November is a month well known for being a transition month on the Great Lakes.
Powerful storms, intense winds, arctic air and even bursts of warmth all play a role in creating the tumbler of weather the region experiences. The gales of November would go down as another annual weather phenomenon if it weren’t for the ship and crew we remember every year on the 10th of November.
The Edmund Fitzgerald is a legend on the lakes, the Queen of the Lakes at the time, and the largest freighter to ever go down.
Unpacking the November storm season
In the month of November, the state of Michigan is in a corridor of higher activity as we transition from summer to winter.
The jet stream aligns well to act as a highway for low-pressure systems to roll through.
Arctic air begins to intrude into the U.S., and these areas of low pressure will ride the edge of these air masses into the region.
While the air is colder, the Great Lakes have not fully cooled from their summer heat and are therefore far warmer, thus providing a “shot in the arm” to storm systems as they arrive.
Side effects of this can be a combination of lake-effect precipitation, strong winds, and significant waves.
What happened during the storm of November 1975
Low pressure began to form to the east of the Rockies on Nov. 8. By the morning of Nov. 9, it had organized over Kansas and begun a trek northeastward.
By the evening of Nov. 9, the storm system had strengthened with a pressure of 933 millibars.
As the low travelled northeast over a warm Lake Michigan, it continued to strengthen.
On the morning of Nov. 10, pressure was down to 982 millibars after undergoing rapid intensification.
The occluded low pressure brought with it strong gales and intense wave heights that caused significant issues with shipping and would eventually lead to the sinking of the Fitzgerald.
Winds and waves mounted against the Edmund Fitzgerald
Wind speeds of 50 knots were recorded on eastern portions of Lake Superior at the time, approximately 58 mph.
Continual wave heights of 16 to 18 feet were recorded by multiple crews, but peak waves are much larger when they occur.
Wave heights 35 feet above the water line battered the Arthur M. Anderson, the freighter famous for being the last to communicate with the Fitzgerald.
Peak waves of 20 to 25 feet were also likely in that area throughout the evening hours.
This storm would be enough to batter other ships on the lakes, but it proved too much for the Edmund Fitzgerald to handle that night.
Improvements with forecasting, monitoring, and emergency alert and response drastically improved on the lakes in the years following.
The Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season on Sunday. There are several ways fans can watch and stream Sunday’s game.
Safety Kerby Joseph, who missed Week 7’s game with a knee injury, has been ruled out for Sunday’s tilt, according to the team’s injury report. Starting tackle Taylor Decker is questionable with a shoulder injury.
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy is expected to start under center for the first time since suffering an ankle sprain on Sept. 14. Backup quarterback Carson Wentz will have season-ending surgery for a left shoulder injury he suffered on Oct. 5.
The Vikings will likely have a boost on defense with the expected return of edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel. The Pro Bowler hasn’t played since Week 3 due to a neck injury. Van Ginkel is listed on the team’s injury report as questionable, though he’s been a full participant in practice this week and head coach Kevin O’Connell said he expects him to play.
Here’s how you can watch Sunday’s matchup between the Lions and Vikings at Ford Field in Detroit.
How can you watch the Lions vs. the Vikings on cable?
FOX will carry the game locally. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Where can you stream the Lions vs. the Vikings?
Fans can stream Sunday’s Lions-Vikings game on NFL+.
Lions vs. Vikings history
Minnesota has largely dominated the all-time series, holding an 80-45-2 edge. However, Detroit has won five straight, including a 31-9 contest back on Jan. 5.
The Vikings won eight straight in the series between 2017 and 2021.
What is the Lions’ schedule for the rest of the 2025 NFL season?
Here is the rest of Detroit’s 2025 schedule:
Week 10: Lions at Washington Commanders, Nov. 9 at 4:25 p.m. Week 11: Lions at Philadelphia Eagles, Nov. 16 at 8:20 p.m. (Sunday Night Football) Week 12: Lions vs. New York Giants, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. Week 13: Lions vs. Green Bay Packers, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m. (Thanksgiving) Week 14: Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys, Dec. 4 at 8:15 p.m. (Thursday Night Football) Week 15: Lions at Los Angeles Rams, Dec. 14 at 4:25 p.m. Week 16: Lions vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Dec. 21 at 4:25 p.m. Week 17: Lions at Vikings, 4:30 p.m. (Christmas Day) Week 18: Lions at Bears, TBD
What is the Vikings’ schedule for the rest of the 2025 NFL season?
Here’s Minnesota’s path the rest of the way through 2025:
Week 10: Vikings vs. Ravens, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. Week 11: Vikings vs. Bears, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. Week 12: Vikings at Packers, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. Week 13: Vikings at Seahawks, Nov. 30 at 4:05 p.m. Week 14: Vikings vs. Commanders, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. Week 15: Vikings at Cowboys, Dec. 14 at 8:20 p.m. (Sunday Night Football) Week 16: Vikings at Giants, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. Week 17: Vikings vs. Lions, 4:30 p.m. (Christmas Day) Week 18: Vikings vs. Packers, TBD
Kash Patel said the FBI has thwarted a potential Halloween weekend terrorist attack in Michigan with multiple would-be jihadi arrested
FBI Director Kash Patel said that several suspects hellbent on committing an act of terror in Michigan were arrested, interrupting what homeland security officials call a jihadi plot.
This morning the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested multiple subjects in Michigan who were allegedly plotting a violent attack over Halloween weekend. More details to come. Thanks to the men and women of FBI and law enforcement everywhere standing guard 24/7…
White House Senior Director for Counterterrorism Seb Gorka wrote on social media that federal agents “disrupted a Jihadi terror plot in Detroit timed for Halloween when innocent children should be enjoying themselves Trick or Treating. The threat is real.”
A federal source told Los Angeles that at least five people, including a teenager, were taken into custody at several locations after search warrants were executed at two Dearborn addresses, according to the city’s police department who said in a statement: “the FBI conducted operations in the City of Dearborn earlier this morning,” in a statement that emphasized “there is no threat to the community at this time.”
A third warrant was executed in Inkster, according to the police there, who posted on Facebook that stated federal agents were working in its jurisdiction.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday, “As details continue to develop, I am grateful for the swift action of the FBI and MSP protecting Michiganders.”
This morning, I was briefed by Director Patel on the thwarted potential terrorist attack in our state . As details continue to develop, I am grateful for the swift action of the FBI and MSP protecting Michiganders.
The Department of Justice has not yet identified the suspects or announced federal charges against them. In May, the DOJ announced charges against a 19-year-old Michigan man who was an active member of the National Guar who was allegedly planning to attack a U.S. military base in the U.S. on behalf of ISIS.
In that case, Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said, confided in an undercover FBI agent a plan “he had personally devised and formulated to conduct an armed attack and mass shooting on the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (“TACOM”) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan,” according to a criminal complaint.
Ammam Said pledged loyalty to ISIS in 2024 when he was active member of the Michigan National Guard, according to a criminal complaintCredit: Department of Justice Exhibit
Investigators say Said played a video on his cellular phone that depicted Said performing a “bayah” pledge of loyalty to the “Chalifa” of ISIS in 2024 while he was still an active member of the Michigan National Guard. According to a court docket, Said’s attorneys are in negotiations for a possible plea deal with the government.
Highland Park activist Robert Davis is suing Detroit mayoral candidate Solomon Kinloch Jr. for slander and defamation, claiming the megachurch leader maliciously lied about him during and after a recent debate.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court, argues Kinloch falsely alleged Davis was a “covert operative” for Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, who is the leading mayoral candidate.
Kinloch’s claims come after Metro Times wrote a series of stories about delinquent water bills and controversial property deals involving the reverend and his Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations.
During a televised mayoral debate on Oct. 15, Kinloch claimed without presenting evidence that Davis was a paid operative for Sheffield’s campaign.
