The Montreal Victoire defeated the New York Sirens 3-1 on Saturday in Detroit in a historic game for the Professional Women's Hockey League.

The game, part of the PWHL Takeover Tour, was the league's first nationally-televised game on linear television thanks to a partnership with Scripps Sports and Ally Financial.

It was also the fourth PWHL Takeover Tour game at Little Caesars Arena, and the second this year. Detroit is now the first city to host four neutral-site PWHL games.

Fans at Little Caesars Arena were loud throughout the game, showing off signs that said the city wants a PWHL team, and cheering for both the Sirens and Victoire.

The Sirens got on the board first with a goal from Casey O'Brien midway through the first period. The game stayed 1-0 after a goal Sirens goal was reversed on review.

In the third period, the Victoire turned up the offensive pressure and scored three goals two from Catherine Dubois and one from Laura Stacey.

This is the last PWHL Takeover Tour game in Detroit this season.

After weighing arguments for two months, a federal judge in Fort Myers has issued an opinion in the Alligator Alcatraz civil rights case.

Judge Sheri Polster Chappell ordered the facility, which is run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, to publish its policy allowing attorneys to show up without scheduling a visit and see their client.

Judge orders changes at Alligator Alcatraz including better legal access to detainees

Alligator Alcatraz officials testified in January that the policy allowing unscheduled legal visits had been in place since November, but the policy had never been published and was not widely known to most detainees and their attorneys, who sued the state and federal government last summer, arguing that the lack of access violated their First Amendment rights.

RELATED STORY | 'Alligator Alcatraz' 2.0: Second migrant detention center planned in Florida Everglades

She also ruled that the facility must provide detainees with access to timely, free, confidential, unmonitored, unrecorded outgoing legal calls. They must have one operable phone for every 25 detainees at Alligator Alcatraz. Immigration attorneys and families of detainees have previously told me that detainees can only make outgoing calls on the monitored phones that are in their sleeping area. Theyve said there are typically 2-4 of these phones available inside a cage where dozens of men are held together, and calls are sometimes cut off.

Polster Chappell wrote that the facility must post and publish these policy changes regarding attorney-client communication in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

"Defendants may continue operating alligator Alcatraz, and ICE may continue to deport illegal aliens," the judge wrote. "But they must do so by respecting the most basic constitutional rights."

This article was produced by Jamie Ostroff for the Scripps News Group in West Palm Beach.

With spring break in full swing, airline passengers continued to wait it out at major U.S. airports after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration officers aimed at alleviating long security lines.

Trump's executive order on Friday instructed the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately, although it's unclear when the impact of that move will start to be felt at airports.

The signing came at a busy travel time of the year, with spring breaks at school districts and colleges and the upcoming Passover and Easter holidays.

RELATED STORY | TSA may now get paid, but Congress is still deadlocked on the root problem

Betty Mitchell arrived at Philadelphia International Airport at 12:30 a.m. Saturday for a 5 a.m. flight to visit family, but she said the airline desk did not open until 3 a.m. Once it did, there was a sudden influx of passengers to squeeze into the TSA screening lines.

All at once it became a mad house, Mitchell said.

She waited nearly three hours to get through.

It was crazy long lines, she said. Never have I seen it that long. If the airlines work with TSA in these trouble(d) times, maybe it would help the public.

Whats the current situation on the ground?

Some passengers with very early flights on Saturday reported having little problem getting through airport security lines. But that may have been an anomaly. Others at some of the busiest airports wrote on social media that security lines were growing exponentially longer by the hour.

We have not previously experienced checkpoint wait times similar to what we are seeing this morning, Baltimore-Washington International Airport said in a post Saturday on the social platform X. BWI officials recommended travelers arrive four hours before their scheduled departure time.

When will TSA employees be paid?

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said TSA personnel could get paid as soon as Monday, a relief for workers who have gone without pay since Feb. 14.

While that is welcome news to many, it remains to be seen whether that promise materializes on schedule and if it brings an immediate end to snaking lines at airports.

Caleb Harmon-Marshall, a former TSA officer who runs a travel newsletter called Gate Access, said the staffing crisis wont improve significantly until officers are confident that they wont be subjected to more skipped paychecks.

RELATED STORY | Homan says ICE will help fill TSA shortages at airports as travel delays persist

If its only for a pay period, thats not enough to bring them back, Harmon-Marshall said. It has to be an extended pay for them to come back or want to stay there.

He estimates longer lines could linger for another week or two.

How soon will this help with airport delays?

Its hard to tell. Airports that had passengers standing in screening lines that clogged check-in areas or showing up far too early for their flights will need to decide whether to reopen checkpoints or expedite service lanes they closed or consolidated due to inadequate staffing.

