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Democratic candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson is expected to pick state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate, according to four sources with knowledge of the plans.

The sources declined to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the behind-the-scenes lieutenant governor deliberations.

Benson, Michigan's current secretary of state, has a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday in Grand Rapids, the city that Brinks, Michigan's first-ever female majority leader of the Senate, has represented in the Legislature since 2013. An invitation sent to Democrats described the function as a "special event."

Some experts and economists say AI as it exists today can replace functions of jobs, but the technology isn’t ready to take humans’ jobs at scale. Citing AI, however, can prod companies to look ahead of the curve when, in reality, reasons for headcount reductions often remain the same as ever: lower sales, strategy change-ups, previous over-hiring and outsourcing. The practice has become known as "AI washing."

"It is happening. It is very difficult to assess how prevalent it is," said Nigel Melville, associate professor of technology and operations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. "What gives me confidence is learning about companies where it really seems like there are other reasons or multiple reasons clearly on a public record, but then the only reason given or communicated widely and relentlessly is because of AI."

A UAW member who worked for 11 years at the Ford factory that builds the bestselling Super Duty pickup trucks in Louisville, Kentucky, was fired from his job by Ford Motor Co. over alleged nonpayment of a $1.95 Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookie.

This is probably a phenomenon beyond Michigan. From the article:

>More mocktails, fewer traditional steaks and higher checks to cap a meal are all changes Michigan diners — and restaurant operators — are noticing. It's not their imagination.

>The divergent trends — record-high beef prices, a decline in alcohol consumption and increased labor costs — are reshaping the economics of eating out and serving those who do. In an adapt-or-die industry, restaurants are making changes or losing business: 51% of Michigan operators saw same-store sales decline in March, and 55% saw customer traffic drop, says the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association.

>Restaurants across the country are facing pressure from both sides of the equation, and Michigan is no exception. In 2025, Gallup reported a record-low drinking rate, with only 54% of U.S. adults and 50% of young adults saying they consume alcohol. At the same time, in April, the USDA reported a record-high average retail price for beef at $9.64 per pound, up about 13% from the year before. The reasons for the skyrocketing prices: strong demand and the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years.

Detroit is losing its annual PGA Tour tournament.

The Rocket Classic will be held for the eighth and final time later this summer, The News has learned and Rocket Companies and the PGA Tour have confirmed. The 2026 tournament will take place July 30-Aug. 2 at Detroit Golf Club, but amid imminent changes to the PGA Tour schedule, sagging attendance and the struggle to draw marquee players in recent years, Rocket has declined to exercise its option for 2027.

The decision severs Rocket founder and Detroit billionaire booster Dan Gilbert's decade-plus sponsorship of the PGA Tour. Rocket, and previously under the Quicken Loans banner, has been a title sponsor on the PGA Tour for 13 years, including five years outside Washington, D.C., before the Rocket Classic launched in Detroit in 2019.

After selling Atwater Brewery to a division of Molson Coors in 2020, Detroit entrepreneur Mark Rieth has regained ownership of the craft beer brand. 

Rieth, who also owns the Velvet Peanut Butter brand, sold Atwater to Tenth and Blake Beer Company in 2020, and in 2023 it was acquired by Tilray Brands.

On Thursday, Rieth announced he has entered into a "definitive agreement" to acquire Atwater. The deal returns the Atwater brands, brewery equipment and intellectual property back to Rieth's control. 

“My heart has always been with Atwater, and I’m thrilled to have the brewery back in my hands,” Rieth said in a statement. “I appreciate the stewardship of both Tenth and Blake and Tilray over the past five years and the contributions they made to the business. At the same time, what I hope to bring is the deeper connection to the community that only a local owner/operator can truly provide.

Market conditions in China, regulatory changes there and its brands' speedy vehicle development threaten to put the United States behind in developing autonomous driving technologies, experts say.

"China is catching up fast, just how like a decade ago, they were not so great in battery technology, but then they were not just putting a lot of effort and investments into R&D, but also they tried to scale," said Chris Liu, senior automotive analyst in Shanghai at technology research group Omdia. "So now it happens to this side as well."

Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz is joining the ranks of other short-lived Michigan university presidencies, two sources familiar with his plans but not authorized to speak publicly said Wednesday.

Guskiewicz is expected to be confirmed as Clemson University's next president at a Wednesday board meeting. Clemson has been without a president since James Clements resigned in December.

Guskiewicz was the sixth president in six years at Michigan State when he started in March 2024 and just the second permanent president since Lou Anna Simon resigned in the wake of the sentencing of serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar in 2018. The Michigan State board will now be searching for its seventh leader in eight years.

A lodge at a prestigious Michigan youth arts center that once bore the name of the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein will be demolished, officials there announced Tuesday.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Epstein donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, including funding for a cabin that was referred to as the "Jeffrey E. Epstein Scholarship Lodge."

Interlochen renamed the building "Green Lake Lodge" in 2009, following Epstein's first criminal conviction. Officials now say the building needs to be torn down altogether and the Interlochen Board of Trustees has approved the demolition.

"The lodge has, over time, come to carry associations that are not reflective of who we are as an institution or the values we strive to uphold," Interlochen said in a statement. "After careful consideration, the Board determined that removing this structure in a safe and timely manner is the right step for Interlochen at this time."

Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz is joining the ranks of other short-lived Michigan university presidencies, two sources familiar with his plans but not authorized to speak publicly said Wednesday.

Guskiewicz is expected to be confirmed as Clemson University's next president at a Wednesday board meeting. Clemson has been without a president since James Clements resigned in December.

Guskiewicz was the sixth president in six years at Michigan State when he started in March 2024 and just the second permanent president since Lou Anna Simon resigned in the wake of the sentencing of serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar in 2018. The Michigan State board will now be searching for its seventh leader in eight years.

Diving into what makes driving in Metro Detroit such a miserable experience.

We've seen a few posts here about layoffs and cutbacks. What do you think about the impact of GM's use of AI in design jobs? Is there a benefit to the speed-to-market that AI offers?

From the article:

>The birth of a new General Motors Co. car still begins with a sketch. But after that, the Detroit automaker is leaning into artificial intelligence to supercharge development.

>What once took months of work to turn a concept vehicle sketch into a realistic animation now takes days, and checking aerodynamics no longer requires sculpting clay model after clay model. AI saves time, GM design leaders said, and analysts caution U.S. automakers have little time to spare as they hurry to keep up with lightning-fast production speeds in China.

>"We've found that it's coming so fast that if we don't have a shared philosophy and strategy for how to leverage AI, that we'll simply be inundated by the coming wave and be left behind," said Bryan Styles, GM's director of design innovations and technology.

A judge with 37th District Court in Warren was arrested this week for allegedly driving drunk and hitting a SMART bus, according to Michigan State Police records.

John Chmura was taken into custody Wednesday for a misdemeanor traffic offense, according to a Michigan State Police background check.

The case number on the MSP background check matches the case number on a Sterling Heights Police Department crime incident report marking a crash that occurred at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Van Dyke Avenue and Triangle Drive.