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| Detroit becomes largest US city to file for bankruptcy | Detroit becomes largest US city to file for bankruptcy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US city of Detroit in Michigan has become the largest American city ever to file for bankruptcy, with debts of at least $15bn (£10bn). | |
| State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr asked a federal judge to place the city into bankruptcy protection. | State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr asked a federal judge to place the city into bankruptcy protection. |
| If approved, he would be allowed to liquidate city assets to satisfy creditors and pensions. | If approved, he would be allowed to liquidate city assets to satisfy creditors and pensions. |
| Detroit stopped unsecured-debt payments last month to keep the city running as Mr Orr negotiated with creditors. | Detroit stopped unsecured-debt payments last month to keep the city running as Mr Orr negotiated with creditors. |
| He proposed a deal last month in which creditors would accept 10 cents on the dollar of what they were owed. Mr Orr suggested at the time there was a 50-50 chance of the city needing to file for bankruptcy. | |
| In a letter accompanying Thursday's filing, Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, said he had approved the request from Mr Orr to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. | |
| Gov Snyder said: "Only one feasible path offers a way out," adding that residents needed a clear exit from the "cycle of ever decreasing services". | |
| "The only way to do those things is to radically restructure the city and allow it to reinvent itself without the burden of impossible obligations. | |
| "It is clear that the financial emergency in Detroit cannot be successfully addressed outside of such a filing, and it is the only reasonable alternative that is available". | |
| Mr Orr has said that the city's long-term debt could actually be between $17bn and $20bn. | |
| The former manufacturing powerhouse's finances have struggled for some time, driven by a number of factors, including a steep population loss. | |
| The city government has also been hit by a string of corruption scandals over the years. | |
| Declining investment in street lights and emergency services have made it difficult to police the city. | |
| The city lost 250,000 residents between 2000-10. | The city lost 250,000 residents between 2000-10. |