What to know today 🌅
Attention Michigan voters: Ballots mailed out today
If you requested an absentee ballot in Michigan for November, your ballot will be mailed out today. A record number of Michigan voters opted to vote by mail for both the May and August elections this year, and an even larger number is expected to vote by mail this November. By law, Michigan clerks must begin mailing requested absent voter ballots to voters 40 days before the election -- which is September 24.
Here’s everything to know about absent voting.
Michigan legislature passes budget ahead of deadline, increase in funding for K-12 schools
Michigan has a budget in place for 2021 that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she’s signing it.
The coronavirus originally had the state making dire budget predictions that there would be a more than $1 billion hole to fill. However, a massive cash infusion from the federal government in the hundreds of millions of dollars and higher than expected tax revenues meant a $250 million hole.
Protestors march in Detroit in response to decision in Breonna Taylor’s death
A group of more than 100 protestors gathered outside the Detroit Police Department headquarters Wednesday before marching through downtown Detroit, calling for justice in Breonna Taylor’s death.
The protest came in response to the announcement that a Kentucky grand jury did not indict Louisville police on charges directly related to Taylor’s death.
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🎤 Rising Detroit rap star known as ‘Jizzle P’ shot and killed in front of mother
A rising star in Detroit’s rap community was shot and killed Tuesday night while sitting in a car on the city’s west side.
Aaron Mays, better known as Jizzle P, was just starting to get some attention on the national stage.
His mother, Senekua Mays, said she walked out of her home at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday night. Her 25-year-old son was sitting in a car and the two of them were talking. That’s when she said someone ran up and opened fire on her son.
⛔ Trump won’t commit to peaceful transfer of power if he loses
President Donald Trump on Wednesday again declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election.
“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said at a news conference, responding to a question about whether he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”
It is highly unusual that a sitting president would express less than complete confidence in the American democracy’s electoral process. But he also declined four years ago to commit to honoring the election results if his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, won.
Coronavirus in Michigan 🦠
The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 118,615 as of Wednesday, including 6,692 deaths, state officials report.
Wednesday’s update represents 705 new cases and 12 additional deaths. On Tuesday, the state totals were 117,910 cases and 6,680 deaths.
New COVID-19 cases and deaths remain flat in Michigan. Testing has remained steady, with an average of more than 30,000 per day, with the positive rate between 3 and 3.5 percent. The state reported its highest one-day testing total with more than 41,000 diagnostic tests on Aug. 21.
Hospitalizations are stable and the number of patients in critical care is near its lowest point since tracking, dating back to April.
Michigan has reported 90,216 recoveries. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 21,000 as of Tuesday. Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 675 on Tuesday. The state’s fatality rate is 5.7 percent.
Here’s a look at more of the data: