News@noon: Saying 'no' to refugees; our endorsements
Today is Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, and Waterford Township leaders Monday approved a measure to stop participating in a federal resettlement program for Syrian refugees until reforms are in place and security issues addressed.
The action may be moot. Michigan and other states cannot legally deny refugees entry into a state because the federal government has jurisdiction over refugee placement. But a federal bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would allow local communities to opt out.
The decision comes amid an influx of immigrants expected in the United States. American communities received 84,995 refugees in fiscal year 2016, the U.S. Department of State said this month. That number is expected to rise to 110,000 in fiscal year 2017.
What do you think? Is Waterford right to deny refugees a place to resettle? Or are they wrong? Let us know in the comments section or tweet us @detroitnews.
Here's what else is making news today:
Auto profits
- General Motors Co. on Tuesday posted record third-quarter earnings of $2.77 billion that more than doubled from a year ago, driven by its record North America performance and strongly beat analysts’ estimates.
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, on the other hand, reported a profit of about $659 million during the third quarter, despite recall costs and lower sales in North America, its largest market.
- Ford Motor Co. is slated to release earnings Thursday.
Take that ballot selfie
- Michigan voters should be free to take “ballot selfies” for the first time on Nov. 8, a federal judge ruled Monday, suspending a longstanding ban the state is fighting to reinstate with little more than two weeks to go until Election Day.
- U.S. District Judge Janet Neff prohibited the state from enforcing state laws and rules that prevent voters from taking a photograph of their own ballot and displaying the image outside a polling place, including social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter.
Don't scatter; store sacredly
The Vatican on Tuesday published guidelines for Catholics who want to be cremated, saying their remains cannot be scattered, divvied up or kept at home but rather stored in a sacred, church-approved place. Up until 1963, the Catholic Church only permitted burial. But then, the Vatican pivoted and explicitly allowed cremation as long as it didn’t suggest a denial of faith about resurrection.
Can you help?
- Detroit police are seeking tips to find a woman accused of carjacking a 74-year-old on the city’s east side.
- Detroit police are working to find two senior citizens missing since last week: Duane Smith and Gerald Carver.
Endorsements
- There are 63 candidates running for the Detroit School Board, which is a lot for anyone to research. So we've done the research for you. Nolan Finley and Ingrid Jacques from our editorial board have made their recommendations.
- Here are the rest of our endorsements in the election.
Green Day scaled down
You can take Green Day out of the arena but you can’t take the arena out of Green Day. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, long since used to packing arenas and amphitheaters, scaled down for a relatively intimate concert at a sold-out Fillmore Detroit Monday night. But it was still a big show.
Detroit News at noon is a daily roundup of the most talked-about stories on detroitnews.com. For more anytime, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram (@detroitnews), Snapchat (Search for "Detroitnews") and LinkedIn.