Michigan’s top doctor recommends school mask mandate
Michigan is allowing individual districts and county health departments to make mask policy -- a move that education groups call a cop out.
“We need health experts to stop pointing fingers at schools and to start stepping up and making decisions themselves about what are health decisions,” said Robert McCann, executive director of K-12 Alliance of Michigan.
💉 A look at Michigan’s COVID vaccine coverage by age group on Aug. 19, 2021
Feds: Whitmer kidnapping plotter deserves break
In court documents filed Wednesday, federal prosecutors recommended a 9-year sentence for Ty Garbin -- the only person to plead guilty in a plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last October.
The feds said Garbin, who is from Hartland, deserves credit for assisting investigators in making cases against the over five men charged in federal court.
Biden: Greater threats than Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
President Joe Biden says even with the Taliban in power in Afghanistan, he sees a greater threat from outposts of al-Qaida and its affiliated groups in other countries, and that it was no longer “rational” to continue to focus U.S. military power there.
“We should be focusing on where the threat is the greatest,” Biden said in an interview.
🦠 16 takeaways from Michigan COVID update: Delta spread, mask mandates, third vaccine dose
Jack Morris suspended from Detroit Tigers broadcasts after Shohei Ohtani comment
Bally Sports Detroit broadcaster Jack Morris has been suspended from calling Tigers games after a comment he made about Japanese star Shohei Ohtani.
During the sixth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, play-by-play announcer Matt Shepherd asked Morris, “What do you do with Shohei Ohtani?”
Ohtani, who leads MLB in home runs and is the favorite for American League MVP, was coming up to bat in a tie game.
Beloved Hamtramck bar owner killed in apparent DUI crash
One man is behind bars, another dead after a vehicle crash involving a motorcycle in Eastpointe.
Brad Ruff died at about 7 p.m. Sunday night after the crash. His wife was critically injured. Ruff was the longtime owner of Kelly’s Bar in Hamtramck. People who knew him are still in shock.
🍾 Ford F-150 truck saves wedding reception during power outage in Farmington Hills
Weather: More heat, fewer storms
COVID in Michigan 💉
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 925,377 as of Wednesday, including 20,076 deaths, state officials report.
Wednesday’s update includes a total of 2,690 new cases and 46 additional deaths over a two-day period -- an average of 1,345 cases per day. Of the 46 deaths announced Wednesday, 15 were identified during a review of records.
On Monday, the state announced a total of 922,687 cases and 20,030 deaths.
Testing has dropped to around 10,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate at 8.24% as of Wednesday, 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 1,339 on Wednesday -- a significant jump since the beginning of July. The 7-day death average was 13 on Wednesday. The state’s fatality rate is 2.2%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 27,000 on Monday.
Michigan has reported more than 9.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as of Tuesday, with 64.8% of 16+ residents having received at least one dose while 56.5% of 16+ residents are considered fully vaccinated.
Here’s a look at more of the data: