By Owen McCarthy, MediaNews Group

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is cautioning against unsafe usage of drones by hobbyists at this weekend’s Woodward Dream Cruise, following “issues” law enforcement have seen with them in recent years.

Speaking at a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Sheriff’s Office in Pontiac, Bouchard said that though using drones to record videos of the Dream Cruise is a “fun hobby” for many, they can pose safety risks.

As such, Bouchard urged people to adhere to federal laws mandating drones are flown at no higher than 400 feet. At last year’s Dream Cruise, he said some drones were flying as high as 1,500 feet.

“Everything you can imagine will be out there,” Bouchard said. “Cameras, drones, helicopters, dogs, cars, motorcycles, horses, bikes, pedestrian controls.”

Thousands are expected to descend on Oakland County over the next few days for the Dream Cruise, an annual summer showcase of vintage cars. Billed as the largest one-day automotive event in North America, Saturday marks its 30th anniversary.

Bouchard also reiterated federal laws requiring that drones remain in the operator’s line of sight and that they aren’t flown over large crowds. Bouchard recommended people fly drones over buildings lining the Dream Cruise route, so that if it malfunctions, it falls on a roof rather than people.

Though it’s not a legal requirement, Bouchard requested that people fly drones around 200 feet, so as to avoid interfering with the law enforcement’s drones, used to monitor crowds and maintain “situational awareness” along the 20-mile Dream Cruise route.

One new approach law enforcement will be taking this year is the creation of a “multi-agency” center that will be based in Royal Oak during the cruise. Bouchard said the different agencies involved have always had “great communication,” but “not necessarily all in the same spot.”

The center will allow the communication to be “seamless,” he said.

Though the event can be a “challenge to police” because it includes nine Oakland County communities, Bouchard said law enforcement is prepared because of better coordination among agencies and the fact that police have been handling the event now for 30 years.

“It’s like a ballet,” he said, adding that some law enforcement stay posted at intersections along Woodward to clear the way for emergency vehicles in the event they need to cross the busy road.

For spectators, Bouchard urged people to limit alcohol consumption, and for participants to refrain from doing burnouts.

Many years ago, Bouchard said a driver at the Dream Cruise was tempted to do a burnout by spectators. The driver erred, lost control to the left, “hit the curb and flipped.” If the car lost control to the right, “people would have died.”

“This is not a place to show off your car’s capabilities,” he said. “It’s a place to show off how pretty it is, and how much work you put into it, and have a fun day.”

By NADIA LATHAN and SOPHIA TAREEN, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Texas Democrats on Thursday moved closer to ending a nearly two-week walkout that has blocked the GOP’s redrawing of U.S. House maps before the 2026 election and put them under escalating threats by Republicans back home.

The Democrats announced they will return so long as Texas Republicans end a special session and California releases its own redrawn map proposal, both of which were expected to happen Friday.

Democrats did not say what day they might return.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott still intends to push through new maps that would give the GOP five more winnable seats before next year’s midterm elections.

Texas House Democrats said in a statement that under the advice of legal counsel, they needed to return to the state to “build a strong public legislative record” for an upcoming legal battle against a new map.

“Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader.

Lathan reported from Austin.

By ASHRAF KHALIL, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington, D.C., police chief ordered more cooperation between her officers and federal immigration officials as President Donald Trump’s law enforcement takeover of the nation’s capital took root Thursday. National Guard troops watched over some of the world’s most renowned landmarks and Humvees took up position in front of the busy main train station.

In a city tense from days of ramp-up toward federal law enforcement intervention, volunteers helped homeless people leave long-standing encampments — to where, exactly, was often unclear. The mayor, meanwhile, left town for a family commitment. And the president told reporters that he was pleased at how the operation — and, now, its direct link with his immigration-control efforts — was unfolding.

“That’s a very positive thing, I have heard that just happened,” Trump said of Police Chief Pamela Smith’s order. “That’s a great step. That’s a great step if they’re doing that.”

The police chief’s order establishes that Metropolitan Police Department officers may now share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody — such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint. MPD officers may also provide “transportation for federal immigration employees and detained subject,” the order states.

The changes, which raise collaboration between the two forces in notable ways, are effective immediately. Mayor Muriel Bowser, walking a tightrope between the Republican White House and the constituency of her largely Democratic city, was out of town Thursday for a family commitment in Martha’s Vineyard but would be back Friday, her office said.

A boost in police activity, federal and otherwise

For an already wary Washington, Thursday marked a notable — and highly visible — uptick in presence from the previous two days. The visibility of federal forces around the city, including in many high-traffic areas, was striking to residents going about their lives. Trump has the power to take over federal law enforcement for 30 days before his actions must be reviewed by Congress, though he has said he’ll re-evaluate as that deadline approaches.

The response before Thursday had been gradual and, by all appearances, low key. But on Wednesday night, officers set up a checkpoint in one of D.C.’s popular nightlife areas, drawing protests. The White House said 45 arrests were made Wednesday night, including 29 arrests of people living in the country illegally, including for distribution or possession of drugs, carrying a concealed weapon and assaulting a federal officer.

Troops were stationed outside the Union Station transportation hub as the 800 Guard members who have been activated by Trump start in on missions that include monument security, community safety patrols and beautification efforts, the Pentagon said.

“They will remain until law and order has been restored in the District as determined by the president, standing as the gatekeepers of our great nation’s capital,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said. “The National Guard is uniquely qualified for this mission as a community-based force with strong local ties and disciplined training.”

Wilson said the troops won’t be armed and declined to give more details on what the safety patrols or beautification efforts would entail or how many Guard members have already been sent out on the streets.

National Guard Major Micah Maxwell said troops will assist law enforcement in a variety of roles, including traffic control posts and crowd control. The Guard members have been trained in de-escalation tactics and crowd control equipment, Maxwell said.

The White House said Thursday that Guard members aren’t making arrests but are “protecting federal assets, providing a safe environment for law enforcement officers to make arrests, and deterring violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence.”

For homeless residents, an uncertain time is at hand

Meanwhile, about a dozen homeless residents in Washington packed up their belongings with help from volunteers from some city agencies. Items largely were not forcibly thrown out by law enforcement, but a garbage truck idled nearby.

Several protesters held signs close by, some critical of the Trump administration. Once the residents had left, a construction vehicle from a city agency cleared through the remains of the tents.

Advocates expected law enforcement officers to fan out across D.C. later Thursday to take down — or supervise the takedown of — any remaining homeless encampments.

