At just 20 years old, Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez made history at this year's Miss America pageant, becoming the first former foster youth to earn a spot in the top 11.

"I left everything out there on the stage, and I was really proud of myself for even making it that far, honestly," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez grew up in the foster care system and was homeless by age 16, living out of her car. Despite these hardships, she found her voice and purpose during her senior year of high school when she founded the Lucky Ones Foundation, dedicated to amplifying the voices of youth who have experienced the foster care system and educating the public about the challenges they face.

"So I was really thankful to have represented foster youth in the state of Kentucky in that way, because I just truly never thought that it would be possible," Rodriguez said.

Her favorite memory from the competition came right after her name was called for the top 11.

"I remember going up to Miss Mississippi, who was also in the foster care system, and just hugging her after we won. We'd both been in foster care, and so it was really interesting to see that two girls who statistically were not supposed to be in the room, were in the room together," Rodriguez said.

Between the intense competition schedule, Rodriguez recalls the much-needed rest breaks.

"So, we really napped as much as we could, got in that sleep whenever we could, but I remember a whole bunch of the girls were like under our big vanity mirrors, getting ready, like just napping," she said.

Rodriguez also formed lasting friendships during the competition.

"I met two other girls who have experience within the foster care system. So, overall, even though I didn't walk away with a crown, it was an incredible experience, and I walked away with truly the best friends that a girl could ask for," she said.

Rodriguez plans to continue her reign as Miss Kentucky and will also serve as a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture. She hopes to continue inspiring anyone who wants to accomplish their dreams.

"I just kept telling myself, you know, you will not be another statistic. Just take it one day at a time, and eventually you'll look back on your life and be so happy that you took that chance," Rodriguez said.

This story was originally published by Lauren Minor with the Scripps News Group in Lexington, Kentucky.

At just 20 years old, Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez made history at this year's Miss America pageant, becoming the first former foster youth to earn a spot in the top 11.

"I left everything out there on the stage, and I was really proud of myself for even making it that far, honestly," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez grew up in the foster care system and was homeless by age 16, living out of her car. Despite these hardships, she found her voice and purpose during her senior year of high school when she founded the Lucky Ones Foundation, dedicated to amplifying the voices of youth who have experienced the foster care system and educating the public about the challenges they face.

"So I was really thankful to have represented foster youth in the state of Kentucky in that way, because I just truly never thought that it would be possible," Rodriguez said.

Her favorite memory from the competition came right after her name was called for the top 11.

"I remember going up to Miss Mississippi, who was also in the foster care system, and just hugging her after we won. We'd both been in foster care, and so it was really interesting to see that two girls who statistically were not supposed to be in the room, were in the room together," Rodriguez said.

Between the intense competition schedule, Rodriguez recalls the much-needed rest breaks.

"So, we really napped as much as we could, got in that sleep whenever we could, but I remember a whole bunch of the girls were like under our big vanity mirrors, getting ready, like just napping," she said.

Rodriguez also formed lasting friendships during the competition.

"I met two other girls who have experience within the foster care system. So, overall, even though I didn't walk away with a crown, it was an incredible experience, and I walked away with truly the best friends that a girl could ask for," she said.

Rodriguez plans to continue her reign as Miss Kentucky and will also serve as a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture. She hopes to continue inspiring anyone who wants to accomplish their dreams.

"I just kept telling myself, you know, you will not be another statistic. Just take it one day at a time, and eventually you'll look back on your life and be so happy that you took that chance," Rodriguez said.

This story was originally published by Lauren Minor with the Scripps News Group in Lexington, Kentucky.

Taylor Swift has reportedly agreed to provide a deposition in the ongoing civil case between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, according to multiple sources who cited court filings.

Lively filed a lawsuit in December, accusing her "It Ends With Us" director and co-star Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the movie and a subsequent effort to "destroy" her reputation in a legal complaint.

According to CNN and other outlets citing a filing from Baldoni's legal team, Swift agreed to be deposed in the case but is unable to do so before Oct. 20, due to prior professional commitments.

RELATED STORY | Here's what we know about Taylor Swift's new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl'

Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios countersued in January for $400 million, accusing Lively and her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion, but it was later dismissed in June.

Swift, who is a longtime friend of Lively, first came up in Baldoni's now-dismissed countersuit. The singer was reportedly subpoenaed in the case in May.

Taylor Swift never set foot on the set of this movie, she was not involved in any casting or creative decisions, she did not score the film, she never saw an edit or made any notes on the film, she did not even see It Ends With Us until weeks after its public release, and was traveling around the globe during 2023 and 2024, a spokesperson for Swift said to CNN at the time.

Swift's team had also provided licensing for one of her songs to be used in the film, but CNN reported her spokesperson stated, "this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swifts name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case."

The trial for the case is set for March 2026.

RELATED STORY | Travis Kelce's father Ed Kelce details Travis and Taylor Swift's engagement

The post Detroit Evening Report: Kresge brings $180 million investment to Liv-Six with headquarters move appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

By GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press

The governors of Arizona and Maine on Friday joined the growing list of Democratic officials who have signed orders intended to ensure most residents can receive COVID-19 vaccines at pharmacies without individual prescriptions.

Unlike past years, access to COVID-19 vaccines has become complicated in 2025, largely because federal guidance does not recommend them for nearly everyone this year as it had in the past.

Here’s a look at where things stand.

Pharmacy chain says the shots are available in most states without individual prescriptions

CVS Health, the biggest pharmacy chain in the U.S., says its stores are offering the shots without an individual prescription in 41 states as of midday Friday.

But the remaining states — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia — require individual prescriptions under the company’s interpretation of state policies.

Arizona and Maine are likely to come off that list as the new orders take effect there.

“I will not stand idly by while the Trump Administration makes it harder for Maine people to get a vaccine that protects their health and could very well save their life,” Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in the statement. “Through this standing order, we are stepping up to knock down the barriers the Trump Administration is putting in the way of the health and welfare of Maine people.”

Democratic governors have been taking action

At least 14 states — 12 with Democratic governors, plus Virginia, where Republican Glenn Youngkin is governor — have announced policies this month to ease access.

In some of the states that have expanded access — including Delaware and New Jersey this week — at least some pharmacies were already providing the shots broadly.

But in Arizona and Maine, Friday’s orders are expected to change the policy.

While most Republican-controlled states have not changed vaccine policy this month, the inoculations are still available there under existing policies.

In addition to the round of orders from governors, boards of pharmacy and other officials, four states — California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington — have announced an alliance to make their own vaccine recommendations. Of those, only Oregon doesn’t currently allow the shots in pharmacies without individual prescriptions.

Vaccines have become politically contentious

In past years, the federal government has recommended the vaccines to all Americans above the age of 6 months.

This year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved them for people age 65 and over but said they should be used only for children and younger adults who have a risk factor such as asthma or obesity.

That change came as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy fired the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in June, accusing of them of being too closely aligned with the companies that make the vaccines. The replacements include vaccine skeptics.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, framed her order Friday as “protecting the health care freedom” of people in the state.

One state has taken another stance on vaccines

Florida’s surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, announced this month that the state could become the first to eliminate requirements that children have a list of vaccinations.

Since then, though, the state health department said that the change likely wouldn’t take effect until December and that without legislative action, only some vaccines — including for chickenpox — would become optional. The measles and polio shots would remain mandatory.

Associated Press writer Patrick Whittle in Maine contributed to this report.

Bad Bunny fans in the U.S. will have to travel if they want to see the musician live in his upcoming tour.

The Puerto Rican performer said in a recent interview that he didn't include cities in the United States for tour stops out of fear that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could target the venues.

People from the U.S. could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world, he told i-D magazine. But there was the issue that ICE could be outside [my concert venue]. And its something that we were talking about and very concerned about.

Bad Bunny has been critical of ICE operations that have intensified under the Trump administration.

The concert tour kicked off with a two-month residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Titled "I Don't Want to Leave Here," the residency includes 30 international concerts, ending on Sept.14.

His world tour will start in November in the Dominican Republic, touring Latin America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, and ending in Brussels.

The performer had urged fans in the U.S. to come to Puerto Rico during his residency.

As an "unincorporated territory" of the United States, ICE can and does operate in Puerto Rico. Citizens of Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens and have U.S. passports, but cannot vote in presidential elections.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

A professor at Texas A&M University was fired and others were removed from their positions after a video surfaced in which a student confronted the instructor over her teaching of issues related to gender identity in a class on children's literature.

The firing of Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the English department with over a decade of teaching experience, came after political pressure from Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who had called for her termination.

The incident prompted Glenn Hegar, the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, to order an audit of courses at all 12 schools in the system.

"It is unacceptable for A&M System faculty to push a personal political agenda," Hegar said in a statement on Monday. "We have been tasked with training the next generation of teachers and childcare professionals. That responsibility should prioritize protecting children not engaging in indoctrination."

In an email, McCoul referred all questions to her attorney, Amanda Reichek. Reichek said in a statement that McCoul has appealed her termination and "is exploring further legal action."

"Dr. McCoul was fired in derogation of her constitutional rights and the academic freedom that was once the hallmark of higher education in Texas," Reichek said.

Texas A&M University President Mark A. Welsh III said in a statement Tuesday he directed the campus provost to fire McCoul after learning the instructor had continued teaching content in a children's literature course "that did not align with any reasonable expectation of standard curriculum for the course."

