The Milford Independent Cinema is ceasing operations, joining a host of other area movie theaters that have run their final credits in recent years.
The one-screen theater, founded in 1972, will close its doors Jan. 31, operators announced in an Instagram post on Sunday.
“This difficult decision follows extensive efforts to sustain operations amid significant and ongoing changes within the film exhibition industry,” the statement said. “Shifts toward streaming platforms, evolving film distribution models, rising operational costs, and increasing box office fees required to show first-run films have made it increasingly difficult for independent theaters to remain viable.”
The theater’s closing follows the shuttering of other Metro Detroit movie theaters and multiplexes, including the AMC Star Southfield, AMC Fairlane 21, Main Art Theatre, Maple Theater and Cinema Detroit, all of which have closed their doors since 2020. The Regal Cinemas UA Commerce Township closed in September after more than 27 years in business.
The Milford theater requires $70,000 in annual support to cover operating costs, the statement said.
“This decision was not made lightly and is not due to a lack of effort or community support,” the Cinema’s Board of Directors said in a statement. “The Milford community showd up for us time and time again — with attendance, fundraising, and unwavering commitment. We truly tried to evolve with the industry and meet the needs of our community. Unfortunately, we simply did not have enough time or the level of corporate and major donor support required to get where we needed to be.”
Details of the theater’s closing events will be announced in the coming days.
The Milford, which was run by the Henn family from 1972 to 2020 and reopened with new ownership in 2021 after shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently showing “Song Sung Blue,” starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as a Midwestern couple who play in a Neil Diamond tribute band.
The theater had mapped out showings for its Film Appreciation Night for the rest of 2026, including free showings of “Fargo” (Jan. 26), “All the President’s Men,” “Trainspotting,” “The Searchers” and more.
The Milford Independent Cinema, founded in 1972, will close at the end of January.
DETROIT – Popular and long-time Red Wings TV analyst Mickey Redmond will be taking a break after Sunday’s telecast for medical reasons.
Redmond, 78, will undergo spine fusion surgery next week, Redmond and the Wings said in statements released Sunday.
“After tonight’s game, I’ll be taking some time away from my analyst duties as I address chronic neck issues that have led me to need cervical spine fusion surgery,” Redmond said. “It’s never ideal to miss time during a season, but I was luckily able to line the procedure up with several nationally televised games and the Olympic break. It’s been an incredible season so far in Hockeytown, and I’m looking forward to being back behind the microphone for our exciting playoff run.”
Redmond had his playing career cut short in 1976, at age 29, because of back pain.
Redmond was the first player in Wings’ history to score 50 goals. He scored 51 in 1972-73 and 52 the following season. Redmond won two Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1968 and 1969 before being traded to the Wings.
Redmond his broadcasting career with the Wings in 1979. He left for a five-year stay on Hockey Night in Canada, then returned to broadcast Wings games in 1986. The pairing of play-by-play man Ken Daniels and Redmond began in 1997 and is generally considered among the best in the NHL.
While Mickey is recovering, Daniels will be joined in the booth by former Wings players Chris Osgood, and Stu Grimson and Frankie Corrado (current TSN analyst).
“Mickey has the support of his Red Wings family, and we appreciate that he’s prioritizing health,” the Red Wings said in a statement. “Mickey decided to wait on having this procedure until a time that was best for the broadcast, for the team and ultimately for the fans – a great example of what an incredible teammate he is both on and off the air. Everyone in the organization will keep him in our thoughts and will do anything needed to support his recovery.”
Mickey Redmond (right) will step away from Red Wings broadcasts temporarily for a medical procedure to fix chronic neck issues. (DAVID GURALNICK — The Detroit News, file)
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Tuburu Naivalurua had a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds and Isaac Garrett added 17 points and added 10 rebounds as Oakland beat Green Bay 88-63 on Sunday to snap the Phoenix’s five-game win streak.
Ziare Wells finished 6 of 7 from the field and finish with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Golden Grizzlies (11-9, 7-2 Horizon League).
“I’m just really proud of these guys. I haven’t taken many teams in our 14 years in the league up here and went back-to-back like we did — maybe one or two times,” Oakland head coach Greg Kampe said. “Took them off of what we came off of, make this business trip, and played the way we played two nights in a row. I’m really, really pleased with the kids.”
Ramel Bethea finished with 11 points and four blocks for the Phoenix (11-9, 6-3). Justin Allen added nine points and six rebounds for Green Bay. Marcus Hall also had nine points and four assists.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Oakland forward Tuburu Naivalurua (12) shoots over Purdue guard Omer Mayer (17) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in West Lafayette, Ind., Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (MICHAEL CONROY — AP Photo, file)
DETROIT (AP) — Alex DeBrincat scored 36 seconds into overtime to give the surging Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Lucas Raymond and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Detroit. Patrick Kane assisted on Sandin-Pellikka’ goal, moving him two points shy of Mike Modano’s record of 1,374 career points by a U.S.-born player.
John Gibson made 19 saves for his 15th victory in his last 17 games. The Red Wings improved to 9-4 in overtime games.
Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist for Ottawa. Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto also scored, and James Reimer made 30 saves.
DeBrincat’s team-high 26th goal was set up by Andrew Copp as Detroit kept pace with Tampa Bay atop the Atlantic Division standings. The Red Wings have won six of their last seven games.
The Senators took a 2-0 lead 5:05 into the game. Batherson scored on a rebound and Cozens converted in front off a feed from Brady Tkachuk during a power play.
Sandin-Pellikka’s power-play goal came on a shot from the point at 7:16 of the period to get the Red Wings on the scoreboard. Raymond’s shot from the high slot over Reimer’s glove at 6:06 of the second period tied it at 2-all.
