News@Noon: Irregular voting; the parrot and the psychic
May you live in 'irregular' times
For Michiganians, Detroit is shaping up to be the story of the 2016 election.
In the state's most populous city, some 37 percent of precincts registered more votes than they should have in November's election. In the 60 percent of precincts that were determined "unrecountable," two-thirds had more votes than they should have, report Jonathan Oosting and Joel Kurth.
“There’s always going to be small problems to some degree, but we didn’t expect the degree of problem we saw in Detroit. This isn’t normal,” said Krista Haroutunian, chairwoman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers.
Last week, The News reported that at least half of the precincts in Detroit were unrecountable due to irregularities.
A parrot, a psychic, a wife accused of murder
Police first thought Glenna Duram was dead. Then they thought she was a victim. Now they think she’s a murderer. And that was just the beginning of a 19-month murder case in West Michigan whose constant twists have grown progressively bizarre.
Among the star turns in the drama are a foul-mouthed parrot that may have witnessed the shooting, a prescient psychic who knew secret details about the case, trespassers who stumbled upon a suicide note, and a death threat delivered by a crossbow arrow.
Kanye, Trump talk 'life'
A newly blond Kanye West met President-elect Donald Trump at the Trump Tower Tuesday morning. While the popular rapper is not expected to be offered or accept a position in the Cabinet, reporters were left guessing whether his appearance was a sign that West would perform during Trump's inauguration, which observers believe will be a gilded, highly-produced affair.
West showed at Trump Tower just before 9 a.m. His wife, Kim Kardashian West, was not present, and West did not take questions from reporters.
QLine rolls on M1
The QLine, the highly anticipated streetcar running a 3.3-mile route north and south on Woodward Avenue (6.6 miles total) from downtown to New Center, put its first streetcar on the road Tuesday for testing. Advocates for increased mass transit in Metro Detroit believe that if the rail line is successful, it could spark a regional interest in transit that hasn't been seen since the last Detroit streetcars were shipped off to Mexico City in the 1950s.
The News' Kyla Smith was there to witness the debut of the 125-seat streetcars, and captured video.
Lawyers clash in Cosby case
A judge admonished lawyers on both sides of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case Tuesday after a courtroom shouting match over the defense team’s practice of publicizing the names of the women accusing the comedian of sexual assault. But before the start of the hearing, Cosby, 79, still displayed some of his trademark humor. As Cosby was being evaluated by a security wand for entry to a Pennsylvania courtroom, he said "don't tase me bro" to a security guard.
Playing the part
Dear President-elect Trump: Campaigning is not leading, says The News' Ingrid Jacques. Trump appears to prefer performing in front of his supporters to attending to tedious matters, but the mundane comes with the job.
Country Day coach celebrates 50th season
Frank Orlando, 73, girls hoops coach at Detroit Country Day, has led the Yellowjacket girls to 11 state championships in his 35 years there. But that milestone was imperiled when Orlando suffered a stroke on April 7. He has since returned to the sidelines.
“It’s been an honor to coach everywhere I’ve been,” said Orlando who has won a state record 736 games at Country Day in girls basketball, also guiding the school’s baseball team to a Class B state championship in 1995. “I started at St. Mary’s in Redford back in ’67. It doesn’t seem like 50 years. I had so many wonderful kids that I’ve coached and I still enjoy it.”
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