Unemployed workers in Michigan will now receive a payment increase in their benefits.

This increase comes days after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics named Michigan as the state with the highest increase in unemployment rates in the last year. Its the first increase in over 20 years and some workers say the hike is long overdue.

"So this year, benefits go from a maximum of $362 a week to a maximum of $446, said Nick Assendelft, a spokesperson for the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

Hear more about the changes from Assendelft in the video below: Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency spokesperson speaks on changes

Detroiter Alex Robinson said he has been laid off since December as a contractor for one of the automakers. While he said the increase is appreciated, he thinks it should be more.

Eighty-two dollars for over 20-plus years what was the increase per year, Robinson said.

Robinson said he currently receives the maximum benefit of $362 a week in unemployment benefits, but that is not what he brings home.

They also take child support out of mine, he said. So, mine is $207.

Robinson said he brings home a little over $400 every two weeks from unemployment.

Four hundred and 14 dollars two times a month doesnt even pay my rent, Robinson said.

But he is looking forward to the bump.

Currently, the unemployment rate in Michigan is at 5.4%.

Wayne State University economics professor Kevin Cotter said one reason we are seeing an increase in the unemployment rate is because of the slowdown in hiring.

Especially in the last few months with the uncertainty about the future trade policy, Cotter said. We're (Michiganders) still very dependent on the automobile industry and Michigan is especially vulnerable to the effects of tariffs."

Cotter said the inconsistency in the imposing of tariffs has been making companies especially automakers think twice before hiring.

 

But, there has been employment growth in other industries.

Our biggest growth industry has been health care, Cotter said. We have an increasing number of elderly people needing more care. So thats been a continued growth industry.

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency said unemployed workers will also qualify for up to 26 weeks of unemployment with the new changes instead of the current 14 to 20 weeks.

But for Robinson, while he says the increase in benefits across the board will be helpful, hes hoping his days of being out of work come to an end very soon.

Man, Im begging. I swear Im begging to go back to work, Robinson said.

The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trumps ability to impose tariffs on Canada, delivering a rare rebuke to the president just hours after he unveiled sweeping plans to clamp down on international trade.

The Senate resolution, passed by a 51-48 vote tally with four Republicans and all Democrats in support, would end Trumps emergency declaration on fentanyl trafficking that underpins tariffs on Canada. Trump earlier Wednesday announced orders his so-called Liberation Day to impose import taxes on a slew of international trading partners, though Canadian imports for now were spared from new taxes.

The Senates legislation has practically no chance of passing the Republican-controlled House and being signed by Trump, but it showed the limits of Republican support for Trumps vision of remaking the U.S. economy by restricting free trade. Many economists are warning that the plan could cause an economic contraction, and GOP senators are already watching with unease as Trump upends the United States relationship with the rest of the world.

Trump earlier Wednesday singled out the four Republicans Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rand Paul of Kentucky who voted in favor of the resolution.

In a statement following the vote, McConnell, the former Senate Republican leader, said, As I have always warned, tariffs are bad policy, and trade wars with our partners hurt working people most.

To justify the tariffs, Trump has argued that Canada is not doing enough to stop illegal drugs from entering the northern border. Customs and Border Protection seized 43 pounds of fentanyl in its northern border sector during the 2024 fiscal year, and since January, authorities have seized less than 1.5 pounds, according to federal data. Meanwhile, at the southern border, authorities seized over 21,000 pounds last year.

This is not about fentanyl. Its about tariffs. Its about a national sales tax on American families, said Sen. Tim Kaine, the Virginia Democrat who initiated the resolution, at a news conference Wednesday.

RELATED STORY | Trump announces baseline 10% tariff on imports for all US trade partners

Democrats argued that Trump is using the tariffs to pay for proposed tax cuts that would benefit the wealthy, but will also make it more expensive to build homes, buy cars and pay for imported grocery products. Kaine pointed to aluminum imported from Canada that is used by businesses ranging from pie makers to shipbuilders.

Today, Donald Trump takes a sledgehammer to the American economy and even to the American dream, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech.

On the heels of election results in Wisconsin and Florida that delivered early warning signs to Republicans about the popularity of Trump's agenda, Schumer said that the president is particularly vulnerable when it comes to the economy.

Once the American people say, I dont want to embrace somebody, I dont want to vote for somebody, I dont want to support somebody who embraces Trumps policies, things are going to change," he told reporters. Public sentiment is everything."

At the White House on Wednesday, Trump singled out Canada as a beneficiary of unfair trading practices with the U.S., though his latest order did not add to tariffs already in place on Canada and Mexico.

Why are we doing this? I mean, at what point do we say, Youve got to work for yourselves and youve got to? This is why we have the big deficits," Trump said.

For their part, Republican leaders tried to hold their members in line not by talking about the impacts of tariffs, but by emphasizing that Trump was acting to address fentanyl trafficking and border security.

Majority Whip Sen. John Barrasso argued in a floor speech that former President Joe Biden had also thrown open the northern border. The criminal cartels noticed and they took advantage.

"There are unique threats to the United States at our northern border," the Wyoming senator said. President Trump is taking the bold, decisive, swift action that is necessary to secure that border as well.

Republicans lined up on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon to underscore the need to act to halt fentanyl trafficking, including at the northern border. However, it was not enough to persuade a key group of Senate Republicans who objected to the tax on Canadian imports.

In a floor speech Wednesday, Collins said she would support the resolution and noted, The fact is the vast majority of fentanyl in America comes from the southern border.

Collins said that Canada is already beefing up border security to address drug trafficking, yet she was concerned about what tariffs would do to businesses and households in Maine. She pointed to a paper mill in her home state that pumps paper pulp from Canada.

A tariff placed on this pulp would jeopardize the financial wellbeing of this vital paper mill, which employs more than 500 people in rural, northern Maine. There is not another big employer in that area that can possibly compensate for the loss of those 510 direct jobs, Collins said.