Van Riemsdyk’s power-play goal off a rebound with 3:07 left in the period involved some nifty stick work. He maneuvered the puck between his legs and shot it over Reimer’s pad with the stick behind the back.
Pinto’s tip-in during another power play in the final minute of the period tied it once again.
Up next
Senators: Visit Columbus on Tuesday.
Red Wings: Visit Toronto on Wednesday.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson (36) stops a shot on goal from Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
A U.S.-based activist agency said Sunday it has verified at least 3,919 deaths during a wave of protests that swept Iran and led to a bloody crackdown, and fears the number could be significantly higher.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency posted the revised figure, up from the previous toll of 3,308. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution.
The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the toll.
Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on Saturday, the countrys Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the protests had left several thousand people dead and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Irans ailing economy.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency says 24,669 protesters have been arrested in the crackdown.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest in the country.
Tension with the United States has been high, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against anti-government protesters.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a post Sunday on X, blamed longstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies for any hardships the Iranian people might be facing. Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation, he wrote.
During the protests, Trump had told demonstrators that help is on the way and that his administration would act accordingly if the killing of demonstrators continued or if Iranian authorities executed detained protesters.
But he later struck a conciliatory tone, saying that Iranian officials had canceled the hanging of over 800 people and that I greatly respect the fact that they canceled.
A family member of detained Iranian protester Erfan Soltani said Sunday that the 26-year-old is in good physical health and was able to see his family days after his planned execution was postponed.
Somayeh, a 45-year-old close relative of Soltani who is living abroad, told AP that his family had been told his execution would be set for Wednesday but it was postponed when they reached the prison in Karaj, a city northwest of Tehran.
I ask everyone to help in securing Erfans freedom, Somayeh, who asked to be identified by first name only for fear of government reprisal, said in a video message.
On Saturday, Khamenei branded Trump a criminal for supporting the rallies and blamed the U.S. for the casualties, describing the protesters as foot soldiers of the United States.
Trump, in an interview with Politico on Saturday, called for an end to Khameneis nearly 40-year reign, calling him as a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.
No protests have been reported for days in Iran, where the streets have returned to an uneasy calm. Instead, some Iranians chanted anti-Khamenei slogans from the windows of their homes on Saturday night, the chants reverberating around neighborhoods in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan, witnesses said.
Authorities have also blocked access to the internet since Jan. 8. On Saturday, very limited internet services functioned again briefly. Access to some online services such as Google began working again on Sunday, although users said they could access only domestic websites, and email services continued to be blocked.
The historic Jackson Home, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his closest advisors planned the pivotal Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965, has found a new home at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
MLK's Selma planning headquarters relocated to Henry Ford Museum after $15 million move
The single-story house, weighing roughly 150,000 pounds and spanning nearly 2,100 square feet, was transported over 850 miles from Selma, Alabama in two sections. It marks the first historic home added to Henry Ford's collection in more than 40 years and will officially open to the public this summer.
"The home in which Martin Luther King and all of his lieutenants planned the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Act, the march that became the Voting Rights Act, in 1965," said Cynthia Jones, Director of Museum Experiences at the Henry Ford. "It's just a fascinating history because it's a history of a home, of a family that was welcoming a movement maker as a place of rest, as a place of restoration, as a place of meetings."
The preservation project began with an unexpected phone call to the museum's president from Jawana Jackson, whose parents, Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson were close friends and allies of Dr. King. Jawana, who knew King as "uncle Martin," dedicated herself to preserving the powerful legacy of her family's home.
"Our president got a phone call, and it was a woman named Jawana Jackson. We had never been friends with her before. We didn't know her. She called us blind," Jones said.
Over the past year and a half, museum staff have been meticulously restoring the home. The project salvaged 4,300 original bricks to restore foundations and chimneys, while preserving nearly 6,000 artifacts from the historic residence.
"The sconce was on the living room wall. And so when we look at photos like this photo of Joanna, you can see that in the background. And so we're matching these family photos, this family history to the moment so that we can share with the public all of the amazing things that happened here," Jones said.
For Jones, the most compelling aspect of the project is the family's courage during a dangerous time in civil rights history.
"That moment of choice-making, of a family that was putting their young daughter, Joanna Jackson, at risk by standing for what they believed was right," Jones said.
When the Jackson Home opens this June as part of Greenfield Village, visitors will be able to step inside and experience a key chapter of civil rights history firsthand.
"So understanding that each and every one of us has history unfolding every day in our home, I think it's going to be a lesson and a takeaway that people receive out of this," Jones said.
The relocation from Alabama to Michigan carried a price tag of approximately $15 million, with an additional $15 million required for ongoing maintenance and preservation. The museum is seeking donations to support the project's continued preservation efforts.
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.
The Trump administration is intensifying its push to acquire Greenland, citing national security concerns as China and Russia expand their presence in the Arctic.
Speaking Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that the U.S. must move to acquire Greenland which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark because Europe is too weak to protect it from potential threats.
"Let me tell you what will happen, and it might not be next year, it might not be in five years, but down the road this fight for the Arctic is real," Bessent said. "We would keep our NATO guarantees and if there were an attack on Greenland from Russia, from some other area, we would get dragged in. So better now, peace through strength, make it part of the United States, and there will not be a conflict because the United States right now, we are the hottest country in the world, we are the strongest country in the world. The Europeans project weakness. The U.S. projects strength."
Bessents comments came a day after President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs against eight European nations Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland. The tariffs, set to take effect Feb. 1, will start at 10% and rise to 25% on June 1. Trump linked the move directly to European opposition to Washingtons efforts to acquire Greenland.
