As more hospitals have gobbled up private physician practices, costs for childbirth and other services have gone up, according to a new study.
Since the early aughts, the share of physicians in the United States working for hospitals has nearly doubled, according to the study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit research organization.
And as fewer doctors work in physician-owned practices, patients or their insurers end up paying more, the study’s authors found.
For example: Two years after a hospital buys an OB-GYN practice, prices for labor and delivery jump an average of $475 and physician prices rise by $502, according to the study. Researchers focused on births, which are the most common reason for hospital admission among people with private insurance.
This rapid acquisition by hospitals is reshaping a U.S. industry once dominated by tens of thousands of small, physician-owned practices.
Only about 42% of U.S. physicians work in a physician-owned private practice, according to the most recent survey data from the American Medical Association. Nearly 47% work for hospitals, a sharp rise over the past several years. Most emergency room physicians are now employed by hospital systems or by private equity-owned staffing groups.
The new research offers further evidence for how hospital acquisitions of private practices “can result in anticompetitive price increases,” said Matthew Grennan, one of the study’s authors and an associate professor of economics at Emory University, in a news release.
“As a result, I think economists and others in the antitrust community are likely to give more careful consideration to these potential sources of harm,” he said.
These post-merger price increases are driven by reduced competition, Grennan and his fellow researchers found. Yet there’s been little effort by federal or state regulators to halt hospital mergers that could lead to higher prices for consumers.
But states have taken some steps toward lowering medical costs in recent years.
Bipartisan groups of lawmakers in more than a dozen states have addressed so-called “facility fees,” which are charges that some hospitals tack on for patient visits to hospital-owned physician offices.
This year in Oklahoma, Republican lawmakers passed a bill requiring hospitals to make the cost of many of their services more transparent to patients so they’re aware of the costs. Providers can face penalties for noncompliance. A similar Oklahoma law authored by Democrats and passed last year requires debt collectors to submit evidence of a hospital’s compliance with price transparency rules before filing to collect on medical debts from patients.
Some states have capped the rates hospitals or physicians can charge. Colorado sets provider and hospitals rates based on a specific formula if insurance plans aren’t able to lower peoples’ premiums to a certain level, while Montana and Oregon limited the amount hospitals and other providers can charge for their state employee health plan.
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio (AP) — A significant share of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions comes from heating, cooling and powering homes — about 15%, according to one estimate by the Environmental Protection Agency. So if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, the home is an effective place to start.
There are so many factors involved in a household’s energy consumption, including whether you have gas or electric heat and how you use your kitchen appliances, washer and dryer. It’s often overwhelming to figure out where to begin.
That’s why experts recommend a home energy assessment conducted by a professional. The room-by-room examinations help homeowners determine energy use, discover inefficiencies and create a plan to reduce both. In addition to helping the environment, improving efficiency saves money over the long term.
The assessments typically last several hours and cost anywhere from $100 to more than $1,000. Until the end of the year, the Inflation Reduction Act, a major U.S. climate law passed in 2022, helps cover the cost. Congress recently rescinded many of those benefits, which will be phased out.
I’m a climate reporter, so I’ve written about responsible energy use more than a few times. But in May, after years of apartment-dwelling, I moved into the first home I’ve ever owned.
So, I signed up for a home energy assessment.
My home, outside of Cleveland, is more than 100 years old. When I blast the air conditioning, it’s still hot and humid upstairs. I can hear birds chirping outside no matter how hard I shut the windows. And there’s a giant pipe in my basement held together by duct tape and prayers.
My assessment delivered pretty bad news. But with it came with lots of room for improvement. Here’s how the day unfolded:
The HVAC tests
Tim Portman, owner of the HVAC company Portman Mechanical in northeast Ohio, started with an hourlong interview about my goals of having a more comfortable and climate-friendly house. Then he headed into the basement to test my furnace, air conditioner and water heater.
The water heater pressure was normal, so Portman said there was no major risk of a water burst. However, the pressure in both the furnace and air conditioner was too high.
Which reveals my first problem: They are too big for the duct work. That’s inefficient, and it wears on the equipment. Making matters worse, Portman noticed a bunch of unnecessary turns in the ducts.
He equated it to having great water pressure in a kinked garden hose.
“If you don’t get the kink out of that garden hose, you’re never going to have a good experience,” he said.
The highlight of my basement woes was a giant pipe that feeds heating and cooling to the rest of the house. It just … wasn’t connected. It was jammed together like two straws without a junction. It bugged him enough that he paused to fix it.
And who am I to stop him?
The blower door
After the basement, Portman assembled a contraption called a blower door. He jammed a bunch of airtight plastic in my front doorway, shoved a big fan through the middle and turned it on so that it was blowing air out of my house.
“It literally sets up a vacuum in the house. So anywhere where there are leaks, you can see where those leaks are,” he said.
Seconds later, my home got hot and musty as the fan pulled outdoor air through all the leaky seams. Portman guessed the primary culprit immediately. I followed him upstairs into what felt like a sauna near the opening to the attic.
“You literally have hot, humid air — and your attic’s warmer than outside — just pouring into the second floor,” Portman said.
The blower door measures how many cubic feet of air flow through per minute. In a well-sealed house, the number should be less than or equal to the square footage. In my 1,500 square-foot (139-square-meter) house, the blower door number was 4,500. Three times as leaky as it should be.
Portman called it a worst-case scenario.
“It’s like driving your car around with the AC on and the windows rolled down,” he said.
The thermal camera
Next, Portman grabbed a thermal camera. The goal, since it was 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) outside, was to see if leaks would show up as hot spots on the camera.
There were a lot. On the screen, yellow revealed a hot spot. The coolest spaces were dark blue. The leaky door frame around the attic lit up bright yellow.
“Do you think that’s a problem?” Portman joked.
“Oops,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. “Oops is the right answer.”
There were a few unsurprising finds, including a leaky bathroom fan and gaps around the hundred-year-old windows. Downstairs we also found major gaps in the living room’s exposed beams.
Thermal images proved Portman’s theory that my walls were not insulated. That’s because my house still has some knob and tube wiring, a system of ceramic supports and porcelain-wrapped wires that’s a relic of the early 20th century. Because of how it heats up, only certain insulation can be used with it. It can also be very expensive to remove.
In the basement, the camera revealed major gaps next to pipes and some other just … random holes. They were maybe where wiring used to be, or just hollow spots in the old wooden framing. But the air seepage was strong enough to make the cobwebs flutter frantically, as if reflecting my dread discovering them.
The verdict
After his review, Portman’s first recommendation was to call an electrician about the old wiring.
“Getting knob and tube out of your house opens the door to have insulation in your walls,” he said.
Once that’s addressed, Portman said I need to upgrade my electrical panel to support an eventual switch to a heat pump and an electric water heater, though those appliances don’t fit my budget this year.
One electrician I spoke to by phone guessed it would cost $30,000 to remove the old wiring. But another said as long as he inspects the wiring and doesn’t find any dangerous modifications, I could leave it and replace the panel for roughly $3,000.
I went with the second guy.
Through the end of 2025, federal tax credits will help subsidize weatherization upgrades, including insulation, windows, doors and electrical panels.
In the meantime, my husband and I have a different homework assignment: use a caulk gun and spray foam to plug the holes that we found on the thermal camera.
Between July heat waves and January cold snaps, sealing a house in the Cleveland area isn’t just good for the planet. It’s a good investment.
“You could potentially cut your bills in half. Potentially even more,” he said.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE – Homes sit in Cranberry Township, Pa., on March 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
U.S. families lose nearly $350 billion each year due to the incarceration of a loved one in jail or prison, according to a recent report from the criminal justice advocacy group FWD.us. The estimate includes both direct expenses and long-term losses in household income.
The findings are based on a national survey of just over 1,600 adults conducted in partnership with researchers at Duke University and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
Families reported losing an average of $1,803 in income per month when a loved one is incarcerated. That includes the loss of the incarcerated person’s wages and may also reflect reduced work hours by family members to manage court proceedings or provide child care, according to the report.
The researchers also found that families spend an average of $4,200 annually per incarcerated relative.
These expenses include phone and email communication, travel for visits, child care and commissary purchases — such as food, hygiene products and clothing — some of which are marked up as much as 600% above retail prices, according to the report.
The burden is especially acute for Black families, who reported significantly higher expenses, according to the report. Black families reported spending an average of $8,005 per year supporting incarcerated loved ones — 2.5 times more than white families with an average of $3,251.
One in 5 family members reported being forced to move due to a loved one’s incarceration, including 1 in 3 children of incarcerated parents, according to the report. Overall, 9% of family members said they experienced a period of homelessness, a figure that rose to 18% — or roughly 1 in 6 — among those who had an incarcerated parent.
Low wages for incarcerated people, often just cents per hour, only deepen this strain, leaving families to fill in the financial gaps, according to the report. Meanwhile, extended prison lockdowns, staff shortages and overcrowded conditions have further limited access to basic services, including phone calls, visitation, medical care and rehabilitative programming.
Researchers also identified long-term economic consequences after incarceration. Collectively, formerly incarcerated individuals lose an estimated $111 billion in wages each year due to limited job opportunities, according to the report. The report also found long-term financial consequences for children of incarcerated parents, who collectively lose $215 billion in annual earnings — an average of nearly $4,500 per adult child each year.
The survey has some limitations. Many of the cost estimates were self-reported and rounded by participants. Still, previous research has reached similar conclusions. A 2017 report from the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization, estimated that mass incarceration costs governments and the families of incarcerated people at least $182 billion annually.
In 2023, the most recent year available, state governments spent more than $66 billion on corrections, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. That total does not include the additional financial support provided by families of incarcerated people.
Preliminary national data from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics shows the U.S. prison population is once again on the rise. At the end of 2023, there were more than 1.25 million people in state and federal prisons, a 2% increase from the previous year. The vast majority were serving sentences longer than one year and were held in state prisons.
The male prison population rose by 2% in 2023, while the number of incarcerated women rose by 4%. Still, both figures remain below their 2013 levels.
Researchers projected that if incarceration rates remain steady, families could face $3.5 trillion in cumulative financial losses over the next decade.
Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech's energy-hungry data centers.
It's not clear that any state has a solution and the actual effect of data centers on electricity bills is difficult to pin down. Some critics question whether states have the spine to take a hard line against tech behemoths like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta.
But more than a dozen states have begun taking steps as data centers drive a rapid build-out of power plants and transmission lines.
That has meant pressuring the nation's biggest power grid operator to clamp down on price increases, studying the effect of data centers on electricity bills or pushing data center owners to pay a larger share of local transmission costs.
Rising power bills are something legislators have been hearing a lot about. Its something weve been hearing a lot about. More people are speaking out at the public utility commission in the past year than Ive ever seen before, said Charlotte Shuff of the Oregon Citizens Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group. Theres a massive outcry.
Not the typical electric customer
Some data centers could require more electricity than cities the size of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or New Orleans, and make huge factories look tiny by comparison. That's pushing policymakers to rethink a system that, historically, has spread transmission costs among classes of consumers that are proportional to electricity use.
A lot of this infrastructure, billions of dollars of it, is being built just for a few customers and a few facilities and these happen to be the wealthiest companies in the world, said Ari Peskoe, who directs the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard University. I think some of the fundamental assumptions behind all this just kind of breaks down.
A fix, Peskoe said, is a can of worms" that pits ratepayer classes against one another.
Some officials downplay the role of data centers in pushing up electric bills.
Tricia Pridemore, who sits on Georgias Public Service Commission and is president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, pointed to an already tightened electricity supply and increasing costs for power lines, utility poles, transformers and generators as utilities replace aging equipment or harden it against extreme weather.
The data centers needed to accommodate the artificial intelligence boom are still in the regulatory planning stages, Pridemore said, and the Data Center Coalition, which represents Big Tech firms and data center developers, has said its members are committed to paying their fair share.
But growing evidence suggests that the electricity bills of some Americans are rising to subsidize the massive energy needs of Big Tech as the U.S. competes in a race against China for artificial intelligence superiority.
Data and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie published a report in recent weeks that suggested 20 proposed or effective specialized rates for data centers in 16 states it studied arent nearly enough to cover the cost of a new natural gas power plant.
In other words, unless utilities negotiate higher specialized rates, other ratepayer classes residential, commercial and industrial are likely paying for data center power needs.
Meanwhile, Monitoring Analytics, the independent market watchdog for the mid-Atlantic grid, produced research in June showing that 70% or $9.3 billion of last year's increased electricity cost was the result of data center demand.
States are responding
Last year, five governors led by Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro began pushing back against power prices set by the mid-Atlantic grid operator, PJM Interconnection, after that amount spiked nearly sevenfold. They warned of customers paying billions more than is necessary.
PJM has yet to propose ways to guarantee that data centers pay their freight, but Monitoring Analytics is floating the idea that data centers should be required to procure their own power.