“When she [Sheffield] talks about my integrity and allegations, she’s talking about her covert operative that’s throwing rocks while they hide their hand,” Kinloch said. “All of these assaults have come by one person — Robert Davis.”
During a post-debate interview with reporters, Kinloch also alleged Davis approached his campaign with offers to “dig up dirt” on Sheffield for money.
Two newspaper reporters called Davis to ask for his comment on the allegations, and The Detroit News published a story that included Kinloch’s “false and defamatory statements,” the lawsuit states.
Davis emphatically denies those allegations and says Kinloch fabricated the claims in an attempt to “resuscitate his failing and bewildered mayoral campaign.” Davis added that the “false and defamatory statements” were made “with actual malice.”
“Kinloch has a strong animus, hatred and dislike for the Plaintiff because Plaintiff has exposed to the media and to the general public Defendant Kinloch’s past criminal convictions for beating and assaulting his ex-wife and Plaintiff has revealed and exposed fraudulent real-estate transactions between Defendants Kinloch and Triumph Church, which are currently under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”),” Davis wrote in the lawsuit.
A Detroit News and WDIV survey conducted Oct. 16-18 shows Sheffield leading the race with support from about 65% of likely voters, compared with 14% for Kinloch. Another 20% said they’re undecided, and roughly 1% backed another candidate.
The winner will replace three-term Mayor Mike Duggan, who has endorsed Sheffield and is running for governor in 2026 as an independent.
Davis, who is a political consultant, is seeking at least $250,000 in damages, saying he “has lost out on potential clients” as a result of Kinloch’s “false and defamatory statements.”
In addition, Davis is asking a judge to declare that Triumph’s purchase and sale of the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield “was NOT for a lawful church or religious purchase” and “was fraudulent in violation of Michigan and Internal Revenue Service laws.
Two years earlier, Kinloch said Triumph was trying to purchase the property to convert into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need. Kinloch said construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months to finish.
For unknown reasons, that never happened. It’s also unclear why the church would convey the property to an LLC, which would be required to pay taxes.
Kinloch’s church and campaign have declined to answer questions about the property deal and did not respond to Davis’s lawsuit.
Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in Oakland Township in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.
Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house.
State law requires nonprofit officers to act in the church’s best interests and scrutinize insider transactions. Federal tax law forbids “private inurement,” or unreasonable personal benefits to insiders.
Urban growers in Detroit have banded together to distribute fresh vegetables and fruits to people hit by the halt in federal SNAP assistance during the government shutdown. Local farming groups organized the effort to combat rising worries about access to meals in the metro region.
“We’re bringing our food together to make it available to those in need,” said Travis Peters of Green Boots Veterans Community Urban Farm and Marketplace according to ClickOnDetroit. The operation sits near where Southfield Freeway meets I-96.
“And it’s not just any food. We put our hearts and souls into it. It’s fresh, high-quality, organic practices of growing foods. The old-fashioned way,” Travis Peters said.
The growers are handing out several kinds of eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and mixed greens.
Amanda Brezzell, Co-Founder of Fennigan’s Farm and a food policy specialist, said requests outpaced what they could give even before the shutdown.
Things might worsen as the shutdown drags on. “We’re already dealing with a lot of people who don’t have. So, I anticipate it’s going to get a lot worse,” Brezzell said.
The temporary stop in SNAP assistance stems from the wider federal government shutdown. The current pause has widened existing holes in access for those who count on federal help programs.
Terry Peters stressed what the farming groups will do. “We’ve got your back. Right here. This is the moment of truth,” he said. “We wanted to seize it, just offer some aid to our community.”
The work shows how neighborhood groups are trying to fill the void while federal assistance remains frozen. Green Boots Veterans Community Urban Farm and Marketplace is located at 13500 Southfield Freeway, Detroit, MI 48223.
Detroiters who believe the city is moving in the right direction are far more likely to vote in next week’s mayoral election than those who say it’s on the wrong track, according to a new University of Michigan survey.
The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS), conducted from Aug. 6 to Oct. 1, found that 70% of Detroiters with a positive view of the city’s direction said they’ll “definitely” vote on Nov. 4, compared to 41% of those who believe the city is on the wrong track and 52% of those unsure about its direction.
Overall, 56% of residents said Detroit is headed in the right direction, while 13% said it’s on the wrong track and 31% were unsure. Optimism is highest in Downtown, Midtown, and Southwest Detroit and lowest on the east side.
Older, higher-income, and more educated residents were far more likely to say the city is improving. Nearly 80% of Detroiters with household incomes above $100,000 said the city is on the right track, compared to just 35% of those earning under $10,000. Men and white residents were also more optimistic than women and Black or Latino residents.
“The survey offers powerful insights into some of the hopes and concerns shaping this historic election,” Yucheng Fan, data manager at DMACS and co-author of the report, said Tuesday. “We’re seeing variation in who feels motivated to vote.”
The election marks the first time in more than a decade that Detroiters will choose a new mayor. Mayor Mike Duggan served three terms and is running for governor as an independent. Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield is running for mayor against Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. and has a 64.9%-14.1% lead, according to a WDIV/Detroit News poll.
According to the survey, 61% of residents said they “definitely will vote” this year, while 25% said they “probably will,” and 14% said they probably or definitely will not. Those numbers closely mirror last year’s presidential election intentions, when roughly six in 10 Detroiters said they planned to vote.
Age was one of the strongest predictors of voter participation. More than 80% of residents 65 and older said they will definitely vote, compared with just 39% of Detroiters under 35.
Education and income also play a major role. About 80% of college graduates and 78% of residents earning at least $100,000 said they’re certain to vote, compared with 48% of Detroiters whose education ended at high school and 37% of those with incomes under $10,000.
There were no significant gender differences in voter enthusiasm, but Latino Detroiters were far less likely to say they’ll definitely vote (27%) compared to 65% of Black residents and 64% of white residents.
When asked about their top priorities for the next mayor, residents pointed overwhelmingly to education, public safety, affordable housing, and jobs.
81% said improving K-12 schools is a high priority;
80% cited crime and safety;
77% named affordable housing;
75% pointed to access to high-quality jobs.
Infrastructure, business investment, and public transportation also were key issues, with more than 60% of residents calling them high priorities.
Black residents were more likely than white residents to identify schools, crime, and housing as top concerns, and women rated safety and affordability higher than men. Optimism about the city’s direction also varied by geography: 65% of residents in District 5 (downtown and Midtown) and 61% in District 6 (Southwest Detroit) said the city is on the right track, compared with less than half of east side residents in Districts 3 and 4.
Jeffrey Morenoff, a University of Michigan sociology and public policy professor who co-leads DMACS, said the findings highlight both progress and persistent divides across the city.
“We see notable differences by age, race, and city council district, which underscore the importance of capturing the diversity of Detroiters’ views,” Morenoff said.
The full report, “Detroit Decides: Views on the City, Priorities for the Next Mayor, and Intentions to Vote,” is available at detroitsurvey.umich.edu.
In Royal Oak, Michigan, a 13-year-old cancer survivor has transformed his yard into a haunted attraction. Jackson Amick’s Halloween project raised $4,000 last year, funding special shirts for young patients getting cancer treatment.
At 405 Mount Vernon, the haunted display runs through October 31. Jackson works with his dad, Thom, for a full month to set it up. This year’s show adds fresh scares, with a custom-made monster granted through Make-A-Wish.
“He has been a Halloween fanatic and has had a huge passion for it since he was 3,” Thom Amick said, per WXYZ Detroit.
The funds buy specialized treatment shirts for kids at Corewell Health and Detroit Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital. “A chemo shirt pretty much unzips… you can pull the flap down, so you don’t have to disrobe to access your port and get chemo treatment,” said Thom Amick.
