| June 23, 2021 
 Seeing a lot of "dining room closed" signs still hanging on the doors of fast-food restaurants? Even though Michigan restaurants could reopen their dining rooms Feb. 1, many fast-food joints still haven’t yet – nearly five months later. It’s no longer the virus or the restrictions keeping the doors locked. It’s the economics. And it has Jim MacDonald, who runs dozens of Burger King restaurants in Michigan, and others wondering aloud what the future of fast food will look like. As the pandemic subsides and restrictions ease, there’s a new reason for fast-food dining room closures – a lack of help. “The employee shortage is probably bigger than COVID right now,” MacDonald said. READ MORE ►From Charley's Crab to Krystal Jo's Diner: 1 in 6 Michigan restaurants closed during the pandemic  Michiganders have lived under some form of restriction designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 -- from stay-at-home orders to mask mandates to restaurant closures -- since March 2020. But on Tuesday, the biggest public-facing pieces, including the mask mandate, ended with the repeal of the public health order that had put them in place. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer marked the occasion at a press conference at Belle Isle in Detroit. “Effective today, our Pure Michigan summer is back,” she said, heralding the state’s progress on vaccinations and low case numbers. READ  The U.S. and Canadian governments are meeting biweekly to discuss how the state-ordered closure of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac comports with a 1977 treaty, according to a letter filed with a federal judge in Grand Rapids this week. Attorneys for Canada disclosed regular high-level talks between U.S. Cabinet officials and their Canadian counterparts, in a Monday letter to U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff, who is presiding over litigation between Enbridge and the state of Michigan. MORE ►Michigan's Indigenous tribes ramp up efforts to shut down oil pipeline through sacred waters
 For the first time since 1970, the Detroit Pistons get the chance to pick first in the NBA Draft. The top selection was secured when the Pistons won the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night. While it is good news for Pistons fans, it was the result of some hardship. Heading into the Lottery, the Pistons had one of their best chances of getting the top pick in decades. Detroit (20-46) ended the season with the second-worst record in the NBA. But a top prospect should help, right? Point guard Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State is widely projected to go first overall. The draft will take place on July 29. MORE  That's right, the guy you see in that photo ate a cicada. He ate multiple cicadas, in fact. MLive's Neil Blake is a real trooper. He found, caught, roasted and dined on Brood X cicadas, so you could find out exactly how they taste without actually having to try one yourself. We are sure you have been hearing a lot about the red-eyed bugs that have started to make some big noise in parts of southern Michigan, emerging after 17 years underground. Some chefs have been putting them in tacos, pasta, salads or just eating them boiled and baked with a little olive oil. It’s not unprecedented. So what did Neil think? TAKE A LOOK Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
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