The federal government has terminated the visitor status of four international students at Wayne State University and several other universities throughout the state.

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WSU President, Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy, says the school discovered the move while checking its Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.

She says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not notify the university or the students before terminating their status. Espy says the school is working with those affected and is advising all international students and staff to consult visa and immigration resources.

Several universities across the country — including the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University and Grand Valley State University — have also reported that immigration records were removed without notice.

Ari Harris, a spokesperson with CMU, told WCMU Public Media their affected students will have to re-apply for admittance or leave the country, as the university cannot reverse the terminations.

“This is of course, is very frightening for those students and the reasons that they were terminated are, are not always clear to them or to us,” she said, affirming that neither the university or the impacted students received notification of those status changes.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

–WCMU student reporter Blace Carpenter contributed to this report. 

Other headlines for Tuesday, April 8, 2025:

• Local police, state lawmakers and Detroit officials endorsed legislation to create a new public safety and violence prevention fund. The bipartisan bills would take a portion of sales tax revenue and let cities and counties use it to reduce violent crime. State House leaders say they plan to hold a vote on the bills next month. 
• The state is offering more than $18 million in grant funding to up to 25 agencies or organizations helping homeowners with weatherization and energy efficiency. 
• The city of Detroit’s Returning Citizens Task Force is hosting a Second Chance Employment & Resource Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, at the St. Suzanne CRC Resource Center, 19321 W Chicago St. The event promises attendees an opportunity to meet with employers who are hiring and connect returning citizens to career resources.
• People for Palmer Park is hosting a Doggie Health and Wellness Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. The team from the park’s Unleashed Dog Park and the Michigan Humane Vaccination Clinic will offer health checks, microchipping and low cost vaccinations, as well as free doggie goody bags, a buffet of dog treats, raffles and giveaways. 
• Palmer Park’s volunteer organization is also planning the “Trash and Treasure Hunt” to celebrate Earth Day later this month. Volunteers of all ages can do some forest clean up while searching for “Aziza Fairies.” There will also be live music, art installations and a chance to build a fairy door, bird house or butterfly art. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

This week on The Progressive Underground, we’re tuning in to rising UK powerhouse Olivia Dean.

With a voice that’s pure and expressive, and a songwriting style that cuts deep, she’s been making waves in the global R&B and soul scenes. Her live performances are the stuff of legend, and her debut album “Messy” is filled with gems. One of them is this beautiful acoustic-driven number “Touching Toes” which is my Pick of the Week.

“Touching Toes” proves why Olivia Dean is one of the most exciting new voices in music. If you love discovering fresh, forward-thinking artists, tune into The Progressive Underground every Saturday at 6p.m. on 101.9 WDET and wdet.org. For The Progressive Underground, I’m Chris Campbell. Keep your ears open and your soul tuned in!  Peace.

More from The Progressive Underground: 

• Zo!, Tall Black Guy transcend genres with synergetic ‘Abstractions’
• Pick of the Week (Mar. 29): ‘2 Step in the Living Room’ by Terrace Martin & Alex Isley
• Pick of the Week (Mar. 22): ‘Good Vibes’ by The Pocket Queen ft. Duckwrth

In communities around Little Traverse Bay, the snow and ice is starting to melt but clear signs of destruction remain.

It’s being called the worst ice storm in northern Michigan in modern history, knocking out power to about 100,000 homes and businesses.

One week later, fallen trees still line the road shoulders. Dozens of utility vehicles are parked behind orange cones. And hundreds were still without power as of April 4.

The workers who’ve poured in from across the state are getting the job done. According to outage maps, power started coming back on in downtown areas at the end of last week.

But some residents say recovery from the ice storm will take more than just turning the lights back on.

Power restored to cities

At the Community Reformed Church in Charlevoix, volunteers packed away pans of ground beef. Over the past few days, they worked by lantern light to serve hot meals to those seeking shelter.

Lights at the church came back on Wednesday. Buns, chips and sloppy joe mix were left over and the group that came for lunch Thursday was smaller than it was earlier in the week.

To Pastor Chip Sauer, those are good signs.

“Power lines have been down all over the place. It is like the apocalypse, like a bomb exploded,” he said. “In the city, it doesn’t feel like that anymore. It’s gotten back to normal. The lights are on. The restaurants are open. But there’s still a handful of people [without] power.”

The situation is much the same further north in Petoskey.

Many gas stations are reopened, providing critical fuel for line workers and generators. City Manager Shane Horn says about 95% of Petoskey’s service area had power as of Thursday, April 3.

The quick turnaround, he said, is owed to the city’s mostly underground power lines.

“Having that percent of our community undergrounded has truly been a blessing in that we don’t have similar issues that other communities have with downed power lines and utility pole issues,” Horn said.

Rural communities still in response phase

While cities are starting to see a return to normal, those living in more rural areas are still in what emergency managers call “the response phase.”

Great Lakes Energy, which still has nearly 20,000 customers without power, established a camp for utility workers in Otsego County on Saturday — one of the hardest hit areas. GLE chief executive Shaun Lamp said the company hopes to “substantially restore” many areas by April 8, it could take longer for more backcountry areas.

On the north side of Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs, Shay Elementary School served as one of the busiest warming stations in the area.

City police officers were stationed at the front entrance, keeping a list of names in front of stacks of water bottles. Nurses with the American Red Cross brought dozens of cots that lined the school’s cafeteria.