Paul, a Kentucky Republican who often supports libertarian economic views, also delivered an impassioned floor speech, arguing that the president should not be given unilateral authority to impose taxes on imports.

Every dollar collected in tariff revenue comes straight out of the pockets of American consumers, he said. Conservatives used to understand that tariffs are taxes on the American people. Conservatives used to be uniformly opposed to raising taxes because we wanted the private marketplace, the private individuals to keep more of their income.

While a younger group of Republicans closely aligned with Trump has spoken out in favor of the president's plans to aggressively reshape the economy, a sizable portion of the Republican Conference voiced concerns about the tariff impacts on farmers and other industries. Still, most wanted to give Trump room in hopes that he would negotiate better trade deals.

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said that he has been in constant talks with both Canadian officials and businesses in his state, like Bobcat, which does a significant amount of its sales in Canada. He voted against the resolution. Instead, he hoped that Trump's order would just be a starting point for negotiations to mutually drop tariffs.

The Republican added: Im not overly concerned about it, but obviously it occupies a lot of attention and time and a lot of political anxiety."

Democrats planned to keep pressing into that anxiety. After Trumps announcement, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on social media he would also force a similar vote in the House on the tariffs.

Republicans cant keep ducking this its time they show whether they support the economic pain Trump is inflicting on their constituents, he said.

In a Rose Garden speech Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the U.S.

The tariffs will begin at a baseline of 10%, but many countries with relatively large trade deficits will see higher rates due to reciprocal tariffs, which will tax their imports to the U.S. at roughly half the rate of their own tariffs on U.S. goods.

The orders also begin a 25% tariff on foreign-made automobiles imported to the U.S.

"This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history," President Trump said. "For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it's our turn to prosper, and in so doing use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce taxes and pay down our national debt."

During his comments, President Trump said a tax deduction may be enacted for Americans who buy a car built in the U.S.

But the president said he "couldn't care less" if foreign automakers increase their prices in response to the new tariffs.

RELATED STORY | Trump announces baseline 10% tariff on imports for all US trade partners

The White House says the tariffs will raise hundreds of billions of dollars and spark more companies to produce their goods domestically.

But many economists say consumers will pay the price including economics professor Keith Maskus.

"In the end, it is pretty much always the domestic consumers that pay almost the full share these tariffs. And again, it's just the way tariffs work," Maskus said.

That could mean higher prices for cars, groceries, housing and other goods impacted by the tariffs.

And those who can afford them the least may feel the pinch the most.

"The share of consumption that low-income households pay for tariffs is much, much higher than it is for middle-income or higher wealthier consumers," Maskus said.

Farmers are expected to bear the brunt of these trade tensions. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, Canada and China were the second and third-largest destinations for U.S. agricultural products in 2024.

Retaliatory tariffs could decrease demand for U.S. goods, impacting production and farmers' bottom lines and increasing prices in stores.

RELATED STORY | Lawmakers weigh in on Trump's sweeping new tariffs

Small business owners shared many of those concerns on Wednesday in interviews with Scripps News.

"The only way we can really respond is take an even bigger hit on our margins, which have already been decimated due to inflation and COVID; B, lower the quality of our products, which is not something we want to do; or C, have to increase prices," said Alfred Mai, founder of ASM Games, a card game manufacturer. "None of these are things we want or want to do. But at some point, these tariffs have to go somewhere."

"I think looking at trade imbalance is a really important issue, but not on the backs of small businesses," said Sarah Wells, the founder and CEO of Sarah Wells Bags, a Virginia-based small businesses that makes handbags and apparel. "In fact I think we really need to think of businesses as not a monolith. Small businesses just don't have the cash and resources for unpredictable international tariffs."

Markets sank in after-hours trading following President Trump's announcements, which came after trading had closed for the day.

An ETF that tracks the S&P 500 dropped more than 2.3% and the ETF that tracks the NASDAQ 100 also dropped about 3.1%.

Loyola High School in Detroit, a private Catholic school for boys, is seeing some major improvements including a new chapel.

Its big news for the city as it marks the first new Catholic place of worship in Detroit in more than 60 years.

On Wednesday, students, school leaders and community members gathered together to celebrate the grand opening of the new St. Peter Claver Chapel and the new Wayne and Joan Webber Welcome Center.

Both spaces are extensions of Loyola High School.

VIDEO: Take a walk-through tour of the new chapel VIDEO: Walk-through tour of the new chapel

It feels wonderful for me to still be in my initial weeks here and to be able to do something this joyful," said Detroit's new Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, who led Wednesday's service in the new chapel.

Related video: Detroit's next Archbishop talks about the future and the challenges he faces Detroit's next Archbishop talks about the future and the challenges he faces

Students now not only have a new entrance to the school, they also have a new facility for daily prayer and reflection whereas before, services were held in the gym.

What this chapel means to me is I get to grow in my faith and my beliefs in God more," Rommell Murry said.

The Archdiocese of Detroit told 7 News Detroit like many other dioceses around the country, they too have experienced a decrease in the number of parishes and church buildings.

This is going to be a blessing not just for a 100 or 150 young men at a time; this will be a blessing for the whole community," Weisenburger said.

Deborale Richardson-Phillips, Ph.D., Loyola High School's first female school president, agrees.

Loyola High School is part of the revitalization of the Detroit area," she said. "This chapel, and certainly our welcome center, will give people the opportunity to welcome people into our home in ways that we havent before.

Everything in the chapel the chairs, piano and pieces on the chancel was donated, and school leaders say its the communitys support that made it happen.

This remarkable addition to our campus would not have been possible without the generosity and vision of those of who supported Empower Loyola," Richardson-Phillips said.

A campaign generated more than $9 million in donations. Cynthia Webber Helisek was one of those donors.

It took no thoughts whatsoever to say yes to the projects, she said.

The welcome center is named after her uncle Wayne and aunt Joan Webber, who were big supporters of school and so is she.