A handful of airports experienced daily TSA officer call-out rates of 40%. Nationwide on Thursday, more than 11.8% of the TSA employees on the schedule missed work, the most so far, DHS said Friday.

Nearly 500 of the agency's nearly 50,000 officers have quit since the shutdown started, according to DHS.

How do I monitor wait times before my flight?

Check airport conditions early and often, including official websites and social media accounts where airports share timely updates and guidance, according to experts.

Many airports on Saturday urged passengers to allow at least four hours for both domestic and international screenings.

Wait times can change quickly based on passenger volume and TSA staffing, according to an advisory posted Saturday morning on the website of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Wait times listed on the MyTSA mobile app may not be accurate because TSA isnt actively managing its sites during the shutdown. On third-party websites that track TSA lines, estimated wait times could be outdated during the shutdown if they rely on publicly available data, experts say.

A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to protect former first lady Jill Biden accidentally shot himself in the leg at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, authorities said.

Biden was not in the area when the agent was injured during a negligent discharge of his firearm Friday morning, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told The Associated Press. According to initial reports, the agent was traveling in an unmarked car when he accidentally discharged his gun shortly before 9 a.m., said Philadelphia Police Officer Tanya Little.

RELATED STORY | Secret Service agent under investigation for trying to bring his wife on trip

Other law enforcement officers came to assist the injured agent, who was taken to a local hospital. He is being treated for his injuries and was in stable condition, Guglielmi said.

Airport operations were not affected, said Heather Redfern, public affairs manager for the city's Department of Aviation.

Organizers of Saturday's No Kings rallies across the country are predicting that the protests against the actions of President Donald Trump and his administration could add up to one of the largest demonstrations in U.S. history, with Minnesota taking center stage.

Organizers say more than 3,100 events have been registered in all 50 states, with more than 9 million people expected to participate.

And theyve designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul as the national flagship event, in recognition of how the state where federal agents fatally shot two people who were monitoring Trump's immigration crackdown became an epicenter of resistance.

RELATED STORY | 'No Kings Day' rallies under way across the US and Europe, with millions expected to join

Headlining that observance will be Bruce Springsteen, performing Streets of Minneapolis, which he wrote in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter. Springsteen's Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour, which has a No Kings theme, kicks off Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Minnesota organizers have told state officials they expect 100,000 people could converge on the Capitol grounds, where last Junes event drew an estimated 80,000 people.

The St. Paul rally will also feature singer Joan Baez, actor Jane Fonda, Sen. Bernie Sanders and a long list of other activists, labor leaders and elected officials.

The White House dismissed the nationwide protests as the product of leftist funding networks with little real public support.

The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

RELATED STORY | 'No Kings' protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide

Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, from Europe to Latin America to Australia, Ezra Levin, a co-executive director of Indivisible, a group spearheading the events, said in an interview. Countries with constitutional monarchies call the protests No Tyrants, he said.

For those unable to attend in person, another activist group, Stand Up For Science, is hosting a virtual and accessible event online.

On Saturday morning in Paris, several hundred people, mostly Americans living in France, along with French labor unions and human rights organizations, gathered at the Bastille.

I protest all of Trumps illegal, immoral, reckless, and feckless, endless wars, Ada Shen, the Paris No Kings organizer, said. It is clear he doesnt really have a plan. It is clearly that the abuse of power is the point. It is very clear that he is a strong man who is abusing the authority vested in him by the American people as our elected president.

National organizers told reporters in an online news conference Thursday that they expect Saturday's protests to be larger than the first two rounds of No Kings rallies, which they estimate drew more than 5 million people in June and more than 7 million in October.

This administrations actions are angering not just Democratic voters or folks in big blue city centers they are crossing a line for people in red and rural areas, in the suburbs, all over the country," said Leah Greenberg, the other co-executive director of Indivisible. "The defining story of this Saturdays mobilization is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting,"

Two-thirds of the RSVPs have come from outside of major urban centers, Greenberg said, listing registration surges in conservative-leaning states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota and Louisiana, as well in competitive suburban areas of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.

"Millions of us are rising up from all walks of life, from rural communities to big cities at No Kings, said Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn, another major organizer. And as we do so, we will send the loudest, clearest message yet that this country does not belong to kings, dictators, tyrants. It belongs to us.

More than two months after a medical emergency aboard the International Space Station abruptly ended his crews mission, astronaut Michael Fincke still doesnt know what caused his sudden illness.

Fincke said he experienced a brief period in which he was unable to speak, describing the episode as something that came out of the blue.