"We have subsidized Denmark, and all of the Countries of the European Union, and others, for many years by not charging them Tariffs, or any other forms of remuneration. Now, after Centuries, it is time for Denmark to give back World Peace is at stake!" President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it. They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently. Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!"
Last week, Germany and France joined other EU nations in sending small troop contingents to demonstrate support for Greenlands sovereignty. NATO and EU leaders have also united in rejecting any attempt by the U.S. to claim the worlds largest island.
"The EU stands in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland," European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Dialogue remains essential, and we are committed to building on the process begun already last week between the Kingdom of Denmark and the US. Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty."
WATCH | Europe sends troops to Greenland A message to Trump & the world
Mickey Redmond, a former Red Wings player and color commentator for the team on the FanDuel Sports Network, is set to take an extended leave of absence for a medical procedure.
Redmond and the team announced the upcoming absence on Sunday afternoon, with tonight's game against the Ottawa Senators being his last in the broadcast booth for undisclosed amount of time.
In a statement released today, Redmond hopes to be back in time for potential postseason games.
"After tonight's game, I'll be taking some time away from my analyst duties as I address chronic neck issues that have led me to need cervical spine fusion surgery," he said in the statement. "It's never ideal to miss time during the season, but I was luckily able to line the procedure up with several nationally televised games and the Olympic Break. It's been an incredible season in Hockeytown, and I'm looking forward to being back behind the microphone for our exciting playoff run."
"Mickey has the full support of the Red Wings family, and we appreciate that he's prioritizing his health," the team said. "Mickey decided to wait on having this procedure until a time that was best for the broadcast, for the team and ultimately for the fans a great example of what an incredible teammate he is on and off the air. Everyone in the organization will keep him in our thoughts and will do anything needed to support his recovery."
If you’re tired of visiting places trod by millions of tourists previously, perhaps you should consider looking in less likely spots this year.
A cheat sheet for that can be found in Afar’s primer, “Where To Go in 2026: Places That Are on the Rise and off the Beaten Path.” The travel-media brand has collected two dozen destinations that serve as a “better way to travel the world: responsibly, creatively and with eyes on places long overlooked.”
Think of Buffalo, N.Y., whose Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor is getting a resurrected jazz club and a pioneering Black radio museum in 2026. Or West Cork, Ireland, a wild and enchanting side of the island that visitors don’t often patronize, or Rabat, Morocco, which is rising as a cultural hub with new museums and a rockin’ summer music festival.
Residents of Northern California might perk up their ears at the inclusion of the Columbia River Gorge, a rugged and waterfall-blessed region in Oregon and Washington that’s within striking range. Here are the first 10 on the list in alphabetical order; for more check the full guide.
Afar’s places on the rise and off the beaten path
1 Adelaide, Australia
2 Albuquerque, N.M.
3 Birmingham, Ala.
4 Bucharest, Romania
5 Buffalo, N.Y.
A view from the family beach at Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, on Saturday, June 8, 2024, of the Disney Magic docked at the bridge that leads to Disney’s newest destination on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. (Rich Pope, Orlando Sentinel)
The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that the American leader's threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.
In an unusual and very strong joint statement coming from major U.S. allies, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland on Sunday said troops sent to Greenland for the Danish military training exercise Arctic Endurance pose no threat to anyone.
Trump's Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security.
We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland," the group said. Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: If Greenlands security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity."
Trump's move was also panned domestically.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Trumps threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans pay more to try to get territory we dont need.
Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in, he wrote on social media. The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesnt change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.
These tariffs will hurt us'
Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump's tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.
The tariff announcement even drew blowback from Trump's populist allies in Europe.
Italys right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trumps closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as a mistake.
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against other actors that she didnt name.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that no intimidation or threats will influence us, whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world when we are faced with such situations." He added that "tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last years tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trumps threats as commercial blackmail.
WATCH | 'We choose Denmark': Greenland PM rejects Trump's push to acquire island
Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britains main political parties including the hard-right Reform UK party all of whom criticized the tariff threat.
We dont always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly dont. These tariffs will hurt us, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Trump's designs on Greenland.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was completely wrong and his government would be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
Two men were arrested on cocaine possession, meth possession, and other unrelated drug charges earlier this week in Port Huron Township by the St. Clair County Drug Task Force, according to the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office.
Both men were arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 14, authorities tell us. The first man, 59-year-old Larenza Richey of Detroit, was pulled over at the I-94 connector and 32nd Street, with police finding that he was driving with a suspended license.
While searching the vehicle Richey was driving, a Border Patrol K9 officer alerted other officers to cocaine and heroin concealed inside of a childs car seat.
Police found 26 grams of crack cocaine, six grams of powder cocaine, eight grams of heroin, and a large amount of U.S. currency. Richey was arrested and charged with the following:
FELONY Possession of a Controlled Substance; Double Penalty (2x) FELONY Using a Computer to Commit a Crime FELONY Maintaining a Drug House
Bond for Richey was set at $25,000 cash/surety.
In a separate case, St. Clair County's Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on the 1400 block of 27th Street in Port Huron Township. After the resident of the home, 45-year-old Scott Shreeve, was arrested during a traffic stop, police seized the following items from his home.
144 grams of Methamphetamine Digital Scale Drug Paraphernalia Prescription Pills Ketamine 20 Gauge Shotgun
Shreeve was taken into custody and charged with multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned last Friday, with a bond set at $50,000 cash/surety.
This third HBO series set in the world that author George R.R. Martin introduced with his “A Song of Ice and Fire” collection of fantasy novels finally arrives this week, mere months before the highly anticipated return of the second, “House of the Dragon,” in the summer.
