July 30, 2021

Carl Levin, Michigan's longest serving U.S. senator, dies at 87

Source: Detroit Free Press

Carl Levin, a liberal Democrat who rose from a prominent Detroit family to become Michigan’s longest-serving U.S. senator and helped set military priorities and investigate corporate behavior for decades before retiring in 2015, died Wednesday. He was 87 years old.

The Levin Center at Wayne State University's Law Center put out a statement late Wednesday, saying, "With great sadness and heavy hearts, the (center and family) announce the passing of Senator Carl Levin."

Levin disclosed in his recently published memoir, "Getting to the Heart of the Matter: My 36 Years in the Senate," that he was diagnosed with lung cancer nearly four years ago, when he was 83.

A defender of Senate traditions, even when his own party moved to change them, Levin, who was trained as a lawyer, twice served as chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee, despite having never served in uniform himself. . .



Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/07/29/carl-levin-dies/7983742002/

---

Great senator. great man.

July 22, 2021

Black couple who refused vaccine due to Tuskegee syphilis study die from COVID-19 three hours apart

Source: Raw Story

A Black couple who refused to be vaccinated because of concerns about the federal government's infamous Tuskegee study have died from COVID-19.

Martin Daniel, 53, and his wife, 49-year-old Trina Daniel, died just three hours apart on July 6, according to Atlanta's ABC affiliate. They had been married for 22 years.

Martin Daniel graduated from Tuskegee University in Alabama — which collaborated on the study — and "the government's syphilis experiments on Black men during the 1930s influenced his and his wife's decision not to get vaccinated," according to the station.

"Just tying these two events together and understanding the historical context of what's going on, it really wears on me sometimes," said Cornelius Daniel, Martin's nephew. . .

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/black-couple-who-refused-vaccine-due-to-tuskogee-study-die-from-19-three-hours-apart/

---

Tragic, and unnecessary. But understood, in the context of their experiences. Still, whatever skepticism, we must save lives through vaccination.

They will be missed.

July 18, 2021

Mackinac Bridge closed to traffic due to bomb threat, state police say

Source: Detroit News

The Mackinac Bridge was closed Sunday afternoon because of a bomb scare.

The bridge connecting Michigan’s two peninsulas was closed in both directions shortly before 2:30 p.m., said Michigan State Police.

Boat traffic was also diverted away from below the bridge by the Coast Guard. . .



Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/18/mackinac-bridge-closed-traffic-sunday-afternoon/8008753002/

---

Maybe nothing, but who knows in this Trumpian age. Anyway, what a national treasure.