Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here are this morning’s top stories:
Data: Michigan is most expensive state to own car; what gives?
Owning a car in Michigan is, well, exhausting.
The Great Lakes State -- the undisputed birthplace of automobile manufacturing -- is the most expensive state for car ownership, according to data from Move.org.
Those high costs aren’t due to gas prices. The cost of insurance is the driving force behind this: On average, Americans pay $882 annually for the minimum state-required car insurance. Compared to this, Michigan’s minimum insurance cost of $5,740 seems incredibly expensive, according to the data.
What happened to flu season amid COVID pandemic?
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic began during flu season, which created an added challenge for doctors and hospitals. There were fears that we would face a similar situation this winter: a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. But that’s not what is happening.
Compared to last year, at this point in 2020, the flu was at high or moderate levels in most states. This year, cases are minimal in every state. In Michigan, state health department labs have reported only five positive flu tests this entire flu season.
How to track your $1,400 stimulus payment
IRS officials say that many $1,400 stimulus payments are being deposited in bank accounts across the nation Wednesday morning.
The banks expected to distribute the money after 9 a.m. Wednesday include Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase.
Here’s how to track your $1,400.
Atlanta-area shootings leave 8 dead, many of Asian descent
A series of shootings over nearly an hour at three Atlanta-area massage parlors left eight people dead and raised fears that the attack was yet another hate crime against Asian Americans.
Police arrested a 21-year-old Georgia man and said the motive wasn’t immediately known, though many of the victims were women of Asian descent.
Weather: St. Patrick’s Day sunshine
Coronavirus in Michigan 💉
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 612,628 as of Tuesday, including 15,810 deaths, state officials report.
Tuesday’s update includes a total of 2,048 new cases and 27 additional deaths, including 6 deaths identified during a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state reported 610,580 total cases and 15,783 deaths.
Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate above 5% as of Monday. The state has reported a slight up-tick in Hospitalizations over the last two weeks.
Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 1,951 on Tuesday -- the highest it’s been since late January. The 7-day death average was 18 on Tuesday. The state’s fatality rate is 2.6%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 39,100 on Tuesday -- near the lowest it’s been since October. More than 556,000 have recovered in Michigan.
NEW: Michigan: All adults eligible for COVID vaccine April 5
Michigan has reported more than 3.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered, as of Tuesday.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 29.5 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than 536,000 deaths reported from the virus.
Here’s a look at more of the data: