LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A divided Michigan Supreme Court has struck down precedent and ruled that criminals can be sentenced as habitual offenders if their felonies stem from the same criminal act.

Wednesday's ruling affects a Wayne County man but could have wider implications on sentencing practices in the state.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty

GRAND RAPIDS -- With some reports saying he is close to being named presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty would have none of it.

"It's an honor to have my name mentioned. I'm proud to support him," Pawlenty said today before his appearance as keynote speaker at the Kent County Lincoln Day Dinner.

Asked if he had been contacted by the Arizona senator's campaign, Pawlenty issued his stock response: "I have stopped engaging in the discussion."

AP PhotoMarvin Sapp performs "Never Would Have Made It" at the BET Awards on June 24 in Los Angeles. Sapp won best gospel artist.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Local pastor and six-time Grammy nominated Marvin Sapp is one of the hottest acts on the charts right now with his inspirational smash, "Never Would Have Made It," an homage to his father, the late Henry Lewis Sapp Jr.

The song has spent 43 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's gospel radio charts and also has crossed over to urban adult contemporary radio as the No. 1 song in the country. And, according to Billboard, it has become the longest running No. 1 single on radio across all genres in the history of Billboard analysis.

"It's a powerful, powerful song," said Tyrone Bynum of WMFN-FM (640). "It's our station's most requested song. Even if I play it, people will call right back and say, 'Can I hear it again?"

The song is simple and is built upon the refrain: "Never would have made it, never could have made it, without you."

Sapp, who wrote the song in October 2006, credits the universal theme for its success.

"Everyone has a 'Never Would Have Made It' moment in their life, ... and the only reason you get through it is because you have God by your side," Sapp said from New York, where his year-old CD, "Thirsty," was certified gold after 500,000 copies sold.

Read more in the "Going Gonzo" blog ...

Associated PressBrownsville Independent School District worker Ramon Hernandez helps Diana Sepulveda as she carries her son Joshua Gutierrez to a shelter at Porter High School as Hurricane Dolly hits Brownsville, Texas, Wednesday.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- Hurricane Dolly gathered strength and slammed into the South Texas coast Wednesday with punishing rain and winds of 100 mph, blowing down signs, damaging an apartment complex and knocking out power to thousands.

Lamont Marshall
Laurel Jean Ellis

GRAND RAPIDS -- Lamont Marshall, convicted in the 1975 murder of a young Heritage Hill resident, received his mandatory sentence of life without parole today.

Marshall killed Laurel Jean Ellis, 20, on May 22, 1975. Ellis was raped, strangled with her bra and stabbed 45 times in the head -- with one of the knife thrusts penetrating her skull and piercing her brain.

A single drop of blood on a tile floor several rooms away from the living room of the 625 Fountain St. NE apartment where she was killed was preserved. When technology advanced, it was determined it belonged to Marshall, now 53.

Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Helen Brinkman spoke in court today, saying, "sometimes evil wears a human face and that's what we have in this courtroom."

DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC says it will cut 1,000 salaried jobs worldwide by Sept. 30.

LANSING -- Michigan's K-12 public schools would get between $56 and $112 more per pupil next budget year under a spending plan headed to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for her signature.

Associated PressNathaniel Abraham sits in 50th District Court for his preliminary examination in Pontiac Wednesday. An Oakland County judge has ordered Abraham to stand trial on charges of drug possession stemming from an arrest 15 months after he was released for a murder he committed when he was 11.

PONTIAC -- A judge in Pontiac has ordered a man to stand trial on charges of drug possession stemming from an arrest 15 months after he was released for a murder he committed when he was 11.

Hyoung Chang | Associated PressJack Newman, who hits out of a bunker on the 14th hole during the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship Saturday in Aurora, Colo., was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last spring with the Michigan State golf squad.

KALAMAZOO -- Jack Newman had 1,211 miles to let it all sink in.

By the time the Michigan State University star golfer pulled up to his apartment in East Lansing Monday night, he still couldn't wrap his head around it.

On Saturday, the 20-year-old won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Aurora, Colo.

AP File PhotoFlint joins other cities in Georgia and Missouri that ban "sagging" pants.

It's like deja vu all over again.

Last year, city officials in Atlanta, Ga., started making laws about what people can and cannot wear. This summer, Flint -- or at least the police chief -- is trying to do the same.

