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/|

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/|

The Flint Police Department has made at least one arrest after two women were caught on camera assaulting a U.S. Postal Service worker Thursday.

Detective Tyrone Booth said the alleged assault took place about noon "in the city of Flint," but wouldn't specify where.

"We're still gathering information," Booth said. "We can't share fine details right now," including how many arrests were made.

No one has been arraigned, so police aren't releasing any names of suspects.

Police declined to share the victim's age, but said "she's in good condition. She's fine."

The U.S. Postal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two women are shown throwing punches and pulling the hair of a postal service worker who is dressed in her work uniform.

"Oh my god, oh my god," says a man who appears to be recording the incident. "You all hit the mailman! She hit the mailman! You all fittin' to go to the feds."

Another voice can be heard saying "you all going to jail!"

Video of the incident can be seen at the link below


[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/04/09/flint-police-make-arrest-postal-worker-attack-captured-camera/7152745002/|

Detroit — A majority of southeast Michigan counties are vaccinating residents at twice the rate Detroit is and that gap is threatening to prolong the pandemic in Michigan's largest city and forcing health officials to find alternatives to mass-vaccination sites like the TCF Center and Ford Field.

About 1 in 5, or 21%, of Detroiters have received at least one shot, according to the city's vaccine dashboard, compared to 33% of residents in Macomb County, 40% in suburban Wayne County and 41% in Oakland and Washtenaw counties. Statewide, 37% of all residents have at least one dose.

[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/04/07/detroit-lagging-covid-19-vaccination-rates/7109466002/|

Sergio Rodriguez never imagined saying nice things about his new Ford Mustang Mach-E would elicit death threats from Tesla owners on social media.mBut this is 2021, after all. No one seems surprised by much.

And Rodriguez, who was featured in the Free Press in early March, replied, "I've had them message me death threats over my joy with the Mach-E." Rodriguez, 41, a U.S. Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq and specialized in explosive ordnance disposal, is now a military contractor living in Saint Marys, Georgia.

The fiery debate among Ford and Tesla owners reflects the intensity surrounding a growing all-electric market dominated by Tesla. CEO Elon Musk is widely credited as an innovative leader who helped transform public perception of the vehicles. As a result, Tesla has been a darling of Wall Street with a market value that dwarfs all competitors and far exceeds the Detroit Three combined. Tesla cars, which some drivers compare to spaceships, are especially popular in California and China. The Mach-E has been portrayed as the first serious competitor to Tesla in terms of sleek design, speed and handling.

Rodriguez said he was especially alarmed by comments on the Tesla Owners Worldwide private Facebook page, which listed 87,500 members on Saturday. A member had posted a story about his favorable Mach-E reviews and it unleashed a torrent of what he perceived to be disturbing attacks.

"One was, like, 'I hope the car loses control and crashes.' Or 'The car is going to catch fire when you're driving it,'" he said. "I took that as a threat. For you to have any kind of ill will on anybody, why would you say that? Then someone privately messaged me, 'You're full of s*** and I know what your Tesla looks like. If I see it …' That private message on Facebook was more threatening."

Tesla fans have insisted online that Ford must be paying regular people to post nice things on social media about the Mach-E, which has garnered a number of honors including 2021 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award in January, selected by some 50 international jurors.


[link:https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/04/04/tesla-owner-reports-threats-praising-ford-mustang-mach-e-elon-musk-sergio-rodriguez/7076886002/|

Yet the football team and other varsity sports are exempted from the county orders.


"Washtenaw County has issued a two-week stay at home order as it tries to curb a sharp uptick in cases at the University of Michigan.

The order is for U-M undergraduate students effective immediately and continuing through Nov. 3 at 7 a.m.

Under the order, undergraduate students must remain in their residence, unless attending class, accessing dining services, or carrying out approved work that cannot be done remotely. Students who wish to return to a primary residence may do so only if they have completed U-M’s procedures for leaving campus safely.



Undergrad student Noah Garfinkel agreed.