After winning his battle with leukemia at Corewell Royal Oak, Jackson wanted to give back. Cancer-free since 2022, he knows what other kids face. “When you take your full shirt off, you feel more uncomfortable than you do just flapping it down and keeping most of it on,” Jackson explained.
Word spread fast in 2023. Visitors came from miles away – Livonia, Brighton, and St. Clair Shores – to walk through the haunted yard or make donations.
What started as a small display in 2019 grew into something bigger. Now, each $30 shirt sold means one more child gets proper treatment wear. Every cent goes straight to providing chemo shirts for kids in treatment.
A coalition of Detroit activists is denouncing a proposed city ordinance that would require some police footage to be made public, saying the measure would still protect officers who engage in misconduct.
A divided Detroit Public Health and Safety Committee held a public hearing Monday on an ordinance that would set rules for how the Detroit Police Department releases video involving serious use of force, including when officers fire their weapons or cause “great bodily harm.” If approved by the full Detroit City Council, police would have up to 30 days to release video on a publicly accessible website.
But activists said the ordinance is riddled with exemptions that would give police plenty of opportunities to deny a video’s release. For example, the footage can be withheld if it involves a joint task force, violates the police union contract, or if city lawyers decide it could hurt Detroit in a civil lawsuit. The proposal also excludes any video shielded under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act and permits redactions, giving city officials broad discretion to decide what the public gets to see, activists argued at the meeting.
Jacob Smith, a member of the Detroit Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression, urged council members to strengthen the ordinance.
“It’s not even a good ordinance,” Smith said. “It has more holes than a fishing net.”
He added, “Let me be clear: We do not trust you [the police] so you need to send this ordinance back to the drawing board and come up with something that allows for less loopholes.”
Other critics said the ordinance should include alleged incidents of stop-and-frisk, racism, and sexual harassment or assault that causes less than “great bodily harm.”
Councilwoman Angela Whitfield Calloway, who drafted the video requirement, said she’s satisfied with the measure but acknowledged it may need to be amended.
“Everyone is not going to be happy with all of the ordinances we pass in the city of Detroit,” Calloway said. “I get it. But we have to start somewhere. It’s not a perfect document. Our Constitution was written in 1787 and has been amended 27 times. This is one of those documents that I do believe is ripe for amendment.”
Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero said she doesn’t support the ordinance as it’s written and believes more public input is needed.
In a letter to Calloway, the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability said Calloway’s version is written to protect police and city officials, not the public’s right to know. The coalition points to the numerous exemptions in the ordinance.
“These stipulations make the release of imagery pointless,” the coalition wrote. “We further object to the exclusion of CPTA from any discussions in crafting this ordinance. We shared with you a well-researched, comprehensive ordinance that would have provided greater transparency in policing. Nothing of the ordinance we provided is reflected in your version.”
Calloway, who has often cast herself as a reform-minded councilmember critical of police secrecy, claimed some of the critics aren’t happy with any changes.
“We just have regular, habitual complainers,” Calloway said. “I’m used to it.”
During the public hearing, former Detroit Police Commissioner William Davis said the ordinance “can and should be stronger,” noting that police released body-cam footage of a shooting to commissioners “in less than six hours” about five years ago. Davis also worries about the editing process before the video is released.
“When they do these edits, someone impartial needs to be in the room,” Davis said. “This still makes it easier for them to cover up and hide stuff. We could do a better job.”
Victoria Camille, who is running for a seat on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, said Detroit residents are entitled to unedited footage.
“Police video footage belongs to Detroiters as taxpayers, and the police department should not get a privileged seat to shape a narrative in advance of the public getting a full view of the unedited video,” Camille said. “It’s one thing to blur the faces of witnesses, but chopping up timelines and/or reducing the frame that it shows is unacceptable.”
She added, “We’ve had three people shot by DPD in the last month. This is extremely important.”
On Sunday, Detroit police shot a woman who refused to comply after a traffic stop. It was the third police-involved shooting in five weeks.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Parish responded to critics, saying the videos would only be edited to redact the faces of victims or witnesses.
Community activist Tahira Ahmad said 30 days is too long for the release of a video. She is also worried that more Black residents will be targeted as the police department hires more white suburban officers.
“We’ve seen the police department get whiter and whiter,” Ahmad said. “The people who are white are having a racial problem with Black people. If our police departments are getting more and more undiverse, then we are going to have problems, and we want you to release it faster than 30 days.”
The CPTA’s version of the ordinance would require the city to publicly release all unedited video, audio, and police reports related to any use of force or pursuit that causes or could cause injury within seven days. The city also could delay for up to 30 days, but only if prosecutors or investigators give a written public explanation citing specific legal reasons. The footage would remain permanently accessible on a website managed by the Board of Police Commissioners, not the police department.
In addition, the coalition’s proposal would require notifying families and allowing them to view the footage before it’s released to the public.
“The people of the City have an undeniable, and in some cases paramount, interest in being informed, in a timely fashion based on the most accurate information possible, about how their police department conducts its business, especially where the use of force by the police results in death of, or bodily harm to, a civilian,” the coalition wrote.
The Minnesota Vikings were all-in on developing quarterback J.J. McCarthy this season, after his rookie year was lost to injury, with the belief they could insulate him from some of the natural struggles of inexperience by surrounding him with a stacked veteran team and a savvy coaching staff.
After a bumpy start put some holes in the plan, the blueprint all but disintegrated in a blowout to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday. Not only have the players and schemes on offense and defense failed to deliver, but they’ve had all of two games during which to test McCarthy.
“I told our team, ‘This is where we’re going to find out what we’re all about,'” coach Kevin O’Connell said after the 37-10 defeat that was the second worst in his four seasons.
The Vikings were dealt a tough blow when McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the draft last year, needed meniscus surgery on his right knee before making it to the regular season. The high sprain of his right ankle he finished his second game with has been even more devastating, considering the way Sam Darnold mostly flourished in 2024 and Carson Wentz has mostly flopped in 2024.
After going 2-3 with Wentz, who played through a non-throwing shoulder injury that took plenty of hard hits during an increasingly painful night, McCarthy is line to return next week. With the Vikings (3-4) currently in 12th place in the NFC, and last by two losses in their daunting division, even remarkable progress by McCarthy over the last 10 games might not be enough to get them in the playoffs.
Wentz had the misfortune of playing most of the game without stalwart tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill because of knee injuries, not to mention center Ryan Kelly, who’s hardly been available. On the other side, the free agent spending spree on defensive tackles in their 30s, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, has not paid dividends. And the lack of production from recent drafts has left them without enough depth at cornerback, not to mention other positions.
“That’s all a team effort,” wide receiver Justin Jefferson said, “and we’re just not doing enough.”
What’s working
There’s not much for the Vikings to feel good about. Rookie Myles Price had a 27-yard average on five kickoff returns, continuing to show an aggressiveness and a burst that appears to be close to breaking him free for a score. Fittingly, he had a 46-yard runback to open the game and a 42-yard return in the third quarter, both of which were wiped out by holding penalties on rookie Tyler Batty.
What needs help
The defense against the run has been the most frequent and damaging issue this season. Just four days after Flores loaded up to keep 2024 rushing champ Saquon Barkley at bay and keep a spy on nimble Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Vikings were trampled by second-year bruiser Kimani Vidal. Justin Herbert scrambled seven times himself for a backbreaking 62 yards, as the Chargers became the second team to top the 200-yard mark on the Vikings this season. They held 10 different opponents to 86 rushing yards or fewer last season.
Stock up
Winning performances were in short supply, but edge rusher Jonathan Greenard — matched up against the fifth overall pick in the 2024 draft, Joe Alt — was in the backfield often. He had six tackles, three for loss, and one sack with two hits on Herbert. Defensive tackle Jalen Redmond also stood out, playing 86% of the snaps, by far the most of all the interior linemen.
