Hamas militants on Saturday released four female Israeli soldiers they held captive for 15 months in a planned exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees in Israel.

It's the second exchange since a fragile ceasefire took effect last weekend, halting the fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks during which dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed while more aid flows in.

RELATED STORY | Israel-Hamas agree to ceasefire deal to pause war in Gaza and return hostages

In return for the four soldiers, Israel should free 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees, including 120 militants serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. The first exchange took place Sunday with the release of three Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. The ministry doesnt distinguish between combatants and civilians. The war was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people.

Israel says it will not allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until Arbel Yehoud, one of the dozens of hostages held by Hamas, is released.

RELATED STORY | State Department freezes new funding for nearly all US aid programs worldwide

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said Yehoud was supposed to have been released Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The four Israeli soldiers, Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, were captured in Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.

Sugah Please Breakfast, Brunch & Bar provides its customers with a menu that is as diverse as it is delicious.

The eatery's mission is to create memorable dining experiences for its guests in a warm and inviting setting. Its chefs and baristas use only the highest quality ingredients to create flavorful and unique dishes that will tantalize taste buds. All are invited to come in and enjoy a coffee, brunch or dessert and see why Sugah Please is quickly becoming a go-to destination for foodies everywhere.

To see the menu, visit Sugah Please Coffee House | Detroit.

Blake's Orchard & Cider Mill is a working farm, restaurant, cidery, market, bakery, and event destination nestled in the Village of Armada, just an hour north of Detroit.

To learn more about the farm and its upcoming events, visit https://blakefarms.com/events/.

Kick-off 2025 with the addition of a monstera plant to your indoor garden. You’ll join other gardeners observing 2025 as the Year of the Monstera.

Each year, the National Garden Bureau (NGB) selects and celebrates one plant in each of the following categories: annual, perennial, bulb, edible, and shrub. The plants are chosen for their popularity, easy-care nature, adaptability, diversity and versatility.

Monstera certainly meets the criteria and as NGB declared it is “the world’s most iconic indoor plant.” The large, glossy, heart-shaped leaves have distinct perforations called fenestrations. Scientists speculate these holes allow tropical downpours to pass through, minimizing plant damage.

There are several different monsteras, ranging in size and leaf shape including some with variegated leaves. Some are easy to grow, while others are a bit fussier. Always check the plant label for specifics on caring for the monstera you select.

One of the most popular and readily available is the monstera deliciosa, commonly called split-leaf philodendron, even though it is not a philodendron. It’s known for its large, heart-shaped perforated leaves on thick stems. In its native habitat, it can grow 66 feet tall, but typically grows up to 7 or 8 feet indoors. The flowers that seldom appear indoors are like a peace lily with a cone-shaped structure (spadix) surrounded by a cupped white sheath (spathe). The flowers may be followed by an edible fruit that tastes like a combination of pineapple, banana and mango. This flavorful combination inspired its nickname, fruit salad plant, and the botanical name that translates to delicious monstrosity.

In general, these tropical beauties prefer growing conditions like that of their native habitat. They prefer bright, filtered indirect sunlight. Avoid direct sunlight that can scorch or cause leaves to turn yellow. Grow monsteras in a quality, well-drained potting mix in a container with drainage holes. Water them thoroughly when the top two inches of soil are dry. Pour off excess water or place the pot on pebbles in a saucer. The pebbles elevate the pot above any water that collects in the saucer to avoid root rot. As this water evaporates, humidity increases around the plant.

Further, boost the humidity by placing your monstera with other plants. As one plant loses moisture or transpires, the neighboring plants will benefit.

Only apply houseplant fertilizer when the plants are actively growing, usually March through October. Let the plant and your garden goals be your fertilization guide. Fertilizers provide needed nutrients to plants in need of a nutrient boost or when you want to stimulate more growth.

Support the plant with a moss pole or trellis as it starts to climb. The large aerial roots attach to nearby surfaces to help them climb. In nature, these roots help monsteras to climb trees and have been used to make rope in Peru and baskets in Mexico.

Use these beauties to create an indoor tropical paradise or to provide some green relief. No matter your indoor décor, this unique plant will make a welcome addition.

Melinda Myers is the author of more than 20 gardening books, including “Small Space Gardening” and “Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition.” Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and her website is MelindaMyers.com.

The following is a list of in-person and online worship services and events happening at churches and synagogues in the Oakland County area. Visit websites or call for service times and events.

• Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, 248-651-6550, abidingpresence.org. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m., virtual services are available on the website.

• Adat Shalom Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, online services via Zoom. To view daily Minyan video conferences; email Executive Director Michael Wolf at mwolf@adatshalom.org or visit adatshalom.org, 248-851-5100.

• All Saints’ Episcopal, 171 W. Pike St., Pontiac, allsaintspontiac.org, 248-334-4571, rector@allsaintspontiac.org.

• The Apostolic Church of Christ, 3655 N. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, theapostolicchurch.com, 248-373-4500, Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Archdiocese of Detroit, livestream Mass times, aod.org/livemasses.

• Auburn Hills Christian Center, 2592 Walton Blvd., Auburn Hills, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m., Servicio Evangelistico services (in Spanish) at 2-4 p.m. Sundays, 248-373-7139, www.myahcc.org.

• Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Troy, online services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, beaconcongregation.org, admin@beaconcongregation.org.

• Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 5631 N Adams Road, Bloomfield Hills, livestream services at 9 a.m. Sundays, and in person at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. at bslcmi.org, facebook/bslcmi, 248-646-5041.

• Berea Family Tabernacle of Faith, Pontiac, online worship services are noon Sundays, Berea’s YouTube Channel: youtu.be/5QnjxMyFwJ4 or visit experienceberea.org and click “Watch Now,” 248-338-4748.

• Berkley First United Methodist Church, 2820 12 Mile Road, Berkley, worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays in person and online at www.berkleyfirst.org. Christmas Eve worship services are at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. in-person and online at www.berkleyfirst.org.

• Bharatiya Temple, 6850 N Adams Road, Troy, www.bharatiya-temple.org, 248-879-2552.

• Big Beaver United Methodist Church, 3753 John R Road, Troy, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, http://bbumchurch.org.

• Birmingham First United Methodist Church, 1589 W Maple Road, Birmingham, www.fumcbirmingham.org. Sunday worship services in-person and online are at 9:30 a.m., and in-person only services at 11 a.m.

• Birmingham Unitarian Church, Bloomfield Hills, online worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays, bucmi.org, 248-647-2380.

• Bridge Community Church, 5700 Rochester Road, Troy, online worship services, 10:45 a.m. Sundays, bridgecommunitychurch.com/live, 248-879-9500.

• Brightmoor Christian Church, 40800 W. 13 Mile Road, Novi, www.brightmoorchurch.org.

• Calvary Chapel Oakland County, 1975 E. Long Lake Road, Troy, 248-457-9673, ccoaklandcounty.com. Worship 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. Sundays.

• Calvary Church, 1361 Giddings Road, Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., https://ccpontiac.org, 248-373-0311.

• Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, 6805 Bluegrass Drive, Clarkston, calvary-lutheran.org. Sunday worship services are Traditional Worship at 7:55 a.m.; Modern Worship at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; and livestream at 9:30 a.m. Food pantry (drive-up or curbside pickup) is 9-11 a.m. Wednesdays.

• Central Church, 1529 Twelve Mile Road, Madison Heights, www.centralchurch.cc. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Central Oaks Community Church, 2005 Rochester Road, Royal Oak, www.centraloaks.com, 248-547-7755. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Central United Methodist Church, 3882 Highland Road, Waterford Twp., 248-681-0040, WaterfordCUMC.org. In-person worship at 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays and online at 10:30 a.m. at Live.WaterfordCUMC.org.

• Central Woodward Christian Church Disciples of Christ, 3955 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 248-644-0512, centralwoodwardchristian.com. Sunday worship services are at 10:30 a.m., in person and online at centralwoodwardchristian.com and Facebook at www.facebook.com/CentralWoodward.

• Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake, 3535 Commerce Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.sscms.edu, 248-683-0310.