Welsh said the issue had been raised earlier this summer and he had "made it clear to our academic leadership that course content must match catalog descriptions for each and every one of our course sections." Welsh said he learned on Monday that this was not taking place.

"This isn't about academic freedom; it's about academic responsibility," Welsh said.

In her statement, Reichek pushed back on Welsh's claims that McCoul's teaching did not match the course description.

"Professor McCoul's course content was entirely consistent with the catalog and course description, and she was never instructed to change her course content in any way, shape, or form," Reichek said. "In fact, Dr. McCoul taught this course and others like it for many years, successfully and without challenge."

Welsh also ordered the removal of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the head of the English Department from their administrative positions.

The actions by Texas A&M were criticized by faculty and writers' groups.

"We are witnessing the death of academic freedom in Texas, the remaking of universities as tools of authoritarianism that suppress free thought," Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, said in a statement.

The Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors said what happened at Texas A&M University should concern every Texan.

"Not only has the integrity of academic freedom come under fire, but the due process rights of a faculty member have been trampled at the urging of state politicians + the governor himself," the group said in a statement.

The controversy began on Monday after Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison posted a video, audio recordings and other materials on a thread on the social media site X. Harrison called for the professor and Welsh to be fired for "DEI and LGBTQ indoctrination."

In one video, a female student and the professor can be heard arguing over gender identity being taught in a children's literature class. The student and professor are not shown and it's unclear when the video was taken.

"This also very much goes against not only myself but a lot of people's religious beliefs. And so I am not going to participate in this because it's not legal and I don't want to promote something that is against our president's laws as well as against my religious beliefs," the student could be heard saying in the video.

"If you are uncomfortable in this class you do have the right to leave. What we are doing is not illegal," the professor said.

In her back-and-forth with the professor, the student mentioned an executive order that President Donald Trump signed earlier this year in which he said "it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female."

A Texas law took effect on Sept. 1 that forbids Texas K-12 schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity. The law does not apply to universities and other institutions of higher education.

Texas A&M is located in College Station, about 95 miles (153 kilometers) northwest of Houston.

By DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Republicans handed President Donald Trump a political victory Friday, giving final legislative approval to a redistricting plan that could help Republicans win an additional U.S. House seat in next year’s elections.

The Senate vote sends the redistricting plan to Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe for his expected signature to make it law. But opponents immediately announced a referendum petition that, if successful, could force a statewide vote on the new map.

Missouri is the third state to take up mid-decade redistricting in an emerging national battle for partisan advantage ahead of the midterm elections. Republican lawmakers in Texas passed a new U.S. House map last month aimed at helping their party win five additional seats. Democratic lawmakers in California countered with their own redistricting plan aimed at winning five more seats, but it still needs voter approval.

Each seat could be critical, because Democrats need to gain just three seats to win control of the House, which would allow them to obstruct Trump’s agenda and launch investigations into him. Trump is trying to stave off a historic trend in which the president’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections.

Republicans currently hold six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats. The revised map passed the state House earlier this week as the focal point of a special session called by Kehoe.

Missouri’s revised map targets a seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver by shaving off portions of his Kansas City district and stretching the rest of it into Republican-heavy rural areas. The plan reduces the number of Black and minority residents in Cleaver’s district, partly by creating a dividing line along a street that Cleaver said had been a historical segregation line between Black and white residents.

Cleaver, who was Kansas City’s first Black mayor, has served in Congress for over 20 years. He won reelection with over 60% of the vote in both 2024 and 2022 under districts adopted by the Republican-led state Legislature after the 2020 census.

Black lawmakers are calling for an investigation into a series of threats made against historically Black colleges and universities across the country.

The Congressional Black Caucus asked the Department of Justice and FBI to "swiftly" investigate the threats that disrupted campuses nationwide.

At least six HBCUs, including Alabama State University, Hampton University and Virginia State University, canceled classes and locked down campuses after receiving threats Thursday.

Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York, chair of the caucus, called the threats "vile" and a "chilling reminder" of racism and extremism that continues to target Black communities.

The FBI called the threats "hoaxes" but added that it takes the threats "very seriously."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Hip-hop icon Jeezy is in Detroit with a full day of events on Friday.

He started his morning at Cass Tech High School. 7 News Detroit anchor Carolyn Clifford was on hand as he joined Henry Ford Health to talk about health care in the community and support on-site screening tests. He gave an exclusive interview to Carolyn.

"It feels a lot like family and always has. It's .. real, because ... I've been to a lot of cities, but I don't think I have a connection with any other cities that I know of that's as strong as Detroit. It's like we're like a distant family. Every time we come together ... it's a real love," Jeezy said about his love for Detroit.

Check out the full interview in the video player below:

Interview: 'It's real.' Hip-hop icon Jeezy talks about his love for Detroit

Later in the night, Jeezy is making history with the finale of his sold-out TM:101LIVE tour. After selling out nationwide, hell take the stage at Detroits Fox Theatre with a full symphony orchestra.

For fans around the world, Jeezy will live stream the entire performance on YouTube bringing his groundbreaking blend of hip-hop and orchestral music to a global audience.

Since Wednesday, social media feeds have been full of reactions to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, with opinions ranging from forceful condemnation to glee.

Some of those posts have cost people their livelihoods.

There have been numerous examples of public officials losing their jobs or being placed on leave. In other cases, businesses have become the subject of boycotts or lost partnerships.

In Massachusetts, a teacher was placed on administrative leave for a post on her personal social media page about the incident.

"Today, our school community is responding to yet another act of violence in our country with the killing of Charlie Kirk at a college campus in Utah. As many are aware, a teacher has been accused of making inappropriate comments in response to this event on her own personal social media page. As a result, that teacher has been placed on administrative leave for the foreseeable future and is not allowed on school property while we investigate this matter," James Reilly, superintendent of the Wachusett Regional School District Committee, said.

RELATED STORY | What we know about Tyler Robinson, the suspect in killing of Charlie Kirk

In Toledo, Ohio, the citys fire department said it is investigating a viral social media post allegedly made by one of its members that read in part, Kirk offers nothing but hate and division to society. No one would miss him and discourse would be better without him.

In Cincinnati, TQL Stadium, home of Major League Soccers FC Cincinnati, said it was cutting ties with a barbecue restaurant after its owner was caught on social media saying, Good riddance! What a piece of s.

"We were founded on the idea that soccer unites, and we remain committed to ensuring that FCC is for all and that we provide a safe and welcoming environment for our patrons," the stadium's statement reads in part. "Toward that end, we have terminated our relationship with Lucius Q."

These posts serve as a reminder that employers and others are watching social media activity.

President Donald Trump said Friday he'll send the National Guard to address crime concerns in Memphis with support from the mayor and Tennessee's governor, making it his latest expansion of military forces into American cities that has tested the limits of presidential power and drawn sharp criticism from local leaders.

Speaking on Fox News, Trump said "the mayor is happy" and "the governor is happy" about the pending deployment. The city is "deeply troubled," he said, adding, "we're going to fix that just like we did Washington," where he's sent the National Guard and surged federal law enforcement.

Memphis is a majority-Black city and has a Democratic mayor, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republican Gov. Bill Lee confirmed Friday that he was working with the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis as part of a new crime-fighting mission.

The governor said he planned to speak with the president on Friday to work out details of the mission and was working with Trump's team to determine the most effective roles for the Tennessee National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Memphis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.

Trump on Friday said he decided to send troops into Memphis after Union Pacific's CEO Jim Vena, who used to regularly visit the city when he served on the board of FedEx, urged him earlier this week to address crime in the city.

Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation's most Democratic cities including Chicago and Baltimore even as data shows most violent crime in those places and around the country has declined in recent years.

Trump has also suggested he could send troops to New Orleans, another Democratic-run city in a Republican-leaning state.

Crime is down, but troops may be coming

The president's announcement came just days after Memphis police reported decreases across all major crime categories in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.

Asked Friday if city and state officials had requested a National Guard deployment -- or had formally signed off on it -- the White House didn't answer. It also didn't offer a possible timeline or say whether federal law enforcement would be surged in connection with a guard deployment to Memphis, as happened when troops were deployed to Washington.

Trump said Friday that he "would have preferred going to Chicago," where local politicians have fiercely resisted his plans, but suggested the city was too "hostile" with "professional agitators."

Officials in Tennessee appear divided

Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor, who backs the Memphis troop deployment, said Friday the National Guard could provide "administrative and logistical support" to law enforcement and allow local officers to focus on policework. Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn also voiced her approval.

The Democratic mayor of Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, criticized Trump's proposal. "Mr. President, no one here is 'happy,'" said Mayor Lee Harris. "Not happy at all with occupation, armored vehicles, semi-automatic weapons, and military personnel in fatigues."

Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday that an ongoing FBI operation alongside state and local law enforcement had already made "hundreds of arrests targeting the most violent offenders." He also said there are record levels of Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers in Shelby County, including a newly announced additional 50 troopers.

"We are actively discussing the next phase of our strategy to accelerate the positive momentum that's already underway, and nothing is off the table," Lee said in the statement.

On Thursday, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said he learned earlier this week that the governor and Trump were considering the deployment in Memphis.

"I am committed to working to ensure any efforts strengthen our community and build on our progress," Young's statement said. What the city needs most, he said, is money for intervention and crime prevention, as well as more officers on patrol and support for bolstering the police department's investigations.

Some Republicans, including Taylor, the state senator, have asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to audit the Memphis Police Department's crime reporting.