While “Dragon” is much like “Game of Thrones,” the beloved (until it wasn’t) adaptation of “A Song of Ice and Fire” — an hourlong series chock full of drama, scheming, battles, magic and, of course, dragons — “Knight” is a small-scale, half-hour affair largely grounded in reality while still taking place in the realm of Westeros.
Look at it as an appetizer for the meal that will be the third season of “Dragon.”
“Knight” is based on Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas, with this first six-episode season an adaptation of 1998’s “The Hedge Knight.” Dunk is the titular figure of that book and the TV series, the towering Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), while Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) is a diminutive boy who comes to squire for him.
Their adventures take place about a century after the events being chronicled in “Dragon” and about 100 years before those of “Thrones.” It is a time when the winged, fire-breathing creatures are thought to be extinct and one of relative peace in the realm’s seven kingdoms — or nine, depending on how you are counting.
Showrunner Ira Parker — who has produced and written on “Dragon” — is the writer or co-writer of each “Knight” installment, helping to lend it an unmistakable consistency.
We are introduced to Dunk as he buries the hedge knight for whom he squired, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), and who, Dunk will come to insist, knighted him shortly before dying. Not long after this, we watch as he relieves himself (no, sigh, the second one) behind a tree, the camera still able to catch much of the, um, glory.
Man, it’s great to be back in Westeros!
Unable to conjure a more promising plan, the near-coin-less Dunk decides to ride for Ashford Meadow, soon to be the site of a tournament where he intends to compete in the jousting event. Along the way, of course, he encounters Egg, who asks to be his squire. Dunk initially rejects this idea but soon relents, allowing the lad to be his aide and promising to keep him fed, if not much beyond that, in exchange.
To compete, Dunk must convince others he is a knight — if only a hedge knight, a class of wandering warriors who, we learn, often must sleep in the hedges because no lord will have them. In this pursuit, he meets men with important last names, such as charismatic enjoyer of life Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), the heir to the all-important Iron Throne in King’s Landing. The latter is unlike some other powerful members of his family — not just because he has short, dark hair but also because he is thoughtful, measured and kind.
Dunk’s life is complicated when he runs afoul of one of Baelor’s nephews, Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen (Finn Bennett), son of Maekar Targaryen (Sam Spruell), Baelor’s younger brother. Dunk was in the right, of course, protecting a Dornish puppeteer, Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), who was having a bit of satirical fun at the Targaryens’ expense, but that matters little considering the power wielded by Aerion.
Egg stands by Dunk, but he will need more formidable allies if he is to survive the trial to come.
“Knight,” with its basic story and Dunk’s relatable values — informed by a late-season flashback episode in which a younger version of the character is portrayed by Bamber Todd during a crucial point in his adolescence in the slums of Flea Bottom — is appealing in its simplicity. That said, even with most episodes around 30 minutes, it could use a bit more excitement and action.
Former rugby player Claffey is a nice find for everyman Dunk, and Ansell (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”) brings some clever touches to the complicated Egg. However, there’s more crackle to this series when it involves certain supporting players, including the aforementioned Carvel (“The Crown”) and Ings (“The Gentlemen”).
As has “House of the Dragon,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” serves as a reminder of just how well Martin has fleshed out both the geography and overall mythology of Westeros. (Relatedly, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that this series is keeping a little secret, one no doubt already known to many well-steeped in Martin’s world-building.)
While “Knight” is, again, only so filling, you’ll get no objections here that it already has been renewed for a second season, which you’d expect to adapt Martin’s second novella in the series, 2003’s “The Sworn Sword.”
The gods are good.
‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
What: Six-episode first season of half-hour series set in author George R.R. Martin’s Westeros.
Where: HBO and HBO Max.
When: 10 p.m. Sundays starting Jan. 18.
Rated: TV-MA.
Peter Claffey in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” (Steffan Hill/HBO/TNS)
As part of its deportation efforts, the Trump administration has ordered states to hand over personal data from voter rolls, driver’s license records and programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
At the same time, the administration is trying to consolidate the bits of personal data held across federal agencies, creating a single trove of information on people who live in the United States.
Many left-leaning states and cities are trying to protect their residents’ personal information amid the immigration crackdown. But a growing number of conservative lawmakers also want to curb the use of surveillance technologies, such as automated license plate readers, that can be used to identify and track people.
Conservative-led states such as Arkansas, Idaho and Montana enacted laws last year designed to protect the personal data collected through license plate readers and other means. They joined at least five left-leaning states — Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Washington — that specifically blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from accessing their driver’s license records.
The Trump administration’s goal is to create a “surveillance dragnet across the country,” said William Owen, communications director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit that advocates for stronger privacy laws.
“We’re entering an increasingly dystopian era of high-tech surveillance,” Owen said. Intelligence sharing between various levels of government, he said, has “allowed ICE to sidestep sanctuary laws and co-opt local police databases and surveillance tools, including license plate readers, facial recognition and other technologies.”
A new Montana law bars government entities from accessing electronic communications and related material without a warrant. Republican state Sen. Daniel Emrich, the law’s author, said “the most important thing that our entire justice system is based on is the principle against unlawful search and seizure” — the right enshrined in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“It’s tough to find individuals who are constitutionally grounded and understand the necessity of keeping the Fourth Amendment rights intact at all times for all reasons — with minimal or zero exceptions,” Emrich said in an interview.
ICE did not respond to Stateline’s requests for comment.
Automated license plate readers
Recently, cities and states have grown particularly concerned over the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which are high-speed camera and computer systems that capture license plate information on vehicles that drive by. These readers sit on top of police cars and streetlights or can be hidden within construction barrels and utility poles.