• Christian Tabernacle Church, Southfield, ctabchurch.com, 248-213-4770.

• Christ Church Cranbrook, 470 Church Road, Bloomfield Hills, in-person and online worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays, ccc-info.org.

• Christ Lutheran Church, Waterford Twp., online worship services, christwaterford.org/livestream, 248-673-7331.

• Christ Lutheran Church and School, 620 General Motors Road, Milford, www.christlutheranmilford.org.

• Christ, Our Light! Catholic Church, 3077 Glouchester, Troy. Mass times are: Saturday at 4 p.m.; Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; weekday Masses (followed by Rosary recitation) are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 9 a.m., and Friday at 12:05 p.m., www.coltroy.org, 248-649-5510.

• Christ the Good Shepherd Progressive Old Catholic Church, 3947 Twelve Mile Road Berkley, church services: Saturday Mass 4:30 p.m. and Sunday Mass 10:30 a.m., 248-439-0470, www.cgs-occ.org.

• Christ the Redeemer Parish, 2700 Waldon Road Orion Township, 248-391-1621, weekly online Mass at 10 a.m. Sundays, also in-person Masses, ctredeemer.org.

• Crown of Life Lutheran Church, 2975 Dutton Road  Rochester Hills, www.crownoflifechurch.org, 248-652-7720. Sunday worship services are 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Bridgewood Church, 6765 Rattalee Lake Road, Clarkston, 248-625-1344, www.bridgewoodchurch.com. Sunday worship services are 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., also online services, and locations in Goodrich.

• Church of the Holy Spirit, 3700 Harvey Lake Road, Highland Twp., www.holyspirithighland.com.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregations in Oakland County include: Bloomfield Hills, Clarkston, Commerce Twp., Farmington Hills, Lake Orion, Pontiac (Spanish), Rochester, Troy and White Lake Twp. The congregations host worship services on Sundays. For worship times and locations, visit churchofjesuschrist.org.

• Church of the Resurrection, 6490 Clarkston Road, Village of Clarkston, https://clarkstonepiscopal.com, 248-625-2325. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Clarkston Community Church, 6300 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, in-person and online services at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, clarkstoncchurch.com, 248-625-1323.

• Clarkston United Methodist Church, 6600 Waldon Road, Clarkston, in-person and online faith services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, clarkstonumc.org, 248-625-1611.

• Commerce United Methodist Church, 1155 N. Commerce Road, Commerce Twp., commerceumc.org/media.

• Community Bible Church, 1888 Crescent Lake Road, Waterford Twp., https://cbcmi.com, 248-674-4871. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Community Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 27800 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, church services at 11 a.m. Saturdays, http://communityfellowship22.adventistchurchconnect.org, 248-469-8539.

• Community Presbyterian Church, 4301 Monroe Ave., Waterford Twp. In-person worship is 10 a.m., Sundays, cpcwaterford.org, 248-673-7805.

• Congregation Beth Ahm, 5075 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Twp., 248-851-6880, cbahm.org.

• Congregational Church of Birmingham, UCC, 1000 Cranbrook Road, Bloomfield Hills. Worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, ccbucc.org, 248-646-4511.

• Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield, offers virtual Jewish religious services including daily morning and evening Minyan services, Shabbat morning services and Youth Shabbat activities, shaareyzedek.org, 248-357-5544.

• Congregation Shir Tikvah, 3900 Northfield Parkway, Troy, www.shirtikvah.org.

• Cornerstone Baptist Church, Ortonville, livestream online worship services, Sundays at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at Facebook at Cornerstone Baptist Church Ortonville, cbcortonville.com, 248 627-4700.

• Cornerstone Church, Highland, online services, cornerstonehighland.com, 248-887-1600.

• Crossroads Free Will Baptist Church, 4804 White Lake Road, White Lake Twp., https://crossroadswl.org, Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. The church has a Blessing Box that is stocked with non-perishable food items, books and other household items for those in need. Donations welcome.

• Destiny Faith Church, 501 University Drive, Pontiac, Destinyfaith.org, 248-322-2200. Worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, in person and online.

• Divine Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3000 S. Lapeer Road, Orion Twp., divinegrace.net, Sunday worship services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., livestream.

• Door of Faith Christian Church, Pontiac, online services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, mydooroffaith.org.

• Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 23425 Lahser Road, Southfield, 248-357-1848, emmanuellutheransouthfield.org.

• Empowerment Church of Southfield, worship services are 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays at new worship center location, Shriner’s Silver Garden Events Center, 24350 Southfield Road, Southfield, 248-569-2299, empowerment.mi.org. Virtual worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays at empowermentmi.org/stream and on Facebook Live.

• Encounter Church, 600 North Campbell Road, Royal Oak, in-person and online services, 11 a.m. Sundays; Prayer and Bible study is 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, www.encounter360.org.

• Evanswood Church of God, 2601 E Square Lake Road, Troy, 248-879-9240.

• Faith Church in Rochester Hills offers free meals to the community, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Wednesdays, at the church,160 W Hamlin Road, Rochester Hills, faithchurchrochesterhills.org/sharethetable.

• Faith Community Christian Church (meeting at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church), 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, 586-703-6249, Reverend Tom Sayers. Traditional service is at 1 p.m., www.faithcommunitychristianchurch.org.

• Faith Covenant Church, 35415 W. 14 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, worship services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11a.m., Sundays, 248-661-9191, 4fcc.org.

• First Baptist Church, 2601 John R Road, Troy, fbctroy.org.

• First Baptist Church, 255 E. Scripps Road, Lake Orion, fbclo.org, 248-693-6203, info@fbclo.org.

• First Congregational Church, 5449 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, (just east of Sashabaw Road), 248-394-0200, www.fcclarkston.com, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays.

• First Congregational Church of Rochester UCC, 1315 N. Pine, Rochester, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, fccrochester.org, 248-651-6225.

• First Congregational Church of Royal Oak, 1314 Northwood Blvd., Royal Oak. Worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, www.fccro.org.

• First General Baptist of Waterford, 2933 Frembes Road, Waterford, wgbchurch.com, 248-673-6481, Sunday school at 10 a.m., worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• First Missionary Church, 4832 Clintonville Road, Independence Twp., www.fmcclarkston.org, 248-674-3186. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• First Presbyterian Church Birmingham, 1669 W. Maple, Birmingham, worship services are Sundays, 8:30 a.m. in person, and 10 a.m. in person and livestream, fpcbirmingham.org, 248-644-2040.

• First Presbyterian Church of Pontiac, 99 Wayne Street, Pontiac, fpcpontiac.info.

• First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, 529 Hendrie Blvd., 248-541-0108, fpcro.org, online services available anytime at fpcro.org, 248-541-0108.

• First United Methodist Church of Troy, 6363 Livernois, Troy. Church services are 10 a.m. Sundays in person and livestream on YouTube and Facebook, www.FUMCTROY.org, 248-879-6363.

• Five Points Community Church, 3411 E Walton Blvd, Auburn Hills, https://5pointscc.org, 248-373-1381. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1950 S. Baldwin Road, Lake Orion, 248-391-1170, goodshepherdlakeorion.net. Worship service is at 10 a.m. Sundays.

• Grace Gospel Fellowship, 65 East Huron Street, Pontiac; in-person and livestream online services are 11 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Livestream online services are at www.facebook.com/GraceGospelFellowshipPontiac, 248-334-2187.

• Greenfield Presbyterian Church, 2312 Greenfield Road, Berkley, both virtual and in-person worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, (Memorial Day through Labor Day, services are at 10 a.m. only), youtube.com/user/GreenfieldChurch, greenfieldchurch.com, 248-544-1800.

• Grace Church, 220 Bogie Lake Road, White Lake Twp. Sunday services are 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Gracechurchinfo.net, 248-887-3700.

• Harvestland Church, 5848 Clintonville Road, Independence Twp., https://harvestland.church, 248-391-2063. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Hazel Park First United Methodist Church, 313 E. Nine Mile Road, Hazel Park, 248-546-5955, hpfirst.org. Sunday worship services at 11:15 a.m.

• Heart of the Hills Christian Church, 5085 Orion Road, Rochester, https://heartofthehills.com, 248-841-1679. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Hillside Bible Church, 73 N Church St, Ortonville, 248-627-2513, hillsidebible.org, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Hilltop Church of the Nazarene, 21260 Haggerty Road, Northville, hilltopnaz.org, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Holly Calvary Church, 15010 N Holly Road, Holly, hollycalvary.org, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m. in person and online, Wednesday worship is at 6:30 p.m.

• Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 4800 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp. In-person worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, livestream on YouTube youtube.com/@spiritdrivenchurch, 248-682-5441, spiritdrivenchurch.com.

• Hope United Methodist Church, 26275 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, 248-356-1020, hopeumc.org.

• Immanuel Congregational Church of Christ, Oxford, 248-628-1610, icucc.org, virtual service at 11 a.m. Sundays, facebook.com/oxfordimmanuelucc.

• International Christian Church, 3980 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, online and in-person services at 11:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-494-8757, myiccglobal.org, facebook.com/icchurch/live.

• Islamic Association of Greater Detroit, 879 West Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, www.childrenofabrahamday.org.

• Jewel Heart Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, 27745 Woodward Ave., Berkley, www.jewelheart.org.

• Journey Lutheran Church, (joined with Holy Cross Church) 136 S. Washington St., Oxford, online and in-person worship services, 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, education hour is at 10 a.m., journeylutheran.church, 248-628-2011.

• Kensington Church with locations in Birmingham, Clarkston, Clinton Twp., Orion Twp. and Troy, in-person Sunday worship times, and online services offered streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and website, kensingtonchurch.org.

• King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1715 S. Lapeer Road, Lake Orion, www.kingofkingslakeorion.org. Worship services are 9:30 a.m. Sundays, online streaming at www.facebook.com/kingofkingslakeorion.

• Kirk in the Hills, 1340 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., kirkinthehills.org, 248 626 2515.

• Lakecrest Baptist Church, 35 Airport Rd, Waterford Twp., www.lakecrestbaptist.com, 248-681-3214. Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Spanish service at 1 p.m.

• Lake Orion Church of Christ, 1080 Hemingway Road, Lake Orion, www.lococ.org, 248-693-7242. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Lake Orion Methodist Church, Lake Orion, www.lakeorionumc.org. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., in person and online.

• LakePoint Community Church, 1550 W. Drahner Road, Oxford, https://lakepointcc.org, 248-628-0038.

• The Lakes Church, 1450 S Hospital Road, Waterford Twp., www.thelakes.cc, 248-254-7833, Sunday worship services are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. The 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services are livestreamed.

• Liberty General Baptist Church, 3545 Joslyn Rd, Auburn Hills, https://libertygeneralbaptistchurch.org, 248-431-3498. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Lifepoint Church, 5601 Scott Lake Road, Waterford Twp., lifepointchristian.com.

• Life Renewal Church, 28312 Grand River, Farmington Hills, https://liferenewalchurch.org, worship is 11 a.m. Sundays.

• Madison Heights Church of the Nazarene, 555 E 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights, mhnaz.org, 248-585-5551.

• Maranatha Baptist Church, 5790 Flemings Lake Road, Clarkston, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m., www.mbcclarkston.org.

• Marimont Community Church, 424 W Walton Blvd., Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., https://marimontcommunitychurch.com.

• Masjid Mahmood, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center, 1730 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, ahmadiyyamosque.blogspot.com.

• Metro Detroit Christian Church, 33360 W. 13 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, https://metrodetroit.org, 248-562-7998. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church, 25585 Berg Road, Southfield, https://mogccc.com, 248-356-0565.

• Motor City Church, 3668 Livernois Road, Troy, www.motorcitychurch.org, 248-524-2400. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

• Mt. Zion Church, 4900 Maybee Road, Clarkston, mtzion.org. Sunday worship services at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Muslim Unity Center of Bloomfield Hills, 1830 W. Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, Muslimunitycenter.org.

• Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 248-476-8860, nardinpark.org, www.facebook.com/NPUMC.

• Nativity Episcopal Church, 21220 W. 14 Mile Road, Bloomfield Twp., nativityepiscopalchurch.org, 248-646-4100.

• New Heights Baptist Church, Grand Blanc, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays, newheightsbc.com. For information, email pastornewheights@gmail.com or call 810-866-4563.

• New Hope Christian Fellowship, 6020 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., https://newhopemi.org, 248-886-1500, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 23455 W Nine Mile Road, Southfield,  www.newhope-mbc.org, 248-353-0675. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m., in person and livestream.

• New Hudson United Methodist Church, 56730 Grand River Ave., New Hudson, newhudsonumc.org. Worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays.

• Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3633 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 248-644-5920. Worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream, www.facebook.com/TroyNorthminster.

• Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 23925 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield, www.northwestuu.org, 248-281-4902. Worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays in person and virtual.

• North Congregational Church, 36520 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, northcongregationalchurch.org.

• North Hills Christian Reformed Church, 3150 North Adams Road, Troy, worship services, 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-645-1990, northhillscrc.org.

• North Oaks Church, 9600 Ortonville Road, City of the Village of Clarkston, worship services are 10:30 a.m., Sundays, northoakschurch.org, office@northoakschurch.org, 248-922-3515.

• Oakland Church, 5100 North Adams Road, Rochester, worship services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, www.oaklandchurch.me.

• Oakland Church of Christ, 23333 West 10 Mile Road Southfield, livestream and in-person worship services are 10:30 a.m. Sundays, TheOaklandChurchofchrist.org, 248-355-9225.

• Oakland Hills Community Church, Farmington Hills, ohcc.net, 313-686-4578.

• Oakland Woods Baptist Church 5628 Maybee Rd, Village of Clarkston, www.facebook.com/OWBCClarkston, 248-625-7557. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

• Oak Pointe Church,1250 South Hill, Milford, in-person or online worship services are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, opcmilford.org.

• Oak Pointe Church, 50200 W. 10 Mile Road, Novi, in-person or online worship services are 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. oakpointe.org, 248-912-0043.

• Oak Pointe Church, 6343 Farmington Road, West Bloomfield, in-person or online worship services are 10:15 a.m. Sundays, oakpointe.org/westbloomfield.

• Oakwood Community Church, 5791 Oakwood Rd, Ortonville, www.oakwoodcc.org, 248-628-6388.

• Orchard Grove Community Church, 850 Ladd Rd; Bldg. C, Walled Lake, Sunday worship services are at 10:10 a.m., www.orchardgrove.org.

• Orchard Lake Community Church, Presbyterian, 5171 Commerce Road, Orchard Lake, worship services are at 9 a.m., and 10:30 a.m. Sundays, olccp.com, 248-682-0730.

• Orchard United Methodist Church, Farmington Hills, worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays and Weekday Worship Experiences at Noon at youtube.com/c/OrchardUMC and facebook.com/OrchardUMC/live_videos, 248-626-3620, orchardumc.org.

• Our Lady of La Salette, 2600 Harvard Road, Berkley, 248-541-3762, par8551@gmail.com, lasalette-church.org, Mass is at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays.

• Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in-person Mass, Saturday at 5 p.m., Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., weekdays at 8:15 a.m., 5481 Dixie Hwy., Waterford Twp. Livestream Mass at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9:30 a.m. Sunday, ollonline.org/live.

• Our Lady of Refuge Church, 3700 Commerce Road, Orchard Lake, olorcc.org, 248-682-4099, Mass is 5 p.m. Saturdays and  8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. Sundays.

• Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 23815 Power Road, Farmington, church.olsorrows.com.

• Our Mother of Perpetual Help, 13500 Oak Park Blvd, Oak Park, www.omoph.org. Saturday mass is at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday mass is at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

• Oxbow Lake Baptist Church, 10730 Elizabeth Lake Rd, White Lake Charter Township, www.oxbowbc.com, 248-698-3034. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• Oxford United Methodist Church, 21 E. Burdick St. Oxford, 248 628-1289, oxfordunitedmc.org. People Feeding People (PFP) free breakfast is 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays. In-person worship services and online at youtube.com/channel/UCN2R96oWdXzxDqwdz8YBlrQ.

• Paint Creek United Methodist Church, 4420 Collins Road, Rochester, www.paintcreekumc.org, 248-373-2360, Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m.

• Renaissance Vineyard Church, 1841 Pinecrest Drive, Ferndale, https://renvc.com, 248-545-4664. Sunday worship services at 10:33 a.m.

• The River Church of Auburn Hills, 315 S. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, http://riverchurch.faith, 248-853-1524. Worship services are 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sundays.

• The River Church, Holly, Lake Orion, Waterford and more locations, livestream and videos of sermons, theriverchurch.cc, 248-328-0490.

• River North Church, 67 N Lynn Ave, Waterford Twp., Sunday School is 10 a.m. Sundays, worship services at 11:15 a.m. Sundays and 7:15 p.m. Wednesdays, view sermons online at www.youtube.com/@rivernorthchurch2023, nondenominational family church, 248-724-6559, www.facebook.com/Rivernorthchurch.

• River Of Life Christian Church, 5482 Winell St., Independence Twp., 248-599-3074.

• Rochester Christian Church, 4435 Rochester Rd, Rochester Hills, https://rcc4me.com, 248-652-3353, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Royal Oak First United Methodist Church, 320 W. 7th Street, Royal Oak, www.rofum.org, 248-541-4100. Worship services are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, in person and online, www.rofum.org/live.

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 3400 S. Adams Road, Auburn Hills. Mass times are at 4 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday. Weekday Mass services are 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, www.esacredheart.org, 248-852-4170.

• St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church, 4571 John R Road, Troy, www.stanastasia.org, 248-689-8380.

• St. Anne Catholic Church of Ortonville, 825 South Ortonville Road, Ortonville. Mass times are Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.; Saturday at 5 p.m.; Monday at 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m., 248-627-3965, churchofstanne.org.

• St. Augustine Lutheran Troy (SALT) Church, 5475 Livernois in Troy, saltchurch.net, communications@saltchurch.net, 248-879-6400.

• St. Benedict Catholic Church, 60 South Lynn Street, Waterford Twp., 248-681-1534. Sunday Mass times are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., streaming at stbencc.org/live-stream.

• St. David’s Episcopal Church, 16200 W. Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, www.stdavidssf.org. Sunday worship services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. both in person and via zoom. Food pantry is 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

• St. George’s Episcopal Church, 801 E Commerce, Milford, 248-684-0495. Sunday worship services 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., in person and online, www.stgeorgesmilford.org.

• St. George Orthodox Church, 2160 E Maple Road, Troy, 248-589-0480, www.stgeorgeoftroy.org, www.facebook.com/stgeorgeoftroymi.

• St. James Church, 46325 Ten Mile Road, Novi, Mass times are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sundays, and 4 p.m. Saturdays. Livestream services, 4 p.m. Saturdays, 248-347-7778, stjamesnovi.org.

• St. John Lutheran Church & School, 1011 University Drive, Rochester. Traditional praise worship services are Sundays at  8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Modern praise services are Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 10:45 p.m. The 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Sunday worship services are livestreamed and posted on the website at stjohnrochester.org.

• St. John Lutheran Church, 23225 Gill Road, Farmington Hills, www.stjohn-elca.org, https://form.jotform.com/242835058121149.

• St. John’s Episcopal Church Royal Oak, 26998 Woodward Ave. Royal Oak. Services are 8 a.m. Sundays, in person and 10:15 a.m. Sundays, online and in-person worship, stjohnsroyaloak.org, 248-546-1255.

• St. Joseph Catholic Church, Lake Orion, view Mass services on the church’s Youtube channel, youtube.com/user/stjosephmassarchive, or at Facebook page, facebook.com/StJoeLo, stjoelo.org, 248-693-0440.

• St. Joseph Chapel and Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 400 South Blvd. West, Pontiac, https://terrasanctaministries.net.

• St. Mark and St. Mary & St. Philopater Coptic Orthodox Church, 3603 Livernois Road, Troy, www.stmarkmi.org. Divine liturgy services are at 7 a.m. (Arabic) and 8:15 a.m. (English), Sundays.

• St. Mary Catholic Church, 730 S Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, www.stmaryroyaloak.com, 248-547-1818. Mass at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday.

• St. Mary of the Hills Roman Catholic Church, 2675 John R. Road, Rochester Hills. Live online Mass is 4 p.m. Saturday, on Facebook and YouTube. In-person Mass is 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. Sunday, sign up required, 248-853-5390, smoth.org.

• St. Mary’s In-the-Hills Episcopal Church, 2512 Joslyn Court, Lake Orion, 248-391-0663, www.stmarysinthehills.org. Sunday Services are at 8:30 a.m.-Simple service of Holy Eucharist and at 10 a.m.-Service of Holy Eucharist with choir and Children’s Church School-Service, livestream on YouTube or Facebook or www.stmarysinthehills.org. Adult Bible Study is held Tuesdays at 10 a.m.

• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 2040 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, 248-624-7676, st-matthew.org. Blended Worship services are 8:45 a.m. Sundays (also livestream on YouTube); Prayer & Praise Worship services are 11 a.m. Sundays; Monday Blended Worship services are 7 p.m.

• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 48380 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 248-624-9525, st-matthew.org. Sunday worship services are 10 a.m.

• St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 760 W Wattles Road, Troy, 248-362-9575, stnicholastroy.org.

• St. Owen Catholic Church, 6869 Franklin Road  Bloomfield Hills, stowen.org.

• St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 1413 E. Thirteen Mile Road, Madison Heights, 248-585-9591, in-person Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., or online at stpatsmh.org.

• St. Paul Community Lutheran Church, 1133 Joslyn Ave., Pontiac, www.stpaulpontiac.com. 248-758-9019. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 E. Fifth St, Royal Oak, worship services are 8:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays. Livestream also at 8:15 a.m. service, stpaulroyaloak.org, 248-930-3100.

• St. Paul United Methodist Church, 165 E. Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-338-8233, services are at 9:45 a.m. Sundays, SPUMC.net, facebook.com/spumcbloomfieldhills, 248-216-1657.

• St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 620 Romeo Street, Rochester. Open door worship services are at 9:30 a.m. Sundays and sanctuary worship services are at 11 a.m., Sundays, livestream available, facebook.com/stpaulsrochester, stpaulsrochester.org.

• St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 100 Romeo Road, Rochester, stpfeeds.org.

• St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 5500 N Adams Road, Troy, www.ststephenstroy.org, 248-641-8080, worship services at  8 a.m. and 11 a.m. online and in person.

• St. Stephens Missionary Baptist Church, 69 S. Astor St., Pontiac, 248-335-5873, www.saintstephenmbc.com. Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m.

• St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church, 6900 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.stccc.org.

• St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sundays,  29150 W. 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 248-471-1059, stthomasalbanianorthodoxchurch.org.

• St. William Parish, 531 Common St., Walled Lake, stwilliam.com, 248-624-1421.

• Sanctuary Church, 300 Willits St., Birmingham, in-person and online services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-644-0550, sanctuary-church.com.

• Sashabaw Presbyterian Church, Clarkston, worship services via Zoom, services at 11 a.m. on 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month, and at 6 p.m. on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Email sashabawpresbyterianchurch@gmail.com for a link to services, sashabawpresbyterianchurch.org, 248-310-0792.

• Scott Lake Baptist Church, 811 Scott Lake Road, Waterford Twp., Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., also livestream, https://hisscottlake.org.

• Seymour Lake United Methodist Church, 3050 S. Sashabaw Road, Oxford, in-person or online services at 10 a.m. Sundays, 248-572-4200, email- office@seymourlakeumc.org, seymourlakeumc.org.

• Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church, 2905 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. during Lent and Advent, www.shepherdlakes.org, 248-624-4238.