Most importantly, I want the boys to know they are very valued in this space, and they deserve a beautiful space to learn," Helisek said.

Michigan officials said schools would be on hook for $40 million after the federal government halted COVID-19 payments. While uncertainty remains, the total is less than half that.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of anticipation and speculation, President Donald Trump followed through on his reciprocal tariff threats by declaring on Wednesday a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States.

In announcing the reciprocal tariffs, Trump was fulfilling a key campaign promise by raising U.S. taxes on foreign goods to narrow the gap with the tariffs the White House says other countries unfairly impose on U.S. products.

“Reciprocal means ‘they do it to us and we do it to them,’” the president said from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday.

Trump’s higher rates would hit foreign entities that sell more goods to the United States than they buy. But economists don’t share Trump’s enthusiasm for tariffs since they’re a tax on importers that usually get passed on to consumers. It’s possible, however, that the reciprocal tariffs could bring other countries to the table and get them to lower their own import taxes.

The Associated Press asked for your questions about reciprocal tariffs. Here are a few of them, along with our answers:

Do U.S.-collected tariffs go into the General Revenue Fund? Can Trump withdraw money from that fund without oversight?

Tariffs are taxes on imports, collected when foreign goods cross the U.S. border by the Customs and Border Protection agency. The money — about $80 billion last year — goes to the U.S. Treasury to help pay the federal government’s expenses. Congress has authority to say how the money will be spent.

Trump — largely supported by Republican lawmakers who control the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives — wants to use increased tariff revenue to finance tax cuts that analysts say would disproportionately benefit the wealthy. Specifically, they want to extend tax cuts passed in Trump’s first term and largely set to expire at the end of 2025. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, has found that extending Trump’s tax cuts would reduce federal revenue by $4.5 trillion from 2025 to 2034.

Trump wants higher tariffs to help offset the lower tax collections. Another think tank, the Tax Policy Center, has said that extending the 2017 tax cuts would deliver continued tax relief to Americans at all income levels, “but higher-income households would receive a larger benefit.’’

How soon will prices rise as a result of the tariff policy?

It depends on how businesses both in the United States and overseas respond, but consumers could see overall prices rising within a month or two of tariffs being imposed. For some products, such as produce from Mexico, prices could rise much more quickly after the tariffs take effect.

Some U.S. retailers and other importers may eat part of the cost of the tariff, and overseas exporters may reduce their prices to offset the extra duties. But for many businesses, the tariffs Trump announced Wednesday — such as 20% on imports from Europe — will be too large to swallow on their own.

Companies may also use the tariffs as an excuse to raise prices. When Trump slapped duties on washing machines in 2018, studies later showed that retailers raised prices on both washers and dryers, even though there were no new duties on dryers.

A key question in the coming months is whether something similar will happen again. Economists worry that consumers, having just lived through the biggest inflationary spike in four decades, are more accustomed to rising prices than they were before the pandemic.

Yet there are also signs that Americans, put off by the rise in the cost of living, are less willing to accept price increases and will simply cut back on their purchases. That could discourage businesses from raising prices by much.

What is the limit of the executive branch’s power to implement tariffs? Does Congress not play any role?

The U.S. Constitution grants the power to set tariffs to Congress. But over the years, Congress has delegated those powers to the president through several different laws. Those laws specify the circumstances under which the White House can impose tariffs, which are typically limited to cases where imports threaten national security or are severely harming a specific industry.

In the past, presidents generally imposed tariffs only after carrying out public hearings to determine if certain imports met those criteria. Trump followed those steps when imposing tariffs in his first term.

In his second term, however, Trump has sought to use emergency powers set out in a 1977 law to impose tariffs in a more ad hoc fashion. Trump has said, for example, that fentanyl flowing in from Canada and Mexico constitute a national emergency and has used that pretext to impose 25% duties on goods from both countries.

Congress can seek to cancel an emergency that a president declares, and Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, has proposed to do just that regarding Canada. That legislation could pass the Senate but would likely die in the House. Other bills in Congress that would also limit the president’s authority to set tariffs face tough odds for passage as well.

What tariffs are other countries charging on US goods?

U.S. tariffs are generally lower than those charged by other countries. The average U.S. tariff, weighted to reflect goods that are actually traded, is just 2.2% for the United States, versus the European Union’s 2.7%, China’s 3% and India’s 12%, according to the World Trade Organization.

Other countries also tend to do more than the United States to protect their farmers with high tariffs. The U.S. trade-weighted tariff on farm goods, for example, is 4%, compared to the EU’s 8.4%, Japan’s 12.6%, China’s 13.1% and India’s 65%. (The WTO numbers don’t count Trump’s recent flurry of import taxes or tariffs between countries that have entered into their own free trade agreements, such as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that allows many goods to cross North American borders duty free.)

Previous U.S. administrations agreed to the tariffs that Trump now calls unjust. They were the result of a long negotiation between 1986 to 1994 — the so-called Uruguay Round — that ended in a trade pact signed by 123 countries and has formed the basis of the global trading system for nearly four decades.

All eyes were on President Donald Trump today as he announced a 10% tariff on all imports. It's been branded as 'Liberation Day" by the White House.

In the Rose Garden, Trump invited Brian Pannebecker, a Macomb County man and the founder of Autoworkers for Trump 2024, to the stage.

"My entire life I have watched plant after plant after plant in Detroit sitting idle, under-utilized," Pannebecker said, just moments after Trump made this announcement.

"Effective at midnight, we will impose a 25-percent tariff on all foreign-made automobiles," Trump said.

Local auto manufacturers have already been navigating the new tariffs, and I went to talk to one in Sterling Heights. We're also getting new analysis about what consumers can expect to pay if they're in the market for a new car.

FULL INTERVIEW: John McElroy of Autoline discusses the possible impacts of tariffs FULL INTERVIEW: John McElroy of Autoline discusses the possible impacts of tariffs

Citic Dicastal is the largest manufacturer of aluminum wheels in the entire world, and because their products are made of aluminum, they're already feeling the effects of those tariffs.

