Melissa Nann Burke, Max Reinhart, Anne Snabes and Ben Warren, MediaNews Group

About 1.4 million Michigan residents eligible to receive federal assistance to pay for food should get 65% of their monthly benefits for November, federal officials clarified Thursday morning.

But hours later, a federal judge in Rhode Island ruled late Thursday that the Trump administration must fully cover November benefits, reportedly saying the government had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it moved earlier this week to only partially fund the program.

The competing orders added another day of confusion for Michigan residents who receive government assistance to pay for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as the ongoing federal government shutdown passed its record-setting 37th day.

“These benefits are a vital lifeline for many Michigan families, especially with the rising cost of food.”

Hertel’s agency said Michigan recipients who normally get their benefits on the third, fifth, or seventh day of the month will receive their partial SNAP allotment on Saturday. All other SNAP recipients would get their partial benefits on their normally scheduled date.

“I would say that that’s wonderful that they will be getting something,” said Christopher Ivey, a spokesperson for Metro Detroit food rescue organization Forgotten Harvest, of the SNAP news. “It’s unfortunate that that won’t be the full amount.”

The update came as local food pantries are tracking a 30% to 50% increase in the number of individuals seeking aid, according to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. Hertel noted that families can find local food pantries as needed by calling 2-1-1.

The USDA had planned to suspend payments starting Nov. 1 amid the federal government shutdown, but federal officials said Monday the program would be partially funded after two judges required the government to keep SNAP benefits flowing.

The reduction in food aid, while a partial restoration, is “diabolical,” said Natasha Bell, a downtown Detroit resident.

“What they give us is not enough already, and then for them to give us partial … it’s just not right, you know,” Bell said Thursday. “It’s just not right.”

Bell said she has cancer, so she can’t work. Amid the delay in SNAP benefits, she said she has been making more side items to accompany the meat in a meal, which allows her to stretch the meat out over more days.

Bell is also relying on food pantries and preparing meals that last more than one day, such as spaghetti or soup, she said.

“Something is better than nothing,” said Bell of the partial November SNAP benefits.

Brother Gary Wegner, executive director of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, said he thinks the USDA announcement is “good news.” Sixty-five percent is “certainly better” than 0%, he said.

“One hundred percent would be even better, but for now, at least, it’s going to give the people we serve who depend upon the SNAP benefits a better chance to fulfill what they need,” Wegner said.

Who is affected?

SNAP serves about 1 in 8 Americans, including about 1.4 million Michiganians. In the state, the average household assisted by the program receives about $335 in benefits a month, or about $5.68 per person a day. SNAP benefits support more than 492,000 Michigan children.

In Wayne County, 22.3% of households received food stamps last year, a figure amplified by the nearly 100,000 households in Detroit that benefit from the SNAP program.

A smaller share of the households in Macomb (11.9%) and Oakland (7.6%) received SNAP benefits, according to the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, which is the most recent year when full county-level data is available.

Outside of Metro Detroit, Genesee and Saginaw counties outstripped the state average for SNAP participation, with just under 20% of households. On the other end of the spectrum were Leelanau and Livingston counties, which each had 5% or fewer of their households enrolled in the program.

Across nearly every part of Michigan, households with children were far more likely to receive SNAP benefits than households overall. In almost every county, at least a quarter of households with children participated in SNAP, including more than half of those households in counties like Ottawa, Clinton and Gratiot.

About 78% of SNAP households in Michigan are working households, half of households have someone with a disability and 36% of households have seniors, according to state data.

Kate Bauer, a University of Michigan public health professor, said partial funding is better than nothing when it comes to SNAP benefits. It would “ward off, hopefully, the physical experience of hunger,” but leave families already stretched thin to fill the gap, she said.

“Under the current circumstances, what we need to know is that SNAP is critical to our families having enough food, and even the full benefit amounts are not enough,” Bauer said.

“I’m super glad our families are going to get something, but that is not the end of the story,” she added.

SNAP benefits are crucial for families with children, according to Bauer, “because they have more mouths to feed, and mouths that don’t earn an income.” With less money to buy food this month, she said, parents will likely make additional sacrifices, foregoing meals so their kids can eat.

One saving grace for families with children, she said, was free school meals.

“Many families are breathing a sigh of relief that their kid is getting, potentially, up to 10 meals a week.”

Joyce Bowens, a Detroit resident who uses SNAP, said Thursday that she’s “not too happy” with the government’s decision because 65% of benefits is “not enough.” She said some women have seven to 10 children.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” she said. “I don’t think it’s right.”

Bowens, who went grocery shopping at the Capuchin Services Center in Detroit on Thursday, said the past week has been “stressful.” The pause in benefits has affected how she plans meals. She said, “Everything changed just that fast.”

“OK, you would normally cook a meal, don’t worry about making it stretch,” she said. “Now, we have to think about making it stretch to the T.”

Eartha Harris, 45, who is friends with Bowens, said she thinks the government needs to give people their “full amounts when it comes to food.”

“But at least you could give somebody food, so no one go hungry, regardless of what’s going on,” said Harris, a Detroit resident.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said new applications for SNAP benefits filed in October and November still will be processed, but it is unclear whether those applicants will receive any benefits for November.

State aid to last 2 weeks

To help feed families amid the government shutdown, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week said the state would provide $4.5 million to the Food Bank Council of Michigan.

Phil Knight, executive director for the Food Bank Council, said Thursday he expects that $4.5 million released by the state to last about two weeks. The $4.5 million allotment represents roughly 6 million meals, Knight said.

Local pantries have seen between a 30% and 50% jump in individuals seeking aid, he said.

“One of the things I think we kind of miss about this population that’s struggling … is that they’re very resilient,” Knight said. “They’re trying to resolve the problem on their own first. They’re turning inward to themselves, their family, whatever, and then they turn out to find resources.”

Gleaners Community Food Bank reported Thursday that its drive-up mobiles and partner network of 350 local pantries in five counties are seeing an increase of up to 50% in requests for help.

A partial restoration of SNAP support is a “positive development,” Gleaners spokeswoman Kristin Sokul said, “but we expect to continue seeing heightened community need while partial benefits catch up and full benefits remain unavailable, as well as while workers’ incomes are impacted by the prolonged government shutdown.”

Ivey, the Forgotten Harvey spokesman, said the last week has been “very difficult” for his organization. He said Detroit alone gets $58 million a month in SNAP benefits.

“Forgotten Harvest is doing everything they can do to fill that gigantic void that’s out there,” he said. “I mean, we’re never going to be able to be the complete supplement for all of that. It’s just too large for any organization to take on.”

He said Forgotten Harvest is receiving around 600 to 1,000 phone calls a day. Some are from people asking where they can find food. Others are from organizations that partner with Forgotten Harvest or are interested in partnering with it.

Knight of the Food Bank Council said he intends to submit a report next week to the governor and House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, on how the money was used and what might still be needed.

Hall said Thursday he and Whitmer will review that report and the federal situation to determine whether to release additional funding to the Food Bank Council for distribution to local pantries.

“We’re going to take this from week to week, working with the governor to assess the need,” Hall said.

The Democratic-controlled Senate last week approved a stopgap proposal that would target $50 million to aid low-income individuals and households in buying food and $21 million to food banks and other assistance programs that are expecting an onslaught of food requests.

The Republican-controlled House has not acted on the legislation.

Hall told reporters last week that the Senate bill was “political” since there was no way to act on the legislation before the Nov. 1 cutoff because of a rule requiring a five-day waiting period between chambers. There is not enough state funding to patch every hole that will develop as the federal shutdown continues, the speaker said.

“There’s a time for disagreements in politics,” Hall said then. “It’s not right now when literally people are about to lose their ability to feed their families.”

Beth LeBlanc contributed to this report.

By Summer Ballentine, MediaNews Group

The LaFontaine auto dealership suspended this week for allegedly selling used loaner vehicles as new cars is once again open for sales.

LaFontaine Chevrolet Buick GMC of St. Clair and the Michigan Department of State reached an agreement Wednesday that allows vehicle sales to resume, according to LaFontaine and state officials. The state had suspended the China Township dealership’s business license Tuesday.

The state fined LaFontaine $25,000 for selling loaner vehicles with as many as 6,000 miles of use as new vehicles, Department of State spokesperson Cheri Hardmon said in an email. LaFontaine also will be under increased state oversight through December 2026 and must conduct staff training.

LaFontaine has described the violation as a “clerical issue” and said no fraud was committed.”