The people who had to stay the night were mostly elders. That’s because a housing community for low-income seniors called the Village of Hillside lost power. Some had to stay to power oxygen machines or get medication.

“Nobody wants to leave home and sleep in a school with all these people, but I think they’ve become accustomed to it,” said Matthew Bush, Hillside’s service coordinator. “I mean, they’ve come to realize that there’s not much of a choice. It’s either this or be very, very cold.”

Despite this, the attitude at Shay Elementary is positive, especially among the volunteers.

“It’s been overwhelming in, like, a really great way, but also just a really devastating way at the same time,” said Jessica Mills, a fourth grade teacher at Shay Elementary who’s been helping coordinate the shelter. “Initially, I was just watching the door to let people in and make sure they got settled and answered questions. Since then, I was kind of made the point person.”

The school’s cafeteria is staffed by restaurant workers from downtown Harbor Springs. They’ve been serving free hot meals three times a day since the shelter opened.

“Everyone has been helping, like the police officers’ wives have all been with their parents, my parents, like the whole community, has really just come together,” Mills said. “And we couldn’t have done it without every single other person.”

Mills said she’s eager for recovery to begin and that she hopes her school reopens soon. Helping out has been a good distraction but she’s eager to check in on all her students she hasn’t seen in days. Some of their families, she said, will deal with the aftermath of this storm for months.

“I just think there’s so much we need to do. People have gone days without being able to contact their loved ones because the service has been atrocious. People’s fridges are going to need to be cleaned out,” she said. “It just feels like any support would help.”

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio on April 7, 2025.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked an order for the Trump administration to return to work thousands of federal employees who were let go in mass firings aimed at dramatically downsizing the federal government.

The justices acted in the administration’s emergency appeal of a ruling by a federal judge in California ordering that 16,000 probationary employees be reinstated while a lawsuit plays out because their firings didn’t follow federal law.

The effect of the high court’s order will keep employees in six federal agencies on paid administrative leave for now. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have kept the judge’s order in place.

It’s the third time in less than a week that the justices have sided with the administration in its fight against federal judges whose orders have slowed President Donald Trump’s agenda. The court also paused an order restoring grants for teacher training and lifted an order that froze deportations under an 18th century wartime law.

But as with the earlier orders, the reach of Tuesday’s order may be limited. A second lawsuit, filed in Maryland, also resulted in an order blocking the firings at those same six agencies, plus roughly a dozen more. But that order only applies in the 19 states and the District of Columbia that sued the administration.

The Justice Department is separately appealing the Maryland order.

At least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since Trump took office, the lawsuits claim, though the government has not confirmed that number.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled that the terminations were improperly directed by the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director. He ordered rehiring at the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury.

His order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and nonprofit organizations that argued they’d be affected by the reduced manpower.

Alsup, who was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, expressed frustration with what he called the government’s attempt to sidestep laws and regulations by firing probationary workers with fewer legal protections.

He said he was appalled that employees were told they were being fired for poor performance despite receiving glowing evaluations just months earlier.

The administration has insisted that the agencies themselves directed the firings and they “have since decided to stand by those terminations,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court.

–Reporting by Mark Sherman, Associated Press.

The 2026 general election is shaping up to be a big one.

The federal election could flip the balance of power in Congress.

In Michigan, everything is set to change. Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General are all open.

Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters announced he would not seek reelection.

We’re still 16 months out from the primary, yet candidates are already seeing if they’re viable.

So far, one Democrat thinks they are.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s profile has been on the rise over the past few years. Two years ago, a Republican colleague called her a “groomer” and McMorrow’s speech rebuking the comment went viral.

Last August, using a gigantic copy of the Project 2025 manifesto as a prop, McMorrow spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

In maybe the biggest tell of her national aspirations, she has a book out.

Over the weekend, McMorrow sat down with WDET to discuss her candidacy.

Listen: McMorrow talks US Senate bid, political priorities

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Russ McNamara, WDET News: So when I talked to you at the Democratic National Convention, you were unsure of what your next steps were going to be. When did you reach that clarity?

Sen. Mallory McMorrow: I think Senator Peters surprised a lot of people when he made his decision not to seek reelection. And as I thought about my next step, I was sure almost immediately, this was something I wanted to explore, but it’s a big decision to run statewide, so required a lot of conversations, a lot of reaching out to people all across the state, talking with my family, to make sure this was something we could do, and that we felt like we could be successful.

RM: Yeah, you’ve got a young kid at home. Are you sure you want to go through a full Senate campaign?

MM: She is four. She’s such a trooper. I’ve never seen a kid who loves a parade more than my daughter, and she’s excited. I got a great support system with my husband, who is the world’s best dad, and we’re ready for this.

RM: How comfortable are you in the spotlight?

MM: For me, a spotlight is only as good as what you choose to do with it, and I think it’s a strength of mine to be able to communicate to people’s rightful anger and fear and frustrations and also give voice to how we’re going to fight back and what we’re going to do with it. And that’s why I’m entering this race, to give people an avenue and a new path forward for Michiganders to get us out of all this chaos and out of the wilderness.

RM: What should Democrats be doing to push back against the Trump administration? You told Melissa Burke of the Detroit News that you are kind of unhappy with the leadership of Chuck Schumer. You think that some of the old guard Democrats need to make way for a younger generation.

