FRIDAY NEWS HIT - A total of 257,000 vaccine doses for the coronavirus are destined for Michigan once federal regulators approve of their emergency use.
About 84,000 will be shipped from Pfizer, which just received emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration Friday morning. Another 173,000 doses manufactured by Moderna is expected to be shipped later in December or early January.
Even as it combats the pandemic's worst surge since its onset, the state of Michigan has already rolled out its vaccine distribution plan. Estimates say it will become readily available to non-priority citizens by the spring of 2021.
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Covid vaccine distribution in Michigan starting soon
The Coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Pfizer is nearing approval from FDA. Once it gets the green light, more than 87,000 doses of the vaccine will be on their way to Michigan.
"Initial data shows that both of these vaccines are about 95% effective and it will be important we can vaccinate as many people as possible," Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said.
The first to receive the vaccine will be ICU workers, hospital medical floor workers, EMS workers, and any others working in the emergency departments. The second allotment, which Khaldun hopes will arrive in January, is intended for care facility workers and residents at skilled nursing facilities.
"All of this is dependent on how quickly additional vaccines become available from the manufacturer," Dr. Khaldun reminded. "We hope to be able to have vaccines available to the general public by late spring."
Even after the vaccine's arrival, the state will still need to manage a brutal spike in new COVID-19 cases that have pushed hospitals near their spring peak. There are encouraging signs after the number of cases per million people dropped and the hospitalization rate leveled out.
Homeless woman missing for 3 years reunited with family
It required a few acts of kindness before a Dearborn man settled on a direction for the homeless woman he was trying to help. It would end up helping a whole lot.
"I feel like I changed someone's life and I want to keep changing lives," said Mohamad Moussa.
Moussa had found a woman outside a gas station back in October and had tried to get her to come to his restaurant. She declined. He tried giving her a "big amount" of cash. She also refused that.
"(it) surprised me," he said. "She kept saying 'I feel safe here, I don't want to leave.'"
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Dearborn restaurant owner helps reunite homeless woman with loved ones
It started with an encounter outside a Dearborn gas station.
It was apparent she had mental issues, but that wasn't enough to keep Moussa from helping. After she had slept at that location for three days, the man was eventually able to get her a bed to stay in at a motel.
Not a permanent solution, he called a nonprofit run by women for women. It would be the right call.
"I started to dig, I went onto to Google and started looking for relatives this has to be someone's mom," said Shayma Mustafa.
Moustafa runs KBK Relief Foundation. She told FOX 2 she had to find out where the homeless woman belongs - and she did. On her 14th call, she got her daughter on the other line.
"(She said) 'That's my mom, she's been missing for the past three years and gone completely off the grid,'" Moustafa said.
The woman is from Metro Detroit and suffers from severe schizophrenia.
Now her family is working with the courts to find out the best solution for her.
Michigan Republicans support Texas lawsuit seeking to throw out state election
Four Congressmen from Michigan have signaled support for a lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General that seeks to throw out the election results in four states that voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
U.S. Reps. Jack Bergman, Bill Huizenga, John Moolenaar, and Tim Walberg, all Republicans, have signed a brief supporting the lawsuit to stop the electoral votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from being cast.
Another 15 state lawmakers from Michigan's legislature also threw their support behind the unprecedented lawsuit.
Michigan's other two Republican representatives in Congress, Paul Mitchell and Fred Upton have spoken out publicly against the efforts to overturn the election.
The lawsuit, which was filed directly with the U.S. Supreme Court, alleges that states like Michigan made unconstitutional changes to their election systems to accommodate for the pandemic that wasn't approved through the proper channels.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has called the lawsuit a "publicity stunt."
Mother of D'Wan Sims who went missing in 1994, dies
Dwana Wiggins, the mother to D'Wan Sims, the child from one of the most infamous missing person cases from 1994, has died. While the trail on her son's disappearance remains unsolved.
Livonia police confirmed Wiggins died Monday in North Carolina. She had moved there from Michigan.
D'Wan Sims was 4 when he went missing in 1994.
Sims went missing while he and his mom were shopping at the former Wonderland Mall in Livonia. While surveillance video confirms Wiggins was a that the mall that day, there had been no sign of her son being with her.
While the case remains open, police did also confirm investigators are waiting on the DNA results from a man who claims to be D'Wan, but that the pandemic has slowed down processing.
$350K donation helps build up Royal Oak ballpark
A first-class baseball field is being built at Memorial Park and Woodward in Royal Oak after a big donation from a former player came through.
The new venue will host both high school and the MLB-affiliated Summer Collegiate Baseball League, where the Royal Oak Leprechauns will play.
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Royal Oak to get field of dreams at Memorial Park thanks to mysterious donor
Memorial Park on 13 Mile and Woodward in Royal Oak will now become a first-class baseball field not only for high school baseball but for the Major League affiliated Summer Collegiate Baseball League- and the new home of the Royal Oak Leprechauns.
"We are making our field of dreams, it finally came through, it finally came through," said Mark Sackett, a 5th-grade teacher and general manager of the team.
Sackett plans on changing the field and putting in turf, excavation, and some fencing as well.
9-year-old accidentally shot by father on Detroit's east side
Detroit police say a 9-year-old was accidentally shot by his dad while the man was cleaning his gun.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. on the 10000 block of Morang.
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9-year-old boy shot by father in accident as he was cleaning his gun
An accidental shooting has left a young boy hospitalized tonight.
The man drove his son to the hospital where he is listed in temporary serious condition.
Detroit police are still investigating the incident but have recovered the weapon that discharged.
Other Stories
1. Approximately $70 million in small business grants and loans for Covid relief were distributed around Wayne County. Much of that went to minority and female-owned businesses.
2. "Now could not be a better time to quit," says health experts on cigarette and vape users. Evidence is growing about how smoking can make people at greater risk for COVID-19.
3. Veterans helping veterans was the vibe on Sherwood Street after volunteers with Soldiers Angels handed out food.
4. A big real estate firm in Detroit is helping businesses ready up for the winter. Bedrock is providing restaurants with supplies for building up a socially-distant outdoor dining experience.
5. The Passages Leadership Incubator program has awarded a group $100,000 to create a Juneteenth celebration.
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Daily Forecast
Expect some unseasonably warm afternoons Friday and Saturday as temperatures are expected to climb into the 50s on both days. Some rain is forecasted for Saturday and then temperatures drop back to freezing.
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After a good looking Friday despite the morning fog in Metro Detroit, more rain and wind is on the way on Saturday. Expect rain not only in the morning, but also in the afternoon tomorrow along with breezy winds. 0.25
Visa, Mastercard end card use on Pornhub amid allegations of illegal content
Both Visa and Mastercard say they are no longer allowing their cards to be used on Pornhub amid allegations of illegal content on the site.
The decision comes in response to a report in The New York Times alleging that videos of rape and underage sex can be found on the pornographic site. Nicholas Kristof, opinion columnist at the Times, wrote Friday that Pornhub carries rape scenes and other examples of explicit video taken without consent of the participants.
The report prompted the credit card giants this week to investigate their business relationship with Pornhub.
Mastercard said Thursday in a statement that its investigation “has confirmed violations of our standards prohibiting unlawful content” on Pornhub — and that it was ending use of their cards on the site.
“As a result, and in accordance with our policies, we instructed the financial institutions that connect the site to our network to terminate acceptance. In addition, we continue to investigate potential illegal content on other websites to take the appropriate action,” the company said.
Visa said Thursday that it was also suspending use of its card on Pornhub “pending the completion of our ongoing investigation” in response to the Times report.