DETROIT -- Gov. Rick Snyder put a new emergency manager law on the books in Michigan on Thursday, weeks after voters repealed a version that gave sweeping powers to a single person to overhaul financially distressed communities.

The new law, passed by a Republican-controlled Legislature, will give local governments and ailing school districts the opportunity to choose their own remedy. If a review team finds that a financial emergency exists, those communities can request an emergency manager, ask for a mediator, file for bankruptcy or introduce a reform plan with the state.

"This legislation demonstrates that we clearly heard, recognized and respected the will of the voters," Snyder, a Republican, said in a statement. "It builds in local control and options while also ensuring the tools to protect ... residents, students and taxpayers."

The law won't kick in until late March. Under the old law, the power to send an emergency manager rested solely with the governor. It was a threat to labor unions because managers had the power to throw out contracts.

Under the new law, a manager still would have the power to change contracts. But local officials also have the option to develop an alternative plan if it saves the same amount of money as the manager's proposals. Local governments can remove a manager after one year with a two-thirds vote of its elected officials.

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The philosophy behind the law is that troubled local governments may lack the political consensus needed to get back on track or they simply need expertise to get past their financial problems.

The law includes a $770,000 state appropriation to cover managers' salaries, a provision that would shield it from another statewide vote because spending bills are immune to referendums. Rep. Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, accused Republicans of going to "extreme lengths" with that provision.

Managers are working now in Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, Pontiac and Allen Park, as well as in the Muskegon Heights, Highland Park and Detroit school districts. But they're operating under a decades-old law with fewer teeth that automatically kicked in after the November election. The communities have struggled with lower tax revenue due to a drop in property values and a weak economy.

Allen Park, near Detroit, was stable until it sold bonds for a movie studio that went bust. Residents recently voted down a tax increase.

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Ray Holman, a lobbyist for a UAW local that represents 17,000 state workers, gathered signatures to get a repeal of the old law on the ballot. He said the new law is "only slightly better" and predicted critics would explore a legal challenge.

"It's the exact same law with window dressing. Ultimately, it's a dictator's law," Holman said. "It's disingenuous to say Gov. Snyder listened to the people. He's flat-out wrong."

Threatened with a state takeover last spring, Detroit is operating under a set of financial reforms negotiated by the Snyder administration and city officials. The city, however, continues to struggle and is under yet another review.

Snyder promised last week that some type of "action will be taken" in Detroit in the weeks ahead, but probably before the new manager law takes effect.

The City Council has sent a plan to state Treasurer Andy Dillon that calls for layoffs, days off without pay, the sale of some assets and possible pay cuts, council members said during meetings Thursday at the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.

They said the money-saving moves exceed those proposed by Mayor Dave Bing, who has said 400 to 500 layoffs, or 5 percent of the workforce, are likely in the new year. 

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Updated at 7:30 p.m. ET: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law two bills Tuesday sharply limiting labor rights, which the House passed over the objections of thousands of people packing the Capitol in protest, some of whom chanted "Shame on you!" from the gallery.

"This isn't about us versus them. This is about Michiganders," Snyder said at news conference in the state capital, Lansing, where he announced that he had signed the legislation.

By a 58-51 vote, the Republican-led House passed a bill that would ban workplace rules that make union membership a condition of employment for government workers. It then approved a second bill, covering private-sector workers, by a vote of 58-52. 

When the new rules take effect, probably in late March, Michigan — one of the most union-friendly states in the country —will become the 24th "right to work" state, making payment of union dues voluntary even though the union negotiates on a worker's behalf.

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Snyder told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell that he was "pro-collective bargaining," but he said right-to-work laws denied workers freedom of choice.

"I think it's a good thing," he said of the legislation. "I think it's pro-worker."

Michigan labor fight puts 'tough nerd' Snyder under partisan spotlight

As the vote was taking place, as many as 10,000 people descended on the Capitol, State Police estimated, prompting authorities to restrict access to the building because it was at its capacity of 2,000. The overflow filled the lawn and stretched down East Michigan Avenue to the Lansing Center across the river several blocks away.

About 200 onlookers filled the gallery overlooking the House floor Tuesday. As debate resumed on one of the bills, the session was interrupted with protesters yelling, "Shame on you," NBC News' Nadine Comerford reported.

After the votes, protesters then moved to the building housing Snyder's office, chanting, "Governor Snyder, just say no!"

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Law enforcement officials said they wouldn't let Michigan become another Wisconsin, where demonstrators occupied the state Capitol around the clock for nearly three weeks last year to protest similar legislation.