“This is no longer my father’s Republican Party. This is the MAGA party. This is Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his own image as one that quite literally wants to tear the government down piece by piece, and in my mind, that requires leadership who came up in this time, who understands what we’re up against and knows how to fight back…”

–State Sen. Mallory McMorrow

MM: So first of all, this is not a knock on any one person, but it’s a real acknowledgement of the time. This is no longer my father’s Republican Party. This is the MAGA party. This is Donald Trump remaking the Republican Party in his own image as one that quite literally wants to tear the government down piece by piece, and in my mind, that requires leadership who came up in this time, who understands what we’re up against and knows how to fight back and accepts that it’s not enough to just stand behind a podium in front of the Capitol in Washington D.C. and say we’re fighting and we’re winning, and then turning around and asking for contributions or going in interviews and saying that, well, their polling is starting to come down, and they’ll just be more unpopular, and we’ll keep going and we’ll get them in the midterms. People are showing up in my town halls and coffee hours right now, raising their hands saying, ‘Put me in coach. I want to be a part of something. I want to fight back. And we need leaders who understand how to engage with people, not as just a number, not as a voter or a donor, but as part of the team.’

RM: So if part of that change in philosophy is getting younger. Why am I getting text messages from (80-year-old Clinton ally and Democratic strategist) James Carville?

MM: So James Carville and I have become pretty good friends over the last few years, and why I’m really proud of that friendship is there can be old guard leaders who recognize and see talent in new guard leaders and understand that we have to bring up new leadership.

RM: So what specifically separates you policy wise? Would you nuke the filibuster? Would you avoid the Senate parliamentarian like Republicans say they’re going to do — something the Biden administration refused to do — is that an area that you’re willing to explore?

MM: So right now, I think you have to look no further than what Cory Booker did this past week, standing on the (Senate) floor for 25 hours, acknowledging up front that Democrats in Washington may not have the power to move legislation or block bills right now, but that he acknowledged that his constituents wanted him to do more. So he stood there for longer than anybody in United States history, uplifting the voices of his constituents, their fears, their angers, letters from people who had lost their Medicaid and Medicare, and it felt like hope, in a weird way, to give voice to the voiceless and show people that even when Donald Trump wants us to believe we don’t have power, we actually do, and we’re going to do everything we can to use it.

RM: How would you characterize your version of politics. Would you consider yourself a centrist? Would you consider yourself more progressive on certain issues, maybe not so much on others? How would you describe yourself?

MM: I describe myself as pragmatic.

RM: (interrupting) If I hear a Democrat saying they’re being pragmatic, that immediately says they’re centrist, right? When I hear Republicans say they’re being pragmatic, there’s gonna be big cuts to some services. So, I really need you to spell that out for me.

MM: When you look at my policy priorities and how I approach things on certain issues where fundamental rights are at risk, I will be progressive and aggressive about fighting back. I introduced the first version of the Reproductive Health Act in 2019 as a primary bill sponsor, even though I was in a marginal district because protecting our fundamental reproductive rights was important to me. This was the legislation that would have codified Roe v. Wade on the state level, before we had Prop 3, and Republicans refused to take it up.

I’ve been aggressive on legislation for gun violence prevention. I’m somebody who lost the older brother of one of my best friends in the Virginia Tech shooting — it is deeply personal to me, and I will fight hard to make sure that nobody else has to go through what I went through, or what anybody who’s lost a family member to gun violence has to go through. But I’m also the chair of the Senate Economic and Community Development Committee.

I have been active on reforming our state’s approach to economic development, working across the aisle with my Republican colleagues on investing more in small businesses and entrepreneurs and downtowns and in a way that relies less on heavy corporate tax incentives to try to bring back minimum wage jobs, and more on building our economy from the ground up. So that’s what I mean when I say pragmatic is I look at the needs of my constituents, I look at what is going to be possible to push Michigan forward. And to me, that’s more important than where I fall in the political spectrum.

RM: One thing that’s on the mind to a lot of voters and a lot of people I talk to. I personally have trans friends and family. It seemed like the issue of protections for trans people — Democrats didn’t necessarily run away from it, but they did not necessarily address it in the last voting cycle. You’re protesting today (April 5) in Ferndale, the traditional heart of the LGBTQ community in Michigan, lay out your plan and your vision for LGBTQ people in the state of Michigan from here on out.

MM: So I wholly reject the idea and will never be the type of person who throws somebody under the bus because of polling. I think it’s callous, and I think it’s hurtful. What I know about my LGBTQ friends and neighbors is that just like the rest of us, they want to be left alone. They want to be left alone to live their lives as they wish. And that is why my speech in 2022 I think, resonated the way that it did was because, unlike a lot of other Democrats, I did not accept the fight that Republicans wanted me to have when I was smeared as a groomer, which, let’s be clear, is an attack usually levied on the LGBTQ community, I stood up and spoke about my own life; that I was raised Catholic, what Christian values mean to me, and said very clearly that people who are different are not the reason why your health care costs are too high or why the roads are in disrepair. And that’s what I hope to show through this campaign, is that we can protect our LGBTQ friends and neighbors by talking to the issues that 99% of Michiganders want to hear, which is their housing costs, their health care, their lifestyle, the quality of their schools and not letting anybody be a scapegoat.

RM: Are Democrats making a mistake by running away from some social issues?