For two days, small groups of federal officers have been visible in scattered parts of the city. But more were present in high-profile locations Wednesday night, and troops were expected to start doing more missions Thursday.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations have patrolled the popular U Street corridor, while Drug Enforcement Administration officers were seen on the National Mall, with Guard members parked nearby. DEA agents also joined MPD officers on patrol in the Navy Yard neighborhood, while FBI agents stood along the heavily trafficked Massachusetts Avenue.

Associated Press journalists Jacquelyn Martin, Mike Pesoli and David Klepper contributed to this report.

By AMANDA SEITZ and KIMBERLY KINDY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ordered the nation’s health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June. After an Associated Press report identified the new policy, 20 states filed a lawsuit to stop its implementation.

In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services entered into a new agreement that gave the Department of Homeland Security daily access to view the personal data — including Social Security numbers and home address — of all the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees. Neither agreement was announced publicly.

The extraordinary disclosure of such personal health data to deportation officials in the Trump administration’s far-reaching immigration crackdown immediately prompted the lawsuit over privacy concerns.

The Medicaid data sharing is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to provide DHS with more data on migrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S.

The order, issued by federal Judge Vince Chhabria in California, temporarily halts the health department from sharing personal data of enrollees in those 20 states, which include California, Arizona, Washington and New York.

“Using CMS data for immigration enforcement threatens to significantly disrupt the operation of Medicaid—a program that Congress has deemed critical for the provision of health coverage to the nation’s most vulnerable residents,” Chhabria wrote in his decision, issued on Tuesday.

Chhabria, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said that the order will remain in effect until the health department outlines “reasoned decisionmaking” for its new policy of sharing data with deportation officials.

A spokesperson for the federal health department declined to directly answer whether the agency would stop sharing its data with DHS. HHS has maintained that its agreement with DHS is legal.

Immigrants who are not living in the U.S. legally, as well as some lawfully present immigrants, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program that provides nearly free coverage for health services. But federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Medicaid is a jointly funded program between states and the federal government.

Immigration advocates have said the disclosure of personal data could cause alarm among people seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children. Other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration have made schools, churches, courthouses and other everyday places feel perilous to immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear getting caught up in a raid.

“Protecting people’s private health information is vitally important,” Washington state’s Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. “And everyone should be able to seek medical care without fear of what the federal government may do with that information.”

Maroon 5 will be wrapping its upcoming Love Is Like fall tour on Nov. 25 at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. But guitarist James Valentine promises that fans will see anything but a road-weary band at that date.

“Oh, no, the last show … those are always special,” Valentine says via Zoom from his home in Toluca Lake, California. “There’s a real excitement, plus all the kinks have been worked out, so I would encourage everybody to come out ’cause they’re usually pretty great.”

Enter to win 2 tickets to Maroon 5’s Nov. 25 Detroit show

Maroon 5's 23-date tour, which begins Oct. 6 in Phoenix, comes in support of "Love Is Like," the group's eighth studio album — the latest entry in a career of more than 135 million records sold worldwide, three Grammy Awards and 20 Top 20 hits, including "This Love," "She Will Be Loved," "Moves Like Jagger," "Payphone" and "One More Night." Frontman Adam Levine, meanwhile, has achieved solo fame acting ("Begin Again," "American Horror Story: Asylum") and also appeared as a coach in "The Voice," which he co-produces.

The group's last album, "Jordi," came out in 2021. Valentine said the band "knew in the future a new album was going to be worked on at some point." The process began in January 2024 when Levine sent his bandmates the idea for a song that became "Priceless," the first single from "Love Is Like," which features a guest vocal by Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink.

"(Levine) was like: 'Hey, guys, I'm fired up. I want to write. Let's go!'" recalls Valentine. "And with that song, it was off to the races. We knew it was time because Adam felt inspired."

"Love Is Like" features nine more tracks, with Lil Wayne guesting on the title track and Sexxy Red on "I Feel Like." And in Valentine's estimation, the new album, for the most part, hearkens back to Maroon 5's early days, such as the multi-platinum 2002 debut "Songs About Jane."

"Each record we've done has sort of gone in such different directions," Valentine notes. "I think there's been a constant evolution. But ('Priceless') felt like it was going back to some of the sounds that we were making early in our career. I think it was time to go back to some of those early influences, like '70s soul and funk.

"So this album, at least more than the most recent albums, has more of those elements. About half the record has that sort of feeling."

Valentine predicts the tour shows will be "really special," especially since the production is being helmed by the company that worked with Maroon 5 on its Las Vegas residency at the Park MGM. "We might bring some elements of that, yeah," he says. "We haven't toured in the U.S. much for the last couple of years because of the Vegas residence — which we really loved, but I also missed being out there and seeing the country. So we're excited to be doing that again."

Maroon 5, Claire and Claire Rosinkranz perform at 8 p.m. Nov. 25 at Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit.  313-471-7000 or 313Presents.com. 

Enter below for a chance to win two tickets to the Nov. 25 Maroon 5 performance at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

The contest runs from Aug. 14-25. One entry per email address and/or phone number. The winner will be selected Aug. 29.

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Maroon 5 to end fall tour with stop in Detroit

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and TRÂN NGUYỄN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for a Nov. 4 special election on new U.S. House maps designed to win more Democratic seats.

His move is in response to Republican efforts to pick up five seats in Texas. Newsom released a campaign ad on social media Thursday as Democrats kicked off a press conference.

State lawmakers technically need to declare the special election and they plan to do so next week.

Democrats have not yet released their draft maps, but they aim to pick up five more seats.

The maps need voter approval. That’s because voters previously granted the power to draw maps to an independent commission instead of lawmakers.

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By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday refused for now to block enforcement of a Mississippi law aimed at regulating the use of social media by children, an issue of growing national concern.

The justices rejected an emergency appeal from a tech industry group representing major platforms like Facebook, X and YouTube.

NetChoice is challenging laws passed in Mississippi and other states that require social media users to verify their ages, and asked the court to keep the measure on hold while a lawsuit plays out.

There were no noted dissents from the brief, unsigned order. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that there’s a good chance NetChoice will eventually succeed in showing that the law is unconstitutional, but hadn’t shown it must be blocked while the lawsuit unfolds.

NetChoice argues that the Mississippi law threatens privacy rights and unconstitutionally restricts the free expression of users of all ages.

A federal judge agreed and prevented the 2024 law from taking effect. But a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in July that the law could be enforced while the lawsuit proceeds.

It’s the latest legal development as court challenges play out against similar laws in states across the country.

Parents and even some teenagers are growing increasingly concerned about the effects of social media use on young people. Supporters of the new laws have said they are needed to help curb the explosive use of social media among young people, and what researchers say is an associated increase in depression and anxiety.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told the justices that age verification could help protect young people from “sexual abuse, trafficking, physical violence, sextortion and more,” activities that Fitch noted are not protected by the First Amendment.