“This issue was purely administrative in nature — stemming from confusion between automaker program requirements, dealer processes, and the State’s outdated regulatory statutes,” the dealership group said in a statement from spokesperson Max Muncey. “Frankly, the speed at which this matter was resolved reinforces our belief that the initial action was more of a headline-driven move by the State than a substantive compliance concern.’

This is the LaFontaine dealer group’s second penalty under Michigan’s used vehicle law, which requires loaner vehicles that have been titled and registered by dealerships to be sold as used.

Regulators identified LaFontaine’s latest alleged violations while checking its compliance under a 2024 agreement with the state for the same issue at its Livonia dealership.

LaFontaine Hyundai of Livonia shut down for one day in December 2024 after the state suspended its license for allegedly misrepresenting vehicles as new. The dealership agreed to pay a $25,000 penalty and complete a 24-month probation period in lieu of an administrative hearing.

LaFontaine Hyundai of Livonia was required to participate in dealer training for managers and employees and was subject to periodic unannounced inspections by MDOS regulatory staff as part of the 2024 agreement.

By COREY WILLIAMS The Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — City Council President Mary Sheffield will be Detroit’s newest mayor and the first woman to lead the city.

Sheffield defeated popular megachurch pastor the Rev. Solomon Kinloch in Tuesday’s general election.

She will take office in January and succeed three-term Mayor Mike Duggan who announced last year that he would not seek reelection. Duggan is running for Michigan governor as an independent to replace term-limited Democrat Gretchen Whitmer.

Sheffield thanked voters in her victory speech Tuesday night, addressing those who voted for her and those who didn’t.

“I am here to listen to you, to fight for you and to serve you,” she said. “Because, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing, a Detroit that works for everyone.”

Sheffield will inherit a city that continues to improve following Detroit’s 2014 exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Duggan was elected in 2013 and took office in January 2014. Under his watch, Detroit has dramatically improved city services, including shorter police response times, public lighting and blight elimination.

Detroit has had 12 consecutive years of balanced budgets and the city has been showing historically low violent crime numbers.

Its population also has grown following decades of losses. Earlier this year, the U.S. Census estimated Detroit’s population at 645,705 — a gain of 12,487 residents since a May 2024 estimate, according to the city.

Detroit’s population reached 1.8 million people in the 1950s.

Sheffield and Kinloch, both Democrats, advanced to Tuesday’s election after finishing with the most votes in the city’s nonpartisan August primary.

Sheffield, 38, first was elected to the City Council in 2013 at age 26 and has been council president since 2022.

Sheffieldhas said that focusing on educating Detroit’s children, and continuing to improve public safety and life in the neighborhoods will be among her priorities if elected mayor.

“My commitment, Detroit, is to build on the foundation that has been laid working with Mayor Duggan and our council … by expanding opportunities, strengthening our neighborhoods and making sure that Detroit’s progress reaches every block and every family of this city,” Sheffield said alongside Duggan at a September campaign event.

Duggan endorsed Sheffield.

“Our city’s progress is in very good hands and I know she and her team will make sure it not only continues, but expands,” he said in a statement following her victory.

Kinloch conceded the election in a short speech to his supporters Tuesday night. He reiterated what he said throughout the campaign that all of Detroit has to share in the city’s revival.

“You can’t make all of the investments downtown,” Kinloch said. “It has to reach the whole town.”

Kinloch also said he hopes the campaign shows people they need to stay involved in their city government and repeated his campaign themes of pushing for more action on affordable housing, crime and support for neighborhoods across Detroit.

“This city’s in trouble and we need you to stand up and step up more now than ever before,” he urged supporters.

RICHMOND, Va. — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth.

Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s office when she succeeds outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth, a message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country,” Spanberger told cheering supporters Tuesday night in Richmond. “We sent a message to the whole word that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos.”

Also Tuesday, Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi won the race for lieutenant governor and will succeed Earle-Sears, and Democrat Jay Jones defeated Republican incumbent Jason Miyares in the race for attorney general. Jones is set to become the first Black attorney general in Virginia, while Hashmi is the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the U.S.

Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA case officer, won by emphasizing economic issues, a strategy that may serve as a model for other Democrats in next year’s elections as they try to break President Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ hold on power in Washington and gain ground in statehouses.

Campaigning, Spanberger often sidestepped the historic potential of her candidacy. In victory, she embraced it.

“Just a few minutes ago, Adam said to our daughters, your mom’s going to be the governor of Virginia. And I can guarantee those words have never been spoken in Virginia ever before,” she said

“It’s a big deal that the girls and the young women I have met along the campaign trail now know with certainty that they can achieve anything.”

Spanberger’s eyes welled up as she told her family she loved them, as her husband and three daughters, standing behind her, wiped tears from their cheeks.

Spanberger was intentional in how she criticized Trump

Throughout the campaign, Spanberger made carefully crafted economic arguments against Trump’s policies, while she spent considerable sums on ads tying Earle-Sears to the president. She campaigned across the state, including in Republican-leaning areas, and in her first appearance as governor-elect she wore a bright red suit.

Yet Spanberger also emphasized her support for abortion rights in the last Southern state that has not enacted new restrictions or bans on the procedure, and she railed against Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the U.S. government shutdown and their negative impact on a state with several hundred thousand federal employees.

That approach helped corral Democrats’ core supporters while attracting the kinds of swing voters who elected Youngkin four years ago. It also continued a historical trend for Virginia: Since Jimmy Carter won the White House in 1976, Virginia has backed a governor from the opposite party of every first-term president in the following year. This year is a special case, given the gap between Trump’s terms.

Republicans, meanwhile, must grapple again with a battleground loss by an arch-conservative from the president’s party.

Trump never campaigned for Earle-Sears, though he did give her his tepid support. Their uneasy alliance raises questions about the ideal Republican nominee for contested general elections and how the president’s volatile standing with voters might affect GOP candidates next November. The midterm elections will settle statehouse control in dozens of states and determine whether Republicans maintain majorities in Washington for the final years of Trump’s presidency.

Earle-Sears 61, would have become the first Black woman to be elected as a governor in the U.S.

In her concession speech, she said she hoped Spanberger would support policies that unite Virginians.

“My opponent, Abigail, ran as a moderate. If she governs as one, then she will unite us, and she’ll heal our divide and win our support,” Earle-Sears said. “I hope and pray she does.”

Spanberger balanced policy and biography

Spanberger, 46, ran on a pledge to protect Virginia’s economy from the aggressive tactics of Trump’s second administration, which has culled the civil service, levied tariffs and shepherded a reconciliation bill curtailing the state’s already fragile health care system.

Accountant Sherry Kohan, 56, who cast her ballot at the Aurora Hills Library in Arlington, said she used to think of herself as a Republican but hasn’t felt aligned with either party since Trump’s first term. She said her vote for Spanberger was a vote against Trump.

Stephanie Uhl, 38, who also said she voted for Spanberger, had the federal government shutdown on her mind when casting her ballot at the library in Arlington, just across the river from Washington.

Uhl was working without pay for the Defense Department and though she said, “I can afford (it) just fine,” she was bothered “that it affects so many other people.”

Spanberger’s background also figured heavily into her victory. As a former CIA case officer, she noted her public service and national security credentials. And she pitched herself as the mother of daughters educated in Virginia’s public schools and a Capitol Hill veteran who represented a swing district and worked across the aisle.

The pitch helped the Democratic nominee withstand Earle-Sears’ attacks on cultural issues, notably the Republican’s assertion that Spanberger is an extremist on civil rights and health care for transgender people. Spanberger, who consistently argued that local school districts should decide whether transgender students can participate in competitive sports, cast her opponent as the candidate more out of step with the middle of the Virginia electorate.

Her strategy echoed the approach Democrats used to flip U.S. House control in the 2018 midterms, halfway through Trump’s first presidency. Spanberger was among several high-profile women who brought national security or military credentials to campaigns in battleground districts. Another of those women, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, was vying Tuesday to become New Jersey’s Democratic governor.

Together, they were held up as examples of successful mainstream Democrats at a time when the party’s left flank has been ascendent, most notably Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and the party’s nominee in Tuesday’s New York mayoral contest.

In Congress, Spanberger was a quiet workhorse

When she first got to Washington, Spanberger concentrated on lower-profile issues: bringing broadband to rural areas, fighting drug trafficking and veterans’ services. And she quickly established a reputation for working with colleagues across the political spectrum.

In her new role, she will face tightening economic projections, rising utility costs and growing unemployment — in part because of the Trump administration’s federal contraction. But she could have the advantage of a friendly Legislature if Democrats are able to maintain their majority in the House of Delegates. All 100 seats in that chamber were on the ballot Tuesday, as were other statewide offices, including lieutenant governor and attorney general. The state Senate, also controlled by Democrats, was not on the ballot this year. If Democrats have the so-called trifecta in Richmond, as Republicans do now in Washington, they could enact many policy priorities that lawmakers advanced to Youngkin only for him to veto the bills.

Spanberger won despite a late surprise that threatened Virginia’s Democratic ticket. In October, news reports revealed that Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, sent texts in 2022 suggesting the former Republican House speaker get “two bullets to the head.”

Republicans across the U.S., including Trump and Earle-Sears, demanded Jones drop out. He apologized and said he was ashamed of the messages but declined to leave the race.

The controversy dogged Spanberger. She condemned the text messages but stopped short of asking Jones to withdraw from the race, and she notably did not withdraw her endorsement.

“I have denounced political violence, political rhetoric,” Spanberger said in her lone debate with Earle-Sears, “no matter who is leading the charge.”

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Barrow reported from Atlanta. Helen Wieffering contributed from Arlington, Virginia.

TRENTON, N.J. — U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday was elected governor of New Jersey, shoring up Democratic control of a state that has been reliably blue in presidential and Senate contests but had shown signs of shifting rightward in recent years.

Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and four-term member of Congress, defeated Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and quickly cast her victory late Tuesday as a referendum on the Republican president and some of his policies from health care to immigration and the economy.

“We here in New Jersey are bound to fight for a different future for our children,” Sherrill told her supporters gathered to celebrate her victory. “We see how clearly important liberty is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targeted, ignoring the law and the Constitution.”

Ciattarelli called Sherrill to congratulate her on the results and said he “gave her my very best wishes in hopefully solving New Jersey.”

The start of voting on Tuesday was disrupted after officials in seven counties received e-mailed bomb threats later determined by law enforcement to be unfounded, said the state’s top election official, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way. A judge granted a one-hour extension at some polling places after Democrats made a request for three schools that received e-mailed bomb threats earlier Tuesday.

Sherrill, 53, offers some reassurance for moderates within the Democratic Party as they navigate the path forward for next year’s midterms. A former prosecutor and military veteran, Sherrill embodies a brand of centrist Democrats who aim to appeal to some conservatives while still aligning with some progressive causes. She campaigned on standing up to Trump and casting blame for voters’ concerns over the economy on his tariffs.

Earlier at Sherrill’s victory party, other Democrats were also framing the results Tuesday as a rebuke to the Trump agenda 10 months into his administration.

“Today we said no to Donald Trump and yes to democracy,” said New Jersey’s Democratic Party chair LeRoy J. Jones Jr. to the people gathered.

She will be New Jersey’s second female governor, after Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who served between 1994 and 2001. Her victory also gives Democrats three straight gubernatorial election wins in New Jersey, the first time in six decades that either major party has achieved a three-peat.

Ciattarelli lost his second straight governor’s election after coming within a few points of defeating incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago.

New Jersey’s odd-year race for governor, one of just two this year along with Virginia, often hinged on local issues such as property taxes. But the campaign also served as a potential gauge of national sentiment, especially how voters are reacting to the president’s second term and Democrats’ messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

In the closing weeks of the campaign, Sherrill lambasted the president’s threat to cancel a project to build new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River to replace the aging, disintegrating tubes now used by trains headed to and from New York City. She also pledged to order a freeze on electric utility rates, which have recently soared.

Sherrill steps into the governorship role after serving four terms in the U.S. House. She won that post in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office, flipping a longtime GOP-held district in an election that saw Democrats sweep all but one of the state’s 12 House seats.

During her campaign, Sherrill leaned hard into her credentials as a congresswoman and onetime prosecutor as well as her military service. But she also had to defend her Navy service record after a news report that she was not allowed to participate in her 1994 graduation ceremony from the U.S. Naval Academy commencement in connection with an academic cheating scandal at the school.

Sherrill said the punishment was a result of not turning in some classmates, not because she herself had cheated. But she declined to release additional records that the Ciattarelli campaign said would shed more light on the issue.

For her part, she accused Ciattarelli of profiting off the opioid crisis. He is the former owner of a medical publishing company that made continuing education materials for doctors, including some that discussed pain management and opioids. Sherrill called it “propaganda” for drug companies, something Ciattarelli denied.

Sherrill will inherit a state budget that swelled under Murphy, who delivered on promises to fund the public worker pension fund and a K-12 school aid formula after years of neglect under previous governors, by high income taxes on the wealthy. But there are also headwinds that include unfunded promises to continue a property tax relief program begun in the governor’s second term.

Also on the ballot Tuesday were all 80 seats in the Assembly, which Democrats control with a 52-seat majority.

New Jersey hasn’t supported a Republican for U.S. Senate or the White House in decades. The governor’s office, though, has often switched back and forth between the parties. The last time the same party prevailed in a third straight New Jersey election for governor was in 1961, when Richard Hughes won the race to succeed Gov. Robert Meyner. Both were Democrats.

Fire broke out Monday at the Corewell Health Care Center on Rochester Road in Rochester Hills requiring evacuation of the building.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, no injuries were reported and the fire was out before 2 p.m. It’s believed the roof caught on fire while contractors were working on the HVAC unit on the roof.

As of 1:45 p.m. Monday, firefighters were still on scene. No other information was immediately available.

The Oakland Press will update this story as details become available.

Here are a few a things to know as voters head to the polls Tuesday:

ON THE BALLOT
Oakland County voters will see ballots full of local candidates for mayor, council and other public-board seats as well as ballot proposals from charter amendments to millage requests.

TURNOUT
Turnout is hard to predict because there are too many variables, according to a county clerk spokeswoman.

Several candidates are running write-in campaigns; their names won’t appear on the ballot, but they are listed on the county’s website. To learn about write-in candidates in your community. For details, visit the county’s list of candidates: https://elections.oaklandcountymi.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/27699/638960263474470000, or ballot questions ranging from charter amendments to millage requests are online at https://elections.oaklandcountymi.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/27223/638930222581900000.

To learn more, visit the Oakland County clerk’s elections page: https://www.oakgov.com/government/clerk-register-of-deeds/elections-voting.

WEATHER
The National Weather Service’s White Lake Township office predicts mostly sunny skies with a high near 57 and occasional wind gusts as high as 18 mph.

POLL HOURS
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every jurisdiction.

WHO CAN VOTE
You can vote at your polling place until 8 p.m. Tuesday – anyone already in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot. You have the right to register to vote and vote up to 8 p.m. Tuesday.I

NEED TO REGISTER?
If you’re not registered to vote or need to change the address for your voter registration, visit your city or township clerk’s office as soon as possible Tuesday to avoid lines. You can vote at your clerk’s office. You cannot register to vote after 8 p.m. Tuesday.

HOW TO VOTE
Check out the front and back of your ballot to review your choices. Be sure to vote for nonpartisan candidates and on any ballot issues. The non-partisan group MichiganVoting.org has a tutorial on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n483tnkddoE.
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If you’re at a polling place and make a mistake, election workers can spoil that ballot and issue a new one.

WHAT DO I NEED TO VOTE
Voters must be at least 18 years old and U.S. citizens. People currently in jail or prison cannot cast a ballot. Voters must show proof of being a Michigan resident and living in their city or township for at least 30 days before Tuesday. Proof must be either: a Michigan driver’s license or state ID; or a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check that shows your name and address or another document issued by a federal, state or local government agency. Michigan residents attending college can register to vote based on their school or home address. Out-of-state residents who are U.S. citizens attending Michigan schools can register to vote based on their school address. Michigan residents attending out-of-state schools can register to vote at their Michigan address. It is illegal to cast ballots in two different states for the same election.

WHERE DO I VOTE
Voters can find their polling places and confirm their voter registration status online at: https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index/#yourclerk.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS:
These must be returned by 8 p.m. Tuesday to your municipal clerk’s office. If you filled out an absentee ballot but haven’t returned it and want to make changes, visit your municipal clerk’s office to spoil the ballot and get a new one.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER TUESDAY
Unofficial results will start to be posted shortly after 8 p.m. on the county clerk’s website: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/MI/Oakland/124349/web.345435/#/summary.
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At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, the County Election Certification Board, which includes two Democrats and two Republicans, meets to validate results in the county canvassers training room in the west wing extension of the first floor of the county courthouse at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac. This meeting is open to the public.

By Robert Snell

MediaNews Group

Two Dearborn men and a group of alleged co-conspirators hatched a plan to commit a terrorist attack in support of the Islamic State, according to a federal criminal case filed Monday that described reconnaissance, firearms and fears the group was targeting an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Ferndale.

The case against Dearborn residents Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud was filed three days after high-profile raids by members of an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in Dearborn and Inkster and comments from FBI Director Kash Patel that investigators had thwarted a violent plot tied to international terrorism that was planned over the Halloween weekend.

The criminal complaint describes a group of five co-conspirators, including a juvenile, training with and stockpiling weapons and scouting potential attack locations in downtown Ferndale. The popular downtown is filled with restaurants, bars, clubs and shops and is known as a haven for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Based on my investigation in this case, this information is consistent with (the juvenile), Ali and Mahmoud scouting possible LGBTQ+-friendly attack locations in Ferndale,” FBI Special Agent Nicholas Czech wrote in the complaint.

The men, whose ages were not immediately available, were charged with receiving and transferring, and attempting and conspiring to transfer firearms and ammunition while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe the weapons would be used to commit an act of terrorism. The felony carries a maximum 15-year federal prison sentence.

The charge was filed three days after FBI agents raided two homes in Dearborn and an Inkster storage facility and arrested five people ages 16-20.

Mahmoud’s lawyer Bill Swor declined to comment until he had a chance to read the criminal complaint.

Attorney Amir Makled, who represents a 20-year-old Dearborn man, has denied the men were involved in terrorism.

“One thing is for sure, they didn’t have a plan to attack and are not part of a terror cell,” Makled told The News.

Ali, Mahmoud and others are accused of using online encrypted communications and social media apps to share extremist and ISIS-related material that encouraged terror attacks.

Based on the chats, an attack appeared scheduled for Halloween, according to the government, and Ali and the juvenile “sought guidance from the father of a local Islamic extremist ideologue…on this question,” the FBI agent wrote.

The ideologue is not identified by name but “has publicly proclaimed his support for the Islamic extremist ideology espoused by ISIS,” the agent wrote.

Since the raids, provocative statements from FBI Director Kash Patel and other Trump administration officials, a lack of criminal charges or details about alleged wrongdoing, or names of the accused, led criminal defense lawyers in Metro Detroit to question the legitimacy of the investigation and deny there was a terrorist plot.

The court filing describes talk of a terror attack, firearms and training.

The investigation dates to July, when investigators discovered encrypted chats in which Ali and a juvenile were said to be planning a terrorist attack in the U.S. on behalf of the Islamic State, according to the 73-page criminal complaint.

FBI agents alleged Mahmoud and others conspired to commit the attack.

Amid those chats, Ali purchased an AR-15-style rifle and accessories in August and September, according to the government.

“Then in October 2025, Mahmoud purchased over 1,600 rounds of ammunition that could be used in the AR-15 style rifles he and Ali had purchased,” the complaint reads.

Investigators allege Ali, Mahmoud, the juvenile and two others practiced shooting firearms at gun ranges, a stop investigators believe was to develop the skills to aid in the attack.

The investigation is the latest in Metro Detroit, a region where several residents in recent years have been accused of providing or trying to provide support to the Islamic State or launching failed attempts to kill people.

“Through swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a potential act of terror was stopped before it could unfold,” Patel said in a social media post. “The vigilance of this FBI prevented what could have been a tragic attack — and thanks to their dedication, Michigan will have a safe and happy Halloween.”

In the wake of the raid, Makled faulted Patel for making “premature” comments about the investigation. The five people arrested by the FBI ― all U.S. citizens ― were not planning an attack, he said.

“There was never any planned mass-casualty event or terrorism plot of any kind that I’m aware of,” Makled said. “They might have been on some websites or online chat groups that they shouldn’t have been, but nothing that is illegal.”

By Henry Payne and Grant Schwab, MediaNews Group

Robot cars are coming to Detroit streets.

Waymo LLC, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, said Monday that its self-driving fleet is headed to the Motor City. The electric autonomous ride-hailing service has become a fixture in cities like Phoenix and San Francisco, where hundreds of vehicles — instantly recognized by their rooftop Lidar arrays — service hundreds of thousands of customers with no driver behind the robotaxis’ spinning steering wheel.

Recently, the service expanded to Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin — and now it is expanding again with service in Detroit, plus San Diego and Las Vegas. Detroit is significant because it’s Waymo’s first northern market. Waymo said the service is targeted to operate 365 days a year through rain, sleet and snow.

The service is also notable because it uses Zeekr minivans, the first Chinese electric auto brand on U.S. streets. At its inception in Phoenix, Waymo used Chrysler Pacifica minivans, which have been phased out over time.

“Starting next week, you’ll see us manually driving around the city as we familiarize ourselves with Detroit’s historic streets before moving to autonomous operations,” Waymo said in a press release. “We’ll arrive with a mixed fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles with the 5th-gen Waymo Driver and Zeekr RT vehicles equipped with our 6th-gen Waymo Driver, which will be key to driving in winter weather.”

Waymos are hailed by an app similar to Uber and Lyft. Waymo is the most-used robot service in the United States and is in fierce competition with Amazon’s Zoox and Tesla Inc. robotaxis to bring driver-free ride-hailing services to U.S. customers. The latter service, which recently started testing in Austin, Texas, with human monitors on board, aims to be more affordable than Waymo by eschewing expensive Lidar arrays and navigating solely by cameras.

Waymo said that it is coordinating closely with local officials, including the Michigan Department of Transportation and the city of Detroit, as it begins its step-by-step testing approach in the Motor City. Neither MDOT nor the city offered comments ahead of the Monday announcement.

“We’re proud of our roots in Metro Detroit, including in Novi, where we’ve had an engineering team for many years,” the company statement said. Waymo’s Novi office employs several dozen engineers, technicians and test drivers.

The company has prepared for its Detroit rollout through launches in other cities, closed-track testing and forays into areas like the Upper Peninsula with snowy winter conditions. A recent Waymo blog post discussed efforts to create an “all-weather Driver.”

The first phase of the Detroit rollout will feature human drivers manually operating the vehicles to collect a highly detailed, high-definition map of the city, Waymo technical program manager Jake Tretter said in an interview.

Once that phase is complete, the vehicles will roam the streets — supervised — using their autonomous technology while a human operator sits in the driver’s seat to make sure performance is safe and smooth.

The company did not provide a timetable for when testing phases would end and the public would be able to hail self-driving rides from the Waymo app.

“Our goal is to do it as soon as possible,” Tretter said. But he also stressed the importance of building “trust and understanding” so Detroiters are ready for an eventual full launch in the city.

“It’s harder to lose the trust and try to regain that than it is to slowly build that trust and make sure that we’re working in unison with the community and policy and legislators,” he added.

The Detroit expansion will “first and foremost” focus on the city’s urban core near Comerica Park, Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena before expanding out slowly from there.

Waymo began operating as a service open to the public in Phoenix in October 2020. Since its introduction in San Francisco in 2023, it has become a tourist sensation as well as ferrying locals on their daily rounds. Waymo has been validated over 100 million fully autonomous miles and 10 million-plus trips.

In May of this year, Waymo released a study saying that over 56.7 million miles, its vehicles had 92% fewer crashes with injuries to pedestrians and 82% fewer crashes with injuries to cyclists compared to human drivers. The company’s latest data show similar rates across 96 million miles.

Still, its robotaxis have faced scrutiny from safety regulators, including a 14-month probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into more than a dozen minor crashes in which Waymo vehicles ran into parked cars and other stationary objects. Waymo recalled 1,200 vehicles, leading NHTSA to close the inquiry, Reuters reported.

In addition to eventually opening its service to the public in Detroit, Waymo is partnering with organizations like the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan.

“For many people living with epilepsy, transportation is a significant barrier. The Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan celebrates organizations like Waymo, which are leading the way in providing accessible and safe transportation solutions,” said Andrea Schotthoefer, the foundation’s president. “Their efforts show what’s possible and inspire collective action toward a future where transportation barriers no longer stand in the way of opportunity and inclusion.”

Social service agencies in Oakland County are ready to help people receiving food aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. They just don’t know what will happen next.

“Organizations like ours shouldn’t scramble to meet emergency needs,” said Ryan Hertz, president and CEO for Lighthouse of Oakland County,. “We should have public policy that meets the needs on an ongoing basis.”

Lighthouse already serves an estimated 111,000 people – half of whom are children – in 40,000 households in Oakland County. He said 60% of the people who receive SNAP benefits find the money isn’t enough to feed their families. The federal shutdown is having a destabilizing effect on people who use SNAP for groceries and who get vouchers or other financial aid for housing, he said.

Hertz said he was glad Michigan had joined an effort to sue the federal government to fund SNAP. He’s frustrated that it has to happen.

Late Friday, two federal judges ordered the administration to continue payments using emergency reserve funds during the shutdown. In Michigan, SNAP money is distributed via Bridge cards. But it can take days for the cards to be loaded with funds, so people will go hungry while they wait..

It’s also unclear whether the administration will appeal the decisions, which would add to the delay.

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture initially planned to continue providing SNAP benefits by using nearly $6 billion in contingency funds, but reversed the decision and announced benefits would be paused on Nov. 1 because of the shutdown.

SNAP serves an estimated one in eight Americans and is considered an important part of the nation’s social safety net. It costs an estimated $8 billion a month.

SNAP’s 2025 poverty threshold for a family of four is a net income of $31,000 after certain expenses. Last year, SNAP provided assistance to 41 million people, nearly two-thirds of whom were families with children, according to an Associated Press report.

In Michigan, 1.4 million residents benefit from SNAP, including approximately 492,225 children and 38,513 veterans.

More than 102,000 Oakland County residents live below the poverty line, according U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Nearly 255,000 of the county’s 1.2 million residents are under age 18. Of those children, an estimated one in seven, or nearly 36,000 don’t have adequate food on a daily basis.

But Hertz said that doesn’t include people who are barely above poverty level and juggling bills.

“We’re talking about low- to middle-income folks who are employed but not making enough to make ends meet,” he said, adding that low-income families have faced an exhausting and prolonged series of threats to support services that are affecting their wellbeing.

Lighthouse estimates it reaches 74% of impoverished people scattered among the county’s 62 municipalities.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calls the pause on payments unacceptable. She ordered $4.5 million sent to the Food Bank Council of Michigan, which supports outlets in all 83 counties.

FBCM officials declined an interview request from The Oakland Press because, a spokeswoman said, “circumstances remain highly fluid, and we want to avoid contributing to speculation while we continue gathering updates from our network and state partners.”

She said FBCM is monitoring conditions and prepared for an increase in need. The focus, she said, “is on maintaining access to food for the people we serve, even as no new resources are currently available to meet higher demand.”

Whitmer also ordered an expansion of the state’s Double Up Food Bucks program, which gives Michigan families money to purchase groceries, including fresh fruits and vegetables.

She promoted Hunters Feeding Families, a program that provides venison or other fresh game to feed families and said the state’s 1.4 million public school students would continue receiving free breakfast and lunch. The school meals save families an estimated $1,000 a year.

Gleaners Community Food Bank is another southeast Michigan nonprofit monitoring requests for support with partners and community mobile distributions, according to spokeswoman Kristin Sokul.

She said Gleaners has experienced a rise in requests for information about receiving food aid.

“We remain focused on increasing food purchases where necessary, increasing volunteer shifts to support more box builds, and looking at where hot spots may be to respond with mobiles,” she said.

People can help in three ways, according to Sokul:

•  Use your voice to advocate for SNAP funding.

•  Volunteer at a food pantry or food bank to help stock and deliver groceries.

•  Consider donating money instead of food. Gleaners has agreements with retailers for discounted groceries. Donated money “will help us support our partners in the charitable food network and flexibly resource our drive-up distributions while we continue to hope for a resolution at the federal level,” she said.

Hertz said Lighthouse assumed a leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic by leveraging its network of volunteers and agreements with suppliers.

“It was a joint effort for our staff, volunteers, local, state and federal governments,” he said. But it took three months to organize.

There’s no mechanism to increase resources in the space of a few days, he said, adding that families are facing more than food insecurity. People who receive housing benefits are also at risk during the shutdown.

“There’s a degree of fatigue happening with how heavily our community has been hit,” he said. “It’s hard on our staff, donors and volunteers” who can’t provide immediate support or quick resolutions.

“It’s not something you can turn on or off. We can’t just say ‘We’ll meet this massive additional need,’” he said. “We’d have to dramatically ramp up capacity.”

 

Nonprofit food banks and pantries exist to reduce or prevent hunger. They need supplies, staff, volunteers and warehouse space, all of which costs money, he said.

“That’s a very expensive way to get food to people, instead of just giving them adequate SNAP benefits and letting those people go shopping,” he said. “In an ideal universe, we‘d be funding SNAP at an appropriate level – which would also help grocery businesses.

“Give people the dignity and resources to go grocery shopping because they’re human beings like the rest of us,” he said.

Pontiac resident Eisha Branner spent the week creating lists of resources for the people she works with through her nonprofit, E-Community Outreach Services. She helps families with case management, community and other resources. The organization has few barriers when people need help, she said.

She said most of her clients are from Pontiac and some are from Detroit, but the SNAP crisis has caused a surge of inquiries.

“It’s alarming to me,” she said. “These are not just people who are not working. These are people who are the true working class. I’m seeing people in higher income brackets looking for help. They’re always struggling to pay bills but with SNAP they knew they at least had food coming.”

She recently expanded from a 2,500 sq. ft. building to a 5,000 sq. ft. space at 180 N. Saginaw in Pontiac, which officially opens on Nov. 12.

To find food resources or other support, call 211 or visit https://mi211.org.

WALLED LAKE – One of the most anticipated matchups in the first round of this season’s high school football playoffs did not disappoint, as Birmingham Brother Rice narrowly defeated Walled Lake Western in a neck-and-neck battle.

Brother Rice will be moving on to the district finals after the 28-24 win, building off of its scorching hot streak to inch its way into the playoffs following a 2-4 season start.

“It means a lot,” Brother Rice head coach Aaron Marshall said. “We couldn’t stop them at all in the first half. They were getting what they wanted in the run game. My defensive coordinator made really good adjustments in the second half, and we got really really key stops.”

The game began in favor of Western, who stretched the opening drive out to nearly seven minutes, topping it off with a 37-yard touchdown reception on fourth and long by junior Timon Dogan to make it 7-0.

The time-consuming drive by Western was rough on the defensive end, but Marshall said they stuck to the game plan.

“You stick with the game plan,” Marshall said. “When it’s the playoffs, you’ve got to take what you can get when you get it right. You’re never automatic to score. You keep calling the plays you’re going to call and defense will adjust.”

While Western appeared to have complete control of the game, the tide quickly turned. Sophomore Deondre Hill instantly rushed 79 yards to answer back in a drive that lasted less than a minute. A failed extra-point attempt made it a 7-6 game in favor of Western.

The long rush paid off for Brother Rice, which forced Western to go three-and-out on their next possession. The defensive effort was aided by a 40-yard receiving touchdown to senior Jacob Johnson from junior Sam Eyde to take the lead at 13-7 ending the first quarter.

Johnson and Hill were the difference-makers on offense for Brother Rice.

“That’s our version of Sonic and Knuckles, that’s thunder and lightning man,” Marshall said. “They both are prime time players. They are big time guys and they make those kinds of plays in big time games.”

While the first quarter was a shootout for both teams, the second quarter showcased strong defense. Western once again used a long, near 10-minute opening drive to set up a short rushing touchdown by junior Michael Walker Jr. to retake the lead at 14-13.

Following a turnover on downs by Brother Rice, Western couldn’t add on to their lead despite a 57-yard reception by senior Jacarri Anderson. Western would get into scoring range and set up a field goal attempt, but the snap was long to send both teams to half.

Brother Rice looked like they were going to use the Western mishap to their advantage to begin the second half, as Johnson took the ball 40-yards downfield, only for it to be followed by a field goal to give them the lead once more at 16-14.

Both teams once again reverted to their quick scoring as Western followed the field goal with a short rollout touchdown caught by Central Michigan commit Lucas Hoffmeyer. Brother Rice responded with a wide open touchdown caught in the corner of the end zone by sophomore Tyler Trussell to turn the game in their favor to end a back-and-forth third.

The fourth quarter seemed to be all Western, which held a 24-22 lead until two minutes to go in the game. On the final offensive drive for Brother Rice, Deondre Hill sent a 24-yard rush to the endzone to retake a 28-24 lead. Despite a minute and a half to win the game, Western was stopped by an aggressive Brother Rice pass rush.

Brother Rice will move on to face Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, a 35-7 winner over North Farmington, in next week’s district finals. Despite the immediate emotion of the win over Western, Marshall said they’re going right back to the drawing board to prepare.

“Literally starting tomorrow, we’re going to watch this film and correct our mistakes from here,” Marshall said. “We’ve got to have a great week of practice, it’s imperative that we start there.”

By Breana Noble

MediaNews Group

Ford Motor Co. is opening the doors of its new world headquarters to the public on Nov. 16.

