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AP-US-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Parents charged in Oxford school shooting seek lower bail

DETROIT (AP) — The parents of a teenager charged with killing four students at a Michigan high school are asking for a lower bond so they can get out of jail. An attorney for James and Jennifer Crumbley says they didn’t anticipate that their son Ethan would commit violence and are “devastated” like others in the Oxford community. The parents are charged with involuntary manslaughter. They’re accused of making a gun accessible to their son. The Crumbleys want their bond lowered to $100,000 from $500,000. Ethan is charged with murder and other crimes.

DOCTOR-SEXUAL ASSAULT-MICHIGAN STATE

Michigan prosecutors lose appeal in key Nassar-related case

DETROIT (AP) — State prosecutors have lost their bid to reinstate charges against the former president of Michigan State University. Lou Anna Simon was accused of lying to investigators in 2018 when they tried to learn what she knew years earlier about sexual assault complaints involving Larry Nassar. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by an Eaton County judge to dismiss the case against Simon. The court agreed there was insufficient evidence to send her to trial. Judge Elizabeth Gleicher severely criticized prosecutors for even pursuing the case. She says Simon was made a scapegoat to “exact retribution” against MSU. The attorney general’s office says it’s considering whether to ask the state Supreme Court to take the case.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-RESTAURANT OWNER

Man who kept diner open to pay bills dies after COVID-19

QUINCY, Mich. (AP) — A man who defied state orders and kept his restaurant open last year during the pandemic, partly to pay medical bills, has died of complications from COVID-19. John Parney operated the Quincy Diner in Quincy in southern Michigan. He was 62 years old. Parney was admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 in September, went home but quickly developed significant health problems that put him back in the hospital. Parney died Dec. 14. He kept the restaurant open in December 2020 in violation of orders from the Michigan health department, which was trying to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by banning dine-in business. Parney’s wife has colon cancer and they needed the income.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

Michigan governor supports vaccine mandate; AG would defend

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she supports President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for employers. Her comments came Wednesday in a roundtable with reporters. That followed Attorney General Dana Nessel saying earlier in the week that she would support a defense of the mandate. Whitmer acknowledged that some comments she made earlier this month during a visit to Montcalm County expressing her concerns about the mandate were misunderstood. She said she was trying to address the problem of possibly losing state employees, but she still supports the mandate.

AP-MI-EX-DETROIT-COUNCILMAN-PAROLE

Ex-Detroit councilman Pugh out of prison after teen sex case

DETROIT (AP) — The former president of the Detroit City Council has been released from state prison after serving five years for having sex with a teenage boy when he previously worked as a TV journalist. A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections tells the Detroit Free Press that 50-year-old Charles Pugh left the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia on Wednesday morning. Pugh was sentenced to 5 1/2 to 15 years in 2016 after he admitted to having sex with a teenage boy under the age of 16. He had pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct. Pugh was granted parole in July.

POLICE SHOOTING

Suspect killed, 2 cops shot in Burton outside Flint

BURTON, Mich. (AP) — Two police officers have been shot in Genesee County during a “violent confrontation” with a gunman who was killed after a chase on foot. A sheriff’s deputy was in critical condition while a Burton officer was in fair condition. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. in Burton, a few miles east of Flint. Sheriff Chris Swanson says it began when police responded to a call about a man with a gun. The officers were shot after the suspect struggled while trying to climb a fence. The officers returned gunfire, killing the man.

AP-US-GYM-DOCTOR-SEXUAL-ASSAULT-COACH

Ex-gymnastics coach wins appeal on Nassar-related conviction

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — An appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former Michigan State University gymnastics coach who was sentenced to jail for lying to investigators about her knowledge of sexual abuse complaints against Larry Nassar in the 1990s. The Michigan Court of Appeals judges didn’t determine that Kathie Klages had told the truth to investigators, but rather that her interviews were not crucial in a state investigation of how the university responded to allegations about Nassar. Klages has maintained her innocence throughout. Klages’ attorney, Mary Chartier, says they are “thrilled” that she “has finally been vindicated.”

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

Michigan officials expect omicron variant to sweep state

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says people who haven’t been vaccinated for COVID-19 are taking up too many beds at Michigan’s strained hospitals as the state prepares for the rapid spread of omicron variant. Whitmer said Tuesday at a news conference in Grand Rapids that the omicron variant is already the dominant strain in the U.S. and is expected to spread rapidly through Michigan. Much remains unknown about the variant, including whether it causes more or less severe illness than previous strains. Health officials say early studies suggest that the vaccinated will need a booster shot for the best chance at preventing omicron infection, but that even without the extra dose, vaccination still should offer strong protection against severe illness and death.

HAITI-US HOSTAGES

Father of kidnapped missionaries is grateful they’re free

HART, Mich. (AP) — The father of four Christian missionaries from Michigan who escaped from kidnappers in Haiti is expressing gratitude and says they’re in good shape. Two more family members were also kidnapped but were released a few weeks ago. They’re associated with Hart Dunkard Brethren Church in Hart, about 190 miles northwest of Detroit. A church elder, Ron Marks, read a statement from Ray Noecker, whose wife, Cheryl, and five of their children were kidnapped in October. They were in Haiti on behalf of Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries. Seventeen people were abducted on Oct. 16, shortly after visiting an orphanage. Five were eventually released, leaving the 12 who escaped.

STATE EMPLOYEE-EMBEZZLEMENT

Michigan employee who embezzled $855,690 sentenced to jail

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A former Michigan state employee who pleaded guilty to multiple felonies for embezzling $855,690 from the state was sentenced to jail time Tuesday in an Ingham County court. Joseph Pettit was sentenced to one year in jail and ordered to pay back the full amount embezzled. The former Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy employee pleaded guilty to diverting funds to himself while he worked from the department from 1996 to 2020. In a news release, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel applauded the state’s ability to bring accountability.