State Roundup

Detroit
Firefighters still seeking cause of blaze fatal to 2
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit fire officials are still seeking a cause and clues related to a house fire on the city’s west side that killed a 67-year-old man and his 42-year-old stepson.
The Detroit Free Press reports Tuesday that the Monday morning fire started in the living room but no cause has been determined. Arson and homicide investigators were at the scene on Monday.
Bobby Cross and stepson Darryl Simms were rushed to Detroit Receiving hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Authorities say they suffered from smoke inhalation.
Friends and family told the newspaper that Simms had trouble walking after a stroke about a year ago and moved in with Cross.

East Lansing
Researcher works on a phosphorus removal system
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University says a faculty member is part of a team developing a new method of removing phosphorous from wastewater, a serious pollution problem nationwide.
Steven Safferman is an associate professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering.
He’s working with researchers at Columbus, Ohio, based-MetaMateria Technologies to devise a cost-effective way of recovering the phosphorous, which then can be reused for fertilizer products.
Michigan and many other states regulate phosphorus in products such as detergent and fertilizer, but it occurs naturally in all foods, as well as human and animal waste.
Safferman and MetaMateria Technologies are testing media that use iron nanoparticles to more efficiently remove larger amounts of phosphorous from water.
The National Science Foundation grant and Michigan State are financing the work.

Kentwood
Pentagon: Mich. Navy Seal among 7 dead in crash
KENTWOOD, Mich. (AP) — The Pentagon has confirmed that a 27-year-old Navy Seal from western Michigan was among 11 people killed in the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter in southern Afghanistan.
The crash happened Thursday northeast of Kandahar. The military says seven Americans and four Afghans died.
The crash happened during a firefight with insurgents, and the Taliban claim they shot down the helicopter.
Those killed include Petty Officer 2nd Class David J. Warsen of the Grand Rapids suburb of Kentwood. The pentagon says he was a special warfare operator assigned to a West Coast-based unit.
Warsen’s family says he graduated from East Kentwood High School and was living in San Diego.

Detroit
Toddler left at Detroit bus stop back with family
DETROIT (AP) — Authorities say a little girl left at a Detroit bus stop has been reunited with family members as officers investigate.
Detroit police say the 1-year-old was released to an aunt early Tuesday after a background check by the department’s child abuse unit. Police earlier had reported that the girl, between 18 and 24 months old, was left by a man in his 20s at the bus stop Monday afternoon in front of a church.
Officers say a resident took her inside the church and called 911.
The mother tells police that the girl’s father was supposed to be watching her. He has not yet been located.

Troy
Man shoots his neighbor who shouted at dogs
TROY, Mich. (AP) — Suburban Detroit authorities say a 73-year-old man shot a neighbor who yelled at his barking dogs and kicked his fence.
The Detroit News and WXYZ-TV say Troy police arrested David G. Keats on Friday. He was arraigned on an attempted murder charge and released on a personal bond with a court appearance scheduled Aug. 27.
No one answered Keats’ home phone Monday evening.
Police say Keats was upset about a 52-year-old neighbor who had yelled at Keats’ three dogs to quiet down and kicked the fence separating their yards.
Police say Keats ran toward the man, yelled at him not to tell the dogs what to do and then opened fire.
The neighbor was treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound to the face and is home recovering.
Hamburg Twp.
Boy’s bike ride in underwear helps save his dad’s life
HAMBURG TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 10-year-old southeastern Michigan boy who jumped on his bike clad only in underwear to seek help for his bee-stung father is getting credit for saving the man’s life.
Adam Hieber of Hamburg Township has a bee-sting allergy stings and was mowing the lawn Aug. 5 when two bees stung him.
He says he tried to use an EpiPen to reverse the reaction but apparently grabbed a trainer syringe by mistake.
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell says Hieber’s son A.J. was playing a video game when he heard a noise and found his father sobbing in the bathroom.
A.J. rushed off and got his mother Sue Hieber, who was at a nearby beach with 4-year-old daughter Hannah.
Adam Hieber is recovering after hospitalization.

Flint
Schools plan big party for Olympic champion Shields
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The Flint Community Schools will honor 17-year-old Olympic boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields at a celebration Sept. 15.
WEYI-TV says the honors will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at Perani Arena and Event Center. It will be part of the district’s back-to-school observance.
The Flint high school student beat Nadezda Torlopova of Russia 19-12 on Aug. 9 to win the middleweight title in the first Olympics featuring women’s boxing.
The Michigan native was the only U.S. fighter to win gold at the London games.

Grand Rapids
U.S. says 23 lbs. of crystal meth is seized, 4 charged
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A federal prosecutor says that a grand jury has indicted two Michigan men and two Missouri men for their role in a drug smuggling ring linked to the seizure of 23 pounds of methamphetamine.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles in Grand Rapids says authorities seized the crystal meth in Van Buren County on Aug. 13. He says undercover agents made several purchases before the seizure.
The defendants all have pleaded not guilty to the charges conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute the drug and possession of the drug. The charges carry a penalty of 10 years to life in prison.
The defendants are 44-year-old Alejandro Garcia of Grand Junction, Mich.; 59-year-old Thomas Streich of Lawton, Mich.; 38-year-old Jose Sierra-Villegas of Kansas City, Mo.; and 24-year-old Brent Kellerman of Harrisonville, Mo.t