WATZ Today's Country

Tuesday News Summary 10-25-22
Tue, 25 Oct 2022 07:17:58 EDT

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

GUNS SEIZED
A statewide crackdown on gun violence has led to 171 illegal guns coming off the
streets since the start of September. State officials said Monday that law enforcement
officers have checked in with nearly 13-hundred felony offenders since the launch of
Operation Safe Neighborhoods, resulting in 182 arrests and the seizure of the illegal
guns, as well as illegal drugs and ammunition. Operation Safe Neighborhoods, a
partnership between law enforcement across the state and Michigan Department of
Corrections parole and probation agents, was announced in September. Authorities
have not released many details about the recent arrests or gun seizures, including
where they happened or any names of those involved.

ELECTION DAY AND DEBATE
The second and final gubernatorial debate is scheduled for tonight at Oakland
University. Governor Gretchen Whitmer and challenger Tudor Dixon will answer
questions for an hour. The debate comes two weeks before election day, although
thousands of voters have already cast absentee ballots.

SKYDIVE DEATH
A Troy man has died in a sky diving accident in New Jersey. The Federal Aviation
Administration is investigating the accident that killed 37-year-old Brandon Jackson.
Police say they were called to the scene at 2:30 Friday afternoon and found Jackson
lying in a field near an airport in Alexandria Township. An FAA spokesperson said their
investigation will focus on inspecting the packing of the parachute, along with the rules
of flight for the pilot and aircraft."

HALLOWEEN CANDY
When it comes to favorite Halloween candy - in Michigan - the number one isn't even
chocolate. The new Most Popular Halloween Candy Report from the market research
firm Top Data says that Michigan prefers Starburst. Michigan is among three states
favoring Starburst for Halloween including Texas and Delaware. Number two is Kit Kat,
followed by Milky Way rounding out the top three. By the way, the firm says this will be
a big year for candy, with Halloween candy sales expected to top last year by 23-
percent.

MOVIE
A Grand Rapids native will have a film he wrote screened this Friday at the Austin Film
Festival. "Daniel's Gotta Die" is also the last film that actor and comedian Bob Saget
appeared in before he died earlier this year. Screenwriter Matthew Dressel says Saget
was involved in the creative process for his character and says he didn't know it, but
actually helped them write a beautiful sendoff to him. The movie will screen at the film
festival and Dressel says he hopes it gets a theatrical release after that.

BENTON HARBOR FATAL FIRE
A woman has died in a house fire in southwest Michigan's Benton Harbor. Firefighters
say they found a man overcome by smoke trying to get into the house though the back
door Monday afternoon, according to police. The man told them his wife was in the
house . Firefighters found the 66-year-old woman and they attempted lifesaving
efforts, but she died at the hospital . They say today would have been her birthday.

KIDS EAT EDIBLES-W MI
The Kent County Sheriff's Office is investigating after two students at Kentwood High
School made trips to the hospital after eating cookies that contained marijuana.
Ondrae Soule, the mother of one of the students, tells WOOD TV that her daughter
thought she was just eating a cookie , but then she became ill and was taken to the
hospital Doctors ran tests and said there was marijuana in her system. Soule says her
daughter's friend also ate one of the cookies that she bought from a boy and she ended
up in the hospital.
Kentwood Public Schools are also investigating.

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS SHOOTINGS
Two people have been shot in Muskegon Heights . They were both reportedly taken to
the hospital. Police say no one has been arrested in the shootings.

CLINTONDALE THREAT
Classes return to normal this morning at Clintondale High School in Clinton Township...
one day after a student brought an airsoft gun to school, prompting a 90-minute
lockdown.
A freshman student who brought the airsoft gun is in police custody. Clintondale
Superintendent Rodriguez Broadnax says the airsoft gun looked like a regular gun...
prompting the school to treat it like a normal gun and go into lockdown.
The incident happened around 8:30 yesterday morning. The student pulled the airsoft
gun from his backpack and started "waving" it around in a classroom.
An investigation continues this morning.

