Detroit News at noon: Flint revelations, Tigers evolution

Today is Friday, February 12, 2015. Our Flint water crisis investigative team is assembled and ready to chat live with you at noon. Submit your questions and join in here.

Here's what's making news today.

New revelations into Flint water crisis

A Detroit News team pored through more than 24,000 pages of Flint-related documents from local, state and federal officials released by Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration. The emails revealed that at least six Environmental Protection Agency officials in late March talked about Genesee County’s Legionnaires’ disease outbreak and a suspected link to Flint’s change in water sources — and were told the state would alert the public. That didn't happen. Instead, two months later, a Michigan health official declared “the outbreak is over.” The disease would kill four more people in the summer and fall and would not be brought to the public’s attention until the next year.

The emails also showed:

• Michigan regulators who failed to ensure proper corrosion control chemicals were added to Flint’s drinking water spent six months dismissing evidence of their error and considered ways to muzzle the federal expert who sounded alarms about it.

• A top Michigan Department of Environmental Quality official joked with employees that they deserved a raise for handling citizen complaints about lead contamination of the Flint water supply. The cost-of-living raises had been scheduled months in advance.

• Top aides to Gov. Rick Snyder began exploring the use of faucet filters to address water complaints from Flint residents in early March, nearly six months before the governor’s office quietly helped distribute 1,500 filters on Sept. 1.

• Chat live with our Flint water crisis investigative team at noon today.

• Catch up on all the news about Flint's water crisis here. Follow our investigative reporters Chad Livengood, Jonathan Oosting, Jim Lynch, Karen Bouffard, Joel Kurth and Christine MacDonald 

Evolution of the Tigers

Detroit's baseball rebirth began in 2006, and @Lynn_Henning examines a decade of changes that brought them to 2016 contention.

Four-legged kind of love

If your dog or cat is your favorite Valentine this year, we've got a suggestion. Show your dog or cat some love with stylish pet decor

Chicago auto show trucks on

The resounding message out of the 2016 Chicago Auto Show is that automakers can’t produce enough pickups and crossovers to feed demand of U.S. consumers. Automaker after automaker on Thursday announced new and updated sport utilities — from off-road pickups by Ram Truck and Toyota, to crossovers from Chevy, Kia and Hyundai.

Debate: Sharp jabs on foreign policy, experience

On the evening Chelsea Clinton visited Flint, calling the water crisis there "heartbreaking," her mother, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders battled for the crucial support of black and Hispanic voters in a polite but pointed contest that marked a shift in the primary toward states with more minority voters.

Deep freeze

Bundle up or cuddle up with your Valentine, it's going to be bitterly cold this weekend. But a silver lining: There's no real snow in the forecast.

Detroit News at noon is a daily news briefing featuring some of the biggest stories from www.detroitnews.com.

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