Armed with tear gas canisters, pepper spray and batons, State Police officers guarded the Capitol as protesters shouted "No justice, no peace!" and "Shut it down!" NBC station WILX of Lansing reported. 

State Police officials confirmed that one of their troopers used pepper spray on one protester. Police spokesmen said the man was sprayed when he grabbed a trooper and tried to pull her into the crowd.

The man wasn't arrested, but two other people were arrested after they tried to force their way into another building on the grounds where Snyder has offices, police said. 

A tent set up by supporters of the measures also collapsed amid what authorities described as "pushing and shoving" among protesters. No one was hurt, police said.

Elsewhere on the lawn, four large inflatable rats were set up to mock Snyder, House Speaker Jase Bolger, Senate Republican leader Randy Richardville, and Dick DeVos, a prominent conservative businessman who union leaders say is behind the bills.

Obama decries right-to-work proposal during trip to Michigan

Schools in at least three districts were closed because so many teachers and other staff were at the rally.

Valerie Constance, a developmental reading instructor for the Wayne County Community College District and a member of the American Federation of Teachers, sat on the Capitol steps with a sign shaped like a tombstone. It read: "Here lies democracy."

Scott Hagerstrom, director of the Michigan affiliate of the activist group Americans for Prosperity, said the new laws would be "a win-win for Michigan's economy, for individual freedom."

"What a lot of these protesters may not realize is that after this bill passes, they can still belong to a union. It'll just be their choice. They just can't force their co-workers to give their hard-earned money to a private organization," he said.

But Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, called it "a terrible result."

"Workers want a voice and ... they want to be sure when conditions are set that they're part of the process," he said in an interview on msnbc.

Valerie Constance, a developmental reading instructor for the Wayne County Community College District and a member of the American Federation of Teachers, sat on the Capitol steps with a sign shaped like a tombstone. It read: "Here lies democracy."

But Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, hailed the votes, saying the made for "a great day for Michigan's workers and taxpayers,"

"I would like to congratulate Michigan's workers for their newly protected freedom to work without union affiliation as a condition of their employment," Mix said.

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Phone records emerged Monday as key evidence in a murder case against a suburban man charged with killing four suspected escorts and hiding their bodies in car trunks in Detroit last year, events that reinforced the city's unflattering image as a dumping ground for victims.

James Brown, 24, was charged with first-degree murder Monday, six months after he was arrested on lesser charges. The women were killed in pairs last December after visiting Brown's Macomb County home, and their bodies were stashed that way, too, police said.

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Chikita Madison, whose daughter Renisha Landers, 23, was a victim, said she fought back tears during a brief court hearing in Sterling Heights, a Detroit suburb. 

"Our daughters are in heaven," Madison said outside of court. "We'll see them when it's our time."

The bodies of Landers and Demesha Hunt, 24, were found Dec. 19. Six days later, on Christmas, police found the bodies of two other women in their 20s, Natasha Curtis and Vernithea McCrary, in the trunk of a burning car.

Brown said little in court and let his attorney enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Minutes earlier, attorney Jeff Cojocar told reporters that his client maintains his innocence "100 percent."

At least three of the four victims promoted themselves as escorts-for-hire on Backpage.com, which carries classified and personal ads. Investigators believe that's how Brown made contact with them. Phone records show the victims' last calls were transmitted through wireless towers near Brown's home in Sterling Heights, police Det. Mary Whiting told a judge.

Brown has been in custody since May on charges of mutilation of a dead body and arson in connection to the bodies found in cars. Prosecutors didn't charge him with murder at the time but said he was the chief suspect.

Cojocar suggested Brown may have incriminated himself during a 3½-hour recorded interview with Detroit police, and said he would try to get the statements suppressed.

"There are some things that are not favorable that we'll need to attack," Cojocar said.

4 women found dead in car trunks; Detroit police tie 3 to escort services

Detroit police led the investigation for months until determining the women were killed elsewhere. Then-Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. said he was angered that the city's dark, desolate neighborhoods were becoming a place to drop bodies.

Detroit police turned evidence over to Sterling Heights, including an interview with Brown.

The causes of death still are listed as unknown by the Wayne County medical examiner, said Sterling Heights Lt. Kevin Reese.

Before the court hearing, prosecutors met privately with victims' relatives in a small room.

"The parents and relatives of these women have suffered so greatly. We will work to bring closure to these grieving families," Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a statement.

Hunt's mother, Denise Reid, said she didn't know anything about her daughter's connection to Backpage.com.

"I'm hearing it like you are," she said. "It's not important to me. It's not relevant. It still doesn't justify taking my daughter's life."

 

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A former high school valedictorian is on trial for murder in the beating and stabbing death of his mother in their suburban Michigan home.

