Wayne State University, GM Renaissance Center, DTE Energy Offices, Motor City Casino and Madonna University will go blue on April 2 in honor of Global Autism Awareness Day. "Light It Blue Michigan" is an autism-awareness campaign launched by Corner Pieces, a non-profit organization based in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., dedicated to improving the well-being of children and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Tonight's premiere of "Beauty Queen," will be shown for free at the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It's the second project from the Michigan Creative Film Alliance (MCFA), a collaboration between Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan that gives students a chance to put aside college rivalries and make a short film together. "Beauty Queen" was selected as the annual project by the MCFA, which was created to foster young talent for Michigan's film industry.

A deeply divided Detroit overwhelmingly wants improved city services even if it means Gov. Rick Snyder's administration must step in, though residents are skeptical of what it can do for them. By a slim margin, city residents remain supportive of Mayor Dave Bing and the Detroit City Council staying in charge for now. But a Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll showed that 7 out of every 10 Detroiters consider it essential or very important for the city's looming fiscal crisis to be addressed in a way that improves basic services -- even if it requires state intervention. "I would say, in talking to people, that Detroiters are completely exhausted with this crisis and they want to see it resolved," said Lyke Thompson, director of the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University. "The vast majority of them want their own elected officials to stay in charge, but they really don't want city services to collapse any more than they already have."

Because infectious microorganisms are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, a Wayne State University researcher has joined a nationwide effort to monitor that resistance while optimizing the use of existing drugs. Michael Rybak, professor of pharmacy and medicine and director of the Anti-Infective Research Laboratory in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, recently received $223,000 for six months from the Michigan Department of Community Health to create a mechanism to enable better stewardship of antimicrobials and reduce resistance to them. "We can't continue the way we are," he said. "We're going to get to the stage where there are patients with serious infections but no effective antibiotics to treat them. We are simply not keeping pace with the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics."

A feature story about Wayne State University diver Carly Sevald recaps her challenging year leading up to her being awarded Diver of the Year by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America - the first Warrior to ever win the award. Sevald, a junior on the WSU women's swimming and diving team, just returned from the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships where she and her teammates won the first swimming and diving national championship in WSU's history. The Warriors got 86 points from their divers, 36 from Sevald. She placed third in the one-meter with a score of 496.95, a new WSU record. She was even better in the three-meter, claiming the second individual national championship ever for a WSU diver with a score of 503.40, just the fourth time in the history of the event someone earned a score above 500.00. Sevald's season, however, was not without major medical challenges beginning with the removal of her appendix last August. Shortly after, she developed Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, putting her in the hospital for three weeks, causing her to lose 20 pounds, and preventing her from training until early November. Just as she was getting back into form, Sevald was dealt another setback. Last December she injured her hip while doing cardiovascular drills which gave her a rotation problem. Despite the setbacks, Sevald completed the award-winning season on top.

The MovingMedia Student Film Festival, hosted by Wayne State University, aims to give WSU students and the surrounding schools a platform to visually express their creativeness. MovingMedia Student Film Festival weekend is June 20 through June 24. The opening celebration is Wednesday, June 20 in the Crestedge Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Film screenings will start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 21 through Saturday, June 23. The TechFair is from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 23, at the WSU Welcome Center. The fair will include workshops from experienced broadcast professionals and educators covering a variety of topics and an exhibition with digital suppliers in the production industry. WSU, the Department of Communications Interim Chair Loraleigh Keashly and Dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts Matthew Seeger are credited by MovingMedia for the initial and continuous financial support towards the festival.

Members of a Christian militia accused of plotting an antigovernment uprising were acquitted on sedition and conspiracy charges on Tuesday by a federal judge who said prosecutors had failed to prove that the group had concrete plans to attack anyone. Judge Victoria A. Roberts of Federal District Court dismissed all charges against five members of the Hutaree militia, who the authorities claimed had plotted to kill a police officer and then ambush those who attended the funeral. She dismissed the most serious charges against the group's founder, David Brian Stone Sr., and his son Joshua, but said they must remain on trial for some lesser weapons charges. All of the defendants had faced possible life sentences if convicted. "It shows how hard these cases are when you're talking about groups engaged in political speech," said Peter J. Henning, law professor at Wayne State University and former federal prosecutor. "This was a fairly disorganized group that talked big but didn't seem to be doing much." Henning predicted that the Hutaree's acquittal "will make the F.B.I. more hesitant to intervene early on when you're talking about domestic threats."

New startup companies inspired by TechTown, Wayne State University's business incubator and research park, have spawned hundreds of new jobs in Southeast Michigan. Since 2007, TechTown has provided support to 647 companies that have created 1,085 jobs, while active and graduate clients generated a combined total of $52 million in revenue in 2011 and $41 million in revenue in 2010, according to a new report released by Wayne State. "All these entrepreneurs, regardless of industry, are enriching the region through their commitment to innovation," said Allan Gilmour, president of Wayne State University and TechTown's Board of Directors. "By guiding a multitude of entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds to success, we are accelerating the region's transformation to an innovation-based economy," Gilmour said.

Mayor Dave Bing should be back to normal within a month, following his surgery this weekend, according to a Wayne State University medical school professor. Bing, 68, underwent a successful operation Saturday to "repair a perforation of the intestines" at Henry Ford Hospital and will remain there for the next few days, according to a statement from Dr. Scott Dulchavsky, chairman of the hospital's Department of Surgery. A spokesman for the mayor would not comment on the location of the rupture, but that could determine whether or not Bing will experience complications, said Dr. Alfred Baylor, assistant professor of surgery at Wayne State University. "It sounds like they caught it pretty early and got the surgery done early," Baylor said. "He should probably be recovering pretty well."

