By Kara Berg, MediaNews Group

The mother of Oxford High School shooting victim Madisyn Baldwin said on Friday that she doesn’t see the $500,000 she accepted from the school district as a settlement — she sees it as an ultimatum from them.

Nicole Beausoleil, who sued Oxford Community Schools along with three other families for its role in a 2021 mass shooting, said she took the money from the district not because she was giving up on enacting change within Oxford schools, but because she had to think of Madisyn’s father and her three younger siblings.

“I felt (the $500,000) was the only measure I’d get from the tragedy to help them do everything they deserve to do,” Beausoleil said. “It was very hard for me to do. I really didn’t want to take it. I didn’t want it to show like I gave up, which I didn’t give up. I knew it was a take it or leave it type of deal. I felt in my heart I couldn’t make the decision only for myself.”

Beausoleil’s 17-year-old daughter Madisyn was one of four kids killed at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. Justin Shilling, 17, Tate Myre, 16, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were also killed.

Beausoleil and Justin’s family were the only two to take the settlements. The Myres and the St. Julianas rejected it. The settlements were connected to federal lawsuits the families filed, alleging the district failed to protect students and downplayed the threat the killer posed to the school.

“I just want the change. I want people to see the bigger picture here, not look at this as two families gave up and took the settlement,” Beausoleil said. “It’s not a settlement, it’s an ultimatum. Take it or leave it, you have this many hours to decide. There wasn’t anything about it that was sincere or remorseful.”

The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December 2023, though he is appealing both the sentence and his guilty plea to the Michigan Supreme Court.

The panel of three judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded former counselor Shawn Hopkins and former dean of students Nick Ejak did not display a callous indifference toward the risk they perceived the shooter posed prior to the Nov. 30, 2021 attack and that Oxford schools had immunity and could not be sued. The wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed May 20.

Oxford Schools attorney Tim Mullins said the offer to the families before the 6th Circuit decision was $1 million, and it was lowered to $500,000 after that.

“We always try to reach a reasonable resolution of a disputed claim,” Mullins said. “We are pleased to have been able to do so at this point.”

Beausoleil said the district has only seen her daughter as a liability.

“I want her to be seen in a different light,” Beausoleil said. “I want this kind of just to be behind me and to keep moving forward to continue to create change. We’re going to constantly fight, there’s no stopping it.”

While she’s lost a lot of hope in the past four years, she said she plans to keep fighting for her children. She filed the lawsuit so she could see change in the district, so no one would have to feel the pain she and the other families felt.

“Our lawsuits were to create change, it wasn’t to create this sue happy, ‘oh need a bunch of money’ idea,” Beausoleil said. “We want systematic change. We want this change because there was neglect on all aspects.”

Madisyn’s younger sister Payton is starting her freshman year this fall, Beausoleil said. She’s going to Anchor Bay schools, and Beausoleil said she has gone through safety directives with the district. It’s heartening to see they’ve taken her suggestions to improve student safety, she said.

But still, the thought of Payton going to high school has taken a toll on Beausoleil, she said. The money will help to make sure Payton can go to college at an Ivy League if she wants to and to help her autistic brother.

Madisyn would’ve wanted that, Beausoleil said. She had planned to go into neuroscience to learn about autism and how the brain functioned.

“It’s not a lot of money, I’m not expecting the kids to live off of this,” Beausoleil said. “But it’s a start in the right direction of where it should’ve started in November 2021.”

By Aya Fayad, MediaNews Group

The convicted mother of the Oxford High School shooter who killed four of his classmates on Friday asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to throw out her involuntary manslaughter convictions for what she described as a “sham prosecution” by a “cheating” prosecutor.

In the historic February 2024 decision, Crumbley was convicted in a jury trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter arising from the criminal acts of her son, Ethan, who shot and killed four students at Oxford High School in November 2021. Ethan’s father, James Crumbley, was also convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter in a separate jury trial in March 2024. Both were sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors said both parents were grossly negligent by storing a gun and ammunition where their son could access it, and that they missed repeated opportunities to stop the tragedy. The decision marked the first time in the United States that a parent was convicted of manslaughter for a mass shooting carried out by their child.

“Opportunity knocked over and over again and was ignored,” Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews said last year at the trial. “No one answered.”

However, both Crumbley and her husband have long argued that they did not know of their son’s plans for a mass shooting at his school and never noticed any signs of his deteriorating mental state. Her attorney further argued to the Court of Appeals that the trial was “riddled with errors.”

“This entire prosecution of Mrs. Crumbley was a sham that should never have been allowed to proceed to trial,” appellate attorney Michael R. Dezsi said in a statement. “The case against Mrs. Crumbley has been off the rails from the beginning … not to mention all the cheating by the Oakland County Prosecutor.”

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Prosecutor Karen McDonald in the past has called Dezsi’s claims “meritless” and said the only motivation for his requests claiming that she had secret agreements with two star witnesses was to generate headlines and divert attention away from Crumbley’s actions.

Crumbley’s appeal contended that she cannot be held criminally responsible for involuntary manslaughter because she “owed no legal duty to the victims of her son’s criminal acts” and was “under no legal duty to control and prevent her son from committing intentional, criminal acts.” The document argued that Crumbley’s convictions are inconsistent with Michigan law because of the absence of a “special relationship” with the shooting victims, and therefore no legal duty to protect another from the criminal acts of a “third party.”

The appeal also said past precedent about a parent’s duty to “control their minor child” has been applied only in situations when a child is unable to comprehend the risks or dangers of their actions, not in circumstances involving a teenager intentionally committing violent acts. Dezsi noted Michigan passed a safe-storage gun law after the shooting, meaning there “was simply no law in place from which to impose a legal duty on Mrs. Crumbley to prevent her son from accessing the firearm to commit intentional, criminal acts.”

Prosecutors have countered that there was a foreseeable risk in Ethan Crumbley’s actions and that Jennifer Crumbley failed to put a stop to them. During the trial, they argued that the parent ignored signs that her 15-year-old son was in crisis, failed to get him mental health treatment and bought him a 9mm gun anyway, while failing to put a lock on the gun.

Responsibility of Oxford officials

Dezsi also argued that it was Oxford High School officials, not Jennifer Crumbley, who had a legal duty to prevent her son’s acts because her son was under his school’s control and supervision. Consequently, officials such as former counselor Shawn Hopkins and former dean of students Nick Ejak had a legal duty to protect students Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling, Tate Myre and Madisyn Baldwin, who were killed in the shooting, based on the officials’ “special relationship” to them.

In March, a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded Hopkins and Ejak did not display callous indifference toward the risk they perceived Ethan Crumbley posed prior to the Nov. 30, 2021, attack. The wrongful death lawsuit was dismissed on May 20.

However, on Thursday, the families of Baldwin and Shilling confirmed they settled with the Oxford school district, Hopkins and Ejak for $500,000 each, despite an appeals court ruling that the district was protected by qualified immunity. The families of Myre and St. Juliana rejected the offers.

Nicole Beausoleil, Baldwin’s mother, said Friday that she took the settlement money not because she was giving up on making change within the school district, but because she had to think of her husband and three kids.

Errors in the trial

Dezsi also argued that multiple errors were made throughout the trial, and that the prosecution used improper evidence, and Judge Matthews allowed them to “cheat their way to a conviction.”

“We have discovered documents proving that the prosecutor engaged in an orchestrated smear campaign, paid for with taxpayers’ money, and made secret deals with witnesses to testify for the prosecution,” Dezsi said. “Yet despite all of the evidence surrounding the prosecutor’s misconduct, cheating, and mishandling of the case, Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews turned a blind eye to all of it.”

The allegations include that the prosecution was inconsistent, charging Ethan Crumbley as an adult but prosecuting his mother for not controlling her minor child. Dezsi also argued that the prosecution intentionally didn’t share its proffer agreements with Hopkins and Ejak, which shielded the two school officials from criminal blame instead of Jennifer Crumbley. And he contended the Oakland County jury was prejudiced against the mother.

Another argument is that the prosecution gave two definitions of involuntary manslaughter, but Matthews failed to instruct the jury members that they were required to agree on one of the two theories — gross negligence due to the inadequate storage of the gun or her legal duty to “control her minor child.”

Jennifer Crumbley is also contesting the introduction in court of the journal entries and text messages written by Ethan Crumbley, arguing they are “hearsay without an exception, more prejudicial than probative, and violated the United States and Michigan constitutions” because Ethan and his friend, the recipient, were never required to take the stand and testify.

The journal, seized from the student’s backpack that was found in the school bathroom, contained detailed plans to commit a mass murder at the school, entries about past events, statements about his parents and criticisms of school officials.

Texts Ethan Crumbley sent to his friend included messages revealing his desire to become a school shooter, some reading things like, “I have ZERO help for my mental problems and it’s causing me to SHOOT UP THE F—– SCHOOL.” and “My parents won’t listen to me about help or a therapist.”

“Not only did Judge Matthews allow the prosecution to cheat their way to a conviction, but she allowed the jury to hear improper evidence that favored the prosecution’s case while excluding other evidence that would have countered it,” the filing said.

Dezsi repeated Crumbley’s arguments that McDonald’s office had retained high-priced public relations firms costing Oakland County taxpayers nearly $300,000 to run a behind-the-scenes smear campaign against Jennifer Crumbley.

In June, Matthews found that McDonald the suppressed evidence, but it wasn’t a serious enough violation to deny Jennifer Crumbley from receiving “a trial and verdict worthy of confidence based on the cumulative effect of the significant evidence against her.” After the ruling, McDonald said it was “time to turn the attention away from the Crumbleys and refocus on the victims.”

Dezsi disagreed in the filing.

“There will be at least 10 more judges on higher courts who will review this case, and I’m confident that at some point in this process, Mrs. Crumbley’s convictions will be thrown out,” he added.

By Grant Schwab, MediaNews Group

An activist for the Michigan Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint Friday against Michigan gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, over the purported misuse of congressional resources.

The complaint alleged that James  used taxpayer resources from his U.S. House office at a Wednesday event where at least one staffer and several printed signs also promoted the Republican lawmaker’s run for governor of Michigan.

“His actions both mistreat taxpayers by misusing their hard-earned money for the private benefit of James’s campaign — and undermine our democracy by abusing the power of the United States Congress to influence a state election,” Joel Rutherford wrote in a complaint filed to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.

Rutherford previously served as the Michigan Democratic Party’s chairperson for the 10th Congressional District, which James represents. The suburban Detroit district covers southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County. James will eventually vacate the seat at the end of 2026, as he cannot run for both offices simultaneously.

The event in question, held at a minor league baseball game in Utica, featured a free giveaway of backpacks and classroom supplies for the upcoming school year. A spokeswoman for James rejected the ethics allegation on Friday.

“For three years, John James has supplied Michigan kids with free backpacks and school essentials, using no taxpayer dollars. Democrats, obsessed with government dependency and a woke agenda, attack a true leader for helping families,” James spokeswoman Hannah Osantowske said in a statement.

She continued: “Under ‘Democrat leadership’ Michigan students languish at a disgraceful 47th in national reading scores. John James is stepping up with a bold plan: as governor he will deliver results, restore academic excellence, and propel our kids to the top, backpacks included.”

The complaint criticized Osantowske, who serves as a spokesperson for James’ U.S. House office and his gubernatorial run, for promoting an event that advertised his state campaign using her congressional email address. Serving in dual roles is common, though rules require staffers to separate official communications between public offices and campaigns.

Rutherford pointed out that, according to the House Ethics Manual, “official resources of the House must, as a general rule, be used for the performance of official business of the House, and hence those resources may not be used for campaign or political purposes.”

