Whitmer signs $2.5B in virus relief, vetoes other aid

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed at least $2 billion in COVID-19 relief spending while vetoing $650 million after Republicans didn't negotiate with her and tied aid to legislation that would have curbed her administration's authority to order pandemic restrictions. Whitmer's move Tuesday is the latest in a dispute between the GOP-led Legislature and the Democratic governor over her pandemic response. Whitmer vetoed legislation that would have ceded the state health department's power to close schools and prohibit sports to local health departments. Republicans have linked federal K-12 funding to the measure; its fate isn't immediately clear.