We were getting ready for a spacewalk on Jan. 8, and the evening before we had just met with the doctors, he said. I was feeling super. Everyone was feeling super. And then I wasnt.

Four crew members returned to Earth in January after their five-month mission was cut short. NASA did not comment on the severity of the medical issue, citing privacy concerns.

RELATED STORY | NASA announces ambitious plans for a space station on the moon

Fincke said he was eating dinner when he suddenly could not talk.

My crewmates saw I was in distress and immediately started taking care of me, he said. One of the Russian crewmates went to get the others, and it was all hands on deck within seconds.

Within moments, flight doctors on the ground were looped in via video and guided the crew through initial diagnostic tests.

Unlike on Earth, there are no hospitals in space. NASA stocks medical supplies aboard the station, but they are minimal compared to what is available on the ground.

I did my own echocardiogramwe have ultrasounds thereand it looked like I did not have a heart attack, Fincke said. We ran a few other tests to rule out some big issues. Eventually, we felt comfortable saying we didnt know what was going on, but to rule out serious possibilities, we needed to come back to Earth.

During their mission, the crew marked the 25th anniversary of continuous operations on the ISS and completed more than 140 experiments.

RELATED STORY |First medical evacuation from International Space Station brings crew safely home

Fincke believes his sudden illness may have been linked to prolonged exposure to microgravity.

He hopes the experience will help NASA develop strategies to keep astronauts safe during longer missions.

The incident comes as NASA prepares to send a crew on a lunar flyby, potentially as soon as this week. The Artemis program is designed to pave the way for a crewed mission to Mars a journey that could keep astronauts away from Earth for years.

Its a really interesting time right now, Fincke said. As we prepare to spend more time on the moon and Mars, the space station is showing its value in low Earth orbit, helping us understand how humans and microgravity interact.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about potentially contaminated Raw Farm-brand raw cheddar cheese after nine illnesses were reported in California, Texas and Florida.

The illnesses may be tied to Raw Farm block and shredded cheddar cheeses, the FDA said. Those who became ill showed symptoms of E. coli, and three were hospitalized. Eight patients reported consuming raw milk products, including seven who said they used Raw Farm products.

The FDA said Raw Farm declined to voluntarily remove its products from store shelves. Although federal testing has not detected E. coli in the brands cheddar cheeses, the agency noted that lab analysis of isolates from sick patients showed they were closely related genetically, indicating a likely common source of infection.

RELATED STORY | The top 5 recalled products that might still be in your house

Raw Farm President Aaron McAfee said company testing also found no E. coli in its cheese. He added that the company is cooperating with the FDA investigation.

We want them to see what we have, that all of our cheese is negative, McAfee said.

Democratic members of the congressional Food Safety Caucus have urged the FDA to take action to remove the products from shelves.

The FDA recommended that Raw Farm voluntarily remove its raw cheese products from sale after they determined it was the likely source of an ongoing E. coli outbreak, caucus members said. Raw Farm refused. We have one message for Raw Farm and FDA: Get it off the shelves now.

RELATED STORY | Trader Joe's recall expands to millions of pounds of vegetable fried rice

Raw Farm does not pasteurize its dairy products. The FDA advises against consuming unpasteurized milk, noting that pasteurization is a proven process with a 100-year history of protecting public health and is effective at eliminating bacteria that can cause illness.

Federal regulations allow cheese made from raw milk if it is aged for at least 60 days.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed a missile launch toward Israel early Saturday, their first since the war in the Middle East started. The Israeli military said it intercepted the projectile.

The war, now marking its one-month anniversary, erupted after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, which retaliated with strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states. The conflict has upended global air travel, disrupted oil exports and caused fuel prices to soar. Irans stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway, has also exacerbated the economic fallout of the war.

Israel struck Irans nuclear facilities hours after threatening to escalate and expand its campaign against Tehran on Friday. Iran vowed to retaliate and struck a base in Saudi Arabia, wounding more than a dozen U.S. service members and damaging planes.

RELATED STORY | Iran war diverts US attention as Russia launches spring offensive in Ukraine

Before Saturdays attack, there appeared to be a breakthrough as Tehran agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the strait.

Houthi involvement could further complicate the war

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, said in a statement aired Saturday morning on the rebels' Al-Masirah satellite television that the Houthis fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting what he described as sensitive Israeli military sites in southern Israel. The attack came hours after Saree signaled in a vague statement Friday that the rebels would join the war.

Sirens went off around Israels southern city of Beer Sheba and the area near Israels main nuclear research center as Iran and Hezbollah continued to fire on Israel overnight. Loud explosions also filled the air in Tel Aviv and Israels Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to 11 different impact sites across the metro area.