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel also called out James for the alleged violation.

“John James is misusing taxpayer-funded resources through his congressional office to promote his campaign for governor, which is illegal and a violation of House ethics rules,” he said in a statement. “James appears to have broken the law — and is focused on promoting himself rather than helping working Michiganders.

“We urge the House Ethics Committee to thoroughly investigate this incident, and if found to be an ethics violation, hold James accountable for this illegal and unethical conduct.”

August is the best time of the year to take a dip in Lake Michigan, when its waters hover in the balmy upper 60s. Experts say so, and Chicago’s crowded beaches offer proof. But an invisible hazard can quickly turn a sunny day out into a sick night in.

In 2024, over 300 beaches across the Great Lakes closed to visitors or issued swim bans or advisories due to the presence of bacteria in the water — mostly E. coli, from nearby surface runoff or sewer system overflows, especially during heavy rain — according to state and federal data.

Bacteria levels triggered 83 advisories or closures in Illinois last summer, making it the second worst in the Midwest, with 71 in Lake County’s 13 lakefront beaches and 12 across nine beaches in Cook County. As of Thursday, Lake County beaches have had 49 advisories this summer, according to data from the state’s Department of Public Health. There has been at least one beach advisory in Cook County so far, according to Evanston officials.

“What we want, really want, to see is not that people say, ‘Well, that’s just the way it is.’ It shouldn’t have to be this way,” said Nancy Stoner, senior attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center, who focuses on clean water issues. “It’s pollution that can be controlled and should be controlled, because people deserve to be able to know that they can swim safely in the Great Lakes.”

In Wisconsin, 90 beaches closed or had advisories between May and September 2024 — representing the most lakefront locations affected — followed by Illinois, Ohio with 67, Michigan with 62, Indiana with 20 and Minnesota with 17, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Beach Advisory and Closing Online Notification system, which ELPC analyzed.

Even these numbers are just a starting point. In addition to different frequencies in testing among municipalities, there can also be a lag time by states in filing this information to the U.S. EPA. For instance, the federal agency’s system lists no advisories or closures for Illinois in 2024, data that currently can only be found on the state website. According to a spokesperson, the IDPH attempted a submission, which was rejected because of formatting compatibility issues. The state agency said it continues to work to rectify the situation with the U.S. EPA.

“Beachgoers should be able to rely upon the information provided by U.S. EPA to find out whether the beach they want to go to is safe for swimming,” Stoner said. “They can’t do that right now, and the fact that wrong information is being provided by U.S. EPA makes the situation even worse. U.S. EPA needs to fix this problem right away so that beachgoers don’t unknowingly swim in contaminated water and risk getting sick.”

Known as the BEACON system, it is supported by federal grant funding that allows officials to monitor water quality and bacteria levels. Symptoms in humans exposed to this and similar pathogens can include nausea, diarrhea, ear infections and rashes. According to scientists, each year, there are 57 million cases of people getting sick in the United States from swimming in contaminated waters.

When a certain safety threshold set by the U.S. EPA is exceeded, local officials can decide to issue a swim ban or advisory. Three locations, all north of Chicago, exceeded the EPA’s threshold on at least 25% of days tested last year: North Point Marina Beach, Waukegan North Beach and Winnetka Lloyd Park Beach, according to data from BEACON analyzed in a July report by advocacy nonprofit Environment America.

Chicago tests the water in all its public lakefront beaches every day of the summer, unlike communities in Lake County, which only test four days a week. The report also found that, on the city’s 26 miles of public lakefront during the 2024 season, at least four beaches had potentially unsafe levels between 14% and 21% of the days that the water was tested, including 31st Street Beach, Calumet South Beach, 63rd Street Beach and Montrose Beach.

Most of the funding for testing and monitoring comes from the BEACH Act, or the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act, which has protected public health in recreational waters across the country since its unanimous passing 25 years ago. Since then, the U.S. EPA has awarded over $226 million in grants for these programs.

“(It) is a small program for a federal program, but a lot in funding” impact, Stoner said.

However, in its 2026 proposed budget, the administration of President Donald Trump suggested slashing the EPA’s budget and clean water programs. In July, the House Appropriations Committee approved a 25% cut in the agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps states manage wastewater infrastructure to ensure the cleanliness of waterways.

The proposed cuts come at a time when humid weather and heavier storms, intensified by human-made climate change, are overwhelming outdated sewer systems and releasing human waste into waterways. Stormwater can carry runoff pollution and manure from industrial livestock operations into beaches. E. coli also grows faster in warmer water, so increasing lake temperatures pose a growing risk to swimmers.

Advocates say that — for the sake of public health and recreation — the federal government must continue to ensure funding for these programs and support the staff and institutions that uphold environmental protections.

“The BEACH Act is a piece of it. That’s about monitoring and public notification. That’s important,” Stoner said, “but really, funding the underlying work that needs to be done is essential. So, funding the EPA, funding the staff at the EPA, funding these labs throughout the Great Lakes, funding NOAA … There’s a whole system.”

While it doesn’t often do so, Chicago is one of 158 communities authorized to discharge sewage into the Great Lakes.

Besides Chicago, cities like Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio, have also updated their sewer systems and reduced the raw sewage they send flowing into the Great Lakes, thanks in no small part to federal infrastructure funding. These systems, advocates say, might offer a blueprint for the safety of beachgoers across the basin.

“There are solutions. We just have to invest for them to happen,” Stoner said. “So, it’s not a technological problem. It’s a … failure to decide that we want to solve this problem with solutions that exist.”

Emily Kowalski, outreach and engagement manager at the research and education center of Environment America in Illinois, said investments should go beyond upgrading sewage systems and focus on green infrastructure or natural, permeable surfaces like green roofs, parks and wetlands, which can help absorb rainwater and reduce flooding.

“A lot of these problems are things that we know how to fix and mitigate, but they do take money,” she said.

A report released by the U.S. EPA last year found the country needs at least $630 billion to address wastewater, stormwater and clean water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years.

“We need Congress to fully fund the Clean Water State Revolving Fund so that we can enjoy Chicago’s beaches, but also so (that) when we are on vacation on other shorelines or coastlines, we can enjoy beaches that are safe for swimming,” Kowalski said.

Sewage and animal waste

Every morning between Memorial Day and Labor Day, a handful of University of Illinois Chicago students head out to the city’s public beaches. As the sun rises and the day starts, they wade into the lake at each location and collect water in two plastic bottles.

The samples are then tested in a laboratory to detect the presence of genetic material from Enterococci — bacteria that, like E. coli, live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals such as humans. While Enterococci are not considered harmful to humans, scientists test for their presence in water as an indicator that other disease-causing microbes like E. Coli might be present from possible fecal contamination. In a few hours, the results allow the Chicago Park District to issue the necessary water quality advisories for any of its beaches.

If the concentration of Enterococci in water samples from a beach registers an estimated illness rate of 36 per 1,000 swimmers, following U.S. EPA criteria, the Park District will issue a swim advisory. But the agency rarely issues full-on swim bans based on water quality; for that to happen, test results need to correspond with an event when sewage flows into the lake, said Cathy Breitenbach, natural resources director at the Chicago Park District.

“Our river flows backwards. Sewer overflows are pretty rare these days, and even when they do occur, they don’t go into the lake,” Breitenbach said.

That is, unless intense precipitation levels overwhelm sewers already overflowing within the city, and officials open the locks between the river and the lake and reverse that flow.

“Then we’d issue a systemwide ban until we test below the threshold,” she said.

The last time this occurred and a ban was issued in Chicago was in July 2023. The locks near Navy Pier were opened to relieve the pressure on the sewer system during heavy rainfall, allowing more than 1.1 billion gallons of murky, bacteria-laden waste to flow into Lake Michigan.

While sewage contamination from heavy storms attracts the most attention, waste from animals, such as seagulls and even dogs, can be washed by rain into the lake and is often the biggest source of bacterial concentrations across Chicago beaches.

“We have so many beautiful buildings, but when water falls on our city, that water runs off of our roads into our waterways, picking up pollutants along the way,” Kowalski said.

Runoff can contaminate Lake County beaches, too, when waste from waterfowl makes its way into the lake.

“Some of it is very localized,” said Alana Bartolai, ecological services program coordinator at the Lake County Health Department. North Point Marina Beach, she said, is well-known in the community because “the seagulls and the gulls love it.”

It’s a recurring observation among department staff when they conduct monitoring at the county’s lakefront beaches. Waukegan Beach has the same issue.

“When we take samples … we routinely are recording 300-plus gulls on the beach,” at those two locations, Bartolai said.

North Point Marina and Waukegan beaches accounted for almost half of all bacteria-related advisories and closures issued in Lake County last summer and so far this summer.

Bartolai said most of the advisories and swim bans in 2024 were weather-related. “Even though we were in drought conditions, we did still have heavy rain events,” she said.

Because swimmers at a lakefront beach are engaging in an activity in a natural body of water, “there’s no such thing as no risk,” Breitenbach said.

Earlier this month, at a beach in Portugal, over 100 people had to be treated for nausea and vomiting after swimming.

“When you see reports like this, you’re really thankful that Chicago is so ahead and has been doing (testing) for over a decade now,” said Abhilasha Shrestha, a University of Illinois Chicago research assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences who leads the laboratory testing for the city’s public beaches.

The rapid test the Chicago Park District is now using cuts the wait time down to only three to four hours, providing the most up-to-date information to ensure the safety of beachgoers. Before the city’s partnership with UIC began with a pilot program in 2015, testing relied solely on culturing E. coli, a laboratory process that incubates live cells in an artificial, controlled environment — with results available in 18 to 24 hours.

“It didn’t really make sense, because you were telling people what the water was like yesterday and doing the closure or advisory the day after,” Shrestha said.

But some municipalities say they can’t afford the more expensive rapid test.

“Not every community has the funding or has the setup where their beaches get tested every single day,” said Kowalski of Environment America in Illinois.

The Lake County Health Department uses the more time-consuming culture method to test water samples for E. coli — largely due to resources and funding constraints to adopting the faster methodology, officials said.

“The cost of it is almost like 10 times the cost of running an E. coli sample in our lab,” Bartolai said. “But we are looking at it, because there is that need to have that quicker turnaround.”

She said many Lake County suburbs take precautions such as raking the sand at their beaches to clear droppings from geese and seagulls “so that when it rains, it’s not getting washed in.”

In Chicago, Park District staff clean the public beaches daily, starting before dawn. Operations include tractors pulling raking machines, supporting crews of laborers who pick up litter and empty trash cans by hand and beach sweepers who clear paths for pedestrians and bike trail users. Kowalski said beachgoers can also help by picking up after dogs and ensuring babies wear swim diapers.

“(We) ask people to help, to do their part, to keep the water quality good and the beaches clean,” Breitenbach said. “Put your garbage away, don’t feed the birds, listen to the lifeguards.”

More information

Beachgoers across the Great Lakes can find water quality monitoring results on state government websites such as the Illinois Department of Public Health’s BeachGuard page or from volunteer-led efforts in nonprofits such as SwimGuide.

Beach advisories in Chicago are updated on the Park District’s website and with an on-site color-coded flag system that indicates whether conditions are safe for people to swim. These can change throughout the day due to bacteria levels in the water, as well as weather like lightning or high winds, and surf conditions like high waves.

In Chicago public beaches, three colored flags indicate three different things: red for a swim ban, yellow for a swim advisory, which means that swimming is allowed with caution, and green for permitted swimming. On any given day, the flag color between noon and 1:30 p.m. likely indicates the most recent information from water quality test results.

adperez@chicagotribune.com

Israeli forces killed four aid seekers traveling on Sunday through a military zone south of Gaza City an area regularly used by Palestinians trying to reach a food distribution point, a hospital and witnesses said.

The deaths add to the growing toll of Palestinians killed while seeking food, as parts of the Gaza Strip plunge into famine and Israels military ramps up activity in northern Gaza ahead of a planned offensive to seize its largest city.

Al-Awda Hospital and two eyewitnesses told The Associated Press that the four Palestinians were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd heading to a site run by the Israeli-backed American contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in the Netzarim corridor area. It occurred hundreds of meters (yards) away from the site, the eyewitnesses said.

The gunfire was indiscriminate, Mohamed Abed, a father of two from the Bureij refugee camp, said, adding that while many fled some people fell to the ground after being shot.

RELATED STORY | Famine declared in Gaza City as Israel escalates fighting

Abed and Aymed Sayyad, another aid seeker among the crowd, said troops opened fire when a group near the front of the crowd pushed forward toward a distribution site before its scheduled opening.

Sayyad said he and others helped two people who were wounded by gunshots, one in his shoulder and the leg in his leg.

The Israeli military and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Malnutrition-related deaths

The four deaths are the latest in areas where U.N. convoys have been overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds, and where people have been shot and killed while heading to sites run by the GHF.

More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,500 wounded while seeking aid at distribution points or along convoy routes used by the United Nations and other aid groups, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The ministry said on Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including missing people now confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee.

It said the number of malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 289 on Sunday. The deaths include a child, bringing the death toll among children to 115 since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.

The health ministry does not say how many of those killed have been fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children. It is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification the worlds leading authority on food crises said Friday that famine is happening in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month.

Aid groups have long warned that the war and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation. Israel has denied the existence of widespread hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation lies promoted by Hamas.

Non-stop explosions

In Jabaliya, the densely populated refugee camp just north of Gaza City, residents said they endured heavy explosions overnight. Days after Israels military announced it was intensifying its operations in the area and mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists to take the city, they said they were living in constant fear.

In the part of Gaza City where he and his family have sheltered since being displaced from a neighborhood on the citys southern edge, Ossama Matter said he had seen houses reduced to rubble and neighborhoods razed beyond recognition.

They want it like Rafah, he said, referring to a town in southern Gaza destroyed earlier in the war. There have been non-stop explosions and strikes in the past days.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Israel calls up 60,000 reserve troops, prepares for expanded Gaza City assault

While fleeing westward from Jabaliya, schoolteacher Salim Dhaher said he saw weaponized robots planting explosives as troops advanced from the opposite direction. As they set the stage for Israels push to seize the city, Dhaher said he feared it was part of a larger effort to forcibly remove Palestinians from the north.

The aim is clear, he said: To destroy everything above the ground, and force the transfer.

There has been little sign of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuating south ahead of Israels invasion of Gaza City, which Israel says is still a Hamas stronghold. Many are exhausted by repeated displacements and unconvinced that any area including so-called humanitarian zones offers safety.

The military operation could begin within days in a region that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are sheltering above an area Israel has invaded multiple times but still believes harbors a network of militant tunnels underground.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

By Madyson Fitzgerald, Stateline.org

Self-driving vehicle technology continues to advance, prompting a wave of liability and safety regulations from state lawmakers.

This year, lawmakers in Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and the District of Columbia enacted legislation to regulate driverless vehicles, according to a database from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

While much of the legislation aims to update existing law to include new definitions for autonomous vehicles, other measures put rules in place regarding insurance, permitting, licensing and road testing.

In total, lawmakers in 25 states introduced 67 bills related to autonomous vehicles, according to the database. California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania currently have bills under consideration. Alaska, Delaware and Washington have bills that will be carried over into the next legislative session.

Governors vetoed two measures this year. Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis shot down a measure that would have required a driver to be present in any commercial vehicle being operated by an automated driving system.

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a measure that would have put rules in place for “high-risk artificial intelligence systems,” but would have excluded “autonomous vehicle technology” from that category.

As of now, there are no vehicles that have achieved full autonomy, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers’ criteria. But several car companies have introduced automated driving features, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel.

Tesla is rolling out its Full Self-Driving feature, a system under which a vehicle can drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention from the driver. Tesla Autopilot, which the company made available to the public in late 2024, also helps with basic vehicle maneuvering.

And Waymo, the country’s first autonomous ride-hailing service, is currently operating in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; Phoenix and San Francisco. The robo-taxi company plans to expand to Miami and Washington, D.C., next.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicle safety is the main benefit of driverless cars. With higher levels of automation, there is less room for human error or driver distractions. The new technology also could improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to the agency.

But driverless cars have been involved in hundreds of accidents over the past few years. Between 2021 and 2024, there were 696 accidents reported that involved a Waymo vehicle, according to an analysis by California-based law firm DiMarco — Araujo — Montevideo.

And last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system after multiple reports of crashes that occurred in low-visibility conditions.

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nothing builds anticipation for a new college football season like carping about future playoff restructuring. Here we go again, letting the politics of an exhausting, never-content, always-bracing-for-mayhem sport overshadow the fun on the horizon. The 2025 campaign hasn’t had its first game, and the parents already are arguing about the seating chart at their grandchild’s wedding.

College football refuses to stay in the moment. There is too much money to pursue. There are too many factions to satisfy. There is too much power to protect, even if it results in compromises that threaten the stability and long-term interests of a sport rooted in tradition. The latest ego-driven nonsense involves the Big Ten, which floated the idea of expanding the playoff from 12 participants to a 24- or 28-team format. It’s probably a ploy to motivate other stakeholders to support a 16-team setup that the Big Ten prefers.

Despite the chatter – okay, outrage – the Big Ten stirred, it’s not worth debating the merits of a supa-dupa playoff because the conference’s goal was to be preposterous. Such disingenuous tactics come with the warning that, if the Big Ten isn’t guaranteed a larger plate of food, it just might yank the tablecloth and ruin everybody’s meal.

College football stopped dealing in good faith long ago. Maybe it never did. Determining a true national champion isn’t the objective; forging tenuous alliances to fatten the revenue stream is. Every program is for itself until forced to profit together. At the Football Bowl Subdivision level, it took the sport 145 years just to create a miniature, four-team playoff in 2014. That lasted 10 years, and then it became clear that expanding to 12 would be more lucrative. In 2021, a wave of conference realignment began that resulted in the obliteration of the Pac-12, once the jewel of West Coast football.

All of a sudden, with the SEC and Big Ten swelling to a combined 34 schools, it only made sense to alter the postseason. But amid all the chaos, the conferences agreed to stop eating each other and expand the playoff to 12 teams for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The temporary solution made the current fight inevitable.

In March 2024, ESPN and the College Football Playoff agreed to a six-year, $7.8 billion contract that begins in 2026 and runs through the 2031 season. The playoff field can grow or remain the same. But the power dynamics behind the format have changed. The current system required Notre Dame and the 10 conference commissioners to reach a consensus. In the new deal, the SEC and Big Ten hold the control, and their only obligation is to discuss matters with Notre Dame and the eight other conferences.

In earlier discussions, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey expressed interest in a “5+11” expanded format: five automatic bids, 11 at-large bids. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti has been more enthusiastic about a “4-4-2-2-1-3” structure: four automatic bids apiece for the Big Ten and SEC, two each for the ACC and Big 12, one for the highest-ranked conference champion outside of the Power Four leagues and three at-large bids.

One structure is as clean as it gets in college football. The other is tough to remember and, sadly, is most representative of the mess the super conferences have made. With its incomparable depth, the SEC would collect plenty of its proposed 11 at-large bids every season. In comparison, the Big Ten is more top-heavy, which is why four guaranteed seats at the table appeals to Petitti. The Big Ten dreams of a scenario in which its third and fourth automatic bids could be decided via play-in games, a possible engine to drive big-time money from television as well as ticket sales.

The flip side of stacking automatic bids for major conferences is that you’re forcing a structure – for appeasement purposes – that could produce weaker fields in some seasons.

The SEC and Big Ten have until Dec. 1 to agree on a format. With the Big Ten throwing 28-team haymakers with 3½ months left, it will be an obstacle to find middle ground.

“I think there’s this notion that there has to be this magic moment, and something has to happen with expansion, and it has to be forced,” Sankey said last month.

It seems he would be okay remaining in stare mode until the clock expires.

“That’s fine,” Sankey said. “We have a 12-team playoff, five conference champions. That can stay if we can’t agree.”

Petitti has tried to be similarly chill. Even as decision time looms, he has said, “I’m not going to put any deadline on it.” But this new idea sparked reaction and raised the urgency to a level that felt on par with next week’s Texas-Ohio State showdown.

Perhaps that’s a sign to stand down and stop changing a sport that has changed dramatically the past few years.

Playoff expansion is the most popular and laziest answer to drive revenue. It’s happening in every sport. Television and streaming companies always want more sports inventory. But college football can withstand only so much expansion – from the toll on players’ bodies and academic requirements, to the audience’s bandwidth, to the quality of play.

Last season, the first with a 12-team tournament, nine of the 11 playoff games were decided by double figures. Growing the field to 16 could result in nothing more than four more mediocre games. Growing beyond 16 would ensure early-round snoozers. The transfer portal and pay-for-play allowances increased parity in college football, but there’s still a significant gap between the top tier and the rest of the contenders. Watering down the product will just make that reality clearer to viewers.

For the most compelling tournament, eight teams would be the perfect number. Twelve makes it just inclusive enough to pretend to be a national competition with access for all. Right now, anything bigger does nothing more than massage the shoulders of the most powerful conferences.

Let ’em stew for a while. Let us adjust to all of the recent change. You shouldn’t need to buy a new handbook every year to know how college football functions.

There is no perfect playoff format for a sport that doesn’t truly believe it needs a playoff. It’s just a mechanism for money, pride and status. In this case, the status quo doesn’t mean irresolution. For this warring sport, it would feel a lot like peace.

By Amanda Hernández, Stateline.org

For years, state lawmakers have taken the lead on regulating kratom — the controversial herbal supplement used for pain relief, anxiety and opioid withdrawal symptoms. Some states have banned it entirely. Others have passed laws requiring age limits, labeling and lab testing.

At least half of the states and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of regulation on kratom or its components — building a patchwork of policies around a product largely unaddressed by the federal government.

But that may soon change. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is pushing to ban 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH — a powerful compound found in small amounts in kratom and sometimes concentrated or synthesized in products sold online, at smoke shops or behind gas station counters.

Federal health officials announced last month that the compound poses serious public health risks and should be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, alongside heroin and LSD.

The move marks a significant shift in how federal regulators are approaching kratom, which they attempted to ban in 2016. It also has sparked debate about how the change could impact the growing 7-OH industry and its consumers.

This year, at least seven states have considered bills to tighten kratom regulations, including proposals for bans, age restrictions and labeling requirements.

Kratom, which originates from the leaves of a tree native to Southeast Asia, can have a wide range of mental and bodily effects, according to federal officials, addiction medicine specialists and kratom researchers. Reports of fatal kratom overdoses have surfaced in recent years, though kratom is often taken in combination with other substances.

Kratom and 7-OH are distinct products with separate markets, but they are closely connected. 7-OH is a semi-synthetic compound derived from kratom and only emerged on the market in late 2023, while kratom itself has been available for decades.

Leading kratom researchers also say more research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects of using both substances.