Stock down
OLB Dallas Turner. The 2024 first-round draft pick has been forced into a critical role with Pro Bowl pick Andrew Van Ginkel missing five of the first seven games to injury, and the consistency and production haven’t been there for a player the Vikings traded up to get last year. Turner has not yet shown he can be a reliable run-stopper, and he has just 1½ sacks. Turner also took a 15-yard penalty for a helmet-first hit on Herbert in the first quarter that gave the Chargers a first-and-goal.
Injury report
After fielding their most complete lineup of the season last Sunday against Philadelphia, the Vikings took a concerning step back with their overall health, thanks in part to the grueling four-day turnaround for the trip to Los Angeles. Darrisaw left after two series, and O’Neill couldn’t make it at all. Kelly (concussion) must miss at least one more game, but there’s no telling when or if he’ll return. Fullback C.J. Ham (hand) was inactive on Thursday along with Van Ginkel (neck). The return of running back Aaron Jones from a four-game absence was one positive.
Now the Vikings have three extra days of recovery for a potential boost prior to their Nov. 2 game at Detroit, with McCarthy likely to lead the list of returners. New injuries that popped up against the Chargers were to Greenard (ankle) and tight end Josh Oliver (foot), whose departure in the first quarter was a hindrance to getting the running game going before the score got out of hand with another key blocker Ham already out.
Key number
0-6 — The Vikings have lost all six night road games they’ve played in four years under O’Connell, including three on Thursdays. O’Connell is 4-11 overall at night, including the loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the playoffs last season. The Vikings have dropped four straight in prime time by a combined score of 117-34. But this pattern predated O’Connell. Over the past 20 years, encompassing four coaching staffs, the Vikings are 9-28 on the road at night and 24-42 overall. They’re 1-9 all time on Thursdays on the road, last winning in 1978.
Up next
The Lions (5-2) will be more rested than the Vikings, coming off their bye week. Minnesota has lost to Detroit five times in a row, the longest skid since their first five matchups from 1961-63. The Vikings have also dropped four straight games in Detroit.
Washington surprised as cannabis mogul appointed ambassador to Middle East Country amid tension
Considering the delay in rescheduling, it is a bit of surprising and positive news a cannabis mogul appointed ambassador to Middle East country. yes, Mark Savaya, a Michigan businessman best known for his Leaf & Bud marijuana dispensary chain and ubiquitous billboards around Detroit, may become the new special envoy to the Republic of Iraq. The pick, announced on Trump’s Truth Social, landed like a Twitter storm: part hometown booster move, part political reward, and part diplomatic wildcard.
Savaya’s rise is the kind of American-story headline editors love. An Iraqi-born Chaldean who built a visible cannabis brand in Metro Detroit, he became a local celebrity for aggressive billboard marketing and a social-media presence pushing his products — and his persona — into the public eye. His Leaf & Bud outlets and “Mark Savaya Collection” branding have been the subject of local debate and municipal attention.
The background matters for two reasons. First, Savaya has been politically active in Michigan and a visible backer of the current presideent’s campaign efforts in the state — a factor the White House explicitly referenced when explaining the appointment. Second, his cannabis ties present an awkward optics clash: the U.S. appointee’s business is legal under Michigan state law but remains illegal under federal law, while Iraq enforces some of the region’s toughest drug penalties.
Why Iraq makes this appointment a high-stakes headline: U.S.–Iraq ties are layered and fragile. The role of a special envoy historically carries weight — envoys have been central to reconstruction, counterterrorism coordination and high-stakes diplomacy since 2003 — and Baghdad’s politics are a mosaic of sectarian factions, foreign influences, and security challenges. The choice of a non-career political appointee with no formal diplomatic resume has prompted questions in both Baghdad and Washington about what the administration expects Savaya to accomplish.
And then there’s the cannabis angle. Iraq’s law is unforgiving: recreational and medical cannabis are illegal, and penalties for possession, trafficking and cultivation can be severe under Iraqi statutes and long-standing narcotics laws. That stark legal contrast — an American envoy whose public brand is tied to cannabis, representing U.S. interests in a country who criminalizes it — is likely to be raised in Baghdad’s briefings and in public reaction.
What to watch next: how Baghdad and Baghdad’s partners (including the Kurdistan Regional Government) publicly receive Savaya; whether his appointment is purely symbolic outreach to Iraqi-American communities and voters in Michigan, or whether he’ll be given a clear, policy-driven brief; and how the White House manages the optics of a cannabis entrepreneur handling sensitive Middle East diplomacy. For young readers and beat-followers, this is less a culture-war curiosity and more a case study in modern patronage diplomacy — where brand, social capital, and partisan loyalty can land you in a geopolitically delicate job.
The appointment is real, it’s provocative, and it underscores how unconventional pathways to influence are reshaping U.S. diplomacy — for better or worse — at a moment when Iraq’s stability and the U.S. role there remain anything but settled.
Workers just wrapped up a major transformation at A.B. Ford Park on Detroit’s east side. The $11.9 million project turned 34 acres into a new community space, paid for by federal rescue funds and neighborhood money.
“This center represents a new era for our community,” said a city official according to Click on Detroit. “When a center comes up, and a community comes together, that means everybody involved with this community will also thrive.”
Kids can now play at two new playgrounds. Adults might prefer the waterfront plaza or fitness zone. Basketball players got their court. Families can gather to eat and rest at picnic spots. The ground’s better too – workers planted 500 trees and brought in clean soil.
Nothing much happened at the park between 2020 and the start of work. Then in 2023, a new community center showed up – the first sign of change.
Brenda Wilson-Watson, who lives nearby, couldn’t hide her joy. “We haven’t had one of these for decades, and we had to go so far away to go to a park, so this means a lot to the community. I’m gonna tell you, guaranteed, they’re going to enjoy this.”
The site holds secrets from its past life as a Cold War radar station. Those old towers still stand watch, soon to wear new art in spring 2026.
For Jarel Mills, who grew up in the area and helped shape the new design, this means more than just a park. “Being able to be a part of deciding what your neighborhood, what your parks look like, it’s a very exciting experience, and then to see it all come to fruition and be able to see my kids come out and enjoy it is an awesome experience.”
Anyone curious about what’s new can check the city’s website for details.
Fifteen months after Metro Times exposed coerced confessions and illegally destroyed criminal files, exonerees and families of people still locked up are demanding action and a face-to-face meeting with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
In July 2024, Metro Times revealed widespread misconduct tied to now-retired Detroit homicide Detective Barbara Simon and the illegal purge of prosecutor files from 1995 and earlier. The records were destroyed while Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was prosecutor between 2001 and 2004, according to Worthy’s office.
Families and exonerees rallied outside the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center in Detroit on Wednesday, calling on prosecutors to immediately review the Simon cases and meet with the families whose loved ones have been victimized by corrupt law enforcement. Despite public assurances that her office would meet with the families, Worthy has refused to live up to her promise, families say.
Marlon Taylor has been struggling to find justice for his brother, Damon Smith, who has been incarcerated for 26 years and has maintained his innocence since. When Simon interrogated him, Smith said she was belligerent and threatening and told him he’d be charged if he didn’t admit his involvement.
He maintained his innocence, and as a result, he said, he was accused of pulling the trigger. After Smith’s trial, where he was found guilty, another of Smith’s brothers, Patrick Roberts, who was a prosecution witness, later recanted in a letter saying Smith was not involved in the shooting.
“We’ve been at these protests for over a year asking for Kim Worthy to sit and talk to us,” Taylor said. “She hasn’t done that. She hasn’t answered our emails or phone calls. She hasn’t kept her word. So I just wanted to let it be known that this fight still continues.”
The prosecutor’s spokesperson, Maria Miller, didn’t respond to why Worthy hasn’t met with families but said the prosecutor has hired additional resources for the Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), which was created in 2018 and has secured at least 15 exonerations since then.