Saturday's assault calls into question whether the Houthis will again target commercial shipping traveling through the Red Sea corridor, as they did during the Israel-Hamas war, upending traffic in the Red Sea through which about $1 trillion worth of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels also fired drones at Israel.

The potential involvement of the Houthis in the war would also complicate the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the aircraft carrier that first went to port in Crete for repairs and on to Split, Croatia, where it arrived on Saturday. Sending the carrier back into the Red Sea could draw it into the same high tempo of attacks seen by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2024 and the USS Harry S. Truman in the 2025 American campaign against the Houthis.

The Houthis have held Yemens capital, Sanaa, since 2014, and so far had stayed out of the war as the rebels have had an uneasy ceasefire for years with Saudi Arabia, which launched a war against the group on behalf of Yemens exiled government in 2015.

More than two dozen US troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi base in the past week, AP sources say

More than two dozen U.S. troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabias Prince Sultan Air Base in the past week, according to two people who have been briefed on the matter. Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at the base in the Friday attack that injured at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to the sources who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The base, about 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, came under attack twice earlier in the week, including a strike that wounded 14 U.S. troops, according to the people briefed on the matter. The base is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force but is also used by U.S. troops.

Attempts at diplomacy as US troops build up in the Mideast

The latest attacks happened after Trump claimed that talks on ending the war were going very well and that he had given Tehran until April 6 to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran maintains that it has not engaged in any negotiations.

With the economic repercussions from the war extending far beyond the Middle East, Trump is under growing pressure to end Irans chokehold on the strait.

Pakistan said Saturday Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will send their top diplomats to Islamabad for talks aimed at ending the war.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a statement that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Turkeys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egypts Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will arrive Sunday for a two-day visit to hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.

RELATED STORY | Iranian strike wounds at least 10 US troops and damages planes at Saudi air base, official says

Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday he spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for more than an hour, holding extensive discussions on regional hostilities and efforts aimed at end the war.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has said Washington delivered a 15-point action list to Iran for a possible ceasefire, with a proposal to restrict Irans nuclear program and reopen the strait. Tehran rejected the proposal and presented its own five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the waterway.

Meanwhile, U.S. ships drew closer to the region carrying some 2,500 Marines, and at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne trained to land in hostile territory to secure key positions and airfields have been ordered to the Middle East.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops.

Death toll climbs

Iranian authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed in the Islamic Republic, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.

In Lebanon, where Israel has started an invasion in the south, officials said more than 1,100 people have been killed since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, at least 13 U.S. troops have been reported killed, while in Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have died.

In the Gulf states, 20 people have been killed and four others in the occupied West Bank.

The U.N.s International Organization for Migration also said Friday that 82,000 civilian buildings in Iran, including hospitals and the homes of 180,000 people, were damaged.

Israel strikes Iranian nuclear facilities

Israel focused its attacks Friday on sites in the heart of Tehran where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced, the military said. It said it also hit missile launchers and storage sites in Western Iran, while witnesses in eastern Tehran reported a partial power outage following airstrikes.

Irans Atomic Energy Organization said the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted, IRNA reported. The strikes did not cause casualties and there was no risk of contamination, it said.

Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after impurities are removed from the raw ore. Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.

The Israeli military later said raw materials are processed for enrichment at the Yazd plant and the strike was a major blow to Iran's nuclear program. Tehran vowed to retaliate.

Possible breakthrough to allow aid and agricultural shipments through Hormuz

Iran agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following a request from the United Nations.

Ali Bahreini, the countrys ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said Iran agreed to facilitate and expedite such movement.

The vital waterway usually handles a fifth of the worlds oil shipments and nearly a third of the worlds fertilizer trade. While markets and governments have largely focused on blocked supplies of oil and natural gas, the restriction of fertilizer ingredients and trade threatens farming and food security around the world.

WASHINGTON (AP) Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 points, Alex Karaban added 17, and both made pressure-packed free throws in the final minute that helped second-seeded UConn hold off third-seeded Michigan State 67-63 in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.

The Huskies (32-5) led 63-62 when Karaban was fouled with 22.5 seconds remaining. He made both ends of a one-and-one to give UConn a three-point lead, and after Michigan State was unable to find a quick shot, Kur Teng's 3-pointer missed.

A foul was called on the Huskies on the rebound with 4.6 seconds remaining. Carson Cooper made the first for Michigan State. He missed the second it did not appear to be intentional and Reed rebounded. His two free throws effectively sealed the win.

UConn advances to a true heavyweight clash in Sunday's final of the NCAA Tournament's East Region against top-seeded Duke.