“There’s much we don’t know, unfortunately, on all sides,” said Christopher R. McCurdy, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Florida. McCurdy is a trained pharmacist and has studied kratom for more than 20 years.

Research suggests kratom may help with opioid withdrawal and doesn’t seem to cause severe withdrawal on its own. Smaller amounts seem to act as a stimulant, while larger doses may have sedative, opioidlike effects. Very little is known about the risks of long-term use in humans, according to McCurdy.

As for 7-OH, it shows potential for treating pain, but it hasn’t been studied in humans, and it may carry a high risk of addiction. Researchers don’t yet understand how much is safe to take or how often it should be used, McCurdy told Stateline.

While some leading kratom experts agree that kratom and 7-OH should be regulated, they caution that placing 7-OH under a strict Schedule I classification would make it much harder to study — and argue it should instead be classified as Schedule II like some other opioids.

A federal survey from 2023 estimated that about 1.6 million Americans age 12 and older used kratom in the year before the study. The American Kratom Association, a national industry lobbying group, estimated in 2021 that between 11 million and 16 million Americans safely consume kratom products each year.

Since gaining popularity in recent years, 7-OH has appeared in a growing number of products. Some researchers and addiction medicine specialists say many consumers, especially those new to kratom, sometimes don’t understand the difference between products.

“It’s a pure opioid that’s available without a prescription, so it’s akin to having morphine or oxycodone for sale at a smoke shop or a gas station,” McCurdy said. “This is a public health crisis waiting to happen.”

Federal crackdown targets 7-OH, not kratom

In late July, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration place 7-OH in Schedule I, citing a high potential for abuse. The classification would not apply to kratom leaves or powders with naturally occurring 7-OH.

“We’re not targeting the kratom leaf or ground-up kratom,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference. “We are targeting a concentrated synthetic byproduct that is an opioid.”

Makary acknowledged that there isn’t enough research or data to fully understand how widespread 7-OH’s use or impact may be. Still, he said the Trump administration wants to be “aggressive and proactive” in addressing the issue before it grows into a larger public health problem.

While only small amounts of 7-OH occur naturally in the kratom plant, federal officials have raised concerns about U.S. products containing synthetic or concentrated forms of the compound because it’s more potent than morphine and primarily responsible for kratom’s opioidlike effects.

The FDA’s recommendation to schedule 7-OH will now go to the DEA, which oversees the final steps of the process — including issuing a formal proposal and opening a public comment period.

If finalized, the rule could affect both companies selling enhanced kratom products and consumers in states where those products are currently legal.

The DEA backed off scheduling kratom compounds in 2016 after widespread public opposition.

Kirsten Smith, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University who is studying kratom’s effects in humans, said she was surprised by the FDA’s push to schedule 7-OH.

“We don’t really have a public health signal of a lot of adverse events for either kratom or for 7-OH at this time,” she told Stateline. “I was, frankly, always surprised that kratom was pushed toward scheduling at an earlier time point. … I don’t know that we have data to support scheduling even now.”

Still, some advocacy groups, including the Holistic Alternative Recovery Trust, argue the push to schedule 7-OH is driven more by corporate interests than public health, suggesting the kratom industry is trying to sideline competition from 7-OH products.

“We think that this is just happening because of the legacy kratom manufacturers losing market share and wanting to gin up a crisis with this,” said Jeff Smith, the national policy director for the group, who said he has used 7-OH for sleep and pain management.

While his organization supports regulation and safe consumption, members worry the federal government’s move could drive people to riskier substances or push the market underground.

“It’s made a profound difference in my life,” Smith said. “We think it would be tragic to cut it off based on such a paucity of data when there’s so much potential for this product to help people.”

Public health concerns

Federal health officials say a key concern is the growing use of kratom and 7-OH products among teens and young adults.

Some officials and addiction medicine specialists have pointed out that these products often come in flavors and packaging designed to appeal to younger buyers, with few controls over where or how they’re sold. In some states without clear regulations, kratom and 7-OH products are available at gas stations or online, sometimes without any age verification.

“Whenever you go into a gas station and even though it’s behind the glass, it’s kind of eye level, and it has all of these bright colors — it has all of these things that really attract the visual of a kiddo,” said Socorro Green, a prevention specialist with Youth180, a nonprofit focused on youth substance use prevention in Dallas.

Green added that kratom and 7-OH products may be even more accessible to young people in rural communities, where gas stations and convenience stores are often among the few available retailers.

Some researchers and experts say that certain products may not clearly or accurately disclose their 7-OH content and are sometimes marketed or mistaken for traditional kratom.

Some cities, counties and states have responded by banning kratom or raising the minimum purchase age to 18 or 21. But in many areas, enforcement remains inconsistent, and some addiction specialists say clearer federal and state guidance is needed — especially as more people are using kratom and 7-OH to manage pain, anxiety or withdrawal symptoms on their own.

“There needs to be some kind of oversight, including some way of maybe helping to ensure that people know what they’re getting,” said Terrence Walton, the executive director and chief executive officer of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.

State regulations

At least seven states have considered or enacted legislation this year related to kratom — ranging from age restrictions and labeling requirements to outright bans.

In New York, lawmakers passed two bills: one requiring warning labels and prohibiting kratom products from being labeled as “all natural,” and another raising the minimum purchase age to 21. Neither has been sent to the governor.

In Colorado, a new measure, which was signed into law in May, prohibits kratom from being sold in forms that resemble candy or appeal to children, increases labeling requirements, limits concentrations of 7-OH, and bans the manufacture and distribution of synthetic or semi-synthetic kratom.

In Mississippi, a new law that took effect in July raised the minimum purchase age for kratom to 21. It also bans synthetic kratom extracts and products with high concentrations of 7-OH. Lawmakers in Montana and Texas introduced similar legislation this year, but neither proposal advanced.

Louisiana is the latest state to enact a kratom ban, which took effect Aug. 1. Meanwhile, in July, Rhode Island became the first state to reverse its ban. The new law establishes a regulatory framework for the manufacturing, sale and distribution of kratom products, set to take effect in April 2026.

As of this year, Washington, D.C., and seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Rhode Island (until April 2026), Vermont and Wisconsin — have banned kratom. At least half of U.S. states now regulate kratom or its components in some way.

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Madison Czopek, KFF Health News

For parents of school-aged children, the fall to-do list can seem ever-growing. Buy school supplies. Fill out endless school forms. Block off parent-teacher nights. Do the kids’ tennis shoes still fit?

Somewhere, at some point, you might remember flu shots. Get your flu shot. Get their flu shots. Or should you? Can you? Is that still a thing?

Amid political chatter about vaccines and the government entities that oversee them, it’s understandable to wonder where all this leaves the 2025-26 flu vaccine.

In short: Yes, the flu shot is still a thing. And doctors we spoke to said they recommend you get your flu shot this year.

Here are some answers to common questions:

Q: I heard the Trump administration could be changing vaccine recommendations. Does that apply to the flu vaccine?

There have been no substantial changes to the federal government’s flu vaccine recommendation: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still says that people 6 months old and up should get an annual flu vaccine.

That means most insurers will cover it, and it should soon be widely available.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has opposed vaccines, agreed that most people should get the flu vaccine. He followed a recommendation from the board that advises the federal government on vaccine policy; Kennedy replaced the members with his own.

The panel voted against recommending multidose flu shots that contained the preservative thimerosal, but the preservative had already been removed from most vaccines, including most flu shots.

Q: Who should not get the flu shot?

Doctors acknowledged there are always exceptions to broad guidance. For example, people with severe allergies to flu vaccine components should not get vaccines that contain those components.

You should discuss your health situation with your physician for personalized guidance.

Q: Is this season’s flu shot different from last season’s?

Yes. The flu shot was updated for the upcoming flu season, but the changes weren’t drastic. Like last year’s flu shot, this year’s vaccine is known as a three-component or trivalent vaccine that protects against three influenza viruses — two influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus.

This season’s vaccine was altered to target a specific strain of the influenza A/H3N2 virus expected to circulate this season, said Ryan Maves, a professor of medicine at Wake Forest University and a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Those changes align with what the World Health Organization has recommended.

Q: When is the best time to get vaccinated?

September, October, or early November. This allows your body time to build up its protective antibodies as flu season begins and ensures your protection doesn’t wane before it ends.

In the U.S., influenza infection typically peaks in February, so you want to make sure you’re vaccinated and your protection is still strong through February and into March, said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Q: Is this season’s flu vaccine guaranteed to protect against the influenza strain that’s circulating?

Guarantee all protection? No.

Reduce risk of death? Yes.

Similar to the COVID-19 vaccine, flu vaccines are best at “protecting us from the most severe consequences of influenza,” Schaffner said. That means the flu vaccine is most effective at keeping people out of the hospital or the intensive care unit and keeping people from dying.

“A flu vaccine may not guarantee perfect protection against the flu, but skipping your flu shot simply guarantees you’ll have no protection at all,” said Benjamin Lee, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and an associate professor at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.

Q: Will the flu shot be readily available this year?

All signs point to yes.

The FDA passed its formula recommendations to vaccine manufacturers March 13 — early enough that the agency expected there would be “ an adequate and diverse supply.” The people and places that administer flu shots should have them soon, typically beginning in September, said Flor Muñoz, a Baylor College of Medicine associate professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases.

Q: I heard Kennedy canceled $500 million in funding for vaccine development. Could this affect future flu vaccines?

Kennedy announced the cancellation of funding for mRNA vaccine development. Some companies have been researching combined mRNA flu and COVID shots, but there are currently no approved mRNA flu vaccines.

Still, experts said the federal government’s changes — funding cuts, vaccine committee purges, deviations from existing procedures — are increasing uncertainty.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Lane Gillespie, Bankrate.com

Try as we might to avoid it, sudden, expensive emergencies can happen to anyone. A pet might need an unexpected vet visit, your car might need a replacement part or you may experience a layoff. That’s where emergency savings come in: By keeping a savings fund that you only use for emergencies, you can have peace of mind knowing you can tackle any big expense that comes your way.

While keeping an emergency savings fund is important, if you’re working with a tight budget, it may not be easy for you to put aside a few thousand dollars. In fact, nearly a quarter (24%) of Americans say they have no emergency savings, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report.

Americans have struggled to save for years — since 2011, the percentage of people without emergency savings has bounced between 21% and 29%, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report, which has tracked people’s emergency savings habits for 14 years. But rising prices since 2022 have made it even harder to save money. While the inflation rate has fallen since its 2022 high, Americans are still struggling with the price of their everyday purchases. Several years of rising prices have led to Americans paying 24.3% more for consumer goods since February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S., according to a Bankrate analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.

Inflation wouldn’t sting as much if Americans received yearly pay raises to match, but wages over the last year haven’t grown fast enough to beat inflation, according to Bankrate’s Wage to Inflation Index. If your income has been stagnant and your everyday expenses are growing more expensive, you’ll have limited funds left over to stash away for savings.

Without emergency savings, you may need to turn to credit cards or borrow money in a pinch, and that’s what many Americans are doing when in financial need. A quarter (25%) of Americans would use a credit card to pay for an unexpected $1,000 emergency expense and pay it off over time, according to December 2024 data from Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report. With credit card interest rates being over 20%, paying off an emergency expense with a credit card over time will cost you significantly more due to interest charges.

Snowballing economic factors are making it harder to save, especially for younger generations

In a perfect world, you would save at least 20% of your income across retirement accounts, emergency savings and other savings accounts. That’s part of the “50/30/20” rule, which advises you to spend 50% of your income on necessities, 30% on wants and 20% on savings. However, many people are likely to be spending a lot more than 50% of their income on necessities — squeezing the amount they can save.