In a filing last month, it said that would avoid a "massive wealth transfer from average people to tech companies.
At least a dozen states are eyeing ways to make data centers pay higher local transmission costs.
In Oregon, a data center hot spot, lawmakers passed legislation in June ordering state utility regulators to develop new presumably higher power rates for data centers.
The Oregon Citizens Utility Board says there is clear evidence that costs to serve data centers are being spread across all customers at a time when some electric bills there are up 50% over the past four years and utilities are disconnecting more people than ever.
New Jerseys governor signed legislation last month commissioning state utility regulators to study whether ratepayers are being hit with unreasonable rate increases to connect data centers and to develop a specialized rate to charge data centers.
In some other states, like Texas and Utah, governors and lawmakers are trying to avoid a supply-and-demand crisis that leaves ratepayers on the hook or in the dark.
Doubts about states protecting ratepayers
In Indiana, state utility regulators approved a settlement between Indiana Michigan Power Co., Amazon, Google, Microsoft and consumer advocates that set parameters for data center payments for service.
Kerwin Olsen, of the Citizens Action Council of Indiana, a consumer advocacy group, signed the settlement and called it a pretty good deal that contained more consumer protections than what state lawmakers passed.
But, he said, state law doesn't force large power users like data centers to publicly reveal their electric usage, so pinning down whether they're paying their fair share of transmission costs "will be a challenge.
In a March report, the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard University questioned the motivation of utilities and regulators to shield ratepayers from footing the cost of electricity for data centers.
Both utilities and states have incentives to attract big customers like data centers, it said.
To do it, utilities which must get their rates approved by regulators can offer special deals to favored customers like a data center and effectively shift the costs of those discounts to regular ratepayers, the authors wrote. Many state laws can shield disclosure of those rates, they said.
In Pennsylvania, an emerging data center hot spot, the state utility commission is drafting a model rate structure for utilities to consider adopting. An overarching goal is to get data center developers to put their money where their mouth is.
Were talking about real transmission upgrades, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars, commission chairman Stephen DeFrank said. And thats what you dont want the ratepayer to get stuck paying for."
By Grant Schwab, Summer Ballentine, Breana Noble, The Detroit News
President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs and tariff threats could intensify challenges for Michigan’s trade-reliant economy, though analysts noted the potential for both benefits and risks from the GOP leader’s newest proposal.
Trump floated the idea last week of a 100% import tax on semiconductors — crucial components of electronic devices, cars and trucks, and other machines omnipresent in modern life — unless foreign producers make commitments to invest and build manufacturing facilities in the United States.
“If that indeed is put in place, I think that opens the door to Michigan again for the simple fact that we design, engineer and make things here,” said Glenn Stevens, executive director of MichAuto, the automotive arm of the Detroit Regional Chamber. “The state, including the governor and bipartisan politicians and economic development, have all focused on that growth industry. We’re as poised as anybody to capitalize on that.”
Others, however, noted that there would be significant downsides to the president slapping taxes on semiconductors. They said manufacturers across Michigan are already being squeezed by Trump’s oft-changing import taxes, including new levies that took effect Thursday on dozens of countries, and warned that a semiconductor levy could add another layer of cost and complexity at a time of rising economic concerns.
Michigan’s unemployment rate of 5.3% in June ranked second-to-last among all U.S. states, and a massive economic development project that might have brought thousands of jobs to Genesee County fell through last month. The project, notably, was centered on a semiconductor fabrication facility on 1,400 acres for computer chip maker Sandisk Inc.
Several Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Bay City, suggested that the project was scrapped due to chaotic economic conditions caused by Trump’s trade policies.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met privately with Trump on Tuesday to discuss, among other things, the impact of tariffs on the state and the future of the vacant “megasite” in Mundy Township. Her office, asked to respond Thursday to Trump’s 100% semiconductor tariff threat, declined to comment. Instead, the governor’s team emphasized that Whitmer has been “incredibly vocal” about bringing investment to Genesee County.
While Trump’s stated goal of issuing a semiconductor tariff is boosting domestic production of the essential components, experts warned that there could be negative spillover effects for other areas of domestic manufacturing — like Michigan’s signature auto industry.
“Semiconductors are such an increasingly large percentage of the value of a vehicle. So (a 100% tariff) is going to raise prices for consumers, and there’s just no way around that,” said Sam Abuelsamid, an auto industry veteran and vice president at communications firm Telemetry.
There are between 1,000 and 3,000 semiconductors in modern vehicles, according to several industry estimates. The COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted supply chains around the world, demonstrated how damaging shocks in the availability of semiconductors are for the industry.
Because of a global shortage of microchips coming mostly from China and other Asian countries, automakers shut down plants, limited features on some vehicles or built them and held them until a semiconductor could be added. Abuelsamid noted that the effect of a tariff would be different than the COVID-era shocks, but still impactful.
“The availability is not going to be the issue. The cost is going to be the issue,” the analyst said. “And even if, manufacturers say, ‘OK, we’re going to move all of our chip manufacturing into the U.S.,’ it still takes a long time to build chip fabs. These are not something you can build in three or six months, or even a year. It takes several years to get a chip fab up and running from scratch.”
Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions LLC, also noted the long lag time for building semiconductor factories in the United States. He pointed to the CHIPS and Science Act, a key legislative accomplishment of former Democratic President Joe Biden.
“The old CHIPS Act was developed to encourage local production of chips,” Fiorani said. “And if it’s difficult and expensive to build an automotive plant, it’s even more difficult and more expensive to build a chip plant.”
The package directed about $280 billion in new funds to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors. It yielded several major projects, though all but one remain under construction or otherwise in development.
“A chip plant needs a lot of water and typically $10 billion to open, so it’s much more difficult to make that move,” Fiorani said. “But they were encouraged years ago to build locally, and it just takes a while for that to move to the next level.”
Stevens of MichAuto, who on one hand was optimistic about potential semiconductor manufacturing in Michigan, also acknowledged the potential for a COVID-like disruption for the auto sector.
“That definitely would be a concern,” he said.
New tariffs, new data
Beyond the semiconductor threat, Thursday marked the effective date of new import tax rates on dozens of countries, including several major U.S. trade partners.
Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%.
“President Trump is seeking to strengthen our supply chains, create economic growth and power our future,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, in a statement. “We’ve already witnessed companies begin to make significant investments in the United States, and we must continue to protect the future of American industry.”
The new rates apply to vehicles and auto parts imported from Japan, South Korea and the EU, which were previously subject to 27.5% tariffs. The change has prompted backlash from Ford Motor Co. and some Michigan lawmakers.
“Just because you get a deal, doesn’t mean it is a good deal for America. Right now, a Japanese car is subject to a lower tariff than a car made in Canada, with American parts and some American labor,” U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, said in a social media post.
She echoed Ford’s argument that the company, which has a highly integrated supply chain between the United States, Canada and Mexico, now has a competitive disadvantage against rivals that import more of their vehicles from overseas.
Current tariff rates on vehicles from Canada and Mexico max out at 27.5%, but the actual duties paid are complicated because of partial exemptions granted to vehicles and parts that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement.
Auto imports from Mexico and Canada have so far been subject to a lower duty rate than products other major automotive countries, according to a Detroit News analysis of federal data released on Tuesday. The analysis calculated rates by comparing assessed duties on auto imports to the total value of imports for June, which is the latest month with available data.
But Mexico, thanks to a high volume of auto exports to the United States, still ranked as a close second behind Japan in total duties paid in June.
Importers brought in $4.2 billion worth of automotive goods from Japan and paid about $1.15 billion in duties, good for a rate of 27.5%. By contrast, $14.2 billion in goods came from Mexico and were subject to $1.14 billion in duties, which came out to an 8% duty rate.
Industry experts said Ford and other automakers with heavily North American manufacturing bases — including foreign companies like Toyota Motor Corp. — have a legitimate argument that the new lower rates on Japan, South Korea and the EU could undermine any advantages that previous tariff structures conferred on American operations.
“The reason why the supply chain (in North America) is set up the way it is, it’s because of NAFTA and USMCA. We’ve developed a trade policy with our neighbors based on low or no tariffs,” Abuelsamid said. “And now, Trump is turning that up and expecting people to pivot on a dime. And it just doesn’t work that way.”
Patrick Anderson, CEO of the Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, also noted the auto industry upheaval.
“It’s a completely different world than we have been operating in for most of the past quarter-century,” Anderson said in a phone interview. “This is a very fraught time for the American auto industry, as well as the Canadian and Mexican auto industries that are deeply connected to the American auto industry.”
Anderson also suggested that Trump — who often changes his tariff policies even after they take effect — could make adjustments in light of backlash from a domestic auto industry he has sought to boost.
“This is a shift from which there is no easy turning back,” the economist said. “I expect that some of the tariff rates that are imposed as of August 7 will have changed by September 7.”
More lawmakers weigh in
Members of the Michigan congressional delegation were split along party lines over Trump’s latest tariffs.
“I’m constantly hearing from Michiganders and our business leaders about how Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs are hurting our state — from causing costs to skyrocket for our families, to cutting manufacturing jobs, to threatening pensions for our auto workers, and costing our auto industry billions of dollars,” U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, said in a statement.
She continued: “Michigan doesn’t need Donald Trump’s chaotic, shoot-from-the-hip tariffs, and I’m going to keep working to lower costs for Michiganders, protect our jobs, and make sure we are protecting investments in our manufacturing economy.”
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who Stevens is running to replace when he retires from the chamber at the end of his term, had a similar message.
“If President Trump was serious about strengthening our domestic semiconductor supply chain we would have seen an actual plan by now. Instead, he has been attacking the CHIPS and Science Act that took historic steps to bring home semiconductor manufacturing and American jobs,” he said in a statement. “He is also continuing his chaotic tariff strategy that, instead of targeting trade cheaters, has only caused instability and uncertainty for Michigan businesses.”
U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain of Bruce Township, a fierce Trump supporter and the No. 4 Republican in the U.S. House, defended the president’s tariff agenda.
“American manufacturers are ready to Make in America again thanks to President Trump leveling the playing field and his One Big Beautiful Bill,” she said, referencing the massive tax cut and spending bill Trump signed into law in July.
McClain continued: “This transformational legislation delivered historic tax relief for manufacturers and small businesses, which empowers manufacturers to invest in workers and produce here in America. Hundreds of billions of dollars are pouring into U.S. manufacturing — from semiconductors to AI — just look at Apple’s recent announcement to increase their initial $500 billion investment by $100 billion to design and (manufacture) in America.
“These historic investments are creating real jobs. And it’s just getting started,” she added.
Jeep vehicles go through the assembly line at the Stellantis Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit. Experts see possible benefits as well as negative effects for Michigan's auto industry and other manufacturing sectors from 100% semiconductor tariffs floated by President Donald Trump. (Max Ortiz, The Detroit News)
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Saturday the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that any peace deal excluding Kyiv would lead to dead solutions.
The Trump-Putin meeting, scheduled for Friday in Alaska, is seen as a potential breakthrough.
Trump had previously agreed to meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with Zelenskyy, stoking fears Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continents biggest conflict since World War II.
In a statement posted to Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukraines territorial integrity, enshrined in the constitution, must be non-negotiable and emphasized that lasting peace must include Ukraines voice at the table.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine will not give Russia any awards for what it has done and that Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.
Touching on Ukrainian anxieties that a direct meeting between Putin and Trump could marginalize Kyiv and European interests, Zelenskyy said: Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work.
Ukrainian officials had previously told the Associated Press privately that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognize Ukraines inability to regain lost territories militarily.
It seems entirely logical for our delegation to fly across the Bering Strait simply, and for such an important and anticipated summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska, Putins foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Saturday in a statement posted to the Kremlin's news channel.
Such a summit may prove pivotal in a war that began more than three years ago when Russia invaded its western neighbor and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although theres no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.
In comments to reporters at the White House before his post confirming the date and place, Trump suggested that any agreement would likely involve some swapping of territories, but he gave no details. Analysts, including some close to the Kremlin, have suggested that Russia could offer to give up territory it controls outside of the four regions it claims to have annexed.
Trump said his meeting with Putin would come before any sit-down discussion involving Zelenskyy. His announcement that he planned to host one of Americas adversaries on U.S. soil broke with expectations that theyd meet in a third country. The gesture gives Putin validation after the U.S. and its allies had long sought to make him a pariah over his war against Ukraine.
Ultimatums and sanctions
Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump, almost two weeks ago, moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement.
The deadline was Friday. But the White House did not answer questions that evening about the state of possible sanctions after Trump announced an upcoming meeting with Putin.
Prior to Trump announcing the meeting with Putin, his efforts to pressure Russia into stopping the fighting had delivered no progress. The Kremlins bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armor while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.