Michigan State (27-8) overcame an early 19-point deficit but bowed out on a night the Spartans shot just 4 of 16 from 3-point range.

The four teams that arrived in Washington this week have combined for 13 national titles, so it was no surprise that both games Friday were pulsating. Dukes 80-75 win over St. Johns in the opener came down to the last few seconds.

It looked at first like the second game wouldnt. Malachi Smith, Solo Ball and Jaylin Stewart combined for four 3-pointers during a 15-1 run that put UConn up 25-6. The Spartans had to clamp down defensively over the final three minutes just to trail 35-27 at halftime.

Michigan State scored the first seven points of the second, but the Huskies pushed back. After a steal and dunk by Reed put UConn back up by six, Huskies coach Dan Hurley began waving his arms wildly at the fans behind his bench, exhorting them to be louder.

The Spartans didnt waver. A three-point play by Jaxon Kohler with 10:06 to play put Michigan State up 45-44.

A short scoring draught by the Spartans allowed UConn to take a 56-49 on a driving layup by Ball, but it stayed tight until the end. The Huskies led 58-57 when Karaban made a 3. Jeremy Fears Jr. answered from beyond the arc for Michigan State to cut the lead to one.

Reed made two free throws with 44.8 seconds to play, and Fears made two with 32.3 remaining.

Up next

Michigan State: Cooper and Kohler are both seniors, but coach Tom Izzo is showing little sign of slowing down at this stage of his career.

UConn: The Huskies' matchup with Duke might feel more like a Final Four game. In fact, they met in the 1999 title game, with UConn winning.

___

AP March Madness bracket:

https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket

and coverage:

https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

A surge in youth violence in Detroit last summer, which included the fatal shooting of a 4-year-old at a park, has sparked a new program aimed at preventing violence before it happens.

Organizers launched a Community Violence Intervention, or CVI, youth flag football league to keep at-risk youth engaged and teach them long-term skills.

Watch Christiana Ford's video report below: Detroit youth flag football league launched by Community Violence Intervention groups

"We think one life lost is too many," organizers said.

Cierra Renee with nonprofit FORCE Detroit said the violence last summer prompted the groups to take action.

"Last summer was heartbreaking. We had so many violent incidents around our youth. We said this summer, we have to be proactive and make sure we have things that are leading up to the summer, so that they can be engaged and be ready," Renee said.

Each CVI team Team Pursuit, Detroit Friends and Family, Live in Peace, Detroit 300 and The Peoples Action will have their own group of 20 players ages 11 to 17. The league consists of at-risk youth that many of the organizers have already been working with.

Pastor Maurice "Mo" Hardwick, leader of the Live in Peace Movement, says the league provides an additional dedicated time to focus on the youth.

"Coming here and breaking bread with them, talking to them. We have all kind of interventions, all type of things we do with them, but being in sports, having a moment like this where we take aside our day, our Friday evening and make this all about them," Hardwick said.

The goal is to not only keep the youth busy over the summer but to teach them long-term skills.

"We were very intentional about building a curriculum, where were going to focus about themes every week while theyre in practice. They're going to take time out and really learn about conflict resolution, emotional health. We're gonna learn about grounding," Renee said.

Keontae Alexander, 17, said the CVI group Live in Peace intervened when he was about to get into an altercation.

"It was this one day, Im at the park, I was up there about to fight and they were up there and they grabbed me and they pulled me to the side and they talked to me," Alexander said.

Alexander said the group never left his side.

"My life changed 100% around all thanks to LIP," Alexander said. "I feel like this is most definitely gonna keep me off the streets and keep me occupied, give me something to do."

Markell Windham, 14, is participating with the CVI group Team Pursuit and said he can hardly wait to start. His mentors have already bonded him out of juvenile detention, got him back on track and helped him return to school.

"Its good and its very motivating like itll push you to do stuff you dont even think youll be able to do," Windham said.

Games are Friday nights at the Chandler Park Fieldhouse.

Related video: Cass Tech hosts Detroit's first indoor field lacrosse game at new Chandler Park Fieldhouse Cass Tech hosts Detroit's first indoor field lacrosse game at new Chandler Park Fieldhouse

Organizers hope the league serves as a long-term strategy to protect youth in the city.

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

A 2-year-old is safe after being inside a car that was repossessed in Detroit on Friday.

Detroit police say as soon as the repo driver was notified the toddler was in the car, he turned around and the child was reunited with their mother.

Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report below: Detroit toddler safe after being accidentally towed inside a repossessed car

I learned the driver who took the car was with the company Bulldog Recovery. I stopped by the business and spoke to the driver off camera. He told me he looked inside the car, but the windows were so dark he did not see a child inside. He also told me the child was covered in a blanket.