• Shrine Catholic Church, 12 Mile and Woodward, 248-541-4122, https://shrinechurch.com.

• Silver Lake Church Of The Nazarene, 20 W Walton Blvd., Pontiac, https://slcpontiac.org, 248-977-4698.

• Spirit of Grace Church, 2399 Figa Ave., West Bloomfield Twp., 248-682-0270, Sunday worship at 10 a.m., spiritofgrace.church, facebook.com/spiritograce/videos. The church has a diabetic food pantry for those in need with dietary restrictions. The church seeks donations of non-perishable food items for diabetics including: proteins, nuts, grains and beans, sugar-free foods, low carb and high fiber foods as well as shopping bags and unused boxes. Drive-up diabetic food pantry hours are 10 a.m.-noon, 3rd Saturdays of the month.

• Spiritual Life Center, Troy, www.slctroy.com, 248-925-6214. A Message of Hope is 10 a.m. Sundays at www.youtube.com/c/SLCTroy.

• Stone Haven Free Methodist Church, 1349 West Wattles Road, Troy, services are 11 a.m. Sundays, (limited in-person seating at 10:45 a.m.) online services at stonehavenfmc.org, 248-649-1465.

• Temple Beth El Synagogue, 7400 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, www.tbeonline.org, streaming page – tbelive.org and facebook.com/tbeonline/live, 248-851-1100.

• Temple Israel, West Bloomfield Twp., streaming video at temple-israel.org.

• Temple Kol Ami, 5085 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., tkolami.org, 248-661-0040.

• Temple Shir Shalom, 3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.shirshalom.org, 248-737-8700.

• Thrive Church, a Global Methodist Church, 680 W. Livingston Road, Highland Twp., www.thrive-church.us, 248-887-1311.

• Trinity United Methodist Church, 6440 Maceday Drive, Waterford Twp., Services, 11 a.m. Sundays, waterfordtrinityumc.org, 248-623-6860.

• Troy Church of the Nazarene, 6840 Crooks Road, Troy, troynaz.org, 248-802-7650. Worship Services and Bible Study, 11 a.m. Sundays and 6 p.m. Wednesdays.

• Unity of Farmington Hills worship service in person and online at 10 a.m. Sundays, youtube.com/channel/UCi90mgzXUDpw0k21_3JXlTg, Unityfh.com.

• Unity of Lake Orion, 3070 S. Baldwin Road, Orion Twp., unitylakeorion.org, 248-391-9211. Sunday worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream on Facebook.

• Unity of Royal Oak, 2500 Crooks Road, Royal Oak, unityofroyaloak.org, 248-288-3550. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., livestream on YouTube and Facebook.

• Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, 25301 Halsted Road, Farmington Hills, uufarmington.org. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream.

• University Presbyterian Church, 1385 S. Adams, Rochester Hills, universitypres.org, 248-375-0400.

• The Village Church of Ortonville, 93 N Church St. Ortonville, www.facebook.com/oumvillagechurch, 248 627-3125.

• Walled Lake United Methodist Church, 313 E Northport St., Walled Lake. Sunday worship services at 9:30 a.m. in person, or at Facebook Live, facebook.com/walledlakeumc and YouTube, youtube.com/channel/UCjOTQmG5DAGUdd_ghKdp2FQ, walledlakeumc.org, 248-624-2405.

• Warren’s Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 29860 Dequindre, Warren. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. in person and livestream at www.aglc-warren.org, 586-751-7750.

• Waterford Seventh-day Adventist Church, 5725 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., www.waterfordadventist.org, 248-681-3334. Worship services in person and livestream, 11 a.m. Saturdays.

• Waypoint Church, 8400 Dixie Hwy., Clarkston, waypoint.org, 248-623-1224. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Welcome Missionary Baptist Church, 143 Oneida St, Pontiac, www.welcomemissionarybaptistchurch.com, 248-335-8740. Sunday worship services are at 8:30 a.m. in person and livestream on Facebook at www.facebook.com/welcomemissionary.church.

• Wellspring Bible Church, 485 Farnsworth, White Lake Twp., worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, wellspringbiblechurch.org, 248-682-0319.

• West Bloomfield United Methodist Church, 4100 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, westbloomfieldumc.org, 248-851-2330.

• White Lake Presbyterian Church, 4805 Highland Road, White Lake Twp., worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, 248-887-4654, whitelakepc.org.

• Williams Lake Church, 2840 Airport Road, Waterford Twp., www.facebook.com/williamslakechurch, 248-673-5911, www.williamslakechurch.com.

• Woodside Bible Church, with 14 locations in Southeast Michigan, livestream online services, 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sundays, live.woodsidebible.org, 248-879-8533.

• Zion Lutheran Church, 143 Albany St., Ferndale, in-person and online worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, www.zionlutheranmi.org.

To add a church or event to this list, visit the link to the online submission form at https://bit.ly/40a2iAm.

— MediaNews Group

WHITE LAKE – Lakeland won a defensive struggle over Walled Lake Northern 41-34 Friday night in Lakes Valley Conference play.

The game had the feel of a neck-and-neck battle right from the start. The teams combined for just seven points in the entire first quarter – and three of those came on a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Chase Carson to give the Eagles a 5-2 lead after the opening period.

The offenses did a bit better in the succeeding quarters, but neither team could sustain anything resembling a rhythm on offense for more than a couple of possessions. Walled Lake Northern led only once, and briefly, at 8-7 in the second quarter, but the Eagles scored the next six points to take a 13-8 lead, and the Knights trailed the rest of the way, though they always stayed close. Each team’s swarming, physical defense leant a frenetic yet grinding tone to the game where the offenses were consistently struggling to find open shots or to produce points.

“That’s how it always is in this Battle of Bogie Lake – a low-scoring, tightly-contested physical battle, and this one didn’t disappoint. That’s for sure,” Eagles head coach Ron Thompson said. “They’re going to do what they do. We’re going to do what we do. No surprises.”

But once the second half rolled around, 6-foot-5 senior Nsikan Usen got rolling, and the Eagles always had an answer whenever the Knights started to creep close on the scoreboard.

“I think he (Usen) is a hard guy to referee because he’s bigger, stronger than a lot of guys out there. I think he gets beat up everywhere he goes, but he did a really nice job of handling the pressure, handling the physicality and not complaining and getting things done,” Thompson said.

Usen led the field with 16 points and eight rebounds. Ethan Rowley finished with seven points and seven rebounds, while Hayden Cross tallied eight points as Lakeland spread out the scoring.

Walled Lake Northern was led by seven points from Stone Seyburn and six points from E. J. Milan. But they couldn’t sustain any kind of offense all night, and that kept the Eagles just out of reach even when the Knights were playing well defensively.

“We have to score if we want to win,” Knights head coach Ryan Negoshian said. “We kind of hang our hats on playing solid defense and getting after it, but offensively if you want to win, you have to score. That’s the name of the game. and we just can’t score.”

Photo gallery from Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Northern in LVC boys hoops action

Lakeland (9-6 overall, 6-4 LVC) continues conference play next Tuesday when it travels to South Lyon East to face the Cougars.

“I thought it was a great team game. I think everybody stepped up and did what they were supposed to do. Everybody knew their role and did it,” Thompson said. “I thought all the guys played really well.”

Walled Lake Northern (5-10 overall, 4-6 LVC) will try to snap a four-game losing streak when the Knights host South Lyon on Tuesday.

“We’ve got to get back to basics, to making shots, to catching the ball ready to score, to passing the ball quicker, to doing fundamental things that basketball teams need to do that we are not executing right now,” Negoshian said. “We have the ability to do it, which is the frustrating part. We have done it. We know we can do it. We’re just not doing it right now.”

Ashlee Frankford was the recipient of the DAR Good Citizen Award from West Bloomfield High School.

The Piety Hill Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, honored 16 local high school recipients of the Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Essay Contest on Jan. 9 at the Bloomfield Township Public Library.

 

The DAR Good Citizen Award recognizes and rewards individuals who possess good citizenship qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. The students are selected by their teachers and peers because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree.