MM: What I think Democrats are missing is letting Republicans paint Democrats as who Republicans want Democrats to be. The idea that Democrats spent too much time focused on social issues and culture war issues is not because that’s the Democratic policy platform. That’s because Republicans, namely Donald Trump and Elon Musk, spent millions upon millions of dollars on TV ads to try to define Democrats, and Democrats fell into the trap. So by going on offense instead of constantly being on defense, we can appeal to a majority of people to convince them, yeah, you may not be doing as well as you wanted. You may not be able to afford to buy a house, and it’s not somebody else’s fault. It’s because the system is broken, and we have to fix that system.

U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) will not seek reelection to Congress in 2026, running instead for Michigan governor.

The two-term U.S. House member posted his announcement on social media Monday

“It’s time to get Michigan out of fantasyland and back to common sense,” he said. “President Trump and I have been in each other’s corner through thick and thin for eight years — no reason that will end now.”

In a statement, the Democratic Governors Association took aim at James’ support for Trump.

“John James has spent his time in Congress putting his own extreme partisan politics first, and now he’s running to bring the chaos and dysfunction of D.C. to Michigan,” said the DGA.

The 10th Congressional District encompasses southern Macomb County and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County. It is a swing district and James’ decision gives Democrats a larger hope of flipping it in November.

James is currently the only Black member of Michigan’s congressional delegation. He previously lost two successive runs for a U.S. Senate seat — the 2020 race by a narrow margin — before running for and winning a U.S. House seat.

State Senate Republican leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) and former U.S. House candidate Anthony Hudson have also announced they are seeking the GOP nomination. Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has also formed a campaign committee and 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon — who lost by more than 10 points — is considering another run for statewide office.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, cannot run again because of term limits.

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are seeking the Democratic nomination in the August primary. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is also running as an independent. 

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Diversity, equity and inclusion is going away. It’s been the story for businesses and colleges in America over the last month. 

With pressure from the Trump administration and from the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Michigan and a number of other universities have removed their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices. 

But it’s not just the White House that doesn’t like DEI. It’s been criticized by some professors, students and public commentators as well.

Metro Producer Sam Corey sat down with two professors to understand how DEI programs work and what could happen as they go away. Robert Sellers is a professor of psychology and education, and the first chief diversity officer at the University of Michigan. Stacy Hawkins is a Rutgers professor, diversity consultant and DEI expert. 

The Metro has reached out to several University of Michigan regents who helped usher in the end of DEI practices and programming. We are still waiting to hear back from those state-wide elected officials. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, April 7:

• Mallory McMorrow wants to bring a new generation to the US Senate
• Curbing the impulse to buy more stuff
• Former Sleeping Bear Dunes superintendent warns of cuts to national parks, public lands

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Huge numbers of Americans took to the streets over the weekend for so-called “Hands Off” protests. People were condemning the Trump administration and many of its policies, including cuts to the National Park Service and other public lands. 

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has reduced staff that oversees public lands by hundreds of people. A judge ordered those positions to be reinstated, but it’s unclear how many people have actually returned to work. The White House has vowed to fight those rulings. 

Advocates, meanwhile, are bracing for additional cuts. This upheaval has raised concerns about the health and survival of America’s public lands, from popular national parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone to national lakeshores like Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes. 

Tom Ulrich was the deputy superintendent for Sleeping Bear Dunes for more than two decades before retiring in 2023. Ulrich joined The Metro to discuss the current challenges facing America’s public lands. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order last week, directing national parks to “remain open and accessible.” Burgum says that means there will be proper staffing, but not everyone is convinced this will happen. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, April 7:

• Mallory McMorrow wants to bring a new generation to the US Senate
• Curbing the impulse to buy more stuff
• Political pressure is ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

You never know where you’ll go on this show… and while there’s quite a bit of new selections here from DJ Koze, Rachel Baldwin, José James, Mei Semones, Joe Armon-Jones and more… there’s a whole lot of throwbacks, including music from Freddie Hubbard, Prince, Rufus & Chaka Khan, an insanely good rework of Hall & Oates from Kon and a bit of Luiz Bonfá and Billie Holiday on her birthday!

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for April 7, 2025

• “Aruna” – DJ Koze
• “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) [Kon Rework]” – Daryl Hall & John Oates
• “Long Night (Planet 81 Remix)” – Rachel Baldwin & Planet 81
• “17 Days (7″ B-Side Edit) [2017 Remaster]” – Prince & the Revolution
• “I Feel for You (Acoustic Demo)” – Prince & the Revolution
• “Simply Beautiful (feat. Takuya Kuroda)” – José James
• “Sweet Thing (feat. Chaka Khan)” – Rufus
• “Other Side of the Game” – Erykah Badu
• “Hurry up & Wait” – Joe Armon-Jones
• “Over When It’s Over” – Lucy Rose
• “Inside and Out” – Feist
• “Tenderly” – Luiz Bonfá
• “Zarigani” – Mei Semones
• “Slip Away (feat. Menahan Street Band)” – Charles Bradley
• “Consulate Case” – Surprise Chef
• “Bangoro (Gitkin Remix)” – Bab L’ Bluz
• “Since I’ve Been Loving You” – Led Zeppelin
• “How Blue Can You Get? (Live In Cook County Jail/1970)” – B.B. King
• “Dark Blue” – George Freeman & Chico Freeman
• “Can’t Say Nothin’” – Curtis Mayfield
• “Night Bus” – The Flying Hats
• “Marmalade Toast” – Marcel Borrack
• “Red Clay” – Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson & Lenny White
• “Blue Moon” – Billie Holiday
• “Glory Box” – Portishead
• “Penthouse Samba” – Marina Zispin
• “Deadly Valentine (Soulwax Remix)” – Charlotte Gainsbourg
• “Love Is the Drug (Todd Terje Disco Dub)” – Roxy Music
• “Straight to Hell (Extended Unedited Version)” – The Clash

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Several thousand protesters — unhappy with the Trump administration’s cuts to federal employees, mass deportations, and tariffs — marched down Woodward Avenue from the Detroit Institute of Arts to Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.  

