WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that troops who need an exemption from shaving their facial hair for longer than a year should get kicked out of the service.
While commanders are still able to issue service members exemptions from shaving — a policy that has existed for decades — they will now have to come with a medical treatment plan, Hegseth said in an Aug. 20 memo made public Monday. Troops who still need treatment after a year will be separated from service, the memo says.
“The Department must remain vigilant in maintaining the grooming standards which underpin the warrior ethos,” Hegseth wrote in his memo.
Most shaving waivers are for troops diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a condition in which hair curls back into the skin after shaving and causes irritation. It is a condition that disproportionately affects Black men.
The memo is silent on what treatments the military would offer for troops affected by the new policy or if it will front the cost for those treatments.
It is also unclear if policies like broad exemptions from shaving for special forces troops who are in operational settings or soldiers stationed in the Arctic climates of Alaska where shaving can pose a medical hazard in the extreme cold will be affected by the change.
The announcement applies to all the military services. The Army this week announced its own grooming standard update, which significantly changes acceptable appearance standards for soldiers, especially for women, including revisions for nails, hairstyles, earrings and makeup.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
A key federal vaccine advisory panel whose members were recently replaced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to vote to recommend delaying until age 4 the hepatitis B vaccine that’s currently given to newborns, according to two former senior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.
“There is going to likely be a discussion about hepatitis B vaccine, very specifically trying to dislodge the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine and to push it later in life,” said Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Apparently this is a priority of the secretary’s.”
The vote is expected to take place during the next meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, scheduled for Sept. 18-19.
For more than 30 years, the first of three shots of hepatitis B vaccine has been recommended for infants shortly after birth. In that time, the potentially fatal disease has been virtually eradicated among American children. Pediatricians warn that waiting four years for the vaccine opens the door to more children contracting the virus.
“Age 4 makes zero sense,” pediatrician Eric Ball said. “We recommend a universal approach to prevent those cases where a test might be incorrect or a mother might have unknowingly contracted hepatitis. It’s really the best way to keep our entire population healthy.”
In addition to the hepatitis B vaccine, the panel will also discuss and vote on recommendations for the combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine and covid-19 vaccines. Pediatricians worry changes to the schedules of these vaccines will limit access for many families, leaving them vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.
Typically, ACIP would undertake an analysis of the data before recommending a change to vaccine guidelines. As of the end of August, this process had not begun for the hepatitis B vaccines, Daskalakis and another former official said.
“This is an atypical situation. There’s been no work group to discuss it,” Daskalakis said.
The second former senior official spoke to NPR and KFF Health News on the condition of anonymity.
In response to questions from KFF Health News, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon wrote, “ACIP exists to ensure that vaccine policy is guided by the best available evidence and open scientific deliberation. Any updates to recommendations will be made transparently with gold standard science.”
The draft agenda for the upcoming ACIP meeting was released to the public less than a week before it is scheduled to begin.
At the last ACIP meeting, in June, Martin Kulldorff, the chair and one of seven new members handpicked by Kennedy, questioned the need to vaccinate every newborn, citing only two of the many ways the virus can spread. Kulldorff is a former Harvard Medical School professor who became known for opposing some public health measures during the pandemic.
“Unless the mother is hepatitis B positive, an argument could be made to delay the vaccine for this infection, which is primarily spread by sexual activity and intravenous drug use,” he said.
The virus spreads via direct exposure to an infected bodily fluid like blood or semen. The disease has no cure and can lead to serious conditions like cirrhosis and liver cancer later in life. The CDC advisory panel may maintain the recommendation to inoculate newborns whose mothers have hepatitis B or are considered at high risk of the disease, the former officials said.
Protection from birth
In 1991, federal health officials determined it was advisable for newborns to receive their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, which blocks the virus from taking hold if transmitted during delivery. While parents may opt out of the shots, many day care centers and school districts require proof of hepatitis B vaccination for enrollment.
The prospect of ACIP’s altering the recommendation has left some people living with the virus deeply unsettled.
“I am goddamn frustrated,” said Wendy Lo, who has lived with the liver disease, likely since birth. Years of navigating the psychological, monetary, medical, and social aspects of chronic hepatitis B has touched almost every aspect of her life.
“I would not want anyone to have to experience that if it can be prevented,” she said. Lo learned she had the disease due to a routine screening to study abroad in college.
Lo credits the vaccines with protecting her close family members from infection.
“I shared with my partner, ‘If you get vaccinated, we can be together,’” she said. He got the vaccine, which protects him from infection, “so I’m grateful for that,” she said.