GOV KIDNAP TRIAL
Prosecutors are urging a jury to convict three men for assisting the leaders of a plot to
kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
They say the men provided land, paramilitary training, and inspiration for domestic
terrorism ahead of the 2020 U.S. election. Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar
are not charged with trying to abduct Whitmer -- but authorities say their role was
critical, with the trio aligning themselves with key players and repeatedly hoping for a
U.S. civil war. The trial in state court in Jackson is an offshoot of the main case handled
in federal court. That's where Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted of a
kidnapping conspiracy.
Two other men pleaded guilty and two more were acquitted.

POWERBALL
The Powerball grand prize continues climbing to historic heights.
NO player won the jackpot last night, growing the grand prize to 680 MILLION dollars
ahead of Wednesday night's drawing. The jackpot is the seventh largest in Powerball
history.
The cash option is projected at just over 326 MILLION dollars.
One ticket in Texas matched five numbers during last night's drawing, that player took
home ONE MILLION dollars.

LYFT DRIVER MURDER CHARGES
Charges are expected this week for a Pontiac man accused of killing a Lyft driver last
Friday.
The Oakland County Sheriffs Office says the victim is 49-year-old Dina Terrell. The
woman -- an Eastpointe resident -- was found in a Nissan Versa... crashed into a utility
pole at the intersection of Putnam Avenue and Rundell Street in Pontiac.
Police say she had a gunshot wound to the head and died upon arrival at a local
hospital.
The 19-year-old suspect is being held in the Oakland County Jail awaiting charges.

BATTLE CREEK CHASES
Suspected car thieves led police on a couple of chases around the Battle Creek area
early Saturday morning on what started as a noise complaint. When deputies got
there, multiple vehicles took off and one hit a cruiser and kept going. One of the
vehicles was reportedly on fire and the people got into another car and took off.
Deputies followed the car on I-94 west almost to Kalamazoo before stop sticks disabled
the vehicle. Two men and three juveniles were arrested.
Deputies say three stolen vehicles were recovered.

DEMENTIA STUDY
Nearly one in 10 U.S. adults over the age of 65 have dementia. The study, led by
researchers from Columbia University and includes University of Michigan scientists,
also found that another 22% have mild cognitive impairment. People with dementia and
mild cognitive impairment are more likely to be older, have lower levels of education,
and to be racialized as Black or Hispanic. Men and women have similar rates of
dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
Co-author Kenneth Langa, the Cyrus Sturgis Professor in the U-M Medical School says
because the study is part of the nationally representative and long-running Health and
Retirement Study, these data not only show the burden of dementia now, but will be
used in the future to track the trends in dementia burden in the decades ahead.The
study was published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

WARDEN REMOVED
The Michigan Department of Corrections is replacing the warden at Macomb
Correctional Facility and banning him from prison property, pending internal
investigations, an official confirms.
George Stephenson has been barred from entering the prison but has not been fired.
His removal on October 18 coming the same day one prisoner was killed and another
injured in related incidents at the prison.
Those incidents are both under investigation internally and by the Michigan State
Police.

U-P HOUSE BURNS DOWN
A house owned by the Keweenaw County Historical Society in the U-P's Central has
been destroyed in a fire. The fire broke out Sunday night and someone going by called
the fire department. No one was injured and the cause is being investigated. W-L-U-C
reports the former president of the Keweenaw Historical Society, Larry Malloy says the
house was one of two buildings in Central with a certain type of architecture and it's a
loss for the area.

EMMET COUNTY CRASH
In Emmet County, a Mount Pleasant mas was seriously injured after losing control of
his car and crashing in Bear Creek Township. 32-year-old Jacob Malley lost control of
his Ford Mustang on M-119,, left the road, hit a utility poll and rolled over.

CHIPPEWA BROADBAND
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has been awarded 25-million dollars to
expand broadband in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The grant from the Rural
Broadband Reconnect Program will allow the tribe to expand high-speed internet
access to its members by installing a fiver to the premises network located in Chippewa
and Mackinac Counties. The network will provide one gigabit broadband service to
households.