Jenny Liagre is the owner of Rockwood Recovery in Roseville and the past president of the Michigan Association of Repossession Agencies. She spoke to the driver who took the car with the toddler inside.

"He did his due diligence. He did exactly what he was trained to do. He followed protocol to a T," Liagre said.

"He is a seasoned vet. He knows what hes doing. He did everything he was supposed to do," Liagre said.

"The first thing the agent is going to do is check the VIN on the vehicle to make sure he has the right vehicle and then hes going to check the inside of the vehicle to make sure there was no one inside the vehicle as well," Liagre continued. "If those windows werent as dark as they were, he wouldve noticed that there was a child in that vehicle."

Liagre said the driver from Bulldog Recovery told her he is happy the child is safe.

"He said he pulled over about four or five different times just to make sure the kid was OK and luckily, the child was sleep for the entire ride," Liagre said.

Earlier this month, a 13-month-old child was found alive inside a locked car at an impound lot in Eastpointe nearly two days after the car was towed from a Harper Woods street. The childs father was arrested and has since been charged with child abuse.

Related story: Father charged after toddler found trapped in locked impounded car for nearly 2 days Father charged after toddler found trapped in locked impounded car

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.

CHICAGO (AP) Yaxel Lendeborg had 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a dazzling all-around performance, and Michigan beat Alabama 90-77 on Friday night to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.

Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau each scored 17 points as top-seeded Michigan set a school record with its 34th win of the season. Roddy Gayle Jr. finished with 16 points.

Led by McKenney and Gayle, the Wolverines (34-3) enjoyed a 33-6 advantage in bench points. But the versatile Lendeborg was the star of the show as his team grabbed control in the second half.

Next up for the Wolverines is Sunday's Midwest Region final against the winner of Tennessee-Iowa State.

Labaron Philon Jr. scored 35 points for fourth-seeded Alabama, which reached the Elite Eight each of the previous two years. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 15 points.

Alabama (25-10) was once again without star guard Aden Holloway, who missed the school's tournament run after he was suspended indefinitely following a March 16 arrest on felony drug charges.

Even without Holloway, the Crimson Tide stayed right with the Wolverines for much of the up-tempo matchup of two of the tournament's highest scoring teams. But everything changed when Lendeborg, the Big Ten player of the year, started to assert himself at the beginning of the second half.

___

AP March Madness bracket:

https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket

and coverage:

https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Attorneys for Georgia's Fulton County and President Donald Trump's administration squared off in court Friday over the county's demand that the FBI return seized ballots and other materials from the 2020 election.

Abbe Lowell, representing Fulton County, repeatedly called the January seizure unusual because it involved an old election and allegations that have already been investigated in the years since Donald Trump, a Republican, lost the county and the state to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Lowell suggested that the Trump administration seized the materials because it grew impatient with the pace of litigation the Justice Department filed to obtain them last year. He said the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant failed to allege any specific crime or accuse anyone of intentionally committing any wrongdoing.

There's nothing to support that there's an ongoing investigation that matters, Lowell told U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, arguing that the federal government should return the seized documents.

A. Tysen Duva, the assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division, dismissed disputes over the grounds for the seizure as posturing.

Is there a predicate reason to perform this investigation? Of course there is, he said. He argued that the fact that other investigations had raised concerns, even if they hadn't found evidence of intentional wrongdoing.

Just because all of these other entities say one thing doesn't mean the FBI can't investigate, he said.

Lawyers for the federal government said the Justice Department had already provided Fulton County with digital copies of everything taken and needs to retain physical copies to carry out its own investigation.

RELATED STORY | FBI executes search warrant at Fulton County elections office near Atlanta

Trump's actions alarm Democrats and election officials

The Jan. 28 seizure from a warehouse near Atlanta targeted the elections hub in Georgia's most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of Atlanta. Fulton County has been at the center of unfounded claims by Trump and his allies that widespread election fraud cost him reelection.

The FBI's move was among several actions by the Trump administration that have alarmed Democrats and many election officials who are concerned it's using law enforcement to pursue the president's personal grievances and is planning ways to interfere in this year's midterm elections. The FBI also used a subpoena earlier this month to obtain records related to an audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona, another battleground state Trump lost that year.

At the same time, the Justice Department is fighting numerous states in court for access to voter data that includes sensitive personal information. Election officials, including some Republicans, have said handing over the information would violate state and federal privacy laws.