"This was going to happen eventually and the university invited students back to campus anyway. The university has done a good job of mitigating the spread at least up until now but it should not be shocking that 18- to 22-year-olds did not follow all of the rules," he said. "The other disappointing aspect of the order is it now affects my campus life and could stop me from doing activities that were safe. I had been attending small outdoor MRun practices, which I can no longer attend. These were held outdoors with 10 people. No one had contracted the virus from these practices. These can no longer be held. As the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Review, it is still unclear whether or not I can access the Michigan Review office in the Michigan League. I was by myself and wore a mask.


"I also find it ridiculous that varsity sports are excluded from this order. It is beyond me why student-athletes who do not get paid are allowed to travel while we are not. It is also frustrating as a club athlete that they can also practice while we cannot. It is not only unfair it is unjust to force these athletes to play for someone else's profit."

Madelyn VerVaecke, who graduates in 2021, said she's relieved by the order.

"As someone working in grocery stores and has taking this thing seriously since March, this order comes as a relief. Reading the testimonials from my fellow students about the reality of testing and the handling of those having tested positive, we’ve needed this for a long time. I’m hoping this order puts pressure on the university to act like the “leader and best” it’s branded itself as, because right now, we’re the university who chose football over the safety and well-being of not only us the students, but every single person who comes into contact with us."

[link:https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2020/10/20/washtenaw-county-stay-home-order-university-michigan-coronavirus/5993741002/|

California is the state with the highest cost of living, other than Hawaii and DC. After California is New York and Oregon.

The maximum benefit in California is $450. Examples of states that pay more than California are ;

Massachusetts $823
Connecticut $650
North Dakota $647
Utah $560
Wyoming $508
Iowa $591
Oregon $648

For comparison, other higher cost of living states pay these amounts;

Hawaii $648
New York $504
D.C. $425

Lansing — A contract employee of Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency has been charged after allegedly taking part in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider says.

Amid record jobless filings in Michigan, Brandi Hawkins, 39, of Detroit allegedly used her "insider access" at the agency "to fraudulently release payment on hundreds of fraudulent claims," according an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

She then used the "proceeds" of her crime to purchase high-end handbags and luxury goods, the announcement added.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Hawkins worked with outside actors who entered numerous false claims into the state's unemployment system. Hawkins released payment on the claims, leading to the fraudulent disbursement of more than $2 million, the complaint says. Authorities seized more than $200,000 in cash from her residence, according to the Department of Justice.

Hawkins was assigned to work as an unemployment insurance examine in April. She was terminated June 17, according to the complaint. But the complaint says the state's fraud investigation unit reviewed the audit logs for Hawkins's user account and determined that she continued to remotely access state systems after "her termination and was actively 'discarding' fraud-stops and releasing payment on hundreds of fraudulent claims until early July 2020."

Among the items authorities seized from her residence was "the Microsoft Surface tablet provided to her by her employer," the complaint says.

[link:https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/07/17/feds-michigan-unemployment-contractor-part-2-million-fraud-scheme/5462024002/|

A judge on Monday set a $1.2 million bail for the man accused of driving a Jaguar on to a closed Seattle freeway and hitting two protesters, killing one and seriously injuring the other.

Dawit Kelete, who is Black, drove the car around vehicles that were parked on Interstate 5 to protect a group of Black Femme March demonstrators, part of the Black Lives Matter movement protesting racial inequality and police violence. The car hit two people and sped away about 1:40 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Over the weekend, a judge found probable cause to hold Kelete on an investigation of vehicular assault.But the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has yet to file charges against Kelete. It says it's waiting for additional required information from the State Patrol.“A charging decision is expected by Wednesday afternoon,” spokesman Casey McNerthney said.

Kelete's lawyer, John Henry Browne, said the crash was a “horrible, horrible accident” and was not intentional.“There's absolutely nothing political about this case whatsoever,” Browne told The Associated Press. “My client is in tears. He's very remorseful. He feels tremendous guilt.” Kelete is originally from Eritrea and is a U.S. citizen, Browne said. He lives with his family in Seattle, and they’re very religious, he said. Kelete was the owner of the Jaguar XJL and was alone in the car, according to a Washington State Patrol report submitted to the court late Saturday.






[link:https://www.wsoctv.com/news/national/12-million-bail/NPTTSG7QX7NOALIBKGPKVKLWIE/|

I haven't seen or heard much of anything from her about it.

I'm sure she has been engaged, just haven't seen anything reported in the Detroit newspapers.