in half over time, taking it from 9.99% down to 4.99%. Governor Wolf’s office touted in an official release published August 8 that the move to a 4.99% corporate rate, which will be more than a full percentage point below Michigan’s rate, will give Pennsylvania “a healthier, more competitive business environment that attracts good-paying jobs and moves our economy forward.”

    While Whitmer has responded to legislative Republicans with her own tax relief plan, sources in the Michigan political and public policy community contend Whitmer’s tax cut counterproposal is aimed more at helping her base of voters and not the broader public. Republican critics of Whitmer’s fiscal policy record and proposals acknowledge her campaign for re-election is based around conservative messaging. She’s running ads, for example, that tout her enactment of balanced budgets that did not include tax hikes. While Whitmer’s ads boast about not raising taxes, they leave out the fact that she tried to raise the gas tax but was blocked by the Republican-run legislature.

    “Governor Whitmer has brought Republicans and Democrats together to deliver four balanced budgets that have made historic investments in Michigan’s public education system, infrastructure, public safety, and economy,” writes Joseph Costello, a Whitmer for Governor spokesperson, in an email responding to questions from this author. “The Governor has also gotten the state’s fiscal house in order by turning a projected $3 billion deficit into a $7 billion surplus, paying down billions in debt, and bringing the rainy day fund to an all-time high of nearly $1.6 billion – without raising taxes.”

    While Governor Whitmer’s team says she has brought Republicans and Democrats together, it’s clear Republican leadership in the state legislature doesn’t see it that way.

    “Governor Whitmer is a tax hiking, big spending liberal and the only reason Michigan taxpayers have been protected is because of legislative Republicans stopping her tax increases,” Michigan Senate President Pro Tempore Aric Nesbitt (R) told this author.

    “If Governor Whitmer had had her way, gas would be 45 cents more and the small businesses who survived her shutdowns would be paying 40% higher taxes,” Senate President Nesbitt adds. “She has vetoed every inflation relief bill we’ve sent her, including suspending the gas tax, lowering the income tax and creating a child tax credit. Michigan voters are smarter than she gives them credit for and they know she’s prioritized government’s spending over relief for working families.”

    “We’re in a state right now where she could offer tax relief. She’s been given the opportunity to offer people tax relief,” Tudor Dixon said of Whitmer’s record during an interview on the October 20 episode of the Ruthless variety program. She ran saying she wouldn’t increase taxes, but time and time again…when she has been given the opportunity to provide relief to the people of Michigan, she vetoes that every single time.”

    In response to such criticism, Whitmer’s campaign points to the tax plan that Whitmer has offered as a counterproposal to the tax relief package approved this year by the Michigan House and Senate.

    “Governor Whitmer has fought to lower costs and send real relief to hardworking families as quickly as possible by pushing to triple Michigan’s earned income tax credit, calling for a suspension of the state’s 6% sales tax on gas, and proposing a plan to immediately send $500 to families from the state’s surplus,” Costello adds. “The Governor continues fighting to fully repeal Michigan’s retirement tax, which would save half a million households an average of $1,000 annually.”

    Republicans in the Michigan legislature, however, are not keen on Governor Whitmer’s counterproposal. Representative Matt Hall (R), who chairs the Michigan House Tax Policy Committee, called Whitmer’s planned rebate a “one time gimmick.”

    “I don’t know if she will ever change her mind and allow hard-working taxpayers to keep more of their own money, but I do know House Republicans will continue to fight for tax relief and continue to give her the chance to finally do the right thing,” Representative Hall added. “This isn’t over.”

    There are sure to be more state level efforts to enact rate reducing and flattening income tax relief in 2023. Not only that, such proposals will be introduced in states where there is unified partisan control and also in places where there is divided control of government. Nearby in Wisconsin, for example, Republican legislators are planning to introduce another income tax cut next year no matter who wins their gubernatorial election.

    There is growing bipartisan support for income tax relief at the state level, demonstrably so, but Gretchen Whitmer has prevented Michigan from being part of that trend. Michigan state government is projected to have a $5 billion surplus over the next two years. As it stands, the state’s Democratic governor and Republican-run state legislature are in fierce disagreement over how much of that surplus to return to taxpayers and the manner in which to do so. On November 8, Michigan voters will decide whether they want Whitmer to retain the authority to continue blocking income tax relief for the next four years, or whether they prefer the Republican challenger who happens to be campaigning on the type of income tax relief that many of Whitmer’s Democratic counterparts in other states have recently enacted.

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    Patrick Gleason, Contributor

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  • CBS Evening News, October 18, 2022

    CBS Evening News, October 18, 2022

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    CBS Evening News, October 18, 2022 – CBS News


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    50 million in U.S. face below-freezing temperatures; Airline workers go extra mile for boy’s toy dinosaur

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  • 50 million in U.S. face below-freezing temperatures

    50 million in U.S. face below-freezing temperatures

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    50 million in U.S. face below-freezing temperatures – CBS News


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    Fall is feeling like winter in parts of the upper Midwest as a weather system brings cool temperatures and snow. More than a foot of snow blanketed parts of Michigan, while other states like Wisconsin saw almost six inches. Omar Villafranca has the details.

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  • Wynton Marsalis joins forces with Michigan Marching Band

    Wynton Marsalis joins forces with Michigan Marching Band

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    ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Wynton Marsalis has done just about everything in the world of music.

    One thing he hasn’t, however, is team up his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with a college marching band — until now.

    “I’ve never seen a jazz band like ours play with a marching band, where the actual music we’re playing is integrated into the music the band is playing,” Marsalis said during one of his many stops this week in Ann Arbor, where the Grammy and Pulitzer winner is taking part in a weeklong residency at the University of Michigan.

    On Thursday, the 60-year-old Marsalis and members of the JLCO strode onto the Michigan Marching Band’s practice field to rehearse for Saturday’s show. They’ll play during the Michigan football team’s game against Penn State at the 107,000-seat Michigan Stadium.

    The legendary trumpeter opened the rehearsal with a solo that was met with raucous applause from those who packed the field. Afterward, Marsalis was surrounded by band members and others who waited patiently to pose for a picture with him.

    The University Musical Society, a nonprofit affiliated with the University of Michigan and one of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, brought Marsalis and his orchestra to southeast Michigan for the residency. It includes a pair of concerts at the school’s Hill Auditorium as well as masterclasses and workshops, plus a performance for K-12 students and a visit to a federal prison.

    And, of course, the halftime show at the Big House.

    “Hopefully, you are going to win the game. We know the music is going to be good,” Marsalis jabbed at Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel during a lecture and discussion earlier in the week at the Michigan Theater.

    “That’s the plan,” Manuel said.

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