Russia and Ukraine trade attacks
Two people died and 16 were wounded Saturday when a Russian drone hit a minibus in the suburbs of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two others died after a Russian drone struck their car in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov.
Ukraines air force said Saturday it intercepted 16 of the 47 Russian drones launched overnight, while 31 drones hit targets across 15 different locations. It also said it shot down one of the two missiles Russia deployed.
Meanwhile, Russias Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 97 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight into Saturday, and 21 more on Saturday morning.
Blakes Orchard & Cider Mill invites the community to join its new Farm Fresh Pickle Fest; a unique summer celebration centered around all pickled things.
This family-friendly event will feature a full schedule of activities including DIY pickling workshops, pickle-themed food and beverage offerings, artisan vendors, live music, kid's activities, and more. Guests can also participate in a variety of contests such as pickle eating and pickle juice drinking. Admission is free.
More than a dozen Hmong and Laotian Americans living in the Detroit area received a letter summoning them to the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office on July 30.
Many thought it was a request for a routine check-in. It wasn’t, their families say.
Instead, the individuals were taken into ICE custody and have been detained ever since in northern Michigan, Texas and Louisiana. They are awaiting deportation to Laos, a country where the Hmong refugees have never set foot, but which U.S. officials say has agreed to take some detainees.
The Hmong individuals detained came to the U.S. as refugees in the 1970s and 1980s, most from refugee camps in Thailand. ICE says all have criminal records and removal orders, but families, local elected officials and immigrant rights advocates say they are being unfairly targeted.
“The families and elected officials accept that they had been convicted of a crime, but they served their time, and they deserve a second chance,” said Christine Sauve, policy and communications manager at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
A spokesperson for ICE, in an email Friday to The Detroit News, said the agency detained “a known gang member who obstructed a murder investigation, multiple child sex abusers, drug traffickers and other Laotian nationals with criminal histories” in the July 30 operation. The spokesperson did not clarify whether all individuals detained had criminal records or provide the names of all detainees.
Many of those detained received removal orders after being convicted of crimes years ago, but were never deported because neither Laos nor Thailand considered them citizens, according to Sauve. Instead, they were required to report for annual check-ins with ICE.
Family members and local elected officials on Friday held a press conference to argue against the deportations.
“This past week has been a nightmare for these family members,” said state Rep. Mai Xiong, a Democrat who represents Warren, Roseville and St. Clair Shores, at the press conference.
Xiong is herself Hmong American, a refugee who fled Laos with her family at a young age. Like hers, the families of the Hmong detainees fled to the U.S. from United Nations-run refugee camps in Thailand, where they went after being persecuted in Laos for their role in the CIA-backed “Secret War” in the 1960s and 1970s.
Under the Trump administration, Xiong said, things have changed. She believes Laos may accept the deportees in exchange for being excluded from a travel ban list. The ICE spokesperson said the agency recently obtained the necessary travel documents to remove the detainees to Laos.
At the press conference at the Hannan Center in Detroit, Xiong, State Sen. Stephanie Chang and state Rep. Donovan McKinney — both Democrats who represent districts that stretch across south Macomb and Oakland counties as well as Detroit — joined the family members of detainees Wa Kang Lor and Sufeng Yang to call for the release of the Hmong refugees being held by ICE.
After reporting to the office for what they thought was a routine check-in, Xiong said, the individuals were detained.
In a matter of days, ICE transported the individuals from Detroit to North Lake Processing Center in northern Michigan, then to Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Texas. Two days ago, ICE transferred them to the Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana, where Xiong expects the next step will be deportation.
“It’s like trying to find missing people,” she told The News. She called on ICE to be more transparent about who had been detained and when they might be deported.
Maiyia Xiong, the wife of Wa Kong Lor, one of the detainees, was overcome with emotion as she stepped to the podium, so Rep. Xiong read her prepared statement.
“I never imagined it would be the last time I would see him,” she had written.
When they reported to the ICE office, she said, a woman took her husband’s driver’s license. “Within minutes, his name was called,” Xiong said. “He walked through the door to the back room and never returned.”
Xiong and Lor have four children. Without him, she said, she faces the “unimaginable task of explaining to them that they may never see their father again.”
The ICE spokesperson said Lor was arrested in Pontiac in 2007 for breaking and entering a vehicle, drug possession and carrying an unlawful firearm. He was sentenced to at least 5 months in prison and received a removal order.
Anissa Lee, 20, also spoke. She is the daughter of Sufeng Yang, a Macomb County resident who was also detained on July 30. She came up to the podium, visibly upset, carrying a poster with her father’s face on it.
“The U.S. is the only place he’s ever known, his only home,” said Lee, her voice breaking. “He’s not just a resident here, he’s a taxpayer, a provider and a caregiver.”
Yang takes care of his 82-year-old mother, Lee said, buying her groceries and picking up her medications. “Without him, she won’t be able to get by,” she said.
Yang, according to ICE, was convicted of robbery in Toledo in 2007 and sentenced to three years in prison. Like Lor, he was given a removal order, but never deported.
One of the detainees, Lue Yang, 47, of St. Johns, had his criminal record expunged under a Michigan “Clean Slate” law in 2018. After he came to the United States as an asylum seeker in the 1980s, he pled guilty in 2001 as an accessory to a home invasion and was issued a removal order.
Since then, Lue Yang has turned his life around, advocates say. He serves as president of the Hmong Family Association, a nonprofit that provides services and programming to the Hmong community. According to a letter from more than two dozen Michigan lawmakers to ICE Detroit field director Kevin Raycraft, Yang is the “primary breadwinner” for a family of eight.
He is the only detainee currently being held in Michigan, at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin.
McKinney, whose state House district includes parts of Detroit and Warren, sees the detentions and likely deportations as civil rights violations.
As a result of the ICE operation, he said, families are left knowing little to no information about where their loved ones are being held or how they are doing. It’s cruel.”
Aisa Villarosa, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, which is representing some of the detainees, worries that they will become stateless. She says travel documents are just part of the removal process, citing a number of cases in Laos and nearby Bhutan in which detainees were turned away.
“The Trump administration has made its priorities clear, abusing its power to attack all of us. None of us are safe when families are ripped apart,” she said.
Xiong and Chang said they sent a letter to Raycraft asking him to “immediately release” the Hmong detainees. In total, 28 Michigan lawmakers signed the letter, including Ranjeev Puri, the Democratic House minority leader; and Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who represents southwest Detroit on the City Council.
“ICE should expend its resources by targeting individuals who are truly a threat, instead of indiscriminately detaining and deporting immigrants and refugees without consideration for their contributions to society and our economy or their personal history,” Xiong and Chang wrote.
Anissa Lee, left, is hugged by Rep. Mai Xiong following a press conference Friday, Aug. 8. (JOSE JUAREZ–Special to The Detroit News)
The Woodward Dream Cruise has been a celebration the past 30 years of America’s car culture. And its excesses.
More size, more chrome, more horsepower, more luxury and speed, more artistic and avant garde designs with no thought to gas consumption or efficiency. The louder the paint job and engine the better.
But the future of automobiles isn’t limited to the internal combustion engine. Which begs the question: Do electric vehicles have a place at the Woodward Dream Cruise?
That depends upon who you ask, and there’s certainly no agreement even within the growing community of EV owners and advocates on whether the Dream Cruise is the right place to showcase the technology and energy efficiency of electric vehicles.
Last week, electric vehicle and hybrid car owners gathered at Royal Oak’s Memorial Park for the Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance’s Clean Cruise EV Festival.
Robert Miller, an automotive journalist, leased his first EV this year, a 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona and sees a place for these types of vehicles in the cruise going forward.
Robert Miller shows off his 2025 Dodge Charger EV at the 2025 Clean Cruise in Royal Oak.
The base price for the 640-horsepower car is $80,000.
Photo by Matt Fahr Media News Group
“For some EV’s to be in the cruise like a (Tesla) Model S or the Hummer, they would do it, but a guy with a (Chevy) Volt EV, maybe not as much because it is an ‘appliance’ EV,” said Miller. “Everybody in Detroit and the automotive industry has their own little niche and it doesn’t matter what you drive, you can be a part of it (the cruise).”
John Richter, a renewable energy consultant, bought an all-electric Toyota Prius in 2005, has put 164,000 miles on it and still drives it.
“The Prius absolutely did not fit into the Dream Cruise when I bought it,” said Richter. “But as a comparison, if you went back to 1910, you would not have an automobile and a horse and carriage shown together. That is almost what EV’s and muscle cars going down Woodward would be like in this day and age.”
With the upcoming Dream Cruise coming up next week, one of the organizers of the Clean Cruise organizer said that far from competing with one another, the two worlds can co-exist.
“The dream cruise celebrates the history and the nostalgia of the industry,” said Amy Rogghe, executive director and founder of MEVA. “We don’t knock that, we celebrate that right along with them.,”
“They are very supportive of this event and we are supportive of theirs and they are very supportive about bridging the gap between the two areas,” she said.
Electric vehicles from Ford, Hummer, Tesla and BMW were among over 60 vehicles on display at the Clean Cruise.
Photo by Matt Fahr
Media News Group
Richter, who is also on the board of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association, listed his reasons why he bought his Prius 20 years ago.
“With an electric (car), I have no oil changes, I have no coolant changes, I don’t have an exhaust system that is going to rust out because they always do and I don’t get gasoline on my hands when I have to refuel it,” said Richter. “When we have power outages, I clip a converter on my Prius global battery, run an extension cord into my house and run my essential things off of it. For me it was about user convenience, I wasn’t trying to save the Earth.”
Miller said a speaker system and an exhaust chamber in the back of his EV Charger Daytona give the car the sound and feel of a gas powered model.
He says it has a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds, has 670 horsepower from dual electric motors and is all-wheel drive with a base price of $80,000. The car weighs over 6,000 pounds, with the battery packs accounting for 1,200 pounds of that. The Charger has a power regenerative braking system that recharges the battery in stop and go traffic with a range of 241 miles fully charged.
But convincing people there is a muscle car market among the EV options has been a hard sell.
“There are very few of these cars out on the road right now because it is a hard market,” said Miller. “You have EV people that don’t like muscle cars and you have muscle car people that are stuck on hemi-cars, but I am starting to see more and more of them.”
“There are a lot of positives about this car, but Chrysler has not done a good job of marketing this car properly,” Miller said. “If they showed what this car could do against their old muscle cars it would be a lot different.”
He said the key to expanding the EV market as a whole is better access to charging stations throughout the state.
“The cost will come down, as with any other sort of new technology, but we need to have a better (charger) infrastructure here in Michigan,” said Miller. “Once things like that become more available, then it will generate future sales.”
Building an infrastructure within the state through home and municipal charging stations will be one of the keys to growing sales in the future.
Photo by Matt Fahr
There are over 1,900 charging stations throughout the state with Troy (53), Auburn Hills (26) and Ferndale (22) the top three locations in Oakland County.
“The technology is advancing year over year,” said Rogghe. “Ten years ago a battery range of 300 miles, which is the average now, would have been unheard of.”
According to the State of Michigan Community EV website:
– Currently, electric vehicles account for less than 1% of vehicle registrations in Michigan. A snapshot of Michigan Secretary of State registration data in 2023 shows electric vehicles made up 0.57% of vehicle registration in Michigan.
– According to the Council on Future Mobility and Electrification’s 2020 report, by 2030 the sales of hybrid or electrified vehicles will represent 51% of all vehicle sales in Michigan.
– In Michigan, electric vehicle registration was up by more than 300% at the end of 2021 compared to 2018, and up more than 64% at the end of 2021 compared to 2020.
Even with his state of the art EV muscle car, Miller said there is acceptance of what lies ahead for that portion of the market.
“This morning I was cruising with a 1968 (Plymouth) Roadrunner and a 1969 (Dodge) Coronet and they gave me a thumbs up and we were running next to each other,” said Miller. “It will take time, but this incarnation of the muscle car will take hold in the U.S.”
The 2025 Clean Cruise drew EV and hybrid vehicles from over a dozen different car makers to Memorial Park in Royal Oak last weekend.
Photo by Matt Fahr Media News Group
The following is a list of in-person and online worship services and events happening at churches and synagogues in the Oakland County area. Visit websites or call for service times and events.
• Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, 248-651-6550, abidingpresence.org. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m., also virtual services are available on the website.
• Adat Shalom Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, in-person and online services via Zoom. To view daily Minyan video conferences; email Executive Director Michael Wolf at mwolf@adatshalom.org or visit adatshalom.org, 248-851-5100.
• All Saints’ Episcopal, 171 W. Pike St., Pontiac, allsaintspontiac.org, 248-334-4571, rector@allsaintspontiac.org.
• The Apostolic Church of Christ, 3655 N. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, theapostolicchurch.com, 248-373-4500, Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.
• Archdiocese of Detroit, livestream Mass times, aod.org/livemasses.