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned across the country by more than 150 groups, with thousands gathering at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston and other major cities.

In Michigan, there were protests held across the state, including in Troy, Ferndale, Wyandotte, Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Marquette and other communities.  

Protester Aisha Banks, who splits her time between homes in Detroit, Colombia and Panama, says the president’s policies have hurt America’s standing as a global leader. 

“This is the worst thing. It’s disastrous for the country as well as for the world,” she said. “It’s going to affect everyone, not just the United States, but everyone all over the world.”

The protest drew concerned citizens across generations. Patynn Johnson is a 10th grade student from Marygrove High School. She says now is not the time for her young people to be silent.

“My mama taught me, if somebody’s doing this to you, say something back. Speak out. You can’t just be quiet, because nothing’s gonna happen.”

When asked about the demonstrations, the White House said in a statement that Trump will always protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

–Reporting by Russ McNamara, WDET. The Associated Press contributed.

More headlines for Monday, April 7, 2025:

• The Embassy of Bangladesh is hosting a two-day mobile consular service event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 12-13, at the Al Ihsan Islamic Center in Warren, organized by the Bangladesh Society of Michigan. The event will offer services including issuance of the No Visa Required (NVR) seal, biometric enrollments for e-passports, and power of attorney services. No appointments required.
• The city of Detroit Construction and Demolition Department kicked off “Detroit Demo Week” on Monday, with events planned throughout the week aimed at fostering engagement and support for the city’s ongoing efforts to remove blight.
• The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) awarded $8 million to 20 organizations to build Healthy Community Zones in several counties, including in the city of Detroit. The funding — from the Michigan Racial Disparities Task Force — is aimed to encourage community-led solutions for reducing racial disparities in chronic disease awareness and resources.
• The nonprofit Rising Voices is hosting a virtual community briefing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 15, to educate people about the “Alien Land Law” bills. The organization says the bills “are rooted in anti-Chinese, anti-Asian, and anti-immigrant sentiments,” which allegedly are being branded as “national security” concerns.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit’s nonprofit radio station, was named Public Radio Station of the Year during the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) Broadcast Excellence Awards ceremony held Saturday at MotorCity Casino’s Sound Board Theater.

WDET won several categories of awards including Station Excellence and Community Station of the Year and was awarded Station of the Year for the third time in the past four years within the Public Radio Group 2 category.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the MAB and the prestigious network of Michigan public media broadcasters,” said WDET General Manager Mary Zatina. “This year’s award recognition means even more to us given we were celebrating 75 years as Detroit’s Public Radio station and made significant schedule and programming changes based on listener and member data and their requests for what they wanted from us as we move into the future.”

Honors all around WDET

The MAB also honored WDET with nine additional awards, including the Station Excellence award for its 75th-year accomplishments submission, “best ofs” and “merits.”

“WDET has been telling Detroit’s most important stories since 1949, so it’s especially meaningful to be honored by MAB during this anniversary year,” said WDET Program Manager Adam Fox. “These awards recognize our excellence in news, music, and current affairs — and our ongoing commitment to serving Detroit with more local programming, and hosts who reflect and celebrate our community.”

• Station Excellence – Public Radio Group 2 (Large market category): “Bold Moves – 75 Years of Detroit Radio”, WDET Staff
• Best Membership Appeal: “WDET Farms”, WDET Production Staff
• Best Community Involvement: “MichMash Live”, Hernz Laguerre, Cheyna Roth, Zach Gorchow, Alethia Kasben
• Best Newscast: “WDET News 5:04 a.m. July 22, 2024”, Pat Batcheller
• Best Musical Programming: “In The Groove – Jack White World Premiere”, Ryan Patrick Hooper
• Merit Feature/Use of Medium: “Detroit Students Follow the Path of the Buffalo Soldiers in Yosemite”, Sascha Raiyn
• Merit Special Interest & Cultural Programming: “MichMash – Mackanac“, Cheyna Roth, Alethia Kasben, Hernz Laguerre
• Merit Musical Programming: “Modern Music Holiday Special”, Jon Moshier
• Merit Use of Multiplatform Media Promotional/Membership Materials: “Jack White Surprise Album Reveals Promotional Materials”, Ryan Patrick Hooper, Jenny Sherman, Dave Kim

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, the couple Drew & Ellie Holcomb each have their own musical careers, but came together for the first time to create new songs for their first album together called “Memory Bank.”