There are 3,000 chapters of the DAR nationwide. It was founded in 1890 as a nonprofit, nonpolitical volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education, and patriotism.

Today is Saturday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2025. There are 340 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 25, 2004, NASA’s Opportunity rover landed on Mars and sent its first pictures of the planet to Earth; originally planned as a 90-day mission, the rover remained operational for over 15 years, travelling a total of 28 miles across the planet’s surface.

Also on this date:

In 1924, the first Winter Olympic Games opened in Chamonix (shah-moh-NEE’), France.

In 1945, the World War II Battle of the Bulge ended as the German army concluded its final offensive on the Western Front; approximately 19,000 US soldiers were killed during the five-week campaign.

In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first city to add fluoride to its public water supply.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first live televised presidential news conference.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three of his followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actor Sharon Tate.

In 2011, Egyptians began a nationwide uprising that forced longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak to step down amid the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa.

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed an order reversing a Pentagon policy that largely barred transgender people from military service.

In 2022, the Navy said it had discharged 23 active-duty sailors for refusing the coronavirus vaccine; it marked the first time the Navy had thrown currently-serving sailors out of the military over the mandatory shots.

Today’s birthdays:

• Football Hall of Famer Carl Eller is 83.
• Actor Leigh Taylor-Young is 80.
• Actor Jenifer Lewis is 68.
• Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios is 63.
• Actor Ana Ortiz is 54.
• Actor Mia Kirshner is 50.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is 47.
• Soccer manager and former player Xavi is 45.
• Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys is 44.
• Football Hall of Famer Patrick Willis is 40.
• Actor-singer Ariana DeBose is 34.

In the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader, Lakeland defeated Walled Lake Northern 41-34 on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025 at Lakeland.

WHITE LAKE – The White Lake Lakeland Eagles led from start to finish, knocking off the Walled Lake Northern Knights 43-33 in a key Lakes Valley Conference contest Friday evening.

The game was a defensive battle from the start. The teams are very familiar with each other, and it showed from the start.

“We’ve played them (Walled Lake Northern) three times last year, twice this year. We know each other so well. We have a lot of experienced players that came back, so we all know each other. I’m calling out their plays. They’re calling out our plays. That’s what it is when you play a rival like that,” Lakeland head coach Mike Leitheim said. “We just know each other so well, and both teams work so hard that it’s tough to get a good look sometimes.”

Neither team made a field goal in the first four minutes of the game, and the score was just 15-8 Lakeland at halftime.

“Lakeland basketball doesn’t have to be pretty,” Leitheim said. “We’re about whatever we can do to have one more point than the opponent at the end of the game. The first half, I went in the locker room, in a 15-8 game, and we all agreed that was beautiful basketball, because we know that sometimes we have to win that way, and we’re used to winning that way.”

Lakeland kept driving toward the basket, and in the fourth quarter in particular it finally paid off. Whereas the Knights were able to stop the Eagles and force them into bad shots in the first half, by the fourth quarter, those Lakeland drives started to draw fouls, and the Eagles made their foul shots, going 12-for-16 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to hold the Knights. Aubrin Miller did most of the damage, making 8 of 10 free throws in that final stanza, and canning 10 of 12 on the night.

Walled Lake Northern hung around much of the evening. After getting down 13-2 by the middle of the second quarter, the Knights started chipping away. Twice they had the margin down to a single possession early in the fourth quarter, but they could never quite catch up.

Amal Younes led all scorers with 21 points for Walled Lake Northern, but the Knights couldn’t get anyone else going to help offset Lakeland’s balance.

“Right now, we’re just not doing a very good job of executing a game plan and paying attention to the little details that we need to be paying attention to to beat good teams like that. Early in the year, we did,” Knights head coach Joshua Pees said. “We’re just not there right now. We’ve got to get back to the way we were at the beginning of the year.”

Miller led Lakeland with 15 points. Alena Tiernan chipped in 10 points and Peyton Baer added seven points for the Eagles.

With the win, Lakeland improves to 9-3 overall and 7-1 in the LVC to maintain its chase of South Lyon (11-1, 8-1), who inched back ahead for the league lead by a half-game with a victory over Milford Friday.

Photos of Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Northern in LVC girls hoops action

The Eagles will continue league play on Tuesday when they host South Lyon East.

“I’m just really proud. Our senior group has been so tough. We’re seniors and juniors. We’re experienced,” Leitheim said. “We’ve been through the grind, so it’s just these are the kinds of games they love to be a part of.”

Walled Lake Northern slips to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in league play.

“You don’t lose. I tell the girls all the time we don’t lose games, we only learn. So this was a good game to learn from, correct our mistakes, and come back and get them next time,” Pees said.

The Knights travel to South Lyon on Tuesday for another important league contest.  Walled Lake Northern handed South Lyon its only conference loss earlier in the year.

Lakeland defeated Walled Lake Northern 43-33 in the Battle of Bogie Lake Road played at Lakeland on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Seemingly bound for overtime with fourth-ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, junior Jacob Lamb helped Brother Rice avoid it with his game-winner underneath the basket as time expired to give the No. 3 Warriors a 66-64 victory Friday night.

Trailing by two after Lamb had split a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left, the ball in crunch time went into the hands of senior Isaiah Hines for the Eaglets at a time where they would have normally looked to their star player, Trey McKenney, who remains sidelined with a hand injury suffered in a Jan. 9 loss to IMG Academy.

Hines, though, proved capable in the clutch, as he drove to his right towards the baseline before pulling up and hitting a fallaway jumper over two defenders with just over 15 ticks to go to tie the game.

Brother Rice senior David Williams brought the ball up the floor quickly before meeting resistance and kicked it out to junior Greg Grays, whose 3-pointer from the right wing hit rim and bounced into the air as time ran under six seconds.

Then, as both teams volleyed for possession of the rebound in the paint, it appeared to briefly land in the hands of a St. Mary’s player, but Lamb rushed in from the opposite block, ripped the ball away, and put up an off-balance shot that left his hand with about nine-tenths of a second remaining that went in to win the game and prompt a court storming that engulfed Lamb.

“I mean, it was just everybody crashing, everybody getting to the basket,” said Lamb, who finished with eight points. “My teammates Jeremiah (Coffey) and Trevor (Smith) crashed to get in there, number two (for St. Mary’s) came down with it, but I crashed in there, and I took the ball right from him and put it back up. It’s an amazing feeling.”

His timely finish broke a five-game losing streak to the Eaglets (9-6), including ones that eliminated the Warriors from the playoffs the past two seasons and another in last year’s CHSL Bishop Championship game.

“That wasn’t our prettiest, but we found a way to get it done, and I’m really proud of our guys,” Warriors head coach Rick Palmer said after his team’s 11th win in a row. “They just battled all night. And credit to St. Mary’s, that’s why they’re defending state champs. We know who didn’t play, but their other guys — Sharod (Barnes) made four or five big shots, Zip (Hines) was unbelievable all night — they’re still a really good basketball team with six, seven, eight college athletes and five or six that are going to play college basketball, so we’re really excited we won, we’re playing the right way, and I thought our team basketball tonight worked.”

Regarding the play by Lamb, Palmer added, “We talk about being us, and being us is playing through the whistle through the horn. (Jacob) had two turnovers down the stretch, missed a free throw down the stretch, but Jacob’s maturing a lot as a young man. He couldn’t have made that play after making those mistakes a year ago … That’s just part of growing up and part of the maturity process, and we’ve got a lot of guys that are playing really mature.”

Both Grays and Williams already reached double figures by halftime, at which point Brother Rice led 31-27, but the Warriors began to cook behind that pair coming out of the lockers. Grays knocked down a triple and was fouled on a transition basket that helped the Warriors extend their lead to 16 points with over two minutes to go in the third and looked assuredly on course for victory by some margin.

The absence of McKenney, however, didn’t prevent the Eaglets from eventually striking back. They cut the lead to 11 by the start of the fourth quarter, which saw Barnes take over and score 13 of his team-high 23 points. He connected from the corner and was fouled in front of his team’s bench for a four-point play, then knocked down a step-back 3-pointer that made it a five-point game less than a minute later with 4:45 on the clock.

