Freeway shooting on I-84, substitute teacher makes racist comment, Benson requests probe into voting equipment

FRIDAY NEWS HIT - A shooting on a Metro Detroit freeway shutdown prompted a large police investigation on I-94 early Friday morning.

A victim is in surgery and currently listed in critical condition after receiving multiple gunshot wounds while on the freeway in Taylor.

The felonious assault occurred around 2 a.m., and Taylor police were the first to respond. The investigation shutdown westbound I-94 near Telegraph.

Responding police officers administered aid to the victim, who was later identified as a passenger in a vehicle. The driver was not hurt.

Taylor EMS transported the victim to Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn.

Police say the suspect vehicle was identified as a pickup truck that was occupied by several people, which continued driving westbound on I-94. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Metro South Post at 734-287-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAK-UP.

The highway has since been reopened, the Michigan Department of Transportation tweeted Friday. 

Benson requests investigation into potential unauthorized voter tabulator access

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has requested law enforcement and the state attorney general to investigate reports that a third party gained unauthorized access to vote tabulator machines in a northern county. 

Benson requested AG Dana Nessel and Michigan State Police look into a breach of election security protocols in Roscommon County, which lies just south of Grayling. According to a release, the breach may have exposed the machine to vulnerabilities that render them unusable in future elections.

The secretary cited reports that her office received in her request. The potential violation of election law included access to tabulation machines and data drives in Richfield Township. Only qualified individuals may access voting systems, state law says. 

Concerns over security in election tabulators exploded following a user error in Antrim County when it appeared votes were counted for the wrong candidate. Third party access that was approved following a court order led to a report that falsely claimed election fraud, Benson said. Despite the report being debunked, it was cited as a reason for the federal government to seize the machines in a drafted executive order made by former president Donald Trump. 

Substitute at Farmington Hills recorded using racist comment 

A substitute teacher was recorded making a racist comment toward a Black student Thursday at Farmington High School. "I was touching the teacher’s mic. I probably shouldn’t have been doing it," Keichean Wilson said. "She says to me, 'Get your cotton picking hands off of that.'" The incident was recorded. When asked what she said, the teacher said it again.

"I don’t think I comprehended what she said at first, and then she repeated it," Wilson said. "You cannot say that. That’s really bad. So then she goes, ‘It’s an old saying that we used to say,’ and so I go, ‘Who do you think they said it to?’"

The incident led to students at Farmington HS and nearby North Farmington High School walking out of class in protest. Superintendent Chris Delgado said the teacher was removed and will not be back. She also will not teach anywhere else in the district.

"The administration immediately addressed the situation and removed that substitute teacher and worked with her contract services to make sure she’s not back," he said. Delgado also applauded Wilson for going to a staff member who deals with conflict. "That’s a real testament to the relationship that we try to build in our school," he said.

Injunction sought in Ambassador Bridge protest

As pressure builds on Canada to resolve a blockade at the Ambassador Bridge, both the government and the Automotive Parts Manufactures' Association are taking their fight to a judge for a Friday hearing in hopes of having an injunction approved against the protesters.

While the few hundred protesters blocking the bridge say they have no plans to leave, they may have no choice if a judge sides with the government's request. About a third of trade between the countries is conducted at the Ambassador Bridge, which means even small disruptions can have big effects.

But when a multi-day protest shuts down access completely, the economic damages will ripple with increasing severity. The Windsor mayor says it's costing "$13.5 million in trade and irreparable damage" to the country. 

Both President Joe Biden and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have implored the government resolve the issue. 

Economist optimistic, despite 7.5% inflation

Inflation jumped 7.5% year-over-year, hitting its highest rate in four decades. The price increases are something most people are feeling. "A lot of our residual cash, we have to go into it. Now, our emergency banks and take care of our people," said Venecia Brown of Elisa Angel Services.

The organization services group home that help people with physical and mental disabilities, as well as people who have fallen on hard times. Right now, the price of food, such as bread, is hurting Elisa Angel Services.

However, Dr. Michael Greiner, an economist at Oakland University, says he is a bit optimistic. "I certainly can relate to how people are feeling. I am somewhat optimistic though. While we’re seeing a jump the amount of the jump is actually decreasing," he said. "Over the long-term this is really going to be a short term problem." He said the bigger issue in the short term is the health of the economy as a result of the pandemic.

"We have heard from in the fed that in the next year they expect probaby four rate increases, which will essentially be, I guess how a lot of people have characterized it, is basically tapping the brakes on the economy, which is kind of what the fed can do," he said. "When you look at the national debt as a percentage of GDP, and the way interest rates are now overall, the national debt is actually growing at a slower rate than the economy is. So, we really, most economists are not terribly worried about the national debt as a factor right now."

What else we're watching

1. Detroit City FC will reveal its new uniform kits during a concert headlined by a local rapper. Black Milk will headline a Feb. 27 event at St. Andres Hall to celebrate the team and its new attire it plans to sport during a big year for the club.
2. A 30-pound cat at a Huron Valley Humane Society needs a home. The 8-year-old Sterling is a domestic shorthair mix that is badly in need of some exercise.
3. Ingham County has dropped its mask mandate in schools. More counties may follow as the omicron surge continues to pull back and COVID-19 cases drop in Michigan.
4. A Flint man has been ordered to pay his ex-girlfriend $25,000 after he was accused of selling nude photos and videos of her online. He's also facing criminal charges for the dissemination of sexually explicit material.
5. The owner of Hygrade Deli, a corner store at Michigan and Roosevelt in Southwest Detroit since 1955, is retiring. It's a monumental occasion for Stuart Litt, who has been in the business for 50 years.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

A burst of snow is expected to turn to rain as Metro Detroit gets hit with a round of precipitation Friday morning. However, warm temperatures on the horizon will likely melt anything that falls this morning. Freezing cold temperatures will return this weekend. 

Biden moves to split $7 billion in frozen Afghan funds for 9/11 victims

President Joe Biden is expected to issue an executive order on Friday to move some $7 billion of the Afghan central bank’s assets frozen in the U.S. banking system to fund humanitarian relief in Afghanistan and compensate victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a U.S. official familiar with the decision.

The order will require U.S. financial institutions to facilitate access to $3.5 billion of assets for the Afghan relief and basic needs. The other $3.5 billion would remain in the United States and be used to fund ongoing litigation by U.S. victims of terrorism, the official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision had not been formally announced.

International funding to Afghanistan was suspended and billions of dollars of the country’s assets abroad, mostly in the United States, were frozen after the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August.

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