Teacher says she was fired for rapping • Ann Arbor schools find $25M shortfall • Wild crash caught on video
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - A high school teacher says she was fired because she's a rapper.
Domonique Brown taught at Taylor Preparatory High School and was recently named teacher of the month. When she wasn't in the classroom teaching U.S. history, Brown, born and raised in Detroit, began pursing a rap career under the name "Drippin Honey."
Brown said a parent complained about her music, leading to her termination.
"The first meeting was with my dean and my principal and they were just telling me, ‘Hey, a parent said that they’ve seen your social media, and that you’re a bad influence because you’re a rapper,'" Brown said.
By now, her music video "Drippin 101" has been seen by tens of thousands across numerous social media platforms. The video features some of the students she taught, dancing and singing along with her after she found out she had been fired.
"My outside life should not be grounds for termination when it does not interfere with my ability to fulfill my responsibilities as a teacher," Brown wrote under her music video on YouTube. "My dedication, professionalism, and passion for education have always been unwavering, regardless of any personal pursuits I may have."
Ann Arbor schools discover $25M shortfall
Staff increases, enrollment decreases, and raises are to blame for a $25 million shortfall in the Ann Arbor Public Schools district budget.
The district has increased staff by 480 in the past 10 years, while enrollment has decreased by 1,123 students in the past four years.
To address this shortfall, the district plans to lay off some workers in central office and other administrative roles. Hiring will also be frozen, and vendor contracts will be renegotiated.
The district said it will conduct in-dept reviews of all central office, district and school budgets, and request a full assessment of measures the district can take to generate revenue.
Detroit Lions player Cam Sutton wanted
Cam Sutton, a starting cornerback for the Lions, is wanted after allegedly strangling a woman in Florida.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for the 29-year-old after the March 7 incident.
"We learned that he was in a verbal altercation with an adult female at that home," said Amanda Granit, the chief communications officer at the sheriff's office. "That verbal altercation escalated to a physical altercation where the victim sustained multiple injuries to her head, her neck, her shoulders and that sparked the 911 call that came from that home."
Granit said Sutton could be in Florida or Michigan. He may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a plate number of FL-AZ33QB.
Man charged in rape of elderly sisters
A convicted sex offender is facing charges after authorities say he broke into a Dearborn home and attacked and raped two elderly sisters.
Michael Shawn Holcomb Jr. appeared for his arraignment on 20 felony charges, including five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of torture, and two counts of strangulation.
In a press conference following the court hearing, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin were both appalled at the savage attack, calling it among the worst they have seen in their long careers.
"In my 26 years, this crime is one of the most heinous things I have witnessed. I continue to pray for the victims and their families," Shahin said. "It's terrible. It's disgusting. And you know, I pray that he never breathes the same air that I breathe again. And I don't know if that's appropriate Prosecutor Worthy, but those are my feelings."
Worthy called the brutality of the case details unimaginable.
Video shows wild drunk driving crash
Security cameras at an Ann Arbor gas station caught a drunk driving crash that left a trail of damage early Saturday.
A 19-year-old woman was speeding in a Porsche AG Taycan on Plymouth near Broadway around 4 a.m. when she lost control and veered into the parking lot of a Shell gas station.
The car went airborne and rolled several times before landing in the parking lot of a nearby strip mall. During the crash, a tire flew off the Porsche and smashed through the windshield of a vehicle in the gas station parking lot.
A 20-year-old male passenger suffered critical injuries and needed to be extricated from the car. The driver and another passenger, a 19-year-old woman, both suffered minor injuries.
"We were thinking they had to be going over 100 miles per hour. (They) hit that curb, they ran through our whole lot, and they flipped and somersaulted and landed into the plaza next door," said Omar Hasan, the manager of the gas station.
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What else we're watching
- Authorities are investigating after a victim was stabbed at Verna's Tavern in Monroe County on Wednesday evening.
- A Harrison Township man has been sentenced to two years in prison after he sexually assaulted a teenager that he was giving flying lessons to.
- Community members are still fighting to preserve the historic building that once housed Roosevelt Elementary School, even after the school board voted to tear it down earlier this week. Residents filed a restraining order to halt demolition.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she is taking her time deciding the fate of embattled MSU trustees Dennis Denno and Rema Vassar.
- A Children’s Protective Services (CPS) supervisor was fired after the death of a 9-month-old baby at the hands of her father. Kinsley Evans died in Detroit over the summer after authorities say she endured more than three weeks of abuse.
‘Little Rascals’ bank robbers are 11, 12 and 16 years old
The FBI arrested three young boys suspected of robbing a bank while on spring break in Houston.
Investigators said the suspects are 11, 12 and 16 years old.
They walked into a Wells Fargo bank last week and demanded money from the teller.
They got away on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The FBI nicknamed the trio the "Little Rascals" because of their age.