RELATED NEWS | Georgia officials challenge legality of FBI raid on Fulton County election offices

Justice Department says it's investigating 2020 irregularities

Lawyers for Fulton County argued that the seizure of its documents demonstrates callous disregard for the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Justice Department attorneys argued that preparing a detailed affidavit and presenting it to a judge shows they clearly didn't show callous disregard for those constitutional rights. The county is just upset that the documents were taken, Duva said.

The Justice Department has said it is investigating irregularities that occurred during the 2020 presidential election in the County and identified two laws that might have been violated. One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots.

A court filing said the FBI is looking into whether Fulton County properly retained ballot images; whether some ballots were scanned and counted multiple times; whether unfolded, unmailed ballots were counted as mail-in absentee ballots; and potential irregularities concerning tabulator tapes from the scanners used to count ballots.

Fulton County's lawyers argued that the deficiencies or defects in the county's handling of the 2020 election cited in the affidavit are the kinds of human errors that commonly occur without any intentional wrongdoing and cannot establish probable cause.

Election tech expert explains alleged problems

To support their claims, Fulton County officials called Ryan Macias, an election technology and security expert who advised the county during the 2020 election, to testify. He said the affidavit contains many false or misleading statements and isn't grounded in reality. He offered explanations for the alleged deficiencies.

Duva questioned Macias about his knowledge of criminal investigation procedures, eliciting admissions that it was not his area of expertise.

Investigations by the Georgia secretary of state and independent reviews contradict the core allegations of the affidavit, which relies on witnesses who lack credibility and have biases that weren't disclosed to the magistrate judge, Lowell argued.

Georgia's votes in the 2020 presidential race were counted three times, including once by hand, and each count affirmed Biden's win.

Duva rejected the idea that the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit misled the judge, noting that the affidavit included investigative findings that disputed some of what witnesses had said. He also asserted that a lapse of the statute of limitations on the potential crimes does not negate probable cause.

The Justice Department also noted that a federal magistrate judge reviewed the FBI affidavit and signed off on the search warrant. Fulton County sought to have the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit testify at Fridays hearing, but the Justice Department objected and the judge sided with the federal government.

On Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration employees. This move comes after Congress failed to agree on funding the Department of Homeland Security.

According to the executive order, TSA employees are now to be paid with other funds and payments could go out as early as Monday.

Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below: Detroit Metro travelers head to spring break as Trump signs TSA pay order

It's pending relief for TSA agents and travelers, with spring break travel in full swing. For Jenna Elliotts family, getting through Detroit Metro Airport on Friday was smooth sailing.

"We checked in advance what DTW was looking like for the TSA lines, and it looked normal. So, we really didnt allow any extra time," she explained.

She and her kids, Ben and Ruby, are heading south for a milestone trip on their spring break.

"We going to Dallas, Texas for our first time ever. Weve never been to Texas before," Elliott told 7 News Detroit.

They aren't the only ones chasing the sun. Denise Klimaszewski and her family are headed to Miami for a spring break cruise. She said she had a backup plan just in case the TSA funding freeze stalled the security checkpoints.

"We were planning on driving if it was going to be really bad, but Im very grateful its not," Klimaszewski said.

Related video: Trump signs memo ordering paychecks for TSA workers Trump signs memorandum directing payment for TSA workers

The Young family also played it safe by arriving early to beat any potential gridlock. They, too, relied on technology.

"The app lets us know how long we might be in line, Erica Young said.

Despite their preparation, they hit a different kind of snag.

"I just found out my plane is delayed," Anthony Young chuckled.

Its unclear exactly why that flight was held up, but theyre taking it in stride as travel woes continue at airports nationwide. While DTW appears to have avoided the nightmare lines for now, the people behind the scanners are feeling a much tighter squeeze.

TSA employees have been working without a paycheck for over 40 days now.

"We officers live paycheck to paycheck. The bills are not taking a break from this," Gregory Simpkins, a TSA agent and the president of AFGE Local 778, said.

He said while the political maneuvering continues in Washington, the reality on the ground in Detroit is much more urgent.

"I do understand what Congress is trying to do. I do understand the reason behind it. But my people who are standing behind me dont understand. OK, so Im their advocate. I want us to be paid immediately. But in the meantime, Im telling my folks to come to work until they cant come to work," Simpkins explained.

"Hopefully, when we come back next week, everything will be cleared up," Klimaszewski said.

Simpkins said the union is holding a food bank this Monday, March 30 and Tuesday, March 31. It's happening from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Local 900 UAW hall in Wayne. The address is 38200 Michigan Avenue, Wayne, MI.

He said the public is welcome to come by, support and donate non-perishable food items.

Gas cards with a $20 limit will be given to TSA agents.