Attendees must register online for free to enjoy the festivities that include self-guided tours, a car show, live entertainment, food trucks and other activities for families from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

The Dearborn automaker last month announced it was moving its headquarters across town to the new, enormous, glassy product development center known as “The Hub” off Oakwood Boulevard across from the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. It’ll serve as the home for the company that first made vehicles accessible to the masses as it pursues a future toward greater electrification, autonomous driving and other advanced technologies.

The new headquarters will get the 1 American Road address that has marked the location of the Glass House at Michigan Avenue and Southfield Road that has served as Ford’s headquarters since 1956. That building will be demolished and is expected to be turned into a park-like community space in partnership with the city.

On Nov. 16, a grand opening ceremony will occur at noon and a closing ceremony at 4 p.m. Guests can make reservations to see the inside of the building, including workspaces and employee wellness areas. The walking, self-guided look likely will take 15 to 30 minutes, according to Ford.

Guests still can register to attend, even if tour reservations become fully booked. The Ford Community Car Show will show privately owned Ford classics from custom designs and sports models to heavy-duty trucks.

For now, The Hub is listed at 2100 Carroll Shelby Way on Google Maps. Ford’s invitation encourages guests to enter at Village Road and South Pond. Parking is at Deck 300 at 21324 S. Military St. and the PDC lot at 21000 S. Military.

By Kara Berg, MediaNews Group

The widow of a man killed in 2010 in Farmington Hills and her attorney say the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office is neglecting its duties in the retrial of the man convicted of killing her husband.

Genniver Jameel, the widow of Saif Jameel, said she is frustrated about what she sees as corruption in the prosecutor’s office and courtroom maneuvers strip away the justice her family got in 2011 when Hayes Bacall was sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of her husband. Bacall is in the process of being retried for Saif Jameel’s murder after the Court of Appeals vacated his conviction in April.

“We are living through hell every single day — grieving Saif while fighting a system that seems determined to silence us,” Jameel told The Detroit News in a statement. “Instead of finding support and accountability through the court system, we have faced betrayal and corruption that has only deepened our suffering.”

Hayes Bacall was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2011 for the July 2010 murder of his nephew Saif Jameel. Prosecutors say Bacall walked into the gas station Jameel owned and shot him 12 times, then later told police he killed Jameel because Jameel owed him $400,000.

The Oakland County Conviction Integrity Unit reviewed the case in 2022 and determined that prosecutorial misconduct related to lies the prosecutor told during closing arguments, as well as witnesses recanting their testimony, resulted in a weak conviction.

Prosecutors and Bacall’s attorneys agreed to move forward with a second-degree murder charge instead of the original first-degree murder charge in 2023, but new evidence has again come up, pausing justice for Saif Jameel again.

Prosecutors obtained recordings in May and July of two phone calls that one of the recanting witnesses, Samir Bacall, Saif’s younger brother, had with his aunt. In the calls, Samir implies he lied during his recantation and was truthful in his original testimony. He expresses a desire for revenge on Genniver Jameel because she allegedly owes him money.

Though prosecutors transcribed translations of the calls in time to include them in their response to Hayes Bacall’s motion to dismiss the first-degree murder charge, prosecutors did not mention them in public court filings until days after Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ellen Brennan granted Hayes Bacall’s motion Oct. 15 and dismissed the first-degree murder charge. Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said Brennan knew about the filings from off-the-record conversations, but they were not introduced to influence her decision on the first-degree murder charge.

The first mention of Samir’s statements came in a motion for reconsideration of Brennan’s decision filed after 5 p.m. Oct. 20, the day before Bacall was set to plead guilty to second-degree murder. The recordings call into question the validity of Samir’s recantation and his motives for his original trial testimony, Assistant Prosecutor Shelbee Sanborn wrote in the motion for reconsideration.

Brennan said the late filing was “stunning” and said “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Sanborn during a hearing Oct. 21 told Brennan she had to work “very quickly” to get this motion filed and did it as soon as she could, but did not say why the information was not included in her response to Bacall’s motion to dismiss the first-degree murder charge. Prosecutors filed the motion after The News inquired Oct. 16 about the recordings and why they weren’t brought up.

Sanborn wrote in her motion that she did not have a chance to tell Brennan about the new evidence, including the recordings and another witness who could testify to premeditation, on Oct. 15 when Brennan ruled on the motion. Sanborn is asking Brennan to reconsider her ruling dismissing the first-degree murder charge for Bacall.

“The existence of the phone calls was never a secret. They were disclosed to the defense and we made the court aware of their existence,” said Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams. “We didn’t believe that the phone calls were relevant to the motion to dismiss, which is why we didn’t attach them to our response.”

Genniver Jameel’s attorney, Pam Szydlak, said the prosecutor’s office’s conduct is “nothing short of alarming.”

Jameel and Szydlak said Sanborn told them she would be fighting for the first-degree charge to remain in place, and would be mentioning the recordings in her response and at the hearing on Bacall’s motion to dismiss the first-degree murder charge. Sanborn did not mention it, however, and argued only that prosecutors were not barred from proceeding with the first-degree case in her written response.

“The People were given a full and fair opportunity to defend against this motion, yet they failed to do so in any meaningful or competent way — all the while pretending they were fighting it,” Szydlak said. “Rather than engage with real legal issues and the transcripts of Samir Bacall saying he lied in his recantation, they instead offered vague assertions, unsupported rhetoric, and outright neglect of its duty to the court and the interests of justice.”

Williams said no one has denied Hayes Bacall shot and killed Saif Jameel, and the prosecutor’s office has continued to fight to hold him accountable for his actions. Prosecutors are now seeking to have Bacall tried again for first-degree murder.

“Those recordings are attached to our motion for reconsideration, and the Judge has agreed to consider them,” Williams said in a statement. “The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office has fully pursued a transparent and thorough review of the case against Hayes Bacall for the death of Saif Jameel.”

Samir Bacall, Saif’s younger brother, originally testified that Hayes Bacall had called him multiple times in the months before the shooting, saying he was going to kill Saif because of the money he owed him. Samir and Jameel’s close friend Slieman Bashi said in 2022 that they lied during the trial about these statements, which was part of why prosecutors decided to reopen the case and seek to overturn Bacall’s conviction.

In the recorded conversation, Samir told his aunt “she harmed me,” speaking of Genniver.

“Yes, but you don’t go to seek your revenge on her by going and changing your testimony,” the aunt said, according to a translated transcript of the phone call.

Samir talks mostly about seeking revenge on Genniver, because he says she sought revenge on him and took his money, but also said “I did not testify falsely, no, I didn’t lie … Geniver Geniver (sic) is the one who testified falsely, not I.”

Bacall’s attorney, Mark Krieger, said during a hearing Oct. 21 that he didn’t think the recording changes anything and that Brennan should not change her ruling about the first-degree murder charge. He said Bacall was prepared that day to plead guilty to second-degree murder. Krieger did not respond for comment.

Brennan will issue a written ruling on Sanborn’s motion for reconsideration. Bacall’s next court date is Dec. 4.

Aircraft owners at the Oakland County International Airport will get a smoother ride thanks to a $6 million grant from the state.

Work to replace  nearly 8,000 feet of pavement will begin next spring, said airport manager Cheryl Bush.

A $6 million grant managed by Michigan’s Department of Transportation will help renovate Oakland County International Airport. This grant money comes from the Federal Aviation Agency but is managed by MDOT. It will pay to reconstruct and improve lighting for Taxilanes D, F and Y and renovate the airport apron.

The county will add just over $151,000 to the state Department of Transportation’s funds.

Bush told commissioners on the county commission’s Economic Development and Infrastructure committee that the work is a year overdue.

“The pavement has been pretty rough. We’ve had some complaints about it,” she told the committee last week, adding that the work couldn’t happen without the support of federal grants.

The work will begin next spring on the airport’s north side and will be done in phases over four months so the nearly 400 airplanes kept at the airport will remain accessible to their owners, Bush told commissioners.

The committee also advised the commission to approve a separate, nearly $2.2 million MDOT grant to reimburse the airport for purchased snow-removal equipment and land to add to a protection zone for Runway 27L and renovate the pavement for Taxilane M.

The airport is in Waterford Township and is the second-busiest in Michigan.

The commissioners’ general business meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 in the auditorium at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac. The full agenda and packet are online at https://oaklandcomi.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1302/files/agenda/11994.

By Summer Ballentine, MediaNews Group

About 1,200 workers at General Motors Co.’s Detroit-area all-electric plant will be laid off as the company downsizes to a single shift in response to the slowing U.S. electric vehicle market.

The company also will cut 550 jobs at its joint-venture Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Ohio, with another 850 slated for temporary layoff. The Ultium Cells’ Tennessee plant will temporarily lay off 700 workers.