A conventional three-point play by Jayden Savoury got St. Mary’s to within three with just over three minutes left, then the Eaglets got it to within one when Barnes’ driving bucket dropped in with over a minute remaining, making it 63-62.

“I thought we were really getting in the lane and sharing the ball, but I thought we didn’t handle the end of the game well,” Palmer said. “Listen, they hit some bombs — that and-1 three by Sharod, Zip was good all night — and credit to them, they clawed back like a championship team does. The last minute-and-a-half, we were kind of stalling, kind of weren’t, we weren’t sharp with that, so we’ve got to go back and fix that. Honestly, surprisingly, in the stretch, we haven’t had that many tight games. We haven’t had a lot of guys who’ve played in these types of games, so I think we can grow from this.”

Photo gallery of Brother Rice vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in CHSL boys hoops action

Williams and Grays each knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 22 and 21 points, respectively.

"We just wanted to come out and win the game, and that's what we did," Grays said. "We prepared for it all week of practice. This was a big game for us. Our student section came out. They did what they're supposed to do and we had to win the game."

Senior Jeremiah Caffey added nine points, including seven in the third quarter, for the Warriors (14-1). Hines ended with 16 points and Savoury added 11 for St. Mary's.

Both teams will host Toledo-based CHSL opponents next. The Warriors get Central Catholic on Tuesday and St. Mary's takes on St. Francis De Sales on Jan. 31.

SOUTHGATE — Two local girls’ basketball teams stepped outside their respective conferences to square off against one another Friday night as Farmington made its way to the Downriver area to take on Southgate Anderson.

Both teams came into the non-league battle looking for some semblance of a mid-season spark. Farmington was hoping to shake a four-game losing skid, while Anderson their last time out more than a week ago earned just their second win of the campaign and snapped a seven-game slide in the process.

A big second half allowed for the hometown Titans to pull away for the eventual 32-20 victory over the visiting Falcons.

The win for Anderson gives them back-to-back victories overall since the tail end of the 2022-23 season. The Titans with the victory have also already matched their win total from the previous two seasons combined.

In fact, both Anderson and Farmington are in the midst of rebuilds after each team finished just 1-21 a season ago. And Friday’s matchup was one that both clubs have found themselves in often throughout this winter: tightly-contested, low-scoring affairs.

It was a slow burn offensively for both teams, who combined for just a dozen first-half points. Farmington, in particular, was held to just one made basket in the first 16 minutes of game action, that coming on a three-pointer from Sydney Nogas.

Nonetheless, the Falcons stayed within striking distance heading into halftime before Anderson started to create some separation. The Titans nearly matched their entire scoring output from the first half in the third quarter alone before turning in a 16-point fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Low-scoring outcome aside, both teams displayed depth as each saw seven different players find the scoring column.

Anderson got a big lift all evening long from sophomore Scarlett Sage, who was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. Aiding in Sage’s efforts was senior Jenna Hinzmann, who finished with eight points on just one made basket from the floor but went 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

In addition to the triple from Nogas, Farmington got four points each out of Grace Lamott and Edimari King. It’s a very young Falcons squad with the sophomores Nogas and Lamott being two of nine underclassmen. King meanwhile is just one of two seniors.

UP NEXT

After returning home to host Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in another non-league affair on Jan 28, Farmington (3-9) will officially begin OAA Gold Division play when they visit Ferndale University two days later on Jan 30.

Anderson (3-8) meanwhile will jump back into Downriver League play with a makeup game at home vs Taylor on Jan 27. It will be the first of three games next week for the Titans, who will then do battle with conference foes Wyandotte Roosevelt and Allen Park on Jan 28 and 30, respectively.

PHOTOS: Girls Basketball – Farmington vs Southgate Anderson

The U.S. Senate voted 51-50 Friday to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense in President Donald Trump's new administration, with a tiebreaking vote cast by Vice President JD Vance.

Hegseth's narrow confirmation follows a protracted and contentious nomination process, during which he faced allegations of sexual assault, questions over his history with alcohol and criticism for opinions he held for women in combat roles.

Just hours before the final confirming vote, Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine continued to push back against GOP support of Hegseth.

"I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join," Sen. Murkowski said in a statement on Thursday.

Both Sen. Collins and Sen. Murkowski, as well as Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, voted against Hegseth's confirmation.

The resulting 50-50 vote in the chamber necessitated a tiebreaking vote by Vice President JD Vance in his role as presiding officer in the Senate.

RELATED STORY | Allegations against Pete Hegseths past behavior shared with lawmakers in new affidavit

During confirmation hearings, Hegseth backtracked on earlier comments about women serving in combat posts.

"Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles, combat roles, given the standards remain high and will have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded in any one of these cases. That'll be part of one of the first things we do at the Pentagon is reviewing that in a gender-neutral way, the standards ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center, but absolutely," he said.

Senators on Capitol Hill received a sworn affidavit this week from Danielle Hegseth, Pete Hegseth's former sister-in-law, expressing concern over Hegseths ability to serve if confirmed.

In the affidavit, obtained by Scripps News, Danielle alleges that Hegseth displayed behavior described as erratic and aggressive ... over many years. Danielle also alleged that she witnessed Hegseth abuse alcohol, stating: Hegseth would drink to the point of passing out, calling him an erratic, volatile personal with an alcohol abuse problem. She also alleged Mr. Hegseth may have mistreated his then-wife, Samantha, who feared for her safety who took steps including hid[ing] in her closet" and utilizing a safe word out of fear of her husband.

Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017. The Associated Press reported that a woman told police Hegseth refused to let her leave a California hotel room and took her phone. Hegseth, who was not charged, reportedly told police the sexual encounter was consensual.

RELATED STORY | Mother of Pete Hegseth reportedly told son he was an 'abuser of women' in email

Shortly after his nomination for defense secretary, The New York Times published a letter written to Hegseth by his mother Penelope in 2018. In it, she accused him of a history of abuse.

"You are an abuser of women that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego," Penelope Hegseth wrote in the letter. "On behalf of all the women (and I know its many) you have abused in some way, I say get some help and take an honest look at yourself."

When contacted by The New York Times, Penelope Hegseth did not deny sending the email but reportedly explained that she wrote it in anger while her son was going through a divorce. She also stated that she later sent her son another email apologizing for her comments, adding, I know my son. He is a good father and husband.

During confirmation hearings, Hegseth dismissed allegations against him as "smears." He has promised not to drink alcohol while on the job.

Hegseth has served in the Army National Guard since 2003. He served with his unit at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, volunteered to serve in Iraq and was also deployed to Afghanistan. He currently holds the rank of Major.

Hegseth is a former co-host on "Fox & Friends Weekend." He worked for the network from 2014 and left after his nomination by then-President-elect Trump.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Getting more electric vehicle charging stations like ones across Detroit and its surrounding areas has been a big push for local officials trying to make it easier to own an electric car, but an executive order signed by President Donald Trump Monday has many people wondering about how that and the future of it will look.

Trump took aim at federal and state support for electric vehicles on his first day in office. The executive order seeks to end the federal support in recent years for electric vehicles. That includes a goal that EVs make up half of new cars sold.

The next move would likely be getting rid of the $7,500 tax credit for buyers of EVs. Also in question is federal support for charging stations and low interest loans for automakers building new plants for EVs and the batteries they need.

Detroiter Anthony Kemp feels like the city needs all the investment it can get.

"I have to wake up at like 4 a.m.... to get to a charger," Kemp said.

Without an electric car charger at home, Kemp says he can spend hours waiting and charging up.

"If they're going to go ahead and put these cars on the road, they need some more chargers because right now in the city of Detroit, only like 75% of the chargers actually work, so you got a line waiting to charge your car up," Kemp said.

The difficulty trying to find a charger is why city and state leaders have been making efforts to add more.

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The executive order is targeting two programs that could threaten funding for those plans, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program.

The programs set aside billions to build out more chargers nationwide. Both the Michigan Department of Transportation and the city of Detroit have plans in the works. So far, it's not clear on if or when they'll see promised money.

