October 21, 2020 Some struggled with substance abuse. Others were deactivated Marines. There are convicts, a licensed power plant mechanic and President Donald Trump supporters. One called the commander in chief a “tyrant,” another attended a George Floyd protest. Most come from rural Michigan towns, others from populated suburbia. We took a deeper look into the backgrounds of 14 men charged in an alleged plot to kidnap the Michigan governor and spark a civil war. It reveals varied lifestyles and ideologies. The common traits that appear to unite the men, however, is their disdain for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and a fondness for guns. MORE Despite what Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson calls "unprecedented levels of misinformation" surrounding absentee voting this election cycle, a near-record number of state residents have turned in their ballots. With 1.5 million ballots received so far for the Nov. 3 general election, it is all but certain the state will break the previous record of 1.6 million absentee ballots cast in an election. Likely the record will be shattered, as 3 million absentee ballots have been requested throughout the state. MORE ►Second commissioner resigns from group redrawing Michigan's electoral lines Gov. Gretchen has signed a bipartisan bill that closely mirrors one of her executive orders that was tossed because of this month’s Michigan Supreme Court ruling. The new law extends some of Michigan’s COVID-19 unemployment expansions through Dec. 31, including providing 26 weeks of state unemployment instead of 20 and allowing more businesses to take part in the work-share program to employ workers part-time and have the state pick up the balance of their pay. Read the details: MORE ►Second stimulus check deadline looms if deal is to be done by Election Day On Tuesday, the state of Michigan recorded 1,586 new coronavirus cases. That puts the seven-day moving average for the state at 1,670 new cases per day, which surpasses the prior record of 1,626 set April 7 during the peak of the first wave. Outbreaks across the state have led to changes for K-12 schools, as well as higher education institutions. Read more about the seven-day average numbers HERE or read more news on COVID-19 below: Mother Nature’s clock is ticking when it comes to the Round Island Lighthouse. The light located across from Mackinac Island is in desperate need of rocks known as riprap that create a breakwater, helping to protect against the dangers of waves and winter ice. An anonymous donor recently came forward with the proper funding to make the riprap a reality. Now, there is just one issue -- the barrier must be placed ahead of winter, which means there is a limited amount of time left to complete the potentially structure-saving project: 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. |