The CDC estimates half of people with hepatitis B do not know they are infected. It can range from an acute, mild infection to a chronic infection, often with few to no symptoms. Most people with chronic hepatitis B were born outside of the U.S., and Asians and Pacific Islanders followed by Black people have the highest rates of newly reported chronic infections.
When her children were born, Lo was adamant that they receive the newborn dose, a decision she says prevented them from contracting the virus.
The earlier an infection occurs, the worse the consequences, according to the CDC. When contracted in infancy or early childhood, hepatitis B is far more likely to become a chronic infection, silently damaging the liver over decades.
Those who become chronic carriers can also unknowingly spread the virus to others and face an increased risk of long-term complications including cirrhosis and liver cancer, which may not become evident until much later in life.
“Now I’m in my 50s, one of my big concerns is liver cancer. The vaccine is safe and effective, it’s lifesaving, and it protects you against cancer. How many vaccines do that?” Lo said.
Thirty years of universal vaccination
Treatments like the antivirals Lo now takes weren’t available until the 1990s. Decades of the virus’s replicating unchecked damaged her liver. Every six months she gets scared of what her blood tests may reveal.
After a vaccine was approved in the 1980s, public health officials initially focused vaccination efforts on people thought to be at highest risk of infection.
“I, and every other doctor, had been trained in medical school to think of hepatitis B as an infection you acquired as an adult. It was the pimps, the prostitutes, the prisoners, and the health care practitioners who got hepatitis B infection. But we’ve learned so much more,” said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a former voting member of ACIP.
As hepatitis B rates remained stubbornly high in the 1980s, scientists realized an entire vulnerable group was missing from the vaccination regime — newborns. The virus is often transmitted from an infected mother to baby in late pregnancy or during birth.
“We may soon hear, ‘Let’s just do a blood test on all pregnant women.’ We tried that. That doesn’t work perfectly either,” Schaffner said.
Some doctors didn’t test, he said, and some pregnant women falsely tested negative while others acquired hepatitis B after they had been tested earlier in their pregnancies.
In 1991, Schaffner was a liaison representative to ACIP when it voted to advise universal vaccination for hepatitis B before an infant leaves the hospital.
“We want no babies infected. Therefore, we’ll just vaccinate every mom and every baby at birth. Problem solved. It has been brilliantly successful in virtually eliminating hepatitis B in children,” he said.
In 1990, there were 3.03 cases of hepatitis B per 100,000 people 19 years old or under in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Since the federal recommendation to vaccinate all infants, cases have dramatically decreased. CDC data shows that in 2022 the rate among those 19 or under was less than 0.1 per 100,000.
While hepatitis B is often associated with high-risk behaviors such as injection drug use or having multiple sexual partners, health experts note that it is possible for the virus to be transmitted in ordinary situations too, including among young children.
The virus can survive for up to seven days outside the body. During that time, even microscopic traces of infected blood on a school desk or playground equipment can pose a risk. If the virus comes into contact with an open wound or the mucous membranes of the eyes, an infection can occur. This means that unvaccinated children not considered at high risk can still be exposed in everyday environments.
Future access uncertain
If the CDC significantly alters its recommendation, health insurers would no longer be required to cover the cost of the shots. That could leave parents to pay out-of-pocket for a vaccine that has long been provided at no charge. Children who get immunizations through the federal Vaccines for Children program would lose free access to the shot as soon as any new ACIP recommendations get approved by the acting CDC director.
The two former CDC officials said that plans were underway to push back the official recommendation for the vaccine as of August, when they both left the agency, but may have changed.
Schaffner is still an alternate liaison member of ACIP, and hopes to express his support for universal newborn vaccination at the next meeting.
“The liaisons have now been excluded from the vaccine work groups. They are still permitted to attend the full meetings,” he said.
Schaffner is worried about the next generation of babies and the doctors who care for them.
“We’ll see cases of hepatitis B once again occur. We’ll see transmission into the next generation,” he said, “and the next generation of people who wear white coats will have to deal with hepatitis B, when we could have cut it off at the pass.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
A federal vaccine panel, recently reshaped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to vote to delay the hepatitis B shot for newborns. (Eric Harkleroad/KFF Health News/TNS)
NEW YORK (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, questioning whether Americans understand the difference between a king and a president, told a New York Law School crowd Tuesday that improved civic education across the country would help people make better decisions.
Sotomayor, speaking at a panel discussion during a “Constitution and Citizenship Day Summit,” did not make comments that were overtly political and did not directly address any controversies of the moment. President Donald Trump was not mentioned.
At one point, though, she raised doubts about how much Americans are being taught about civics in schools.