The layoffs reflect a rapid pullback in EV production as GM adjusts to a U.S. EV market no longer bolstered by $7,500 tax credits for buyers and lessees that expired last month. Automakers also expect to soon be free of expensive government fines for greenhouse gas emissions that pushed EV manufacturing ahead of market demand. Both policy changes were pushed by President Donald Trump.

“In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, General Motors is realigning EV capacity,” according to a company statement. “Despite these changes, GM remains committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint, and we believe our investments and dedication to flexible operations will make GM more resilient and capable of leading through change. Impacted employees may be eligible for SUB pay and benefits in accordance with the National GM-UAW Agreement.”

GM on Wednesday said its all-electric Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, which went offline this week, will remain shut down until Nov. 24 when it will run two shifts until the holiday break. It will only operate one shift when it reopens Jan. 5 after the holidays.

About 2,000 employees will stay on at Factory Zero, spokesperson Kevin Kelly said. Cuts will be based on seniority.

The plant has repeatedly cut shifts and slowed production this year, including axing a shift each for the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ.

Ultium Cells plants in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Warren, Ohio, will pause operations starting Jan. 5 and continuing through at least May, Kelly said.

“During the temporary pause Ultium Cells plans to make upgrades to both facilities to provide greater flexibility,” according to a GM statement. “Ultium Cells will continue to evaluate and adapt production plans based on evolving market needs.”

Kelly said more layoffs are coming at two other sites. GM’s Pontiac Metal Center, a Metro Detroit stamping plant that supplies parts for Factory Zero, will temporarily lay off 45 workers and New York’s Rochester Operations, which makes electric vehicle battery cooling lines supplied to Factory Zero, will temporarily idle 74 employees. Both actions will take effect Nov. 17.

The moves come as battery manufacturers ― including the Detroit Three ― scale back plans for EV battery production, citing tepid demand and a sharply changing regulatory environment under the Trump administration.

Ford Motor Co. has delayed production plans at major battery plants it has a stake in, while a Stellantis NV partnership isn’t moving forward with major parts of its originally-planned battery factory footprint. Numerous battery projects have been scrapped, delayed or mothballed.

Automakers are in many cases rethinking their entire game plan for EVs under Trump, pivoting more to hybrids and big-engine trucks, pausing EV assembly lines, and in some instances ― including with GM ― altogether stripping EV-related production equipment out of factories.

Aidan Hutchinson, the homegrown heart and soul of the Detroit Lions’ defense, has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the team, his agent announced via social media Wednesday morning.

Financial terms have not been released.

Hutchinson, still just 25 years old, was the No. 2 pick out of Michigan in the 2022 NFL Draft and becomes the first member of general manager Brad Holmes’ second draft class to receive a significant contract extension.

Over his first two seasons, Hutchinson appeared in all 37 games (including playoffs) for Detroit and averaged 10½ sacks during the regular season, finishing as the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022 and making his first Pro Bowl in 2023 after an 11.5-sack, 121-pressure campaign.

To begin the 2024 season, Hutchinson cemented himself as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. At the time of his injury, which occurred after the Lions’ Week 5 bye, Hutchinson led the NFL in pressures (45) and sacks (7½). He remained the NFL’s pressure leader until Week 8, when his total was surpassed by Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers).

“Every time you watch him, he gets better and better and I was pretty blown away last night,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said after Hutchinson recorded a career-high 4.5 sacks in a Week 2 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.

“He’s a force. He’s a force. … He’s just relentless, he’s powerful, he’s explosive.”

Despite the severity of his injury, which required immediate surgery at a Dallas-area hospital, Hutchinson remained adamant he would be able to return for the Super Bowl, if the Lions had been able to make it that far. Campbell repeatedly warned against such optimism, but noted, “If anybody can come back from this, it would be Aidan.” The point ultimately became moot as the Lions fell to the Washington Commanders, 45-31, in the NFC’s divisional round.

Still, as highlighted by Campbell’s comments, Hutchinson’s dedicated work ethic is the shining example of what the Lions want their players to be.

Shortly before Detroit’s 2024 opener, former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said of Hutchinson, “Hutch has had a tremendous offseason. He had a tremendous training camp, and now he’s at the point that he needs to set his sights at being, if not the best player defensively in this league, to one of the best players — which he is, but now it’s time to look at himself as the best player.”

Since graduating from Dearborn Divine Child High School, Hutchinson has been at the forefront of reviving two local programs. In Hutchinson’s senior year at Michigan (2021), the Wolverines snapped an eight-game losing streak against rival Ohio State — a 42-27 victory at Michigan Stadium in which Hutchinson sacked Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud three times — and a 17-year drought as Big Ten champions, reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.

With his multi-sack performance against Ohio State, Hutchinson set Michigan’s single-season sack record (14), a distinction previously owned by his father, Chris. He was named a unanimous All-American and finished as runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

Two years later, Hutchinson helped propel Detroit to its first division title in 30 years as the Lions won two playoff games — doubling their total (one) from 1957-2022 — en route to an NFC Championship appearance, where the Lions came up short by way of a furious second-half comeback by the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.

Though Hutchinson didn’t necessarily grow up donning the Honolulu blue — “My dad’s from Texas, so he was never a big Lions fan,” he said last year — he acknowledged the surreal nature of the team’s turnaround ahead of the NFC title game.

“Growing up here, you grow up with a lot of the ‘Same Old Lions’ stuff, and a lot of the tragedy and whatever you want to call it,” Hutchinson said. “I see videos of little kids (excited about the Lions), and just like, seeing that generation growing up with this Lions team and the Lions teams to come, it’s just cool to have two different perspectives on it and to see kind of both sides of the coin.”

Entering the 2022 draft, Hutchinson was long believed to be the obvious No. 1 pick before Jacksonville ultimately chose to select Georgia pass rusher Travon Walker. Though Walker has steadily improved into a really good player, he has yet to exhibit the sky-high potential of Hutchinson. And he probably won’t be getting paid like him either.

While Royal Oak police haven’t yet provided an update for the slaying of an 83-year-old man on Oct. 24, his identity has been confirmed as David Ong of Bloomfield Hills.

A volunteer at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church’s parish office told The Oakland Press on Monday that Ong, who died last Friday at a home in Royal Oak, was a member of St. Hugo’s.

The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Ong on Monday and ruled the death a homicide. The cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries to the head and hands, and complications thereof.”

Royal Oak police arrested the suspected killer, a 35-year-old woman — described as an acquaintance of the family — on Friday evening after responding to a report of a man calling for help in the 4300 block of Sheridan Drive in Royal Oak. The suspect had blood on her hands, police said, and was taken into custody following a brief foot chase.

Ong was found unresponsive in the home’s basement with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The suspect’s name has not yet been released. Arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said.

A social media post from Ong’s daughter, Kelley Ong Smith, said he died “while protecting his cherished 3 year old granddaughter.”

“The loss is immeasurable,” she stated.

According to Ong’s obituary, he was “the most loving husband to Jacqueline” — his wife of more than 60 years — devoted father of four, and “Grandpa Dave” to 11.

The obituary further states, in part: “David’s life was defined by faith, humility and a gentle spirit. He was deeply caring, a true friend and a steady source of encouragement and support. He took joy in understanding everything about his children and grandchildren. He loved sports and rarely missed a chance to cheer for his Wolverines, Lions and Tigers. He enjoyed rides in his convertible, loved music and served as a mentor to his family and to many colleagues and employees.”

Ong founded the commercial real estate consulting and development firm, Acquest Realty Advisors, which he led for 45 years, the obituary states.

Visitation is planned for Oct. 31 at Desmond Funeral Home, 2600 Crooks Road in Troy from 1 to 5 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church, 2215 Opdyke Road in Bloomfield Hills on Nov. 1, with visitation at 9:30 a.m. and Mass at 10 a.m.

 

By Max Bryan, MediaNews Group

A Republican is the only city clerk candidate on the ballot in Democratic-dominated Southfield, a prospect that worries Democrats and has GOP leaders arguing that the Democrats are in disarray.

Republican Gavriel “Gabi” Grossbard is running for the Southfield clerk’s seat after losing his 2023 bid to current city Clerk Janet Jackson, a Democrat who was disqualified from running for reelection. Democrats are hoping either City Council member Coretta Hogue or city clerk’s office worker Wynett Guy can prevail as write-in candidates, but political experts said write-in campaigns are often uphill battles.

The clerk oversees local elections and public records in the predominantly Black city of more than 75,000 residents. This would include overseeing the local results of the 2026 midterm election, when Republicans are seeking to win an open U.S. Senate seat as well as take back the governor’s office and state Senate.