NetChoice represents some of the country’s most high-profile technology companies, including Google, which owns YouTube; Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat; and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. NetChoice has filed similar lawsuits in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Utah.

Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, called the decision “an unfortunate procedural delay.”

“Although we’re disappointed with the Court’s decision, Justice Kavanaugh’s concurrence makes clear that NetChoice will ultimately succeed in defending the First Amendment — not just in this case but across all NetChoice’s ID-for-Speech lawsuits,” he said.

By LEANNE ITALIE, AP Lifestyles Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Orange you ready for it?

Taylor Swift swathed her bombshell album announcement in a shade she’s calling Portofino Orange Glitter after donning the color onstage during the latter part of her latest tour.

So now, will “The Life of a Showgirl” usher in the pop star’s Orange Era? On the “New Heights” podcast Wednesday night, Swift leaned toward a yes.

“I’ve just always liked it, Jason,” she said, addressing interlocutor Jason Kelce, while sitting next to boyfriend Travis Kelce. “It feels like kind of energetically how my life has felt. And this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour.”

In all its glory, the color can evoke creativity, enthusiasm, energy, optimism and more. While some see a downside in the brighter hues, perceiving them as clownish or silly, orange is more often exuberant or inviting, color experts said.

The positive sentiments are precisely how Swift described the mood she wanted to capture on the album: “so exuberant and electric and vibrant.”

Here’s an exploration of the color orange, from pale peach to deep terra cotta.

Orange brings all the feels

Laurie Pressman, vice president of Pantone Color Institute, said Swift’s shifting of her color story to a bright orange feels like a “new personality coming out.”

“And she looks so happy,” Pressman said. “She’s glowing and she’s basking.” The orange hue Swift is going with is the perfect expression of positive vibes, Pressman said. The closest shade in Pantone’s vast library of color is called “Exuberance.”

“Even when you go down to the peaches, which are very pale,” she said, referencing the spectrum of orange, “there’s a deliciousness, there’s a warmth that comes with that. There’s just a softness, a tactility. There’s a sweetness to it.”

In its deeper tones, orange is also all goodness, Pressman said.

“Going all the way over to the darker terra cottas, there’s an earthiness and authenticity, but also warmth. Whereas red is about being bold and dramatic, orange is more friendliness, more approachable,” she said, noting a previous era of Swift’s.

As saffron, it can have religious connotations

The saffron shade is a different story in a contemporary context in India, said Dheepa Sundaram, who researches Hindu nationalist politics as an assistant professor of religion at the University of Denver.

In ancient Hinduism and Buddhism, she said, monks and other spiritual figures who renounce worldly life clothe themselves in saffron garb as a way to express their piety.

“Some people have speculated that it’s because saffron (the spice) was really cheap as a dye and sort of fit with the poverty roles of monks and aesthetes. Kings and royalty preferred more expensive colors like the colors of rubies and emeralds,” Sundaram said. (Nowadays, though, saffron is among the world’s most expensive spices.)

Fast forward a couple thousand years, give or take, to a right-wing policy strategy wielded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s powerful Bharatiya Janata Party that aims to implement Hindu nationalist views and embraces the saffron color as a symbol. Incendiary, anti-Muslim songs have been dubbed “saffron pop.”

“The color saffron has become their color. They have sort of positioned themselves as true Hindus, and this has become part of that schtick,” Sundaram said.

So what about that glittery Portofino orange?

Swift and Kelce frolicked last year in Lake Como, but did they also hit up Portofino and soak up some orange-hued charm in the coastal village known for its colorful buildings?

That’s unclear, which didn’t stop the mayor of Portofino and the Portofino Yacht Marina from jointly hopping on the orange Tay train for the album announcement. On Tuesday, the Italian Riviera playground for the rich and famous, via Instagram, issued the “it” couple an open invitation to visit.

“We are ready to welcome you, and we are already preparing an official Portofino Yacht Marina T-shirt for you… with a logo in perfect orange!,” read the Italian-language post. “Between sunsets on the sea, music and the magic of the main square, Portofino awaits you. And it already shines in your color.”

The luxe destination features ocher- and terra cotta-colored buildings along the port that reflect on the water, particularly during sunsets.

The gingers are ready for it!

We went directly to the source, redheads, to suss out the orange appeal.

Sara Schafer, a 40-year-old lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the ginger-haired mother of two ginger-haired daughters. All three are dedicated Swifties. Schafer also proudly owns a bright orange car.

“We’re all really excited. It’s a great day when we have Swiftie news,” she said. “I love everything orange. It’s like happy sunshine.”

Scott Walls, a hospital operations manager in Norwalk, Connecticut, is also a ginger, but he doesn’t count himself among the Swifties. He’s a huge New York Knicks fan, though. And what are the Knicks’ team colors? Bright orange and blue, often proudly worn by mega-fans like Spike Lee.

“I’ve got a ton of Knicks stuff,” said Walls, 32. “And it’s funny that growing up in Westchester (New York), I played on a basketball team that had orange and blue as the colors.”

He encountered some light teasing as an orange-haired kid growing up in small-town Pelham. “Sometimes people would make comments. I didn’t like it so I’d fight back. My brother is also a redhead and he would celebrate it more,” Walls said.

Schafer added: “You know what they say, redheads are the feistiest. We feel everything more deeply.”

Orange has a young appeal in home decor

Amy Wax, a color expert focusing on residential and commercial design, called orange a universally feel-good hue that evokes youthfulness in interior spaces.

“I’ve done dining rooms in a really, really rich rusty orange. It kind of takes the traditional red dining room and updates it. It feels more contemporary,” she said.

Swift’s stage design featured orange touches, including a projection of a mysterious orange door, confirmed by Swift on the podcast as a clue she was heading into a new era.

Orange also works for transitional spaces like hallways. “A light orange in a hallway can feel very pleasing and energetic,” Wax said.

Orange blends beautifully with browns, cream colors and other neutrals, she said.

Who can pull off wearing orange?

Natalie Tincher, founder of the BU Style consulting company and personal wardrobe stylist, said people shouldn’t fear wearing the color. There’s likely a shade out there for everyone. Swift’s own tour included lots of orange stage costumes, including the work of the late Italian designer Roberto Cavalli.

Vibrant orange will pop and softer oranges can lend harmony with softer skin tones, Tincher said: “Incorporate it into a scarf, a handbag or a trouser if you don’t want it reflecting your face.”

