Morning Briefing: Why boosted people are getting COVID more often

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Morning Briefing

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022

In today's newsletter, a mistrial is declared in the Flint water crisis civil trial, a family mourns the woman who was killed in a Kalamazoo County Walmart parking lot and Mark Torregrossa answers your gardening questions.

Need plans for the weekend? Here are some fun things to do across Michigan.

No plans for the weekend yet? Why not head to Michigan's Longest Garage Sale? It spans 180 miles across the US 12 Heritage Trail from New Buffalo to Detroit. If you've never checked it out, it's a really fun time. You will discover all kinds of treasures.

Perhaps you want to stay in one place? The 10th annual Flint Drop Fest will bring 11 hours of electronic music, art and culture to the city's downtown tomorrow. In Metro Detroit, it will be a dog day at the Pooch Picnic. The Bay County Fair continues through tomorrow. And on the other side of the state, you can check out the Kalamazoo County Youth Fair and Family Festival.
No matter what you do this weekend, I hope you enjoy it.

Curated by Jessica Shepherd

Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)

Why are boosted people catching COVID more often now?

The old numbers:From mid-October to mid-December 2021, unvaccinated Michiganders were 12 times more likely to catch COVID than boosted people and 69 times more likely to die from COVID.

But now: From January through early June – the most recent breakthrough data available – unvaccinated people were only twice as likely to get COVID versus boosted people, but 21 times more likely to die. We have a look at the data and why there has been such a substantial change.

More free tests available: The Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, is providing 180,000 self-administered COVID tests to 36,000 households located anywhere in the state.

Read more

Attorney for Flint kids vows to 'keep trying until I die' in Flint water case.

A mistrial:A mistrial has been declared in a federal court case brought by four children against two companies that consulted with the city of Flint during its water crisis after a jury was deadlocked for six days.
Attorney vows to keep going:"We learned a ton (and) the jury was with us,” Corey Stern said after the mistrial was declared by U.S. Magistrate Judge David Grand and after interviewing members of the jury on Thursday. “If I (were the companies), I’d be scared to death. I’ll keep trying until I die."

Another high-profile trial: Suspect in secret recording played at trial suggested killing Gov. Whitmer's security detail

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Family mourns woman killed in Walmart parking lot as suspect is charged with murder.

'All I knew was she was gone:'Family members are mourning the loss of Sandy Villarreal. Police say the 65-year-old woman was hit and killed by a driver while walking in the parking lot of a Kalamazoo County Walmart. Her family described her as a caring, selfless person who loved spending time outdoors.
Suspect charged: Xuan Thanh Vo was arraigned on one felony count of open murder Thursday in Kalamazoo County District Court. Police have said Vo did not know the victim but they allege he hit her on purpose.
Another family looking for answers:A Flint family still wonders who killed their mom and wife 27 years later.

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Advertisement

After ouster of Al Avila, where do the Tigers go from here?

A needed change:Detroit Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch said he fired general manager Al Avila because the club’s progress had stalled in 2022. And he’s right.

But what's next? Now the Tigers will hunt for a new general manager, who will have a lot of questions to answer once taking over. The most pressing: Can the Tigers be competitive in the near future, or have the last five years of miserable baseball been a waste?

Elsewhere in sports: Men's basketball coach Juwan Howard says the University of Michigan needs to be more proactive with name, image, and likeness.

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Plan for your weekend with the forecast (and some gardening tips!).

What to expect this weekend: There will be rain! Well, for some of you. And it won't last the whole weekend. So Mark Torregrossa has a rundown of where and when this rain will occur, so you can plan your outdoor time this weekend.
Mark has gardening expertise to share:" Did you catch Mark's special gardening-focused Facebook Live? You can still watch it right here. Take a tour of Mark's garden! Then he answers reader questions.
More on the great outdoors: A yooper found what may become the first confirmed example of eastern prickly pear cactus in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, discovered among the highest elevations in the Huron Mountains.

Read more

That's all for this week.

Now it's time for the weekend. (Yay!)
No matter what day it is, you can find the latest Michigan news at MLive.com. Have you considered becoming an MLive subscriber?
TTFN, friends. I'll see you next week.

— Jessica Shepherd

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