Detroit Police Officer shot in leg • Michigan high school sports changes • Rochester Hills family escapes Maui
FRIDAY NEWS HIT - A Detroit Police Officer is recovering in the hospital after he was shot early Friday morning while responding to a reported call of shots fired on Detroit's east side.
"Shots fired, shots fired! I need medics now, I'm shot. medics!" the officer called out on his radio to dispatch.
Police were on patrol in the area and responding to a ShotSpotter call, the technology that detects gunfire in the city and sends police to the area of gunshots. When police arrived, they were directed to an apartment building in the area by neighbors and witnesses.
When they started to approach the building, three suspects came running out with one of them shooting at the police officers, hitting one in the leg.
Two other officers with him returned fire but it's not known if any of the suspects were hit.
The officer was taken to the hospital after being shot in the left calf. There is no word on his condition Friday morning.
"We are encountering violence like we haven't seen I mean just extreme violence, impulse decision-making," Chief James White said. "And they're constantly under threat but they show up and they do this work. Keep this community safe and I couldn't be prouder."
Detroit Police are still searching for the three suspects. White said early Friday morning that the shooter is a Black man, standing between 5'8" and 5'9" with dreads.
New rules for Michigan high school sports
The start of school is nearly here and so is the beginning of the fall sports calendar. This year, nearly 100,000 Michigan students will enter the high school sports season with new rules awaiting them.
Changes to the playoffs and rules will take effect in several sports, including soccer, football, tennis, swimming, and cross-country. The changes officially went into effect on Aug. 7.
The changes range from the number of teams available for playoffs, where players can sit during games, and uniform changes.
For example, volleyball players are now allowed to wear earrings, provided they are studs or posts and are not below the chin.
Soccer playoff finales will all be played on the same field on the same day - Nov. 4 at Grand Ledge High School. Plus, an injured player will be required to leave the game, rather than sub out.
Michigan high school sports rule changes include bigger state tournaments, wardrobe updates
A slew of changes to high school sports next season include updates to volleyball, cross-country, soccer, football, swimming & diving, tennis, and golf.
Rochester Hills family shares harrowing tale of escaping deadly Hawaiian fires
The Liess Family was experiencing their dream vacation in Maui. But that all changed when the wildfires destroyed Paradise. They count themselves as fortunate.
"We were very lucky to get out of not just our resort, but out of Maui when we did," said Craig Liess.
Renee and Craig - their children and friends - were enjoying the beauty of Oahu at a Disney resort for the first part of the trip. They were then on to Maui - and the Honua Kai resort in Lahaina on the western side of the island.
"Saturday or Sunday on the news they started talking about some winds because of the hurricane," said Renee.
Hurricane Dora was out at sea - and pretty much - out of mind.
"And it wasn't windy at all so we were just like - okay, so there will be some high winds," Renee said.
Monday night's luau was perfect - but unbeknownst to them - the situation was starting to sour.
It started with the cancelation of one excursion but the Liess Family didn't know how bad things were.
"Tuesday morning we woke up and no power," Craig said. "At that point that's when we kind of realized that something was not right and the winds had definitely picked up from the night before."
READ MORE ABOUT THEIR STORY HERE.
United Airlines cancels all flights to Maui, sends empty planes to help stranded people
United Airlines has canceled all flights to Kahului Airport in Maui Thursday due to the wildfires. Instead, the planes will fly there empty and be used to bring passengers back to the mainland.
If you are scheduled to fly to or from Kahului Airport today, United Airlines is offering the following options:
- You can reschedule your trip and United will waive change fees and fare differences. However, your new flight must be a United flight departing between August 10 and September 7. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked or one of the following: Honolulu, HI, US (HNL) Hilo, HI, US (ITO) Kona, HI, US (KOA) Lihue, HI, US (LIH)
- Honolulu, HI, US (HNL)
- Hilo, HI, US (ITO)
- Kona, HI, US (KOA)
- Lihue, HI, US (LIH)
- If your new trip is after August 31, or is to a different destination, United will still waive any change fees, but you might have to pay a fare difference depending on the flight.
- If you cancel or don't take your trip, you can get a full refund.
Learn more about how United Airlines is helping fliers here.
Michigan State Police rescue woman in corn field for days
After a car crashed in rural Livingston County, a woman disappeared for several days. But an extensive search from Michigan State Police and a K9 unit found the woman, just in time.
The woman had been in a single-vehicle car accident and her family found her car on Sunday but she was nowhere to be found.
There were police, fire, and drones up and searching for the woman but they couldn't find her. On Tuesday, MSP was called to help.
For more than eight hours, police searched through a massive cornfield just west of where she crashed her car. Late in the day on Tuesday, the K9 hit on her scent.
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State police trooper and K9 rescue woman lost for days in corn maze after crash
"Two steps in the corn and you’re disoriented, you have no idea where you’re at," said Trooper Jeff Schrieber.
It was Woodsen who tracked down the missing woman.
"We went about three-quarters of a mile into the corn, and at that point in time, he picked up his head and he went about 75 more yards."
The 45-year-old woman was found unresponsive and was rushed to an area hospital in critical condition. She's now upgraded to stable condition.
Schrieber says she likely got out of the car after she crashed — in hopes of getting help.
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Daily Forecast
Friday started a bit chilly with a chance of rain coming later in the day.
What else we're watching
- Lions play their first preseason game Friday night and you can stream the game live on FOX2Detroit.com, the FOX 2 News App, and FOX LOCAL on your connected TV.
- Ribs RnB Music Fest, Dog Fest, Old Fashioned County Fair, and more things to do this weekend in Metro Detroit
- The Detroit Police Board of Commissioners blasts the city's facial recognition software after the false arrest of a pregnant woman for a carjacking that she had nothing to do with.
- Driver dies as pickup truck crashes through apartment building: "I’m looking around like what just happened"
- Tigers take 3 of 4 against Minnesota with 3-0 win on Thursday
Apple to move the end-call button on iPhones in new software update
This just feels annoying. When Apple releases its latest software this fall, the red end button, the one that's been in the middle of the screen towards the bottom, will move to the right.
iOS 17 comes out later this year but beta users have already noticed the change as the End button is now off to the right with other features moving down to join it.
Beyond the end button, there are additional changes to the placement of other call features seen on past iOS versions. The "Mute" and "Speaker" buttons, for example, have swapped — as have the "FaceTime" and "Keyboard" options. And it appears the feature allowing you to search for contacts has merged with the add call option.