• Auburn Hills Christian Center, 2592 Walton Blvd., Auburn Hills, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m., Servicio Evangelistico services (in Spanish) at 2-4 p.m. Sundays, 248-373-7139, www.myahcc.org.
• Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Troy, in-person and online services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, beaconcongregation.org, admin@beaconcongregation.org.
• Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 5631 N. Adams Road, Bloomfield Hills, livestream services at 9 a.m. Sundays, and in person at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. at bslcmi.org, facebook/bslcmi, 248-646-5041.
• Berea Family Tabernacle of Faith, Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m., experienceberea.org, 248-338-4748.
• Berkley First United Methodist Church, 2820 12 Mile Road, Berkley, worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays in person and online at www.berkleyfirst.org.
• Bharatiya Temple, 6850 N Adams Road, Troy, www.bharatiya-temple.org, 248-879-2552.
• Big Beaver United Methodist Church, 3753 John R Road, Troy, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, http://bbumchurch.org.
• Birmingham First United Methodist Church, 1589 W Maple Road, Birmingham, www.fumcbirmingham.org. Summer worship services are at 10 a.m. starting Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day. (After Labor Day, Sunday worship services are in person and online at 9:30 a.m., and in-person only services at 11 a.m.)
• Birmingham Unitarian Church, 38651 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, in-person and online worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays, bucmi.org, 248-647-2380.
• Bridge Community Church, 5700 Rochester Road, Troy, in-person and online worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays, bridgecommunitychurch.com/live, 248-879-9500.
• Bridgewood Church, 6765 Rattalee Lake Road, Clarkston, 248-625-1344, www.bridgewoodchurch.com. Sunday worship services are 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., also online services, and locations in Goodrich.
• Brightmoor Christian Church, 40800 W. 13 Mile Road, Novi, www.brightmoorchurch.org. Sunday worship services at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
• Calvary Chapel Oakland County, 1975 E. Long Lake Road, Troy, 248-457-9673, ccoaklandcounty.com. Worship 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. Sundays.
• Calvary Church, 1361 Giddings Road, Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., https://ccpontiac.org, 248-373-0311.
• Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, 6805 Bluegrass Drive, Clarkston, calvary-lutheran.org. Sunday worship services are Traditional Worship at 7:55 a.m.; Modern Worship at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; and livestream at 9:30 a.m. Food pantry (drive-up or curbside pickup) is 9-11 a.m. Wednesdays.
• Central Church, 1529 Twelve Mile Road, Madison Heights, www.centralchurch.cc. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.
• Central Oaks Community Church, 2005 Rochester Road, Royal Oak, www.centraloaks.com, 248-547-7755. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.
• Central United Methodist Church, 3882 Highland Road, Waterford Twp., 248-681-0040, WaterfordCUMC.org. In-person worship at 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays and online at 10:30 a.m. at Live.WaterfordCUMC.org.
• Central Woodward Christian Church Disciples of Christ, 3955 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 248-644-0512, centralwoodwardchristian.com. Sunday worship services are at 10:30 a.m., in person and online at centralwoodwardchristian.com and Facebook at www.facebook.com/CentralWoodward.
• Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake, 3535 Commerce Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.sscms.edu, 248-683-0310.
• Christian Tabernacle Church, Southfield, ctabchurch.com, 248-213-4770.
• Christ Church Cranbrook, 470 Church Road, Bloomfield Hills, in-person and online worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays, ccc-info.org.
• Christ Lutheran Church and School, 620 General Motors Road, Milford, www.christlutheranmilford.org. Sunday worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
• Christ, Our Light! Catholic Church, 3077 Glouchester, Troy. Mass times are: Saturday at 4 p.m.; Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; weekday Masses (followed by Rosary recitation) are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 9 a.m., and Friday at 12:05 p.m., www.coltroy.org, 248-649-5510.
• Christ the Good Shepherd Progressive Catholic Church, 3947 Twelve Mile Road Berkley, church services: Saturday Mass at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday Mass at 10:30 a.m., 248-439-0470, www.cgs-occ.org.
• Christ the Redeemer Parish, 2700 Waldon Road Orion Township, 248-391-1621, www.ctredeemer.org. Weekend Masses are 5 p.m. Saturdays, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays.
• Crown of Life Lutheran Church, 2975 Dutton Road Rochester Hills, www.crownoflifechurch.org, 248-652-7720. Sunday worship services are 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
• Church of the Holy Spirit, 3700 Harvey Lake Road, Highland Twp., www.holyspirithighland.com.
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregations in Oakland County include: Bloomfield Hills, Clarkston, Commerce Twp., Farmington Hills, Lake Orion, Pontiac (Spanish), Rochester, Troy and White Lake Twp. The congregations host worship services on Sundays. For worship times and locations, visit churchofjesuschrist.org.
• Church of the Resurrection, 6490 Clarkston Road, Village of Clarkston, https://clarkstonepiscopal.com, 248-625-2325. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.
• Clarkston Community Church, 6300 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, in-person and online services at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, clarkstoncchurch.com, 248-625-1323.
• Clarkston United Methodist Church, 6600 Waldon Road, Clarkston, in-person and online faith services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, clarkstonumc.org, 248-625-1611.
• Commerce United Methodist Church, 1155 N. Commerce Road, Commerce Twp., commerceumc.org/media.
• Community Bible Church, 1888 Crescent Lake Road, Waterford Twp., https://cbcmi.com, 248-674-4871. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.
• Community Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 27800 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, church services at 11 a.m. Saturdays, http://communityfellowship22.adventistchurchconnect.org, 248-469-8539.
• Community Presbyterian Church, 4301 Monroe Ave., Waterford Twp. In-person worship is 10 a.m., Sundays, cpcwaterford.org, 248-673-7805.
• Congregation Beth Ahm, 5075 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Twp., 248-851-6880, cbahm.org.
• Congregational Church of Birmingham, UCC, 1000 Cranbrook Road, Bloomfield Hills. Worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, ccbucc.org, 248-646-4511.
• Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield, Jewish religious services including daily morning and evening Minyan services, Shabbat morning services and Youth Shabbat activities, shaareyzedek.org, 248-357-5544. Daily minyan services are hybrid services, meeting both in person in the Lee and Gerson Bernstein Chapel (morning services are followed by breakfast), and on Zoom. Shabbat musical services meet on the first Friday evening of each month, in person and on Zoom.
• Cornerstone Baptist Church, Ortonville, in-person worship services, Sundays at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Also online at Facebook at Cornerstone Baptist Church Ortonville, cbcortonville.com, 248 627-4700.
• Cornerstone Church, 4995 N Hickory Ridge Road, Highland, cornerstonehighland.com, 248-887-1600. Worship services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Also, livestream at 11 a.m. Sundays on YouTube, Facebook, and website.
• Crossroads Free Will Baptist Church, 4804 White Lake Road, White Lake Twp., https://crossroadswl.org, Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. The church has a Blessing Box that is stocked with non-perishable food items, books and other household items for those in need. Donations welcome.
• Destiny Faith Church, 501 University Drive, Pontiac, Destinyfaith.org, 248-322-2200. Worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, in person and online.
• Divine Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3000 S. Lapeer Road, Orion Twp., divinegrace.net, Sunday worship services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
• Door of Faith Christian Church, Pontiac, online services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, mydooroffaith.org.
• Empowerment Church of Southfield, worship services are 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays at new worship center location, Shriner’s Silver Garden Events Center, 24350 Southfield Road, Southfield, 248-569-2299, empowerment.mi.org. Also virtual worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays at empowermentmi.org/stream and on Facebook Live.
• Encounter Church, 600 North Campbell Road, Royal Oak, in-person and online services, 11 a.m. Sundays; Prayer and Bible study is 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, www.encounter360.org.
• Evanswood Church of God, 2601 E Square Lake Road, Troy, 248-879-9240.
• Faith Church in Rochester Hills offers free meals to the community, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Wednesdays, at the church,160 W Hamlin Road, Rochester Hills, faithchurchrochesterhills.org/sharethetable.
• Faith Community Christian Church (meeting at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church), 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, 586-703-6249, Reverend Tom Sayers. Traditional service is at 1 p.m., www.faithcommunitychristianchurch.org.
• Faith Covenant Church, 35415 W. 14 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, worship services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11a.m., Sundays, 248-661-9191, 4fcc.org.
• First Baptist Church, 2601 John R Road, Troy, fbctroy.org.
• First Baptist Church, 255 E. Scripps Road, Lake Orion, fbclo.org, 248-693-6203, info@fbclo.org.
• First Congregational Church, 5449 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, (just east of Sashabaw Road), 248-394-0200, www.fcclarkston.com, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays.
• First Congregational Church of Rochester UCC, 1315 N. Pine, Rochester, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, fccrochester.org, 248-651-6225.
• First Congregational Church of Royal Oak, 1314 Northwood Blvd., Royal Oak. Worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, www.fccro.org.
• First General Baptist of Waterford, 2933 Frembes Road, Waterford, wgbchurch.com, 248-673-6481, Sunday school at 10 a.m., worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• First Missionary Church, 4832 Clintonville Road, Independence Twp., www.fmcclarkston.org, 248-674-3186. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.
• First Presbyterian Church Birmingham, 1669 W. Maple, Birmingham, worship services are Sundays, 8:30 a.m. in person, and 10 a.m. in person and livestream, fpcbirmingham.org, 248-644-2040.
• First Presbyterian Church of Pontiac, 99 Wayne Street, Pontiac, fpcpontiac.info.
• First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, 529 Hendrie Blvd., 248-541-0108. Sunday worship services are at 10:30 a.m., online services available anytime at fpcro.org, 248-541-0108.
• First United Methodist Church of Troy, 6363 Livernois, Troy. Church services are 10 a.m. Sundays in person and livestream on YouTube and Facebook, www.FUMCTROY.org, 248-879-6363.
• Five Points Community Church, 3411 E Walton Blvd, Auburn Hills. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., https://5pointscc.org, 248-373-1381.
• Four Towns United Methodist, 6451 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford Twp. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., www.fourtowns.org, 248-766-8868. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m.
• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1950 S. Baldwin Road, Lake Orion. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., 248-391-1170, goodshepherdlakeorion.net.
• Grace Gospel Fellowship, 65 East Huron Street, Pontiac; in-person and livestream services are 11 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Livestream services are at www.facebook.com/GraceGospelFellowshipPontiac, 248-334-2187.
• Greenfield Presbyterian Church, 2312 Greenfield Road, Berkley, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. only, youtube.com/user/GreenfieldChurch, greenfieldchurch.com, 248-544-1800. (After Labor Day, in-person and online worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays.)
• Grace Church, 220 Bogie Lake Road, White Lake Twp. Sunday services are 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Gracechurchinfo.net, 248-887-3700.
• Hazel Park First United Methodist Church, 313 E. Nine Mile Road, Hazel Park, 248-546-5955, hpfirst.org. Sunday worship services at 11:15 a.m.
• Heart of the Hills Christian Church, 5085 Orion Road, Rochester, https://heartofthehills.com, 248-841-1679. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.
• Hillside Bible Church, 73 N Church St, Ortonville, 248-627-2513, hillsidebible.org, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.
• Hilltop Church of the Nazarene, 21260 Haggerty Road, Northville, hilltopnaz.org, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.
• Holly Calvary Church, 15010 N Holly Road, Holly, hollycalvary.org, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m. in person and online, Wednesday worship is at 6:30 p.m.
• Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 4800 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp. In-person worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, livestream on YouTube youtube.com/@spiritdrivenchurch, 248-682-5441, spiritdrivenchurch.com.
• Immanuel Congregational Church of Christ, Oxford, 248-628-1610, icucc.org, in-person worship services at 11 a.m. Sundays, and online at facebook.com/oxfordimmanuelucc.
• International Christian Church, 1630 Joslyn Ave, Pontiac, worship services at 11:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-494-8757, globalicc.org, facebook.com/icchurch/live.
• Islamic Association of Greater Detroit, 879 West Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, www.childrenofabrahamday.org.
• Jewel Heart Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, 27745 Woodward Ave., Berkley, www.jewelheart.org.
• Journey Lutheran Church, (joined with Holy Cross Church) 136 S. Washington St., Oxford, in-person and online worship services, 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, education hour is at 10 a.m., journeylutheran.church, 248-628-2011.
• Kensington Church with locations in Birmingham, Clarkston, Clinton Twp., Orion Twp. and Troy, in-person Sunday worship times, and online services offered streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and website, kensingtonchurch.org.
• King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1715 S. Lapeer Road, Lake Orion, www.kingofkingslakeorion.org. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m. Sundays, online streaming at www.facebook.com/kingofkingslakeorion.
• Kirk in the Hills, 1340 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., kirkinthehills.org, 248 626 2515.
