Larry Smith is on a mission to remodel his childhood home on Woodlawn on Detroit's East Side

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a law that would make it easier for people to be released from Michigan prisons if they’re in debilitating health.

The nine hours that Texas was allowed to arrest and deport migrants who illegally enter the U.S. provided a glimpse at what sort of obstacles law enforcement agencies in the state face.

Officials in Washtenaw County are making major changes in the counties approach to criminal justice.

On Thursday, Feb. 4, the now-45-year-old became a free man -- a moment his daughter Nakira Fantroy has been waiting for. Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and felony firearm on Nov. 29, 1994, in the death of Kenneth Hayes when Smith was only 19 years old. There was no conclusive forensic evidence that linked Mr. Smith to the case,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “There was testimony in the case from a jail house informant claiming that Smith had confessed the murder to him. The dismissal of charges comes after an investigation by Prosecutor Kym Worthy and the WCPO Conviction Integrity Unit, headed by director Valerie Newman.

WINONA, Texas – A 21-year-old man who hid from police in an East Texas church was charged with first-degree murder and felony assault in a shooting that left the pastor dead and two other people injured Sunday, a local sheriff said. Authorities believe the suspect, identified as 21-year-old Mytrez Deunte Woolen of Marshall, Texas, broke into the church after police had left the area around 2 a.m. Sunday. Pastor Mark Allen McWilliams, 62, drew a gun and ordered Woolen to stop, Smith said, but Woolen grabbed the weapon and began shooting with it. Smith said the pastor, his wife and two other people were in the church at the time. It's unclear exactly when Woolen entered the church in Starrville, near Winona, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Dallas.

At 165 square miles (427 square kilometers), the Bobcat Fire is one of the largest ever in Los Angeles County after burning for more than two weeks. Evacuation orders and warnings are in place for thousands of residents in foothill and desert areas, where semi-rural homes and a popular nature sanctuary have burned. Erratic winds that drove flames into the community of Juniper Hills over the weekend had died down, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Larry Smith. He had worked with the U.S. Forest Service for 14 years. “Charlie was a well-respected leader who was always there for his squad and his crew at the toughest times,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen.