DETROIT (AP) - Many Detroit school principals accused of taking kickbacks from a contractor have struck deals with the government and are scheduled to plead guilty.    The U.S. Attorney's Office says 11 guilty pleas so far are scheduled in April and May, including deals with nine principals. The man at the center of the probe, vendor Norman Shy, is scheduled to plead guilty on May 11.    The principals are accused of taking kickbacks on inflated invoices for classroom supplies.

Parents who take a "spare the rod, spoil the child" approach to discipline are doing their children more harm than good, according to a new study.

The study from the University of Michigan and University of Texas says spanking can have long-term detrimental effects on children, including mental health problems, cognitive difficulties and aggressive behavior.

Study co-author Andy Grogan-Kaylor, an associate professor with the U of M School of Social Work, says the outcomes are similar to child abuse, to a slightly lesser degree.

After working more than a month without contracts, unionized Detroit News and Free Press employees have ratified a new, three-year deal.

Detroit’s two major newspapers have different owners. But their business operations are run jointly through a joint operating agreement, with Free Press owner Gannett media company holding almost all the purse strings.

“They poisoned the wrong city, everybody!” one speaker shouted at today’s rally at Flint city hall to mark the second anniversary of the city’s mishandled switch to its namesake river as its drinking water source.

In 2014, the city started getting its tap water from the Flint River as part of plan to save the city millions of dollars. But the river water was not properly treated with anti-corrosives. As a result, the corrosive river water damaged city pipes, which continue to leach lead into the drinking water. 

By 2095, Michigan's summers will be like those we're used to seeing in Arkansas and Mississippi. Our winters will be like West Virginia's and Kentucky's.

And that changing climate – with extreme heat, big storms, plus a LOT more rain and snow – means we're looking at five major health risks, according to a new report from climate researchers and the state health department.

The state’s health director says an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in Genesee County did not get the attention it deserved from his agency. He says it was partially due to the department’s focus on a different health threat that never materialized.

A group of Flint water activists is starting a new charity to help people not reached by government and other groups.

Organizer Lee Anne Walters says Community Development Organization’s first priority will be to help people who find they can’t pay medical bills tied to Flint’s lead tainted drinking water.

“It’s something that needs to be done. It’s a great need in the community. And so this is where we feel we fit best right now,” says Walters. 

Walters says their initial goal is to raise $1 million, though she admits the need is much greater.