Some cameras collect data that gets stored in databases for years, raising concerns among privacy advocates. One report from the Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive think tank at New York University, found the data can be susceptible to hacking. Different agencies have varying policies on how long they keep the data, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a law enforcement advocacy group.
Supporters of the technology, including many in law enforcement, say the technology is a powerful tool for tracking down criminal suspects.
Flock Safety says it has cameras in more than 5,000 communities and is connected to more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies across 49 states. The company claims its cameras conduct more than 20 billion license plate reads a month. It collects the data and gives it to police departments, which use the information to locate people.
Holly Beilin, a spokesperson for Flock Safety, told Stateline that while there are local police agencies that may be working with ICE, the company does not have a contractual relationship with the agency. Beilin also said that many liberal and even sanctuary cities continue to sign contracts with Flock Safety. She noted that the cameras have been used to solve some high-profile crimes, including identifying and leading police to the man who committed the Brown University shooting and killed an MIT professor at the end of last year.
“Agencies and cities are very much able to use this technology in a way that complies with their values. So they do not have to share data out of state,” Beilin said.
Pushback over data’s use
But critics, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, say that Flock Safety’s cameras are not only “giving even the smallest-town police chief access to an enormously powerful driver-surveillance tool,” but also that the data is being used by ICE. One news outlet, 404 Media, obtained records of these searches and found many were being carried out by local officers on behalf of ICE.
Last spring, the Denver City Council unanimously voted to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, but Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston unilaterally extended the contract in October, arguing that the technology was a useful crime-fighting tool.
The ACLU of Colorado has vehemently opposed the cameras, saying last August that audit logs from the Denver Police Department show more than 1,400 searches had been conducted for ICE since June 2024.
“The conversation has really gotten bigger because of the federal landscape and the focus, not only on immigrants and the functionality of ICE right now, but also on the side of really trying to reduce and or eliminate protections in regards to access to reproductive care and gender affirming care,” Anaya Robinson, public policy director at the ACLU of Colorado.
“When we erode rights and access for a particular community, it’s just a matter of time before that erosion starts to touch other communities.”
Jimmy Monto, a Democratic city councilor in Syracuse, New York, led the charge to eliminate Flock Safety’s contract in his city.
“Syracuse has a very large immigrant population, a very large new American population, refugees that have resettled and been resettled here. So it’s a very sensitive issue,” Monto said, adding that license plate readers allow anyone reviewing the data to determine someone’s immigration status without a warrant.
“When we sign a contract with someone who is collecting data on the citizens who live in a city, we have to be hyper-focused on exactly what they are doing while we’re also giving police departments the tools that they need to also solve homicides, right?” Monto said.
“Certainly, if license plate readers are helpful in that way, I think the scope is right. But we have to make sure that that’s what we’re using it for, and that the companies that we are contracting with are acting in good faith.”
Emrich, the Montana lawmaker, said everyone should be concerned about protecting constitutional privacy rights, regardless of their political views.
“If the government is obtaining data in violation of constitutional rights, they could be violating a whole slew of individuals’ constitutional rights in pursuit of the individuals who may or may not be protected under those same constitutional rights,” he said.
Lansing — Several of Michigan’s public university leaders gathered last week to reveal the results of a study analyzing the positive economic impact their institutions have on the state, generating $45 billion annually.
As public scrutiny of higher education and its mission has grown over the last five years, the speakers, including Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz and Grand Valley State University President Philomena Mantella, explained on Tuesday how Michigan’s public schools are continuing to improve the lives of all Michigan residents.
It’s been 10 years since the last report on the economic impact of Michigan’s universities, said Britany Affolter-Caine, executive director of Research Universities for Michigan, an organization of the four Michigan research universities.
The report, done by the East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, shows that Michigan’s public universities contributed $45 billion in net new economic activity through operations, student spending and alumni earnings for the state. The report pointed out that this revenue was more than 28 times the amount given in state appropriations for the 15 universities.
“This is economic impact that would not exist in Michigan if these institutions were not here,” said Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association for State Universities.
However, about 70% of Americans now say higher education is going in the wrong direction, a poll by Pew Research released in October showed, up from 56% in 2020.
Guskiewicz and Mantella agreed that the public perception of higher education is something they’re trying to repair. Graduates coming out of college with jobs in their field, more affordable tuitions so students have less debt and showing the impact of universities in local communities are all ways the institutions can rebuild public trust, the speakers said.
Perception of higher education
Americans were losing confidence in higher education because they believe it’s too expensive, doesn’t provide the skills needed for today’s jobs and is “indoctrinating” students, Guskiewicz said.
The misinformation regarding the value of a degree conflicts with the real data that shows, Guskiewicz said, the social upward mobility and the opportunity that come with a degree, along with the improvements to quality of life in all sectors that touch a university.
“We have to do a better job of telling our story, just like we are today,” Guskiewicz said.
But negative perceptions of higher education held by lawmakers, federally and statewide, can hurt a university’s finances. In the past year, President Donald Trump’s administration has cut millions of dollars from Michigan universities, according to Treasury Department data compiled by the Center for American Progress, a liberal group.
Michigan House Republicans toyed with the idea of cutting $291 million from the University of Michigan’s and MSU’s state appropriations to redistribute among the other state universities. This was rejected by the Democratic-led Senate and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and all universities saw an increase in their state appropriations in the budget approved in October.
File photo from the campus of Central Michigan University. (Stephen Frye / MediaNews Group)
“That was an effort by one caucus in one chamber, which is a pretty distinct minority in the entire public body that ultimately is responsible for passing the state budget,” Hurley said. “All of our universities need to have reinvigorated state investment. … We are thankful for what the Legislature has done in recent years. … But we are conservatively at least 41st out of 50 in this country as it involves per student state support for public universities.”