• Lakecrest Baptist Church, 35 Airport Rd, Waterford Twp., www.lakecrestbaptist.com, 248-681-3214. Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Spanish service at 1 p.m.
• Lake Orion Church of Christ, 1080 Hemingway Road, Lake Orion, www.lococ.org, 248-693-7242. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.
• Lake Orion Methodist Church, Lake Orion, www.lakeorionumc.org. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., in person and online.
• LakePoint Community Church, 1550 W. Drahner Road, Oxford, https://lakepointcc.org, 248-628-0038.
• The Lakes Church, 1450 S Hospital Road, Waterford Twp., www.thelakes.cc, 248-254-7833, Sunday worship services are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. The 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services are livestreamed.
• Liberty General Baptist Church, 3545 Joslyn Rd, Auburn Hills, https://libertygeneralbaptistchurch.org, 248-431-3498. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.
• Lifepoint Church, 5601 Scott Lake Road, Waterford Twp., lifepointchristian.com.
• Life Renewal Church, 28312 Grand River, Farmington Hills, https://liferenewalchurch.org, worship is 11 a.m. Sundays.
• Madison Heights Church of the Nazarene, 555 E 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights, mhnaz.org, 248-585-5551.
• Maranatha Baptist Church, 5790 Flemings Lake Road, Clarkston, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m., www.mbcclarkston.org.
• Marimont Community Church, 424 W Walton Blvd., Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., https://marimontcommunitychurch.com.
• Masjid Mahmood, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center, 1730 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, ahmadiyyamosque.blogspot.com.
• Metro Detroit Christian Church, 33360 W. 13 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, https://metrodetroit.org, 248-562-7998. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.
• Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church, 25585 Berg Road, Southfield, https://mogccc.com, 248-356-0565.
• Motor City Church, 3668 Livernois Road, Troy, www.motorcitychurch.org, 248-524-2400. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
• Mt. Zion Church, 4900 Maybee Road, Clarkston, mtzion.org. Sunday worship services at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
• Muslim Unity Center of Bloomfield Hills, 1830 W. Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, Muslimunitycenter.org.
• Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 248-476-8860, nardinpark.org, www.facebook.com/NPUMC.
• New Heights Baptist Church, Grand Blanc, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays, newheightsbc.com. For information, email pastornewheights@gmail.com or call 810-866-4563.
• New Hope Christian Fellowship, 6020 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., https://newhopemi.org, 248-886-1500, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.
• New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 23455 W Nine Mile Road, Southfield, www.newhope-mbc.org, 248-353-0675. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m., in person and livestream.
• New Hudson United Methodist Church, 56730 Grand River Ave., New Hudson, newhudsonumc.org. Worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays.
• Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3633 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 248-644-5920. Worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream, www.facebook.com/TroyNorthminster.
• Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 23925 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield, www.northwestuu.org, 248-281-4902. Worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays in person and virtual.
• North Congregational Church, 36520 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, northcongregationalchurch.org.
• North Hills Christian Reformed Church, 3150 North Adams Road, Troy, worship services, 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-645-1990, northhillscrc.org.
• North Oaks Church, 9600 Ortonville Road, City of the Village of Clarkston, worship services are 10:30 a.m., Sundays, northoakschurch.org, office@northoakschurch.org, 248-922-3515.
• Oakland Church, 5100 North Adams Road, Rochester, worship services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, www.oaklandchurch.me.
• Oakland Church of Christ, 23333 West 10 Mile Road Southfield, in-person and online worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, TheOaklandChurchofchrist.org, 248-355-9225.
• Oakland Hills Community Church, Farmington Hills, ohcc.net, 313-686-4578.
• Oakland Woods Baptist Church 5628 Maybee Rd, Village of Clarkston, www.facebook.com/OWBCClarkston, 248-625-7557. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
• Oak Pointe Church,1250 South Hill, Milford, in-person or online worship services are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, opcmilford.org.
• Oak Pointe Church, 50200 W. 10 Mile Road, Novi, in-person or online worship services are 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. oakpointe.org, 248-912-0043.
• Oak Pointe Church, 6343 Farmington Road, West Bloomfield, in-person or online worship services are 10:15 a.m. Sundays, oakpointe.org/westbloomfield.
• Oakwood Community Church, 5791 Oakwood Rd, Ortonville, www.oakwoodcc.org, 248-628-6388.
• Orchard Grove Community Church, 850 Ladd Rd; Bldg. C, Walled Lake, Sunday worship services are at 10:10 a.m., www.orchardgrove.org.
• Orchard Lake Community Church, Presbyterian, 5171 Commerce Road, Orchard Lake, worship services are at 9 a.m., and 10:30 a.m. Sundays, olccp.com, 248-682-0730.
• Orchard United Methodist Church, 30450 Farmington Road, Farmington Hills, summer worship services are at 10 a.m., Sundays, June 15 to Sept. 7, (returning to two services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., starting Sept. 14). Livestream at youtube.com/c/OrchardUMC and facebook.com/OrchardUMC/live_videos, 248-626-3620, orchardumc.org.
• Our Lady of La Salette, 2600 Harvard Road, Berkley, 248-541-3762, par8551@gmail.com, lasalette-church.org, Mass is at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays.
• Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in-person Mass, Saturday at 5 p.m., Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., weekdays at 8:15 a.m., 5481 Dixie Hwy., Waterford Twp. Livestream Mass at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9:30 a.m. Sunday, ollonline.org/live.
• Our Lady of Refuge Church, 3700 Commerce Road, Orchard Lake, olorcc.org, 248-682-4099, Mass is 5 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. Sundays.
• Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 23815 Power Road, Farmington, church.olsorrows.com.
• Our Mother of Perpetual Help, 13500 Oak Park Blvd, Oak Park, www.omoph.org. Saturday mass is at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday mass is at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
• Oxbow Lake Baptist Church, 10730 Elizabeth Lake Rd, White Lake Charter Township, www.oxbowbc.com, 248-698-3034. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Oxford United Methodist Church, 21 E. Burdick St. Oxford, 248 628-1289, oxfordunitedmc.org. People Feeding People (PFP) free breakfast is 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays. In-person worship services and online at youtube.com/channel/UCN2R96oWdXzxDqwdz8YBlrQ.
• Paint Creek United Methodist Church, 4420 Collins Road, Rochester, www.paintcreekumc.org, 248-373-2360, Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m.
• The River Church of Auburn Hills, 315 S. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, http://riverchurch.faith, 248-853-1524. Worship services are 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sundays.
• The River Church, Holly, Lake Orion, Waterford and more locations, livestream and videos of sermons, theriverchurch.cc, 248-328-0490.
• River North Church, 67 N Lynn Ave, Waterford Twp., Sunday School is 10 a.m. Sundays, worship services at 11:15 a.m. Sundays and 7:15 p.m. Wednesdays. Also view sermons online at www.youtube.com/@rivernorthchurch2023, nondenominational family church, 248-724-6559, www.facebook.com/Rivernorthchurch.
• River Of Life Christian Church, 5482 Winell St., Independence Twp., 248-599-3074.
• Rochester Christian Church, 4435 Rochester Rd, Rochester Hills, https://rcc4me.com, 248-652-3353, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.
• Rochester Church of Christ, 250 W. Avon Road, Rochester Hills, www.rochestercoc.org, 248-651-1933, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.
• Royal Oak First United Methodist Church, 320 W. 7th Street, Royal Oak, www.rofum.org, 248-541-4100. Worship services are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, in person and online, www.rofum.org/live.
• Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 3400 S. Adams Road, Auburn Hills. Mass times are at 4 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday. Weekday Mass services are 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, www.esacredheart.org, 248-852-4170.
• St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church, 4571 John R Road, Troy, www.stanastasia.org, 248-689-8380.
• St. Anne Catholic Church of Ortonville, 825 South Ortonville Road, Ortonville. Mass times are Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.; Saturday at 5 p.m.; Monday at 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m., 248-627-3965, churchofstanne.org.
• St. Augustine Lutheran Troy (SALT) Church, 5475 Livernois in Troy, www.saltchurch.net, communications@saltchurch.net, 248-879-6400.
• St. Benedict Catholic Church, 60 South Lynn Street, Waterford Twp., 248-681-1534. Sunday Mass times are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., streaming at stbencc.org/live-stream.
• St. David’s Episcopal Church, 16200 W. Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, www.stdavidssf.org. Sunday worship services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. both in person and via zoom. Food pantry is 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• St. George’s Episcopal Church, 801 E Commerce, Milford, 248-684-0495. Sunday worship services 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., in person and online, www.stgeorgesmilford.org.
• St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 43816 Woodward Ave, Bloomfield Hills, 248-335-8869, www.stgeorgebloomfield.org.
• St. George Orthodox Church, 2160 E Maple Road, Troy, 248-589-0480, www.stgeorgeoftroy.org, www.facebook.com/stgeorgeoftroymi.
• St. James Church, 46325 Ten Mile Road, Novi, Mass times are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sundays, and 4 p.m. Saturdays. Livestream services, 4 p.m. Saturdays, 248-347-7778, stjamesnovi.org.
• St. John Lutheran Church & School, 1011 University Drive, Rochester. Traditional praise worship services are Sundays at 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Modern praise services are Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 10:45 p.m. The 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Sunday worship services are livestreamed and posted on the website at stjohnrochester.org.
• St. John Lutheran Church, 23225 Gill Road, Farmington Hills, www.stjohn-elca.org, https://form.jotform.com/242835058121149.
• St. John’s Episcopal Church Royal Oak, 26998 Woodward Ave. Royal Oak. Services are 8 a.m. Sundays, in person and 10:15 a.m. Sundays, in-person and online worship, stjohnsroyaloak.org, 248-546-1255.
• St. Joseph Catholic Church, Lake Orion, view Mass services on the church’s Youtube channel, youtube.com/user/stjosephmassarchive, or at Facebook page, facebook.com/StJoeLo, stjoelo.org, 248-693-0440.
• St. Joseph Chapel and Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 400 South Blvd. West, Pontiac, https://terrasanctaministries.net.
• St. Mark and St. Mary & St. Philopater Coptic Orthodox Church, 3603 Livernois Road, Troy, www.stmarkmi.org. Divine liturgy services are at 7 a.m. (Arabic) and 8:15 a.m. (English), Sundays.
• St. Mary Catholic Church, 730 S Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, www.stmaryroyaloak.com, 248-547-1818. Mass at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday.
• St. Mary of the Hills Roman Catholic Church, 2675 John R. Road, Rochester Hills. In-person Mass is 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. Sunday, 248-853-5390, smoth.org. Live online Mass is 4 p.m. Saturday, on Facebook and YouTube.
• St. Mary’s In-the-Hills Episcopal Church, 2512 Joslyn Court, Lake Orion, 248-391-0663, www.stmarysinthehills.org. Sunday Services are at 8:30 a.m.-Simple service of Holy Eucharist and at 10 a.m.-Service of Holy Eucharist with choir and Children’s Church School-Service, livestream on YouTube or Facebook or www.stmarysinthehills.org. Adult Bible Study is held Tuesdays at 10 a.m.
• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 2040 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, 248-624-7676, st-matthew.org. Blended Worship services are 8:45 a.m. Sundays (also livestream on YouTube); Prayer & Praise Worship services are 11 a.m. Sundays; Monday Blended Worship services are 7 p.m.
• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 48380 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 248-624-9525, st-matthew.org. Sunday worship services are 10 a.m.
• St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 760 W Wattles Road, Troy, 248-362-9575, stnicholastroy.org.
• St. Owen Catholic Church, 6869 Franklin Road Bloomfield Hills, stowen.org.
• St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 1413 E. Thirteen Mile Road, Madison Heights, 248-585-9591, in-person Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., or online at stpatsmh.org.
• St. Paul Community Lutheran Church, 1133 Joslyn Ave., Pontiac, www.stpaulpontiac.com. 248-758-9019. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.
• St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 E. Fifth St, Royal Oak, worship services are 8:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays. Livestream also at 8:15 a.m. service, stpaulroyaloak.org, 248-930-3100.
• St. Paul United Methodist Church, 165 E. Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-338-8233, services are at 9:45 a.m. Sundays, SPUMC.net, facebook.com/spumcbloomfieldhills, 248-216-1657.
• St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 620 Romeo Street, Rochester. Open door worship services are at 9:30 a.m. Sundays and sanctuary worship services are at 11 a.m., Sundays, livestream available, facebook.com/stpaulsrochester, stpaulsrochester.org.
• St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 100 Romeo Road, Rochester, stpfeeds.org.
• St. Rita Catholic Church, 309 E Maple, Holly, 248-634-4841, stritaholly.org. Weekend services are 4 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday.
• St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 5500 N Adams Road, Troy, www.ststephenstroy.org, 248-641-8080, In-person Sunday worship services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Online service at 10 a.m.