Consumer prices rose 2.7% year-over-year in June, according to the BLS — the highest annual inflation rate since February. Americans are also squeezed on housing: Nearly half of renters spend more than 30% of their income alone on housing costs, according to the BLS. Similarly, 27% of homeowners pay more than 30% of their income on housing costs, according to product research company Chamber of Commerce.

Add in transportation costs and the rising cost of groceries, and you may easily find yourself cutting into your savings to afford necessities.

While many Americans, regardless of age, are struggling to save money, younger generations today are facing additional stressors that are making saving even more difficult. The labor market is showing signs of weakening, and recent college graduates are particularly struggling to find work as companies slow down on hiring and as AI swallows up entry-level white-collar jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal. What’s more, their spending on non-essentials hasn’t slowed down. Gen Zers (ages 18-28) are the most likely generation to spend more on travel, dining out and live entertainment year-over-year, according to Bankrate’s Discretionary Spending Survey.

Now, Gen Zers and millennials (ages 29-44) are more likely than older generations to have no emergency savings, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report:

Americans who have no emergency savings in 2025

• Gen Zers (ages 18-28): 34%
• Millennials (ages 29-44): 28%
• Gen Xers (ages 45-60): 24%
• Baby boomers (ages 61-79): 16%

The youngest American adults will likely always have less savings than older generations, since they’re relatively newer to saving. But younger Americans are starting their savings journeys today with added financial barriers that previous generations didn’t face to the same extent. Today’s young adults are kicking off their careers with fewer job prospects and high prices. This can take a toll — 46% of Gen Zers say money negatively impacts their mental health, at least occasionally, according to Bankrate’s Money and Mental Health Survey. This stress has also led to many Gen Zers feeling that planning for their future is pointless, according to CNBC. Without the motivation — or the funds — to save money, more Gen Zers year-over-year have no emergency savings, according to Bankrate:

Americans with no emergency savings, 2024

• Gen Zers: 29%
• Millennials: 34%
• Gen Xers: 31%
• Baby boomers: 16%

How to start — and maintain — an emergency fund when high prices make it harder to save

No matter your age, if you haven’t already started saving, it’s vital to start now, even if it’s only $10 or $20 a month. Building savings is a muscle you need to train — it may be difficult at first, but you’ll be glad to see your progress later.

1. Identify your ‘survival number’

An emergency savings fund should have at least three to six months of expenses stashed away, which is enough to cover most emergencies, like a job loss, car repair or emergency room bill. Saving this amount can be intimidating, but it’s more attainable than it seems.

If you spend $4,000 a month on recurring expenses, such as your rent, utilities, phone bill, groceries and transportation, that doesn’t actually mean you need to save $12,000 to $24,000 in your emergency savings fund. Your emergency fund can be based on your “survival number,” or the minimum amount of expenses you need to survive.

“Every few months or so, I like to go through my budget and identify my six-month survival number,” says Bankrate U.S. Economy Reporter Sarah Foster, who has tracked U.S. wages and inflation for the past several years. “That means including things like rent, utilities and groceries — not nice-to-have extras like streaming subscriptions or monthly facials and manicures. This number usually looks different from my regular budget, and that’s the point. It makes the goal feel more realistic.”

To know your survival number, check your budget and split your expenses into two categories: necessities and non-necessities. Necessities will include your:

• Rent or mortgage
• Utilities, phone and internet
• Insurance and health care co-pays
• Loan payments, such as a car loan, minimum credit card payments and student loans
• Basic groceries, household supplies and pet food
• Transportation costs

Non-necessities will include everything else, including subscriptions, eating and drinking out, personal grooming expenses, hobbies and more — everything you’re able to cut if you lose your job or otherwise need to fall back on your savings.

If you spend $4,000 a month on recurring expenses, you might realize you only spend $3,000 a month on necessities. That means you only need to save $9,000 to $18,000 in your emergency savings fund, which is much more attainable.

2. Start with a savings sprint

If you want to start saving for emergencies, you may need to cut down on spending to make room in your budget. But it can be challenging to suddenly cut down on everyday luxuries like ordering coffee out or getting your nails done.

The good news is, you don’t need to cut out luxuries permanently. To give yourself a head start on your savings, consider a savings sprint. Try cutting out non-essential expenses for a set period of time, such as four or six weeks. Set a savings goal, such as $500, that you can reasonably meet in that time by cutting out non-essentials. Set that money aside in a separate savings account — and don’t touch it.

When the savings sprint timeframe is up, you can go back to spending money on non-essentials — but use that time to figure out what is important for you to spend money on. For example, if after the sprint is up, you realize you actually don’t miss spending money on coffee shops, you can continue funneling that money toward your savings.

It can be hard to find the motivation to keep saving if you are only putting aside a small amount each month. However, a savings sprint gives you a jump start on your emergency savings, providing a motivational boost to watch your savings grow.

3. Make your bank account work for you

You can open a basic savings account at most banks where you keep your main checking account. But keeping your checking and savings accounts close together can make it all too easy to dip into your savings for non-emergencies.

Instead, try opening a savings account with a separate bank from the one where you keep your checking account. It takes several days to transfer funds between most banks, which will discourage you from dipping into your emergency savings too easily.

Any savings account will work to stash your savings, but you might want to consider a high-yield savings account (HYSA), which will offer a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account, which will help your savings grow even faster.

Also, try auto-depositing your savings directly into the account (also known as paying yourself first). By remaining hands-off, it’ll be easier to maintain your new savings habit.

You can keep your savings in one lump sum in a savings account, but some banks today allow you to go one step further. You can split up your funds into savings buckets, meaning you can assign roles to your funds:

Savings buckets let you know where your savings are going by separating them according to your goals, such as an emergency fund, travel fund or house down payment. Not only does this allow you to avoid touching your emergency funds when withdrawing money for a vacation, it serves as a constant reminder of the reasons why you’re saving in the first place.

The bottom line

Saving money isn’t always easy, but it’s vital for your financial health. If you don’t feel like you have enough room in your budget to save, consider cutting expenses where you can by examining your subscriptions, setting spending limits and cutting down on unnecessary spending. Or, you can try selling unwanted possessions or even picking up a side hustle.

Key takeaways:

• Nearly a quarter of Americans don’t have an emergency savings fund. If you’re one of them, that puts you at risk of taking on significant debt.
• It can be challenging to start and maintain an emergency savings fund. Determining the minimum you need to save and starting with a savings sprint can help.
• Opening a high-yield savings account will help you grow your savings without the temptation to use the funds for day-to-day spending.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

DETROIT — Another preseason game, another receiving touchdown for Isaac TeSlaa.

The rookie, after scoring in each of the Detroit Lions‘ two previous exhibitions, recorded a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday’s 26-7 loss to the Houston Texans at Ford Field. TeSlaa had one-on-one coverage with cornerback D’Angelo Ross, and quarterback Kyle Allen didn’t hesitate on first down, launching the deep ball down the right sideline.

TeSlaa hauled it in right as he was crossing the goal line.

“It was a very detailed route,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said postgame. “That tells you that he’s taking the coaching, and he’s growing.”

TeSlaa, who moved the chains with a well-executed slant pattern on third down three plays prior to his touchdown, finished the preseason with 10 catches (13 targets) for 146 yards and three touchdowns. He’s shown the ability to do a bit of everything through four exhibitions, routinely showcasing his contested-catch ability and knack for explosive plays on crossing routes.

With every play he makes, he’s gaining the trust of not only the coaching staff, Campbell said, but also his teammates. All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said earlier this month TeSlaa’s tenacity as a run blocker has led to the former Hillsdale College and Arkansas standout receiving respect from the position’s veterans.

“That’s my ultimate goal,” TeSlaa said Saturday, when asked about earning that belief from his teammates and coaches. “Obviously, as a rookie, (I’m) still trying to find my role on this team. Just to be able to build that trust from the coaching staff and the offense as a whole, the play-callers, and then, ultimately, my teammates, I think is a super big thing for me as a rookie.”

TeSlaa said he’s still refining the “small details” it takes to play receiver on the outside. He spent most of his time in the slot while at Arkansas, but his measurables (6-foot-4, 214 pounds) certainly fit the profile of someone who can win near the boundary.

There’s still growth to be had, Campbell made clear. But considering how rapidly he’s developed since arriving for training camp last month, the coach is hopeful TeSlaa will be ready to help during the regular season, sooner rather than later.

“He’s going to continue to get better and better,” Campbell said of TeSlaa. “I’m very pleased. We’re very pleased with where he’s at after six weeks of camp because that’s really what it’s been. We just finished six weeks, so I’d say, if you took most receivers, he’d be in the upper echelon of those, as far as development. It’s pretty good. It’s not easy to develop as a receiver in this league and be ready to go.

“I think there’s a place for him to help us early in this season.”

The NFL is making sportsmanship and illegal celebrations by players a point of emphasis for its on-field officials this season.

The officials have stressed that to players and coaches during their visits to teams’ training camps, according to Walt Anderson, the NFL’s officiating rules analyst.

“It’s just one of those areas that the league wants to work actively on,” Anderson said during a video news conference Thursday. “There are plenty of ways for players to be able to celebrate. And they come up with some very unique and often entertaining ways. So we want them to focus on those and not the inappropriate areas.”

The NFL previously has eased its restrictions on some player celebrations in trying to address its reputation as the “No Fun League.” But it also has said it does not want those celebrations to be aimed at opponents in a taunting manner. And Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said player celebrations that include violent gestures have no place in the sport.

Infractions will result in 15-yard penalties.

“The sportsmanship is a point of emphasis and clarification for the players and the clubs this year,” Anderson said. “I know Troy addressed this in the annual video that all of the clubs see during training camp from the standpoint of our taunting was up, I believe, about 55 percent last year. Unsportsmanlike gestures, whether they were either simulating either shooting a gun or brandishing of a gun or inappropriate gestures like a throat-slash or unfortunate sexual gestures that were made, those were up almost 133 percent. … The officials have made it a point of emphasis to all of the clubs.”

Five things to watch before the season

1. Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback situation: Matthew Stafford resumed practicing, but his back issues have been concerning. The Rams badly need him in the lineup.

2. Contract disputes: The contract situations of Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin and pass rushers Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals remain unresolved. And now the season is almost at hand.

3. New Orleans Saints’ quarterback decision: Coach Kellen Moore must choose between Spencer Rattler and rookie Tyler Shough for the starting assignment. Rattler starts the preseason finale Saturday against the Denver Broncos.

4. Rashee Rice suspension: The representatives for the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, the NFL Players Association and the league still could reach a settlement on the length of a suspension under the personal conduct policy ahead of Rice’s scheduled Sept. 30 disciplinary hearing.

5. Cleveland Browns’ quarterback depth chart: Coach Kevin Stefanski has named Joe Flacco the Week 1 starter but must decide what to do with Kenny Pickett and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.

NFL back in its offices

The NFL has bolstered the security at its offices in Manhattan with employees back at work there following last month’s shootings.

The changes were overseen by Cathy Lanier, the NFL’s chief security officer and formerly the police chief in D.C.

“We are working with the building and the other tenants within the building on building security,” Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said Thursday. “We’re very lucky that our security chief Cathy Lanier … has tremendous experience in this space and that we have terrific partners in the building as we look for ways to make it even more secure than it was before.

“Our owners committee on security has met on a couple of occasions and will report out to the full ownership in the coming weeks on some further recommendations that they have, not just for 345 Park [Avenue] but obviously throughout the NFL and any increased security that can be recommended to make sure that we are all remaining safe or safer.”

