By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – The state's legislative leaders are expected to meet again later this week with Governor Granholm for private budget negotiations.

AUDIO:
State Representative George Cushingberry chairs the House Appropriations Committee. He says closed-door meetings with the administration are going so well they are close to making some agreements on the budget.

By Nick Lien, Michigan Public Radio Network

MT. PLEASANT, MI – The Michigan Education Association is speaking out against a proposal that would lessen the requirements needed to become a teacher.

The lower requirements call for a "fast track" certification process that would take 15 months to complete. That compares to the four or five years it takes teachers now.

The proposal was introduced as a way to increase the number of teachers in schools across the state.

But Ed Sarpolus of the MEA says Michigan already has too many teachers.

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, MI – HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Federal authorities say they'll build a northern border data collection center in Michigan to fight cross-border crime.

Authorities said Tuesday the $30,000,000 Operational Integration Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base is the first on the U.S.-Canada border and opens next May. The Department of Homeland Security has several centers on the U.S.-Mexico border.

It will analyze and act on aircraft video, border camera images and other data from federal, state and local agencies.

By Mark Bashore, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon has triggered an intense debate with his idea to pool the benefits of all the state's current and former public employees. He says the plan could reduce the state budget up to $900 million. The Michigan Education Association and other critics say savings are exaggerated and the proposal lacks important detail. WKAR's Mark Bashore interviewed MEA spokesman Doug Pratt.

By Scott Pohl, WKAR News

LANSING (MI) – LANSING, MI (WKAR) - Voters in Lansing go to the polls today to vote in a city-wide primary election. WKAR's Scott Pohl reports.

AUDIO: Mayor Virg Bernero is being challenged by three candidates, including city council member Carol Wood, Lansing Board of Education member and former Lansing city councilman Charles Ford, and musician Ben Hassenger. The top two vote-getters move on to the November general election.

By AP

DETROIT – Clete Thomas homered with two outs in the ninth to give the Detroit Tigers a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.

Baltimore led 5-0 with one out in the top of the first, but never scored again. The game was tied at 5 going into the ninth, and Danys Baez (4-5) retired the first two batters, but Thomas hit a 1-2 pitch into the shrubs above the fence in center.

Fernando Rodney (2-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief.

By WKAR

FORT WAYNE, IN – The Fort Wayne TinCaps defeated the Lansing Lugnuts last night at Parkview Field, 8-7.

The Lugnuts grabbed a 7-0 lead three innings into the game, thanks to a four-run first and thre-run third inning, only to watch their lead vanish three innings latter as the TinCaps tallied once in the fourth, five times in the fifth, and once more in the sixth inning.

The two teams play the second game of their four-game series tonight.

By Jerome Vaughn, Michigan Public Radio Network

DETROIT, MI – General Motors announced more than 6,000 hourly workers have taken early retirement or buyout offers.

AUDIO:
The Detroit automaker says the workforce reductions are needed to position the company for long-term viability and success.

GM officials say about two-thirds of the employees responding to the special attrition plan took early retirement. The others took buyouts.

By Rob South, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – Lansing City Attorney Brigham Smith says he would welcome an investigation into his office's release of private medical information.

In June the HIV status of a man arrested at Fenner Nature Center was included in a Freedom of Information Act request. The request was sent to several media outlets, including WKAR. The State Public Health Code and HIPAA prohibit the public release of a person's HIV status.

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – Governor Granholm will have to fight an uphill battle if she pushes for a two cent beer tax hike to generate revenue. She reportedly proposed the hike in closed-door budget negotiations with legislative leaders in Lansing.

AUDIO:
A two cent increase per bottle could generate more than $40 million in tax revenue a year. Advocates of the hike say it's long overdue, with Michigan not touching the beer tax since the mid-1960s.