"The city and its partners are committed to building out a network of EV charging stations. We currently have a signed grant agreement from the Round 1B $23 million CFI grant and are working towards getting one for the $15 million Round 2 grant that will install a network of EV charging stations through Detroit and its neighboring suburban communities. We are moving forward with our plan and hope to work with the Trump administration as it supports American auto manufacturers," said Trisha Stein, chief strategy officer with the city of Detroit.

MDOT says it's too early to tell how this will effect their plans because they haven't received specific guidance from federal agencies.

"The hope is that the funds already obligated will not be clawed back," a spokesperson with MDOT said.

Michigan was set to receive just over $110 million.

"The president has made it very clear that he was going to cut back on EVs no matter what. What we're still waiting to see is precisely what he's going to do," said auto industry expert John McElroy with Autoline.

Extended interview: Hear more from John McElroy of Autoline Detroit Extended interview: Hear more from John McElroy of Autoline Detroit

The order ends the goal made by former President Joe Biden of 50% of new car sales being electric by 2030 dubbed the "EV Mandate". However, it was never requirement.

"I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing," EV owner Derek Hall said. "I believe in good, strong capitalism and sometimes, you might not need the government to push you in the right direction."

Hall says he just wants what's best for the environment.

"I'd like to hope that whatever President Trump does will consider what is it going to do for the cleanliness of our air, for the poison in our soil, for the contaminants in our drinking water," Hall said.

John Maynard who works at one of the Big Three auto companies says Trump's stance on EVs is a positive for his job security. He judged based on how his employer reacted to the news.

"Being an auto worker, I obviously want to see a need for my position so that I might stay working," Maynard said. When theres a need for cars, then theres a need for workers to build those cars and a need for companies to provide those products and they make money, we make money, everybodys happy.

Auto industry expert John McElroy says it's too soon to tell what the future will look like for EVs as all stakeholders wait on what specific actions the president will take. He says talks of tariffs on car imports isn't helping and would increase car prices.

"

They're down in their bunkers hunkered down and waiting to see what actually happens. They're cutting all kinds of spending. Some programs have been delayed. Once there's some certainty, I think things will start to turn around but right now, nobody knows what's going to happen," McElroy said.

The Trump Administration has been highlighting immigration enforcement efforts that have been occurring since the new president was sworn in. That includes deportation flights.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted two photos online Friday of what appear to be handcuffed undocumented immigrants entering U.S. military aircraft.

The flights left Biggs Army Air Field in El Paso, Texas, sending 80 Guatemalans back to their home country.

Leavitt said in a message with the photos is that "if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face consequences."

While using military planes for the flights is new, the federal government has been flying deported people back to their home country for years.

Usually these are flights flown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. Sometimes these are charter flights, while other times ICE will use commercial airlines.

Last year, ICE flew more than 860 flights and helped DHS remove roughly 700,000 people. That's an average of about 1,900 people a day.

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These deportation efforts have been widely supported. Scripps News heard from Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who said using federal assets is OK, especially if it's to remove dangerous criminals.

"If President Trump focuses on deporting dangerous criminals, those who have committed additional crimes in the United States against Americans, I think there will be broad and bipartisan support for their deportation," Sen. Coons said.

Earlier this week Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the military would be providing airlift support to deport more than 5,000 immigrants from California and Texas.

A joint operation between the Canton Police Department and Michigan State Police led to the closure of tobacco shops accused of selling vape products to kids.

Every week, we see kids with just pants on with their high school logo or hoodies with their high school logo walking in and out its constant, said Zack Mcardle, who works out at a gym near Vape N Chase. Pretty much the main customers I see here are kids.

King Tobacco and Vape N Chase have been on the Canton Police Departments radar for months. The first blip came from complaints from residents. Those complaints were later confirmed through a series of decoy buys by high school students working undercover for police.

On Friday, Canton police and MSP executed search warrants at both shops and got the green light to have the citys building department shut them down.

Most of the businesses in Canton follow the rules like theyre supposed to, Capt. Joseph Bialy of the Canton Police Department said. But when you have those outliers, the message we would like to send to them is if youre going to be an outlier and youre going to sell these products to minors, were going to hold you accountable and potentially impact your business sales.

Canton did not just make the businesses close shop, theyre also seizing their products. Some of the products make their way to Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.

Weve had students that had ingested a vape pen thinking its simply a vape pen, then they find out there are high levels of THC in it and they get very sick, up to and including having to be hospitalized, Josh Meier said.

Meier is the districts director of school safety and security.

Related video: Inside the Detroit police crackdown on businesses selling vapes to minors Inside the Detroit police crackdown on businesses selling vapes to minors

For us, its a problem we want to address, not necessarily from a discipline standpoint although, we will administer discipline but we want kids to understand the health implications of this: what this vaping may do to them 10 or five years down the road, Meier said.

Some vape products are often labeled as having a THC content of less than .3% but lab reports show the total cannabinoids, which includes THC, at nearly 80%.

The shops owner will have to go to court to reopen. He was unavailable for comment Friday.

The two employees taken into custody could face felony charges for illegal vape sales.

The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.

The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in U.S.-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts.

The U.S. provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about $60 billion in 2023, or about 1% of the U.S. budget.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's order, delivered in a cable sent to U.S. embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.

The cable spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.

But Friday's order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for life-saving health programs, such as clinics and immunization programs.

A globally acclaimed anti-HIV program, the President's Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief, was among those apparently included in the spending freeze, slated to last at least three months. Known as PEPFAR, the program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including those of 5.5 million children, since it was started by Republican President George W. Bush.

Some aid projects began receiving their first stop-work orders under the freeze Friday afternoon.

Some leading aid organizations also were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for U.S.-funded aid work globally, a former senior U.S. Agency for International Development official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

RELATED STORY | Trump targets oil to pressure Putin to end war in Ukraine

Suspending funding could have life or death consequences for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.

By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics, Maxman said in a statement.

At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance.

While Rubio's order exempted military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow vital U.S. military assistance to Ukraine through.

The Biden administration pushed military aid to Ukraine out the door before leaving office because of doubts about whether Trump would continue it. But there is still about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for any future arms shipments to Ukraine and it is now up to Trump to decide whether or not to spend it.

The sweeping freeze begins enforcement of a pledge from Trump and other Republicans to crackdown on U.S. aid programs. Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, promised this week that Republicans would question every dollar and every diplomat in the State Department's budget to ensure it met their standards for strictly necessary.

The freeze was necessary to ensure that "appropriations are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trumps foreign policy, the global cable stated.

Within the next month, standards for a review of all foreign assistance are expected to be set to ensure that it is aligned with President Trumps foreign policy agenda," the cable said. And within three months, the government-wide review is expected to be completed with a subsequent report to be produced for Rubio to make recommendations to the president.

President Donald Trump has taken a harder line with Russian President Vladimir Putin than many in Ukraine expected, pressuring him to reach a deal with Ukraine to end the war.

Attacks from both sides appear to be intensifying. Russia has stepped up air attacks on Ukraine, often sending dozens of drones in a single night. A Russian drone assault on the Kyiv region overnight left at least three dead after a strike on an apartment building that ignited a fire across multiple floors.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is stepping up a campaign to cripple Moscow's war machine, targeting key military and industrial facilities. Ukrainian special forces struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries, about 300 miles north of the border with Ukraine.

RELATED STORY | President Trump says Putin should make a deal to end war in Ukraine

Oil and the money it generates fuels Russia's war effort. Ukraine's strategy appears to be to choke that revenue stream to undermine Moscow's capacity to wage war.

President Trump appears to also be focused on oil as a potential lever against Putin. Thursday he called on OPEC to lower global oil prices, arguing that a drop in revenue would pressure Russia to end the conflict.

"If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately," Trump said in comments to the World Economic Forum. "Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue. You've got to bring down the oil price, you've got to end that war."

But so far Putin is holding firm to demands that Ukraine capitulate and a pro-Moscow regime replace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.