Also this week, legendary songwriter Bruce Cockburn live here in 1997, Mon Rovia from earlier this year in Nashville and more…

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for Apr. 6, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Martyr Moves” – Feist
• “Man On A Boat” – Lady Blackbird
• “Who Wants” – Jade Bird
• “Plans” – AHI
• “The Whole Night Sky” – Bruce Cockburn (1997 in-studio performance)
  
• “Chasing You” – Anderson East (2025 in-studio performance)
  
• “Rain Or Shine” – Drew & Ellie Holcomb (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guests)
• “Maybe You Will” – Drew & Ellie Holcomb (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guests)
• “Show You Love” – The Altons
• “Shimmering” – Joy Clark
• “Gravelweed” – Jason Isbell
• “Rust” – Mon Rovia (2025 in-studio performance)
  
• “Please Show Me” – Jalen Ngonda
• “Impossible People” – Matt Nathanson
• “Did I Dream It All” – Maya Delilah
• “Tin Cups” – ZZ Ward with Aloe Blacc
• “Oh What A Beautiful World” – Willie Nelson & Rodney Crowell
• “The Traveling Kind” – Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
  
• “Everything At Once” – Rodney Crowell (2023 in-studio performance)
  
• “Richmond On The James” – Alison Krauss & Union Station
  
• “Ghosts Are Weak” – The Devil Makes Three
• “High Seas” – Drew & Ellie Holcomb (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guests)
• “Shut Up And Dance” – Drew & Ellie Holcomb (Acoustic Cafe in-studio guests)

One of the few issues that often bridges the political divide is concern over the condition of the nation’s roads, rails and other infrastructure.

Those worries extend to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which grades U.S. infrastructure every four years.

The group’s most recent report card gives the nation a mediocre “C.” It rates Michigan’s infrastructure as being slightly worse than that.

But ASCE’s chair of the infrastructure report card project, Darren Olson, told WDET both Michigan and the country as a whole have improved in at least one area.

Listen: Darren Olson on why ASCE gave US infrastructure a ‘C’ grade

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Darren Olson, ASCE: Our highest grade was for ports. They received a “B.” They were initially very much impacted by the pandemic. We can remember those situations where all the goods were bottled up at ports. Then they had a lot of private and public sector investment into the ports. And after that initial shock to the system, we saw a lot of improvement in the ability for our ports to take in and move goods at a level right now that is really helping our national economy.

As a state, Michigan received a “C-.“ Just a little bit below the national average. Roads in Michigan have always been a very hot button topic. But there has been some recent investments in that area as well, the Rebuilding Michigan Program, the Building Michigan Together plan. So there has been some investment set to help the roads, although that is still in the “D” range. One of the other ones that we see, which is consistent with ratings nationally, is the storm water grade. Michigan’s storm water grade is a “D.” Part of it is because Mother Nature is throwing at us storm events that most of our infrastructure isn’t designed for. I think a year or two ago, the Detroit airport flooded severely because four or five inches of rain came down pretty quickly.

Our storm water infrastructure just isn’t designed to handle some of these increasingly severe rainfall events. That’s one of the huge recommendations of our report card, to make our infrastructure more resilient. We don’t want to design our infrastructure for what we might expect today, let’s design it for what we’ll be expecting in 20, 30, 40 years from now. Infrastructure investment is such a long game that it really makes sense to design and build it accordingly.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News:  You gave Michigan’s road infrastructure a “D” grade. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ran on the slogan, “Just fix the damn roads.” So from what you’re finding, the roads are not exactly getting fixed the way one would hope?

DO: There’s certainly progress being made. But what we see a lot of times, and what people maybe don’t understand so much about infrastructure, is that these projects take a long time. Nationally, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act came out in 2021. And Michigan has had some pretty strong funding mechanisms for large scale infrastructure planning. But infrastructure takes a long time to go from planning to design and permitting to the construction process. So there is progress being made in Michigan on the roads. Unfortunately, after we’ve been underinvesting for decades, it’s going to take time, both in Michigan and nationally, to turn this around and bring them a grade they’re all proud of.

QK: Some of these projects require federal funding. The Trump administration has frozen or withdrawn funds for a variety of items. Is that affecting efforts to improve the nation’s infrastructure or, in your view, might it be likely to impact it in the future?

DO: Well, I can’t really comment on whether some of the funding will come to fruition or not. But what I can say is we have seen an improvement in our nation’s infrastructure over the past four years because of federal investment. We are urging our lawmakers to continue that level of investment. We’ve come from a “C-“ to a “C” nationally. It’s going to take us a long time to get to a level where we can give a grade that we’re all proud of. But a key to get there, after decades of underinvesting, is to continue to invest like we are now and increase funding where necessary. We’ve got a state and local and private sector role to play in this as well. And I think when we bring all of those stakeholders together to help fund our infrastructure, there is improvement.

QK: Beyond roads and bridges and the like, your group also examined the infrastructure surrounding school facilities. How are the schools faring there?

DO: Schools are a very tough infrastructure category to analyze because so much of that is funded at the local level. Sometimes there’s just not a whole lot of data on what the status is of that funding and what the needs are of the schools. Unfortunately, it’s kind of ironic that schools which issue grades also got one of our lowest grades, a “D+.” That’s something that we would hope can get turned around in the next four years.

QK: When you say “D+” does that mean there’s poor investment in school buildings themselves or the heating, air, cooling units, or all of the above?

