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LANSING - Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration is awarding about $5 million to nine nursing schools and two hospitals as part of the Michigan Nursing Corps program.

WASHINGTON - The military buildup in Afghanistan is stoking a surge of private security contractors despite a string of deadly shootings in Iraq in recent years, and that has led Sen. Carl Levin to question the government's ability to manage the guns for hire.

LANSING - Unless state regulators step in, Michigan's two major utilities may raise residential electric bills by double-digit percentages just as many customers are losing their jobs or having an ever-harder time paying their bills.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grand Rapids police have canceled an Amber Alert for a young girl after going more than a day without receiving any reports of missing children in the area.

The Amber Alert was issued for the girl after a witness reported seeing the child being forced into a van about 9:45 a.m. Friday.

AP File PhotoGalen Duncan of the Lions' front office announced the one-year retirement of Smith's jersey number.

The Detroit Lions are retiring the number 93 jersey for the upcoming season in memory of defensive lineman Corey Smith, who disappeared when a boat capsized off the Florida coast.

Smith, a free agent who played the past three seasons with Detroit, is one of three men who went missing off the Gulf Coast after their 21-foot fishing boat capsized in rough seas three weeks ago.

BYRON, Michigan -- Federal investigators are looking into a woman's claims that Byron Area Schools officials ignored her daughter's complaints that she was sexually harassed in a middle school hallway.

The girl, then 12, was between classes last April when a boy allegedly walked by and grabbed a private part of her body, the mother said.

Concession talks involving General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC and the United Auto Workers have slowed to a crawl as the union waits to see what the companies' debtholders will give up, three people briefed on the negotiations said Friday.

GM and Chrysler are nearing a March 31 deadline to get concessions from the union and debtholders as they try to finish restructuring plans required under the terms of their government loans.

A suburban Detroit coffee shop has started a 10-day continuous musical tribute to the American auto industry.

The Detroit News reports the 240-hour "Assembly Line" show at AJ's Music Cafe in Ferndale kicked off Friday with Motown star-turned-Detroit City Councilwoman Martha Reeves singing the "The Star-Spangled Banner."

AP File PhotoA memorial service is scheduled for Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions.

A memorial service is scheduled for an NFL player presumed dead after a boat he was fishing in with friends capsized off the coast of Florida.

Free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith will be remembered at a noon service at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. The service is open to the public.

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- William Shatner had better watch out.

Genesee County wants a bigger cut of those online deals the Priceline.com spokesman is pitching to consumers for cheap hotel rooms.

Emily Zoladz | The Grand Rapids PressDarfur refugee Alnill, 46, rests for a moment Friday in his new living room after arriving at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Bethany Christian Services helped Alnill and his friends Abdulkarim, 31, and Abubakar, 31, move in. "We are here in this beautiful house with very kind people," Abdulkarim said. "I'm very happy."

GRAND RAPIDS -- Until Friday, the Darfur refugee crisis did not have a name or face in West Michigan.

That changed with the arrival of three refugees from the long-simmering African stalemate that is considered genocide by much of the world.

"I am very, very happy to see myself in America," said a beaming man named Abubakar, 31, moments after arriving at Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

Abubakar, and two others, Alnill, 46, and Abdulkarim, 31, asked that only their first names be used because of fear of reprisal against family members by the Sudanese government.

LANSING, Mich. -- State Treasurer Robert Kleine and Attorney General Mike Cox say Michigan has been named lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against American International Group Inc. (AIG).

The State of Michigan Retirement Systems invested in AIG on behalf of more than 600,000 state employees, public school employees, state police, Michigan judges and their beneficiaries.

Donald Swackhammer

DETROIT -- After nearly six years of litigation, the Michigan attorney general's office has settled a prisoner's lawsuit -- for $500.

Donald Swackhammer, a convicted killer from Grand Rapids, claimed he was targeted by guards because he filed grievances. He said he was strip-searched in view of others at Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee in 2002.

Emily Zoladz | The Grand Rapids PressGrand River Preparatory freshmen Derrick Cliatt II, 14, left, and Kenyatta Weaver II, 15, both of Grand Rapids, work on a mural Friday in Foundational Art class. The new charter school currently only has freshmen, but will add a grade each year.

Charter high schools don't necessarily provide a better education than their traditional public-school counterparts, but children who attend charter high schools are more likely to graduate and move on to college.

Those are the conclusions reached in a Michigan State University study released this week, offering more fodder for the debate over which type of public school is better.

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GRAND RAPIDS -- The recent shooting of a Grand Valley State University student in a drug raid sparked not only campus outrage in a downtown march Friday, but demands for an end to the war on drugs.

"Your body belongs to you, and just you, and as long as you're not hurting anybody, your body is yours to do what you choose," said Sara Jones, 18, who spoke at Rosa Parks Circle.

In this still image from the videotape, Clifton Lee Jr. can be seen in a struggle with deputies at the bottom left of the screen.

Editor's note: The videos can be seen at the end of this story. Portions of the videos contain violence and profanity.

Washtenaw County officials released portions of police video recordings Friday showing violent confrontations between deputies and two Ypsilanti Township brothers in the West Willow neighborhood in 2006.

Katy Batdorff |The Grand Rapids PressAn Amber Alert issued for the possible abduction of a young girl at Kalamazoo and Gibson SE.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Police have issued an amber alert for a young girl who may have been abducted off the street in the Boston Square neighborhood.

The girl is described as a black female, 6 or 7 years old, who was walking southbound on Kalamazoo Avenue SE near Gibson Street, wearing a jacket with the logo Phat Farm on the back.

AP and Gazette filesTony-winning actress Natasha Richardson and Dr. Alain Rabi, a neurosurgeon with Bronson Neurosurgical Services.

KALAMAZOO -- The death of Tony-winning actress Natasha Richardson after a fall on a ski slope shows the need for wearing helmets during certain activities, say area doctors.

Richardson, 45, died after what appeared to be a minor skiing accident in Canada. News reports say she fell on a beginner's trail but was walking and talking after the accident. She was hospitalized after complaining of headaches and later flown to a hospital in New York, where she died.

Dr. Alain Fabi, a neurosurgeon with Bronson Neurosurgical Services, said a helmet probably would have saved Richardson's life.

"This was a perfectly healthy woman with no issue at all, and she has this event," Fabi said. "We have to assume she had a bleed of some sort."