Detroit, Michigan filed for bankruptcy in U.S. federal court on Thursday, making it the largest municipality in U.S. history to seek Chapter 9 protection.
City of Detroit Files for Bankruptcy
![Inside the abandoned and decaying manufacturing plant of Packard Motor Car in Detroit, Michigan.](https://gdb.voanews.com/c4b5fe8d-07cd-47fc-8463-79a64de5c5e3_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Inside the abandoned and decaying manufacturing plant of Packard Motor Car in Detroit, Michigan.
![(L-R) Ghana President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana Finance Minister Seth Terkper, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Dana Hyde, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), participate in the Ghana Compact Signing Ceremony at the State Department, Washington, DC, Aug. 5, 2014.](https://gdb.voanews.com/2e3a6bc1-2b1b-4625-b4e2-2037466ced41_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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(L-R) Ghana President John Dramani Mahama, Ghana Finance Minister Seth Terkper, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Dana Hyde, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), participate in the Ghana Compact Signing Ceremony at the State Department, Washington, DC, Aug. 5, 2014.
![Vacant and blighted homes in an eastside neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.](https://gdb.voanews.com/776ce927-65ec-46f9-9f96-680899eec194_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Vacant and blighted homes in an eastside neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.
![Carla Lyons holds her bidders card as nearly 9,000 foreclosed Detroit area properties are being auctioned off at the International Center Building in Detroit. Picture taken October 19, 2009.](https://gdb.voanews.com/7e12850b-8deb-4c2d-9e31-40d123aa393e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Carla Lyons holds her bidders card as nearly 9,000 foreclosed Detroit area properties are being auctioned off at the International Center Building in Detroit. Picture taken October 19, 2009.