• St. Stephens Missionary Baptist Church, 69 S. Astor St., Pontiac, 248-335-5873, www.saintstephenmbc.com. Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m.
• St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church, 6900 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.stccc.org.
• St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sundays, 29150 W. 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 248-471-1059, stthomasalbanianorthodoxchurch.org.
• St. William Parish, 531 Common St., Walled Lake, stwilliam.com, 248-624-1421.
• Sashabaw Presbyterian Church, Clarkston, worship services via Zoom, services at 11 a.m. on 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month, and at 6 p.m. on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Email sashabawpresbyterianchurch@gmail.com for a link to services, sashabawpresbyterianchurch.org, 248-310-0792.
• Scott Lake Baptist Church, 811 Scott Lake Road, Waterford Twp., Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., also livestream, https://hisscottlake.org.
• Seymour Lake United Methodist Church, 3050 S. Sashabaw Road, Oxford, in-person or online services at 10 a.m. Sundays, 248-572-4200, email- office@seymourlakeumc.org, seymourlakeumc.org.
• Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church, 2905 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. during Lent and Advent, www.shepherdlakes.org, 248-624-4238.
• Shrine Catholic Church, 12 Mile and Woodward, 248-541-4122, https://shrinechurch.com.
• Silver Lake Church Of The Nazarene, 20 W Walton Blvd., Pontiac, https://slcpontiac.org, 248-977-4698.
• Spirit of Grace Church, 2399 Figa Ave., West Bloomfield Twp., 248-682-0270, Sunday worship at 10 a.m., spiritofgrace.church, facebook.com/spiritograce/videos. The church has a diabetic food pantry for those in need with dietary restrictions. The church seeks donations of non-perishable food items for diabetics including: proteins, nuts, grains and beans, sugar-free foods, low carb and high fiber foods as well as shopping bags and unused boxes. Drive-up diabetic food pantry hours are 10 a.m.-noon, 3rd Saturdays of the month.
• Spiritual Life Center, Troy, www.slctroy.com, 248-925-6214. A Message of Hope is 10 a.m. Sundays at www.youtube.com/c/SLCTroy.
• Temple Beth El Synagogue, 7400 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, www.tbeonline.org. In person services are Friday at 7 p.m. Online services are Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom, www.tbelive.org and facebook.com/tbeonline/live, 248-851-1100.
• Temple Israel, West Bloomfield Twp., streaming video at temple-israel.org.
• Temple Kol Ami, 5085 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., tkolami.org, 248-661-0040.
• Temple Shir Shalom, 3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.shirshalom.org, 248-737-8700.
• Thrive Church, a Global Methodist Church, 680 W. Livingston Road, Highland Twp., www.thrive-church.us, 248-887-1311.
• Troy Church of the Nazarene, 6840 Crooks Road, Troy, troynaz.org, 248-802-7650. Worship Services and Bible Study, 11 a.m. Sundays and 6 p.m. Wednesdays.
• Unity of Farmington Hills worship service in person and online at 10 a.m. Sundays, youtube.com/channel/UCi90mgzXUDpw0k21_3JXlTg, Unityfh.com.
• Unity of Lake Orion, 3070 S. Baldwin Road, Orion Twp., unitylakeorion.org, 248-391-9211. Sunday worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream on Facebook.
• Unity of Royal Oak, 2500 Crooks Road, Royal Oak, unityofroyaloak.org, 248-288-3550. In-person Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., livestream on YouTube and Facebook.
• Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, 25301 Halsted Road, Farmington Hills, uufarmington.org. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream.
• University Presbyterian Church, 1385 S. Adams, Rochester Hills, universitypres.org, 248-375-0400.
• The Village Church of Ortonville, 93 N Church St. Ortonville, www.facebook.com/oumvillagechurch, 248 627-3125.
• Walled Lake United Methodist Church, 313 E Northport St., Walled Lake. Sunday worship services at 9:30 a.m. in person, or at Facebook Live, facebook.com/walledlakeumc and YouTube, youtube.com/channel/UCjOTQmG5DAGUdd_ghKdp2FQ, walledlakeumc.org, 248-624-2405.
• Warren’s Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 29860 Dequindre, Warren. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. in person and livestream at www.aglc-warren.org, 586-751-7750.
• Waterford Seventh-day Adventist Church, 5725 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., www.waterfordadventist.org, 248-681-3334. Worship services in person and livestream, 11 a.m. Saturdays.
• Welcome Missionary Baptist Church, 143 Oneida St, Pontiac, www.welcomemissionarybaptistchurch.com, 248-335-8740. Sunday worship services are at 8:30 a.m. in person and livestream on Facebook at www.facebook.com/welcomemissionary.church.
• Wellspring Bible Church, 485 Farnsworth, White Lake Twp., worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, wellspringbiblechurch.org, 248-682-0319.
• West Bloomfield United Methodist Church, 4100 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, westbloomfieldumc.org, 248-851-2330.
• White Lake Presbyterian Church, 4805 Highland Road, White Lake Twp., 248-887-4654, www.whitelakepc.org.
• Williams Lake Church, 2840 Airport Road, Waterford Twp., www.facebook.com/williamslakechurch, 248-673-5911, www.williamslakechurch.com.
• Woodside Bible Church, with 14 locations in Southeast Michigan, in-person service times vary by location, online services at 8:15 a.m.10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sundays, live.woodsidebible.org, 248-879-8533.
• Zion Lutheran Church, 143 Albany St., Ferndale, in-person and online worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, www.zionlutheranmi.org.
To add a church to this list, send an email to Kathy Blake at kblake@medianewsgroup.com.
— MediaNews Group
Spirit of Grace Church in West Bloomfield Township hosts drive-up Diabetic Food Pantry every third Saturday of the month. (Photo by Jim Bugg)
Today is Saturday, Aug. 9, the 221st day of 2025. There are 144 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, a U.S. B-29 Superfortress dropped a nuclear device over Nagasaki; the bombing and subsequent radiation poisoning killed an estimated 74,000 people.
Also on this date:
In 1173, construction began on the campanile of Pisa Cathedral—better known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
In 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden,” which described Thoreau’s experiences while living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, was first published.
In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.
In 1969, actor Sharon Tate and four other people were found murdered at Tate’s Los Angeles home; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.
In 1974, Gerald Ford took the oath of office to become US president after Richard Nixon’s resignation; in a speech following, Ford declared that “our long national nightmare is over.”
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan nominated Lauro Cavazos to be secretary of education; Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in the Cabinet.
In 2014, Michael Brown Jr., a Black 18-year-old, was shot to death by a police officer following an altercation in Ferguson, Missouri; Brown’s death led to sometimes-violent protests in Ferguson and other U.S. cities, helping fuel a national “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Today’s Birthdays:
Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Cousy is 97.
Tennis Hall of Famer Rod Laver is 87.
Jazz musician Jack DeJohnette is 83.
Comedian-director David Steinberg is 83.
Actor Sam Elliott is 81.
Singer Barbara Mason is 78.
College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player John Cappelletti is 73.
College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Doug Williams is 70.
Actor Melanie Griffith is 68.
Actor Amanda Bearse is 67.
Rapper Kurtis Blow is 66.
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas is 65.
Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull is 61.
TV host Hoda Kotb (KAHT’-bee) is 61.
Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is 58.
Actor Gillian Anderson is 57.
Actor Eric Bana is 57.
Producer-director McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol) is 57.
NHL player-turned-coach Rod Brind’Amour is 55.
Actor Thomas Lennon is 55.
Actor Nikki Schieler Ziering is 54.
Latin rock singer Juanes is 53.
Actor Liz Vassey is 53.
Actor Kevin McKidd is 52.
Actor Jessica Capshaw is 49.
Actor Ashley Johnson is 42.
Actor Anna Kendrick is 40.
FILE- In this Aug. 6, 1945, file photo, smoke rises around 20,000 feet above Hiroshima, Japan, after the first atomic bomb was dropped. On two days in August 1945, U.S. planes dropped two atomic bombs, one on Hiroshima, one on Nagasaki, the first and only time nuclear weapons have been used. Their destructive power was unprecedented, incinerating buildings and people, and leaving lifelong scars on survivors, not just physical but also psychological, and on the cities themselves. Days later, World War II was over. (AP Photo, File)
We know a lot happens throughout the week, and you may not catch all of our stories here at WXYZ. So we've decided to gather the most talked-about stories from the past week all in one place that you can check out during your free time over the weekend.
Have a story idea or tip? Feel free to let us know using the contact form below.
Here are the big stories from the week beginning Aug. 4.
Waterford man fulfills promise to honor friends lost in 1966 house fire Waterford man fulfills promise to honor friends lost in 1966 house fire
It was an emotional day at Waterford Center Cemetery, marking the final chapter of a story that began nearly six decades ago.
Its been a long time coming, but gravestones now sit at the place of what once were unmarked graves, offering a semblance of closure for the community that still remembers a tragedy long ago.
Bob Russako watched Monday as gravestones adorned with the names of his friends were set into place.
Now everybody knows where they're at. I mean, I know where they are at now. Coming out here and not finding anything was very hurtful after a while, Russako said.
The gravesite had weighed heavily on Russako for years, with his four friends sitting in unmarked graves.
I was 15, same age as Kathy, and I remember very well running around our house, her and my stepsister piercing their ears with ice cubes. And I remember her favorite song, Russako said.
MDOT plans boulevard to address Ford Road safety concerns in Canton MDOT plans boulevard to address Ford Road safety concerns in Canton
A staggering 1,000 crashes occurred along Ford Road near I-275 in Canton during a three-year study, prompting the Michigan Department of Transportation to propose a boulevard solution to improve safety and reduce congestion.
"It's terrible, all day long," said Natalie Everson from Canton, describing the current traffic conditions.
The boulevard would transform Ford Road from Lotz, east of I-275, to just west of Sheldon Road, similar to parts of Woodward Avenue where drivers make U-turns to access businesses on the opposite side.
"Depending on the time of day it can be pretty hectic," said Rudolph Johnson, who lives in Canton.
Canton resident Mackenzie Thompson echoed these concerns.
"It gets chaotic, throughout the day, honestly. It is terrible during rush time, constant stop-and-go traffic, I've almost been late to work multiple times because of it, it's honestly insane traveling down Ford Road," she said.
MDOT's three-year study from 2016 to 2019 examined 10 intersections with signals, four intersections without signals, and six ramps on the I-275 and Ford interchange. The results showed higher-than-average crash rates and significant travel delays throughout the corridor.
Accessing businesses along the busy road presents additional challenges for drivers.
"It's practically impossible, to get into some of these businesses at certain times of the day," Thompson said.
"It's dangerous, I've been rear-ended once with my infant son in the back, that was really scary," Everson added.
Jeff Horne, project manager with MDOT, identified a recurring crash pattern along the corridor.
"We are noticing a lot of angle crashes of, on the westbound Ford Road, if there are three lanes there two lanes will stop, and then the third lane cars will continuously drive through, and cars will turn left into that business, and then they will get hit by that vehicle in that third lane there, we call those courtesy crashes, with a boulevard we won't have that," Horne said.
MDOT is seeking public input before finalizing design plans.
Michigan pushes to grow population as projections show potential decline Michigan push to grow population sees progress as projections show potential decline
Michigan is working to attract and retain residents through a statewide initiative as projections warn the state could lose around 700,000 people by 2050 if current trends continue.
The Grow Michigan Together Council, launched by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2023, aims to combat troubling population statistics that show Michigan lost roughly 40,000 residents between 2020 and 2022.
"Michigan was one of about 34% of states that had seen historic population stagnation or decline, and we really wanted to make sure we were doing whatever it took to retain our young folks and attract people from across the country to come and join us," said Hillary Doe, Chief Growth Officer for the State of Michigan.
Doe's office has been working for the past two years on programs focused on talent retention and attraction, while maintaining constant communication with entrepreneurs and organizations working to make the job market more attractive.
"2050 isn't that far away, so when we look into the future and talk about our economic projections, you have to work now to change the shape of the curve," Doe said.
Among those drawn to Michigan's potential are Adam Cichy and Alan Alexander, who opened a plant-filled cafe called "Dose" in Midtown Detroit last November after moving from New York.
Alan, originally from Detroit, was among thousands who had previously left Michigan seeking opportunity elsewhere.
"I wanted him to come back home and be part of what Detroit is becoming, be part of the growth and the community of the city," Alexander said.
The pair experienced firsthand how support for small businesses can make a difference as Motor City Match awardees.
"The support from the state and city was absolutely critical and was part of the decision making," Cichy said.
What community is saying after $150M bond proposal was rejected in Livonia What community is saying after $150M bond proposal was rejected in Livonia
Residents in Livonia have voted against a bond proposal that would have funded renovations and new construction of several city buildings, including a police station and library.
