MichMan
MichMan's JournalUnlawful Flint use of portable X-ray scanners began in 2019, not 2020
LANSING — A New York law firm may have used unregistered portable X-ray scanners on Flint residents for one year longer than state officials were told, records show.A sworn affidavit from a Flint resident, along with emails showing when the Napoli Shkolnik law firm sought to lease the devices, suggest the use of scanners, which are tools in the scrap metal and mining industries but are not designed for use on human beings, began around September 2019. That is about 18 months before either of the two devices was registered with the state of Michigan, as required by law.
A representative of the law firm, whose name was redacted, told the state in March it had been using the devices for only about six months, since August or September of 2020, before registering them in February, according to a state summary of a phone call the Free Press obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.
Failing to register a radiation machine is a misdemeanor under the Public Health Code that can bring a $10,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail, with each day that a violation continues considered a separate violation. But the state brought no criminal or civil charges against the law firm, records show.
The scanners were applied to the tibias of thousands of Flint residents, including many children and at least one pregnant woman, to measure how much lead had accumulated in their bones. Lawyers and some medical experts have said radiation levels are low and use of the portable scanners is safe.
But the manufacturer of the scanners, Thermo Fisher Scientific, ultimately ordered Napoli Shkolnik to stop using them.
The company said in a May letter to the law firm that it had in rare cases authorized use of the scanners on humans for research purposes, but that had only happened under the supervision of an Institutional Review Board, which was not in place for the scans that took place in Flint.
In addition to revelations about the radiation doses involved, the MIOSHA records obtained by the Free Press show the law firm's scanning operation in Flint had no system for monitoring radiation exposures for scanner operators, no physician licensed in Michigan supervising operations, no mechanism to ensure the scanners would shut off after about three minutes to prevent possible overexposure, and no written notice to Flint residents of the radiation they would be exposed to and any related risks, Reynolds said in the motion filed by his California attorney, Jahmy Graham.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2021/09/12/unlawful-flint-use-xray-scanners-began-one-year-earlier/8275952002/
Detroit man charged in bomb hoax at Trump Las Vegas hotel
"A Detroit man has been charged in connection with a bomb hoax this week at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, an incident he said was meant as a message for the former president who had "messed up his life," police reported.Records show Dandre Lundy, 44, was booked Tuesday in the Clark County Detention Center on multiple felony charges, including communicating a bomb threat and making threats or conveying false information concerning acts of terrorism.
According to an arrest report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Lundy allegedly left a suitcase and duffel bag near a concierge station at the Trump International Hotel around 12:40 p.m. Tuesday then said: "Everybody needs to leave the building there is a bomb in here."
The 44-year-old, who was wearing an American flag hat, waved to security cameras before leaving in the same pink taxi he arrived in, the filing said. Hotel security and employees evacuated the lobby and a restaurant. A bomb squad checked the suitcase and bag he left and found no explosive materials. Minutes later, Lundy called in a bomb threat to a worker, police wrote. The caller ID listed his name.
Detectives tracked Lundy to a nearby Motel 6.
"While being detained, without any provocation from detectives, Lundy made an excited utterance of 'Can I get my suitcase back from Trump? I told them it's a bomb, no one got hurt, so there's no crime,'" according to the police report
Lundy told investigators he had flown from Michigan the day before and planned to "send Trump a message that he is a 'beast'" by leaving a suitcase with a rock, a $1 bill, a Bible and handwritten “scriptures” supporting his claim.
The man said he “believed Trump had messed up his life for the last three years,” police said."
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/09/01/detroit-man-charged-bomb-hoax-trump-las-vegas-hotel-dandre-lundy/5691361001/
FBI raids Detroit's city hall and council members' homes in corruption probe
Detroit — FBI agents were executing search warrants at the homes of Detroit City Council members Janeé Ayers and Scott Benson and at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Wednesday morning, the latest escalation of a federal corruption investigation that has already led to charges against Councilman André Spivey.
The exact focus of the investigation and what led investigators to mount the raids Wednesday were unclear. No criminal charges have been filed and search warrant documents remained sealed in court.
The raids Wednesday represent the largest federal investigation into City Hall corruption in the eight years since former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was convicted of racketeering conspiracy charges and sentenced to 28 years in federal prison. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence in January.
The searches come three weeks after Spivey was arraigned in federal court on one count of conspiracy to commit bribery over claims he accepted more than $35,000 to be "influenced and rewarded" for votes.
Since 2008, more than 100 politicians, union bosses, bureaucrats and police officers have been charged with corruption in Michigan's eastern district, including more than a dozen politicians and contractors in Macomb County.
