| January 4, 2022 
 Fewer than 10 Black Republicans have ever been elected to state-level positions in Michigan’s history, something a growing pool of Black Republican candidates are looking to change in 2022. Gubernatorial candidates James Craig, Austin Chenge and Articia Bomer, Trump-endorsed Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo and Daylen Howard, a 26-year-old resident of Shiawassee County running for a state House seat, are all vying for positions that could make them next. But as they mount conservative campaigns they’re up against history: for close to a century, Democrats have been the party to elect most of the state’s Black lawmakers. READ MORE ►Trump-endorsed Kristina Karamo leads fundraising among Republican SOS candidates, but trails Benson  Several Detroit-area representatives are planning to sue Michigan’s redistricting commission, arguing the state legislative and Congressional maps passed by the independent panel last week are unfair to Black voters and violate the Voting Rights Act. The pending lawsuit will be filed with the Michigan Supreme Court and will ask the courts to place a stay on the three maps approved by the commission last week. Nabih Ayad, the attorney representing plaintiffs in the case, said the hope is that the court orders the redistricting commission to redraw portions of the maps to “address the concerns of the minority community.” READ MORE  Moderate drought covering almost half of U.S. now, starting to spread into Michigan From MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa: "There is a very large area of significant drought here in the U.S. Widespread drought is important for us all to monitor. Large areas of drought can influence the daily weather. The large dry areas heat up more and create a dome of hot air. With the size of the current U.S. drought, this hot dome of air could cover the western half of the United States. The effects of drought on air temperatures aren’t as evident in the winter, but the warming effect is still present." Speaking of warmth, we have info about the warm December we just experienced at the link below. But first, more on drought: READ MORE ►December was so warm, most Michigan cities had it as top 10 warmest  Michigan reported 61,235 new, reported coronavirus cases in the five days through the New Year’s holiday and crushed a pandemic record.The state had never surpassed 10,000 cases – it reached a peak last week with 8,402 a day – but hit 12,442 a day in the week ending Monday, Jan. 3. In August, moving into the fall surge, the state was reporting that many cases per week. Michigan also recorded 298 deaths, a seven-day average of 91 a day from Thursday, Dec. 30, to Monday. READ MORE ►Omicron variant of coronavirus now in 18 Michigan counties, latest data shows  For the first time in a long time, Detroit Tigers fans are ready to ring in a new year with optimism. Or well-founded optimism, anyway. Unfortunately, this is the first time in an even longer time that Major League Baseball and its players are engaged in a labor dispute leading to a work stoppage. No one knows how long the lockout will last, but few expect it to cost real games in 2022. Even so, it’s an unwelcome distraction for teams like the Tigers, who are eager to wake up a slumbering fan base with a bonafide playoff race. What can we expect in 2022? READ MORE Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
To ensure receipt of our emails, please add newsletters@update.mlive to your address book or safe sender list. | ||||||||||||||||||