Wayne State University law professor Lance Gable joined WDET's Amy Miller to discuss the Affordable Care Act--now two years old. Coverage of the act will continue all this week as the United States Supreme Court decides on its constitutionality.

The NFL is looking at a new tool in its campaign against concussions - a helmet chin strap that instantly and obviously makes it clear when a player has taken blow so severe it may have caused a head injury. The Impact Indicator from Battle Sports Science uses single-axis accelerometers to determine the force, duration and direction of every hit a player takes. The force of each blow is measured using what's called head injury criterion. Any blow with a better than 50 percent chance of causing a head injury activates a flashing red LED on the strap. Yet one researcher who tested the Impact Indicator says questions remain about determining head injury criterion and correlating it to the risk of injury. "I think there's still a lot that we don't know," says professor Cynthia Bir of The Bioengineering Center at Wayne State University. "I think we need further research basic research before we can draw any solid conclusions regarding head injuries."

Dr. Patricia Dhar, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wayne State University, commented in a story about Lupus, the autoimmune disease which attacks various organs of the body. "It's America's most common, least known-about disease," said Dhar. Describing the diagnosis for Lupus, Dhar said, "It's like putting pieces of a puzzle together. There's not one test. There are tests you do after you have a high suspicion of lupus based on symptoms and health history." Dhar said it is essential for lupus patients to make lifestyle changes to help manage the disease.

In light of Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre celebrating its 50th anniversary, Craig Fahle is joined by local actresses, Danielle Cochrane and Yesmeen Mikhail, and the Hilberry's Alex Stewart.

Going Green could earn you an award from the state. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (EPA) has announced open nominations for the fourth annual Michigan Green Chemistry Governor's Awards. The Governor's Awards recognize advances that incorporate the principles of green chemistry into chemical design, manufacture, or use, or that promote activities which support or implement those technologies and efforts. The awards acknowledge efforts to design and implement safer and more sustainable chemicals, processes, and products. The awards will be presented at the 2012 Michigan Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference: "Driving Sustainable Manufacturing," which is scheduled Oct. 26 at Wayne State University.

Doron Levin, business and financial journalist, joined WJR's Frank Beckman to talk about the changing media in the digital age. Levin, this year's keynote speaker for the Samuel M. Levin Economic Award Lecture, will be speaking at Wayne State University today regarding the golden age of newspaper monopolies, advent of the internet, and possibilities for journalism in the digital age.

Cybereducation is new, market-driven, and it represents the future. But is it effective? "There's very little empirical research out there," said Michael K. Barbour, who researches virtual learning at Wayne State University. The positive research that has been done looked at adults or the earliest generation of virtual learners: bright, self-directed teens who went online to take tough courses their brick-and-mortar schools didn't offer. "Those students are equipped to do well in any learning environment," Barbour said. "The second we put other kinds of students in that environment, they don't do as well. At-risk students who are struggling in traditional environments," he said, "are still going to require a lot of that one-on-one instruction in online programs."

Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour was honored as one of four "Distinguished Warriors for Human and Civil Rights" by the Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan. President Gilmour, Ismael Ahmed, Florine Mark and Ken Cockrel, Sr. were recognized for their significant civil and human rights contributions to our community. The event was celebrated during the 33rd Annual Salute to Distinguished Warriors Dinner.

The Journal of Law in Society today is hosting its 2012 symposium titled "Michigan In Transition: The Restructuring of Governance Through Privatization and Corporatization." The event will explore major issues surrounding the social and economic trajectory of Detroit and other cities in the state, including restructuring of governance through privatization and corporatization, and the effects of emergency management. Wayne State University law professor Peter Hammer was one of Craig Fahle's guests discussing Detroit and Michigan's future. The event runs 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at Wayne State University's Law School. The Huffpost Detroit edition ran a print story about the symposium.

Wayne State University has launched a $25,000 student pre-seed investment fund backed by the Michigan Initiative for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The Warrior Fund aims to support student start-ups and nurture novel technologies created at Wayne State. It will attract student entrepreneurs of varying backgrounds and empower them to build bold ideas and explore technology-based business opportunities. The fund will invite WSU student teams to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. The result will be five to 10 teams of students being awarded up to $5,000 in startup capital. Potential student entrepreneurs will be guided by a Warrior Fund committee that includes Andrew Olson, commercialization principal at WSU; Aubrey Agee, senior program administrator of the Blackstone LaunchPad at WSU; and William Volz, professor of business law and ethics at WSU's School of Business Administration and executive director of WSU's Blackstone LaunchPad.

Grocery stores throughout Michigan and across the country are no longer stocking meat containing the ammonia-treated beef byproduct referred to in the media as "pink slime." Both Kroger Co. and Meijer Inc. said Thursday they will stop purchasing beef with any of the filler, while Hiller's Market said it had never touched the stuff. "Pink slime" is the unappetizing nickname for a product more formally called "lean finely textured beef" in the meat industry. Though it's been used for years as a filler that lowers the fat content and price of ground beef, an ABC News report several weeks ago featuring video of the extruded, paste-like beef mixture sparked an outcry among consumers. But while it may be safe, "lean finely textured beef" is not what Cathy Jen, chair of Wayne State University's Department of Nutrition and Food Science, considers the real thing. "They take all the steps to kill bacteria, but it's filler," Jen said. "It's OK to put in your food, but you don't get pure beef. If you think you're buying half a pound of ground beef, it's actually not because they're adding this filler."