Morning Briefing Aug. 9, 2021: US-Canada border reopens to vaccinated Americans, undercover Detroit officer fatally shoots man after car crash

Here are this morning’s top stories

FILE - In this June 8, 2021, file photo, a car heads into the U.S. from Canada at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) (Elaine Thompson, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Vaccinated Americans given the green light to cross into Canada -- What to know

Non-essential travel to Canada is reopening Monday under strict new conditions.

American residents will have to show a negative COVID test at least 72 hours before travel and have proof they are fully vaccinated.

All of it has to be loaded onto a profile on the ArriveCAN app or website, which asks for those details along with how long the stay is and their quarantine plan, should they be exposed across the border.

Here’s what else you need to know.


Detroit police: Undercover officer shoots, kills man after car crash

Police are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred late Sunday night on Detroit’s east side.

According to Detroit police, about 200 people and cars were drag racing and drifting on Sunday on East Grand Boulevard near East Milwaukee Avenue, near the General Motors Factory ZERO plant. Undercover Detroit police officers were reportedly in the area in an unmarked vehicle.

See the report here.


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Parents demand action after Grosse Pointe Public Schools decides to not require masks

Parents with students enrolled in the Grosse Pointe Public School System are concerned about the district’s lack of a mask mandate for the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.

The concerned parents said all they want is for the school district to keep their children safe following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about mask use, but they claim their voices have been ignored.

See the story here.


‘First 10 minutes were quite a fight’: Michigan teen sets new salmon record

Louis Martinez will never have to embellish the proverbial fish story after confirmation that he set a new state record for the largest Chinook salmon ever caught in Michigan.

The teenager from Ortonville, Michigan, reeled in the nearly 48-pounder (22 kilograms) on Saturday morning while fishing on a charter boat in Lake Michigan with his mom, sister and stepdad.

See a photo of the fish here.


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Pause on student loan payments extended through January

The Biden administration on Friday issued what it says will be the final extension to a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic.

Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through Jan. 31, 2022. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and debt collection efforts will be suspended. Those measures have been in place since early in the pandemic but were set to expire Sept. 30.

Read more here.


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COVID in Michigan 💉

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 910,500 as of Friday, including 19,951 deaths, state officials report.

Friday’s update includes a total of 3,962 new cases and four additional deaths over a three-day period -- an average of 1,320.6 cases per day. Of the four deaths reported Friday, three were identified during a review of records.

On Tuesday, the state announced a total of 906,538 cases and 19,947 deaths.

The state was previously only reporting COVID data every Tuesday and Friday. The state will now be providing COVID updates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Testing has dropped to around 10,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate at 6.51% as of Friday, slightly higher than the previous week. The positive test rate has been steadily climbing since the end of June, when it was at its lowest. Hospitalizations have been slowly increasing for the last two weeks.

Cases are rising again in Michigan. The state’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 938 on Friday, nearly seven times higher than the average on July 1. The 7-day death average was 5 on Friday. The state’s fatality rate is 2.2%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 17,600 on Friday.

Michigan has reported more than 9.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as of Thursday, with 63.9% of 16+ residents having received at least one dose while 56% of 16+ residents are considered fully vaccinated.

Here’s a look at more of the data:


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About the Author

Cassidy Johncox is a senior digital news editor covering stories across the spectrum, with a special focus on politics and community issues.