Masks returning to schools • 3 arrested after high speed chase • Detroit Lions finish season strong

MONDAY NEWS HIT - Ann Arbor Public Schools will require masks be worn by students and staff entering buildings in the district for the first two weeks of class following the end of winter break.

The district said from Jan. 9-20, they'll operate with an updated health code that seeks to reduce the spread of respiratory illness like RSV and the flu. COVID-19 also remains a pressing concern among health officials.

The policy change is meant to prioritize in-school learning and intended to keep kids from being sent home sick, a release from the superintendent said this weekend. 

Masking up, while no longer mandatory following scaled back restrictions from the pandemic, is still believed to be a critical tool to slow the spread of viruses in the winter. It could also become a more common form of prevention and a pandemic-era practice that won't ever disappear. 

In Michigan, Close to 10,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported over the past week, according to the CDC. The test positivity rate is also hovering between 10% and 14%. All of Metro Detroit are reporting a medium amount of transmission. 

The threat of illness is what prompted the policy change from Ann Arbor's school district since it could lead to disruption for both learning in class and at home. 

The release was sent by Superintendent Jeanice Kerr Swift on Jan. 8.

More street racing suspects arrested after police chase

Reports of street racing in Detroit eventually led to the arrest of three people involved in a high speed chase with Michigan State Police over the weekend. The suspects were caught after the police department's chopper managed to track the fleeing Dodge Charger from Detroit to Washtenaw County - including one being found in a dumpster.

The chase was posted on Twitter along with a breakdown of the chase and arrest. It started around 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning on Woodward near Davison in Highland Park. While on patrol, officers working in partnership with state police heard over their scanner of an estimated 40 vehicles that were drag racing in the area.

A short time later, they spotted a group of speeding Dodge Chargers traveling southbound from Davison. Police attempted a traffic stop that was ignored as one Charger immediately fled. The suspect ran several red lights and even shut off their own vehicle lights, prompting police to discontinue the chase. 

Instead, police deployed Trooper 2, a police helicopter to track the suspect vehicle. It followed the suspect as it traveled throughout Detroit and eventually onto I-94 toward Ann Arbor. While coordinated between MSP districts, police eventually used stop sticks at the Washtenaw-Wayne county line.

Detroit Lions end season strong

It wasn't the way Lions' fans wanted the season to end, but few could have hoped for a better result after the team's 1-6 start in what was looking like another brutal season. Instead, Detroit won the hearts of fans everywhere - and especially in Seattle where the Seahawks will continue postseason play after the Packers were knocked out in the last game before the playoffs. 

And what team would be better fit to deliver such a blow against Aaron Rodgers than the upstart players of one of the NFL's youngest rosters? Along with the team's first positive record since 2017, Jamaal Williams' scored two touchdowns to lift him over Barry Sanders' record for single-season scoring runs. 

It may also have been the final game for Rodgers, who might find a new city to play in next season - despite having one more year on his contract. 

The season has also given Detroit a good draft order to work with next year. They'll be picking 6th based on the Los Angeles Rams' final spot in the standings - and 18th. 

Eastpointe family honors loved one killed by wife

An Eastpointe family is mourning after their loved one was killed in a shooting in late December. Family members gathered at the Diamond Glo Auto Wash at the corner of 7 Mile and Mt. Elliot on Sunday. James Patmon worked there since he was just 12-years-old.

"He was still working here up until the tragedy," said his sister Nikesha Patmon. Just two days after Christmas James was murdered in his Eastpointe home. The alleged killer — his wife of 17 years. 

Investigators say 42-year-old Claretta Johnson shot James in the back of his head after an argument. She was arrested at the scene and now faces murder charges. "It was a shock; I didn’t believe it, I thought it was a bad dream for like three days until I saw the sorry, and I was like, oh, it’s real," said Shay Maxion, a long-term friend.

James' sister said they would occasionally get texts from Claretta saying she wanted to kill him. "Get your brother I’m going to kill him, things like that— we didn’t think she would actually go that far," she said.

More than a week later, Patmon’s family has yet to give him a proper burial. You can donate to the GoFundMe by clicking HERE. 

Murder suicide leaves family of 4 dead

Investigators for a Michigan sheriff’s office believe a man shot and killed his two children and their mother before killing himself, authorities said late Saturday. In a statement, the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office said officers found all four dead inside a home in Lee Township on Saturday afternoon.

An uncle of the woman called police after he went to check on the family and reported seeing her unresponsive through a window, the statement said.

The sheriff’s office identified the victims as 35-year-old Cindy Clouse and two children, age 10 and 13. The statement said police believe 34-year-old Roger Kyle Hagger shot Clouse and their children before killing himself but did not provide more detail on the continuing investigation.

A neighbor told WOOD-TV that he heard several gunshots on Saturday around noon and assumed they were from someone hunting until seeing the sheriff’s cars in the area. "It’s a horrible, horrible thing," neighbor Kevin Hejtmancik said. "You hear about it, you never think it’s going to happen across the road."

— Courtesy of the Associated Press

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Daily Forecast

Temperatures will start below freezing but won't stay that way forever. Expect conditions to warm up near 40 degrees by the late afternoon, along with lots of sunshine. Mostly clouds return to the skies in the following days. 

What else we're watching

1. Gas prices are on the move to continue the new year with prices going up some 13 cents since last week. It may be more up to macroeconomic variables that define the future cost of gas. 
2. Some 900 students from the three counties in Metro Detroit are making trips to the Experience Van Gogh exhibit at the DIA this Monday. The special field trip is cause enough for the museum to reopen. 
3. Detroit Public School Community District says remote learning will be in effect for students at Southeast High School due to broken pipes that flooded the building. Repairs are expected to be major and take two months to complete. 
4. A winning jackpot ticket worth $1.15 million was sold at a Kroger in Pinckney. The game, Lotto 47, was won seven times last year. This was the first time the jackpot was won in 2023. 
5. Reports that Asian carp are getting closer to Michigan is worrying environmental officials. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission said a new study found that black carp have fully established in the Mississippi River, which connects to the Great Lakes through tributaries through Chicago. 

Research uncovers secret that made ancient Roman concrete so durable

Scientists have long pondered the durability of ancient Roman concrete structures, which have not only stood the test of time but have held up under extreme conditions, assuming it came down to a unique mix of ingredients.

Volcanic ash from the area of Pozzuoli, on the Bay of Naples was believed to be a key element that led to the unique durability of ancient structures and kept them standing as modern concrete crumbled to the ground.

But a report released Friday discovered that it is not necessarily the ingredients that attributed to the strength of the Roman’s concrete but the mixing process. 

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