And what company is known for its orange luxury goods? That’s right, Hermès. The “Hermès Orange” and “Hermès Amber” are signatures of the French fashion house known for its silk scarves and pricey handbags.

On a more egalitarian level, and despite the seasonal nature of — dare we utter the words — pumpkin spice, Tincher sees orange in some shade or another as perfectly acceptable year-round.

For the bright, bold shades, consider pairing a loud orange with a lighter tone, Tincher said. Or go all in with a bright monochromatic orange look.

“And browns are very big right now as a neutral so you could do a rich brown with a bright orange,” she said. “Mom’s rules aren’t the case anymore.”

Associated Press journalist Colleen Barry contributed to this story from Milan.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ASHRAF KHALIL

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a wary Washington waited, the White House promised a ramp-up of National Guard troops and federal officers on the streets of the nation’s capital around the clock starting Wednesday, days after President Donald Trump’s unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city’s police department for at least a month.

The city’s Democratic mayor and police chief framed the influx as a plus for public safety, though they said there are few hard measures for what a successful end to the operation might look like. The Republican president has said crime in the city was at emergency levels that only such federal intervention could fix even as District of Columbia leaders pointed to statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low after a sharp rise two years ago.

For two days, small groups of federal officers have been visible in scattered areas of the city. That is about to change, the administration says.

A “significantly higher” presence of guard members was expected Wednesday night, and federal agents will be out 24/7 rather than largely at night, according to the White House. Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who patrolled the streets Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about two dozen the night before.

In one neighborhood, officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI could be seen along with the U.S. Park Police searching the car of a motorist parked just outside a legal parking area to eat takeout and drop off a friend. Two blocks away, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers gathered in a parking lot before driving off on patrol.

In other parts of the city, including those with popular nightlife hot spots, federal patrols were harder to find. At the National Mall, there was little law enforcement activity aside from Park Police cruisers pulling over a taxi driver near the Washington Monument.

Unlike in other U.S. states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to take over Washington’s police for up to 30 days. Extending his power over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance.

A variety of infractions are targeted

The arrests made by 1,450 federal and local officers across the city included those for suspicion of driving under the influence, unlawful entry, as well as a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, according to the White House. Seven illegal firearms were seized.

Unlike in other U.S. states and cities, the law gives Trump the power to take over Washington’s police for up to a month. Extending Trump’s power over the city for longer would require approval from Congress, and that could be tough in the face of Democratic resistance.

The president has full command of the National Guard, but as of Tuesday evening, guard members had yet to be assigned a specific mission, according to an official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. As many as 800 troops were expected to be mobilized in a support role to law enforcement, though exactly what form remains to be determined.

The push also includes clearing out encampments for people who are homeless, Trump has said. U.S. Park Police have removed dozens of tents since March, and plan to take out two more this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. People are offered the chance to go to shelters and get addiction treatment, if needed, but those who refuse could be fined or jailed, she said.

City officials said they are making more shelter space available and increasing their outreach.

Violent crime has dropped in the district

The federal effort comes even after a drop in violent crime in the nation’s capital, a trend that experts have seen in cities across the U.S. since an increase during the coronavirus pandemic.

On average, the level of violence Washington remains mostly higher than averages in three dozen cities analyzed by the nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice, said the group’s president and CEO, Adam Gelb.

Police Chief Pamela Smith said during an interview with the local Fox affiliate that the city’s Metro Police Department has been down nearly 800 officers. She said the increased number of federal agents on the streets would help fill that gap, at least for now.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said city officials did not get any specific goals for the surge during a meeting with Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, and other top federal law enforcement officials Tuesday. But, she said, “I think they regard it as a success to have more presence and take more guns off the street, and we do too.”

She had previously called Trump’s moves “unsettling and unprecedented” while pointing out he was within a president’s legal rights regarding the district, which is the seat of American government but is not a state.

For some residents, the increased presence of law enforcement and National Guard troops is nerve-wracking.

“I’ve seen them right here at the subway … they had my street where I live at blocked off yesterday, actually,” Washington native Sheina Taylor said. “It’s more fearful now because even though you’re a law-abiding citizen, here in D.C., you don’t know, especially because I’m African American.”

Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert, photographer Jacquelyn Martin and video journalist River Zhang contributed to this report.

Emily Renaud of Shelby Township will never forget the homecoming dress she wore during her sophomore year at Eisenhower High School. Nor will she forget the nonprofit Sparkle Network, who not only provided the dress for that big day but several others including her senior prom.

“It was a long black dress with gold embroidery. It was so stunning,” Renaud said, of the dress she got from the Sparkle Network. “It’s a great organization. I couldn’t believe it when I first found out about it. Moe and her people are great.”

Moe Lietz of Rochester Hills is the founder of the charity that helps a variety of causes through fundraisers and programs, one of them being the Prom Closet Project.

The program began as a kind gesture, when a good friend of Lietz confided in her that being a single mother on a tight budget she was unable to buy her daughter a dress for the prom. Since Lietz knew a little about fashion design and sewing she went to work on a beautiful gown for the woman’s daughter. The impact that one dress had on one girl is what prompted Lietz to create the Prom Closet Project, a successful program that’s supported by local retailers like Macy’s and JC Penny but known throughout the school districts it serves in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

Every year, the Sparkle Network puts on a trunk tour where teens can make an appointment online to visit the shop where the tour happens to stop, to pick out a dress of their dreams and even accessories like shoes and jewelry. Students can choose from hundreds of dresses in a variety of colors and sizes ranging from 0 to 24.

Renaud remembers her and her friends booked their appointments around the same time so they could shop together, making the opportunity even more memorable.

All of the prom dresses are free, but during the homecoming season, all of the dresses are sold for $10, with proceeds going to cover the dresses for the next prom season.

“It’s an amazing system,” Renaud said, noting that it saved her and her parents hundreds of dollars on the dresses she wore to the dances that mean so much to teenagers.

“This is our ninth year,” said Lietz, whose charitable organization has grown immensely over the years and not only provides dresses for high school students but scholarship awards, which Renaud will use this fall as a freshman at Oakland University.

The nonprofit also hosts several events that support families who have a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, one of them being a comedy show led by Lietz, who is a comedian as well as a philanthropist.

Lietz has said repeatedly that the work she and her volunteers do at the Sparkle Network is not only important but rewarding.

“Every year I hear from a student talking about how excited they were to wear their dress or from a parent who was grateful to see their daughter’s dream come true.” she said.

FYI

The Sparkle Network’s homecoming dress sales will be held at several locations throughout Macomb and Oakland counties.

They will include:

• Aug 22 and 23 from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at American House East 1 in Roseville.

