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In this morning's news...

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Governor Rick Snyder to address Detroit Economic Club today
 

Governor Rick Snyder is set to address the Detroit Economic Club.  The speech scheduled for this afternoon comes four days after the release of his budget.  The first-term Republican unveiled a budget proposal on Thursday that includes increased money for public schools and universities, additional cash in tax revenue sharing payments for local governments and a push toward hiring more police officers.

Trial opens two years after feds break up militia
 

Nearly two years after their arrest, seven members of a Midwest militia are set to stand to trial on charges of conspiring to overthrow the government. Jurors must decide whether federal authorities prevented an attack by homegrown extremists or simply made too much of the anti-government boasts by weekend warriors who trained in southern Michigan.  Opening statements are set for today in Detroit federal court once a jury is seated. Members of the Hutaree militia are charged with conspiring to commit sedition, or rebellion, as well as weapon crimes. Defense attorneys claim the anti-government talk was simply colorful yet aimless bluster. But the indictment tells a more sinister story of a violent group plotting to kill a police officer and  then attack the funeral procession.
 

Party pick of Michigan primary voters to be public
 

The Secretary of State's office says the party preference of voters in Michigan's Feb. 28 presidential primary will be publicly available afterward. The office says which partisan ballot a voter chooses will be available after the election, as well as name and address. Primary voters must indicate whether they want a Republican or Democratic ballot. A lawsuit in 2008 eventually made such records public. Secretary of state spokesman Fred Woodhams says voters in the state's presidential primary will "know going in their ballot preference will be made public." He says the process for voters this month otherwise will be much the same as it was four years ago.
 

Vincent Duffy has been news director at Michigan Public since May 2007.