The worth of a degree
Pew’s poll showed that about 80% of adult respondents said colleges and universities aren’t doing enough to keep tuition affordable, and about half said higher education wasn’t doing enough to prepare students for well-paying jobs.
The speakers acknowledged the longstanding problem of graduates struggling to find employment in their degree’s field, or any meaningful employment at all.
“This is not a new challenge,” Affolter-Caine said. “It happens to maybe be exacerbated in the current cycle.”
However, the report shows that graduates from Michigan universities make double what high school degree holders earn and, on average, about $20,000 more than what graduates from out-of-state public institutions make.
On average, the report said, Michigan university alumni ages 25-24 earn $91,073 yearly.
Mantella said Grand Valley, like other universities, has embraced and strengthened “experience-based learning.” This includes ensuring all students have access to an internship, project-based learning or other professional workforce experience while still in college.
“This is not only an opportunity to accelerate to the workforce,” Mantella said. “It’s so (students) come into the workforce at the appropriate levels, in the appropriate roles. … It also links the individual to a Michigan employer, so there’s a higher probability that they will, in fact, stay in the state and contribute to the state rather than go somewhere else.”
Hurley said about 84% of the top 50 most in-demand jobs over the next few years will require at least a bachelor’s degree.
“(Those jobs) are our state’s economy, our private sector, our non-private sector, our health care sector speaking,” Hurley said. “And so for us to be competitive in the future, we have to continue generating that talent. And of course, it’s the role of the state government to make sure that college remains affordable.”
File. University of Michigan campus. (Stephen Frye / MediaNews Group)
You’re ready to leave the hospital, but you don’t feel able to care for yourself at home yet.
Or, you’ve completed a couple of weeks in rehab. Can you handle your complicated medication regimen, along with shopping and cooking?
Perhaps you fell in the shower, and now your family wants you to arrange help with bathing and getting dressed.
There are facilities that provide such help, of course, but most older people don’t want to go there. They want to stay at home; that’s the problem.
When older people struggle with daily activities because they have grown frail, because their chronic illnesses have mounted, or because they have lost a spouse or companion, most don’t want to move. For decades, surveys have shown that they prefer to remain in their homes for as long as possible.
That means they need home care, either from family and friends, paid caregivers, or both. But paid home care represents an especially strained sector of the long-term care system, which is experiencing an intensifying labor shortage even as an aging population creates surging demand.
“It’s a crisis,” said Madeline Sterling, a primary care doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine and the director of Cornell University’s Initiative on Home Care Work. “It’s not really working for the people involved,” whether they are patients (who can also be younger people with disabilities), family members, or home care workers.
“This is not about what’s going to happen a decade from now,” said Steven Landers, chief executive of the National Alliance for Care at Home, an industry organization. “Do an Indeed.com search in Anytown, USA, for home care aides, and you’ll see so many listings for aides that your eyes will pop out.”
Against this grim backdrop, however, some alternatives show promise in upgrading home care jobs and in improving patient care. And they’re growing.
Some background: Researchers and elder care administrators have warned about this approaching calamity for years. Home care is already among the nation’s fastest-growing occupations, with 3.2 million home health aides and personal care aides on the job in 2024, up from 1.4 million a decade earlier, according to PHI, a research and advocacy group.
But the nation will need about 740,000 additional home care workers over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and recruiting them won’t be easy. Costs to consumers are high — the median hourly rate for a home health aide in 2024 was $34, the annual Genworth/CareScout survey shows, with big geographic variations. But an aide’s median hourly wage was less than $17.
These remain unstable, low-paying jobs. Of the largely female workforce, about a third of whom are immigrants, 40% live in low-income households and most receive some sort of public assistance.
Even if the agencies that employ them offer health insurance and they work enough hours to qualify, many cannot afford their premium payments.
Unsurprisingly, the turnover rate approaches 80% annually, according to a survey by the ICA Group, a nonprofit organization that promotes co-ops.
But not everywhere. One innovation, still small but expanding: home care cooperatives owned by the workers themselves. The first and largest, Cooperative Home Care Associates in the Bronx borough of New York City, began in 1985 and now employs about 1,600 home care aides. The ICA Group now counts 26 such worker-owned home care businesses nationwide.
“These co-ops are getting exceptional results,” said Geoffrey Gusoff, a family medicine doctor and health services researcher at UCLA. “They have half the turnover of traditional agencies, they hold onto clients twice as long, and they’re paying $2 more an hour” to their owner-employees.
When Gusoff and his co-authors interviewed co-op members for a qualitative study in JAMA Network Open, “we were expecting to hear more about compensation,” he said. “But the biggest single response was, ‘I have more say’” over working conditions, patient care, and the administration of the co-op itself.
“Workers say they feel more respected,” Gusoff said.
Through an initiative to provide financing, business coaching, and technical assistance, the ICA Group intends to boost the national total to 50 co-ops within five years and to 100 by 2040.
Another approach gaining ground: registries that allow home care workers and clients who need care to connect directly, often without involving agencies that provide supervision and background checks but also absorb roughly half the fee consumers pay.
One of the largest registries, Carina, serves workers and clients in Oregon and Washington. Established through agreements with the Service Employees International Union, the nation’s largest health care union, it serves 40,000 providers and 25,000 clients. (About 10% of home care workers are unionized, according to PHI’s analysis.)
Carina functions as a free, “digital hiring hall,” said Nidhi Mirani, its chief executive. Except in the Seattle area, it serves only clients who receive care through Medicaid, the largest funder of care at home. State agencies handle the paperwork and oversee background checks.
