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DETROIT (AP) -- Michigan's former state epidemiologist acknowledged in a plea deal Wednesday that she was aware of dozens of cases of Legionnaires' disease in the Flint area around the same time the city changed its water source, but that she didn't report it to the general public
Corrine Miller, the former director of disease control and prevention at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, faced three charges stemming from the investigation into Flint's lead-contaminated water crisis. She pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor of willful neglect of duty in exchange for prosecutors dropping felony misconduct and conspiracy charges.
A no-contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated that way for sentencing. Miller's attorney, Kristen Guinn, said Miller entered the plea because of potential civil actions.
Flint, a financially struggling city of 100,000 people, switched from Detroit's water system to the Flint River to save money in 2014. But tests later showed that the river water was improperly treated and coursed through aging pipes and fixtures, releasing toxic lead.
The plea agreement states that Miller was aware of the Legionnaires' cases in 2014, and reported to someone identified only as "Suspect 2" that the outbreak "was related to the switch in the water source" after compiling data about the illness in Genesee County, where Flint is located. No explanation is given in the plea deal as to why the cases weren't publicly reported.
A definitive connection between the corrosive river water and Legionnaires' has not been made, but many experts believe it likely was the cause. At least 91 Legionnaires' cases were detected in the Flint area in 2014 and 2015, including 12 deaths.
Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in warm water and infect the lungs. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapor from contaminated water, but the bacteria don't spread from person to person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized with the disease each year.
Flint's water crisis was preceded by E. coli detections; resident complaints about color, odor and taste; and high levels of a disinfectant byproduct. A General Motors plant had stopped using the water just six months after the 2014 switch because it was rusting engine parts.
A total of nine people have been charged as part of the investigation into the water crisis. Miller was among eight state workers charged, while one city worker - former Flint Utilities Administrator Mike Glasgow - pleaded no contest to neglect in May.
Also on Wednesday, the Michigan appeals court agreed to hear a dispute between the state health department and authorities who are investigating crimes stemming from the water crisis. Gov. Rick Snyder is challenging an order by a judge that prohibits McLaren Hospital and Genesee County's health department from talking to the state about new cases of Legionnaires' disease.
The attorney general's office said orders barring contact with the state health department are necessary to protect its investigation. Spokeswoman Andrea Bitely said public health is not at risk.
NEW YORK (AP) -- National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on Wednesday thanked supporters who launched a campaign for his pardon and said for the sake of democracy, future whistleblowers must not be silenced.
Speaking by video link from Moscow, where he has been in exile since 2013, Snowden said that while the Founding Fathers created checks and balances to guard against government abuses, "whistleblowers, acting in the public interest, often at great risk to themselves, are another check on those abuses of power, especially through their collaboration with journalists."
He said whistleblowing "is democracy's safeguard of last resort, the one on which we rely when all other checks and balances have failed and the public has no idea what's going on behind closed doors."
The 33-year-old addressed a New York City news conference where advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International announced an online petition drive to urge President Barack Obama to pardon Snowden before he leaves office.
The supporters called Snowden a hero for exposing the extent of government surveillance by giving thousands of classified documents to journalists.
"Cases like Edward Snowden's are precisely why the presidential pardon power exists," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said. "There is widespread consensus that Edward Snowden's actions catalyzed an unprecedented debate about the proper limits of government surveillance, and his actions resulted in widespread reforms both in law and in technology that protect Americans and individuals across the globe."
The Obama administration has urged Snowden to return to the U.S. and face trial.
Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said Wednesday: "It is important to remember, Mr. Snowden is not a whistleblower. He is accused of leaking classified information and there is no question his actions have inflicted serious harms on our national security."
Naureen Shah, Amnesty International's director of human rights for the U.S., brandished a photo of Snowden and said, "I think it's no exaggeration to say that this man changed the world."
Because of Snowden, Shah said, human rights defenders "are more empowered than perhaps ever before to challenge surveillance laws and surveillance tools that have as their purpose and their effect the crushing and controlling of dissent all over the world."
The launch of the presidential pardon campaign comes two days before Oliver Stone's biopic "Snowden" opens. Asked whether the film might help the case for his pardon, Snowden said he hopes rather that the movie puts issues of government overreach before a new audience.
"The story of 2013 I think quite centrally and about the film is that from time to time we see that governments begin to redraw the boundaries of our rights behind closed doors." Snowden said.
Public figures supporting the request for a pardon include Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, philanthropist George Soros, Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and writer Joyce Carol Oates.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In an election-year broadside, the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee approved legislation Wednesday to prohibit the United States from making cash payments to Iran and require that Congress be notified before any future claims settlements with Tehran are conducted.
Passage of the bill on a 21-16 vote comes a week after the Obama administration acknowledged it paid Iran $1.7 billion in cash earlier this year to settle a decades-old arbitration claim between the two countries.