Associated Press

General Motors says it's pulling out of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as part of a strategy to exit markets that don't produce adequate returns on investments, dismaying officials concerned over job losses. Australia's minister for Industry, Science and Technology said Monday that it was "disappointing" that the company only advised the government about the decision just before it's announcement Sunday that it would wind down sales, engineering and design operations for its historic Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand in 2021. 

Charles "Chuckie" O'Brien, a longtime associate of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa who became a leading suspect in Hoffa's disappearance, has died. O'Brien's stepson, Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith, said in a blog post that O'Brien died Thursday in Boca Raton, Florida, from what appeared to be a heart attack. He was 86. O'Brien was a constant companion to Hoffa in the decades when the labor leader developed the Teamsters into one of the largest and most powerful unions in the nation. After Hoffa's still-unsolved disappearance in 1975, O'Brien became a leading suspect.

A California man has pleaded not guilty to a charge of threatening a shooting at Ohio State University and vowing to hurt players on the football team. An indictment accuses Daniel Rippy of making the "electronic communication" threat from California during the annual game between Ohio State and the University of Michigan in 2018.

A Michigan company is recalling about 1,900 bars of chocolate that may contain milk which is not listed in the ingredients. Grand Rapids-based Gourmet International on Thursday issued an allergy alert for Butlers Irish Whiskey Dark Chocolate 3.5-ounce tablet bars. The chocolate bars are made by Dublin, Ireland-based Butlers Chocolates. FDA testing found high levels of milk in the product. The government says people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk are at-risk of serious allergic reaction if they consume the product. No illnesses have been reported.

Michigan Senate Republicans have blocked Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's appointee to a commission that regulates hunting and fishing. Democrats say Thursday's mostly party-line vote rejecting Anna Mitterling of Mason to the Natural Resources Commission was done because the GOP opposes a different nominee to the commission who supports gun control. It marks the first time in nearly a decade that a governor's nominee was rejected by the Senate. Whitmer named Mitterling, a Lansing Community College adjunct biology professor, to the commission in December.

A Michigan company is recalling about 1,900 bars of chocolate that may contain milk which is not listed in the ingredients. Grand Rapids-based Gourmet International on Thursday issued an allergy alert for Butlers Irish Whiskey Dark Chocolate 3.5-ounce tablet bars. The chocolate bars are made by Dublin, Ireland-based Butlers Chocolates. FDA testing found high levels of milk in the product. The government says people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk are at-risk of serious allergic reaction if they consume the product. No illnesses have been reported.

All 203 of Michigan's alcohol breath testing devices are back in service amid a fraud investigation of the company that supplies the equipment. The Michigan State Police a criminal investigation last month into contract employees with Intoximeters Inc. and suspended its contract after evidence suggested the company falsified records and misrepresented the devices' accuracy. The Detroit Free Press reports that state police had announced all Datamaster DMT devices had been sidelined until the agency could verify that each was properly calibrated.

A lawyer says the case against a former Michigan State University gymnastics coach accused of lying to investigators about sports doctor Larry Nassar is about memory. Jurors in Ingham County, Michigan, have heard opening statements in the trial of Kathie Klages. She's charged with perjury for what she told investigators about the history of assault complaints against Nassar, a campus doctor. A prosecutor says Klages denied recalling complaints about Nassar because she wanted to protect herself. Klages is charged with two counts of lying to an officer.

Michigan lawmakers have advanced bills to ensure wrongfully convicted prisoners can sue for compensation after some exonerees' cases were dismissed due to a conflict over how long they had to file a claim. A 2016 law awards innocent inmates $50,000 for each year spent in a state prison. It gave those who had been exonerated before the act's effective date 18 months to sue. Several former prisoners, however, saw their claims tossed after the state Court of Claims - where such lawsuits must be brought - ruled that a separate law with a six-month window took precedence.á

Road damage from the overflowing Great Lakes and other waterways may carry a whopping price tag for Michigan. Brad Wieferich of the state Department of Transportation said Monday about 40 locations have been hit especially hard. He says initial estimates suggest about $5 million will be needed for immediate fixes. But the costs of long-term repairs and upgrades could reach $100 million. Erosion and flooding are posing challenges across much of the Great Lakes region. The lakes are setting record high levels during one of the wettest periods on record.