The issue at hand is "sagging." It's the tacky trend of young men wearing their pants super low and flashing their boxers or less, in the unfortunate event they've gone commando. I, personally, hate the style as, from time to time, it brings out the old biddy in me ("Would you look at how low his pants are? Why -- there is just no need for that. Someone should tell him to pull those up.")

But, broken record alert, hating bad fashion and punishing people for bad fashion are two different beasts. The proposed treatment of the "saggers" is about as appealing as seeing a young man's boxered butt walking down the sidewalk.

This is from a Newsweek.com story about Flint:

"But for David Dicks, Flint's new police chief, it's a national nuisance. Dicks has ordered his officers to start arresting 'saggers,' as some aficionados of this sartorial style call themselves, on sight, threatening them with jail time and hefty fines for a fad he calls 'immoral self expression.' He later told a local paper the style could give officers probable cause to search saggers."

Continue reading the entry in "The New Black" entry ...

Feedback: Vote in our online poll and give us your view on this issue in the comments area below.

FLINT, Michigan -- They're connected by blood and their commitment to the students in Flint schools.

But the brother-sister tie between Superintendent Linda Thompson and Flint Board of Education member Fred Bashir could pose some awkward situations for the Flint School District.

In what appears to be unprecedented -- at least in Flint -- older brother Bashir has a hand in evaluating Thompson's job performance and deciding how much she gets paid.

Bashir, 69, does not abstain from votes involving Thompson, 52, and feels strongly that he shouldn't have to. He was among seven board members who approved the superintendent's contract for $160,000 last month.

Press Photos/Noel Webley IIState lawmakers held a subcommittee hearing Tuesday evening at City High-Middle School, 1400 Fuller Ave. NE, to take comment on controversial graduation requirements. This is one of several hearings planned around the state. Some people spoke, others offered written testimony.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Business leaders caution that "watering down" Michigan's tough new graduation requirements only will produce workers who are ill-prepared to compete in a global economy.

But educators told lawmakers Tuesday that the inflexible standards won't work for all students -- especially those with special needs -- and could send the dropout rate skyrocketing, pulling more tax dollars toward prisons and social assistance.

And several members of the state House showed they were as divided as their audience of about 60 people at City High-Middle School.

Ultimately, the owners of the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury want to sell the 2,000-acre destination resort that has been experiencing financial problems since borrowing $17.5 million to build a waterpark and condominiums in 2006.

That's what majority owners Bob and Joan Lipsitz told Judge Jeffrey Hughes Tuesday in papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Grand Rapids.

In the meantime, the Double JJ owners will not be handling the operations and finances of the resort, Hughes ruled. A court receiver will be appointed to run Double JJ, which continues to operate.

The judge's ruling is the latest in a series of complicated legal and financial maneuvers in the wake of the Fourth of July weekend's ROTHBURY music festival at the Double JJ.

Chronicle Illustration by Yana Foltice

GRAND HAVEN -- Fifty-four years have passed since Doris "Little Cookie" Cook and Rosemary "Stevie" Stevenson played professional baseball.

They were in a league of their own -- the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League which spawned a popular Hollywood flick starring Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.

Ask them about their playing days in the AGPBL and their eyes light up like fireworks after a game-winning home run.

They played hard for crowds of 8,000 and weren't afraid to slide into third base knowing they'd get nasty "raspberries" -- scrapes and bruises on their legs.

They didn't have the luxury of playing in pants to protect them; these women wore skirts.

PORTAGE -- Nature is the culprit for extensive flooding in the Sprinkle Woods neighborhood, and establishing a special-assessment district to develop a dewatering system appears to be the best solution.

John A. Lacko | Special to the Kalamazoo GazetteGy Ludvig, right, will donate a kidney to her friend Karen Knapp, left, in surgeries scheduled for Thursday.

KALAMAZOO -- An inescapable "inner feeling" 10 years ago convinced Gy Ludvig that one day she would be called upon to donate a kidney to her friend.

That day is almost upon her.

Leoni Township voters will not be asked in November to approve a tax hike for fire operations and equipment.

The township board voted 5-2 Tuesday to delay consideration of a fire millage until the start of 2009.

Erik Holladay / Jackson Citizen PatriotGwyn Halworson of Neuman Company Contractors Inc. works in the water tower.

While some area workers spent their Tuesday working at a desk, Mark Maug spent his day on top of the new 167-foot-tall water tower in Summit Township.

It's a pretty good gig — if you're not afraid of heights.