Field conditions for Brazil game

The NFL is being mindful of the field conditions as it prepares to play a game in Brazil on the Friday of Week 1 for a second straight year.

The Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers are scheduled to play Sept. 5 at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo.

“Last year there was a lot of discussion around the field and the playing conditions,” said Dawn Aponte, the NFL’s chief football administrative officer. “And what we’ve done this year to address some of that was we have recently reseeded the entire field as well as restitched it. It is a hybrid stitch field. So we do think that there are measures that have been taken that will address some of the concerns that we did see last year.”

Ongoing discussions on the tush push

The tush push, the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature short-yardage play, remained legal for this season when the Green Bay Packers’ proposal to ban it fell two votes shy at the May owners’ meeting of the 24 needed for ratification.

The play is expected to generate ongoing discussions by the NFL competition committee and league health and safety officials in the coming months and perhaps beyond, Miller acknowledged Thursday.

“I am sure that it will continue to be an ongoing topic of conversation, both this season and in the offseason,” Miller said.

More cameras for replay rulings

The NFL says it plans to utilize a dozen fixed cameras installed in each stadium along the sidelines, goal lines and back lines of the end zones to assist this season with instant replay officiating rulings.

The additional camera angles will directly feed into the league’s instant replay center and will be made available to the on-field referee if needed.

“Those 12 cameras will be part of the instant replay process throughout the game for replay-assist, for coaches’ challenges as well as for booth reviews,” Anderson said. “And so those camera angles that we will have access to very often will help us be able either to either confirm or make decisions relative to reversing a play that in the past we just didn’t have those camera angles for. If we do use those camera angles to make a decision, then we have a process that we will send that view to our network [broadcast] partners so that they can share that view with the audience.”

Someone should notify Bill Belichick. The former New England Patriots coach said in 2014 that the league “could have a bake sale to raise some money” if needed for additional camera angles for replay

Fantasy football draft season has arrived, and every edge matters if you want to outsmart your league. That’s where we come in. Welcome to the 2025 edition of the Perfect Draft, your round-by-round road map to building the strongest possible roster from any draft slot.

Before we dive in, a quick reminder of what we mean by “perfect.” This isn’t about following average draft position blindly or chasing last year’s breakout stars. Instead, we optimize each pick by blending expert rankings with 2025-specific factors: injury risk, projected opportunity, positional scarcity and strength of schedule.

The result? Draft strategies that are built to outperform the average team week after week, positioning you to make a deep playoff run.

Our process begins with consensus expert rankings from FantasyPros and layers on our own projections, adjusted for injury probability and other context. This allows us to pinpoint where the real value lies. You can read more about the methodology here.

Keep in mind: This is the perfect draft based on our 2025 outlook, which may differ sharply from public average draft positions. That’s by design. When a player goes earlier or later than expected, it can give you an advantage. Use it.

(The draft grids below were crafted for a 12-team, point-per-reception league using the following starting lineup: one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one flex player (RB/WR/TE), one defense, a kicker and seven bench players.)

Prioritize elite running backs early, chase upside late

When drafting in the top two rounds, only take a running back if you can land a true difference-maker. Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) remains the premier option, offering three-down volume, red-zone usage and receiving upside. Jahmyr Gibbs (Detroit Lions) is another ideal early-round target in point-per-reception formats, thanks to his elite explosiveness and pass-catching ability.

Saquon Barkley (Philadelphia Eagles), however, is a risk because of his age, injury history and previous workload. Draft him with caution.

Las Vegas Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty is drafted higher here than most cheat sheets, thanks to a big expected workload under new Coach Pete Carroll. In the past two NFL seasons he coached, 2022 and 2023, the lead backs in Carroll’s offense averaged 57 percent of the team’s carries, per data from TruMedia, compared to the league average of less than 50 percent. Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, is poised for a big debut season.

If none of the elite backs are available, pivot to wide receiver and embrace Zero RB – a draft strategy in which you skip running backs early and load up on wide receivers, a top tight end and a top quarterback. You then draft late-round or waiver-wire running backs with breakout potential. Be warned, though, you need these late running backs to be productive or your whole season will fall apart.

Invest in wide receivers early, and stack depth throughout

From Rounds 1 through 7, focus on securing alpha wideouts who can anchor your weekly scoring. Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) and Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings) are the top options, but our projections like Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars) as the No. 3 option, followed by Nico Collins (Houston Texans) and Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams. Even if you miss on the top options, though, you’ll find tremendous value in emerging breakout candidates such as the Falcons’ Drake London and the Giants’ Malik Nabers.

From Rounds 8 to 12, the goal shifts to depth and upside. Target slot specialists such as Josh Downs of the Indianapolis Colts or point-per-reception-friendly players such as Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) who can deliver WR3 production. Also look for rookies with major roles (Tetairoa McMillan of the Carolina Panthers or Emeka Egbuka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

In later rounds, stash wide receivers with WR3 or flex potential if things break right. That includes return-from-injury candidates such as Christian Watson (Green Bay Packers) or young wide receivers in unsettled depth charts such as Marvin Mims Jr. (Denver Broncos). These picks won’t win you the week early on but they could be difference-makers by November.

Overall, wide receiver is where you should be aggressive early and often.

Lock in a top tight end early, or wait for breakout candidates

For 2025, the optimal tight end strategy is simple, either secure an elite option early or wait for mid-to-late value – just don’t consider the middle tiers.

If selecting in Rounds 2 to 4 target Brock Bowers of the Raiders, Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals or George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers. Bowers dominated as a rookie with record-setting reception and yardage totals, earning all‑pro and Pro Bowl honors. McBride posted 111 receptions for 1,146 yards last season and projects as a high-floor, high-ceiling target monster. Kittle remains a volatile but elite playmaker with weekly upside in a potent offense.

In Round 13, make a TE2 dart throw, perhaps a rookie such as Colston Loveland (Chicago Bears) or the Colts’ Tyler Warren, players who carry major upside if given opportunity later in the season.

Be patient at quarterback and wait for value

The perfect quarterback draft strategy in 2025 hinges on patience and positional value. In Round 3, consider drafting a top quarterback such as Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow, the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen or Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.

However, the sweet spot for landing your QB1 is Rounds 6 to 10. This is where you’ll find high-upside options such as Justin Fields, now operating in a more modern New York Jets offense, and Brock Purdy, a steady, efficient producer in a loaded San Francisco scheme. In general, you should prioritize quarterbacks with either elite rushing upside or a high weekly floor tied to offensive efficiency.

If looking to round out your roster with a backup quarterback, take a shot on one playing in a new system or bounce-back situation, such as Las Vegas’s Geno Smith or the Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold.

Russia accused Ukraine Sunday of launching drone attacks that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight, as Ukraine celebrated 34 years since its independence.

Russian officials said several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes. The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, according to the plants press service on Telegram. While the attack damaged a transformer, radiation levels remained within normal ranges.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports that a transformer at the plants had caught fire due to military activity, but hadnt received independent confirmation. It said its director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said that every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the alleged attack.

RELATED STORY | American company in Ukraine hit as Russia escalates attacks

Firefighters also responded to a blaze at the port of Ust-Luga in Russias Leningrad region, home to a major fuel export terminal. The regional governor said approximately 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down, with debris igniting the fire.

Russias Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday.

Russia fired 72 drones and decoys, along with a cruise missile, into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukraines air force said. Of these, 48 drones were shot down or jammed.

The incidents occurred as Ukraine marked independence day, commemorating its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered remarks in a video address from Kyivs Independence Square, emphasizing the nations resolve.

We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace, Zelenskyy said, calling for a just peace.

What our future will be is up to us alone, he said, in a nod to the U.S.Russia summit in Alaska earlier in August, which many feared would leave Ukrainian and European interests sidelined.

And the world knows this. And the world respects this. It respects Ukraine. It perceives Ukraine as an equal, he said.

U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg was in attendance at independence day celebrations in Kyiv, during which Zelenskyy awarded him the Ukrainian Order of Merit, of the 1st degree.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Kyiv on Sunday morning for meetings with Zelenskyy.

On this special day Ukraines Independence Day it is especially important for us to feel the support of our friends. And Canada has always stood by our side, wrote Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyys chief of staff.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Russia's largest drone strike since July targets Ukraine hours after Trump/Zelenskyy meeting

Norway announced significant new military aid Sunday, pledging about 7 billion kroner ($695 million) for air defense systems. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Norway and Germany are jointly funding two Patriot systems, including missiles, with Norway also helping procure air defense radar.

Pope Leo XIV prayed Sunday for peace in Ukraine as he marked the countrys independence day with a special appeal during his weekly noon blessing. He said the faithful were joining Ukrainians asking that the Lord give peace to their martyred country.

Leo also sent a telegram to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to mark independence day, which the Ukrainian leader posted on X along with similar notes from other world leaders.

In the letter, Leo assured his prayers for all Ukrainians who are suffering, and wrote: I implore the Lord to move the hearts of people of good will, that the clamor of arms may fall silent and give way to dialogue, opening the path to peace for the good of all.

Meanwhile, fighting continued on the front line in eastern Ukraine, where Russia claimed Saturday that its forces had seized two villages in the Donetsk region.

DETROIT — Here’s who we think stood out, either positively or negatively, in the Detroit Lions‘ 26-7 preseason loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday.

Stock up: S Loren Strickland

Three safeties entered Saturday’s game on seemingly similar footings: Strickland, do-it-all man Erick Hallett II and undrafted rookie Ian Kennelly. Strickland impressed most, finishing tied with linebacker Trevor Nowaske with a team-high nine tackles. He had a 4-yard tackle for loss in the third quarter, and he planted tight end Harrison Bryant to get off the field later on that same drive. He also had a shoestring tackle of receiver Cornell Powell, who brought in a quick pass on second-and-short and looked primed to rack up yards after the catch, only to be tripped up by Strickland’s outstretched arms.

Stock down: QB Hendon Hooker

Here we are again. Hooker’s development on the practice field is obvious, but he’s had four chances this preseason to prove those skills translatable. He went 0-for-4, finishing the preseason with a passer rating of 36.2. That doesn’t account for the two fumbles he lost in Atlanta. He completed six passes against the Texans, including three checkdowns and a screen. His worst throw came in the fourth quarter, immediately following cornerback Tyson Russell’s interception of Texans QB Kedon Slovis. Hooker gave the ball right back, sailing a pass intended for receiver Dominic Lovett right into the arms of safety Jalen Mills. The Lions preach patience and, in a vacuum, would presumably love to continue their development of Hooker. His play in the preseason, though, has made it difficult to justify keeping three quarterbacks on a roster aiming to win the Super Bowl.

Stock up: QB Kyle Allen, WR Isaac TeSlaa

We’ve opted to combine Allen and TeSlaa into one section. Both players were consistently impressive throughout the preseason, and there isn’t much to add to the conversation about either. Allen found TeSlaa, who scored against the Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 8 and the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 16, for a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter. TeSlaa finished his first preseason with 10 catches (13 targets) for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Allen, securing his role as the top backup behind starter Jared Goff, wrapped the preseason 35-for-44 (79.5%) for 401 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s good for a passer rating of 123.6.

Stock down: CB Nick Whiteside

Whiteside hit the ground running after being signed as a summer addition, quickly moving up the depth chart and getting some first-team opportunities in practice. His performance against the Dolphins was lackluster, however, and his outing Saturday was his worst of the preseason. He was on the wrong end of multiple chunk plays, including a 24-yard reception by receiver Xavier Hutchinson on a crossing route and a 13-yard gain by rookie Jayden Higgins. Whiteside was also flagged for defensive holding on a third-and-long toward the end of the first half, giving the Texans an automatic first down. His rapid rise still likely justifies a spot on the practice squad. That’s a notable feat, given his late arrival to training camp.