“Prosecutor Kym Worthy has hired a full time CIU attorney and a full time CIU detective who are currently working on a review of Barbara Simon cases,” Miller told Metro Times in a written statement.
This is the first installment in “Exploring Integrity: Reviewing Wrongful Conviction Remedies,” a series examining the impact of conviction integrity units on the American judicial…
Evidence of Simon’s misconduct has led to the exonerations of at least four men convicted of murder. A fifth man, who falsely confessed after being unlawfully imprisoned, was freed before his murder trial because DNA evidence showed he wasn’t the killer.
Protesters also demanded a solution for inmates whose records were illegally destroyed, which makes it next to impossible to prove their innocence. The records contained a wealth of vital information, including police and forensic reports, lab results, transcripts, video recordings, and witness statements, all of which are essential for mounting a defense against wrongful convictions.
Wednesday’s demonstration was at least the fifth since the Metro Times’ series was published. Since then, numerous inmates have come forward to say they are innocent and were either railroaded by Simon or their prosecutor files were purged.
Paris Jones was demonstrating because her brother, James Jones, insists he’s innocent and was railroaded by Simon and her fellow detectives. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002.
“There’s no justice in the justice system,” Jones says. “It’s only a system built on rules that are corrupt. Honestly, a lot of the police officers in his case are corrupt. A lot of them are being prosecuted now to this day, and they’re still not trying to take another look at his case.”
Paris Jones is trying to prove her brother, James Jones, is innocent.Credit: Steve Neavling
Reached by phone, James Jones says he was arrested without a warrant, and detectives coerced witnesses into identifying him. He also later found exculpatory evidence that police had never turned over to his defense attorney.
“These are the tactics they were taught,” James Jones says. “Instead of doing what’s right, they’re using these tactics. They do this so they can get a conviction.”
Darryl Dulin-Bey has been in prison for 35 years for a murder he says he didn’t commit, and his options are limited because his prosecutor files were destroyed. His mother and grandmother died while he was locked up.
“All his records came up missing, so he’s still sitting in prison,” his brother Larry Dulin says. “It’s like they rigged the case against him. They talk about justice. What justice? All these records are gone, and people are still in jail. Where’s the justice?”
Exonerees Mark Craighead and Lamarr Monson, who started the nonprofit Freedom Ain’t Free to help others who were wrongfully convicted, organized the protest to demand immediate action. Since the Metro Times series was published, they say numerous other inmates have come forward with claims that they too are innocent and were victimized by Simon or couldn’t access their files because they were purged.
“Since Kim Worthy wouldn’t talk to us, we brought the families back out so someone will listen to them,” Craighead says. “It seems like Worthy forgot about Barbara Simon and the purge. We’re here to demand something be done.”
Craighead falsely confessed after Simon violated his rights, denying him an attorney and holding him without a warrant.
“You have the purged files. You have a person like Barbara Simon who was actively framing guys for murders and crimes,” Monson says. “So for her to go out of her way to get these guys in a position so they can be convicted, it’s just a travesty, and it’s the very injustice that she needs to be held accountable for.”
In 2022, Kendrick Scott and Justly Johnson, who spent 19 years in prison for a murder they didn’t commit on Mother’s Day in 1999, each reached an $8.5 million settlement with the city. In their cases, Simon was accused of coercing two young, intoxicated people into incriminating Johnson and Scott.
More than 100 rallies are planned across Michigan on Saturday as part of the nationwide “No Kings” movement, a day of action that organizers say is intended to defend democracy and draw attention to the growing threats to civil liberties and democratic principles.
“The founders fought a war to ensure that America would never have a king,” said state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, who helped announce the Michigan events. “Yet we are watching a president claim unchecked power, punish critics, and deploy troops against our citizens. The only way to stop it is through massive, peaceful, non-violent protest and resistance.”
Jay Gibbs, an organizer of the Lansing rally, said residents are alarmed by the presence of U.S. troops in cities.
“These deployments aren’t about public safety — they’re about domination and intimidation,” Gibbs said. “No politician should use our soldiers as pawns against other Americans. […] Because in America, we have no kings.”
Dr. Isa Azaria, a Detroit-based Indivisible leader, said the protests are also meant to highlight concerns about immigration raids and political intimidation.
“Our neighbors are being disappeared in militarized raids and held in secret,” Azaria said. “Tyrants always start with the most vulnerable. If we don’t stand up for immigrants now, those same abuses will come for the rest of us.”
The “No Kings” movement began in June in response to the Trump administration’s attack of democratic principles, and earlier events have drawn millions of participants. At Clark Park in Detroit in June, about 5,000 demonstrators showed up for a peaceful but passionate protest.
“The administration is trying to turn political disagreement into a crime,” Christy McGillivray, of Voters Not Politicians, said. “They’re investigating and prosecuting their opponents, like in any dictatorship. The best way to defend our rights is to use them — to speak, to organize, to march.”
State Rep. Carrie Rheinegans, D-Ann Arbor, is calling for unity and civic courage.
“The courts won’t save us. The media won’t save us. Corporate America won’t save us,” Rheinegans said. “That leaves us — the people. Through peaceful resistance and local organizing, we can restore our democracy. This is our moment to lead.”
Other events in metro Detroit are planned for Hazel Park, Ferndale, Oak Park, Wyandotte, Taylor, Dearborn, Livonia, Northville, Novi, Farmington Hills, Lathrup Village, Walled Lake, Waterford Township, Lake Orion, Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Sterling Heights.
A list of all events and times is available at nokings.org.
A state appeals court handed a partial victory to critics of Detroit’s controversial ShotSpotter surveillance system, ruling that city officials violated a transparency ordinance when they approved contracts for the gunshot detection technology without properly notifying the public.
In a published decision released Thursday, a divided Michigan Court of Appeals panel found that the Detroit Police Department failed to comply with the city’s Community Input Over Government Surveillance (CIOGS) ordinance, which requires the public release of a detailed report on surveillance technology at least 14 days before it is discussed by the City Council. The court reversed part of a lower court ruling that had dismissed the case and sent it back for further proceedings.
“The City of Detroit uses surveillance technology to identify the location of gunshots in certain precincts,” Judge Brock Swartzle wrote for the majority. “Given the inherent invasiveness of surveillance technology, the City adopted specific procedural requirements that must be met when procuring such technology. These requirements were not met here.”
Critics argue ShotSpotter, which relies on a network of sensors to detect gunshots, is unproven, invasive, and racially discriminatory. The city counters that it saves lives and helps police find suspects more quickly.
The ruling means the Wayne County Circuit Court must revisit whether the city’s ShotSpotter contracts are valid and whether the plaintiffs — five Detroiters and the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership — are entitled to any relief.
The appeals court found that the Detroit Police Department did not post the legally required Surveillance Technology Specification Report (STSR) until September 28, 2022 after several key council committee meetings had already taken place and just one day after the council voted to renew an existing $1.5 million contract with ShotSpotter. The council later approved a $7 million expansion two weeks later.
“Thus, the record confirms that defendants repeatedly violated the requirement under § 17-5-452(c) that the STSR ‘be made available on the City’s website at least 14 days prior to holding any of the hearings or meetings,’” the court wrote. “The trial court erred in concluding otherwise when it granted summary disposition in favor of defendants.”
The panel also rejected the city’s argument that it was exempt from the ordinance because ShotSpotter had already been in use before the law took effect in 2021. The court ruled that the so-called “grandfather clause” only applies to surveillance technology that was previously approved under the ordinance, and the ShotSpotter system was not.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by the Detroit Justice Center, Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, and attorney Jack Schulz. They argued that the city violated its own ordinance by failing to be transparent and involve the community in approving the technology.