For Dale Hadel, the Director of Sales, the tariffs have already been a reality.

"We're paying it on aluminum wheels. We'll be paying it on imports from Mexico. We'll be paying it on imported material from Canada. We'll be paying it on the final product coming in from China," he says.

Hadel tells me Citic Dicastal is headquartered in China.

"When you think about a 25% tariff, and let's say aluminum, just is $1 a pound, now it's $1.25 a pound, and that's a 30-pound wheel, you can do the math," he says.

I asked him what his biggest concern is right now.

"My fear is that this will slow down vehicle sales if there's a big bump in pricing that the automakers need to pass on to the consumer," Hadel says.

So, let's talk about that. Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group published a new report showing major increases per car.

"For American cars, and I'm talking about cars assembled in North America, $2500 the low end, $10,000 at the high end," says Patrick Anderson, CEO of the Anderson Economic Group.

And he says these are conservative estimates. For imports, it could reach $20,000 per car. And how does Michigan fare compared to the rest of the states in the US when it comes to these tariffs?

"There's no state that's more exposed than Michigan to tariffs on automobiles," says Anderson. "Now we're, we are - literally the epicenter of tariff effects is probably in the middle of the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor."

"The auto industry spent the last 20 years trying to find low-cost countries or low-cost content locations where they can have a competitive advantage by manufacturing, which has been enhanced by USMCA and all the incentives to locate there," says Hadel.

One of the theories right now is that there will be pain in the short term, but in the long term, there will be benefits. I asked Hadel if he agreed with that.

"I don't see that. I see there'll be, at least for the 5 to 7 year duration in front of us, I think you'll see some very significant pain," he says.

There's a new microbusiness in Berkley this one was started by students.

Hoppy Puppy has brought in hundreds of dollars the past couple of months. Berkley's adult transition programs for students is behind it all.

Spent grains from the bottom of the tank at Dog and Pony Brewing to the kitchen at Berkley's Adult Transition Program (BAT) are the main ingredient in their dog treats.

BAT is currently housed at Berkley First United Methodist Church while construction happens at their permanent home.

"We usually make the dough from scratch, and we do a very good job with that," Derek Van Wormer said.

They mix the ingredients, roll the dough and cut it into shapes for baking.

Watch the process of students making dog treats in the video player below: VIDEO: Inside the process: How the students make the dog treats

The treats then go to their other partner Our Neighborhood Academy for packaging. Some students also work there.

All 17 students ages 18 to 26 in the BAT program are business partners and owners in the Hoppy Puppy microbusiness.

"This truly is a student-developed startup, and the students have their hand in every single part of the company and including the development of the company, from choosing the name, choosing our logo, creating and designing our logo, interim Administrator Sharon Berke said. They researched packaging and chose our packaging, everything from the bag that we used to the labels, all of it, every single piece of it. They research and we meet together and as a complete company team, we make decisions and move forward.

Some students have never baked dog treats before.

"It's not always easy, but it's not too bad once you get the hang of it," Van Wormer said.

Its a business theyre proud to play a big role in.

"I feel proud and an accomplishment to do my own business, Isabelle Moss said.

Student Elisheva Tobi balances the books.

"It started as a microbusiness, but I feel like it's more than a microbusiness. I feel like it's a major business to me, Tobi said. "It's an amazing opportunity to grow and learn about different things."

She hopes to learn more about finance and sell her own products one day.

That's what Berke says BAT and this program is all about. A key part of the program is work-based learning and job readiness, helping students develop independence in the community.

"It's a wonderful community collaboration but even more importantly, it's been just such a valuable entrepreneurial experience and pre-vocational experience for our students," Berke said.

The last two months racked in sales over $500. Because of the growth, they're now using the profits to branch out into dog shirts.

"We are in this for the long haul," Berke said.

They're grateful for their community and are hopeful for their continued support.

You can purchase Hoppy Puppy at these locations:

Monarch Market Cafe in Huntington Woods Coffee & Bark in Downtown Berkley Dog & Pony Show Brewery in Oak Park Our Neighborhood Academy in Downtown Berkley

President Donald Trump announced 10% reciprocal tariffs, with even higher import taxes on China, the European Union and other US trading partners. Auto tariffs are also set to take effect this week.

A devastating car crash involving an elderly driver left a Canton man with life-altering injuries.

The road to recovery is marked by many steps, and for Garrett Biesiadecki, each step feels like a mile.

I dont want to do this, but they make me fight, Biesiadecki said through tears while pointing to his trainers at Team Rehab in Livonia. I want to keep going.

The 52-year-old concrete worker lost his leg and nearly his life and livelihood when an SUV barreled into him while he was on a job in Canton last September.

Biesiadecki spent the past several months in grueling physical therapy as he adjusts to life as an amputee.

This is the beginner, Biesieadecki said, pointing to his prosthetic leg. Supposedly tomorrow Im going to get my updated one, because this hurts real bad.

Extended interview: 'I'm going to fight.' Man hit by elderly driver talks about recovery journey Extended interview: 'I'm going to fight.' Man hit by elderly driver talks about recovery journey

The woman behind the wheel, 81-year-old Judy Kamm, first struck that garage before coming through a backyard, hitting Garrett, and then striking a house.

I remember laying on the ground, looking at my leg, Biesieadecki said.

Biesieadecki was losing blood and fast. He believes he wouldve died had a nurse who lives nearby not come to his aid, using a shoelace as a tourniquet.

She said, Im sorry about this, but this is gonna, whoosh to the tourniquet. And then she said, Im really sorry about this, but youre not gonna die on my watch. Went to my artery and grabbed it, and I screamed so loud, and I passed out, Biesieadecki said.

Biesieadecki spent a month in the hospitalhis left leg amputated. His body broken.

Kamm was charged with reckless driving and a moving violation causing serious impairment of a body functionboth misdemeanors. Her lawyer declined to comment, saying he still needed to review the case.