"If you have 18,000 people saying no to a $150 million millage, that says a lot," Jim Biga said.
Biga, a lifelong Livonia resident, voted against the multi-million dollar bond proposal that would have funded a new police station, new library, renovated fire stations and other projects.
"Every resident we ever talked with said why didn't they separate police and fire from everything, and it's terrible how the city wouldn't listen," Biga said.
He believes the city should have prioritized upgrading the poor conditions at the fire and police stations before addressing other facilities.
"We all as residents said that is terrible, that needs to be addressed, that needs to be fixed and we as residents want that fixed, but we didn't want that lumped into this large millage," Biga said.
Another resident, Chre Bernhard, expressed relief that the bond was rejected.
"It is the entire voice of Livonia speaking out to this city council and to this mayor that we reject your proposal," Bernhard said.
Bernhard believes the current city buildings, including the library, could be renovated rather than replaced.
"We would like to see the elevator, ADA and that atrium fixed, and I think we could go ahead and do that for well less than $20 million," Bernhard said.
Livonia City Councilman Rob Donovic said he's listening to residents and working with other city officials to determine next steps.
"The buildings are still falling apart, we're still 'nickel and diming' these buildings, we're 'bandaiding' these buildings little by little, as I showed you earlier, it's leaking here on the first floor," Donovic said.
Ralph Wilson Centennial Park on the riverfront set to open in October VIDEO: Drone footage of Ralph C Wilson Park, set to open in October
A grand opening of Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park is set to happen on October 25 & 26, according to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
The ceremonial grand opening of the 22-acre park will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. As part of the celebration of the new park, the Conservancy's Detroit Harvest Fest will be taking place at the park.
The event is free to the public, and will feature live entertainment, fall activities, food trucks and more.
Guests will also be able to take a ride down the 23-foot-tall Bear Slide at the Delta Dental Play Garden, shoot hoops in the William Davidson Sport House, see the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden, and listen to live music at the DTE Foundation Summit.
Controversial Melvindale Lt. at center of WXYZ investigations charged in 3 separate incidents Controversial Melvindale Lt. at center of WXYZ investigations facing charges
Melvindale Police Lt. Matthew Furman, who has been the subject of several 7 News Detroit investigations, is now facing criminal charges in connection with three separate incidents.
The three alleged assaults date back to the last four years. Two of the incidents involve the use of a Taser.
In July 2024, Furman stopped Drakkar Williams for driving around traffic barricades. Williams, who had a suspended license, should not have been driving. After Williams refused to provide his name, Furman moved to arrest him.
While his partner held Williams outside the car, Furman began to tase him repeatedly.
Prosecutors say Furman kicked Williams in the leg and deployed his taser again, striking him in the back.
Furman said Williams was uncooperative and that he was fearful he could have been carrying a weapon. After he was handcuffed, Furman would be seen arguing with Williams again.
Acccording to the prosecutor, medics were called to the scene to treat Williams e for his injuries. While being treated, prosecutors say the two began to argue and that Officer Furman grabbed Williams by his shirt and by his hair and pulled him against the fire truck.
Furman was never disciplined by his department, but Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Thursday said Furmans use of force crossed the line. He was charged with misconduct in office, felonious assault and assault and battery.
"I told him, 'Youre gonna lose your badge over this.'" Williams said Thursday in an interview with 7 News Detroit.
"(He said) 'No Im not.' He was confident," Williams recalled.
Furman is also being charged in connection to a stop three months earlier in April 2024, when he pulled over a vehicle that was already parked. Alica Cook and her two daughters were sitting outside a school while Cook waited to drop off her 11-year-old at cheerleading practice.
"I was terrified from you. I was terrified, you scared me. You scared me," she told us.
Furman was not disciplined by the department, but on Thursday, Worthy charged Furman in this case with misconduct in office, felonious assault and assault and battery.
"I am grateful that theyve taken the time to say this persons actions were not okay, were going to do something about this," Cook said Thursday.
She said the events of that day traumatized her and her daughters.
"Now, my daughter that I was taking to schoolshes in a mental hospital today. So his actions caused a lot of pain. But I do forgive him," Cook said.
The other charge stems from a 2021 police chase that 7 News reported on earlier this year. The suspect had stolen a vehicle, police said, after striking an officer. After his vehicle crashed, the man fled on foot before officers surrounded him.
As officers tried to subdue the man, a Dearborn officers body cam caught Furman repeatedly stomping on the mans leg. Another can be heard warning that cameras are rolling.
The Dearborn officer reported Furmans actions to his supervisor. Furman said the man was resisting and he used the stomps as a form of pain compliance. He was not disciplined by his department but was charged by Worthy Thursday.
In that case, Furman has been charged with misconduct in office and and assault and battery.
Furman has previously defended his actions, calling himself a proactive police officer and saying its never been more dangerous to be in law enforcement, as evidenced by the murder of fellow Officer Mohamed Said, just last year.
"People say well, 'Furman uses too much force, hes too aggressive, hes a robot'" Furman said in January. "Again, my goal is to go home alive."
Melvindale's police chief could not be reached immediately for comment.
In a statement, Worthy said: It is important to remember that the majority of our police officers are bravely placing their lives on the line every day and proudly serving with the utmost integrity. The alleged behavior of this officer is a criminal and does a disservice to the men and women who have taken an oath to protect and serve all of our citizens."
University of Michigan makes history with the nation's first collegiate para powerlifting program U of M adds Para-powerlifting to their adaptive sports lineup
The University of Michigan is creating more opportunities for students with disabilities through its expanding adaptive sports program, which now includes the nation's first collegiate para powerlifting team.
The school's adaptive sports and fitness program, which began in 2019, already offered four wheelchair sports, including tennis, basketball, rugby, and track and field, before adding competitive para powerlifting this year.
Abbey Phillipson, who serves as both the strength and conditioning coach for Michigan's adaptive sports program and head coach of the new para powerlifting team, is proud of the groundbreaking initiative.
"Recently, we became the first ever and only collegiate para powerlifting program, which I had the opportunity to start," Phillipson said.
Phillipson has Classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is a big advocate of the adaptive sports community. In high school, she had stage 5 spondylolisthese and used a wheelchair.
"I'm actually super stretchy and elastic," she said in reference to her skin. "My body doesn't deposit collagen correctly to my connective tissues."
The U-M grad teaches her eight athletes how to bench press without using their legs, which presents unique challenges.
"We see from research that 10-20% of your bench press max strength is from the use of your leg drive. So, we always look around at each other when our legs are strapped up on the table, and we're like, we must be pretty strong," Phillipson said.
For athletes like Caden Baxter, who suffered a spinal cord injury at age 15, the program has been transformative.
"Being young when I was injured, I wanted to get back into sports immediately, I just didn't see a way," Baxter said.
Family and friends gathered Friday night to remember Janelle Pawlowski, the 47-year-old woman who died in a house fire at the Clarkston Lakes Mobile Home Community in Brandon Township.
The fire broke out Monday just after 7 a.m., claiming the lives of Pawlowski and the family dog, Luna. Pawlowski's 13-year-old son and his two friends managed to escape the blaze.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below: Community gathers to remember mother killed in Brandon Township mobile home fire
"My mom was my best friend," said Alana Pawlowski, Janelle's daughter.
Alana Pawlowski said she last saw her mother on Sunday, just hours before the devastating fire that destroyed their home.
"Everything reminds me of my mom. She was just my other half," Alana Pawlowski said.
According to Alana Pawlowski, her 13-year-old brother tried to help get their mother out but couldn't. Neighbors also attempted to rescue Janelle Pawlowski, trying to pry open a door to pull her to safety.
"He (neighbor) risked himself getting hurt, and it shows you how many good people there are in this world," said Cynthia Hargett, Janelle Pawlowski's mother.
Hargett explained that her daughter had health problems and mobility issues, but that never stopped her from being devoted to her children.
"She really loved her kids with every bone in her body," Hargett said. "She's definitely going to be missed."
Previous report: Mother dies in Brandon Township house fire, neighbors attempted rescue Mother dies in Brandon Township house fire, neighbors attempted rescue
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office reports that the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Meanwhile, the family is planning Janelle Pawlowski's funeral for next week as the community steps up to provide support.
"I'm just blessed I had her in my life for 47 years," Hargett said.
The family has established an online fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses.
"Help from anybody who can donate or contribute in any way, just prayers so we can send our mother off," Alana said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris was in stable condition after he was attended to for about 20 minutes and taken off the field in an ambulance Friday night against Atlanta, with the preseason game ending early.
Morice Norris is in stable condition and has feeling and movement in all his extremities, the Lions said in a statement. He will remain at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta overnight for observation. We would like to thank the Atlanta Falcons organization, the EMS team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the doctors and staff at Grady for their support.
Norris was hurt with 14:50 to go trying to tackle running back Nathan Carter. When play resumed, Falcons quarterback Emory Jones took a snap and held the ball as players from both teams stood at the line of scrimmage as the clock continued to run.
Watch Dan Campbell talk to media below: Dan Campbell provides update after Morice Norris' serious injury
Finally, with 6:31 left, an official announced the game had been suspended per New York with Detroit up 17-10.
Lions coach Dan Campbell asked for prayers for the 24-year-old Norris.
"Were just praying for Mo and ask that everybody prays for him, Campbell said.
Campbell said Norris had his mother with him at the hospital.
Norris, the former Fresno State player listed as Detroit's second-team safety, hit Carter with his facemask facing the running backs midsection, and the defender's head snapped back after making the hit.
Lions quarterback Kyle Allen said it was immediately obvious the medical personnel saw this as a serious injury.
Usually you see a couple trainers out there, Allen said. Its never good when they bring out the stretchers. We just started praying for him and hoping for the best. When its taking that long, with that many people and that many trainers around him, youre just hoping for the best.
Added Allen: Its just awful. ... You sign up for football and you understand the risk, you understand the injury risk. You never think something like that is going to happen.
At the end of the day were all out here as football players. We may be on 32 different teams but weve all played football our whole lives and had our own injuries and been through it.
Campbell and Falcons coach Raheem Morris made the decision to not finish the game.
Raheem Morris is a class act, Campbell said. He's the ultimate class act. We agreed it just didn't feel right to finish that game.
Morris said it was common courtesy for the coaches to decide to not finish the game.
It was tough to watch, Morris said. It was tough for the other team to see getting a teammate hurt that way. It was the right thing to do for Dan and his crew and his team and everything we had going on right there, I thought that was the right thing.
You never like to see anybody get hurt in any type of game or any type of way. It was a tough deal for those guys, a tough deal for us, a tough deal all across the board.
Allen said the decision to not finish the game was easy to make.
I don't think anyone on that sideline wanted to play, Allen said. We weren't part of that decision but you could look in anyones eyes and see that.
Though the decision to not finish the game seemed dramatic, there were two precedents from preseason games in consecutive weeks in August 2023.
New Englands game at Green Bay in Week 2 of the 2023 preseason was called off when Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off in the fourth quarter. Bolden appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik Heath of the Packers.
Bolden was taken to a hospital and released the next day.
A week later, a game between Miami and Jacksonville was not completed after Dolphins receiver Daewood Davis was carted off in the fourth quarter. Davis was hurt when he ran a slant route and was attempting to catch a pass when he was hit by Jaguars linebacker Dequan Jackson.
Davis was released from the hospital a day later.
The two frightening injuries happened some eight months after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field during a regular season game at Cincinnati in January 2023. Hamlin has enjoyed a remarkable recovery and resumed football the following season and spent last year as a Bills starter.
Three years after he disappeared in Afghanistan, there is a new effort to bring attention to the case of Afghan-American Mahmood Habibi.
The U.S. citizen hasn't been seen or heard from since he was taken into custody by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2022.
The Taliban, though, has said previously that they are holding him.
Habibi works in civil aviation and was employed by a company called the Asia Consultancy Group.
That is a telecommunications company in Kabul that worked on Afghanistan's airport infrastructure like radar and air traffic control.
The State Department says on August 10, 2022, Habibi was in a vehicle with his driver. That's when they were stopped and taken into custody by the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence, allegedly because they believed he was involved in the U.S. drone strike that killed an Al-Qaeda leader several weeks before.
The FBI says 29 other employees of Habibi's employer were also taken into custody. All but two of those employees were released.
One of the two is Habibi, who no one has seen or heard from since.
On Friday, supporters of Habibi here in the United States held a news conference about his case.
Also Friday, Democratic California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker announced they intend to introduce a resolution in each of their chambers reiterating their call to bring Mahmoud Habibi home.
His wife and young daughter live in California and other members of his family live in New Jersey.
Also this summer the State Dpartment announced its Rewards for Justice program is offering a $5 million dollar reward for information on Habibi's location and safe return.