Hourly rates paid to independent providers found on Carina, which are set by union contracts, are usually lower than what agencies charge, while workers’ wages start at $20, and they receive health insurance, paid time off, and, in some cases, retirement benefits.
Other registries may be operated by states, as in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, or by platforms like Direct Care Careers, available in four states. “People are seeking a fit in who’s coming into their homes,” Mirani said. “And individual providers can choose their clients. It’s a two-way street.”
Finally, recent studies indicate ways that additional training for home care workers can pay off.
“These patients have complex conditions,” Sterling said of the aides. Home care workers, who take blood pressure readings, prepare meals, and help clients stay mobile, can spot troubling symptoms as they emerge.
Her team’s recent clinical trial of home health aides caring for patients with heart failure— “the No. 1 cause of hospitalization among Medicare beneficiaries,” Sterling pointed out — measured the effects of a 90-minute virtual training module about its symptoms and management.
“Leg swelling. Shortness of breath. They’re the first signs that the disease is not being controlled,” Sterling said.
In the study, involving 102 aides working for VNS Health, a large nonprofit agency in New York, the training was shown to enhance their knowledge and confidence in caring for clients with heart failure.
Moreover, when aides were given a mobile health app that allowed them to message their supervisors, they made fewer 911 calls and their patients made fewer emergency room visits.
Small-scale efforts like registries, co-ops, and training programs do not directly address home care’s most central problem: cost.
Medicaid underwrites home care for low-income older adults who have few assets, though the Trump administration’s new budget will slash Medicaid by more than $900 billion over the next decade. The well-off theoretically can pay out-of-pocket.
But “middle-class retired families either spend all their resources and essentially bankrupt themselves to become eligible for Medicaid, or they go without,” Landers said. Options like assisted living and nursing homes are even more expensive.
The United States has never committed to paying for long-term care for the middle class, and it seems unlikely to do so under this administration. Still, savings from innovations like these can reduce costs and might help expand home care through federal or state programs. Several tests and pilots are underway.
Home care workers “have a lot of insight into patients’ conditions,” Sterling said. “Training them and giving them technological tools shows that if we’re trying to keep patients at home, here’s a way to do that with the workforce that’s already there.”
The New Old Age is produced through a partnership withThe New York Times.
Medicaid underwrites home care for low-income older adults who have few assets, though the Trump administration’ s new budget will slash Medicaid by more than $900 billion over the next decade. (QualitDesign/Dreamstime/TNS)
Halsey hasn’t played a venue as small as the Fillmore Detroit since her first show in these parts — nine and a half years ago at Saint Andrew’s Hall.
But rest assured there was nothing small about the New Jersey-born modern pop singer’s show on Saturday, Jan. 17 — the first of two sold-out Back to Badlands dates at the Fillmore, continuing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her double-platinum 2015 debut album “Badlands.”
Besides offering a generous selection of material (32 songs) from across her catalog, the two-and-a-half-hour spectacle delivered an arena-sized visual punch. Halsey and her three instrumentalists played on a two-tiered stage in front of a floor-to-ceiling high-def video wall that displayed a series of images and animations — and even 3-D imagery (glasses provided as fans entered) during a late-set “Lonely is the Muse,” as fans followed a reclining Halsey floating in front of them.
Halsey herself was the strongest effect, however, prowling and dancing around the stage in a low-plunge black halter-top and low-slug pants and exercising her pipes with extended notes on songs such as “Nightmare” “Without Me.” Fifteen songs from “Badlands” — its original and deluxe editions — were scattered throughout the night, non-sequentially, and the crowd was vociferously happy to hear the likes of “Coming Down,” “Strange Love” and “Garden” for the first time live in many years.
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It was a special night, by any measure, for those used to seeing Halsey in bigger spaces such as Little Caesars Arena and Pine Knob — including a season-opener at the latter last year. And that made some of her attitude for much of Saturday night a bit odd and, truthfully, disingenuous.
Early on, after performing “The Lighthouse,” Halsey dubbed the Fillmore “a weird (expletive) building,” different from other places the tour had played. “There are two shows happening,” she explained, maintaining that it required her to make grand movements and gestures for those in the balcony (“I have to make some (stuff) up on the fly,” she said) that might be off-putting to those packed in front of her on the main floor.
Eh? The former were certainly considerably a far sight closer than those in the back and top of LCA, or on the lawn at Pine Knob. And it’s highly doubtful that anybody down front really minded any of Halsey’s energetic movements. And yet it became a theme for the good stretch of Saturday’s show. At one point Halsey complained about the muted reaction from some “dudes” after she sang into their faces during “Hold Me Close;” “You guys are hard to impress, man,” she groused afterwards. “What do you want me to do?” (She did make a guess, if course. IYKYK.)
And later on, before her Chainsmokers collaboration “Closer” shook the Fillmore, Halsey said that, “I’ve accepted that you guys are tired tonight. You don’t have it; I get that” — even though the evidence right in front of her was quite contrary.
Fortunately she got over it before the end of the main set — or, in her view, the audience raised its game. Halsey did declare her strong affinity to Detroit and Michigan, celebrated in several of her songs (“It’s not like it’s an easy rhyme, y’know,” she quipped). And she rewarded the crowd with “a very special, once-in-a-lifetime Detroit encore” that veered from the tour’s usual program for a half-hour of deeper favorites such as a rocking “3am” (one of two songs on which Halsey played guitar), “Killing Boys,” “Clementine,” “929” and “Bad at Love” before the usual closer “Is There Somewhere.”
“I’ve had a great time with you tonight. Nobody loves you more than I do,” she shouted as the latter finished. The feeling was certainly mutual from the Fillmore crowd, and, despite any reservations she might have expressed earlier, “Badlands” proved to be a nice place for everyone to visit once again.
