By AP

EAST LANSING, MI – Mark Dantonio knows that his Michigan State Spartans will need to play better this Saturday to win at Notre Dame in a matchup of disappointed 1-1 teams. He also knows
that they can.

A 29-27 loss to Central Michigan left questions for Michigan State about the lack of a rushing attack, a weakness in the secondary and a lack of poise.

By AP

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers will honor Ernie Harwell at Comerica Park.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Harwell will be honored Wednesday night during a game against the Kansas City Royals.

Harwell is expected to address the team before the game and watch it from team owner Mike Ilitch's suite. A video tribute will be shown.

The 91-year-old recently announced he has inoperable cancer.

By AP

DETROIT – Alberto Callaspo, David DeJesus and Miguel Olivo all hit three-run homers, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 11-1 on Tuesday night.

The last-place Royals have beaten the AL Central-leading Tigers five straight times, four in the last eight days.

Robinson Tejada (3-1) beat the Tigers for the second time in less than a week, allowing one run and two hits in five innings.

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – Governor Granholm's administration formally notified thousands of state workers Tuesday that they will be laid off there is no budget deal by the October first deadline.

AUDIO:
The letter was sent from state department directors to 52,000 state employees. It says state employees will be laid off effective a minute after midnight on October first if there is no budget in place.

By AP / WKAR

LANSING, MI – Physicians Health Plan---a Lansing-based health maintenance organization---has been sold to a unit of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Terms of the deal were not revealed.

Blue Care Network announced the purchase of the Sparrow-owned HMO on Tuesday. Scott Wilkerson is President and CEO of Physician's Health Plan.

By Gretchen Millich

Lansing, MI – US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue says Michigan workers and businesses can recover from the recession by expanding trade with other countries. Donahue spoke Tuesday at the annual meeting of the state Chamber of Commerce.

By Gretchen Millich

Lansing, MI – Student Democrats at Michigan State University are expecting more than 200 people at a protest against TV and radio talk show host Glenn Beck. Beck is scheduled to speak Tuesday evening at the annual meeting of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce in East Lansing.

By AP

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – A federal report says the government is moving so slowly to clean up the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes that it will take 77 more years to finish the job at the current pace.

The inspector general's office with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the report this week.

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – Michigan's legislative leaders say they are close to an agreement on $1.2 billion in budget cuts. That is the amount of spending rollbacks the state Senate proposed earlier this summer.

But House Speaker Andy Dillon says the Democrats still want more spending than Republicans for K-12 schools, higher education and the Michigan Promise college scholarship.

By Mark Bashore, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – EAST LANSING, MI (WKAR) - The MSU Museum is beginning a new chapter. This week, the 152 year-old East Lansing institution welcomes its new director, Dr. Gary Morgan. WKAR's Mark Bashore spoke with Morgan about his new mid-Michigan posting.