Stock up: RB Craig Reynolds

Reynolds only had five carries for 12 yards, but he picked up a pair of receptions to move the chains in the first quarter, showing off some wiggle to collect 12 yards before he made linebacker E.J. Speed miss in the open field on an 8-yard gain. Second-year back Sione Vaki, dealing with an injury, didn’t play against the Texans. Reynolds, though his position on the roster never truly felt in jeopardy, took advantage of the early reps.

Stock down: Pass rush

The Lions are desperately thin at defensive end, with sixth-round rookie Ahmed Hassanein (pec) down for the foreseeable future and the timing of Josh Paschal’s return from the non-football injury list a bit clouded. There was opportunity to be had for some of Detroit’s depth pass rushers (namely, Nate Lynn and Isaac Ukwu) to prove themselves, and there were few moments in which they took advantage. Slovis and fellow QB Graham Mertz constantly sat comfortably in the pocket, even in obvious passing situations. The Texans faced third-and-7 or longer five times. They converted twice and benefited from Whiteside’s penalty on another. The Lions had no sacks on those plays. Al-Quadin Muhammad did get home on a second down to close the first half, in fairness, and Lynn had a couple pressures that series, including a hit on Mertz.

Stock up: DL Myles Adams, LB Trevor Nowaske

We’ll end with some recognition of a couple of veterans, in Adams and Nowaske. The former, on the heels of a recent shoutout from head coach Dan Campbell, was in on two run stops on Houston’s first drive. Nowaske, meanwhile, was active, often rallying to the ball and showing good pursuit. He teamed up with defensive end Mitchell Agude for a tackle for loss, and he had, alongside Strickland, a tackle of running back British Brooks for no gain midway through the fourth quarter. Nowaske also wore the green dot, relaying play calls to his teammates.=

Nine years after Racheal Hrydziuszko first asked the Beverly Hills Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance to keep her backyard chickens, the village is rewriting its ordinances concerning animals.

ZBA members were puzzled, believing she didn’t need to ask for a variance, Hrydziuszko said.

Frustrated by the lack of clarity on the issue, Hrydziuszko ran for a seat on the Village Council and began serving in 2018.

Later, Hrydziuszko said, there was a change in enforcement philosophy in the village administration, and she and her husband, Damon, received a violation notice. The Hrydziuszkos filed an appeal in Oakland County Circuit Court.

At the time, a village ordinance specifically allowed 11 animals, such as cats, dogs, gerbils, hamsters and others that are “similar” and “commonly kept as pets.”  The ordinance did not prohibit chickens or other animals.

Judge Kwame Rowe declared the ordinance “unconstitutionally vague” last year; the ruling allowed the Hrydziuszkos to keep their half dozen hens in a garage on their nearly half-acre property.

The judge’s ruling prompted the ordinance overhaul, said Village Manager Warren Rothe.

Hrydziuszko serves on a committee that is reviewing the village’s chicken rules, looking at specifics such as the minimum acreage needed to keep chickens.

The debate has attracted pro- and anti-chicken forces to recent council meetings, with both sides claiming the majority of residents support their view.

While still being tweaked, the council will likely continue its review of two rewritten ordinances at its Sept. 2 meeting.

Several anti-chicken handbills have appeared on doorsteps; pro-chicken residents say the flyers contain misleading information. For example, one flyer claimed the Village Council could allow “your neighbors to keep chickens only a few steps from your back door.”

Backyard chicken proponents say their birds produce eggs that are healthier than those available in stores. They say that keeping poultry provides an educational experience for their children. And they say chickens are good pets.

“They’re fun. They’re very gregarious. They have personalities.” Hrydziuszko said. “It’s just a different kind of pet.”

Many Beverly Hills residents say they don’t want to own chickens, but don’t want the government preventing their neighbors from keeping them.

Opponents say the birds and their droppings could create odors and could attract rodents. Chickens belong on a farm, detractors say.

“I’m going to get a few pigs. Why not? Maybe a small herd of cattle as well. If you want to have a farm, move to the country,” one opponent said on a Beverly Hills Facebook page.

As backyard chickens have grown in popularity, other Oakland County cities, like Southfield, have revised rules that advocates say would prohibit most people from keeping the birds. Additional Oakland County cities are researching changes to their rules.

Based on community Facebook posts, it seems almost everyone in Beverly Hills agrees on one thing: The chicken debate has ruffled feathers for too long. There are other things to worry about, like cars speeding in residential areas, senior citizens who need help with lawn upkeep, maintenance of parks and more, commenters have written.

Hrydziuszko agrees.

“It’s time to put this to rest,” she said.

The situation has ruffled even more feathers as Facebook commenters say Hrydziuszko should recuse herself from the chicken debate, claiming conflict of interest since her court case prompted the ordinance rewrite.

She disagrees, saying the Village Charter describes a conflict of interest as being financially vested in an issue. For example, a council member recused himself from a vote on buying patrol cars for the Public Safety Department from Ford Motor Co. because he worked for Ford.

“I have no financial interest in this,” she said, adding that the village attorney has not advised her to recuse herself.

“That is his job, to let us know when we should recuse ourselves,” she said.

To complicate the village’s chicken debate, two bills pending in the state Legislature would supersede local ordinances and allow residents to keep hens as long as they meet certain generally accepted agricultural and management practices.

State Rep. James DeSana, R-Carleton, introduced House Bills 4049 and 4050 in January. They would eliminate the need for special land use approvals from local governments as long as the poultry is kept on a property that is at least a quarter of an acre and the number of hens is limited to five per quarter acre or 25 hens, whichever is less. Property zoned as farmland falls under separate guidelines.

The bills have been in the House Agriculture Committee since February.

Backyard chicken proponents say most municipalities already have general ordinances that would allow them to address poultry that created an odor or became a nuisance in some other way.

Oakland Co. judge declares community’s ordinance against chickens ‘unconstitutionally vague’

Oakland County communities rethinking backyard chicken rules

 

Festivals

• Michigan Renaissance Festival is 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Aug. 16-Sept. 28, 12600 Dixie Hwy., Holly, Renaissance-themed entertainment, jousting, vendors, themed weekends, (also open Labor Day, Sept. 1 and Festival Friday, Sept. 26), rain or shine, www.michrenfest.com, parking passes are $15 plus fees, admission ticket prices vary.

• Annual Dragon on the Lake Festival is Aug. 21-24, downtown Lake Orion, featuring an Art and Craft Fair, Kid’s Zone, Tiki Tent, live music, fundraiser for the Orion Art Center. Dragon Boat Races at 9 a.m. Aug. 24 on Lake Orion lake, at Green’s Park, https://dragononthelake.com.

• Hazel Park Art Fair is Aug. 23-24, (11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday), at Green Acres Park, 620 W Woodward Heights, Hazel Park. artists, cottage food vendors, and musicians, hands-on clay competitions, aerial performances, yoga session at 11 a.m. Saturday, www.hpart.org/aboutthefair, free admission.

• Lake Street Cruise-In to be held 6:30-9:30 p.m. Aug. 27, downtown South Lyon, www.southlyonmi.org/calendar.php.

• Moonlight Market is 4:30-9 p.m. Aug. 28, Oakland County Farmers Market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., food vendors, inflatables, climbing tower and yard games, www.oakgov.com/community/oakland-county-parks/parks-trails/farmers-market/-fsiteid-1#!.

• Michigan State Fair is Aug. 28-Sept. 1, hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Aug. 28-29 and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Aug. 30-Sept. 1), at the Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave., Novi, www.michiganstatefairllc.com, featuring carnival, fair, entertainment, agriculture, livestock and indoor vendor booths, live music, beer tent, and food vendors. Moovin’ Thru the Midway 5K is 8 a.m. Aug. 30, $40+ register at www.michiganstatefairllc.com/5k. Admission to the fair is $11+, circus, special events and carnival rides are extra. No unaccompanied minors are allowed to enter the fair.

• Arts, Beats & Eats is Aug. 29-Sept. 1, (11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday), downtown Royal Oak, juried fine art show, food, live music, https://artsbeatseats.com, parking options at artsbeatseats.com/parking-transportation, admission and concert ticket prices vary.

• Dragon Forest, immersive three-acre trail experience is at the Detroit Zoo, 8450 W 10 Mile Road, Royal Oak, through Sept. 7. Tickets for Dragon Forest start at $6 in addition to the Detroit Zoo entrance fee, ticket prices vary, https://detroitzoo.org/events/dragon-forest.

• Downtown Rochester Kris Kringle Market applications are open through Sept. 5. The event will take place on Dec.5 and Dec. 6, in downtown Rochester. The Rochester DDA is seeking vendors that have product lines for the holiday season including: gifts, specialty foods, décor, unique hand-crafted items, www.downtownrochestermi.com/kringle-application?rq=kringle.

Fundraisers/Charitable activities

• Walk4Friendship is Aug. 24, in West Bloomfield Twp. Registration opens at 10:30 a.m., opening ceremony is at 11:15 a.m., 1.7 mile family walk begins at 11:45 a.m., at Friendship Circle’s Farber Center, 5586 Drake Road, ending at Friendship Circle’s Meer Center, 6892 W Maple Road, food, children’s activities, event to raise funds and awareness for Friendship Circle’s programs, serving individuals with special needs across Metro Detroit. Drake Road will be closed from Walnut Lake to Maple Road from 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. To access Temple Israel parking, drivers must be in the Temple Israel parking lot at 5725 Walnut Lake Road, by 11:15 a.m., www.walk4friendship.com.

• Semaj J. Morgan Foundation Backpack Giveaway is 1-4 p.m. Aug. 31, at Sound Mind Sound Body Community Engagement Center, 11433 Beaconsfield Street, Detroit, music, games, sports activities, and opportunities to connect with mentors and community leaders.

• “Furniture Flip Bash” is 5:30-9:30 p.m. Sept. 4, fundraiser for Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit, at The Village Club, 190 E. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, features strolling food stations, and live entertainment, meet HGTV “Love It Or List It” star Hilary Farr, and bid on more than 100 pieces of reimagined furniture items that have been transformed by local DIYers, 248-648-1000, purchase tickets at https://furniture-bank.org/furniture-flip-bash,

• 10th Annual Walk for Miracles is Sept. 13, at the Detroit Zoo, 8450 W. 10 Mile Road, Royal Oak, 7:30 a.m. check-in, the walk begins at 8 a.m., and walkers may stay and enjoy the zoo all day. Participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite superhero or fantasy character and will be able to visit with other popular fairytale and comic book heroes, enjoy snacks and refreshments, free parking for registered participants. Walkers must register online for the event and make a minimum donation of $12 per person for participants 12 years and older, $8 per person ages 2-11 and free for children under the age of 2, proceeds benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals programming at Corewell Health Children’s in Southeast Michigan. Guests are also provided online personalized/team fundraising pages to raise additional funds. To register, visit CorewellHealth.org/WalkForMiracles.

• Classic Cars for the Cure is 7-10:30 p.m. Sept. 20, at 1330 North Crooks Road, Clawson to support cancer research at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. The gala is to be held indoors in a private garage, with strolling supper, live ‘50s and ‘60s music by Stella and her band Intrigue, a performance along with dance and swing lessons from the Oakland University Dance Team, classic automobiles on display. Guests are asked to wear cocktail attire or 1950s and 1960s flair. Tickets are $250 each, karmanos.org/cars25.

