Metro Detroit community rallies to free detained journalist Danny Fenster
Danny Fenster was detained by the military junta, which seized power in Myanmar this February.
He is the fourth foreign journalist to be sent to Insein Prison. Nobody has seen him since he was taken.
In Huntington Woods, where Danny grew up and his parents still reside, the community came out to the recreation center Friday to show their support and buy one of the “Free Fenster” shirts that have taken social media by storm.
“This community is small so you know everybody,” Tim Downey said. “It directly affects the Fensters but this was kind of an assault on our community.”
Fenster’s parents, Buddy and Rose, are doing what they can to raise awareness.
Ypsilanti crematory ordered to shut down by state
The Licensing and Regulatory Affairs ordered an Ypsilanti crematory to immediately stop operations Friday.
According to authorities, LARA and the Attorney General’s Office issued a cease and desist order against Tri-County Cremation Services, L.L.C.
State officials said bodies were not properly stored and bodily fluids were found leaking onto the floor at the crematory, located on Michigan Avenue.
Authorities said the owner, O’Neil Swanson, had his mortuary license taken away in 2018 due to violations at Swanson’s Funeral Home in Flint and is not legally allowed to own a cemetery or crematory or have a controlling interest in one.
READ: Flint funeral home closed due to ‘deplorable’ conditions, including maggots, unrefrigerated bodies
According to the LARA, the investigation found Swanson and Dianne Swanson purchased the crematory business in March 2020 without receiving a certificate of approval for a change of control.
GOP sees opening to revive attacks on Fauci in email trove
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a political lightning rod since the early days of the pandemic, lionized by the left as a beacon of truth in an administration that badly mismanaged the pandemic and villainized by the right as a misguided, spotlight-seeking bureaucrat seeking to undermine former President Donald Trump.
But with the release of a trove of Fauci’s emails this week, Republicans’ attacks on the nation’s top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive.
Weather: Here comes the heat ♨️
COVID in Michigan 💉
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 889,957 as of Friday, including 19,293 deaths, state officials report.
Testing has been steady around 30,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate below 4% as of Thursday, the lowest in several weeks. Hospitalizations have declined over the last several weeks.
The state’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 407 on Thursday -- the lowest in several weeks. The 7-day death average was 29 on Thursday. The state’s fatality rate is 2.2%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 52,100 on Thursday. More than 818,000 have recovered in Michigan.
Michigan has reported more than 8.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as of Wednesday, with 59.2% of 16+ residents having received at least one dose while 49.7% of 16+ residents are considered fully vaccinated.
Want your shot? 💉 We’re tracking COVID vaccine openings, clinics, appointments in Michigan
Here’s a look at more of the data: