| August 12, 2021 
 In the last five weeks, the greatest uptick in new coronavirus cases was reported in children ages 9 and younger, Michigan data shows. The number of confirmed cases among the youngest segment of the state population increased by 3.5% from July 2 to Aug. 9, according to Department of Health and Human Services data. This comes as the highly contagious Delta variant surges in the state, the number of people seeking COVID-19 vaccinations has slowed and children, many unvaccinated, are soon to return to school. “We are trickling upwards a little bit,” Dr. Sandy Patel, pediatric hospitalist at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, said of child cases since early July. READ MORE  Michigan’s top ranking Republican lawmaker will not be attending an annual policy conference on Mackinac Island over its vaccine policy. “It appears the Chamber cowed to political science rather than embrace actual science,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said Tuesday in response to the announcement that vaccinations will be required to attend the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference in September. Shirkey, who represents all of Branch, Hillsdale, and Jackson counties, has not been vaccinated and will not attend the conference, according to Senate Republican spokesperson Abby Walls. READ MORE  Members of a U.S. House oversight committee are pushing the Department of Homeland Security to address allegations of racial profiling by border agents in Michigan. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, joined Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Chair Jamie Raskin, D-Md., in a letter asking Homeland Security officials to release documents and appear for a briefing in response to an ACLU study accusing agents of discriminating against minority groups. “We are deeply troubled by what appear to be discriminatory abuses of authority and misuse of taxpayer funds,” the Aug. 4 letter states. READ MORE ►How police monitor social media to find crime and track suspects
 Michigan’s two largest public universities announced campus-wide vaccine mandates on the same day at the end of July. But the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are still working out the kinks in terms of implementing them, including laying a groundwork for discipline against the non-compliant. So far, the message is education over expulsion. Representatives for both schools have outlined a “progressive” discipline model that would ramp up discipline for multiple violations. While the consequences for violations are not specifically prescribed, the university will first take “an educational approach,” UM Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said. READ MORE  Linda Herrin awoke late Tuesday to an incredible “boom.” Herrin and her dogs were jostled from slumber by the loud crash. When she ventured outside, she saw the source of the sound — a downed tree blocking her front door. The tree, which she believes was struck by lightning, also took down a power line, causing potential safety risks and trapping Herrin inside her home. Winds as high as 70 mph toppled trees, limbs and power lines in some areas. Herrin was one of many Michigan residents who woke up to damage and power outages. WATCH VIDEO Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
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