DO: All the infrastructure associated with schools as a category gets a “D.” That really means that it’s in poor condition and at risk. In fact, poor infrastructure overall is costing American families $2,700 a year. That’s money that we spend because of extra time and traffic congestion, which I’m sure Michigan is familiar with. When we have to buy bottled water because of a water main break or maybe have to throw out all of our groceries in the refrigerator because the power goes out. If we just invest like we are now, we will be saving American families $700 of that every year. That’s money they can put back into buying goods and services. Manufacturing, which is something that Michigan really relies on for employment, becomes much more efficient when we have good infrastructure. Manufacturing needs water, it needs roads, it needs ports. When we invest in those we see improvements in the infrastructure and we see our economy working more efficiently.

This week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music plays back some classic albums released in April of 1965, ’75, ’85, etc… also the new album from Brandi & Elton, stuff on the way from Wet Leg and Lord Huron, Detroit’s Crossword Smiles takes on Depeche Mode and more!

See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for Apr. 5, 2025

HOUR ONE:

• “A Taste Of Honey” – Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (released April 1965)
• “Nothing I Need” – Lord Huron
• “Best Guess” – Lucy Dacus
• “Iloveu4real” – Q
• “Puppets” – Crossword Smiles
  
• “Black Night” – Bob Seger (released April 1975)
• “Tamborine” – Prince (released April 1985)
• “This Is How We Do It” – Montell Jordan (released April 1995)
• “catch these fists” – Wet Leg
• “Clean Heart” – Perfume Genius
• “Actress” – Maya Delilah
  
• “Have Your Fun” – Maya Mendez
• “America” – Tracy Chapman
  
• “Wave Of Mutilation – Pixies (Frank Black turns 60)

• “No More No More” – Aerosmith (released April 1975)
• “Sisters” – Southern Avenue
• “Enough Is Enough” – The Hives
• “harvest sky” – oklou
• “Spitting Image” – Michigander
• “Landed” – Ben Folds (released April 2005)
• “Chocolate City” – Parliament (released April 1975)
• “Would I Lie To You” – Eurythmics (released April 1985)
• “Little Richard’s Bible” – Elton John & Brandi Carlile
• “Rain In The River”– Bruce Springsteen
• “Just Kissed My Baby” – Jon Cleary
• “Talkin’ Bout A Revolution” – Tracy Chapman

Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org.

A madly eclectic mix from some of my favorites, including Shigeto & Kesswa, Claude Fontaine, Karriem Riggins, Cousin Kula, Thandii and more, plus deep dives into Sonya Spence, George Benson, T. Rex and more.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for April 3, 2025

• “The Punch!” – Shigeto & Kesswa
• “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [Live]” – Talking Heads
• “Small Hours” – Claude Fontaine
• “Talk Love” – Sonya Spence
• “Affectionate Overture” – Karriem Riggins
• “Everything Is Everything” – Lauryn Hill
• “Zealots” – Fugees
• “Dirty Money” – Antibalas
• “Summer’s Comin’ Bébé” – Cousin Kula
• “Ozan Koukle (Remastered)” – Lafayette Afro Rock Band
• “It Only Takes 2” – Thandii
• “Burn” – Afriqua
• “Color My Life” – Chicano Batman
• “Take Five” – George Benson
• “Dance For You” – Dirty Projectors
• “Jewel” – T. Rex
• “Impossible Weight (feat. Sharon Van Etten)” – Deep Sea Diver
• “Nobody’s” – Touché Amoré
• “Heavy” – SPRINTS
• “Holiday Destination” – Nadine Shah
• “Damaged Goods” – Gang of Four
• “Helicopter” – Bloc Party
• “Pieces of the People We Love” – The Rapture
• “Bruce Willis (Noon Garden Remix)” – Japanese Television
• “Banana Heater” – Yam Yam
• “The Difference (Vocal Mix)” – Logic
• “Another Day” – Los Hermanos & Soul Saver
• “Liminal (feat. Tapiwa Svosve)” – Ahya Simone
• “Odessa” – Caribou
• “Cos-Ber-Zam Ne Noya (Daphni Mix)” – Daphni

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Eyes are glued to the NCAA’s March Madness, but there’s a different kind of March Madness going on in local government across Wayne County.  

Cities are wrapping up budget sessions and preparing for fiscal year 2025-26. 

Outlier Media, Bridge Detroit and Detroit Documenters have teamed up to cover all of the city’s 46 budget sessions in Detroit.  

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt spoke with Documenters Coordinator Noah Kincade and BridgeDetroit Reporter Kayleigh Lickliter.  

City budgets are the first glimpse at how officials are responding to residents’ concerns and the year ahead, Lichliter said.  A big part of budget session conversations this year is uncertainty surrounding federal funding going to cities. 

“I think for most cities, including Detroit, what they are looking to do is kind of reducing the reliance on federal funding.” Lichliter said. “And so fortunately, Detroit has a pretty stocked up rainy day fund.”

The last day for Detroit city council to vote on the budget is April 7 and it could be approved on April 15. 

The Detroit Documenters train and pay residents to cover local government meetings in southeast Michigan. You can hear conversations with the Detroit Documenters every Monday on The Metro. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Wayne State University announced Friday that a WSU alumnus has made a historic $50 million donation to its College of Engineering — the largest single gift made to the university in its 157-year history.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The donation from alumnus James Anderson and his wife, Patricia, will be used to improve faculty support in the College of Engineering, including doctoral fellowships, undergraduate student experiences and a dean’s fund to improve recruiting efforts for top faculty and Ph.D. students.

