WATZ Today's Country

Thursday News Summary 12-29-22
Thu, 29 Dec 2022 11:12:09 EST

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

SHIRKEY ON JAN. 6TH
Transcripts of interviews conducted by investigators from the January 6th committee
show Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey was in a tree-stand deer hunting
when he took a call from then-President Trump. Shirkey recalled the call during while
talking with investigators for nearly two hours. The call was made one day after Shirkey
and then House Speaker Lee Chatfield went to the White House to meet with Trump
who they say never had a specific ask of lawmakers but did discuss election fraud
allegations. Shirkey told investigators it was strange to get a call from the president
while sitting in a tree stand.

CROFT SENTENCE
A federal judge has sentenced a second man convicted on conspiracy charges related
to the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer to 19 and a half years in prison. Judge Robert
Jonker said 47-year old Barry Croft Jr of Delaware was a more risky individual than the
other co-leader Adam Fox who was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday. The
judge said Croft also has more of an issue with law enforcement than Fox and agreed
that Croft did take a leadership role in the plan that was broken up two years ago.

WHELAN ANNIVERSARY
Wednesday marked four years since Novi businessman Paul Whelan was detained in
Russia. Whelan was convicted of spying... something he -- and the U-S -- still deny.
Whelan has said he was in Russia for a wedding. The Biden Administration says it
continues to work to free Whelan.

HOPE COLLEGE DATA BREACH
The Attorney General's office is warning about a data breach at a West Michigan
college. Earlier this month, Hope College reported a massive data breach to the
Montana Attorney Generals office... after they discovered someone gained access to
their confidential files. The information included names, dates of birth, Social Security
Numbers, driver's license and student identification numbers. Attorney General Dana
Nessel urges anyone who believes they were impacted by the breach to monitor their
credit... and consider placing a credit freeze on your credit report.

SCRATCH OFF WINNER
A Macomb County man is a millionaire thanks to the Diamond 7's lottery game. The 42-
year old said he bought the two remaining tickets while at a Meijer store in Bad Axe, in
Michigan's thumb region. When he checked the ticket and saw it was worth four million
dollars he ran out of the store. The man took the lump sum payment of about two-anda-half million dollars. He plans to buy a house and save the rest.

MORE FLIGHT DELAYS
Flights continue to be canceled at Detroit Metro Airport. Flight Aware is reporting 5
delays and 12 cancellations. Currently, all 12 cancellations are from Southwest Airlines.
18 flights were canceled at Detroit Metro yesterday. Nationally there are ALREADY
over 3-thousand canceled flights.. with over 2-thousand from Southwest.

SNOWMOBILE CRASH
A woman from Macomb County is dead following a snowmobile accident in the Upper
Peninsula. Mcmillian Township Sheriff's officials say the 55-YEAR old was attempting
to cross a rural highway near Newberry early Tuesday morning when she was hit by a
truck and then hit again by another vehicle after being ejected from the machine onto
the roadway. Officials say alcohol or drugs are NOT a factor in the accident and the
drivers of the vehicles involved telling investigators, they did NOT see her. The woman
from Chesterfield Township, died from her injuries after being transported to a local
hospital and at this time, her name is, and her name is NOT being release.

VETS JOB
State Senator Adam Hollier who just finished his second term representing several
Wayne County communities named as the new Director of the Michigan Veterans
Affairs Agency on Wednesday by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Hollier is a U.S. Army
veteran and currently serves as a captain paratrooper and team leader in the U.S.
Army Reserves 412th Civil Affairs Battalion Airborne. Hollier is taking over the post
from Zaneta Adams who is stepping down at the end of the year to pursue
opportunities outside of state government.

42 STRONG HOCKEY
One sheriff is set to honor a Oxford High School shooting victim at a hockey game
tonight. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and members of the Detroit Red
Wings Alumni Association will participate in the inaugural 42 Strong Hockey Classic
today. Bouchard will drop the ceremonial first puck.Team 42 Strong will play Team
Wolverine... made-up of former professional and college players -- including current
University of Michigan player Johnny Druskinis. The game is at the Detroit Skating Club
in Bloomfield Township and benefits the Tate Myre Foundation.. a mentoring program
promoting a better future for students. The puck will drop at 7:30. Admission is 5 dollars.

MEGA MILLIONS
The Mega Millions jackpot continues to grow to new heights. After nobody matched all
six numbers in Tuesday's drawing, the next estimated jackpot sits at 640-million dollars
with a cash option of over 328-million dollars. It's the second biggest jackpot of the year
and has been growing since October 18th. In July of this year, a ticket sold in Illinois
was the winner of 1 point 3 BILLION dollars.. the year's biggest Mega Millions jackpot.
The next drawing is tomorrow at 11 p.m.