The Michigan Democratic Party has highlighted this race in part due to a November 2020 federal lawsuit that Grossbard filed with three other voters that sought to decertify the presidential ballot counts in the Democratic strongholds of Wayne, Washtenaw and Ingham counties. Grossbard and his co-plaintiffs accused election officials of clerical errors, fraud and counting illegal votes.

The lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan sought to invalidate more than 1.2 million votes — more than 848,500 votes for Democrat Joe Biden and more than 368,400 votes for President Donald Trump, a Republican — after Biden defeated Trump by 154,000 votes. But Grossbard and his co-defendants withdrew the lawsuit five days later.

“There’s good reason that, in a majority-Democratic city, we wouldn’t want somebody like that to be clerk,” said Michigan Democratic Party President Curtis Hertel, adding that “it’s incredibly important that those people’s votes are counted in a free and fair election in 2026 and beyond.”

Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said he’s known Grossbard to be “a reasonable, nice guy” and would be ethical in the clerk’s office if elected. Siver also said he doesn’t believe Grossbard is “MAGA” or a Make America Great Again diehard, although the mayor is not supporting his bid for clerk.

Grossbard didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment, and campaign manager Pea Gee did not arrange an interview with the candidate despite multiple requests.

Jackson, a former Oakland County commissioner who beat Grossbard 75%-25% for the clerk’s office in 2023, was taken off this year’s ballot due to an unresolved campaign finance fee.

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Jim Runestad called Jackson a “Keystone cop” for getting disqualified from an election she’s charged with overseeing.

“How catastrophic for the city, one of the biggest in Oakland County, to have this level of incompetence,” Runestad said. “So then, they’re now stuck with trying to plug in whoever they can as opposed to a gentleman who went about it the right way, filed in time, filed his paperwork correctly and is on the ballot.”

State Democrats have thrown their support behind Guy at the request of local Democratic chapters, Hertel said.

“She doesn’t come in with a learning curve,” said Southfield / Lathrup Village Democratic Club President Joseph Person, referencing Guy’s position in the clerk’s office. “(Grossbard and Hogue) come in with a learning curve.”

Expert: Write-in efforts ‘extremely difficult’

But the Democrats have unique challenges to win the Southfield clerk’s race, a political analyst said.

Write-in candidacies usually are “extremely difficult” because of the huge educational effort required by campaigns to ensure voters remember a candidate’s name and write it on the ballot, said Southfield-based consultant Mario Morrow Sr.

The Southfield situation complicates the situation further because of the dueling write-in candidacies, he said.

“Just off the bat, the write-in candidates might end up splitting votes if they get people to support them, which leaves the person who, love him or hate him, is a legitimate candidate, on the ballot, and very well could end up in this spot,” Morrow said.

Guy originally sought to be placed on the election ballot, but said her name was removed because Grossbard pointed out disqualifying aspects in her campaign. Grossbard’s campaign manager, Gee, rejected the claim, arguing that Guy failed on her own to ensure she complied with state election law.

As a result, Guy mounted a write-in campaign.

Guy said she would make sure the clerk’s office flows more efficiently if elected. She also said she would better educate its employees about the office’s functions.

Hogue said she put her name down before she knew Guy was going to launch a write-in campaign.

The City Council member said she is concerned about the prospect of split votes, but said she was the only write-in candidate before Guy threw her hat in the ring. Hogue also said she has experience running a voting precinct.

Asked about the possibility of a weakened write-in vote due to the two candidates, Person said he’s not concerned about “hypotheticals” and is instead focused on helping Guy win the election.

2020 lawsuit becomes focal point

Grossbard’s supporters said he was within his rights to try to decertify a portion of Michigan’s votes in the 2020 presidential election if he believed there were irregularities.

Grossbard and three other plaintiffs said in the lawsuit they were worried their votes were “unconstitutionally diluted” by fraudulent ballots, including some of the absentee ballots counted at what was then the TCF Center in Detroit.

“There exists sufficient evidence to place in doubt the November 3 presidential-election results in identified key counties, including issues with transparency, fraudulent changing of dates, a software glitch, clerical errors, illegal votes, and many other issues and irregularities,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cited other lawsuits and conservative blogs in its reasoning and claimed the plaintiffs would analyze poll books and other records to create “expert reports” to provide proof of fraud. None of the other lawsuits seeking to overturn Michigan’s election results succeeded. Grossbard and his allies withdrew the lawsuit without explanation on Nov. 16, 2020.

The lawsuit would have invalidated more than 20% of Michigan’s 5.5 million votes if successful.

“This case was clearly designed to spread misinformation about the security and integrity of Michigan elections,” state Attorney General Dana Nessel said of the lawsuit.

Gee said Grossbard “had some concerns, didn’t break the law, put their name on a lawsuit.” Runestad agreed.

“It’s perfectly legal to be able to do this. It happens all the time that people feel that there were things that were not kosher in the election process,” Runestad said.

Gee said Grossbard would be “more cognizant” of election integrity than other candidates since he’s sued over them before.

Guy said she wouldn’t care about Grossbard’s politics if he hadn’t challenged the 2020 election.

“I was concerned about the city, so they needed to be told, and not just blindly vote for someone who’s the only person on the ballot without knowing their track record,” Guy said.

Noting prior clerk’s misconduct

Gee accused the Democratic Party of hypocrisy because it supported former Southfield Clerk Sherikia Hawkins in 2019. Hawkins was convicted in 2022 of misconduct in office for ending the city’s 2018 election without counting nearly 200 absentee ballots. She was forced to resign from office, leading eventually to the Jackson-Grossbard race in 2023. She was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Gee also accused the Democrats of making the campaign “about a Jewish man running against one African American write-in candidate,” and pointed out that both Guy and Hogue are Black.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Hertel called Gee’s claim “ridiculous.”

“The only thing that we have talked about in this campaign is his lack of credibility in county elections when he himself has been part of denying them,” Hertel said.

Grossbard said he will “defend and preserve the individual right to vote, secure the voting process, and will fight voter suppression,” according to his campaign literature. The campaign materials also said Grossbard will expand services to include passport applications and process birth and death certificates in a timely manner.

Grossbard would bring council minutes up to date if he were elected, Gee said. She claimed these records have fallen out of compliance with Michigan’s Open Meeting Act under Jackson.

“I’m surprised that the Democratic Party is worried about the candidate as opposed to the people getting their accurate information,” Gee said.

Jackson did not respond to a request for comment regarding Gee’s claim.

Democrats mount ‘huge undertaking’

While the Democrats have thrown their support behind Guy in their efforts to keep Grossbard from office, the dynamic of dueling write-in candidates persists.

Volunteers have knocked on more than 7,000 doors in support of Guy, Southfield Democratic Club’s Person said. The Michigan Democratic Party has also invested in mailers and digital campaign materials for her election, Hertel said.

Mayor Siver claimed the local Democratic Club initially said it would support Hogue, but then switched to Guy a few days later.

“I said, ‘Well, I’m sorry. I’m not going to go back on my word to Coretta Hogue. I wish Wynett Guy every success, but I am backing Coretta,'” Siver said.

Person said Hogue “didn’t have any money” and wanted the club to “do the heavy lifting for her,” which contributed to the club’s decision.

Hogue said she believes “people have personal gains that they’re seeking” in their decision to support Guy but did not elaborate when asked what those were. She also pointed out that she was the only person running against Grossbard who wasn’t kicked off the ballot.

“It’s been a dirty campaign,” Hogue said. “I think that it’s really shown in how people are choosing to support and endorse and are overlooking qualifications.”

Like Grossbard, Hogue said she would get the City Council meeting minutes up to date. She also claimed integrity needs to be brought back to the office.

Grossbard’s Gee called Hogue a “valid and viable candidate.”

The result is that defeating Grossbard is “a huge undertaking” for the Democrats, Morrow said.

“It would have probably been beneficial if everybody was on the same page and wanted to go after Gabi, that one of the two write-in candidates would have pulled out,” Morrow said. “That would have been an easier task to take on.”

Bloomfield Township police are investigating several incidents of malicious destruction of property where similar graffiti was spray painted on school facilities and two homes under construction.

The word “LOV3” was spray painted in red at the Booth Center and Wing Lake Developmental Center on Wing Lake Road — on the exterior walls, shed and a dumpster — and the words “LOV3” and “LOV3 Liv3” were spray painted in black and white at homes under construction in the 7000 block of Franklin Road, police said.

The MDOPs were reported on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.

A can of red spray paint was collected from the school facilities, police said, and is being processed for evidence.

Anyone with further information on the incidents is asked to call the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248-433-7755.

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