Trump's broader National Guard strategy

Trump first deployed troops to Los Angeles in early June over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections by putting the California National Guard under federal jurisdiction, known as Title 10, to protect federal property from protests over immigration raids. The guard later helped protect officers during immigration arrests.

Alongside 4,000 guard members, 700 active duty Marines were also sent, and California sued over the intervention.

In Washington, D.C., where the president directly commands the National Guard, Trump has used troops for everything from armed patrols to trash cleanup without any legal issues.

RELATED STORY | Trump renews National Guard threat to Chicago, citing weekend killings

Chicago is on edge

Trump's comments underscored his shift away from threats to send troops into Chicago. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, vowed legal action to block any such move.

Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential contender, has said a federal intervention is not justified or wanted in Chicago. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi this week accused state leaders of being uncooperative.

"We want Chicago to ask us for the help and they're not going to do that," she told reporters after an unrelated event near Chicago where federal agents seized vaping products.

Even without National Guard troops, residents in Chicago are expecting more federal immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security launched a new operation this week, with federal officials confirming 13 people with prior criminal arrests had been detained. However, it's still unclear what role that operation would play more broadly.

A Progress for People town hall organized by Michigan United Action that was to feature Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Rep. Becca Balint (VT-at large) and be held at the UAW Region 1 hall in Warren has been postponed.

Progress for People sent out notification of the postponement on the afternoon of Sept. 11.

No new date has been set for the event. No details were given regarding the cancellation beyond “an abundance of caution for the community’s safety,”

Rep. John James was invited to the event but it is not known if he was planning to attend.

The event was sponsored by Michigan United Action, Fair Share America, United Auto Workers Region 1, Reproductive Freedom for All, Macomb Defenders Rising (Indivisible), United for Respect, and the Progressive Caucus Action Fund.

A 16-year-old boy was killed when he was struck by a vehicle while riding a bike in Armada Township early Friday morning.

Michigan State Police say the teen was struck on Armada Ridge Road near True Road around 5:35 a.m.

Police say a 66-year-old Memphis man, who was reportedly driving a 2018 Jeep Compass, was passing another vehicle when he struck the teen.

The boy was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries, police say.

The incident remains under investigation.

Armada Area Schools posted a letter to their website saying the victims school has implemented a crisis response plan to help students and staff impacted by the tragedy.

Read the full letter here.

Those wishing to learn more about adoption and meet older youths seeking homes are invited to the 2025 Michigan Heart Gallery in Royal Oak on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The event is an annual traveling exhibit featuring photos of older youths in foster care. This year’s display features pictures of 60 young people, some of whom will attend the premiere.

It will be held from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Emagine Theatre, 200 N. Main St. in Royal Oak.

The Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange, a program administered by the Judson Center, a Farmington Hills human services agency, sponsors the event, which is funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The event includes a red-carpet arrival for the youths and guests, a film presentation, formal program and lunch. An adoption information session will be held featuring MARE’s adoption navigators. They are experienced adoptive parents who can offer guidance and personal knowledge about the process, challenges and joys of adopting.

Sixteen professional photographers from across the state volunteered their time to take the photos for the project. The exhibit will travel across the state following the Royal Oak premiere.

“The first showing of the Michigan Heart Gallery is always such an exciting and inspirational event,” said MARE Director Michelle Parra. “It’s a time when we celebrate our older youth in foster care and give them hope for the future. They truly are the stars on this day.”

Admission to the event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to pre-register on the MARE website at www.mare.org. Complimentary parking vouchers will be available.

Candidate for governor posts rebuke against pride flag at Oakland County school

Oak Park judge faces backlash for saying Charlie Kirk died for his ‘beliefs’

By DAVID A. LIEB and M.K. WILDEMAN, Associated Press

President Donald Trump has approved federal disaster aid for six states and tribes following storms and floods that occurred this spring and summer.

The disaster declarations, announced Thursday, will allow federal funding to flow to Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota and Wisconsin, and for tribes in Montana and South Dakota. In each case except Wisconsin, it took Trump more than a month to approve the aid requests from local officials, continuing a trend of longer waits for disaster relief noted by a recent Associated Press analysis.

Trump has now approved more than 30 major natural disaster declarations since taking office in January. Before the latest batch, his approvals had averaged a 34-day wait from the time the relief was requested. For his most recent declarations, that wait ranged from just 15 days following an aid request for Wisconsin flooding in August to 56 days following a tribal request for Montana flooding that occurred in May.

The AP’s analysis showed that delays in approving federal disaster aid have grown over time, regardless of the party in power. On average, it took less than two weeks for requests for a presidential disaster declaration to be granted in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major parties. During Trump’s first term in office, it took him an average of 24 days to approve requests.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the AP that Trump is providing “a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him” to make sure that federal tax dollars are spent wisely.

But delays mean individuals must wait to receive federal aid for daily living expenses, temporary lodging and home repairs. Delays in disaster declarations also can hamper recovery efforts by local officials uncertain whether they will receive federal reimbursement for cleaning up debris and rebuilding infrastructure.

Trump’s latest declarations approved public assistance for local governments and nonprofits in all cases except Wisconsin, where assistance for individuals was approved. But that doesn’t preclude the federal government from later also approving public assistance for Wisconsin.

Preliminary estimates from Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ administration said more than 1,500 residential structures were destroyed or suffered major damage in August flooding at a cost of more than $33 million. There was also more than $43 million in public sector damage over six counties, according to the Evers administration.

Evers requested aid for residents in six counties, but Trump approved it only for three.

“I will continue to urge the Trump Administration to approve the remainder of my request, and I will keep fighting to make sure Wisconsin receives every resource that is needed and available,” Evers said in a statement in which he thanked Democratic officeholders for their efforts, but not Trump or any Republicans.

Trump had announced several of the disaster declarations — including Wisconsin’s — on his social media site while noting his victories in those states and highlighting their Republican officials. He received thanks from Democratic North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and Republican officials elsewhere.

Trump’s approval of six major disaster declarations in one day would have been unusual for some presidents but not for him. Trump approved seven disaster requests on July 22 and nine on May 21.

But Trump has not approved requests for hazard mitigation assistance — a once-typical add-on that helps recipients build back with resilience — since February.

Associated Press writers Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Scott Bauer, Jack Dura and Gary D. Robertson contributed to this report.

By Lena H. Sun, Rachel Roubein, Dan Diamond
The Washington Post

Trump health officials plan to link coronavirus vaccines to the deaths of 25 children as they consider limiting which Americans should get the shots, according to four people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe confidential information.

The findings appear to be based on information submitted to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which contains unverified reports of side effects or bad experiences with vaccines submitted by anyone, including patients, doctors, pharmacists or even someone who sees a report on social media. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasizes that the database is not designed to assess whether a shot caused a death, a conclusion that requires thorough investigations by scientists and public health professionals.

Trump health officials plan to include the pediatric deaths claim in a presentation next week to an influential panel of advisers to the CDC that is considering new coronavirus vaccine recommendations, which affect access to the shots and whether they’re free.

The plan has alarmed some career scientists who say coronavirus vaccines have been extensively studied, including in children, and that dangers of the virus itself are being underplayed. CDC staff in June presented data to the same vaccine committee showing that at least 25 children died who had covid-associated hospitalizations since July 2023 and that number was likely an undercount. Of the 16 old enough for vaccination, none was up-to-date on vaccines.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary confirmed on CNN last week that officials were investigating reports of possible child deaths from the vaccine, including reviewing autopsy reports and interviewing families. Such a review could take months, according to health officials, and it is unclear when those investigations began.

The pediatric deaths presentation to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is not final, according to one person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe ongoing policy discussions. The full methodology for the analysis was not immediately clear.

“FDA and CDC staff routinely analyze VAERS and other safety monitoring data, and those reviews are being shared publicly through the established ACIP process,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an email. “Any recommendations on updated COVID-19 vaccines will be based on gold standard science and deliberated transparently at ACIP next week.”

The FDA in August approved the latest coronavirus vaccines for people ages 65 and older or who have risk factors for severe disease, but the CDC vaccine panel can recommend the shots more narrowly or broadly. The committee is weighing a plan to recommend the shot for those 75 and older but instruct people who are younger to speak to a physician before they get the vaccine, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share policy discussions. Another option would not recommend the vaccine to people under the age of 75 without preexisting conditions, the people said.

But limiting access for people ages 65 to 74 has raised concerns about a political backlash, said one federal health official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations. According to CDC estimates, nearly 43 percent of people in that age group received the 2024-2025 version of the coronavirus vaccine.

Many countries do not recommend annual coronavirus vaccination for healthy children because they rarely die from covid and most experience mild symptoms. U.S. officials have justified yearly shots based on data showing infants and toddlers faced elevated risk of hospitalization and that significant shares of those who were hospitalized had no underlying conditions. They have also said vaccines offer children protection against long covid.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of coronavirus vaccines, in May directed health officials to stop recommending the shots for otherwise healthy children. The CDC later instructed parents to consult a doctor before getting their children coronavirus vaccines. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends annual coronavirus vaccines for all children ages 6 to 23 months and for older children if their parents want them to have protection.

Next week’s vaccine advisory panel’s meeting is critical because the recommendations determine whether insurers must pay for the immunizations, pharmacies can administer them and doctors are willing to offer them. Kennedy purged the membership of the panel earlier this year and appointed his own picks, most of whom have criticized coronavirus vaccination policy. He is considering adding additional critics of covid shots to the committee.