"Clearly, there is a culture of corruption that doesn’t stop at the city line or the county line," said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross Business School.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/08/25/fbi-raids-detroits-city-hall-and-council-members-homes-corruption-probe/5584365001/
Whitmer: 'No plans to do any broad mandates' around vaccines, masks in schools
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is not considering a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state workers now that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted the first full authorization Monday of a coronavirus vaccine.
"There are no plans to do any broad mandates," she said Monday, referring to her decision not mandate vaccines or require masks at Michigan schools.
"Those who were uneasy because of the early use authorization status of the vaccine maybe now will have a greater confidence in the fact that these vaccines are safe and they work."
t's the latest in a series of statements Whitmer or members of her administration have made to rebuff the idea of new pandemic regulations in Michigan. While the governor and state health department leaders have argued mask mandates and capacity restrictions saved lives in the first months of the pandemic, since January the Whitmer administration has promoted a message that revolves around personal responsibility.
Whitmer's goal was to get at least one dose of coronavirus shots into the arms of 70% of the state's 16 and older population, but the state has yet to reach that benchmark despite incentives that included a statewide lottery-style raffle in July.
As of Monday, the state's vaccination rate stood at 65.2% — below the national rate of vaccine uptake, which is 73%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/2021/08/23/whitmer-wont-require-covid-vaccines-masks-michigan-state-workers/8238325002/
Biden administration tells federal agencies they should not require employees to be vaccinated
The Biden administration has told federal agencies that they generally should not require their employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to work on-site in federal buildings or to disclose whether they are vaccinated.Employees who disclose they are unvaccinated or refuse to answer a voluntary question about vaccination status should be subject to safety requirements such as mask-wearing and social distancing, new guidance says.
“The Administration strongly encourages all Americans, including Federal employees and contractors, to be vaccinated,” says a Tuesday posting by an interagency task force overseeing pandemic-related policies for the federal workplace. However, “at present, COVID-19 vaccination should generally not be a pre-condition” for federal employees or contractors to work in person, it states, while not specifying possible exceptions.
The new federal workforce guidance — the first government-wide statement of policy on these issues — did not state why the administration has determined that it should not require vaccination.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-administration-tells-federal-agencies-they-should-not-require-employees-to-be-vaccinated-to-work-on-site/ar-AAKSPXA?ocid=msedgdhp
Lawsuit Blames Atlanta City Officials For 8-Year-Old Secoriea Turner's Death
ATLANTA, Ga. (CW69 News at 10) — The family of Secoriea Turner, 8, and their attorneys say justice for her senseless death is long overdue. “My child was supposed to have been here for her brother’s birthday. His birthday was June 4. I had to go to her gravesite,” said her dad, Secoriey Williamson. “Her life is priceless. We’re forced to live by this day by day,” said her mom, Charmaine Turner.The attorneys filed a lawsuit today against the City of Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Police Chief Rodney Bryant and Councilmember Joyce Sheperd. “They failed to take any action to address the reports of crime, the reports of violence and the reports of danger in that area until after it was too late,” said Sam Starks, a senior attorney with The Cochran Firm. “This is a lawsuit that is based on a failure of city government at the highest levels.”
Armed vigilantes shot and killed Secoriea on July 4, 2020, while she was riding in a vehicle with her mother and her mother’s friend. It happened as they attempted to go around a barricade during protests near the Wendy’s Restaurant where Atlanta police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks. The lawsuit also holds Wendy’s and its property owner University Venture responsible. “The law does not give you the right to own property, to operate a business at that property and then abandon it when you know that there are armed vigilantes there harming citizens,” said Harold Spence, a partner with The Davis Bozeman Law Firm. “So many adults who had power, responsibilities, obligations, opportunities to stop this did not,” said Shean Williams, a partner with The Cochran Firm. “We have an eight-year-old beautiful little girl whose life was taken before its time, when it could have been avoided.”
Attorneys referenced a June 17, 2020 memo from an APD commander, which advised officers would not be overly proactive and they would respond if violence occurs when an officer is present and to victims of violence. “They should have engaged in proactive policing and not just surrender the neighborhood,” said Davis Bozeman Law Firm Founding Partner Mawuli Davis. “The evidence shows that the mayor gave specific direction to the police chief and to the police department to stand down,” Starks said.
https://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2021/06/08/lawsuit-blames-atlanta-city-officials-for-8-year-old-secoriea-turners-death/
Instagram Live gun video leads to big trouble for rapper 'Big Homie' in federal gun case
Detroit — Federal agents arrested a Detroit rapper accused of flashing an illegal machine gun during an Instagram Live video and prosecutors say they have linked one of his firearms to seven shootings.
