Arab groups decline to endorse president • Man freed after wrongful conviction • Kids testify against teacher

THURSDAY NEWS HIT - The publisher of the Arab American News is choosing not to endorse a presidential candidate for the 2024 election, saying that neither Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump have done enough to address violence in the Middle East. 

"That’s why we have decided not to endorse both Harris and Trump - because all we’ve been hearing from them - either insult or lip service," said Osama Siblani.

The Arab American Political Action Committee is also declining to endorse a candidate over the lack of action.

"I can tell you frankly that I have not been able to sleep in a few days," he said. "Things are pretty bad in this community. A lot of people are hurt."

For the last year, the Trump campaign has worked for the Arab-American vote - with former President Trump insisting that the war never would have happened in the first place if he was in office now.

Area Muslims have also been critical of the Biden - Harris Administration for backing Israel’s right to defend itself, with not enough focus on the humanitarian crisis developing in the war’s wake.

"Of course, we’re not happy with Trump but what Biden and Harris has done in the last 12 months is a horrible situation," Siblani said.

Man free after false witness statement sent him to prison for life

In 2002, LaVone Hill was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for killing two people during a dice game in Detroit. However, the witness statement that led to his conviction was recanted by the witness who signed it.

On top of that, it was later learned that the Detroit police sergeant who wrote that statement was orchestrating bank robberies while the case was ongoing.

After the shooting, a supposed witness to the murders was taken into custody on unrelated drug charges. While detained, Detroit Police Sgt. Walter Bates wrote a statement for the witness to sign. That witness could not read or write proficiently, the Innocence Clinic said.

The alleged witness signed the statement, which said he saw Hill shoot the two victims while walking down the street. He was the only witness police had, and he later recanted the statement on the stand. The witness also said Bates coerced the statement out of him, a claim Bates denied on the stand.

While Hill's trial was ongoing, Bates was suspended from Detroit police numerous times, though his suspensions were never revealed in court. Additionally, after the conviction, Bates was later convicted of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery after he used his police experience to be the mastermind behind a string of bank robberies as the Hill case was pending.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the assistant prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge were all unaware of the criminal behavior Bates was involved in during the trial.

"It is clear that Mr. Hill did not receive a fair trial. He will not be retried because there is no way in the world that this office would put Walter Bates on any witness stand," Worthy said. "Not much shocks me anymore, but this did. I have never seen anything like this in all of my decades of being a judge or a prosecutor."

Hill's sentence was vacated on Oct. 23. 

Children testify against teacher accused of touching students

Three children took the stand Wednesday to testify against a teacher accused of touching students.

Tim Daugherty, 61, is charged with six counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for the alleged sex abuse of children at Spring Mills Elementary in Highland Township.

The first allegations were reported to law enforcement in April 2024, and Daugherty was immediately suspended from work. He was arrested for allegedly touching children between the ages of 9 and 11 through their clothes at the school.

"It’s scary for the children. We have faith in the judicial system, and we're hoping everything goes the right way," a parent named Ericka said.

Daugherty's attorney Roy Cassar claimed that the teacher would hug the students.

"The three individuals liked this teacher. They all hugged him and said everyone hugged him. All the hugs were done in the classroom. Some of the hugs were in front of the other teachers," he said. "It wasn’t until one of the other students found or talked to her mother who said it might be inappropriate that, all of a sudden, they started to think this may have been inappropriate touching."

The case was bound over for trial.

Man wanted for groping women in Ferndale

Ferndale police are looking for a man accused of biking by women and groping them around the city.

The first incident was reported in July in the area of Vester and Woodward. Since then, the man has continued to touch women. Other incidents have been reported in the area of Woodward and East Breckenridge, and Farmdale and West Troy.

"So we started noticing there is a trend; There is three separate incidents of an individual riding on a bike who's been inappropriately touching females," said Evan Ahlin, with Ferndale police. "He basically passes the female head on and once he identifies them, he circles back around and then grabs them and then flees the scene."

Police released blurry security photos of the suspect, who appears to be a young Black male with long, curly hair. 

As police look for the suspect, they are advising women who are walking alone to be aware of their surroundings.

"We're asking residents, particularly females when they're out walking their dogs, walking, running, whatever, to not be on their phones, to have situational awareness," Ahlin said. "Maybe only keep one earbud in so you can hear everything."

Macomb, Oakland County lawmakers want wastewater permit revised

The saga over allegations of untreated water and sewage contaminating a river that flows between Oakland and Macomb counties continued Wednesday after lawmakers called out the state for not addressing the pollution.

A letter sent from eight Republican lawmakers from both counties asked the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to revise the permit allowing for the partial discharge of wastewater into the Red Run Drain.

Addressing EGLE Director Phillip Roos, lawmakers like Orion Township Republican Donni Steel said the department should do more to prevent a retention basin facility from allowing wastewater from entering the region's stream and lakes.

"What is more important than our waterways?" she told FOX 2.

The letter Steele signed advised EGLE to issue a new permit that further restricts the combined sewer overflow from entering the water system.

"What we’re suggesting is that the Kuhn Basin which holds the water when you have these big floods - until you can release it into the drains needs to be enlarged so it can hold the water that we’re experiencing," she said.

The location in question is the George W. Kuhn Retention Basin Facility, which is regulated by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. While some solutions have been presented, the letter said, the lawmakers don't believe they go far enough.

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What else we're watching

1. A woman is dead after a suspected argument early Thursday in Detroit resulted in a driver running her over.
2. One person was wounded in a shooting Wednesday night near Hazel Street and Powers Avenue in Dearborn Heights.
3. In Macomb County, non-fatal strangulations are up 96%. This data comes amid an increase overall in domestic violence in the county.
4. Children can enjoy free admission to Urban Air Adventure Park in Sterling Heights today as part of the business' anniversary celebration.
5. Vice presidential candidate JD Vance will campaign today at a flight school in Waterford.

McDonald's E.coli outbreak kills 1, sickens dozens

Nearly 50 people across 10 states have been sickened by an E.coli outbreak that has been linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Oct. 22, 49 people have been infected with the strain of E.coli linked to McDonald’s hamburgers.

Ten of those people have been hospitalized and one person developed a serious condition that can cause kidney failure as a result of the infection.

One "older adult" who lived in Colorado died, according to the CDC. 

Preliminary information from the Food and Drug Administration suggested that the E.coli contaminated the onions that are included on the Quarter Pounder. Infections were reported between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.

Investigations into the origin of the outbreak are still ongoing.