“Much congrats to each of our clients for standing up in this case on behalf of all residents of the city,” John Philo, executive and legal director for Sugar Law Center, said. “While more limited in scope than hoped for, the court’s decision is an important recognition that citizens’ oversight and input ordinances matter and cannot simply be ignored by government officials.”
ShotSpotter operates through a network of microphones that detect loud noises and notify police of suspected gunfire. Detroit police have praised it as a tool that helps officers respond to shootings faster.
“ShotSpotter has been an invaluable investigative tool that is helping to make our city safer,” Detroit Police Department Assistant Chief Franklin Hayes said in a statement to Metro Times. “In areas where ShotSpotter is deployed, we have seen significant reductions in gunfire. So far this year, we have recovered 244 firearms and made 131 arrests as a result of ShotSpotter cases.”
Hayes said the technology also “helps save lives.”
“Just this week, DPD responded to a ShotSpotter alert of multiple shots fired, for which no 911 calls were placed,” Hayes said. “When officers arrived, they found a critically injured victim who likely would have succumbed to his injuries at the scene had ShotSpotter technology not alerted DPD to the incident and to its location.”
Community advocates and civil rights groups argue that the system sends officers charging into predominantly Black neighborhoods on high alert, even though the majority of alerts turn out to be false alarms. An analysis by Chicago’s Office of Inspector General found that ShotSpotter alerts “rarely produce evidence of a gun-related crime” and led police to increase stop-and-frisk encounters in areas already over-policed. About 89% of ShotSpotter alerts in Chicago resulted in no evidence of gunfire or any crime.
Opponents also note that several cities — including San Antonio, Charlotte, Trenton, Troy, and Grand Rapids — have canceled or rejected ShotSpotter contracts amid concerns about its reliability and cost.
The appeals court remanded the Detroit case to Wayne County Circuit Court to determine potential remedies and address the city’s defenses, including claims that the lawsuit is moot because the contracts have already been implemented.
“With surveillance and similar technology ever encroaching into every recess of modern life, procedural safeguards cannot be ignored or downplayed by government actors as mere technicalities,” the court wrote. “To ensure that technology serves the people, and not the other way around, strict compliance with procedural safeguards like the CIOGS Ordinance may well be needed. And, unfortunately, such compliance was lacking here.”
In a statement, Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett noted that the court’s opinion does not impact the use of ShotSpotter in the city.
“The Court of Appeals opinion does not void the use of this technology, which is still in place,” Mallett said. “In its opinion the Court of Appeals recognized the City of Detroit’s defenses to the lawsuit that may result in another dismissal by the trial court.”
A new lawsuit alleges that Triumph Church and its pastor, the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., who is a candidate for Detroit mayor, violated state and federal laws after the church purchased the former AMC Star Southfield theater site in Southfield.
The church later conveyed that property to a private limited liability company “controlled exclusively” by Kinloch, according to the lawsuit filed by Highland Park activist Robert Davis in Oakland County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
Davis is asking a judge to force the Oakland County Register of Deeds and Equalization Department to release unredacted public records related to the property in Southfield. Davis contends those records, which the county refused to disclose without redactions, could shed light on whether Triumph Church or Kinloch violated state and federal laws.
The county redacted the purchase price and transfer tax.
“This lawsuit is necessary to expose the full extent of what I believe to be unlawful conduct by Triumph Church and its senior pastor, Solomon Kinloch Jr.,” Davis wrote in the complaint.
Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from using tax-exempt resources to enrich insiders. Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporations Act also requires nonprofit officers to act in the best interests of the organizations and avoid conflicts of interest.
Triumph Church, which has more than 40,000 members and seven locations, including two in Detroit with long-delinquent water bills, bought the theater location in 2024, according to real estate records. Two years earlier, Kinloch said Triumph was trying to purchase the property to convert into a church, community space, and a resource center for people in need, Crain’s Detroit reported in 2022. Kinloch said construction would begin in 2023 and take about 18 to 24 months to finish.
For unknown reasons, that never happened. It’s also unclear why the church would convey the property to an LLC, which would be required to pay taxes.
Triumph Church declined to answer specific questions about the purchase, including how much the church paid for the property and why it was conveyed to Kinloch. The church also would not say how much Kinloch’s LLC paid Triumph for the property.
“We have no response to the continued false allegations and frivolous actions of Robert Davis,” Triumph Church’s Chief of Staff Ralph Godbee, the former Detroit police chief, said in a statement to Metro Times. “They are meritless and simply not true.”
The site has been vacant since AMC shut down the theater during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
According to the complaint, Davis filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking deeds, purchase documents, and property tax records from Oakland County, but the county’s Register of Deeds and Equalization Department refused to release the information. He is now asking the court to order the release of those records.
“The requested documents will demonstrate whether Triumph Church’s property purchase was lawful and consistent with its tax-exempt purpose,” the lawsuit states.
Federal law prohibits religious nonprofits from using tax-exempt resources to enrich insiders. And the Michigan’s Nonprofit Corporation Act requires nonprofit officers to act in the best interests of the organization and avoid conflicts of interest.
Kinloch, who finished second in Detroit’s August mayoral primary, will face City Council President Mary Sheffield in the November general election. He has made his leadership of Triumph Church a central theme of his campaign.
Davis has also filed county, state, and federal complaints against the church and Kinloch over his $1.3 million home in Oakland Township. Triumph Church bought the 5,177-square-foot house in April 2013 for $841,600, financing the purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, which Kinloch signed on behalf of the church, according to the deed and mortgage records. That left roughly $210,000 to be covered in cash.
Nine months later, in January 2014, the church sold the property to Kinloch for the same price, and he also financed his purchase with a $631,200 mortgage, leaving $210,000 to be paid in advance, according to deeds and mortgage records. Triumph Church officials declined to say who paid the remaining $210,000 when Kinloch acquired the house.
Kinloch has also faced questions about residency. For most of the past three decades, Kinloch has lived in Oakland County. In March 2024, he registered to vote in Detroit and moved into a downtown condo with his brother, Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch. He said he later relocated to another apartment in the same complex in the Greektown area.
In the latest case, Davis contends Triumph Church is trying to keep the property records from being disclosed.
“Triumph Church is seeking to keep the purchase price a secret because they fraudulently conveyed this property” to an LLC controlled by Kinloch, Davis said. Metro Times could not immediately reach Oakland County officials for comment.
Mayor Mike Duggan is scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in Detroit on Wednesday night hosted by a wealthy businessman who donated $100,000 to a Donald Trump political action committee and has been linked to multiple corruption scandals involving city contracts.
The invitation-only event, billed as a “Special Friends and Family” gathering for Duggan’s gubernatorial campaign, will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the rooftop lounge of The Godfrey Detroit hotel in Corktown.
The event, co-hosted by Anthony Soave, prompted the Michigan Democratic Party to launch new billboards across Detroit, accusing him of being bankrolled by MAGA megadonors and Trump loyalists.
The billboards read, “MAGA Money ❤️ Mike Duggan.”
Although Duggan has long claimed he was a Democrat, he is running as an independent in the gubernatorial election, and many of his backers have donated to President Donald Trump, Michigan GOP leaders, and conservative power brokers with vested interests in state policy.
“Pro-Trump, anti-labor Republican donors love Mike Duggan and they’re bankrolling his campaign because Duggan will gladly sell out our state to Trump and Republican special interests, just like he’s sold himself out,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said Wednesday. “Detroiters deserve to know that the same big money donors who spent millions to elect Trump now have Duggan in their pocket. It’s clear that Duggan cannot be trusted to stand up for Michigan families.”
The fundraiser starts at $1,500 a person, with tiers rising to $8,325 for co-hosts.
In a written statement to Metro Times, Duggan campaign spokesperson Andrea Bitely didn’t directly answer questions about Soave’s role in the fundraiser.