Michigan has no restrictions on elderly drivers, but State Senator Rosemary Bayer is considering legislation to change that, in hopes of protecting both elderly drivers and other motorists.

Democratic leader Ranjeev Puri from Canton released a statement saying:

It goes without saying that it is incredibly unfortunate for anyone injured in these car accidents or anyone hurt in a car accident, for that matter. As state representatives, we are here to uplift the will of the people and keep people safe, and I take that responsibility seriously. There are always important factors to consider when placing age qualifiers and other such limitations in the law; however, it is essential to consider that older folks need to get around just like anyone else. It is important to support all sorts of transportation forms and options, so when elderly individuals and their families decide that it is time to stop driving.

Everyone is running, running over people, and its gotta stop. This has gotta stop somehow, and its terrible what people are going through, Biesiadecki said.

Meanwhile, Biesiadecki is hoping his rehab will allow him to get back to work and help run Action Concrete, the family business.

My dad was born and raised a Marine; he brought me up as a Marine, so you fight, and Im going to fight. Fight like he fought, and Im not going to give up, Biesiadecki said.

The Detroit Lions have clear expectations for defensive tackle Brodric Martin heading into the upcoming 2025 NFL season.

In 2024, injuries slowed the progress of a developmental player who was expected to build upon his rookie campaign. After suffering a knee injury in the preseason finale, Martin was sidelined until late-November.

Upon returning, Martin appeared in just two games and played only 28 defensive snaps. In his two NFL seasons, the Western Kentucky product has played in five games and totaled four tackles.

Heading into his third season, general manager Brad Holmes expects the 25-year-old to be more consistent.

“Look, he’s got to be consistent,” Holmes said. “Obviously, you guys all know I was very clear and transparent that he was more in the developmental project bucket when we took him. But, now it’s time for him not to just — because he brought flashes in the preseason. When he came from his injury, he brought flashes, but, you know, he had some low points as well.

“So, we need to see more of the consistency of the flashes, and he just needs to be a consistent player,” Holmes explained further. “And he knows that. We’ve had transparent conversations, and so he knows that he needs to be a consistent player. He’s got all the ability, he’s got all the physical tools to be a consistent player.”

Alim McNeill will not be available for Detroit to start the 2025 season, as he works his way back from a torn ACL suffered in December.

In free agency, the team added Roy Lopez and could add more defensive tackles in the NFL draft.

Derrick Harmon and Kenneth Grant have recently been mocked to the Lions in many of the latest projections.

For Martin, taking strides forward will be paramount for a defensive line in need of depth and productivity on a team playing a first-place schedule.

This article was produced by the staff at Detroit Lions On SI. For more, visit si.com/nfl/lions

By STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — For a day, at least, Democrats across the country have a sense that their comeback against President Donald Trump may have begun.

It wasn’t just about the election results in Wisconsin, where Democratic-backed Judge Susan Crawford won a 10-point victory against Trump and Elon Musk’s favored candidate for the state Supreme Court.

Some Democrats highlighted New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s marathon, record-setting 25-hour Senate speech as a rallying point for frustrated voters. Others pointed to congressional Democrats lining up with a handful of House Republican lawmakers to oppose a procedural rule that would have stopped a proposal for new parents in Congress to able to vote by proxy.

The series of victories gave Democratic leaders moments of relief and vindication of their strategy to focus on Trump’s alliances with Musk and other billionaires. That’s even as some party officials warned that it was far too early to draw sweeping conclusions from a series of lower-turnout off-year elections with polls still showing that the party’s brand is deeply unpopular among key groups of voters.

“Elon Musk and Donald Trump are on the ropes,” charged Ken Martin, the newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee. “We’re just getting started.”

Wisconsin gave Democrats a much-needed win

Democrats have had little to cheer about in the five months since Trump won a decisive victory in November’s presidential election in which he peeled away a significant portion of working-class voters and people of color. And in more recent weeks, the party’s activist base has become increasingly frustrated that Democratic leaders have not done more to stop Trump’s unprecedented push to slash the federal government and the reshape the economy.

Democrats in Washington and in state capitals across the country privately conceded that a bad night, especially in Wisconsin, would have been devastating.

Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, lost to liberal-backed Crawford in a relative blowout, five months after Trump carried Wisconsin by less than 1 point.

And in Florida, Republicans won special elections in two of the most pro-Trump House districts in the country, but both candidates significantly underperformed Trump’s November margins.

“I went to bed last night feeling uplifted and relieved,” Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass said Wednesday.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., predicted further political consequences for Republicans if they don’t resist the sweeping cuts to government services enacted by Musk and Trump.

“In swing districts, if I was a Republican, I would either decide how to stand up for your constituents or find out how to get a discount on adult depends, because one or the other is what you’re going to be needing to do,” Pocan said.

Rebecca Cooke, a Democratic candidate in Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district, said the election was a clear indication that voters are upset with how Trump and Musk “are messing with their lives.” But she stopped short of projecting confidence in future elections.

“We have work to do to build long term infrastructure in this party and to really build trust back with voters that I think have felt left behind by the Democratic Party,” said Cooke, a 37-year-old waitress who is running against GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden. “I think it takes time to build trust with voters, and it can’t happen overnight, and it can’t happen in just one election.”

Expect more Democratic talking points about Musk

In this week’s successes, Democratic officials believe they have confirmed the effectiveness of their core message heading into the 2026 midterms that Trump and his billionaire allies are working for the rich at the expense of the working class.

Indeed, talking points distributed by the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday reinforced that notion while pointing to what the committee described as “an undeniable trend” after recent lower-profile Democratic victories in Virginia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Minnesota.

“In 2025, Democrats continue to overperform in special elections as voters send a resounding message: They want Democrats to fight for them, and they want the Trump-Musk agenda out of their communities,” the talking points read.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., told the AP Wednesday that the election results showed that the public is “outraged” by chaos and dysfunction coming from the Trump administration. The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Trump and Republicans in Congress are failing to fix high prices and seeking Medicaid cuts, in addition to supporting tariffs that could worsen inflation for families.