The previous vaccine panel was already considering a more targeted approach to coronavirus vaccination, recommending the shot for high-risk groups, but allowing others, including children, to get the vaccine if they wanted.

Tracy Beth Hoeg, one of Makary’s top deputies who was a critic of broad childhood coronavirus vaccination before joining the FDA, has been one of the officials looking into vaccine safety data, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private information.

The planned pediatric death presentation included attempts to interview some families, but it’s not clear what other information was used. Some of those same families had been previously interviewed by the CDC officials as part of vaccine safety tracking, according to one person familiar with the matter.

Harleen Marwah, a pediatrician at Mass General Brigham for Children who recently reviewed data on the coronavirus vaccine and its safety and efficacy in children, said new studies since June identified “no new safety concerns.” Marwah conducted the research on behalf of the Vaccine Integrity Project, a new initiative based at the University of Minnesota to provide scientific evidence to inform vaccine recommendations.

The CDC has been monitoring coronavirus vaccine safety data since the first shots rolled out in the United States. Much stricter requirements were put in place for reporting adverse events than for other vaccines because the vaccines were initially fast-tracked under the FDA’s emergency response authority.

Death rates among all ages after mRNA coronavirus vaccination were below those for the general population, according to data presented to the CDC vaccine committee in June.

Noel Brewer, a public health professor at the University of North Carolina and one of the vaccine advisers terminated by Kennedy, said the focus on vaccine harms ignores the harms of coronavirus.

“They are leveraging this platform to share untruths about vaccines to scare people,” Brewer said. “The U.S. government is now in the business of vaccine misinformation.”

By Nada Hassanein, Stateline.org

Pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods are less likely to dispense buprenorphine — one of the main treatments for opioid use disorder — even though people of color are more likely to die from opioid overdoses.

The drug helps reduce cravings for opioids and the likelihood of a fatal overdose.

While the nation as a whole has seen decreases in opioid overdose deaths in recent years, overdose deaths among Black, Latino and Indigenous people have continued to increase.

Many medical and health policy experts fear the broad domestic policy law President Donald Trump signed in July will worsen the problem by increasing the number of people without health insurance. As a result of the law, the number of people without coverage will increase by about 10 million by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

About 7.5 million of the people who will lose coverage under the new law are covered by Medicaid. Shortly before Trump signed the bill into law, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University estimated that roughly 156,000 Medicaid recipients will lose access to medications for opioid addiction because of the cuts, resulting in approximately 1,000 more overdose deaths annually.

Because Black and Hispanic people are overrepresented on the rolls, the Medicaid cuts will have a disproportionate effect on communities that already face higher barriers to getting medications to treat addiction.

From 2017 to 2023, the percentage of U.S. retail pharmacies regularly dispensing buprenorphine increased from 33% to 39%, according to a study published last week in Health Affairs.

But researchers found the drug was much less likely to be available in pharmacies in mostly Black (18% of pharmacies) and Hispanic neighborhoods (17%), compared with mostly white ones (46%).

In some states, the disparity was even worse. In California, for example, only about 9% of pharmacies in Black neighborhoods dispensed buprenorphine, compared with 52% in white neighborhoods.

The researchers found buprenorphine was least available in Black and Latino neighborhoods across nearly all states.

Barriers to treatment

Dr. Rebecca Trotzky-Sirr, a family physician who specializes in addiction medicine, said many communities of color are “pharmacy deserts.” Even the pharmacies that do exist in those neighborhoods tend to “have additional barriers to obtain buprenorphine and other controlled substances out of a concern for historic overuse of some treatments,” said Trotzky-Sirr, who wasn’t involved in the study.

In addition to its federal classification as a controlled substance, buprenorphine is also subject to state regulations to prevent illegal use. Pharmacies that carry it know that wholesalers and distributors audit their orders, which dissuades some from stocking or dispensing it.

Dima Qato, associate professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Southern California and an author of the Health Affairs study, said that without changes in policy, Black and Hispanic people will continue to have an especially hard time getting buprenorphine.

“If you don’t address these dispensing regulations, or regulate buprenorphine from the aspect of pharmacy regulations, people are still going to encounter barriers accessing it,” she said.

In neighborhoods where at least a fifth of the population is on Medicaid, just 35% of pharmacies dispensed buprenorphine, Qato and her team found. But in neighborhoods with fewer residents on Medicaid, about 42% of pharmacies carried the drug.

Medicaid covers nearly half— 47% — of nonelderly adults who suffer from opioid use disorder. In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, another recent study found an increase in people getting prescriptions for buprenorphine.

“Medicaid is the backbone of care for people struggling with opioid use disorder,” said Cherlette McCullough, a Florida-based mental health therapist. “We’re going to see people in relapse. We’re going to see more overdoses. We’re going to see more people in the ER.”