• Aug 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Front Door Housekeeping in Utica

• Aug. 29 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Meadowbrook Center for Learning Differences in Rochester Hills

• Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Aug. 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m .at T-Tech Solutions in Troy

• Sept. 3 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Romeo High School. NOTE: Students do not have to be enrolled at the high school to attend this showing.

All of the dresses will be priced at $10.

“We have dresses of all sizes and lengths,” Lietz said. “New this year is we have separate pieces (pants, tops and skirts in limited sizes) as well. The separate pieces will be $5 each.” All proceeds will go to replenish items for Prom Closet Project Tour 2026.

To book an appointment visit https://sparklenetwork.org/2024-dress-into-a-dream-program-homecoming-special-occasion-dress-sale/.

The application includes information such as dress sizes in order to ensure supply is available for the student’s appointment.

For more information email sparkle.network3@gmail.com or visit sparklenetwork.org/

By MEG KINNARD, Associated Press

President Donald Trump says homeless people in the nation’s capital will be moved far from the city as part of his federal takeover of policing in the District of Columbia and crackdown on crime.

With his exact plans unclear, there is concern among advocates and others who say there are better ways to address the issue of homelessness than clearing encampments, as the Republican administration has pledged to do.

Washington’s status as a congressionally established federal district gives Trump the opportunity to push his tough-on-crime agenda, though he has not proposed solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime.

Here’s a look at what we know and what questions remain about how Trump’s actions will affect the city’s homeless population:

How many homeless people are in Washington?

It is difficult to obtain accurate counts of homeless populations.

On one day at the end of each January, municipal agencies across the United States perform what is called a “point-in-time” count aimed at capturing the total number of people in emergency shelters, transitional housing or without any housing.

The 2025 count in the district put the total at 5,138 adults and children, a 9% decrease compared with the year before, according to Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Where will the city’s homeless people be taken?

It’s not entirely clear.

Trump wrote on his social media site before Monday’s news conference announcing the takeover that “The homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”

Asked during a media briefing at the White House on Tuesday where homeless people would be relocated, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said local police and federal agencies would “enforce the laws that are already on the books,” which, she said, “have been completely ignored.”

Citing a city regulation that she said gives local police “the authority to take action when it comes to homeless encampments,” Leavitt said homeless people “will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental health services.” Those who refuse “will be susceptible to fines or to jail time.”

In the past five months, the U.S. Park Police has removed 70 homeless encampments, giving the people living in them the same options, she said. As of Tuesday, Leavitt said only two homeless encampments remained in district parks maintained by the National Park Service and would be removed this week.

What are city officials doing for the homeless?

District officials said Tuesday they were making additional shelter space available after Trump said federal agents would remove homeless people in the city.

Kevin Donahue, the city administrator, said outreach workers were visiting homeless encampments and that the city has a building available that could house as many as 200 people, if needed.

Donahue made the comments during a conversation with community advocates and Bowser. The conversation was broadcast on X.

He said the outreach would continue through the week with a “greater level of urgency.”

Bowser said that when Trump sees homeless encampments in the city it “triggers something in him that has him believing our very beautiful city is dirty, which it is not.”

What are Washington residents saying?

Washington residents emphasized reductions in crime in recent years and concerns over the removal of homeless encampments in interviews Tuesday criticizing the federal takeover of the city’s police department.

Jeraod Tyre, who has lived in the city for 15 years, said “crime has been slowing down lately” and argued that federal troops would only escalate tensions because they do not have “relationships with the people in the community” like local police do.

Sheiena Taylor, 36, said she is more fearful as a result of the presence of federal forces in the city where she was born and raised.

Taylor said she has seen federal officers around her home and on the subway and worries about their targeting of young people and people experiencing homelessness.

“Being homeless isn’t a crime,” she said, emphasizing the need for solutions to the root causes of homelessness or crime rather than policing.

What do we still not know?

It’s not exactly clear what agents specifically will be tasked with moving homeless people to areas outside the city.

There also hasn’t been detailed information about how the people will be housed or provided for in new locations.

Some advocates have raised constitutional questions about the legality of forcibly removing homeless people from the city.

Associated Press writers River Zhang, Christine Fernando, Mike Balsamo and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

By MARK KENNEDY

NEW YORK (AP) — Charlie Brown and Snoopy go to sleepaway camp in a new, bittersweet Apple TV+ special fueled by a pair of Emmy Award-nominated songwriters that’s being billed as the first “Peanuts” musical in 35 years.

“My motivation has always been to preserve and enhance my dad’s legacy,” says co-writer Craig Schulz, a son of the iconic comic strip “Peanuts” creator Charles. S. Schulz. “So it’s really an honor to get to play with these kids.”

“Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical,” which premieres Friday, features five songs — two by Jeff Morrow, Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner — and three by Ben Folds.

“If someone asked me to write for a stupid kids thing, I would find it difficult because I don’t like talking down to anyone, much less kids,” says Folds. “’Peanuts’ isn’t like that. We’re working in very rich, fertile soil.”

What’s the special about?

The special opens with the kids getting ready to catch the bus to Cloverhill Ranch camp, but Sally isn’t so sure it’s going to be great. “Honestly, big brother, I could stay home,” she says.

Sally is initially intimidated by the camp’s inside jokes and rituals, turned off by the insects, the endless climbing, no TV, cold lake water and lumpy beds.

“You wake at dawn/Like you would in jail,” she sings in the song “A Place Like This.” “The food’s not what you’d call upscale/This whole endeavor, an epic fail/And that’s being diplomatic.”

Trust “Peanuts” to explore reluctance to leave home and fear of change. Craig Schulz, who co-wrote the script with his son, Bryan, and Cornelius Uliano, channeled some of his own childhood.

“Cloverhill Ranch actually is a take-off of the one in Santa Rosa called Cloverleaf that I went to as a child and hated. I bailed out after a week and went home,” he says. “So many connections in the film kind of date back to my childhood that we weaved into the film.”

While Sally warms to camp, Snoopy discovers what he thinks is a treasure map that will transform him into a wealthy pooch, one who will lay on top of a gold dog house. And Charlie Brown learns that this summer will be the last for his beloved but struggling camp — unless he does something.

“I guess your generation would rather sit in front of the television than sit under the stars,” he tells Sally. “We have to protect these kinds of places because once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”

A concert to save the camp

Charlie Brown comes up with the idea to invite generations of camp-goers back for a fundraising concert, but the skies darken on the big day, threatening to cancel the event and sending him into a “Good grief” spiral.