EAST LANSING — It caught some by surprise at July’s Big Ten media days when Michigan State wide receiver Nick Marsh sat at the podium and described his reasons for taking less money than he could have made elsewhere to come back to the Spartans.
There he was, this 18-year-old star football player — speaking in Las Vegas, no less — playing a position that begets money and fame and privilege immeasurable.
Instead, Marsh put the focus on his deep connection to God.
“All money is not good money,” Marsh said. “So I’m building something here at Michigan State, a foundation, a brotherhood, a family. And I think that’s more important than money. I think family and God is more important than materialistic things.”
Family and God have been two of the big themes of Michigan State’s offseason, at least among a large contingent who participate in a bible study group hosted by some members of the team. The effect has brought teammates together at a key time for the program during an age when the influx of money into the sport has challenged the role of faith in athletics.
“I think that there’s been a Jesus revolution on this team,” defensive lineman Grady Kelly said back in April. “I think that there’s guys that are not only claiming to follow Jesus and to be Christians, but guys that are willfully and lovingly submitting their lives to him.”
Faith and football have long been connected, whether that be in the form of day-to-day prayers and worship or more publicized expressions of faith. Tim Tebow, the two-time national championship-winning quarterback and 2007 Heisman winner at Florida, was one of the most outwardly expressive of his faith. His prayer kneel celebration became a viral trend, and his eye black writing of John 3:16 led to millions of Google searches for the verse when he completed a 2012 NFL game in which he threw for 316 yards and 31.6 yards per completion.
The current crop of Michigan State players grew up watching Tebow, not only how he played football but also how he represented his faith.
“He’s supposed to be this first-round, All-American, amazing player. He’s preaching now, you know what I’m saying,” defensive lineman Quindarius Dunnigan said. “Football is just a platform. It’s a gift from God. And at the end of the day, if that’s not what he wants you to do, he’ll let you know. And you just gotta find peace with that.”
For now, the Spartans’ own platform is still football. Saturday’s first scrimmage of fall camp is a big step toward embarking on the second season of the Jonathan Smith era, attempting to build off a 5-7 debut in East Lansing. The 2025 season begins Aug. 29 at home against Western Michigan.
The Spartans’ bible studies are held at players’ houses, most led by Dunnigan, Kelly and linebacker Jordan Hall. The study sessions are part of the larger Athletes in Action sports ministry, which has been active on campus for decades. At their study sessions, players discuss their faith and how it applies to their lives well beyond the football field. The sessions aren’t mandatory (they can’t be at a public institution), but they are well attended.
“Really, we just host it,” Hall said. “It’d be at my house or Grady’s house or Q’s house, but we’re just having conversations and letting the Holy Spirit kind of flow through those rooms that we’re having.”
Added linebacker Darius Snow: “We have a lot of guys on the team that are very faithful, very religious. And I know that everybody has their own beliefs, but I’m a Christian man, and it’s beautiful to see people diving into that.”
Faith has long been prominent with the Michigan State football team. Individually, players have expressed their faith openly, including quarterback Kirk Cousins. Back when Mark Dantonio coached the team, he sometimes handed his kickers prayer cards to motivate them, like he did when Matt Coghlin kicked a winning field goal in an upset of No. 7 Penn State in 2017. This summer, recently graduated running back Nate Carter released a book about his faith. And players have long been involved in Athletes in Action, which hosts Tuesday night meetings at the Skandalaris Football Center.
Faith has a freeing effect for Michigan State’s players, who escape the day-to-day emotional whims of their football careers through their religious beliefs.
“I think that the biggest thing about Jesus in sports is when we have our identity in the world, we ride these ebbs and flows of performance,” Kelly said. “Everything’s performance-oriented. So when I do good, I’m on top of the world. When I do bad, I hate myself and I’m shameful and guilty, and that affects performance, too. So when you put your identity in Christ, your value as a person — no matter your performance — is unwavering, it’s unchanging, because he’s constant.”
To Michigan State’s religious players, they see their abilities on the football field as gifts from God that enable them to spread the gospel. The bigger the platform they build, the greater their opportunity to do so.
“I think as Christians, we’re called to be disciples and make people aware of the gift of Christ,” Hall said. “And given the platform that college football gives us players, it would be a disservice to not use that platform to spread the gospel to somebody who might not ever hear the gospel.”
Michigan State linebacker Jordan Hall (5) gets set for a play during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 26-16. Hall is one of several MSU players who have been hosting bible study sessions with teammates. (CHARLIE NEIBERGALL — AP Photo, file)
ANN ARBOR — When asked who the player is to watch this season on their side of the ball, most players often take a few moments to consider the question before formulating an answer.
Max Bredeson, a Michigan captain last season and a fullback/tight end, did not hesitate with his response when the question was posed to him late last month before Big Ten media days and the start of preseason camp.
“I mean, it shouldn’t be a surprise you, but I’ll put all my chips in for Marlin Klein,” Bredeson said of the tight end who is the heir apparent to first-round NFL Draft pick Colston Loveland. “That’s my guy. I’m excited for him to go do it.
“At Michigan, we’ve always had the tight end, and Marlin and Colston came in the same class. Marlin’s ready to go. He’s heard so many times how much talent he has. This is a guy who’s done hearing that, and he’s all about wanting to go do it.”
Klein has heard plenty about his talent and potential, and perhaps that’s because the German native started the game so late. He was a fine soccer and basketball player, but when he decided to move from Germany to Georgia to play at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee, that potential was all everyone was banking on.
Now, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior has developed that potential and is expected to pick up where Loveland left off. Klein recently made Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” at No. 35, an improvement from No. 90 the year before. Feldman noted Klein’s speed and agility.
“Oh, that’s cool, but winning every game this season is more important to me,” Klein told reporters on Friday of his appearance on Feldman’s list. “But yes, it’s cool. A national championship will be even cooler.”
Loveland, who led the team in receiving last year, was asked the previous two seasons to be more of a pass-catcher. He could block, but that’s not how he was needed in the offense.
Chip Lindsey, in his first season as Michigan’s offensive coordinator, believes he has a complete tight end in Klein and likes the fact that he has been an important part of the offense in terms of mixing it up and being physical.
“He’s one of the best blockers in the country, in my opinion,” Lindsey said this week. “But what’s surprising is he’s got really good speed. He can get vertical quick. Big, rangy target. You like that as a quarterback, where obviously it’s a lot easier if a guy is covered and throw it to the spot and let him go get it.
“But the guy is kind of a dirty work, lunch-pail kind of guy, or a blue-collar guy. Love his attitude and approach. He likes the physicality of the position. And I think that’s probably why him and Max play off each other so well. They’re both wired the same way. A really talented kid. I’m excited to coach him, and hopefully he’ll have a big role in our offense.”
Klein knew that if he was ever going to find his way onto the field, he’d have to develop as a blocker.
“Coming in here from high school, like I never blocked (a) soul in high school,” Klein said with a laugh.
He credits former Michigan tight ends for teaching him the all-around nature of the position, guys like Luke Schoonmaker, Joel Honigford, AJ Barner and Loveland.
“You want to chase the best, compete with the best each and every single day, and I was able to learn from (them),” Klein said. “But it really took a lot of hard work, a lot of steps for me.”
Bredeson is known for his tenacious blocking. Klein said much Bredeson’s selflessness in terms of playing the game has rubbed off on him the last few seasons.
“I don’t think I had that same approach when I came in, in 2022. Being able to learn from him and (his) almost kind of psycho mentality about the game of football, it’s just been so much fun for me,” Klein said. “When I first got here, I was like, this might be a little crazy. But hanging around him and just really seeing how much he actually loves the game of football, that’s why he is the way he is, and that’s why he is the best at what he does in the country.”
Klein said he has always felt like he belonged in the college game; it simply took him a little bit longer to reach the level of his teammates who had played for years. He knew it would be a challenge, but it’s one he sought.
Last spring, with the help of tight ends coach Steve Casula, who’s now also a co-offensive coordinator, Klein said he began to realize he’s much more than just potential.
“We went to the jungle,” Klein said.
The jungle, as Klein described it, involved only the two of them and it was run-game specific.
“It was really the most critical time of my life,” Klein said. “And it was never good enough, but that was really just because he tried to push me to my best. He helped me to (reach) the standard, which is the Michigan standard, and the Michigan standard is a championship standard. So that equals the best.”
The jungle was not a fun place to be in real time. But looking back, it was game-changing for Klein.
“The way (Casula) describes the jungle is really like we’re locked in,” Klein said. “He was the most critical person on me, but it wasn’t a personal thing. I knew he wanted the best for me. Each and every single day, the meetings weren’t the most fun for me, (but) I have to get better now. He pushed me every single day. It was the biggest blessing that ever happened to me, and that took my game to the next level.”
Michigan tight end Marlin Klein (17) had 13 catches for 108 yards last season. (DAVID GURALNICK — The Detroit News)
Colleges will be required to submit data to prove they do not consider race in admissions under a new policy ordered Thursday by President Donald Trump.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said colleges may still consider how race has shaped students lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.
Trump is accusing colleges of using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which conservatives view as illegal discrimination.
The role of race in admissions has featured in the Trump administration's battle against some of the nation's most elite colleges viewed by Republicans as liberal hotbeds. For example, the new policy is similar to parts of recent settlement agreements the government negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, restoring their federal research money. The universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade point average and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to be audited by the government and to release admissions statistics to the public.
Trump says colleges may be skirting SCOTUS ruling
Conservatives have argued that despite the Supreme Court ruling, colleges have continued to consider race.
"The persistent lack of available data paired with the rampant use of diversity statements and other overt and hidden racial proxies continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice, says the memorandum signed by Trump.
The memo directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to require colleges to report more data to provide adequate transparency into admissions. The National Center for Education Statistics will collect new data, including the race and sex of colleges' applicants, admitted students and enrolled students, the Education Department said in a statement.
If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, McMahon can take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which outlines requirements for colleges receiving federal financial aid for students, according to the memo.
It is unclear what practical impact the executive order will have on colleges. Current understanding of federal law prohibits them from collecting information on race as part of admissions, said Jon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents.
Ultimately, will it mean anything? Probably not, Fansmith said. But it does continue this rhetoric from the administration that some students are being preferenced in the admission process at the expense of other students.
Because of the Supreme Court ruling, colleges have been barred from asking the race of students who are applying, Fansmith said. Once students enroll, the schools can ask about race, but students must be told they have a right not to answer. In this political climate, many students wont report their race, Fansmith said. So when schools release data on student demographics, the figures often give only a partial picture of the campus makeup.
Diversity changed at some colleges but not all
The first year of admissions data after the Supreme Court ruling showed no clear pattern in how colleges' diversity changed. Results varied dramatically from one campus to the next.
Some schools, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Amherst College, saw steep drops in the percentage of Black students in their incoming classes. But at other elite, selective schools such as Yale, Princeton and the University of Virginia, the changes were less than a percentage point year to year.
Some colleges have added more essays or personal statements to their admissions process to get a better picture of an applicant's background, a strategy the Supreme Court invited in its ruling.
Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicants discussion of how race affected the applicants life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in 2023 for the courts conservative majority.
As an alternative to affirmative action, colleges for years have tried a range of strategies to achieve the diversity they say is essential to their campuses.
Many have given greater preference to low-income families. Others started admitting top students from every community in their state.
Prior to the ruling, nine states had banned affirmative action, starting with California in 1996. The University of California saw enrollment change after the statewide ban in 1996. Within two years, Black and Hispanic enrollments fell by half at the systems two most selective campuses Berkeley and UCLA. The system would go on to spend more than $500 million on programs aimed at low-income and first-generation college students.
The 10-campus University of California system also started a program that promises admission to the top 9% of students in each high school across the state, an attempt to reach strong students from all backgrounds. A similar promise in Texas has been credited for expanding racial diversity, and opponents of affirmative action cite it as a successful model.
In California, the promise drew students from a wider geographic area but did little to expand racial diversity, the system said in a brief to the Supreme Court. It had almost no impact at Berkeley and UCLA, where students compete against tens of thousands of other applicants.
Today at UCLA and Berkeley, Hispanic students make up 20% of undergraduates, higher than in 1996 but lower than their 53% share among Californias high school graduates. Black students, meanwhile, have a smaller presence than they did in 1996, accounting for 4% of undergraduates at Berkeley.
After Michigan voters rejected affirmative action in 2006, the University of Michigan shifted attention to low-income students.
The school sent graduates to work as counselors in low-income high schools and started offering college prep in Detroit and Grand Rapids. It offered full scholarships for low-income Michigan residents and, more recently, started accepting fewer early admission applications, which are more likely to come from white students.
Despite the University of Michigan's efforts, the share of Black and Hispanic undergraduates hasnt fully rebounded from a falloff after 2006. And while Hispanic enrollments have been increasing, Black enrollments continued to slide, going from 8% of undergraduates in 2006 to 4% in 2025.
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