“What we saw yesterday in Florida and Wisconsin was Republicans running scared because the American people are angry and scared about the direction the Trump-Musk agenda is taking us,” she said. “They’re seeing prices go up. They’re seeing more and more the focus is not on them, but on Trump and his wealthy donors.”

More protests are to come

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of voters are expected to attend more than 1,000 so-called “Hands Off!” related protests nationwide focused on Trump and Musk. More than 150 political groups worked together to organize what will almost certainly represent the single biggest day of protest of the second Trump administration.

The Washington event, which will feature Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., already has more than 12,000 RSVPs, according to organizers.

Meanwhile, Booker is planning to attend a series of unrelated public events, including a town hall in New Jersey this weekend.

His office reports receiving 28,000 voicemails since he finished his speech shortly after 8 p.m. on Tuesday. At its peak, the 25-hour address was being streamed by more than 300,000 people across Booker’s social media channels. It earned more than 350 million likes on his newly formed TikTok account.

A spokesperson said that the Democratic senator spent much of Wednesday sleeping.

Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Leah Askarinam in Washington and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin contributed reporting.

The founder of Auto Workers for Trump 2024 in Macomb County thanked President Trump and predicted auto plants will reopen over the next few years during a brief speech at the president’s “Liberation Day” at the White House.

Brian Pannebecker attended the event Wednesday in the Rose Garden along with many top federal officials and 20 Michigan UAW members. Pannebecker cited the group of auto workers, who responded with cheers, during his remarks after Trump invited him to the podium on stage.

“We support Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs 100%,” Pannebecker said, pointing to the group, which included Chris Vitale of St. Clair Shores. “In six months or a year, we’re going to begin seeing the benefits. I can’t wait to see what’s happening three-four years down the road.”

In asking him to come on stage, Trump said, “He’s been a fan of ours and he understands this business a lot better than the economists, a lot better than anybody.”

Pannebecker started his comments by noting he is from “north of Detroit, Macomb County, the home of the Reagan Democrats.”

“My first vote for president was for Ronald Reagan,” he said. “I thought that was going to be the best president ever in my lifetime. That was until Donald J. Trump came along.”

He described metro Detroit as a region of closed and idle auto plants.

“My entire life I have watched plant after plant after plant in Detroit and the Metro Detroit area close,” Pannebecke said. “There are now plants sitting idle, there are now plants under-utilized. Donald Trump’s policies are going to bring product back into these under-utilized plants. There’s going to be new investment, new plants built.”

After he left the stage, Trump said of Pannebecker, “He got it right from the beginning; he got it before almost anyone else, and they (referencing the auto union members in the audience) did, too.”

“You’re going to be happy very soon,” the president assured.

Pannebecker, a New Baltimore resident and Sterling Heights native, is a retired auto worker who spoke at a Trump rally last November and has organized many pro-Trump events in recent years.

Vitale is a St. Clair Shores city councilman and recently recent Stellantis employee who was one of the 20 UAW members invited to attend the ceremony

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Vitale said before the event Wednesday morning from Washington D.C.. “They were looking for some autoworkers to show support, and I was picked to be one of them.”

Vitale said he is a strong supporter of Trump’s plans to heighten tariffs and has campaigned for them in the past. Like Pannebecker, he said he believes in the long run they will benefit the United States.

“My feeling is that the rest of the world is in a panic over these because they’ve been doing them to us for the past 60 years,” he said. “I would say in a year from now a lot of them probably won’t even be in place because the idea is to get those foreign governments to take down their tariffs on American products, level the playing field, so to speak, which is something I’ve been advocating for since 2008. Not looking for special treatment, just looking for equal treatment.”

He called the part of the negative reaction to tariffs “hair lighting on fire … nothing more than drama” because most products from Canada and Mexico initially will be exempt as part of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement. He called those reactions “scare stories.”

He said the explanation to support the tariffs is complex.

“What Trump is doing is fundamentally the right move,” he said.

Vitale paid for his trip, he said.

Vitale, who said he remains a member of the UAW, said he tested prototype drivetrains the last 10 years of his career at the Tech Center in Auburn Hills, and prior to that worked at other facilities for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Chrysler.

He was elected to City Council in November 2011 and was last re-elected in November 2023.

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The Trump administration abruptly cut just over $3 million in healthcare funding for Oakland County Tuesday.

The money was COVID-related public health grants to Oakland County through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

County Executive Dave Coulter said five nurses were told Tuesday night not to report to work Wednesday. They had been hired last year to assist the county’s 146 long-term care facilities with coordinated outbreak response efforts. Since the program started on Sept. 25, 2024, the nurses responded to 123 COVID, 25 norovirus and 126 influenza outbreaks. This program was funded by a $2.5 million federal grant, with $2.1 million unspent.

At least $1 million from the county’s $1.24 million federally funded wastewater disease surveillance program must be returned. Wastewater was initially tested to track outbreaks of COVID-19 but expanded to include norovirus, influenza, and RSV in nursing homes and other facilities for seniors and people with disabilities. This year, county officials planned to expand testing to include mpox, polio and measles.

Coulter said the orders by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are reckless and not based in science.

“He’s not explaining why he’s picking infectious diseases and wastewater detection,” Coulter said. “Viruses don’t stop when these kinds of sweeping decisions get made.”

Statewide, the cuts amount to $379.3 million that pay for mental health and substance abuse services, infectious disease control and vaccinations for children and vulnerable adults.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined 23 states and the District of Columbia Tuesday to sue the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for the cuts, which total nearly $11 billion nationally.

Coulter said he supports the state’s lawsuit. It’s unclear what other cuts will be made because the Trump administration’s decisions have been so unpredictable, he said.

The two county programs canceled this week had been funded through Sept. 30, 2025.

