Nightside Report Jan. 21, 2022: Body found in river believed to be Brendan Santo, Port Huron teacher assigns ‘culturally insensitive’ coloring sheet on MLK Day

Body believed to be Brendan Santo found in river months after disappearance on Michigan State campus

DETROIT – Police said a body they believe to be Brendan Santo has been found in the Red Cedar River nearly three months after he disappeared on the campus of Michigan State University.

Read more here.

Port Huron elementary school teacher assigns ‘culturally insensitive’ coloring sheet on MLK Day

Annual tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took a controversial turn in the Port Huron Area School District this week.

Several parents have been furious over an assignment handed out to some elementary students. The district has apologized, but many parents say that apology is not enough.

Read the report here.

🏥Michigan reports 33,551 new COVID cases, 210 deaths -- average of 16,776 cases per day

Dentist offers to help teen after sudden closure of Always Gentle Dentistry in Dearborn

Michigan officials are looking into the case of a dentist who abruptly closed her office, leaving some families stuck without care.

A family reached out to Help Me Hank after paying for their daughter’s braces. Once the braces were put on the dentist appears to have taken off.

Learn more here.

🌨️Metro Detroit weather: Trading sunshine for snowflakes

Macomb County sheriff testifies at Eric Smith’s embezzlement hearing

Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith appeared via Zoom on Friday for his preliminary exam in his embezzlement hearing.

Smith is facing ten counts of embezzlement and running a criminal enterprise for allegedly using forfeiture funds for his personal use.

View the full report here.

Detroit man accused of pouring lighter fluid on pregnant girlfriend, setting her on fire

Detroit police found a woman severely burned inside the basement of a home after her boyfriend used lighter fluid to set her on fire, according to authorities.

Officers were called at 10:41 p.m. Jan. 14 to a house in the 20000 block of Packard Street. When they arrived, they found a 35-year-old pregnant woman in the basement with severe burns.

Learn more here.

More Local News Headlines

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• Ford brings new high-tech security system into cars and trucks
• Teen Kai Owens makes Olympic moguls team, returning to China
• Shiffrin leads US Olympic ski team nominations; Nyman out
• Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib calls on White House to crack down on COVID test charges
• GM to spend $6.5B, add 4,000 jobs at Michigan EV factories

National Headlines

• Texas hostages escaped synagogue as FBI SWAT team rushed in
• Giuliani associate gets year in prison in foreign donor case
• Rare blast of snow, ice takes aim at Southeast US coast
• Thich Nhat Hanh, influential Zen Buddhist monk, dies at 95
• US man accused of faking death to avoid charges jailed in UK
• UN chief: World more unpredictable than during the Cold War

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