Michigan AG to police: Whitmer orders are valid, enforceable

Michigan's attorney general is backing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, telling local law enforcement officials that her stay-at-home directive and restrictions on places of public accommodations are valid and enforceable. Tuesday's letter comes days after Republican lawmakers refused to extend an emergency declaration. Dana Nessel, a Democrat, says her letter was necessary to clarify the situation after numerous legislators and other officials questioned the validity of the Democratic governor's orders to curb the coronavirus. The measures, Nessel says, are a "valid exercise" of Whitmer's broad emergency powers under a 1945 law. The Republican-led Legislature appears likely to sue.