| December 8, 2021 
 The COVID-19 pandemic started with a bang in Michigan, with exponential case growth in March 2020 that turned life upside down within a matter of days. Twenty-one months into the pandemic, many wonder: When and how will it end?Clearly, it’s not over yet. Indeed, Michigan is currently experiencing record caseload and hospitalization numbers -- and news of the emerging Omicron variant has experts around the world worried that things could get worse before they get better. “I don’t think it’s going to go away completely for a long time,” said Dr. Joel Howell, a University of Michigan medical doctor who also has a doctorate in health management and policy. READ MORE  State biologists are sounding the alarm over the detection of a nuisance algae nicknamed “rock snot” in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula after a tribal biologist discovered a large bloom in the Upper Manistee River. Sam Day, a water quality biologist with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, found a large bloom of Didymosphenia geminate, or didymo, while fishing in a remote stretch of the river in Kalkaska County. Day, who studied didymo in the southeastern U.S. while a graduate student at Tennessee Technological University, recognized the slimy-looking algae and took samples that were subsequently verified by state-contracted experts. READ MORE  A prosecutor continues to criticize the decision to keep a teenager in a Michigan school before a shooting that killed four students last week, raising questions about whether staff and the school district will face liability — criminal or civil — in the tragedy. “We should all be looking at the events that led up to that horrific event,” Karen McDonald told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “And as a community, as a school, as a nation talk about what we could have done different so that didn’t happen. And in this case a lot could have been done different.” Ethan Crumbley, 15, is charged with shooting fellow students at Oxford High School after a meeting with counselors and his parents. READ MORE  J.J. McCarthy is following through on his pledge earlier this year to donate a portion of his Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) earnings back to charity. Michigan’s freshman quarterback announced late Monday plans to disperse a sum of more than $10,000 to various children’s hospitals and a fund benefitting the victims of the Oxford High School shooting. In a post on social media, McCarthy unveiled a graphic with a breakdown of the donations, writing, “As promised, a portion of my NIL money will be dedicated to children’s hospitals, families, and programs in need.” READ MORE  If you clicked on links for our lead story in yesterday's newsletter, you might have actually been directed to a story about the Michigan Wolverines. While it's been great to read all about U-M's football success this year, it isn't what you were looking for in the moment. Our apologies. We have the right link this time, holiday wanderers. HERE IS YOUR CHRISTMAS ROAD TRIP LINK Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
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