Free Republic

DETROIT -- Americans can prosper in the global economy, but they're being hampered by an inferior education system and a belief that they're more entitled to good jobs than are workers in China and India, ex-Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina says. Speaking Monday to an enthusiastic audience at the Detroit Economic Club, Fiorina said many seem to believe that it's OK for other countries to develop their economies as long as Americans don't lose jobs in the process. That's a wrong-headed notion, based on the idea of American "manifest destiny" from the 1840s, and is leading to a...

Convinced its policy of paying a "living wage" is important no matter who pays it, the city of Ann Arbor will donate $105,000 to the company that runs its Materials Recovery Facility, so it can meet that goal. The money will help raise the salaries of as many as 23 employees of FCR Casella, many of whom earn less than $20,000 a year, said City Council Member Bob Johnson, D-1st Ward. Johnson said the employees are "sorters" and they have a "scuzzy" job. The employees sort bottles, paper and cardboard, which can be a messy job, he said. The council...

CRYSTAL CITY, Texas (AP) — Ford Motor Co. plans to ask a judge for a new trial in a Ford Explorer rollover case riddled with what it says is romantic intrigue and possible corruption. Ford lawyers are armed with affidavits indicating that a juror was romantically involved with the plaintiffs' lawyer, worked with him to sign up clients and then encouraged the jury to rule for the plaintiffs even before all the testimony was heard. The lawyers are asking state District Judge Amado Abascal to overturn the $28 million verdict and grant a new trial at a hearing Tuesday. All...

WASHINGTON -- Michigan wine lovers hoping a newly issued U.S. Supreme Court ruling might open the door to wine purchases from out-of-state vineyards shouldn't uncork their enthusiasm quite yet. In reaction to Monday's court decision, Michigan Liquor Control Commission Chairwoman Nida Samona said she'll ask state lawmakers to ban all in-state as well as out-of-state shipments of wine. "There shouldn't be any shipment of wine or any other alcohol product through the Internet, the mail or any other form," Samona said. "It should be purchased directly, face-to-face." In a 5-4 ruling, the justices overturned Michigan's ban on out-of-state shipments of...

David Yarnall applied to four colleges after graduating from Portage Northern High School in 2000. One in particular -- Morehouse -- raised a few eyebrows. A well-regarded institution, to be sure, but a white student from Portage attending a historically black male college in the South? "It kind of started off as a joke," said Yarnall's good friend and roommate in Atlanta, Dorian Burton. "But he thought about it more and more. ... He just decided to come down here," said Burton, who graduated from Portage Northern and Morehouse, too. But as an African-American male, Burton's presence on that campus...

Companies look to save on insurance

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — Ignoring a girl's claims that she had agreed to end her pregnancy, a Macomb County judge ordered her boyfriend tried on charges of causing her to miscarry by beating her abdomen with a baseball bat. Circuit Judge Matthew Switalski also said Thursday that the jury could hear testimony that the 16-year-old girl allowed herself to be struck, but would be told that consent is not a valid defense for her 17-year-old boyfriend. The boy, a Richmond Township resident, was charged with intentional conduct against a pregnant individual resulting in miscarriage or stillbirth, a 15-year felony....

TROY, Mich. (AP) — Delphi Corp., intent on containing costs in tough times, is cracking down on absenteeism by threatening to withhold pay or vacation days from hourly employees who refuse to sign waivers releasing their medical records. The Troy-based automotive supplier had had a less formal policy asking workers to sign medical record releases. In April, however, Delphi revised the waiver form to give employees fewer choices over what records are released and by more aggressively investigating absences it considers suspicious. "If the employee will not sign the `consent to release medical information' form, management will have to make...

A night like Anthony Norris had on Monday didn't seem conceivable to him several years ago. Those were years when the 41-year-old was depressed, dealing with addiction and frustrated by a lack of clear direction in life. But on Monday, there Norris was, on stage at Kalamazoo Valley Community College's commencement, graduating with honors, the one selected by the faculty to address his peers. He was also looking forward next to fall, when he starts at Tulane University, a selective private school in New Orleans. Inspired by the social workers who helped him in substance-abuse recovery nearly three years ago,...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Carl Johnson, a former gang member, is one bad dude. He beats someone with a shovel. He clubs a cop with a nightstick. He carjacks a vehicle, speeds off and runs over a pedestrian. CJ isn't real, though. He's the main character in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" — the highest-selling video game of 2004. The latest in a popular line of "GTA" games, "San Andreas" has become a symbol of sorts for detractors nationwide who worry about children playing mature or adult-only games. They say restricting access to video games is no different from keeping...

ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Two souped-up golf carts collided as they sped down a rural road at night, killing a woman and badly injuring a man when one of the carts overturned, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department reported Monday. The accident happened around 12:50 a.m. Sunday in the county's Robinson Township, about 20 miles west of Grand Rapids. Teresa Fergison, 42, of the county's Grand Haven Township, died at 11:36 p.m. Sunday at Spectrum Health Butterworth Campus, said sheriff's Sgt. Steve Austin. Mathew Krimmel, 42, of Marshall, was listed in critical condition Monday at the Grand Rapids hospital. Krimmel...

It's tough to tell when things started to unravel for Michael D. Carter. He was a bright kid, by all accounts. So-so grades, but sharp. He wasn't a goody-goody, but he wasn't a thug, either. The Buena Vista Township resident remembers perfectly the first thing he ever stole: gum from Dudewicz Drugs pharmacy on Saginaw's East Side. He was a schoolboy then, and he took the kind that comes with a little comic strip in the wrapper. Carter was in and out of trouble from there, "being a knucklehead," he says, but he passed his classes and stayed in sports....

HEDWIG VILLAGE, Texas — A mayoral race can be surprisingly rough in this spiderweb of cul-de-sacs anchored by stately mansions — even when one of the candidates is dead. Mayor Dee Srinivasan died from heart disease last month, but supporters are still trying to win her votes for Saturday's election.

DETROIT (AP) — An attorney for filmmaker Michael Moore say the brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols should be prosecuted for tax evasion. In a deposition given in connection with his libel and defamation lawsuit against Moore, James Nichols said he doesn't file federal income tax returns, despite working as a farmer. In a court filing, Moore lawyer Herschel Fink said he wants U.S. District Judge Paul Borman to "inform the U.S. Attorney's Office of Nichols' admitted, continuing tax evasion." According to the deposition filed recently in U.S. District Court, Nichols told Moore's lawyers, "I'm not required to...

LANSING -- Michigan women contemplating abortion would be given the option of viewing ultrasound images of their fetuses as well as photographs taken during the ultrasounds, under a bill headed to the Michigan House. The House Health Policy Committee voted 14-2 Tuesday to approve a bill by Rep. Dave Robertson, R-Grand Blanc, that adds the requirement to the state's informed consent law. "Nothing in the legislation compels any woman to look at the images,'' Robertson said. "This acknowledges the fact that technology has advanced and ultrasound has become commonplace.'' Opponents said it would add another roadblock for women seeking legal...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A firefighter brain-damaged in a 1995 roof collapse had an "amazing" weekend, recognizing and speaking with his four sons and other family and friends for the first time in years, a family spokesman said Monday. "I want to talk to my wife," Donald Herbert (search) said out of the blue Saturday at the skilled nursing facility where he has lived for more than seven years. Staff members put Linda Herbert on the telephone. It was the first of many conversations he had during a 14-hour stretch, Herbert's uncle, Simon Manka said. "How long have I been...

HOLLAND -- Brenda Wright believes Sonny Telgenhof was someone who became different, more violent, when he drank. She is convinced that violence showed itself in November 2003 when Telgenhof drank at Sawbucks Bar, then punched her 25-year-old son in what proved to be a fatal injury. Now, the family of victim Jason Tillery wants the bar held responsible for serving Telgenhof when they claim he already was "visibly intoxicated." "Everybody says that Sonny never said anything bad about Jason until he was drinking," Wright said, recounting witness interviews in a police report. The widow of Tillery, Jonnie Ann Chieco, of...

CHARLEVOIX, Mich. (AP) — Four northern Michigan counties plan to ban smoking at indoor workplaces by July. The ban, requested by the Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency and approved by Charlevoix, Emmet, Antrim and Otsego county boards, requires all businesses to provide an environment free of second-hand smoke. Health agency officials will inform each business in the four counties of the ban, supply them with compliance information and no-smoking signs, and provide resources for any employees who want to quit smoking. Teresa Sington, Charlevoix County Tobacco Reduction Coalition coordinator, applauded the regulation. "Employees who choose not to smoke should not...

Lesbian says that after her daughter got married their relationship soured. Dr. Gail Saltz offers advice on repairing the bond Q: I am the 52-year-old mother of a 30-year-old daughter. I am gay, and have been in a relationship for 15 years. We live a quiet, private life. My partner helped me raise my daughter. However, since my daughter’s marriage four years ago, my daughter has grown cold and kept me at arm’s length. She will not come home for the holidays, always preferring to visit the in-laws. All she says about this is: “You know why.” I assume it...

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The school board in this West Texas town voted unanimously to add a Bible class to its high school curriculum. Hundreds of people, most of them supporters of the proposal, packed the board meeting Tuesday night. More than 6,000 Odessa residents had signed a petition supporting the class. Some residents, however, said the school board acted too quickly. Others said they feared a national constitutional fight. Barring any hurdles, the class should be added to the curriculum in fall 2006 and taught as a history or literature course. The school board still must develop a curriculum,...