“It’s beyond reckless and shortsighted move by the Trump administration that puts Oakland County residents at risk, especially our seniors,” Coulter said. “Wastewater surveillance and infection prevention efforts are not relics of the pandemic, but critical tools to continue protecting public health today and in the future.”

Oakland County Health and Human Services Director Leigh-Anne Stafford said the cuts undermine the county’s ability to prevent outbreaks, care for vulnerable people and respond to emerging health threats.

“These programs have been instrumental in preventing outbreaks and protecting our community,” she said.

The five nurses who signed contracts last year to help with outbreaks also helped investigate 382 cases of reportable infectious diseases. They made hundreds of phone calls to residents exposed to such diseases as ebola, bird flu, measles and rabies.

The first COVID-19 death in Michigan happened in Oakland County in 2020. In 2022, the state’s first mpox illness was diagnosed in Oakland County. This year, Oakland County identified the first measles case in the state in March. Michigan health officials have reported two cases of humans infected with the bird flu, but the county wasn’t identified.

Coulter said eliminating the wastewater surveillance program and the five nurses dedicated to infectious disease prevention does nothing more than increase the risk of illnesses in county residents.

Part of the reason the money was unspent, he said, is that the programs had to be put in place before people could be hired to support them. The money was initially granted as part of the COVID response but as the virus abated, Congress and the Biden administration agreed that the money could be used for other health programs.

“People can disagree about the need for these federal funds, but it’s the chaos – it’s hard to think ahead,” he said. “We don’t have a Plan B for grant-funded programs. When the money ends, the program ends. That’s our policy.”

President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the U.S. Wednesday.

The tariffs will begin at a baseline of 10%, but many countries with relatively large trade deficits will see higher rates due to reciprocal tariffs, which will tax their imports to the U.S. at roughly half the rate of their own tariffs on U.S. goods.

The orders also begin a 25% tariff on foreign-made automobiles imported to the U.S.

Reaction on Capitol Hill has been mixed. Republicans have largely backed President Trump's plans, or are willing to allow him the chance to to see how the measures play out.

"The experts think they're always right," Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told reporters earlier on Wednesday. "They're almost always wrong. Some of these guys I've listened to for the last two weeks, and gals, talking about what the impact on the economy is. I know them. I've read their materials. I've looked at their past predictions. They make those late-night psychic hotlines look respectable."

"Nobody knows. Nobody knows. But we'll find out pretty soon," he said.

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But there is some pushback. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul spoke on the Senate Floor Wednesday shortly before President Trump's tariffs announcement, warning that the emergency declaration used to implement the tariffs represented executive overreach.

"You can't have a country ruled by emergency. You can't have a country without a separation of powers, without checks and balances," he said.

"Tariffs are a terrible mistake. They don't work, they will lead to higher prices, they are a tax and they have historically been bad for our economy."

A number of Senate Republicans voted along with all Democrats in the chamber Wednesday night to pass a measure intended to stop the emergency declaration President Trump declared concerning fentanyl trafficking from Canada, which formed the basis of new tariffs on the country.

The vote passed 51-48, but it has little chance of making it to the House floor for a vote.

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on Trump's tariffs

Scripps News spoke with Delaware's Democratic Governor Matt Meyer after the president's announcement.

"A tariff is a tax," Gov. Meyer said. "The first sentence defining tariff in any dictionary. This is a 10% tax on every American. It makes no sense. It's an economic theory that was disproven 95 years ago when Smoot-Hawley was passed. Look back in 1930. Herbert Hoover, it was his great policy. What did it lead to? The Great Depression."

"It's not a matter of which sector is going to see it and which sector is not going to see it. The president was clear. This is a tax on everyone."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

While the John Ball Zoo gets illuminated with lanterns shaped like plants and animals, Pinconning, East Lansing and Kalamazoo offer opportunities to observe real-life birds and plants.

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner is facing calls to resign after he issued an order — which was quickly rescinded — that would have required Maine parents to register their newborns for Social Security numbers at a federal office rather than the hospital.

Newly unearthed emails show that the March 5 decision was made as political payback to Maine’s Governor Janet Mills, who has defied the Trump administration’s push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes.

In the email addressed to the agency’s staff, acting commissioner Leland Dudek, said, “no money will go from the public trust to a petulant child.” Staff members warned that terminating the contracts would result in improper payments and the potential for identity theft.

Dudek’s order initially drew widespread condemnation from medical organizations and public officials, who described it as unnecessary and punitive. The practice of allowing parents to register a newborn for a Social Security number at a hospital or other birthing site, called the Enumeration at Birth program, has been common for decades.

Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree, one of two House members from Maine, said Dudek should resign immediately. She characterized Dudek’s actions as retaliation for Mills publicly opposing President Donald Trump.

“If a federal agency can be turned into a political hit squad at the whim of an acting appointee, what checks remain on executive power? Commissioner Dudek’s vindictive actions against Maine represent a fundamental betrayal of public trust that disqualifies him from public service,” Pingree said.

Mills said Wednesday that Social Security is being subjected to “rushed and reckless cuts” and needs leadership that treats it like a public trust. She said that is especially important in Maine, which has a high number of recipients.

“Social Security is not a scheme, as some have said, it’s a covenant between our government and its people. The Social Security Administration’s leadership must act in a manner that reflects this solemn obligation,” Mills said.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Dudek on Tuesday, calling for his immediate resignation and a request that he sit for an interview with the committee.

“The American people deserve answers about your activities and communications in the time between President Trump’s February 21, 2025, public threat to Governor Mills and your February 27, 2025, order to cancel the enumeration at birth and electronic death registration contracts with the state of Maine, and about your knowledge that cancelling these contracts would lead to increased waste, fraud, and abuse,” Connolly said in his letter.

Connolly, in a letter on Tuesday, said Democrats on the House oversight committee obtained internal emails from the Social Security Administration that he says shows Dudek cancelled the contracts to retaliate politically against Maine.