Golf outings

• Spaulding for Children Scramble is Sept. 6, sign-in starts at 7:30 a.m. with shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. at Farmington Hills Golf Club, 37777 11 Mile Court, Farmington Hills, https://events.golfstatus.com/event/2025-spaulding-scramble, $150 per person, $600 per foursome. Includes 18 holes of golf, breakfast, merchandise, driving range privileges, refreshments, lunch and awards dinner.

• OLHSA hosts 7th Annual Golf Fore Change, Sept. 19, at Westwynd Golf Course, 4161 Adams Road, Oakland Twp. The event will start with breakfast and registration at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. shotgun start. Event also includes lunch and dinner, 18 holes with a golf cart, $600 per foursome or $150 per person. Register or sign up as a sponsor at www.olhsa.org/fore.

• Drive for Life Invitational is Sept. 29, at Birmingham Country Club, 750 Saxon Drive, Birmingham. Registration/Lunch is at 10 a.m., tee-off at noon, cocktail reception followed by dinner at 4:30 p.m. The event will benefit oncology services at Corewell Health hospitals in Royal Oak and Troy. To sponsor or donate, call 947-522-0100 or visit CorewellHealth.org/DriveForLife. Registration requested by Sept. 11.

Health activities

• Author, speaker, and Autism expert, Ron Sandison, will speak at Salt Lutheran Church, 5475 Livernois in Troy, from 10 am to noon, Sept. 6. Sandison is author of “A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice, Views from the Spectrum, and Adulting on the Spectrum-An Insider’s Guide for Navigating Life with Autism,” www.spectruminclusion.com. Reservations are encouraged by calling 248-879-6400, free event, coffee and light snacks provided.

Library activities

• SAT Practice Exam is 1-3:30 p.m. Sept. 6, at Troy Public Library, 510 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, Bring laptop or borrow from library, register at https://troypl.librarycalendar.com.

• The Royal Oak Public Library has launched a strategic planning survey to gather feedback on what the community wants and needs from their local library. Residents are invited to take the survey online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/ROPLCommunity. Printed versions are available at the library, located at 222 E 11 Mile Road, Royal Oak.

Parks/Outdoor activities

• The Village of Rochester Hills hosts free summer activities in Festival Park, northeast corner of Adams and Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills. Music & Me events are 10 a.m.-10:45 a.m., Mondays and Wednesdays through Aug. 27 (classes are geared towards children up to 5 years with interactive music classes on the lawn, bring a blanket), TheVORH.com.

• Oakland County Parks and Recreation offers free admission. General park entry fees and vehicle permits have been eliminated for all parks operated by Oakland County Parks, www.oakgov.com/community/oakland-county-parks.

• The Metroparks Trail Challenge is open through Oct. 31. Visit designated Challenge Trails across all 13 Metroparks, take a selfie at each trail’s Challenge Kiosk and upload it to the leaderboard to collect a badge, collect all 13 badges and receive a 2026 Annual Vehicle Pass. Registration for Metroparks Trail Challenge is $35, www.metroparks.com/trailchallenge.

• Michigan State Parks and Recreation Areas, michigan.gov/dnr. Park entrance fees apply.

Senior activities

• Hannan Center’s Centennial 70 Over Seventy Awards — a luncheon honoring 70 extraordinary individuals ages 70 and above from across Michigan, event will be held on Nov. 1, at the Atheneum Suite Hotel in Detroit. Nominations for 70 Over Seventy Awards deadline is Aug. 31. For questions, contact Tony Anderson at tanderson@hannan.org or 313-833-1300 x16, https://hannan.org/70overseventy.

Shows/Tours

• Fall Showcase is noon-4:30 p.m. Aug. 24, Council Re|Sale Store, 3297 W. 12 Mile Road, Berkley. Fall fashion and accessories for men and women, including designer wear, at bargain prices, www.councilresale.net.

• The 36th Annual Birmingham House Tour is 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11, self-guided tour of unique homes with option for lunch at The Community House. Advance tickets are $49+ for the tour and $69+ for tour and lunch. Also, Bubbles & Bites’ Preview Party is 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 10, on the 5th floor of Birmingham Pointe, $75 advance. For tickets, call The Community House at 248-644-5832 or visit www.communityhousehelps.org.

Support resources

• Irreverent Warriors annual Silkies Hike is Aug. 30, in Detroit, aiming to improve mental health and prevent veteran suicide. The roughly eight-mile hike will kick off at IBEW Local Union 58 (1358 Abbott Street, Detroit) with the walk starting at 9:30 a.m., free snacks and lunch. Silkies Hikes are exclusive to Veterans, Active Duty, Guard and Reservist service members. The event is free for service members, but registration is required at www.IrreverentWarriors.com. A pre-party meet and greet will be held for hikers, Aug. 29 at The Old Miami in Detroit.

• For access to local community services, dial 211 (844-875-9211) or text zip code to 898211, for information and referrals to physical and mental health resources; housing, utility, food, and employment assistance; and suicide and crisis interventions, United Way, https://unitedwaysem.org/get-help.

• The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7 confidential support for people who are suicidal or in emotional distress, or who know someone who is. Calls and text messages to 988 route to a 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline call center, www.fcc.gov/988Lifeline.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-799-7233, available 24/7.

• Common Ground’s Resource & Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 – call or text 800-231-1127.

• Veterans Crisis Line, dial 988 and then press 1 to connect to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline. For texts, veterans should text the Veterans Crisis Lifeline short code: 838255.

To submit a community event, email the information to Kathy Blake at kblake@medianewsgroup.com.

When the Jim Beam Main Stage lights up at Royal Oak’s annual Arts, Beats & Eats festival on Sunday, Aug. 31, audiences will get a taste of Downriver pride and country-rock energy as Taylor Tucky kicks off the day’s lineup at 4 p.m.

The band, long a staple of the southeastern Michigan music scene, will take the stage ahead of national country stars Joe Nichols and Randy Houser — an honor that underscores just how far the group has come since its early days.

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Taylor Tucky was formed in 2012, born out of a desire among seasoned musicians to keep performing together without the constraints of competing projects. Guitarist and vocalist Chris Wietzke explained that the band’s origins came from necessity as much as inspiration.

“Taylor Tucky is actually our second entity,” Wietzke said. “We have another entity called Sinjon Smith, and we’re all professional players. We wanted to work as much as possible, but the singer for that entity didn’t want to work as much. Rather than everybody finding separate projects and running into calendar conflicts, we decided to form a new entity with the same players and a new singer.”

At the time, country music was riding high in the pop realm, making it an ideal lane for the group’s blend of rock roots and country flavor. Their name, however, came from something much closer to home.

“The name actually came from the original singer, who lived in Taylor,” Wietzke said. “His family was part of the Taylor-Tucky migration. When the auto industry started building plants here, a lot of people moved up from Kentucky to work in them and settled in Taylor. That’s where the term came from.”

Though some considered the phrase derogatory, the band embraced it as a badge of identity.

“It was a hard choice to use that name,” Wietzke said. “But, it’s cool to be a redneck. We went with it. We figured we were cutting edge with it. We’ve even played for the city of Taylor, and while some of the older folks weren’t too happy about the name, that’s when we knew we had a good one.”

Today, Taylor Tucky features a lineup of talented musicians from across the region. Bassist David Connors migrated from Cleveland, while drummer Lonnell Lewis and guitarist Marc Davis bring their own distinct energy. A key recent addition is vocalist Ryan O’Neill, who joined earlier this year after longtime frontman Perry Joe Zaremba retired.

“Our new singer, Ryan O’Neill, is a fantastic talent,” Wietzke said. “He’s got a strong career ahead of him, and we’re very lucky to have him.”

Musically, the band draws on both rock and country traditions.

“We’re rockers at heart,” Wietzke said. “Back then, if you were a rocker and you wanted to be a recording artist, you went to Nashville because that’s where country was changing from the twangy ’80s and ’90s sound into more rock-based music. That’s our heart and soul, too. But we made sure when we released our album that we included country elements like steel guitar, violin, and banjo, so it would still be recognized as country.”

The band’s 2019 debut album, “Where There’s Smoke,” highlights this fusion, with tracks like “I Bleed Country” alongside a cover of Heart’s “Straight On.” The title track has garnered more than 75,000 streams, and the album’s presence on the TouchTunes jukebox network has given the band a national reach.

“Being on TouchTunes was a big deal for us,” Wietzke said. “Typically, you have to be a major album seller to get on that network. We just got lucky that one of the administrators loved our music. Now, if you’re at a bar with TouchTunes, you can fire up some Taylor Tucky right from your phone. That’s pretty cool.”

Audiences at Arts, Beats & Eats can expect a mix of originals and crowd-pleasing covers.

“We do a mixture of both,” Wietzke said. “We’ll play songs from our first album, some new material we’ve released, and some popular covers. The reason behind that is covers are where the money’s at. We all have mortgages and families, so we’re not going back on the road full time. But we love writing and performing original music. We’d love recognition, maybe a Detroit Music Award, or for another artist to record our songs. But the main reason is we just love to entertain people.”

The group has been a fixture at Arts, Beats & Eats for several years, but this marks their first time on the national stage lineup. Their set will run about 30 minutes, giving them the chance to deliver a high-energy performance to a fresh crowd.

“We’ve been a staple at Arts, Beats & Eats for four or five years,” Wietzke said. “We were lucky to be presented with the national stage this year. We’re the low man on the totem pole, so we get a half-hour set — about eight or nine songs. But we’re going to make sure it’s all high energy. We want to kick off Sunday with a bang.”

Even with a busy summer — 21 shows in August alone — the band still cherishes the chance to perform at large-scale festivals. Among their favorite memories is a show in West Virginia for the World Scouts Gathering, where they played for an international crowd of 30,000 youth.

“It was awesome,” Wietzke said. “There were kids from Finland, Norway, Germany, and they all knew the words to our songs. Singing along with us, it was really cool.”

With another album in the works and an ever-growing fanbase, Taylor Tucky is proof that Downriver grit and Nashville polish can coexist. As they take the Jim Beam Main Stage on Aug. 31, they’ll be bringing both to Royal Oak, along with a sound that’s all their own.

Taylor Tucky performs at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31 on the Jim Beam Main Stage at Arts, Beats & Eats in Royal Oak. For more information, visit artsbeatseats.com. Follow the band on Instagram at @taylor_tucky.

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About Taylor Tucky

Taylor Tucky is a five-member country band rooted in Taylor, Downriver’s largest city. The group blends rock energy with modern country sounds. Formed in 2012, the group includes Chris Wietzke (guitar, vocals), David Connors (bass, vocals), Lonnell Lewis (drums), Marc Davis (lead guitar), and new frontman Ryan O’Neill. The 2019 debut album “Where There’s Smoke” features fan favorites like “I Bleed Country” and is available on Spotify, Apple Music and on the TouchTunes jukebox network nationwide. Known for high-energy live shows, Taylor Tucky has opened for Kane Brown, Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne, and more, earning recognition as one of Michigan’s top country acts.

Friendship Circle of Michigans Walk4Friendship is an annual 5K family walk that raises crucial funds and awareness for Friendship Circle and its community of individuals with special needs, as well as those experiencing isolation.

This year's walk to promote an inclusive community that welcomes and nurtures all individuals with all types of abilities will take place on Sunday, August 24th, outside the Friendship Circles Farber Center (5586 Drake Road) in West Bloomfield Township. At the finish line, participants can enjoy a post-walk carnival complete with games, rides, and Kosher food.

To learn more or to donate, visit Event Information|Friendship Circle Walk4Friendship.