Spirit Airline cancelations strand flyers, teens were fleeing before fatal crash, our Aug. 3 election guide

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - It's the all-important election day in Michigan for 53 different counties in a busy local voting day for the state. While it's not a presidential election, there is still plenty on the ballot that will affect many in the state.

There's plenty of ways to participate in elections, with votes being cast in-person or absentee. Here's a breakdown of everything to know before heading to the polls.

Registration is usually something that happens online. But by election day, anyone looking to register to vote can do so in person at a secretary of state branch or at a clerk's office. Voters will need to be residents of the city or township they live in for 30 days, a legal U.S. citizen, cannot be serving jail time, and must be 18 years or older.

When you do register, you'll need an ID. It could be a driver's license or state ID, a current utility bill, a bank statement, a paycheck or government check, or any other government document with relevant name and address information.

If you're confused about where to vote, the easiest place to find out is the polling place tab on the Secretary of State website. 

Don't wait too long before getting in line if you plan to vote. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. 

With every election year, there are questions and concerns about the security of a state's voting processes. The Detroit city clerk walked residents through those protocols yesterday in an effort to counter mistrust.

Detroit residents will have some of the biggest decisions to make today. Proposal P represents a radical rethinking of the city's charter and its city government makeup. Read the breakdown of what would change if it's approved here. 

Spirit Airline cancelations strand flyers at DTW

The typical headache that comes with traveling appears to be growing into a migraine for many unlucky vacationers this summer as flight delays and cancelations are bubbling to a larger scale than normal. "They gave me an email saying, ‘Your flight has been canceled.’ Nothing, not why, not when we’re available to get another flight, nothing," Milan Dudek said.

Dudek is frustrated with Spirit Airlines. A lot of flyers are actually. Several were left stranded at Detroit Metro Airport after more than a hundred flights were canceled this week. "I will never fly with Spirit again. Ever," said Precious Anderson, who can't find a way back to Houston after Spirit botched her reservation with Delta.

According to Spirit, there were "travel disruptions over the weekend due to a series of weather and operational challenges" that led the airline to "proactive cancellations." The airline said it understands how frustrating it can be when plans change unexpectedly and is working to find solutions.

However, many said it wasn't just the inconvenience of not getting to fly home, but the manner in which many learned about their disruption. "Kiss my (expletive). I’m never flying with you again," Dudek said.

Teens dead in crash were fleeing hit-and-run victim, police say

Officials believe three teen girls were fleeing hit-and-run victim who was chasing them when the girls crashed in Superior Township on Monday. According to the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, the girls hit a railroad crossing and rolled on Superior Road near First Street around 1:30 p.m. Two girls were killed and another was seriously injured.

The sheriff's office received a call about a hit-and-run involving the vehicle the girls were in just before the crash. Authorities think the driver who was hit was chasing the girls but did not catch up to them. Officials believe the girls were speeding when they crossed the railroad tracks.

Ryan Katon lives near the crash scene, and he said drivers are always speeding past the area. The crash closed the road for more than five hours.

"It’s a spot where people really just like to fly on the road. It’s a 40 mph road. People go flying all the time -- 50-60 mph on this road," Katon said. "I’ve witnessed people get air on these tracks. They were going fast and either direction they could easily have gotten airborne and lost control that way."

Interim Chief White has ‘serious concerns’ after punch

It hasn't been an easy start to the summer for interim Chief James White, whose short tenure has been filled with drag racing complaints, an uptick in homicides, and brawls. Now, he has a viral video showing a Detroit police officer slugging a man unprompted.

That prompted an internal investigation by the police department. White, who took over as interim police chief on June 1 after the retirement of James Craig, said an internal investigation is being done and he has concerns after seeing the video.

"I have some serious concerns as to how that was handled. We've come to expect our officers to deescalate situations. I did not see de-escalation there, I didn’t see our training there," White said. "If there is a violation, we are going to hold the officers accountable and we are going to be transparent about it to the community."

Officers had been trying to get the man away from a separate brawl. When he wouldn't, it escalated and it eventually ended with him being laid out by the officer. White said the officer involved has been pulled off the street and is on desk duty during the investigation.

Woman tried stealing multiple vehicles before police chase

A woman is accused of trying to steal several vehicles from a Rochester Hills gas station before leading deputies on a chase in a truck stolen from Indiana on Sunday, police said. Oakland County sheriff's deputies were called to a Mobil gas station in the 2900 block of Walton Boulevard at 11:51 p.m. 

The caller told police that a woman, identified later as Colleen Margaret Staker, was driving his Dodge Dart away from the gas pumps when he walked out of the store. Staker stopped driving and got out of the car in the gas station parking lot. Authorities said she took two wristwatches, money, and a bag containing firearm magazines from the car. After that, Staker is accused of getting into a Dodge Ram and attempting to start the pickup truck. The truck's owner confronter Staker, who then got into a Ford F1-50 pickup truck and fled the gas station.

A deputy saw a truck matching the description in a parking lot across the street from the gas station. Authorities said the deputy made contact with the woman driving, Staker, and she sped away. The deputy activated their lights and sirens and began pursuing the vehicle, which was identified as stolen out of Indiana, officials said. 

The deputy contacted Rochester police, who deployed stop sticks in the area of Walton Boulevard and University, east of Livernois. Staker hit the sticks, damaging her tires, but kept driving, officials said. She eventually hit a brick paver wall at East University and Elizabeth Street and was arrested, authorities said.

What else we're watching

1. Did the I-75 closures not prove enough of an obstacle this weekend? Because I-275 isn't far behind in the commute delays either. Check out the closures and detours en route here. 
2. The Thunder Over Michigan Air Show is set to begin this weekend. The aerial festivities will kick off at Willow Run on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Learn more about tickets here.
3. Almost half of Michigan, including residents in Oakland and Macomb County now live in places where COVID-19 transmission is high enough to warrant a mask recommendation from the CDC. 
4. The Tokyo Olympics have featured some impressive performances in the past few days. That includes a silver medal-winning performance by a Berkley woman competing in weightlifting.
5. Renovation is about to begin on the historic Hamtramck stadium, which is one of five remaining Negro league home parks. 

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

It's going to be a near-perfect day for weather Tuesday as temperatures will remain in the 70s and maybe skim 80 degrees. There will be clouds in the morning before the sun dominates the rest of the day. Some hotter temperatures are on the way, but it won't be with any of the severe weather that's accompanied it.

CDC: Less than 1% of breakthrough COVID-19 cases led to hospitalization or death

According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on breakthrough COVID-19 cases, less than 1% of people who have contracted the novel coronavirus despite being vaccinated have either been hospitalized or died.

Though hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 breakthrough infections can happen in rare cases, the data highlights just how uncommon such cases are.

As of July 26, the CDC reported that 163 million Americans had been vaccinated for COVID-19. Out of those inoculations in the same timeframe, 6,587 Covid-19 breakthrough cases occurred that either resulted in hospitalization or death. 

Out of the 6,587 cases, 1,263 vaccinated people died from COVID-19, according to the CDC. About 95% of the reported breakthrough cases were hospitalizations.