“It will be yet another strong bipartisan week for the Mayor with a major endorsement coming from a traditional Democratic union and a fundraiser hosted by a traditional Republican donor,” Bitely said.
Soave’s role in the fundraiser raises serious questions about Duggan’s growing support from prominent Republican and pro-Trump donors. Soave’s name surfaced repeatedly in federal corruption investigations involving former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who received roughly $400,000 worth of private jet trips, luxury gifts, and other perks from Soave while he was receiving lucrative city contracts. He was never charged and has continued to do business with the city under Duggan.
Duggan’s relationship with Soave dates back to the 1990s, when he served as deputy Wayne County executive under Ed McNamara. At the time, one of Soave’s companies was under an FBI investigation over a trash-hauling contract in Warren. Since then, Soave’s ventures have benefited from city dealings, including an eyebrow-raising land swap tied to the Fiat Chrysler assembly plant project that allowed one of his companies to trade contaminated parcels for more valuable property.
Soave also owns a major Detroit towing company that has continued to receive city business, even as Duggan’s administration has aggressively banned other towers under a new debarment ordinance. Several of those banned companies allege they were unfairly targeted to benefit Soave.
In a July 6, 1993 Detroit Free Press story titled “King of the Heap,” prosecutors in Macomb County alleged that Soave, working through reputed mob figure Vito Giacalone, arranged for an associate to firebomb a Warren garbage dump in order to secure a $16 million trash collection contract. The associate, John Pree, later entered the federal Witness Protection Program and testified that Giacalone asked him to carry out the attack on Soave’s behalf. A week after the firebombing, a Soave subsidiary took over the lucrative city contract.
Soave was never charged, and both he and his attorneys denied the allegations, dismissing Pree as a desperate, convicted felon who fabricated his testimony.
The Michigan Democratic Party’s billboard campaign follows Duggan’s recent comments downplaying Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts, which could strip coverage from hundreds of thousands of Michiganders. Duggan said last week the cuts “are not as bad as they look.”A Metro Timesreview of Duggan’s campaign finance records found that a sizable share of his fundraising comes from Republican power brokers, Trump donors, and corporate executives with interests in state policy. Those include former Michigan GOP Chair Ron Weiser, charter school investor JC Huizenga, and top aides to former Gov. Rick Snyder.
Let’s be honest right off the bat: there are no great cities to drive in. None. Even in video games, where you can ramp your car off a bridge and magically respawn, traffic still finds a way to ruin your day. But some cities, it turns out, are less bad than others—and that’s enough for WalletHub to publish its annual ranking of the best and worst cities for drivers in America.
This year’s list looked at 100 U.S. cities and measured 30 factors, including traffic congestion, accident rates, weather, gas prices, parking costs, and vehicle maintenance expenses. That’s a lot of math just to confirm what anyone who’s sat on the Lodge Freeway at 4:30 on a Friday already knows: driving in Detroit is an Olympic-level exercise in patience, timing, and creative language.
The Texas Takeover: Big Wins for Wide-Open Roads
The 10 best cities for drivers in 2025 are led by—you guessed it—Texas. Apparently, the Lone Star State has cracked the code to stress-free driving. Corpus Christi came in at #1, followed by Greensboro, North Carolina, and Boise, Idaho. Then, in what can only be described as a Texas takeover, Laredo, Lubbock, Plano, and Austin all made the top 10.
Maybe it’s the flat land. Maybe it’s the wide roads. Or maybe Texans just don’t mind spending a few extra minutes behind the wheel because they can still find gas under $3 a gallon. Whatever it is, they’re doing something right.
Even Birmingham, Alabama, and Scottsdale, Arizona, cracked the list—cities where the average commute might include palm trees or sunshine instead of dodging orange barrels and winter potholes large enough to swallow a Fiat.
Meanwhile, in Detroit…
Let’s not sugarcoat it: Detroit landed in the bottom ten. Right there between San Francisco and Los Angeles, we proudly clocked in among the nation’s worst driving cities. Only Philadelphia, Oakland, Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, and San Francisco managed to edge us out for the honor of being slightly more infuriating to drive through.
Now, anyone who’s spent time on I-94 during construction season—also known as every season—won’t be surprised. There are stretches of that freeway where it feels like you’ve entered an endless time loop: same cones, same delays, same guy in a minivan eating a sandwich and glaring at his GPS like it betrayed him.
The Lodge on a Friday night? That’s a social experiment in frustration. You start with optimism: “It’s only a few miles—I’ll be fine.” Fifteen minutes later, you’re questioning every life choice that led you to this point as you crawl past a crash, two lane closures, and someone who apparently forgot how to merge sometime in 2009.
And don’t even bring up Jefferson Avenue after a Tigers game or trying to navigate Woodward during Dream Cruise weekend. Detroit’s driving culture isn’t just about getting from A to B—it’s about surviving from A to B with your sanity intact.
Why We Drive Differently Here
Part of what makes Detroit driving unique is that it’s deeply personal. This city invented the modern automobile, and we still treat driving as a badge of identity. You can’t live here and not have an opinion about cars—or traffic. We gripe about road conditions the way some cities talk about weather forecasts: constantly and with great passion.
When out-of-towners complain about Michigan left turns, we smile like we’re in on a joke they’ll never quite understand. Sure, it’s weird the first few times, but once you’ve pulled a perfect U-turn and cruised into your destination without waiting three lights, you feel like you’ve unlocked a Detroit superpower.
The truth is, Detroiters don’t just drive—we navigate chaos. We’ve learned to time traffic lights like jazz musicians sync to a beat. We know which freeway entrance ramps are cursed and which side streets can shave ten minutes off your commute. And when a blizzard hits, we don’t panic—we downshift, lean forward, and hope the guy behind us has decent tires.
What the Study Gets Right (and Wrong)
The study gives points for affordability, road quality, safety, and congestion—but it misses something intangible: attitude. Driving in Detroit may be rough, but it’s also character-building. Every lane closure is a reminder of resilience. Every pothole is a test of suspension—and patience.
If you’ve ever dodged a mattress on I-75 or hit a speed bump that felt like a skateboard ramp, you’ve earned your stripes. And when you finally roll up to your destination, park six inches from the curb, and shut off the engine without a check-engine light flashing—you’ve achieved something few outsiders can truly appreciate.
So yes, maybe we rank low in comfort and convenience. But we rank high in toughness, adaptability, and creative problem-solving. Because in Detroit, the car isn’t just transportation—it’s heritage.
A Bit of Perspective
While the study’s top-ranked cities enjoy smoother commutes and lower repair bills, many of them lack the soul that comes with driving through a city that built the industry. When you’re rolling past the old Packard plant or taking a shortcut through Corktown, you’re not just in traffic—you’re in history.
Every driver here has a story. The time their car got stuck on I-96 during a blizzard. The day they made every light down Woodward and felt invincible. The first summer they drove with the windows down, CSX on the radio, and the skyline glowing in the distance.
Driving in Detroit isn’t easy. But it’s ours. And that’s something no ranking can measure.
Final Thoughts
So go ahead—give the gold medal to Corpus Christi. Let Greensboro celebrate its smooth commutes. We’ll take our cracked roads, our confusing interchanges, and our collective sense of humor about it all.
Because deep down, we know the truth: Detroiters don’t need to top any list. We just need our cars, our grit, and a good soundtrack to get us through the next traffic jam.
After all, if you can survive rush hour on the Lodge, you can drive anywhere.
