2 books removed from Dearborn schools • Dixon and DePerno eye GOP chair • Student arrested after threat

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - Books like Red, White, and Royal Blue which contain LGBTQ themes and romance were selected among the novels by the Dearborn School District that should be removed from its library's shelves.

So was the book Push, a novel about a teenager who struggles with sexual assault and poverty. The district said both books were deemed inappropriate by the district after it reviewed those and several other books following a push to restrict some literature access to kids.

They were the first books to be taken off the shelves after Dearborn schools revamped its review process for materials should be considered appropriate by students. Several parents had clashed with the board in recent weeks during testy school board meetings.

"With roughly half a million books in our school libraries, we realize the likelihood that there could be a few books that were added over the years that parents and staff agree should not be there," said Superintendent Dr. Glenn Maleyko. "However, we want to assure our parents that those books are few and far between and that, overall, our libraries provide a wide range of age-appropriate materials to encourage students to strengthen their academic skills and build a love of reading."

RELATED: Michigan 2022 Election: Dearborn book debate, other hot topics highlight importance of school board races

Two other books will remain or be restricted to just high school while two other books are still being considered. A fifth book that wasn't part of the initial challenge will also be reviewed. They include:

• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was deemed appropriate for high school and will remain on the shelves.
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell was deemed inappropriate for middle school, but appropriate for high school.  Copies of the book will be removed from the middle schools that had it but remain at the high schools.
• No decision has been made yet on All Boys Aren’t Blue by Jason Reynolds and This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, but neither book is currently available to students, nor were they part of the district’s collection.  Both were only available through Sora, but that ebook service is currently disabled for district students.
• While it was not part of the initial list of challenged books, the district has also reviewed Flamer by Mike Curato.  That book will remain at the high school level

The challenged titles represent .002% of the district's total collection, which includes more than 500,000 books. So far, parents have raised concerns with approximately a dozen books.

Those who disagree with the books that were not removed can request they be reviewed by the Book Reconsideration Process.

Animal shelter overcrowding crisis

Capacities at animal shelters are hitting their limit as advocacy groups spread the word about the rising number of pets now being cared for by volunteers. The Michigan Pet Alliance said the capacity crisis is tied to owners surrendering their pets.

"We're seeing a lot of people that are having financial issues and don't have the means to take care of their animals so we're helping them do that," said Dr. Lara Silveri, facility medical director, Michigan Humane. "Because I think everybody deserves a pet."

At Detroit Animal Care and Control, the director said that up to 20% of the animals they take in may need to be euthanized because of overcrowding. 

Michigan Humane has a pet pantry to help families with food and services so they can keep their pets. They also need more people to foster and adopt older dogs and cats instead of just puppies and kittens.

Dixon, DePerno, other Republicans eye Michigan GOP chair

The Michigan Republican Party, already divided over what happened last Tuesday, is facing another potential internal struggle as a number of candidates are interested in being the next GOP party chair. 

Former governor candidate James Craig was interested but has since changed his mind. Among those look to be the next chair – defeated governor candidate Tudor Dixon, defeated attorney general candidate Matt DePerno, former attorney general Bill Schuette, and former west Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra.

"This is a huge opportunity for the GOP to start going in the right direction or completely implode. The Michigan Republicans are facing a massive crisis in leadership right now," consultant John Sellek said.

The party is divided into two camps – the DeVos camp and longtime GOP consultant John Yob. Former President Donald Trump, who considers himself the unofficial chair of the state GOP, is likely to get involved, too. Sellek said that despite criticisms over her campaign for governor, Dixon has a good chance of getting the job. A decision will be made in February.

Girl arrested after making threats that closed Ferndale HS

A 16-year-old girl was arrested Monday after authorities say she made threats that closed Ferndale middle and high schools. Authorities said she made threats toward the high school, so the middle school that is on the same property was also closed.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard released a video with a warning to copycats after the threat. "Every threat will be investigated every threat will be submitted to the prosecutor," he said. "We will attempt to hold you fully accountable."

Ferndale wasn't the only district handling threats Monday. There were also issues in Detroit after an Instagram post threatened the student body and police got involved. There were also threats made against A.L. Holmes and Cass Tech, though neither school was closed Monday.

In a statement, district officials told FOX 2, "Both threats appear to be unsubstantiated threats to disrupt the schools. Authorities are investigating the person or persons behind these disruptive threats."

Group storms Flint dealership, steals 13 vehicles

A group of about 30 people stormed a Genesee County dealership and stole 13 vehicles Monday morning before fleeing to the Metro Detroit area. Gunfire was exchanged with a security guard before the suspects headed south in the stolen vehicles. The guard was not hurt.

"Fired shots at him, he exchanged gunfire with those suspects. They were able to get into vehicles and drove through the gate, damaging other vehicles on the way out and were able to get away," Flint Police Chie Terance Green said.

Flint police said they believe the group is based in Detroit, though they are still investigating and figuring out who the suspects are. Seven of the stolen vehicles were recovered in Oakland County and the Detroit area.

Green said other vehicle lots in Flint have been targeted by people from other areas, though this is the first time shots were fired. "Not uncommon. We have groups that travel from other parts of the state just to victimize these lots," he said. One of those stolen vehicles was a 2022 Ford Mustang that crashed on southbound I-75 near Joslyn in Auburn Hills. That driver, who hasn't been identified, died.

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Daily Forecast

Could Metro Detroit see the first snow of the year that sticks? Northern communities might be luckier after the latest system moves through the region tonight and tomorrow morning. Temperatures are expected to dip after that, including below freezing for some days.

What else we're watching

1. Oakland Township's historic oak tree became imperiled by a housing development across the street, community members said. Roots connected to the 500-year-old grand champion tree were cut to make room for a gas line connection. The historic district is questioning why it wasn't aware development was happening around the tree.
2. Just as flu season is starting to kick in, a shortage of available meds like Children's Tylenol and other pain relievers for kids is being reported. Dr. Asha Shajahan said it's possible the spike in RSV and flu cases could be driving up demand.
3. The 2022 Detroit Tree Lighting is this Friday. Make sure you have a plan of action for getting down to Campus Martius before the lights officially ring in the holiday season.
4. Jemele Hill, an MSU native and nationally renowned sports journalist at The Atlantic and ESPN will be the keynote speaker during the inaugural Entrepreneur & marketing ‘Creator Con’ in Detroit Tuesday.
5. Michigan will have it's first Black Speaker of the House and first female Senate Majority leader following Democrats retaking of both chambers of the legislature. FOX 2 will speak to Winnie Brinks on her appointment to the chamber's head. You can watch our interview with Rep. Joe Tate here.

There are now 8 billion people on Earth, UN report says

The world's population is projected to hit an estimated 8 billion people on Tuesday, according to a United Nations projection, with much of the growth coming from developing nations in Africa.

Among them is Nigeria, where resources are already stretched to the limit. More than 15 million people in Lagos compete for everything from electricity to light their homes to spots on crowded buses, often for two-hour commutes each way in this sprawling megacity. Some Nigerian children set off for school as early as 5 a.m.

And over the next three decades, the West African nation's population is expected to soar even more: from 216 million this year to 375 million, the U.N. says. That will make Nigeria the fourth-most populous country in the world after India, China and the United States.