“Charlie Brown is different in this special,” says director Erik Wiese. “He’s really happy. He loves this place. And so that’s why when we get to that scene it’s so effective because he returned back to the zero we sort of know him traditionally.”

Folds supplies the lovely, last three songs — “When We Were Light,” “Look Up, Charlie Brown” and “Leave It Better” — and credits his songwriting collaborators for setting the stage.

“I entered when those first two songs existed, and I get to just sort of step in at the point where things get really complex and melancholic,” he says.

Folds has had a flirtation with musical theater before, having written the “Peanuts” Earth Day song “It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown” in 2022 and a few songs for the movie “Over the Hedge” in 2006.

“People can easily confuse a song that sounds like musical theater with a song that should be musical theater,” he says. “Really what the value of the song is that it obviates the need for a good five to 10 pages of script.”

This October marks the 75th anniversary of “Peanuts,” and the musical arrives with a boatload of branding, from tote bags by Coach to shoes by Crocs and Starbucks mugs.

Craig Schulz is already at work on a second animated musical with his son, having long ago fallen in love with the family business.

“I used to always wonder how in the world my dad could go to the office every day for 50 years and write a comic strip every day,” he says, comparing it to the “I Love Lucy” episode with Lucy trying to keep up with a chocolate conveyor belt.

“Then I came to realize that he had his family of five kids, but I really think he enjoyed going to the studio and working with the ‘Peanuts’ characters even more so than his real family. He got to go in there and embrace them, draw them, make him happy, sad, whatever. It was a world that I don’t think he could ever leave.”

BALTIMORE — A judge in Baltimore expressed skepticism Wednesday about the Trump administration’s suit against all of Maryland’s federal judges over an immigration order and said he would rule by Labor Day on whether to allow the case to move forward.

“One of the things about me is I don’t have a very good poker face,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen told a Justice Department lawyer arguing that the administration’s suit should not be dismissed. “You probably picked up on the fact that I have some skepticism,” Cullen said during a hearing.

Cullen concluded the two-hour hearing by telling lawyers for the Justice Department and the judges: “My hope is to issue a memorandum of opinion before Labor Day, recognizing that whatever I say will not be the last word on this matter, and this matter can be taken up — however it comes out — in another court.”

Cullen has two issues before him: whether to dismiss the suit or temporarily block the order the Trump administration is challenging.

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security are seeking an injunction to block Maryland judges from abiding by a standing order in May preventing the administration from immediately deporting migrants who seek a review of their detention.

The suit is part of Trump’s effort to rein in federal judges who have time and again turned aside executive branch actions — particularly in immigration cases — that judges see as lawless and without legal merit.

“This suit is an unprecedented and disruptive affront to the separation of powers,” the judges wrote in a memorandum Monday.

The memorandum followed an Aug. 1 motion by the administration arguing that the suit, filed in June, was warranted because Maryland’s federal judiciary overreached by issuing an immigration order violating “time-honored standards.”

The Maryland decision was signed by Baltimore-based Chief Judge George L. Russell III. Russell said the order pausing deportations “shall be entered in every such case upon its filing.”

Russell’s standing order is without precedent, said the Justice Department, which is seeking that it be temporarily blocked until the merits of the case have been fully considered.

Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Hedges told Cullen during Wednesday’s hearing that its suit was not an attack on the separation of powers but rather “an aggrieved party coming to court to settle its differences.”

“This is an extraordinary standing order and therefore we are in this position,” Hedges said.

The hearing was held in Baltimore’s federal courthouse. With few spectators in the courtroom, attorneys presented their arguments from a podium facing the judge.

The judges in the building kept to their regular schedules as the civil case against them was heard.

Earlier, the Justice Department argued in its most recent filing that “American history has seen more sweeping executive actions and more pronounced surges in litigation, but none of those developments justified an impulse to automate emergency injunctive relief.”

By the order, the judges say they are only seeking “a modest, two-business-day hold to allow the court to open a case and assess its jurisdiction.”

The judges say they have immunity, preserving their independence and protecting them from such suits. “Federal courts have consistently recognized that federal judges have immunity from suits that seek to enjoin their judicial acts. This Court should not break from that long line of precedent,” they argued in Monday’s filing.

The hearing was scheduled by  Cullen, a judge from the Western District of Virginia who was assigned to the suit because a Maryland judge could not hear a case in which they were a party.

Cullen, a former U.S. attorney for Virginia, was nominated to the bench during Trump’s first term in 2019 and was easily confirmed by the Senate.

The judges are being defended by a team led by Paul Clement, a prominent attorney and former U.S. solicitor general during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush. He is a former clerk for Antonin Scalia, the conservative Supreme Court justice who died in 2016.

Clement also represented Hannah Dugan, the Milwaukee County Circuit Judge charged in April with helping a man evade federal immigration authorities. That case catapulted Dugan — and in a sense Clement — into the national fight between the Trump administration and the judiciary over immigration policies. The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended her while the case is pending.

The Maryland State Bar Association has weighed in as a “friend of the court.” The association, which calls itself “the voice of the legal profession in Maryland,” filed a brief last month urging that the case be dismissed.

“If this case is not dismissed, it will signal that it may be ‘lawful and ethical’ for attorneys to sue the presiding judge when a client disagrees with the judge’s ruling or standing order,” the brief said.

Maryland federal courts have blocked many of Trump’s key executive actions.

In recent months, judges in the state approved a request for a preliminary injunction preventing immigration authorities from conducting raids in certain houses of worship, blocked an order seeking to end government support for diversity programs, and extended a block on federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for young transgender people. A Maryland judge, Paula Xinis, is overseeing the wrongful deportation allegations of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador in March in what the administration called an administrative error.

The Trump administration’s June lawsuit named all ten of the state’s federal judges — plus five senior judges with limited caseloads — as defendants.

Democratic former President Joe Biden appointed six of the 10 judges to the federal court whose members are split between courthouses in Baltimore and Greenbelt. Three other judges were named by former Democratic President Barack Obama. The remaining judge, Stephanie Gallagher, was also nominated by Obama and renominated by Trump in 2019 because she was not confirmed during Obama’s administration.

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN

NEW YORK (AP) — After a summer of vacations and late nights, it’s time to set those back-to-school alarms.

A good night’s sleep helps students stay focused and attentive in class. Experts say it’s worth easing kids back into a routine with the start of a new school year.

“We don’t say ‘ get good sleep ’ just because,” said pediatrician Dr. Gabrina Dixon with Children’s National Hospital. “It really helps kids learn and it helps them function throughout the day.”

The amount of sleep kids need changes as they age. Preschoolers should get up to 13 hours of sleep. Tweens need between nine and 12 hours. Teenagers do best with eight to 10 hours of shut-eye.

