News at noon: Rock knocks Oscars; new events rock Flint

The Detroit News Published 11:57 a.m. ET Feb. 29, 2016 | Updated 11:59 a.m. ET Feb. 29, 2016

Today is February 29, 2016, (Leap Day!) and it's back to being cold again. What are you going to do with your extra day? Check out this hilarious new Miked Up podcast, which has an added bonus of a video from this weekend's Autorama. Then get up to date on the news you need to know.

Hollywood's biggest night

“Spotlight” won Best Picture and Leonardo DiCaprio finally got his statue, but Sunday’s Oscars were dominated by discussion of diversity and inclusion, not awards, including a stinging commentary by Chris Rock. Some moments, like the random appearance of Stacey Dash, missed their mark.Film critic Adam Graham relives Oscar's top moments.
Everyone looked amazing, but there were definitely some standouts, like newly minted Academy Award-winning powerhouse Alicia Vikander, who rocked a pale yellow custom Louis Vuitton gown. Be sure to check out all the photos from the red carpet and the ceremony.
Curious who else won big? Check out the roundup here.

Failures in Flint

Gov. Rick Snyder could have declared a state emergency in Flint months before he did but was directing top staff to explore other options to fix the water contamination crisis, according to new administration emails released this weekend.
Other emails showed that two Flint employees signed off on using the corrosive Flint River as the city’s primary water source just before the state’s appointed emergency manager added his signature to the plan.
Follow reporters Jonathan Oosting, Chad Livengood, Jim Lynch and Karen Bouffard on Twitter for more and see all our Flint coverage here.

Dream of a home turns into a nightmare

Dig deeper into the murky world of land contracts and similar private-party home financing such as lease to own. Largely unregulated, land contracts and similar deals have soared in Detroit since the mortgage meltdown, attorneys and housing advocates say, contributing to evictions in a city that leads the nation in them. People agree to the contract thinking it's an easy way to own their own home, but suddenly they end up with no place to live at all and out thousands of dollars.

Fighting over historic districts

A pair of bills in Lansing that would take a sledgehammer to the state’s historic district law have ignited a fierce statewide debate. Many preservationists say it is the most serious threat to historic districts since the state law was created in 1970. Supporters of the proposed legislation counter the current law has been hijacked by bureaucrats and robs property owners of their rights.

Happening in sports

March can’t come soon enough for Tom Izzo, whose team looked solid in its 88-57 rout of Penn State on Sunday. And here's Michigan State’s hard-to-please coach with few, if any, legitimate gripes. John Niyo breaks it down.

If you're a Tigers fan, ask around a bit and you’re likely to hear plenty of variability in the number of games the team is predicted to win this season. But, as Kurt Mensching explains, that's what makes it exciting.
The Red Wings made one trade Saturday to create some salary cap space and prepare for the future. Are more moves on the way leading to Monday’s 3 p.m. (EST) trade deadline? Get Ted Kulfan's take.

Around Detroit

Snyder will end weeks of speculation today by bringing bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes out of retirement to run the Detroit Public Schools on behalf of the state. According to our editorial board, there’s no credible argument to keep the system under state management.
Five people were shot late Sunday night outside a night club on Detroit’s west side, Officer Dan Donakowski of the Detroit Police Department confirmed Monday morning.
Police finally caught up with a four-time bank robber last week after a chase in which he dumped his niece out of moving car, sending her to the hospital, authorities said.

The lighter side

A 30-year-old Detroit man beat a charge of violation of probation and nullified his engagement with one fell swoop.
If you have a few minutes to spare, Donna Terek has an awesome new column for Donna's Detroit, which features a steel drum band that will be taking Detroit's Marche du Nain Rouge by storm.

You saw the best of the best Sunday at the Oscars, but what about the worst of the worst? That's what the Razzies are for, and one movie in particular had these awards all tied up.
It's Leap Day, so why not take a leap and try a new shandy from Leinenkugel Brewing Co.? Dawn Needham has more in the Beer Blog.

Detroit News at noon is a daily news roundup of the biggest stories from www.detroitnews.com. Get more any time by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter. We're on Instagram (@DetroitNews) and Snapchat (Search for Detroitnews), too.