Michigan lawmakers finalize $85B budget

By: Ben Solis and Katherine Dailey

It took nearly 24 hours, an all-night legislative session and a deluge of stalled policy bills that did not move for most of the year to compel Michigan lawmakers early Friday morning to finally pass a roughly $85 billion budget funding state ...

July 4, 2026

Communities celebrate America at 250

By: Terri Castelaz

Communities across the region will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary today. --- IRON MOUNTAIN-KINGSFORD Kingsford natives Rick and Marty Lagina, stars of the reality TV series “The Curse of Oak Island” on the History Channel, ...

July 4, 2026

Millions under extreme heat warning for July 4th weekend

By: Elyse Apel

As Independence Day celebrations kick off, millions of Americans in much of the central and eastern United States are under extreme heat warnings. More than 68 million people are currently under active National Weather Service heat alerts, ...

July 4, 2026

LeBron James considering a slew of options in free agency

MIAMI (AP) — All eyes in the NBA are on LeBron James, even amid a huge cycle of changes around the league. Giannis Antetokounmpo got traded to Miami for Tyler Herro. Jaylen Brown got traded to Philadelphia for Paul George. Kawhi Leonard ...

July 4, 2026

Caitlin Clark condemns 'harassment' as WNBA players face a surge of online threats

By: DOUG FEINBERG

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark has seen enough of the social media hatred that she, her Fever teammates, coaches and opposing WNBA players get. "I've said up here and said before, the harassment, the hate, none of that is OK," Clark said ...

July 4, 2026

Serena Williams' singles return sets ratings record for 1st-round Wimbledon match on ESPN

LONDON (AP) — Serena Williams' singles return at Wimbledon was watched by an average of 1.8 million viewers on ESPN, helping make it the network's biggest audience for a Day 2 at the grass-court Grand Slam. The match, which was the ...

July 4, 2026