News@noon: Detroit empire aftermath; real 'Sharknado'
Today is Thursday, March 30, 2017, and a prominent Metro Detroit music mogul accused of being one of the largest heroin dealers in the Midwest and using his rap label to launder drug money remains free after a federal judge refused to revoke his bond.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds came hours after The Detroit News chronicled an ongoing federal drug investigation targeting Brian “Peanut” Brown. The story was based on a sealed federal search warrant affidavit obtained by The News.
Here's what else is happening today in the news:
Fire at Victory Inn
- A fire tore through several rooms of the shuttered Victory Inn Wednesday night, displacing at least two people who’d been squatting at the motel, the Detroit Fire Department said.
- Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo Jr. ordered the motel shuttered in late January, after a raid the feds said was an attempt to stop a drugs-and-prostitution operation headquartered there. Thursday morning, Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell said there is “evidence scrappers had been in the building.”
Auto dreams and realities
- President Donald Trump is pressing automakers to build new factories in the U.S., but he may have to settle for plant overhauls and incremental job expansions such as Ford Motor Co.’s planned $1.2 billion investment in three Michigan factories that’s expected to create at least 100 jobs.
- Look no further than Ford for evidence there really are two auto industries wrapped in one.
- And the investment isn't just coming to the U.S. Ford Motor Co. said today it will invest CA$500 million into Canadian research and development efforts, adding 300 software and hardware engineers in the country and creating a research and engineering center in Ottawa.
Wall worries
Geographic and physical challenges — including the Rio Grande and threatened wildlife — will make it difficult to build the “big, beautiful wall” that President Donald Trump has promised on the U.S.-Mexico border, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Wednesday. Building a wall “is complex in some areas,” including Big Bend National Park and along the river, which twists through nearly half of the 2,000-mile border, Zinke said.
So long Lakeland
If you don’t feel a splash of melancholy when spring training wraps up, you’re either fresh out of red blood or you’ve been overly dwelling on next week’s Michigan weather forecast. The Tigers said goodbye to their Publix Field home schedule Wednesday and this farewell wasn’t fun.
Not leaving as a member of the Tigers: veteran pitcher Mike Pelfrey who was released today.
Have you seen this lizard?
An exotic pet store in Livonia is turning to the public for tips to find a host of reptiles owners allege were stolen from the shop this week. On Monday, officials with the Stingers Exotics Reptile Specialty on Middle Belt wrote on their Facebook page about a break-in they discovered that morning. More than 20 animals were taken and it is estimated they’re worth thousands of dollars, the police captain said.
Sharknado?
- An Australian journalist covering flooding from Cyclone Debbie was shocked to come across a dead bull shark in a puddle. It had apparently been swept up in the deluge.
Hair Wars returns
- Things are about to get hairy. Hair Wars' 32nd incarnation takes place Sunday at Dearborn’s Ford Community and Performing Arts Center and will feature 200-plus models and two-dozen stylists.
Detroit News at noon is a daily roundup of the most talked-about stories on detroitnews.com. For more anytime, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram (@detroitnews), Snapchat (Search for "Detroitnews") and LinkedIn.