The number of inmates in county jails has fallen by half amid the pandemic and crime hasn’t spiked. Reformers say that’s proof Michigan should stop sending so many people to jail for nonviolent offenses.

More than 2,500 Michigan classrooms were led by long-term substitutes, rather than trained educators – a 10-fold increase in five years. Bridge’s investigation won top honors from the Education Writers Association.

In what could be a precursor to battles this fall over school attendance during the pandemic, a parent group won a court battle to require coronavirus testing of summer school students in Detroit.

The anti-abortion group acknowledges defeat in a failed ballot drive, after facing the highest signature-gathering hurdle in decades.

At a hearing Monday, Judge Mary Ellen Brennan denied a motion to release a 15-year-old from a juvenile facility. “I think you are exactly where you are supposed to be,” Brennan said. “You are blooming there, but there is more work to be done.”

A recent study found that half of Michigan’s licensed child care centers and homes remain closed, a huge impediment to getting the state’s economy moving again. And access to child care was a big problem in the state even before the pandemic.

Republican legislators are pushing for rare veto override votes this week at the Michigan Capitol after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed bills to strengthen whistleblower protections for state workers and delay summer tax bills for property owners. The proposals previously passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support.

Michigan overhauled its unemployment insurance system nearly a decade ago to save money, root out fraud and make it harder for jobless workers to qualify for benefits. Now, with more than one million workers jobless, the state has flagged 1 in 3 claimants for fraud amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Four years before Steve Gray took over the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency, he exposed a false fraud scandal that rocked state government and prompted reforms. Now, some lawmakers are calling for his ouster as he tries to fix a system crushed by record jobless claims amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Nursing facilities across much of Michigan were devastated by COVID-19, but roughly 200 homes have dodged the virus. Their strategies can help public health experts develop best practices for the next outbreak.

Authorities say a contract employee used "insider access" to approve hundreds of illegitimate claims beginning in April, during a historic wave of layoffs promoted by the virus and economic shutdown orders.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tightened her COVID-19 mask mandate on Friday in an attempt to coax compliance by reluctant businesses, saying they cannot “assume” someone without a mask is exempt because of a medical condition.