By Gretchen Millich, WKAR News

EAST LANSING, MI – Rep. Bill Rogers (R-Brighton) says he would recommend building a hydrogen-powered rail line in Michigan, if the project does not require any public funding.

Rogers heads a task force exploring the feasibility of the MagLev train.

AUDIO:

By AP

DEARBORN, MI – AAA Michigan says gasoline prices are down 10 cents per gallon over the past week to a statewide average of $2.83.

The auto club said Monday the statewide average is $1.29 per gallon lower than last year at this time.

Of the cities it surveys, AAA Michigan says the cheapest price for self-serve regular fuel is in the Benton Harbor area, where it's $2.77 a gallon. The highest average can be found in the Marquette area at $2.90.

The statewide average for biodiesel is $2.62 and $2.48 for ethanol.

By AP

HOLLAND, MI – Classic wooden boat builder Grand Craft Corp. has shut down operations, apparently left high and dry by the foundering economy.

The 30-year-old company specialized in handcrafted mahogany runabouts reminiscent of classic designs from the 1920s and 1930s. Customers included entertainers Jennifer Lopez, Tim Allen, Kid Rock and Robert Redford, who purchased two of them.

By AP

PONTIAC, MI – The annual Arts, Beats & Eats festival in Pontiac is looking for new funding after getting word that Chrysler, its main sponsor in past years, won't be funding the
event this year.

The Oakland Press, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News report Monday that organizers say the event still will go on Sept. 4-7.

By AP

WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) - Half of the country's eighth graders answered multiple-choice questions about music correctly on national tests.

But the results for music and art tests issued Monday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress raise more questions than they answer.

Considered the benchmark of how students perform across the country, the NAEP report doesn't say how many students are actually taking classes in the arts.

By AP

BROOKLYN, MI – Mark Martin literally coasted to victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.

Martin coasted to the finish of yesterday's LifeLock 400 as his gas tank went dry halfway through the final trip around the 2-mile oval.

The win was the third of the year for the 50-year-old Martin. Jeff Gordon finished second, Denny Hamlin was third and pole-sitter Brian Vickers came in ninth.

By AP

PITTSBURGH – PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Tigers' interleague schedule runs another two weeks and it continues tomorrow with the first of three in St. Louis.

Detroit is coming off a weekend series in which it lost two of three to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. The Bucs took yesterday's rubber game 6-3 as wildness once again got the better of Dontrelle Willis.

The one-time 20-game winner walked eight in 3 2-3 innings, gave up six hits and all six Pirates runs. Willis (1-4) threw only 43 of 88 pitches for strikes.

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – Budget talks at the state Capitol are proceeding slowly. Republican and Democratic leaders will meet again this week in an effort to move the process forward.

It's appearing less and less likely the Legislature and Governor Granholm will meet a self-imposed deadline of early July to wrap up work on a spending plan for the coming fiscal year, and lay to rest a deficit pegged at $1.6 billion.

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – A state House subcommittee will begin work Tuesday on a plan to ensure that criminal defendants who can't pay for an attorney are still well-represented in court. A report released a year ago says Michigan has one of the worst public defender systems in the nation.

By AP

WASHINGTON – The son of James von Brunn says he wishes it had been his father who died instead of the guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that the father is accused of killing.

Erik von Brunn says in a statement to ABC News that his father was consumed by white supremacist views that in turn destroyed the family and ruined their lives.