Slew of restrictions eased in Michigan, Hartland senior talks racial harassment, FBI testifies in kidnap case

FRIDAY NEWS HIT - The sun is shining earlier and temperatures are starting to warm, just as restrictions across the state for a slew of industries are loosening following a brutal period of the pandemic during the winter.

Following a Monday announcement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, new capacity limits and curfews are restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters will all go into effect beginning today.

The state health department's order comes amid preparation for a sharp increase in vaccination supplies that's expected in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, infection rates have fallen to some of the pandemic's lowest numbers since it first arrived.

Slew of restrictions eased in Michigan beginning today

Restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, and casinos are all having capacity restrictions loosened today after a health department order determined coronavirus infection had slowed down.

Beginning March 5:

Restaurant and bar capacity can operate at 50% capacity and have an 11 p.m. curfew
Gym and casino capacity limits were increased to 30%
Entertainment venues for bowling and watching movies had their capacity increased to 50%
Stadiums that seat more than 10,000 people can now host up to 750 individuals.
Private indoor gatherings at homes can now have a maximum of 15 people from three different households. while private outdoor gatherings can have up to 50 people

While the hard numbers offer some relief to businesses begging for more room to host customers, fewer restrictions also feel like a morale boost for some.

"Some customers said they weren't showing up because they assumed they weren't going to be seated because it was 25 and they were going to be turned away at the door, well if everyone thought that way, no one was going to show up," said Norman Mourad, manager of Shield's Restaurant Bar Pizzeria. "It's about that perception, it's about creating that comfort level, and people are now going to show up more because they have a better chance of being seated at 50% instead of 25."

The order will remain in place until April 19

Hartland senior endured racial harassment

Tatayana Vanderlaan has been told she should be lynched, that she should go back to the plantation, and that Black Lives Don't Matter. She's been called the n-word, had her appearance made fun of, and all the while, she says the teachers did nothing.

So, the 18-year-old student at Hartland school district took to Facebook with a long post detailing the racial harassment she's endured. "I feel very unsafe not only in the Hartland community but wherever I go, after receiving the threats," she said.

The next day, the superintendent of Hartland Consolidated Schools sent a letter to parents, notifying them he "does not take the allegations lightly" and will do "everything possible" to make sure students are safe. The post has also prompted an investigation from the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. Vanderlaan plans to meet with the district Monday.

"I feel that as a young woman and what I have gone through, no educator should ever take my education away because of how others have treated me with zero action," she said.

Hartland High School senior comes forward after racial harassment, threats

The 18-year-old senior posted on Facebook how a group of boys called her the n-word and other racial slurs, made fun of her appearance, and the teachers did nothing.

Officer shoots suspect who pointed AR-15 at police

A man has been hospitalized in serious condition after he was shot by Detroit police early Thursday evening. Responding police say the suspect had pointed an AR-15 at the officers which had followed a series of dangerous encounters with the individual.

The individual was seen earlier walking into a gas station, armed, agitated, and visibly intoxicated. He allegedly was threatening other customers and wanted to go behind the counter, but was denied by a clerk.

That was on E. Warren and Cadillac. From there, he went to 4700 block of Pennsylvania where he saw police and round into one of the homes and barricaded himself in.

"Officers were in a fatal-force position almost from the beginning," DPD Cmdr Szilagy said, adding that the man might be suffering from mental problems and his background is being investigated. "The officers were very patient and tried to de-escalate the situation."

At some point, negotiations had stalled, the man left the house, walked down the middle of the street, and aimed his long gun at the officers. That's when he was shot.

Detroit police shoot man armed with AR-15 rifle after he pointed it at them

No officers were injured and the armed man was wounded after pointing his rifle at police on the east side.

FBI testifies against Whitmer kidnapper suspects in court

The FBI agent who fielded key information about a plot to kidnap the Michigan governor from an informant in a militia group said the extremists had planned on throwing a molotov cocktail into Gretchen Whitmer's house. They also planned on setting up homemade bombs and other traps when police showed up.

"The most specific thing he said was when he said 'One two three four I'm going through Gov. Whitmer's door,'" said the defense attorney. Special Agent Henrik Impola replied. "Well at the end of the day, when he put together a team that did, in fact, plan to go through her door, it takes on a little more context."

A trio of three men had outlined a specific weapon plan, had become tactically trained, and recruited others communicating under a cloak of secrecy.

Thursday's appearance in court was only a preliminary hearing in order to determine if the case should go to trial. Defense attorneys have worked hard to keep that from happening.

FBI agent takes stand in prelim hearing for alleged Whitmer kidnap plot

The men are accused of being members of a militia group which planned and trained for a violent kidnapping of the governor and a possible attack at the State Capitol.

What else we're watching

On Monday, Michigan will officially lower the eligibility for receiving a vaccine to people age 50 and older with pre-existing conditions. It will be the biggest expansion of who can get a vaccine since Michigan moved from Phase 1A
Beginning at noon, the Detroit Charter Commission will gather alongside other advocates at the Spirit of Detroit statue. They'll be making a joint call for relief from concentrated poverty as a way of reducing crime.
Two men were busted for impersonating Wyandotte police this week. They were charged Thursday with several drug offenses
Beginning next Monday, I-75 lane and ramp closures will go into effect from Big Beaver to Wattles roads. All ramps at the Big Beaver interchange will be closed for two weeks
So far, a DNR-affiliated group that watches and investigates appearances of cougars in Michigan have verified 65 reports.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

It's too soon to feel entitled for warmer weather, but the official date of spring is only two and a half weeks away. The next week of temperatures is already acting like it. Temperatures will float around the 40's for now before rising up to 60 on Monday.

Cool and Sunny Friday

We are mostly sunny, cool and breezy today with highs in the low 40s.

Orbital Assembly Corp. hits $1M fundraising goal, aims to have luxury space hotel open in 2027

Orbital Assembly Corp., a California-based startup that wants to pioneer construction and infrastructure in outer space, has hit its $1 million fundraising goal and aims to open an operational luxury hotel in orbit in 2027.

The enterprise bills itself as the "world’s first large-scale space construction company" and wants to produce everything from space tourism to fuel depots, telecommunications satellites and solar power stations "in low Earth orbit and beyond."

Orbital says it will use robots to construct modular structures in the sky.