“Do we understand what the difference is between a king and a president? And I think if people understood these things from the beginning, they would be more informed as to what would be important in a democracy in terms of what people can or shouldn’t do,” she said.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks at the New York Law School’s Constitution and Citizen Day Summit, flanked by Judge Joseph Blanco, left center, and Judge Anthony Cannataro, right center, in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
She decried the lack of education about civics and how democracy works, even giving her version of Ben Franklin’s famous anecdote at the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia when he was asked whether the nation would have a republic or a monarchy.
“We have a republic, madam, if we can keep it,” she recalled that Franklin said.
Sotomayor called social media “one of the largest causes of misinformation on the internet.”
“If you are only hearing one side of the story, you are not making an informed decision,” Sotomayor said. “The world is a complex place and issues are always difficult.”
The Bronx-born justice said she became interested in civics in grammar school, where she began debating issues, and improved those skills when she learned to debate both sides of a single issue.
At the end of her remarks, she urged students who watched in a large auditorium or saw her on video screens in overflow rooms to think about everything in the world that is wrong and “everything that’s happening in the United States” and realize ”we adults have really messed this up.”
She said she’s counting on today’s students to find solutions.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks at the New York Law School’s Constitution and Citizen Day Summit, in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Farmington Hills police tracked and arrested a suspect believed to be involved in several automobile break-ins using a drone with thermal imaging.
Police provided extra patrols in neighborhoods the weekend of Sept. 13-14, following a series of larcenies from automobiles, according to a release from the Farmington Hills Police Department.
During the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 15, an officer patrolling in the area of 12 Mile and Drake roads noticed the interior lights were on for several vehicles parked in driveways.
The officer, suspecting that the vehicles had been broken into, called for additional units and requested that a drone search the area from the sky.
The drone pilot arrived and began scanning the area using the drone’s thermal imaging capabilities. The drone picked up the heat signature of a suspect.
“The suspect was observed running through the neighborhood while actively trying to hide from arriving police units,” the release said.
The drone pilot communicated the suspect’s location to arriving units, who tracked the suspect to a wooded area near the northwest corner of 12 Mile and Drake roads. Officers found the suspect hiding in the woods, dressed in all black.
“This case highlights how technology, like drones and thermal imaging, can enhance law enforcement activity,” said Police Chief John Piggott. “Using this technology, our officers were able to quickly locate and arrest a suspect who may have otherwise escaped. These resources enhance public safety and allow us to respond more effectively to crime in our community.”
Drone footage shows the neighborhood where police arrested a suspect believed to be responsible for several larcenies from autos. Photo courtesy of Farmington Hills Police Department.
The suspect, a 17-year-old from Novi, was taken into custody without incident. Evidence recovered from the scene links the suspect to numerous vehicle break-ins in the neighborhood, the release said.
The juvenile suspect was released to his guardian, pending a review by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office Juvenile Division.
Farmington Hills police have four drones and 16 trained pilots.
“There are two easy ways that community members can prevent a similar crime: Never leave valuables in a car and always lock car doors,” Piggott said. “Many of these thefts are crimes of opportunity. By taking a few extra seconds to secure your car, you remove that opportunity and help keep our community safe.”
If you believe you were a victim or have any information about these incidents, call police at 248-871-2610.
It’s fall cleaning time for Oakland County’s roads and hundreds of people have volunteered to help.
The final Adopt-A-Road cleanup is Sept. 20 through Sept. 28.
So far this year, 381 organizations have sent volunteers to pick up litter and other debris along the county’s 598 miles of roads.
Road Commission Chairman Eric McPherson said he’s incredibly grateful for the volunteers’ deduction and asked drivers to keep them safe.
Volunteers will wear orange safety vests for better visibility and carry garbage bags while cleaning. Road commission signs will be posted at both ends of the designated road sections.
The road commission relies on groups to manage their need for more garbage bags or vests by calling the permits division groups needing additional garbage bags or safety vests can call the Permits Division at (248) 858-4891.
To learn more about Adopt-A-road, including volunteering for the final 2025 session, visit http://www.rcocweb.org/218/Adopt-A-Road or email adoptaroad@rcoc.org.
Road Commission for Oakland County's Waterford Township offices in 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the leaders of a fiercely divided Michigan Legislature to “work together” to approve a new budget Tuesday, 14 days before a deadline that could trigger a shutdown of state government.
During a 20-minute speech inside the Michigan Capitol’s Heritage Hall, Whitmer, a second-term Democrat who returned from a trade mission to Asia and Germany in recent days, made her most direct plea to lawmakers yet, amid a months-long budget battle.
