Latest Michigan news, sports, business and entertainment at 9:20 p.m. EDT

BEACH SHOOTING

Police: 2 dead, 1 hurt in shooting at Lake Michigan pier

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — Two people have died and a third has been critically injured in a shooting at a Lake Michigan beach pier in southwestern Michigan.South Haven Police Chief Natalie Thompson says two men, including 19-year-old shooter Aidan Topher Ingalls of Bangor, Michigan, were found dead Friday afternoon. She says a third person, the wife of the man Ingalls shot, is in critical condition at a hospital. The names of the couple haven’t been released. Beachgoers scrambled when they heard shots in South Haven, 60 miles north of the Indiana-Michigan border.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SCHOOL MASKS

2 large Michigan counties order masks for young school kids

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Western Michigan’s two largest counties are ordering masks in schools through sixth grade. They’re citing the risk of the COVID-19 delta variant and young children who don’t qualify for vaccines. The orders came from health departments in Kent and Ottawa counties. Teachers and other staff members who are vaccinated still must wear masks in schools. Kent and Ottawa join at least three counties with similar school mask policies: Allegan, Kalamazoo and Genesee. Some school districts elsewhere are acting on their own. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declined to order a statewide mask mandate in schools, though Michigan’s chief medical executive says it would likely reduce the spread of COVID-19.

MICHIGAN-BUDGET DIRECTOR RESIGNS

Michigan’s budget director leaving for Wayne State post

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s budget director Dave Massaron is leaving his position once the fiscal year budget is completed in October to become chief financial officer at Wayne State University in Detroit. The governor’s office announced his departure on Friday. Massaron has held other positions in the Detroit area previously including chief financial officer for the city. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer thanked him for his service to the state in a news release saying his leadership allowed the state to make several investments into the future, including a $17.1 billion K-12 budget.

AP-US-GRAY-WOLVES-PROTECTIONS

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by former President Donald Trump’s decision to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive hunting and trapping for the animals in the Great Lakes and northern Rocky Mountains. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director for Ecological Services Gary Frazer suggested the agency could intervene if wolf populations suffer declines that could again threaten them with extinction. Idaho, Montana and Wisconsin have adopted new rules intended to drive down the predator’s numbers. Gray wolves rebounded in parts of the U.S. over the past several decades from widespread extermination in the 1900s.

LOBSTERMAN-SEX CRIMES CHARGES

Lobsterman arrested on charges of sex crimes with minor

HARPSWELL, Maine (AP) — A Maine lobsterman wanted by Michigan authorities for alleged sex crimes involving a minor has been arrested by U.S. Marshals. Michael Bernard was wanted for crimes involving a victim under 13-years-old, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Bangor Daily News reports that the 26-year-old allegedly met the victim online and communicated with them for several months. Authorities say Bernard traveled to Michigan to engage in sexual activity and then returned to Maine. He was arrested Thursday in Harpswell after leaving his boat and was charged as a fugitive from justice. He will be arraigned in Maine pending his extradition back to Michigan. It’s unknown whether he has an attorney.

BLACK BEAR DEATH-DNR

DNR: Bear found dead in northern Indiana appears hit by car

BRISTOL, Ind. (AP) — The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says the carcass of a black bear found this week in far northern Indiana had many fractured bones, injuries that are consistent with having been struck by a motor vehicle.DNR mammalogist Brad Westrich said Friday the fractures were discovered during a necropsy at the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University. DNR officials found the carcass Wednesday morning along State Road 15 in the Elkhart County town of Bristol, near the entrance to the Indiana Toll Road. The DNR had not received reports of black bears in the area since 2015 before finding this bear.

COLD CASE-ARREST

Michigan inmate charged in Florida teen’s 1985 death

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — DNA evidence helped investigators match the 1985 kidnapping, sexual assault and death of a 17-year-old Florida girl to a man already serving two life sentences in Michigan. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Chief T.K. Waters said during a news conference late Thursday that 59-year-old David Nelson Austin has been charged with first-degree murder, armed kidnapping and sexual battery in the stabbing death of Leslie McCray. Her family has waited nearly 36 years for an arrest. Cold case detectives went to Michigan to interview Austin. Additional tests were done to confirm the DNA match. Now they’re awaiting word on when he could be brought to Florida to face charges.

AP-US-GENERAL-MOTORS-BOLT-RECALL

GM extends recall to cover all Chevy Bolts due to fire risk

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — General Motors is recalling all Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles sold worldwide to fix a battery problem that could cause fires. The recall raises questions about lithium ion batteries, which now are used in nearly all electric vehicles. President Joe Biden wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 as part of a broader effort to fight climate change. The recall announced Friday adds about 73,000 Bolts from the 2019 through 2022 model years to a previous recall of 69,000 older Bolts. Gm says in rare cases the batteries have two manufacturing defects that can cause fires.

DOCTOR-SEXUAL ASSAULT

Judge tells prison to seize Nassar’s money for victims

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A judge has ordered the government to take money from the prison account of a former Michigan sports doctor who owes about $58,000 to victims of his child pornography crimes. Larry Nassar has received about $13,000 in deposits since 2018, including $2,000 in federal stimulus checks. But Nassar has paid only $300 toward court-ordered financial penalties and nothing to his victims. In a court filing, Nassar says he had received “gifts” from “third parties.” Nassar was a doctor at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. He pleaded guilty in federal court to child pornography crimes before pleading guilty in state court to sexually assaulting female gymnasts.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-COURT VIDEO

Man wins appeal over being sentenced by video

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals has granted a new hearing to a man who says his rights were violated when he was sentenced for a crime by video. It’s been a common practice during the coronavirus pandemic. Michael Christian participated and spoke during a hearing in Oakland County court and had a lawyer present. But the appeals court still found problems. Christian was not asked to waive his physical presence in the courtroom. Christian was convicted of uttering and publishing, a crime typically related to forging documents, and sentenced to a minimum of a year in prison. The appeals court decision won’t lead to Christian’s release. He’s also locked up for unrelated crimes in Macomb County.