Jury selection commenced Tuesday in 22-year-old Jeffrey Pyne's trial, the Detroit Free Press reported. Oakland County Circuit Judge Leo Bowman began weeding out prospective jurors who might have a bias in the case out of a pool of 200, according to the newspaper.

Pyne is charged with the first-degree murder in the death of his 51-year-old mother, Ruth Pyne, and prosecutors are expected to argue he was angry with his mom and killed her, the Detroit Free Press reported. There's no physical evidence linking Jeffrey Pyne with the murder, the defense has argued, according to the newspaper.

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Judge Bowman's staff attorney Vicki King told NBC News Wednesday that once jury selection is concluded, opening statements are expected to begin Friday.

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Ruth Pyne, who reportedly had a history of mental illness, was found dead inside the the garage of the family's Highland Township, Mich., home in May 2011, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Jeffrey Pyne was indicted in October 2011 and remains in jail without bond, according to the Detroit Free Press. His family maintains that he is innocent, The Detroit News reported.

An autopsy of Ruth Pyne's body indicated she was struck repeatedly in the head with an object and was stabbed 16 times in the neck, according to the News.

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The gunman who walked into a Michigan police station and opened fire on Veterans Day was a 64-year-old military veteran in poor physical health and struggling with “internal issues,” police said Monday.

Harold Joseph Collins, of Southfield, Mich., was killed in a shootout with officers at police headquarters in Southfield on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. An officer was wounded in the exchange.

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At a press conference Monday, Southfield Police Chief Eric Hawkins outlined the sequence of events that led to the shootout.

He said Collins, brandishing a .380-caliber handgun, walked into the lobby of the police station with a blank stare on his face; without warning he tried to shoot an officer behind bulletproof glass.

“The suspect approached the front desk officer and simply stared at the officer. The suspect appeared to be staring into the distance and not a word was said,” Hawkins said.

The weapon didn’t discharge. Other officers then quickly confronted the gunman.

“He was ordered several times to drop his weapon. The suspect refused.  Instead, he pointed the weapon at officers,” Hawkins said.

In the ensuing exchange, a 50-year-old police sergeant was shot in the shoulder. The gunman was shot several times and died.

Hawkins described Collins as a military veteran “who appeared to be in poor physical health” and may also have had psychological problems.

“Based on the behavior of this individual, in my opinion and in the opinion of investigating officers …this person was struggling with some very serious internal issues,” the police chief said.

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Hawkins said he didn’t know the gunman’s motive. Collins had no known criminal history.

“We can only speculate and right now I won’t, but yes, obviously yesterday was Veterans Day and we have information this person was a veteran. We have information this person was in poor health and had other internal issues.”

Hawkins wouldn't go into details about Collins' health issues but a former stepdaughter, Seretha Nobles, told the Detroit News on Monday that Collins had been suffering from throat cancer for many years.

"He couldn't speak, he can't talk," Nobles told the newspaper in a phone interview from her Georgia home.

Hawkins said the gunman arrived at the police department in a 2010 Dodge, which was later impounded for evidence. Investigators also planned to search the gunman's home for clues.

The wounded officer, whose name was not released, was “conscious, alert and in good spirits” at a hospital, Hawkins said. He was expected to be released later Monday or Tuesday.

All officers involved in the confrontation have been put on administrative leave per department policy pending an investigation.

Surveillance cameras in the lobby captured at least part of the confrontation, and the videos will be reviewed, the police chief said.

The shooting is being investigated by the Oakland County sheriff’s department. The Southfield Police Department will also do an internal investigation to make sure proper procedures were followed, Hawkins said.

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Police in Michigan are investigating the shooting of a driver that occurred along Interstate 96 Saturday, the latest in a string of shootings in southeastern Michigan, according to local reports.

Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte told local station WDIV that the driver who was shot was taken to a hospital for a wound to his buttocks.

Bezotte said another car was also hit by gunfire but the driver wasn’t hurt. Sheriffs closed off parts of the highway to investigate the shooting.

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Earlier this week, a specially formed task force of 70 investigators from local and state police agencies was investigating 22 reported shootings along or near the interstate in Ingham County, Oakland County, Livingston County and Shiawassee County.

Until Saturday's shooting, none of them involved any injuries. The first occurred on Oct. 16.

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth told reporters that the nature of the shootings makes the investigation a challenging one.

“We’ve got a 100-mile crime scene there, folks,” Wriggelsworth said.

Police said at least seven of the shootings appear to be linked based on bullet fragments or casings discovered at the scene, although investigators couldn’t point to a specific weapon used, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told the Associated Press.