Federal authorities refuse to release a Michigan man in a pending deportation case, despite his life-threatening leukemia and the inconsistent health care he’s received while in custody since August, his lawyer said Thursday.Related video above: Massachusetts city council passes resolution barring police from assisting ICEThe American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking a bond hearing for Jose Contreras-Cervantes, which could allow him to return to his Detroit-area family and doctors while his case winds through immigration court. He’s currently being held at a detention center about three hours away.Contreras-Cervantes, a 33-year-old married father of three who has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years, but not legally, was arrested at an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Macomb County, near Detroit. He had no criminal record beyond minor traffic offenses, said ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman.Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, said his wife, Lupita Contreras.”The doctor said he has four to six years to live,” she said.His detention is a consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing to agree to bond hearings for immigrants if they entered the U.S. illegally, even if they lack a criminal record. The policy is a reversal of past practices and it has been successfully challenged, including this week in Washington state.”We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key,” Aukerman said. “Judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and noncitizens. … Immigration cases can take months or even years.”U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment on the case.Contreras-Cervantes was shuttled from Michigan to Ohio and then back to Michigan and didn’t receive medication for 22 days, his wife said.He is now getting a substitute medication at North Lake Processing Center, a privately operated detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, not the specific medication recommended by his doctors, Aukerman said.The ACLU filed a petition Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, asking a judge to order bond hearings for Contreras-Cervantes and seven other people who are in custody.”What the (Trump) administration is doing is trying to crush people’s spirits, make them give up,” and agree to deportation, Aukerman said. “We’re saying no. They’re entitled to due process.”
DETROIT —
Federal authorities refuse to release a Michigan man in a pending deportation case, despite his life-threatening leukemia and the inconsistent health care he’s received while in custody since August, his lawyer said Thursday.
Related video above: Massachusetts city council passes resolution barring police from assisting ICE
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking a bond hearing for Jose Contreras-Cervantes, which could allow him to return to his Detroit-area family and doctors while his case winds through immigration court. He’s currently being held at a detention center about three hours away.
Contreras-Cervantes, a 33-year-old married father of three who has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years, but not legally, was arrested at an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Macomb County, near Detroit. He had no criminal record beyond minor traffic offenses, said ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman.
Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, said his wife, Lupita Contreras.
“The doctor said he has four to six years to live,” she said.
His detention is a consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing to agree to bond hearings for immigrants if they entered the U.S. illegally, even if they lack a criminal record. The policy is a reversal of past practices and it has been successfully challenged, including this week in Washington state.
“We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key,” Aukerman said. “Judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and noncitizens. … Immigration cases can take months or even years.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment on the case.
Contreras-Cervantes was shuttled from Michigan to Ohio and then back to Michigan and didn’t receive medication for 22 days, his wife said.
He is now getting a substitute medication at North Lake Processing Center, a privately operated detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, not the specific medication recommended by his doctors, Aukerman said.
The ACLU filed a petition Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, asking a judge to order bond hearings for Contreras-Cervantes and seven other people who are in custody.
“What the (Trump) administration is doing is trying to crush people’s spirits, make them give up,” and agree to deportation, Aukerman said. “We’re saying no. They’re entitled to due process.”
Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai-Grace Hospital is accused of exposing vulnerable patients to a “known predator” with a history of sexual assault and violence and failing to protect a bedridden woman whom the nurse is accused of coercing into sexual acts.
Attorney Todd Flood filed a lawsuit against DMC and its parent company, Tenet Healthcare, in Wayne County Circuit Court on Tuesday, alleging the for-profit hospital chain and its Detroit affiliate engaged in negligent hiring and supervision and created a culture of putting profits ahead of patient safety.
At the center of the case is Wilfredo Figueroa-Berrios, a 43-year-old nurse licensed in Michigan since 2012. Prosecutors say he sexually harassed and groped the patient and coerced her into repeated sex acts at Sinai-Grace in August. The woman was severely intoxicated and incapacitated when she was admitted, according to the complaint.
Surveillance video captured Berrios entering her hospital room multiple times during overnight hours without documenting a medical reason. Police investigated the allegations and arrested Berrios, who was charged in August with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The lawsuit alleges Sinai-Grace and Tenet knowingly hired Berrios despite his record of arrests, troubling behavior at previous jobs, and ongoing police investigations into sexual assaults at another medical facility where he worked.
Among the warnings outlined in the complaint:
In 2019, Berrios was arrested on an assault charge in Wayne.
From 2020 to 2021, he worked at a Livonia medical facility, where multiple patients accused him of sexual assault. He was later terminated for “disturbing and assaultive conduct.”
In May 2025, while employed at Sinai-Grace, he allegedly assaulted a woman in Grand Circus Park. That case remains under investigation.
A state inspection in October 2024 found Sinai-Grace failed to comply with fingerprint-based background check requirements for six employees
Despite his history, hospital leaders placed Berrios in high-risk emergency and inpatient settings, the lawsuit says.
“This case is about corporate greed, negligence, and the betrayal of patients who trusted these institutions with their lives,” Flood said.
The plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, said Sinai-Grace staff retaliated against her after she reported the assault. According to the lawsuit, hospital staff denied her a patient advocate, threatened to withhold food, and discharged her without her belongings.
Flood alleges the misconduct is also the result of systemic failures that Tenet has long been warned about. State regulators, including the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, have repeatedly cited Sinai-Grace for inadequate staff training, poor investigations into abuse complaints, and lapses in required safety checks, the lawsuit contends.
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for severe psychological trauma, humiliation, and ongoing medical and therapy costs. The lawsuit cites negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, premises liability, assault and battery, sexual harassment and discrimination under Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, and intentional infliction of emotional distress
A jury trial has been requested.
The case raises serious questions about oversight at one of Detroit’s largest hospitals, which has faced repeated scrutiny for staffing shortages and patient neglect. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sinai-Grace drew national attention when overwhelmed conditions left patients dying in hallways.
Flood argues the hospital’s chronic understaffing and profit-driven model created “the very conditions where a serial rapist could operate inside their hospitals.”
Tenet Healthcare is a Texas-based corporation that operates more than 60 hospitals nationwide.
Hart, a dog trainer who runs Spartan K9 Training, tells Metro Times that he decided he would try to help as soon as he heard the news about alligator sighting.
After recently catching a snapping turtle, Hart says he felt emboldened to try to catch the alligator. Plus, as an animal lover, he was worried someone else would harm the creature if he didn’t rescue it.
“People were talking about catching her with fish hooks, and all of that, or shooting her and eating her,” he says. “That’s what woke me up … to be like, I’m going to get this alligator.”
Hart says he started searching on Tuesday evening to no avail.
“I just asked two chicks, I’m like, ‘Hey, have you seen the alligator?’” he says. “I thought they were cute.”
One of the women happened to work on Belle Isle, he says, and told him approximately where the gator was last spotted on the east side of the island.
Hart returned around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, and says he even blew a tire on the drive there. But he was determined to find the gator this time.
“I just went in the water and walked the Blue Heron Lagoon for six hours until I found it,” he says.
As luck would have it, just when he had the alligator cornered, Keteyian appeared and offered to help. The two strangers managed to catch the alligator with nets.
“Teamwork at its finest,” Hart says.
The alligator turned out to be quite small. Based on the yellow stripes on its tail, the creature is likely a juvenile American alligator, whose native habitat is in the much warmer U.S. South.
Hart says the tiny alligator did not try to bite him.
“It’s been very docile,” he says. “It must have been a pet that somebody released. So we’ve been hanging out.”
DNR confirmed the “credible” sighting but warned park guests not to approach the creature.
Hart says the DNR is aware that the alligator has been caught. DNR did not respond to a request for comment from Metro Times.
Hart and Keteyian say they took the gator to Great Lakes Serpentarium, a reptile shelter in Westland.
They were able to determine that the alligator is female, and named her Lady Fáfnir, after a dragon from Norse mythology.
Hart says he thanks his mother for “raising me to be myself,” and also says he is inspired by the late environmentalist and former star of the TV show Crocodile Hunter.
“It’s like a dream of mine from Steve Irwin, you know, growing up, to catch one,” he says. “To see one in Michigan, to see one on the news, I couldn’t pass it up.”