Convicted felon Delmarco Craig, 22, a rapper known as "The Big Homie," is prohibited from possessing firearms but prosecutors say he held a machine gun and other firearms during the Instagram video, including a Glock pistol equipped with a device that converted the semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic machine gun.
Delmarco Craig posted an Instagram video showing him holding a Glock pistol outfitted with a device that converted the firearm into a fully automatic machine gun, according to prosecutors.
Craig was ordered held without bond Tuesday pending trial on charges punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.
“A lot of these young rap artists with social media today find themselves involving using guns in videos,” his lawyer, Steven Scharg, said. “That does not necessarily mean they’re thugs or believe in assaults. It’s just part of the façade of the rap industry.”
Three days after the Instagram video, investigators spotted Craig outside a home on the 18000 block of Pennington Drive on Detroit’s northwest side.
On May 26, ATF agents raided the home and seized six firearms and found what appeared to be the modified Glock seen in the Instagram video, the agent wrote.
Two of the seized guns were stolen, according to the ATF agent.
Ballistic tests linked one of the seized firearms to seven shootings since October. That includes a homicide and a double non-fatal shooting in Detroit on May 25, several hours after the Instagram video. Tests linked a seized rifle to an April 16 shooting at a CVS in Detroit, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. During the shooting, surveillance video showed a newer, white Cadillac Escalade with black tires and rims and a black grill.
Investigators found a stolen 2021 white Cadillac Escalade in the backyard of Craig's home during the federal raid, according to prosecutors.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/06/02/instagram-video-leads-big-trouble-rapper-big-homie-gun-case/7513601002/
Detroit school leaders, pastors call for students to return to in-person learning
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during the news conference that about 7,000 students are attending in-person. Roughly 49,000 total students are enrolled in the district. Teachers in Detroit still have the option to teach from home, so some in-person students are in learning centers, where they log into virtual classes.But few have shown up regularly to either virtual or in-person classes this year, according to Vitti.
The superintendent said about 65% of Detroit Public Schools students are now considered chronically absent, meaning they've missed 18 or more days of school, an increase from 54% last school year. Many students disengaged from virtual school, failing to log in.
"Student achievement has plummeted, literacy, mathematics, science, all of those wonderful things that make a child happy," Vaughn said.
Now, the school district is trying to reengage students. Vitti said the district will do whatever it takes to get students back, including knocking on doors.
The largest district in the state is preparing to hold what school leaders are calling a summer learning experience, with the goal of enrolling 10,000 of its 49,000 students, Vitti said. About 5,000 are enrolled now.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2021/05/27/detroit-schools-baptist-pastors/7468166002/
Detroit woman charged with carjacking mail carrier
A 40-year-old Detroit woman has been charged with carjacking a mail carrier and making off with the victim's mail truck, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Friday.Sadie Lakisha Hawkins is accused of forcefully pulling the mail carrier from her United States Postal Service van during a carjacking and then fleeing the scene around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 12600 block of Monte Vista. Police were called to the scene.
Hawkins was arrested Thursday after an investigation by Detroit Police. She is charged with one count of carjacking, one count of unarmed robbery, one count of receiving and concealing stolen property over $20,000, and one count of unlawful driving away of an automobile.
Hawkins was arraigned Friday in 36th District Court and was issued a $25,000 bond.
[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/04/16/detroit-woman-charged-carjacking-mail-carrier/7257585002/|
Tlaib calls US policing 'intentionally racist,' gets pushback
Detroit — Policing in the United States is "intentionally racist" and "can't be reformed," U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib tweeted Monday night, a day after a White Minnesota police officer reportedly mistook her pistol for her Taser and fatally shot a Black man.Metro Detroit police chiefs pushed back Tuesday on the tweet from the Detroit Democrat, calling it irresponsible to paint all cops with the same brush and insisting that abolishing police would hit minority communities the hardest.
A day after the Wright shooting, Tlaib took to Twitter and claimed Potter meant to kill him.
"It wasn't an accident," she wrote. "Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist. Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can't be reformed."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the tweet had been liked more than 20,000 times, retweeted more than 4,000 times — and had received thousands of replies supporting Tlaib's call for abolishing police and thousands of others panning it.
[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/04/13/tlaib-calls-us-policing-intentionally-racist-gets-pushback/7207266002/|
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