The union is also accepting donations from the public in the form of gift cards to stores and restaurants to help agents stay afloat. The value can be up to $20 for the gift cards. However, they are not accepting Visa gift cards and they are not accepting cash.

Alisyn Camerota reconnects with longtime colleague Don Lemon for a deeply personal and wide-ranging conversation about grief, reinvention, and what it means to keep going when life changes overnight.

Don opens up about the devastating loss of his sister, how grief reshaped his outlook, and why its made him more fearless than ever. They also discuss his departure from CNN, the realities of independent media, and the growing pressures facing journalists today. Recorded just one week before federal agents arrested Don related to his reporting in Minneapolis, the conversation also reveals his early concerns about being targetedand what that says about the state of journalism in America.

This is a side of Don Lemon you rarely see: candid, vulnerable, and unfiltered.

The FAA lifted ground stops at five major Northeast airports Friday evening, after briefly closing traffic to each due to environmental issues.

The FAA grounded departures to Baltimore-Washington International, Charlottesville-Albemarle, Ronald Reagan Washington National, Washington Dulles International and Richmond International airports.

The FAA cited an environmental trigger in its ground stop alerts.

All ground stops had been lifted by 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday.

According to reporting from CNN, the disruption caused an evacuation at the region's key traffic control office.

EARLIER THIS MONTH | FAA lifts ground stops after 'strong chemical smell' affects Potomac air traffic controller facility

That office is the same one that was affected earlier in March by "a strong chemical smell" that disrupted flight controllers and caused brief ground stops at many of the same airports.

Scripps News has not yet independently confirmed the cause of Friday's disruption.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

On Sunday, March 29, Spotlight on the News will take viewers inside the intricacies, history, and politics of the Iran War. Wayne State University Professors Howard Lupovitch and Saeed Khan provide insightful analysis of the Middle East conflict which has the United Sates, Iran, Israel, and other countries in the world engaged in a military chess match.

Spotlight on the News, now in its 61st season, is Michigan's longest-running weekly news and public affairs television program. It airs every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 in Detroit, is streamed live on wxyz.com and broadcast at 11:30 a.m. on 23.1 WKAR-HD in East Lansing.

Gold is no longer just a commodityit may be signaling a major shift in the global financial system. In this episode, Danny breaks down the history of gold and why its re-emerging as a critical asset in todays economy.

From central banks stockpiling gold to growing concerns around U.S. debt, inflation, and global conflict, the signals are getting harder to ignore. Danny is joined by macro strategist Luke Gromen, who explains why countries like China and Russia are moving away from the dollar, how gold is becoming a neutral reserve asset, and what that means for the future of markets.

They also dive into the economic ripple effects of the war in Iran, rising oil prices, and why the U.S. may be approaching a financial breaking point. Plus, Danny shares his latest Kalshi Picks ahead of The Masters.

Michigan has named the wood duck as the state's very first official duck, a bird that turns heads with its rare beauty and fascinating habits.

Matthew Lyson founded the Michigan Duck Rescue 20 years ago. With more than a thousand ducks and geese on site, he is happy with the recent decision to make the wood duck the state duck.

Watch Jeffrey Lindblom's video report below: Wood duck named Michigan's official state duck

"I think ducks are cool," Lyson said. "People can start appreciating the wonder of them."

Lyson praises the duck's color, calling it one of a kind in North America. Similar to the mallard, male wood ducks are more colorful than females.

"And thats nature's design. So when shes nesting, shes less likely to be spotted," Lyson said.

Lyson said he once saw a wood duck trying to blend in with some geese. However, being on the ground is not where you would find them nesting.

"The wood ducks nest in trees quite often. Thats actually how they got their name the wood duck," Lyson said.

When a baby wood duck weighs no more than an ounce, it will jump 20 or more feet from the nest in its tree to follow its mother into its newfound life.

"Bounce right back up and bam, theyre gone," Lyson said.

Capable of having more than 12 babies at a time, Lyson describes the wood duck as resilient. The species survived the 19th century, when they were a popular source of food and often used for clothing, nearly becoming extinct because of it. More laws have since come into place to protect the bird over the years.

"Wood ducks are an exceptional bird," Lyson said.

Michigans recognition of the wood duck celebrates more than a beautiful bird; it honors a conservation comeback made possible by protecting wetlands, restoring habitat and standing up for the future of waterfowl. No one has been a better champion in this space than Ducks Unlimited, whose investments in habitat have enabled the wood duck to thrive. Their important work, in combination with strong legislative effort, has allowed us to adopt a state duck - serving as a win for the species and a win for Michigan," State Rep. Alabas Farhat, who sponsored the bill, said.

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.