Outage spreads to Corewell and Detroit-Windsor border • Canine escape artist • Belle Isle giant slide returns

FRIDAY NEWS HIT - Detroit Metro Airport asked anyone flying through DTW on Friday to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport following a widespread global communications outage that affected industries like transportation, media outlets and banks.

At Corewell Health, many of its systems are also impacted by the technology outage. In a statement from its senior director of communications, an official said their teams were "assessing the situation and working together to care for our patients."

"Our hospitals and emergency rooms are open. Some procedures and appointments might be delayed. Please visit CorewellHealth.org for the latest updates," said Mark Geary.

Reports arose following outages involving Microsoft created problems for Visa, ADT security and Amazon, and airlines including American Airlines and Delta, the Associated Press reported Friday.

DTW posted on social media that anyone flying to first check if their flight wasn't delayed. According to the airport's flight status page, the majority of planes were still on time.

It was a different story at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, where multiple flights were delayed. The carriers included American Airlines and United.

The Federal Aviation Administration also posted it was "closely monitoring" the outage, saying it was impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines. "Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops until the issue is resolved. Monitor http://fly.faa.gov for updates." 

The outage isn't just impacting business - but the border as well.

According to Windsor Police, there are long delays at the tunnel and Ambassador Bridge due to a "worldwide Microsoft outage" and asked people to please avoid both areas. 

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan wrote on social media that 911 and non-emergency service phone lines were experiencing technical difficulties. They asked anyone in an emergency to text 911 from a cell phone.

The American cybersecurity technology company Crowdstrike did not believe the global outage was due to a cyberattack.

According to its CEO, the firm was actively working with customers who were impacted by a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted."

"The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website," wrote George Kurtz, the president and CEO of Crowdstrike.

Senior dog kept escaping animal shelter

First they saw him – then, they didn't. The Humane Society in Ann Arbor couldn’t believe their eyes with the latest trick one of their dogs pulled. His name is Tiki. He is cute and cuddly, but he is also an escape artist who continually outwits the shelter despite their best attempts to contain him.

"Tiki’s hilarious," said the communications director at the Humane Society of Huron Valley, Wendy Welch. "Tiki is about 10 years old, a senior dog, came to us originally as a stray."

And apparently, the streets of Ann Arbor have been calling his name. "We’re starting to get creative when it comes to housing here at the Humane Society of Huron Valley because we are so full," Welch said. "So, we had him housed in a crate in a room, and the room door was locked. And somehow, he got out of that."

That was only the first time. Tiki just roamed around the office and parking lot until a veterinarian spotted him the next morning. "So we devised a different way of housing him – a more secure crate," Welch said. "We actually put a lock on the door and, still, he got out."

Read the full story of Tiki here.

Belle Isle Giant Slide back open

The return of the infamous giant slide on Belle Isle is here with Friday being the official reopening of the viral sensation that sent visitors flying and at least a few public advisories about how to ride it safely.

The Department of Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Division said the giant slide's return would include some surface improvements to make riding it safer. There will also be a thin rubber matting to help slow riders down even more.

FOX 2 previously released a guide on how to ride the giant slide. You can find it here.

It will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on this Friday before resuming regular hours from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on other Fridays and 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Rides will cost $1.

Partial verdict in Samantha Woll trial

Weeks of testimony and days of deliberations ended in a mistrial in the case against Michael Jackson-Bolanos, who had been charged with murdering Samantha Woll last year. He was found not guilty of pre-meditated first-degree murder, while the jury was hung on a separate murder charge and home invasion.  

They did convict him of lying to a police officer. Michael Jackson-Bolanos’ attorney Brian Brown called the jury’s partial verdict a head-scratcher in the Samantha Woll murder case. "Frustrated," he said. "We feel the jury should come back with a not guilty on the felony murder and also the home invasion first degree."

It's unclear if the prosecution will try the case again. An outside attorney not associated with the case says that can benefit the defense, which has seen how the arguments play out in court.

The defense continues to blame Woll's ex-boyfriend in the case.

Homemade bomb found by Wyandotte police during traffic stop

A traffic stop by Wyandotte police led to the discovery of a homemade bomb filled with shrapnel on Wednesday night.

A patrol car stopped a vehicle for a minor reason, and officers said they "noticed inconsistencies" while speaking to the two men inside, sparking suspicion. The officers then made the discovery of the bomb being transported.

The officers arrested the two men for possession of an explosive device; possession of dangerous drugs; and possession of cocaine. Pictures of the device were released as well as an X-ray of the shrapnel inside.

"This type of explosive device is designed to do one thing, kill or injure people," Wyandotte police said in a statement. "Shrapnel is designed to increase the lethality of the device; therefore, it can be safely assumed that their intent was malicious.

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Daily Forecast

It's going to be another beautiful day in Southeast Michigan on Friday with warm temperatures and low humidity.

What else we're watching

1. One of the first stops that Donald Trump will be making after the RNC is Michigan where he and JD Vance will stop in Grand Rapids for a campaign visit.
2. On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden's hopes of making it a second term appear to be dimming with more Democrats coming out against him continuing his reelection campaign. 
3. The official groundbreaking of the Macomb County Central Intake and Assessment Center is slated for Friday. The "transformational" jail project will seek to address issues in the corrections system in Macomb County.
4. Among the targets of Trump's speech at the RNC was Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers Union who he accused of being corrupt. Fain is being investigated by a federal official who is overseeing the union's operations.
5. A man riding on a motorcycle died after colliding with a mid-sized SUV on Gratiot and Van Dyke early Friday morning. 

Historic flooding unearths rare dinosaur skeleton in Brazil

A rare dinosaur skeleton was found after erosion from severe flooding in Brazil. 

Paleontologists found an almost complete Herrerasauridae dinosaur in May, possibly ranking as the second-most complete specimen of its kind in the world, according to the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.

This rare dinosaur measured around 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in length and is expected to receive more examinations to determine whether it’s part of a known species or is a discovery.

The scientists estimated that the fossils are 233 million years old, the university noted.