Set an earlier bedtime

Early bedtimes can slip through the cracks over the summer as kids stay up for sleepovers, movie marathons and long plane flights. To get back on track, experts recommend setting earlier bedtimes a week or two before the first day of school or gradually going to bed 15 to 30 minutes earlier each night.

Don’t eat a heavy meal before bed and avoid TV or screen time two hours before sleep. Instead, work in relaxing activities to slow down like showering and reading a story.

“You’re trying to take the cognitive load off your mind,” said Dr. Nitun Verma, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “It would be like if you’re driving, you’re slowly letting go of the gas pedal.”

Parents can adjust their back-to-school plans based on what works best for their child. Nikkya Hargrove moves her twin daughters’ bedtimes up by 30 minutes the week before school starts.

Sometimes, her 10-year-olds will negotiate for a few extra minutes to stay up and read. Hargrove said those conversations are important as her children get older and advocate for themselves. If they stay up too late and don’t have the best morning, Hargrove said that can be a learning experience too.

“If they’re groggy and they don’t like how they feel, then they know, ‘OK, I have to go to bed earlier,’” said Hargrove, an author and independent bookstore owner from Connecticut.

In the morning, soaking in some daylight by sitting at a window or going outside can help train the brain to power up, Verma said.

Squash back-to-school sleep anxiety

Sleep quality matters just as much as duration. First-day jitters can make it hard to fall asleep no matter how early the bedtime.

Dixon says parents can talk to their kids to find out what is making them anxious. Is it the first day at a new school? Is it a fear of making new friends? Then they might try a test run of stressful activities before school starts to make those tasks feel less scary — for example, by visiting the school or meeting classmates at an open house.

The weeks leading up can be jam-packed and it’s not always possible to prep a routine in advance. But kids will adjust eventually so sleep experts say parents should do what they can. After all, their kids aren’t the only ones adjusting to a new routine.

“I always say, ‘Take a deep breath, it’ll be OK,’” Dixon said. “And just start that schedule.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Feeling nostalgic for the days when going back to school meant picking out fresh notebooks, pencils and colored markers at a local drugstore or stationary shop? The annual retail ritual is both easier and more complicated for today’s students.

Chains like Walmart generate online lists of school supplies for customers who type in their zip codes, then choose a school and a grade level. One click and they are ready to check out. Some schools also offer busy parents a one-stop shop by partnering with vendors that sell premade kits with binders, index cards, pens and other needed items.

Yet for all the time-saving options, many families begin their back-to-school shopping months before Labor Day, searching around for the best deals and making purchases tied to summer sales. This year, the possibility of price increases from new U.S. tariffs on imports motivated more shoppers to get a jump start on replacing and refilling school backpacks, according to retail analysts.

Retail and technology consulting company Coresight Research estimates that back-to-school spending from June through August will reach $33.3 billion in the U.S., a 3.3% increase from the same three-month period a year ago. The company predicted families would complete about 60% of their shopping before August to avoid extra costs from tariffs.

“Consumers are of the mindset where they’re being very strategic and conscientious around price fluctuations, so for back to school, it prompts them to shop even earlier,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, the research division of software company Adobe Inc.

Getting a head start

Miami resident Jacqueline Agudelo, 39, was one of the early birds who started shopping for school supplies in June because she wanted to get ahead of possible price increases from new U.S. tariffs on imported products.

The teacher’s supply list for her 5-year-old son, who started kindergarten earlier this month, mandated specific classroom items in big quantities. Agudelo said her shopping list included 15 boxes of Crayola crayons, Lysol wipes and five boxes of Ticonderoga brand pencils, all sharpened.

Agudelo said she spent $160 after finding plenty of bargains online and in stores, including the crayons at half off, but found the experience stressful.

“I am overwhelmed by the need to stay on top of where the deals are as shopping has become more expensive over the years,” she said.

A lot of the backpacks, lined paper, glue sticks — and Ticonderoga pencils — sold in the U.S. are made in China, whose products were subjected to a 145% tariff in the spring. Under the latest agreement between the countries, Chinese goods are taxed at a 30% rate when they enter the U.S.

Many companies accelerated shipments from China early in the year, stockpiling inventory at pre-tariff prices. Some predicted consumers would encounter higher prices just in time for the back-to-school shopping season. Although government data showed consumer prices rose 2.7% last month from a year earlier, strategic discounting by major retailers may have muted any sticker shock for customers seeking school supplies.

Backpacks and lunchboxes, for example, had discounts as deep as 12.1% during Amazon’s Prime Day sales and competing online sales at Target and Walmart in early July, Adobe Insights said.

Throughout the summer, some of the biggest chains have are advertising selective price freezes to hold onto customers.

Walmart is advertising a 14-item school supplies deal that costs $16, the lowest price in six years, company spokesperson Leigh Stidham said. Target said in June that it would maintain its 2024 prices on 20 key back-to-school items that together cost less than $20.

An analysis consumer data provider Numerator prepared for The Associated Press showed the retail cost of 48 products a family with two school age children might need — two lunchboxes, two scientific calculators, a pair of boy’s shoes — averaged $272 in July, or $3 less than the same month last year.

Digital natives in the classroom

Numerator, which tracks U.S. retail prices through sales receipts, online account activity and other information from 200,000 shoppers, reported last year that households were buying fewer notebooks, book covers, writing instruments and other familiar staples as students did more of their work on computers.

The transition does not mean students no longer have to stock up on plastic folders, highlighters and erasers, or that parents are spending less to equip their children for class. Accounting and consulting firm Deloitte estimates that traditional school supplies will account for more than $7 billion of the $31 billion it expects U.S. parents to put toward back-to-school shopping.

Shopping habits also are evolving. TeacherLists, an online platform where individual schools and teachers can upload their recommended supply lists and parents can search for them, was launched in 2012 to reduce the need for paper lists. It now has more than 2 million lists from 70,000 schools.

Users have the option of clicking on an icon that populates an online shopping cart at participating retail chains. Some retailers also license the data for use on their websites and in their stores, said Dyanne Griffin, the architect and vice president of TeacherLists.

The typical number of items teacher request has remained fairly steady at around 17 since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, Griffin said. “The new items that had come on the list, you know, in the last four or five years are more the tech side. Everybody needs headphones or earbuds, that type of thing, maybe a mouse,” she said.

She’s also noticed a lot of schools requiring clear backpacks and pencil pouches so the gear can’t be used to stow guns.