She also appeared to pull closer than before to Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, who’s been in a political standoff with House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township.
“While we stand on different sides of the aisle, we all basically want the same things: Happy, healthy children, good-paying jobs, food on the table, safe communities and a strong future,” Whitmer said at one point. “That is our task at hand. Let’s get it done. Let’s get to work.”
The governor’s speech focused on economic turmoil facing the country and Michigan, contending that tariffs imposed by Republican President Donald Trump’s administration and the lack of a budget were both sources of uncertainty that were bad for residents, businesses and job creation.
“We must work together to get certainty here in Michigan,” Whitmer said.
Whitmer has previously touted her ability to work across the aisle, but there’s been little bipartisan cooperation in Lansing since Republicans won control of the state House last November.
Hall, who has prioritized trimming spending, and Brinks have struggled to agree on budget priorities and missed the Legislature’s self-imposed deadline of July 1 to approve a new financial plan for state agencies, K-12 schools and universities. The House didn’t pass its own budget proposal until Aug. 26, months later than the chamber normally would.
Now, Whitmer and lawmakers face a constitutional deadline of Oct. 1, when the state’s next fiscal year begins. Without a budget in place by then, thousands of state workers would likely be laid off, state parks would close, some daycare programs might shutter and liquor purchases could be limited.
Hall has frequently promoted his relationship with Whitmer, but he wasn’t present for her speech Tuesday. Instead, Brinks and House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri, D-Canton Township, were in the front row.
“I know that Leader Brinks is available and ready,” Whitmer said during her remarks. “My team and I are ready to go. We can still do this on time.”
The governor didn’t harshly criticize Hall by name but said she wouldn’t sign the $79 billion budget plan that House Republicans put forward that would bring large cuts to an array of state programs, including the Michigan State Police, the Department of Natural Resources, the attorney general’s office, civil rights operations and hospitals.
After the speech, Brinks said the Senate stood with Whitmer “committed to getting a budget done” but, she added, there were “delays and obstruction” coming from the House.
“The reality is Democrats … control of the Senate,” Brinks said. “Democrats control the governor’s office.
Of Hall, she said, “And he needs to work with us to come up with a compromise. If he is unwilling to do that, he is not doing his job for the people of Michigan.”
In February, Whitmer put forth an $83.5 billion budget for next year.
Both Hall and Whitmer have said they want to find $3 billion in additional funding for roads in next year’s plan. Hall would achieve it through redirecting money from other state spending, while Whitmer and Brinks prefer a mixture of cuts and new revenue, likely from some form of tax increases.
Also, Whitmer called on Tuesday for additional “job creation tools” to make it easier to build factories in the state, to retain jobs and to incentivize innovation.
Whitmer has previously championed a program she launched during her first term called the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund to provide dollars to pay for cash incentives for businesses bringing jobs to Michigan and to prepare large sites for development.
A wide-ranging tax law Whitmer signed in 2023 provided $500 million in annual funding for SOAR over three years. This current year is the final one in which the funding is reserved.
“We have to do something to deliver more wins for Michigan because competition is fierce,” Whitmer said.
Brinks referenced SOAR’s expiration after the speech.
“It doesn’t mean that we should be without any tools,” Brinks said. “So that is the subject of some conversation.”
Brinks told reporters there is still a path to get the budget done on time. But, she said, she wants to see a “change in approach” from the House.
“Should that not happen, we will get our leadership team together and make some decisions about what the best course forward is,” Brinks said.
In a statement Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, who’s campaigning to be Michigan’s next governor, said he was glad Whitmer is “finally back from another taxpayer-funded trip overseas because the clock is ticking.”
“It’s time to lead Democrats to the bargaining table to pass a balanced budget that fixes Michigan’s crumbling roads and bridges, puts kids first by focusing on reading and math and respects taxpayers enough to not reach deeper into their pockets,” Nesbitt said. “Republicans have put forward real plans to do this.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer makes a point during her talk Monday afternoon. (GEORGE NORKUS–For The Macomb Daily)
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and JOSH BOAK, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump formally extended the deadline to keep the social media app TikTok available in the United States until Dec. 16, giving time to complete the framework of the deal announced Monday after talks between American and Chinese government officials.
The executive order signed on Tuesday by Trump was the fourth time he has bypassed federal law to prolong the deadline for the China-associated TikTok to sell its assets to an American company or face a ban. The original deadline was Jan. 19 of this year, a day before Trump took the oath of office for his second term.
Trump was asked Tuesday about the framework deal he announced a day earlier and repeated that he would discuss TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. He has said there are companies that want to buy the social media app owned by ByteDance and that details about its potential suitors would be announced soon.
