By WKAR

FORT WAYNE, IN – Fresh off their only off-day in August, the well-rested Lansing Lugnuts scored eight runs in the first inning en route to a 15-7 thrashing of the first place Fort Wayne TinCaps in the opener of a four-game series last night at Parkview Field. The two teams play the second game of the series tonight at 7:05.

By AP

EAST LANSING, MI – Big Ten member Michigan State plans to play games at each of the Mid-American Conference's in-state programs.

The rare football road trips to Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan are part of a 12-game "Celebrate the State" series covering the 2011-2020 seasons announced Thursday.

The Spartans will play four games each against the MAC programs from Michigan. Most of the games will be in East Lansing but each MAC team will host the Spartans once.

By AP

DETROIT – Clete Thomas' two-out, RBI single capped a two-run rally in the ninth inning and lifted the Detroit Tigers to a 7-6 win Thursday over the Seattle Mariners.

The AL Central-leading Tigers trailed 6-2 before scoring three times in the sixth and two more in the final inning, setting off a celebration around Thomas at first base.

Bobby Seay (4-2) earned the win for pitching a scoreless inning, getting Jarrod Washburn off the hook after a poor performance against his former team.

By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network

EAST LANSING, MI – A state House committee took testimony Thursday on whether drivers with unpaid parking should be allowed to renew their licenses.

AUDIO:
The bill would prevent scofflaws from renewing their licenses if they have three unpaid parking tickets. Current law revokes the ability to renew after six unpaid tickets. Those who support the bill say it would create incentives to pay down tickets and allow local governments to collect lost revenue.

By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – About 70 Michigan Army National Guard soldiers are leaving home for what will be a 10-month deployment to Iraq. Members of the 238th Aviation Battalion based in Grand Ledge held a deployment ceremony Thursday in Lansing.

The unit's mission is to transport wounded troops to medical installations. Major General Jerry Cannon commands the unit's headquarters. He says resources in Iraq to support the troops continue to improve.

By AP

ANN ARBOR, MI – More than 900 current or former female inmates have filed claims for a piece of a $100 million settlement with the state resolving claims that prisoners were sexually
assaulted by male corrections staff.

A judge on Thursday gave final approval to the settlement in Ann Arbor after preliminarily signing off last month.

It was previously thought up to 500 women could qualify for the settlement. But an attorney told the judge that more women came forward when the class-action settlement was announced.

By Gretchen Millich, WKAR News

Lansing, MI – What's it like to be convicted of a felony at age 16 and spend the next nine years in an adult prison? Dwayne Betts tells his story in a new book called "A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival and Coming of Age in Prison".

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

EAST LANSING, MI – There are more than a million people who are unemployed or underemployed in Michigan.

By Melissa Ingells, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – In our monthly "Under the Radar" segment, Lev Raphael talks with Melissa Ingells about The Jerusalem Files. It's a thriller by Joel Stone that's set in Jerusalem.

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox says more needs to be done to protect children from sexual predators who use Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites to meet their victims.

Using a computer to solicit a child to have sex is already a crime. But Attorney General Mike Cox says the 1994 statute does not reflect how child molesters have turned to social networking sites to make contact and gather information about prospective victims.