The forecast predicts a high of 38 and a low of 28.
Michigan Supreme Court clears way for trial in hazing death case
The Michigan Supreme Court upheld criminal charges against a former Michigan State University fraternity pledge master in connection with the 2021 death of Phat Nguyen at the now-disbanded Pi Alpha Phi fraternity. The court rejected an appeal filed by attorneys representing Ethan Cao, who was charged with one count of felony hazing resulting in death and three misdemeanors resulting in physical injury after Nguyen died of alcohol intoxication during a welcome party at Pi Alpha Phi. If found guilty under Michigan’s anti-hazing law, Cao, who was described in court documents as the “pledge master” of the freshman class, faces 15 years in prison. Messages left with Ingham County Prosecutor John J. Dewane’s office were not returned, though Dewane said in a March 2 press release that “we look forward to trying this case in Circuit Court.” After Cao was first charged in 2022, his attorney, Edwar Zeineh, contested the charges by claiming there was insufficient evidence against Cao and arguing that the state’s anti-hazing law was unconstitutional. However, the state Court of Appeals affirmed the law’s validity, and the Supreme Court rejected Cao’s subsequent appeal.
MSU’s Fears named to first team All-Big Ten, Kohler honorable mention
Tuesday afternoon, Michigan State men’s basketball’s Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jaxon Kohler earned All-Big Ten honors. Fears was named to the first team list, while Kohler was tabbed to the honorable mention team. Senior center Carson Cooper was named MSU’s sportsmanship honoree. Fears, MSU’s floor general, has made a name for himself, emerging as the Spartans’ number one option. The sophomore point guard averages 15.5 points and 9 assists per game. Fears is the first Spartan to earn first-team honors since Cassius Winston in 2020. Fears ranks number one in the country in total assists, assists per game, and assist rate per KenPom. Fears’ 281 assists on the season rank second all-time on the MSU single-season assist list. He passed Mateen Cleaves on Sunday against Michigan and is 10 away from Winston’s 291 assists during his junior campaign. Kohler has been a force and consistent sorcerer in the post for the Spartans. The senior forward, who averages 12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds a game, has developed a shot from the perimeter and has become MSU’s most dynamic player.
The student intends to sue the university after a golf cart accident
A Michigan State University student is alleging that a “dangerous obstruction” on a campus sidewalk led to an accident while she was a passenger on an athletics department golf cart. Mechanical engineering sophomore Regina Carbajal sustained injuries to her right hand after an athletics golf cart collided with a stone pillar in front of Campbell Hall, according to a notice of intent to sue sent to MSU on January 28 and obtained by The State News through a public records request. The filing, though not specific about how Carbajal’s hand was injured, states that her injuries required medical transportation and treatment. Carbajal did not respond to emails requesting comment. The event in question occurred Oct. 11, 2025, according to the filing, and was “the result of a defective roadway” under the care of the several parties she says she intends to sue. Carbajal says she was sitting in the front passenger seat of an MSU athletics golf cart traversing the sidewalk in front of Campbell Hall and parallel to Abbot Road when the cart’s driver collided with a stone pillar, which she claims was not properly marked or barricaded, in front of the dormitory. “The sidewalk was unsafe and defective due to the presence of a fixed stone pillar/structure constructed within and/or immediately adjacent to the sidewalk travel path, creating an unreasonably dangerous obstruction to persons lawfully using the sidewalk,” the filing stated. Furthermore, Carbajal alleged that the parties had “constructive knowledge of this defect” yet failed to fix it.
