Suspect in Warren hate crime case arrested, GOP challenges absentee ruling, Whitmer extends emergency order
WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said an arrest has been made in connection to the string of hate crimes targeting an African-American couple that had a Black Lives Matter sign at their home.
Dwyer confirmed the arrest Tuesday. He confirmed on Wednesday a 24-year-old man from Warren was in custody. Dwyer also said he's confessed to the crime.
A series of escalating incidents happened at the house on Tallman Avenue, including vandalism to gunshots being fired at the home over a course of a few days earlier this month.
Man suspected of hate crimes against Warren family arrested
A 24-year-old man from Warren has been arrested in connection to a string of hate crimes that hit a neighborhood in August and early September. A couple who supports the Black Lives Matter movement was targeted. The Warren police commissioner said the man has confessed to the crime.
A reward of $3,000 for information leading to arrest had been put up by Warren police to find the suspect.
Eddie and Candace Hall found out the good news about the arrest on the news. Immediately they said they felt hope.
"I sit down to watch the news like I always do and I see our house and it says arrest," Eddie Hall said. "I said, 'Baby they made an arrest!'"
"This is the place where we are supposed to feel really safe is in our home," Candace said. "And we haven't had that opportunity. It has been taken from us."
On Aug. 31, a man took aim at the Hall family's home and fired multiple shots, hitting their truck. On Sept.2, the couple were further alarmed after someone threw a brick through the front window of their home, scribbled obscenities on their truck, and slashed its tires.
The Hall family had been sleeping in hotels, not feeling safe in their home.
Dwyer plans to provide more updates around 1 p.m. during a press conference.
Detroit City Council approves facial recognition contract
The use of facial recognition software in Detroit was extended Tuesday when the City Council approved 6-3 funding for a new contract.
The council was set to vote earlier this summer but postponed to allow time for more community dialogue on the contract.
The Detroit Police Department's facial recognition contract that was on the table is for maintenance like software patches and technology updates, but the city's relationship with it has come under more scrutiny after the ACLU filed a complaint on the behalf of Robert Williams, who says he was wrongly arrested and accused of stealing Shinola watches in 2018.
The funding approved Tuesday covers costs associated with the program for the next two years.
Several public leaders from Detroit have come out against the technology, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and late former State Rep. Isaac Robinson.
Whitmer extends state of emergency until Oct. 27
The governor ordered another state of emergency on Tuesday, extending the declaration for another month as it battles the coronavirus.
Much to the ire of Republican leaders and voters who feel the governor has overstepped her boundaries by continually declaring new emergencies, which have allowed her to issue hundreds of executive orders.
However, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warns the presence of COVID-19 warrants continual vigilance and precaution due to the unresolved health threat it poses to residents.
“We have saved thousands of lives in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among our most vulnerable populations - people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities. Because we took swift action, the health of our families and our economy are faring better than our neighbors in other states,” Whitmer said in a release. “This emergency will end, and it is a matter of months.
Murder victims exhumed by law enforcement using genealogy
A crew of about 100 law enforcement officials from all over the country is exhuming bodies, all unidentified murder victims.
Operation United is in full force at United Memorial Gardens in Plymouth exhuming John and Jane Does to connect them with families searching for missing loved ones.
"My wall is covered with every unidentified person and then I have all the missing families that I haven't found on my other wall," said Sgt, Shannon Jones, Detroit police Homicide Division.
Led by Detroit police and the FBI, it's the first of its kind in the country. started by Jones last year.
"Only doing one a year it became frustrating," she said. "I'm looking at this wall every day, hundreds of them. I know their families are on the other side of the wall but I can't prove it without DNA."
So far, 39 murder victims' remains have been exhumed and have managed to find a match.
GOP challenge another absentee ballot rule
Two former Secretaries of State sued the current one over failing to challenge a major court decision that allows absentee votes to be counted after the election.
Terri Land and Ruth Johnson, accused Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of failing to vigorously defend Michigan law, which says absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on election night.
Citing chronic mail delays during the pandemic, a judge ordered any absentee ballots postmarked before Nov. 2 but arrive after Nov. 3 should still be tabulated.
Benson “has chosen to abandon the enforcement of statutes enacted by the Michigan Legislature,” said Land and Johnson, who were joined in the lawsuit by Oakland County resident Marian Sheridan.
$12.5 million settlement announced in Fraser sinkhole case
After almost four years since a sinkhole displaced families on Christmas Eve in 2016, parties have reached a multi-million dollar settlement.
The Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District board sued the insurance company for three contractors in April 2019, claiming human error was to blame.
The opening created a sinkhole approximately the size of a football field.
Twenty-three homes were evacuated. Three homes were condemned, including two that were eventually demolished. Nobody was hurt.
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5. Non-partisan panty giveaway wants to encourage women to vote
Daily Forecast
Expect more rain today and tomorrow with highs around the low 60s on Wednesday.
Presidential debate: Trump, Biden spar over Supreme Court, health care, COVID-19
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden faced off Tuesday night in the first of multiple presidential debates, often interrupting each other while sharing different visions for the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, a vacant Supreme Court seat and concerns about racial justice and violence in U.S. cities.
Both candidates hoped the 90-minute debate would energize their base, as well as potentially win over undecided voters in the 2020 race.