Halsey performs again on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Fillmore Detroit, 2115 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out. 313-961-5451 or thefillmoredetroit.com.
Pop singer Halsey performed the first of two sold-out shows at the Fillmore Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 17 (Photo provided by Columbia Records)
A professional basketball player from Detroit returned home Saturday after what she describes as a harrowing escape from Iran amid deadly violence and mass anti-government protests.
Watch Evan's report in the video player below
Detroit basketball player escapes Iran amid deadly protests and government internet blackout
Taylor Jones, who has played for 17 different teams overseas since beginning her professional career in 2019, was playing for Abadan in Iran when the situation deteriorated rapidly.
"We had four more games until we transitioned into the playoffs," Jones said.
Any hopes of a championship run ended when protests in the country escalated, and the Iranian government cut off all internet service on January 8.
"Our WiFi began acting very shaky. Iran is known for not having good service, but it had never been that bad," Jones said.
Jones and her teammates, including other Americans, found themselves cut off from the outside world.
"I was shaking, my anxiety was at a thousand. I was trying to call my mom - it wouldn't go through," Jones said.
She eventually managed to get a signal because their hotel was close to the Iraqi border.
"I went to my other teammate's room, who was American. She's like, 'I just figured out I have one bar,' so I was like, 'Maybe if I sit in the corner of the room my phone will also pick up,'" Jones said.
The phone finally connected after picking up a signal from Iraqi cell towers.
After reaching her mother, Jones focused on finding a way home. Initial attempts to escape through Iraq were unsuccessful after she was denied entry at the border.
A team agent helped secure a flight to Dubai, but it meant flying out of Tehran.
"When you arrived there... oh, I was frantic. I was frantic. Obviously, I don't look like the rest. They're looking at four, five Americans walking. Their eyes are just like... we kept hearing them say 'Americans, Americans,'" Jones said.
Jones's mother, Fawn Day, was relieved to have her daughter back home.
"When she first texted me, she just said 'Mom,' and I knew something was going on. That's the code word for something is going on. I was just hoping what I was seeing on the news would not come her way," Day said.
This isn't the first time Jones has had to flee a dangerous situation. In January 2022, she was playing basketball in Ukraine when Russian troops began preparing for an invasion. She escaped just a day before the war started.
"I'm just really trying to find the words to process everything that I witnessed. Never gone through anything as traumatic as that. Obviously, I had to flee from Ukraine in 2022, but that experience was far easier going than this was, by far," Jones said.
Jones's professional career has taken her to Portugal, Bosnia, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Belarus before her most recent stint in Iran.
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.
Winter this year has brought snow, sleet, freezing rain, icy roads, and cold temperatures. But it's about to get and feel even colder next week.
Temperatures will drop into the low teens Monday and continue to fall into the single digits Tuesday morning. During this time, winds will also be breezy, leading to dangerously cold wind chills.
Wind chill advisories and warnings used to be issued by the National Weather Service when wind chills were expected to fall to at least -15F. Starting last year, the alert names for dangerously cold wind chills changed. A Wind Chill Advisory became a Cold Weather Advisory and a Wind Chill Warning became a Cold Weather Warning.
A Cold Weather Advisory is issued when wind chills are forecast to be -15 to -24.
A Cold Weather Warning is issued when wind chills are forecast to be -25 or colder.
The wind chill is determined by using the air temperature and wind speed. As temperatures drop and wind speeds increase, it feels colder. As wind speed increases, it takes heat from the body through the skin. As wind chills approach -20, frostbite can happen on exposed skin in 30 minutes. As the skin temperature continues to drop, eventually the internal body temperature also drops and can cause hypothermia.
It is important to limit time outside during cold and windy winter days. If you do need to be outside, cover up with coats, thick pants, gloves, scarves, hats, and even goggles to protect your skin.
Hundreds of thousands in Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine were left without power on Sunday, according to Kremlin-installed authorities there. Meanwhile, Moscow has kept up its hammering of Ukraines energy grid in overnight attacks that killed at least two people, according to Ukrainian officials.
More than 200,000 households in the Russian-held part of Ukraines southern Zaporizhzhia region had no electricity on Sunday, according to the Kremlin-installed local governor.
In a Telegram post, Yevgeny Balitsky said nearly 400 settlements have had their supply cut, due to damage to power networks from Ukrainian drone strikes.
Russia has hammered Ukraines power grid, especially in winter, throughout the almost four-year war. It aims to weaken Ukrainians will to resist in a strategy that Kyiv officials call weaponizing winter.
Russia targeted energy infrastructure in Odesa region overnight on Sunday, according to Ukraines Emergency Service. A fire broke out and was promptly extinguished.
At least six people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region because of Russian attacks, the emergency service said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that repairing the countrys energy system remains challenging, but we are doing everything we can to restore everything as quickly as possible.
He said two people were killed in overnight attacks across the country that struck Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipro Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa.
In total over 1,300 attack drones, 1,050 guided aerial bombs and 29 missiles of various types were used by Russia to strike Ukraine this week, he added.
If Russia deliberately delays the diplomatic process, the worlds response should be decisive: more help for Ukraine and more pressure on the aggressor," Zelenskyy said.
He spoke the day after a Ukrainian delegation arrived in the United States for talks on a U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the nearly 4-year-old war.
On Friday, Zelenskyy said that the delegation would try to finalize with U.S. officials documents for a proposed peace settlement that relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery.
If American officials approve the proposals, the U.S. and Ukraine could sign the documents next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy said at a Kyiv news conference with Czech President Petr Pavel. Trump plans to be in Davos, according to organizers.
Russia would still need to be consulted on the proposals.
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