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Michigan may cut subsidies that keep Amtrak running along two of its three passenger rail lines in the state, both of which connect with Chicago.

The state is paying Amtrak $7.3 million a year to offer roundtrip daily service linking Grand Rapids to Chicago and Port Huron to Chicago.

Funding would drop by half to about $3.7 million starting in October under a budget passed by Senate Republicans. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and House Democrats want to reduce the subsidy to about $5.7 million, a 22 percent cut.

State officials aren't saying how drastically service along the Pere Marquette and Blue Water lines could be affected. The Wolverine line from Pontiac to Chicago isn't subsidized by the state and wouldn't be affected by the cuts.

Amtrak ridership hit all-time highs last year as gas prices jumped above $4 a gallon. When gas prices declined, ridership stayed relatively steady considering the poor economy, Amtrak officials said.

Riders board...

An estimated 1 million people gathered along the lakefront Friday night, filling Grant Park, to watch the city's early 4th of July fireworks display over the lake and Navy Pier.

About 1.25 million people passed through the downtown area Friday for the holiday weekend festivities including Taste of Chicago, with about a million finding some lakefront area location to see the fireworks, said Cindy Gatziolis, a spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office of Special Events.

The fireworks began a little before 9 p.m. and finished about 9:15 p.m. Traffic was diverted throughout the downtown area near the lakefront, and extra service was provided for the crowds by the CTA and Metra.

Chicago police spokesman Roderick Drew said despite the huge crowds, there were no major injuries that he was aware of as of about 11 p.m. and only minor incidents -- a few fights, a few arrests, a few...

A death investigation was underway this evening after an unidentified man's body was found, apparently burned, at a Southwest Side residence, officials said.

Chicago police received a call about an incident at the residence about 3 p.m. in the 5000 block of South Talman Avenue in the Gage Park neighborhood.

A woman who lives next door to where the man's body was found said she saw police take three people who lived in that residence--two men and a woman--away from the residence in a squad car.

She said she did not know them, but said the apparent victim owned that residence. She said she did not know the victim's name.

"It seemed like a fire. There was a lot of smoke," the neighbor, 23-year-old Carmen Zavala, said about 9:20 p.m. "The body's still inside. They haven't taken him out."

Zavala said police told her the body was in the basement.

Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli could not confirm whether anyone was in custod...