January 11, 2021 Republicans in Michigan and across the country have denounced the violence from the far-right that culminated in a hostile occupation of the U.S. Senate Chamber and five deaths in Washington, D.C. last week. But experts say Republicans’ rhetoric and baseless accusations of election fraud created a political climate ripe for exactly the kind of riot that occurred. Some Michigan Republicans have publicly questioned the legitimacy of the state’s certified election results, despite every legal challenge from President Donald Trump and his allies here failing. Now, they’re distancing themselves from responsibility for the overall political climate in which a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the vote from being “stolen.” READ MORE ►'Stark contrast' of police response to Trump, BLM rallies scrutinized after Capitol riot Here's a feel-good story about Olive the cat. Eight months after Olive disappeared during flooding that overwhelmed Midland County and surrounding areas, a cat appeared outside the home of Ashley Flood. The Midland resident took Olive to the Humane Society to see if the furry stranger had a microchip containing information about her owners. In fact, Olive did have a microchip, and her owners were notified that their pet was found. It was a big, happy surprise. Welcome home, Olive. MORE ►Michigan town devastated by 500-year flood pulls together to rebuild community The nearly two-month wait for the return of high school sports was worth it as far as Saturday’s regional winners are concerned. Football finally returned this weekend with the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s state regional round for all eight divisions. We have all the details on the games, with a look at highlights from across the state. Congrats to all the winners, and a big thumbs up to all of the young athletes who have dealt with the ups and downs of this unprecedented football season. Next week: state semifinals are set to take place. MORE December should have been a month of celebration for Karson Camp, who turned 8 years old a couple days before Christmas. Instead, it started with COVID-19 and ended with a medically induced coma. Camp was diagnosed with MIS-C, a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children previously diagnosed with COVID-19. The rare but dangerous condition typically requires hospitalization. Less than 24 hours after Camp was hospitalized, “everything went downhill,” his mother said. MORE ►2020 was Michigan's deadliest year on record, and COVID-19 was the No. 3 killer The past year has been one for sipping your beer at home. So which Michigan brews rose to the top of the grocery list in 2020? Our Michigan's Best team of Amy Sherman and John "Gonzo" Gonzalez made individual top 10 lists of their favorite beers last year. If you read this early enough today (before 11 a.m.), you can even take part in their poll to decide the very best beer of the year. You can also just peruse their fun, well-researched (think: extensive tasting) top 10s using these links: Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive To ensure receipt of our emails, please add [email protected] to your address book or safe sender list. |