By AP

DETROIT – Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen homered on successive pitches and Brandon Inge also went deep, lifting the Detroit Tigers to an 8-5 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Aubrey Huff added three RBIs for Detroit, which won its second straight.

Edwin Jackson (11-6) allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings, walking two and striking out six. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 30th save in 31 chances.

Andy Marte homered for Cleveland.

By AP

LANSING, MI – For the first time in seven years, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm plans to walk rather than run across the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day.

The 50-year-old governor turned the holiday tradition on its head her first year in office, when she led off the 2003 crossing at a brisk walk and then broke into a jog. She ran most of the way, leaving puffing friends and aides in her wake and finishing the 5-mile trek in 47 minutes.

Last year, she finished in her best time ever: 35 minutes, 27 seconds.

By AP

SAGINAW, MI – State officials say there's no longer a public health hazard in a Saginaw residential area that had been contaminated with dioxin from a Dow Chemical Co. plant.

The Michigan Department of Community Health said Tuesday it has completed an evaluation of the neighborhood following a cleanup last year by contractors Dow hired.

By AP

LANSING, MI – Gov. Jennifer Granholm in the past has championed a tax credit for the working poor and spoken passionately about protecting the state's neediest citizens. But social services groups say the Democratic governor hasn't spoken out loudly enough against some lawmakers' calls for cuts in welfare benefits and less money for a tax credit for low-income working families.

By Rob South, WKAR News

LANSING, MI – The Lansing City Council last night approved changes to the rules governing its meetings. The changes move open public comment time to the end of the meeting.

Council president Derrick Quinney says the changes will help improve the efficiency of the meetings. He says he's not sure if overall decorum will improve, saying that all the steps taken so far to fix that problem have not changed it.

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – State House Speaker Andy Dillon says legislative leaders are close to reaching a budget deal in closed-door negotiations with Governor Granholm.

AUDIO:
Dillon says the leaders are close to agreement on the budget for the coming fiscal year. But he says they want to reach a two-year deal, and that's where they are finding more disagreements over where to cut programs and spend federal stimulus money.

By AP

DETROIT – The demolition of Detroit's Tiger Stadium soon will resume after a brief break.

Only a small section of the historic ballpark remains standing along Michigan Avenue, alongside piles of rubble and demolition equipment.

Officials tell The Detroit News columnist Laura Berman that work paused because permission was required from the state to partially close the avenue. The permit was issued last week and demolition is due to finish by Oct. 1.

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – State lawmakers say the old Michigan Central Depot in Detroit could bring federal stimulus money into the state if it's renovated. The state Senate held a hearing Monday to discuss the future of the building and of the state as a hub for international trade.

By AP

ANN ARBOR, MI – Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez says his football program has abided by the rules, despite allegations of NCAA violations.

At a news conference in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez became emotional and had to gather himself as he denied any wrongdoing.

Rodriguez said his staff knows the rules "and we comply by the rules."

The school has launched an investigation into allegations that its football program regularly violates NCAA rules limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice.

By WKAR

DAYTON, OH – The Lansing Lugnuts beat the Dayton Dragons 7-3 last night at Fifth Third Field. The victory gave the Lugnuts a fifth consecutive series split of a four-game series, one against each opponent in the Midwest League's Eastern Division. It also pulled Lansing within three games of South Bend for the final playoff spot in the division, setting up a battle tonight between the Lugnuts and Silver Hawks.