Based on reports and at least 20 tips, authorities said the gunman appears to be a man in his 30s. Police released a sketch of the possible suspect, described as a young man with closely cropped hair who was driving a black sedan. 

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A fire that destroyed eight units at an apartment complex in Holland Township, Mich., is believed to have been sparked by a man using a propane torch to cook a squirrel for lunch, the fire chief said.

The resident was on a deck on the third floor of the Clearview Apartments. He was using a the torch to burn off the squirrel’s fur when the deck caught fire, Fire Chief Jim Kohsel told MLive.com.

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The resident, whose name was not released, was removing the animal’s fur in preparation to eat it, Kohsel said, according to mlive.com.

Flames spread to the roof and other parts of the building. Eight apartments were destroyed and two dozen other units were damaged by smoke and water, the fire chief said.

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The unusual cause of the blaze quickly became the talk at area fire stations.

“That’s about as off-the-wall as it gets,” Plainfield Township Fire Chief David Peterson told mlive.com.

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ECORSE, Mich. -- A drug overdose may have killed Amanda Clayton, a Detroit-area woman who won a $1 million lottery prize but kept collecting welfare benefits, police said Saturday.

Ecorse police Sgt. Cornelius Herring said Clayton, 25, of Lincoln Park was found dead about 9 a.m. Saturday at a home, The Associated Press said. Ecorse is southwest of Detroit. 

Clayton won the $1 million prize in September.

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In April, prosecutors accused Clayton of collecting $5,475 in food and medical benefits from August 2011 through March that she would not have received had she reported the lottery winnings and income from a job she held from June through October 2011. In June, she pleaded no contest to fraud and was sentenced to nine months' probation in July.

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Her attorney has said Clayton repaid about $5,500, the AP reported.

"It's simply common sense that million-dollar lottery winners forfeit their right to public assistance," Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement.

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In April, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law requiring lottery officials to tell Human Services about new winners, the AP said.

This article includes reporting by NBC News staff and Reuters.

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The winner of the $337 million Powerball jackpot earlier this month has been revealed: Donald Lawson, 44, of Lapeer, Mich., was introduced Friday by Michigan lottery officials.

Lawson said at a press conference in Lansing, Mich., that he had been a railroad engineer before quitting a couple of weeks ago after he had discovered he had won. Lawson, who said he has two daughters, was joined at the announcement by his mother, sister and brother-in-law.

The winning ticket for the Aug. 15 jackpot -- the third largest ever for Powerball -- was purchased at a Sunoco gas station and convenience store in the town of Lapeer, about 50 miles north of Detroit. Lawson said he grew up in Fort Smith, Ark., and moved to Lapeer about 10 years ago.

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Lawson described the moment he learned his life was about to change when he checked the ticket.

"I started reading backwards, and lost my breath," Lawson said. The winning numbers were 6, 27, 46, 51, 56 and Powerball 21.

Lawson said that after checking his ticket he "sat there and said a prayer, then called my sister and told her to come home right now ... then I told them."

He said he had put the ticket "in my Bible, and under my couch, then on top of my fridge."

Calif. lottery officials hunt for mystery winner

Lawson took the option to receive the money in lump sum -- which would be about $224 million before taxes. Powerball officials say most winners opt for the one-time payout. 

A Powerball ticket costs $2.

In March, three winning tickets shared the largest U.S. lottery jackpot, the $656 million Mega Millions drawing.

The last big Powerball jackpot was won in February by Louis White of Rhode Island. That prize was worth $336 million and at the time was the third largest Powerball jackpot in history. The prize won by Lawson edged that one for the No. 3 spot.

So what are his immediate plans?

"I'm going to escape for now, and go somewhere safe," he said.

And will all that money change him?

"I'm a millionaire now, but I like McDonalds," he said. "I don't like mignons or lobster ... I want a simple life and that's what I'll continue to do." 

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The winner of last week's $337 million Powerball drawing has come forward and contacted Michigan Lottery officials.

The winner's name and where they are from has not been released.

The winner has one year to claim the prize. 

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The ticket was sold at a gas station in Lapeer, Mich., a city with a population of about 8,000 people, 60 miles north of Detroit. If the winner is a Lapeer resident, the city would receive some $2 million in tax revenue.

The winning numbers from the Aug. 15 drawing were 6, 27, 46, 51, 56 and Powerball 21.

The winner has the option to receive their money in lump sum or annuity payments over 30 years.

Previous report: Mystery jackpot winner leaves Michigan town abuzz

Andi Brancato of the Michigan Lottery Commission said no details about the winner will be released.

The last big Powerball jackpot was won in February by Louis White of Rhode Island. That prize was worth $336 million and was the third largest Powerball jackpot in history.

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