Qato said the shortage of pharmacies in minority communities is likely to get worse, as many independent pharmacists are already struggling to stay open.

“We know they’re more likely to close in neighborhoods of color, so there’s going to be even fewer pharmacies that carry it in the neighborhoods that really need it,” she said.

‘There needs to be urgency’

Qato and her colleagues say states and local governments should mandate that pharmacies carry a minimum stock of buprenorphine and dispense it to anyone coming in with a legitimate prescription. As examples, they point to a Philadelphia ordinance mandating that pharmacies carry the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone and similar emergency contraception requirements in Massachusetts.

“We need to create expectations. We need to encourage our pharmacies to carry this to make it accessible, same day, and there needs to be urgency,” said Arianna Campbell, a physician assistant and co-founder of the Bridge Center, a California-based organization that aims to help increase addiction treatment in emergency rooms.

“In many of the conversations I have with pharmacies, when I’m getting some pushback, I have to say: ‘Hey, this person’s at the highest risk of dying right now. They need this medication right now.’”

She said patients frequently become discouraged due to barriers they face in getting prescriptions filled. The Bridge Center has been expanding its patient navigator program across the state, and helping other states start their own. The program helps patients identify pharmacies where they can fill their prescription fastest.

“There’s a medication that can help you, but at every turn it’s really hard to get it,” she said, calling the disparities in access to medication treatment “unacceptable.”

Trotzky-Sirr, the California doctor, fears the looming Medicaid cuts will cause many of her patients to discontinue treatment and relapse. Many of her patients are covered by Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program.

“A lot of our patients are able to obtain medications for treatment of addiction like buprenorphine, because of the state covering the cost of the medication,” said Trotzky-Sirr, who also is a regional coordinator at the Bridge Center.

“They don’t have the resources to pay for it, cash, out of pocket.”

Some low-income patients switch between multiple providers or clinics as they try to find care and coverage, she added. These could be interpreted as red flags to a pharmacy.

Trotzky-Sirr argued buprenorphine does not need to be monitored as carefully as opioids and other drugs that are easier to misuse or overuse.

“Buprenorphine does not have those features and really needs to be in a class by itself,” she said. “Unfortunately, it’s hard to explain that to a pharmacist in 30 seconds over the phone.”

More is known about the medication now than when it was placed on the controlled substances list about two decades ago, said Brendan Saloner, a Bloomberg Professor of American Health in Addiction and Overdose at Johns Hopkins University.

Pharmacies are fearful of regulatory scrutiny and don’t have “countervailing pressure” to ensure patients get the treatments, he said.

On top of that fear, Medicaid managed care plans’ prior authorization processes may also be adding to the pharmacy bottleneck, he said.

“Black and Latino communities have higher rates of Medicaid enrollment, so to the extent that Medicaid prior authorization techniques are a hassle to pharmacies, that may also kind of discourage them [pharmacies] from stocking buprenorphine,” he said.

In some states, buprenorphine is much more readily available. In Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont, more than 70% of pharmacies carried the drug, according to the study. Buprenorphine availability was highest in states such as Oregon that have the least restrictive regulations for dispensing it.

In contrast, less than a quarter of pharmacies in Iowa, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C., carried the medication.

“We’re going to see more people becoming unhoused, because without treatment, they’re going to go back to those old habits,” McCullough, the Florida therapist, said. “When we talk about marginalized communities, these are the populations that are going to suffer the most because they already have challenges with access to care.”

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Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

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

America's job market is softening. A benchmark survey released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows over 900,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months before March of this year.

"If you're thinking about your own job security, if you are thinking about looking for work, this is a situation that doesn't give you any added confidence and might serve to undermine that, said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.

A deeper look at the data shows Black Americans are facing those employment headwinds the most.

The unemployment rate for Black Americans is the highest it's been since October 2021, now sitting at 7.5%. That is more than twice the unemployment rate for white Americans, which is currently at 3.7%.

Black unemployment is historically seen as a bellwether when it comes to the U.S. economy.

It is in those marginal groups that you see the kind of shifts in the economy, particularly downward shifts, hitting those communities first, said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Black Americans make up 13% of the nation's workforce, but job losses in certain sectors could be having an outsized impact on the unemployment rate for Black Americans.

I  think there is some assumptions or hypotheses around cuts in government deployments, cuts in some of the areas that blacks are disproportionately located in, including manufacturing, some aspects of hospitality, said Asante-Muhammad. I think all of that is making African Americans who are often times some of most employed insecure.

Experts say young Black workers are especially impacted by rising unemployment. That's also reflected in the unemployment rate in general for young people ages 16-24, which is now more than 10%. Thats more than twice the current 4.3% overall unemployment rate.