Enter artificial intelligence

For consumers who like to research their options before they buy, technology and retail companies have introduced generative AI tools to help them find and compare products. Rufus, the AI-powered shopping assistant that Amazon launched last year, is now joined by Sparky, an app-only feature that Walmart shoppers can use to get age-specific product recommendations and other information in response to their questions.

Just over a quarter of U.S. adults say they use AI for shopping, which is considerably lower than the number who say they use AI for tasks such as searching for information or brainstorming, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in July.

Some traditions remain

Before the pandemic turned a lot more people into online shoppers, schools and local Parent Teacher Associations embraced the idea of making back-to-school shopping easier by ordering ready-made bundles of teacher-recommended supplies. An extra fee on the price helped raise money for the school.

Market data from Edukit, a supplier of school supply kits owned by TeachersList parent company School Family Media, shows that about 40% of parents end up buying the boxes, meaning the other 60% need to shop on their own, Griffin said. She noted that parents typically must commit no later than June to secure a bundle, which focus on essentials like notebooks and crayons.

Agudelo said her son’s school offered a box for $190 that focused on basics like crayons and notebooks but didn’t include a backpack. She decided to pass and shop around for the best prices. She also liked bringing her son along for the shopping trips.

“There’s that sense of getting him mentally prepared for the school year,” Agudelo said. “The box takes away from that.”

By MARK THIESSEN and GENE JOHNSON

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska on Friday, it will be the latest chapter in the 49th state’s long history with Russia — and with international tensions.

Siberian fur traders arrived from across the Bering Sea in the first part of the 18th century, and the imprint of Russian settlement in Alaska remains. The oldest building in Anchorage is a Russian Orthodox church, and many Alaska Natives have Russian surnames.

The nations are so close — Alaska’s Little Diomede Island in the Bering Strait is less than 3 miles from Russia’s Big Diomede — that former Gov. Sarah Palin was right during the 2008 presidential race when she said, “You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska,” though the comment prompted jokes that that was the extent of her foreign policy experience.

Alaska has been U.S. territory since 1867, and it has since been the location of the only World War II battle on North American soil, a focus of Cold War tensions and the site of occasional meetings between U.S. and world leaders.

Here’s a look at Alaska’s history with Russia and on the international stage:

Russian trappers and Seward’s Folly

The fur traders established hubs in Sitka and on Kodiak Island. The Russian population in Alaska never surpassed about 400 permanent settlers, according to the Office of the Historian of the U.S. State Department.

Russian settlers brutally coerced Alaska Natives to harvest sea otters and other marine mammals for their pelts, said Ian Hartman, a University of Alaska Anchorage history professor.

“It was a relationship that the Russians made clear quite early on was not really about kind of a longer-term pattern of settlement, but it was much more about a short-term pattern of extraction,” Hartman said.

Meanwhile, Russian Orthodox missionaries baptized an estimated 18,000 Alaska Natives.

By 1867 the otters had been hunted nearly to extinction and Russia was broke from the Crimean War. Czar Alexander II sold Alaska to the U.S. for the low price of $7.2 million — knowing Russia couldn’t defend its interests in Alaska if the U.S. or Great Britain tried to seize it.

Skeptics referred to the purchase as “Seward’s Folly,” after U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward. That changed when gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896.

World War II and the Cold War

The U.S. realized Alaska’s strategic importance in the 20th century. During World War II the island of Attu — the westernmost in the Aleutian chain and closer to Russia than to mainland North America — was captured by Japanese forces. The effort to reclaim it in 1943 became known as the war’s “forgotten battle.”

During the Cold War, military leaders worried Soviets might attack via Alaska, flying planes over the North Pole to drop nuclear weapons. They built a chain of radar systems connected to an anti-aircraft missile system.

Friday’s summit will be at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The base was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and it still hosts key aircraft squadrons that intercept Russian aircraft when they fly into U.S. airspace.

The military constructed much of the infrastructure in Alaska, including roads and some communities, and its experience building on permafrost later informed the private companies that would drill for oil and construct the trans-Alaska pipeline.

Last year the Pentagon said the U.S. must invest more to upgrade sensors, communications and space-based technologies in the Arctic to keep pace with China and Russia, and it sent about 130 soldiers to a desolate Aleutian island amid an increase in Russian military planes and vessels approaching U.S. territory.

Past visits by dignitaries

Putin will be the first Russian leader to visit, but other prominent figures have come before him.

Japanese Emperor Hirohito stopped in Anchorage before heading to Europe in 1971 to meet President Richard Nixon, and in 1984 thousands turned out to see President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II meet at the airport in Fairbanks.

President Barack Obama visited in 2015, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to set foot north of the Arctic Circle, on a trip to highlight the dangers of climate change.

Gov. Bill Walker welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at the airport in Anchorage in 2017 and then took him on a short tour of the state’s largest city.

Four years later Anchorage was the setting for a less cordial meeting as top U.S. and Chinese officials held two days of contentious talks in their first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office two months earlier.

Critics say Alaska is a poor choice for the summit

Sentiment toward Russia in Alaska has cooled since Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to suspend its three-decade-long sister city relationship with Magadan, Russia, and the Juneau Assembly sent its sister city of Vladivostok a letter expressing concern.

The group Stand Up Alaska has organized rallies against Putin on Thursday and Friday.

Dimitry Shein, who ran unsuccessfully for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House in 2018, fled from the Soviet Union to Anchorage with his mother in the early 1990s.

Russia and the U.S. “are just starting to look more and more alike,” he said.

Many observers have suggested that holding the summit in Alaska sends a bad symbolic message.

“It’s easy to imagine Putin making the argument during his meetings with Trump that, ‘Well, look, territories can change hands,’” said Nigel Gould-Davies, former British Ambassador to Belarus and senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London. “’We gave you Alaska. Why can’t Ukraine give us a part of its territory?’”

The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Vladivostok.

Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit and Emma Burrows in London contributed.

By Max Reinhart, MediaNews Group

A Birmingham man accused of insurance fraud has been bound over to stand trial, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.

Todd Bernstein, 67, waived his preliminary examination and will be tried in the 6th Circuit Court in Pontiac, Nessel said.

He is accused of “submitting misleading information on annuity suitability applications on behalf of his clients, who were over 65, to conceal that new annuities were being purchased with proceeds from early surrendered annuities.”

In July, Nessel filed four counts of insurance fraud against Bernstein. Each is punishable by up to four years in prison, if he’s convicted.

“Consumers must be able to trust financial professionals to act truthfully and in their best interests,” Nessel said when he was arraigned.

His next court date has not yet been scheduled.

Nessel urged Michiganians who suspect fraud to report it on the state’s website, or by calling the Department of Insurance and Financial Services at (877) 999-6442 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.