School officials are calling the gift “transformative,” allowing the university to “build on more than a century of engineering talent that created a culture of innovation in our city,” said WSU President Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy, in a news release.

The college has been renamed the James and Patricia Anderson College of Engineering in their honor.

James Anderson is the president and CEO of Urban Science, a leading automotive consultancy and technology firm headquartered in Detroit. In 2014, the Andersons established The James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute at WSU’s College of Engineering to help foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among students and faculty.

“Since my time as a student, and later a faculty member at Wayne State University, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of a quality STEM education in transforming lives, economies and communities,” Anderson said. “My wife, Patricia, and I are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to expand our commitment to this renowned institution.”

Other headlines for Friday, April 4, 2025:

• Bridge Michigan reports that two west Michigan housing projects — one to support those in drug recovery and the other for low-income workers — are in jeopardy because of funding cuts from the Trump administration.
• The Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind & Visually Impaired is hosting its “Life Beyond Sight” 5k Walk on Saturday, April 12, at The Lexus Velodrome in Detroit, in support of the agency’s essential programs.
• Detroit’s 23rd annual Greek Independence Day Parade has a new route due to construction, and will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 6 at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral on E. Lafayette Street before turning right on Beaubien Street.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has become the first major candidate to announce a run for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters.

This week on MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben sit down with Politico’s Deputy Editor, Zack Stanton, to discuss McMorrow’s chances of winning the race.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• McMorrow’s political career so far
• Potential Republican candidates joining the Michigan U.S. Senate race
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s national profile

McMorrow — a Democrat from Royal Oak — burst onto the state’s political scene in 2018, when as a first time candidate and relatively new Michigan resident, she was one of many people motivated to run for office after President Trump won in 2016.

She ran against a Republican incumbent in an area of Oakland County that never seemed likely to elect a Democrat, Gorchow noted. But, she won nonetheless, knocking out Republican Sen. Marty Knollenberg.

Now considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, McMorrow has proven herself to be a great communicator, and shows great potential in race, Stanton said.

“She is an enormously talented politician, and I think a lot of people in Washington, when they see her, they see a gifted natural athlete — there is something there that isn’t fully learned, it’s just there, it’s it. And she seems to have that,” he said. “The question now I think to a lot of people is ‘what could complicate her path,’ because she seems like far and away the strongest candidate in the field thus far.”

Stanton said that many Democrats are worried about Republicans flipping the seat after Trump won the state in 2024, and several close races in the November election led Republicans to a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Still, he said, “When you have someone like Mallory McMorrow jumping into the race, she really represents this shift in the Democratic party’s makeup.” 

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel have also expressed a possible interest in entering the race on the Democratic ticket, along with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed — who recently stepped down from his role as Wayne County health director as he considers a run for the seat.

On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers — who narrowly lost the 2024 U.S. Senate race against Democrat Elissa Slotkin, has hinted that he would run. Muskegon County businesswoman and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon has also expressed an interest in running.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• Michigan lawmaker Mallory McMorrow announces Democratic bid for US Senate
• Mallory McMorrow on her DNC speech, future priorities for the state
• Mallory McMorrow’s response to accusations of ‘grooming’ children propels state senator to national spotlight

Stock markets worldwide are careening even lower Friday after China matched President Donald Trump’s big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war.

Not even a better-than-expected report on the U.S. job market, which is usually the economic highlight of each month, was enough to stop the slide.

Trump’s 25% tariff on imported vehicles — which the administration says will help foster domestic manufacturing — is likely to both drive up auto prices and force automakers that rely on global supply chains to rethink what and where vehicles are being made.

Stellantis has already laid off 900 workers at plants in Michigan and Indiana after pausing production at some of its assembly plants in Mexico and Canada.

Patrick Anderson, CEO of East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, told WDET that he thinks Trump’s tariffs will cause Michigan’s economy to tank. 

“For the lowest tariff cost vehicles we expect prices to go up somewhere between $2,500 and $5,000 per car,” Anderson said. “For a lot of mid-priced cars (it will go up) $5,000, $8,000, $10,000.”

Anderson said Michigan’s close ties to the auto industry are a good thing. However, it also makes us more vulnerable to recessions.

“Also, in this case, (more vulnerable to) a huge U-turn in terms of trade policy,” he added. “(Now) that’s being undertaken by the Trump administration, which has very negative effects on our ability to build cars and sell cars here in Michigan and in other states.”

As long as the tariffs are in place, he says it’s not likely to get better.

“I don’t see any upside to higher tariffs for states like Michigan any time in the next…year,” Anderson said. “You might get some production to move to some plants, but you’re already seeing — and this is just in days — reductions in employment.”

The cratering stock market — in addition to the tariffs — feeds into itself and makes things even worse.

“You’re seeing a huge toll on people’s retirement savings that affects whether or not they’re going to buy cars,” Anderson said.

And if higher prices lead to a drop in sales and manufacturing, the state and region will drop into an avoidable collapse, he said.

“Because you can’t take this much of a, really a baseball bat to auto sales, if that’s your leading industry, and not expect there to be employment losses.”

Auto companies are also navigating the reversal of fuel economy standards, dialed down greenhouse gas emission standards and a host of electric vehicle policy rollbacks.

Associated Press writers Stan Choe, Alexa St. John and Paul Wiseman contributed to this report.