A representative from the Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

Dudek on a March 18th call with reporters to preview the agency’s tighter identity-proofing measures, initially said the cancellation of the Maine contract happened “because I screwed up,” adding that he believed that the contract looked strange. “I made the wrong move there. I should always ask my staff for guidance first, before I cancel something. I’m new at this job.”

He added, “Well, I was upset at the governor’s treatment, and I indicated in email as such, but the actual fact of the matter was it looked like a strange contract.”

“I’m not interested in political retaliation. I’m interested in serving the public.”

Maine has been the subject of federal investigations since Gov. Mills sparked the ire of Trump at a meeting of governors at the White House in February. During the meeting, Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Maine if the state does not comply with his executive order barring transgender athletes from sports.

Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”

The Trump administration then opened investigations into whether Maine violated the Title IX antidiscrimination law by allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports. The Education Department issued a final warning on Monday that the state could face Justice Department enforcement soon if it doesn’t come into compliance soon.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins also said Wednesday that the department is pausing federal funds for some Maine educational programs because of Title IX noncompliance.

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

By MEGAN JANETSKY, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Department revoked the visas of members of a Mexican band after they projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a large screen during a performance in the western state of Jalisco over the weekend.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the first Trump administration, said late Tuesday on X that the work and tourism visas of members of Los Alegres del Barranco were revoked.

The visa revocations follow widespread outrage in Mexico over the concert as prosecutors in two states have launched investigations into the projected images, and a larger national reckoning over how to address the rise of a popular musical genre criticized for romanticizing drug cartels.

“I’m a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn’t mean that expression should be free of consequences,” Landau wrote on X. “The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.”

The controversy broke out over the weekend when the face of Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera layered over flames was projected behind the band, originally hailing from Sinaloa, during the concert. Finger pointing ensued among the band, concert producers and the venue.

Oseguera is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has been connected to a ranch authorities say was used to train cartel recruits and possibly dispose of bodies in Jalisco, where searchers found human bone fragments, heaps of clothing and shoes.

The Jalisco cartel is among other criminal groups in Mexico that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

While the image was met by applause during the concert, Jalisco prosecutors quickly announced they were summoning the band to testify in an investigation into whether they were promoting violence, a crime which could result in a penalty of up to six months in prison. The state of Michoacan also announced an investigation into the Los Alegres del Barranco for projecting the same images during a concert in the city of Uruapan.

Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus said that the state would ban musical performances that glorify violence, adding that violators would “face monetary and criminal sanctions.”

“We know that outrage is not enough,” Lemus said. “Of course it’s possible to ban (the music).”

Since, a number of the band’s future shows have been cancelled, one town’s government saying that the show “didn’t have the municipal permissions needed” to carry out the performance.

Pavel Moreno, the band’s accordion player and back-up singer, didn’t respond to questions by fans asking if his visa had been revoked, simply thanking them for support and saying that “everything is fine.”

The band was scheduled to play in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 4. While the event hasn’t been publicly cancelled, ticket sales websites read: “No tickets available for now on our site” for that date.

The dispute coincides with a larger cultural debate in Mexico as artists like Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and Natanael Cano usher in a global renaissance of Mexican regional music, by mixing classic ballads with trap music. In 2023, Peso Pluma beat Taylor Swift out as the most streamed artist on YouTube.

Many of the artists now topping the charts have come under fierce criticism because their lyrics often paint cartel leaders as Robin Hood-esque figures. Others say that the genre, known as “narco corridos”, expresses the harsh realities of many youths across Mexico.

A number of Mexican states have banned public performances of the music in recent years, the most recent being the state of Nayarit in February. Some of the bans have come as famed artists have received death threats from cartels, forcing a number of them to cancel their performances.

Others, including Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, have sought a less aggressive approach to addressing the genre. Sheinbaum, who has come out against censoring the music, has suggested instead that the Mexican government push forward initiatives that promote Mexican regional music with more socially acceptable lyrics.

The Mexican leader did harden her language on the topic following the Los Alegres del Barranco concert. In her morning news briefing this week, Sheinbaum demanded an investigation into the concert, saying: “You can’t justify violence or criminal groups.”

As the rain pours in Southeast Michigan, Southfield resident Ed Fournier invited us inside his "man cave," built for exactly this.

"We built this because we knew we wanted to stay here, we love the area, but we didnt know how much we were going to lose power," said Fournier.

According to him, their Southfield home loses power "a couple times a year, maybe four, maybe five times for sure."

Inside his man cave, Fournier has a wood burner, a generator, extension cables, and more supplies to stay safe during a power outage.

He told us that Wednesday's storm has created a double whammy for his family.

While they wait to see if they'll lose power in Southfield, their home in Mancelona, up north, has already been hit by Sunday's ice storms.

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In fact, Fournier spent the beginning of his week in Mancelona, securing their home there, before coming back to Southfield for this storm.

"I dont think people really realize how bad it is up there," said Fournier. "And that people really need a lot of help up there."

Amid the severe weather DTE told 7 News Detroit that they are preparing.

On Wednesday afternoon, our team was invited inside their Systems Operation Center.

There, DTE Vice President of Distribution Operation Brian Calka said, "This is an overlay of the electric grid, it shows all of our substations."

Calka said that inside the center, DTE teams can operate 24 hours a day, remotely addressing homes and businesses that may lose power.

He also said that they have additional crews traveling to Michigan to help: "We have 2,000 line workers that are here on our property right now, we are augmenting them with over 600 line workers that are coming from out of state."

According to Calka, this storm is especially worrisome to them because rain preceding high winds increases the likelihood of trees falling.

He asks all concerned residents to contact them at outage.dteenergy.com.

As we wait to see how many will be affected, residents like Fournier continue to prepare.

"You get your generator, you get your firewood, you get your supplies, you have everything ready," said Fournier. "That way when that time comes, you dont have to worry about yourself, you can help your neighbor out, and thats most important."