“I hate to see value like that thrown out the window,” Trump said as he departed the White House, with his wife, first lady Melania Trump, for a state visit to the United Kingdom.
The framework came out of a meeting in Madrid that concluded Monday between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, among other officials.
Bessent told reporters that the goal was to switch TikTok’s assets to U.S. ownership for its operations in America, though he declined to discuss the details of the framework.
Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, told reporters the sides have reached “basic framework consensus” to cooperatively resolve TikTok-related issues, reduce investment barriers and promote related economic and trade cooperation.
The U.S. president warmed to TikTok and the prospect of keeping it alive under the belief that it helped him to win younger voters in the 2024 presidential election. Still, the law mandating its sale in the U.S. was premised on the possible security risks the app poses in its collection of data.
The prolonged negotiations between the U.S. and China over TikTok might ultimately mean little as its novelty has “slowly faded,” said Syracuse University political science professor Dimitar Gueorguiev in a statement.
“The U.S.–China deal on TikTok may look like a breakthrough, but it risks being a Pyrrhic victory,” Gueorguiev said. “Its famous algorithm, once seen as uniquely powerful, has lost much of its mystique—copycat efforts show that the secret was not the code itself but TikTok’s early-mover advantage and network effects. Any U.S. buyer is therefore purchasing market share and user base, not transformative technology.”
FILE – The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, Calif., March 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders lashed out Tuesday at a short-term spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month, warning Republicans they will not support a measure that doesn’t address their concerns on the soaring cost of health insurance coverage for millions of Americans.
House Republicans unveiled the spending bill Tuesday. It would keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21, buying lawmakers more time to work out their differences on spending levels and policy for the coming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Republicans said that they were providing exactly what Democrats have insisted upon in past government shutdown battles — a clean funding bill free of partisan policy riders.
“It’ll be a clean, short-term continuing resolution, end of story,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. “And it’s interesting to me that some of the same Democrats who decried government shutdowns under President Biden appear to have no heartache whatsoever at walking our nation off that cliff right now. I hope they don’t.”
The bill would generally fund agencies at current levels, with a few limited exceptions, including an extra $88 million to boost security for lawmakers and members of the Supreme Court and the executive branch. The proposed boost comes as lawmakers face an increasing number of personal threats, with their concerns heightened by last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have been asking their Republican counterparts for weeks for a meeting to negotiate on the bill, but they say that Republicans have refused. Any bill needs help from at least seven Democrats in the Senate to overcome procedural hurdles and advance to a final vote.
The two Democratic leaders issued a joint statement Tuesday after Republicans unveiled the short-term funding bill, saying that by “refusing to work with Democrats, Republicans are steering our country toward a shutdown.”
“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis,” Schumer and Jeffries said. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”
The House is expected to vote on the measure by Friday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would prefer the Senate take it up this week as well. But any bill will need some Democratic support and it’s unclear whether that will happen.
In past budget battles, it has generally been Republicans who’ve been willing to engage in shutdown threats as a way to focus attention on their priority demands. That was the situation during the nation’s longest shutdown in the winter of 2018-19, when President Donald Trump insisted on money to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. A 16-day shutdown in 2013 occurred as Republicans demanded significant changes to then-President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul in exchange for funding the government and permitting Treasury the borrowing latitude to pay the nation’s bills.
This time, however, Democrats are facing intense pressure from their base of supporters to stand up to Trump. They have particularly focused on the potential for skyrocketing health care premiums for millions of Americans if Congress fails to extend enhanced subsidies, which many people use to buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchange. Those subsidies were put in place during the COVID crisis, but are set to expire.
Some people have already received notices that their premiums — the monthly fee paid for insurance coverage — are poised to spike next year. Insurers have sent out notices in nearly every state, with some proposing premium increases of as much as 50%. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the number of people without insurance would rise by 2.2 million in 2026, and by 3.7 million the following year, if Congress does not extend the enhanced tax credits.
Johnson called the debate over health insurance tax credits a December policy issue, not something that needs to be solved in September. And Thune said that almost every Democratic lawmaker voted for the short-term continuing resolutions when Joe Biden was president and Schumer was majority leader.
“I’m sure you’re all asking the question, are we or are we not going to have a Schumer shutdown?” Thune asked reporters Tuesday. “And it sounds like, from what he is indicating, that very well may happen.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and defended employers who take action against their workers whose comments go too far, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Lincoln Street is closed in both directions at I-696 in Southfield until mid-October for bridge work.
The detour is to go north to 11 Mile or south to 10 Mile and use either Southfield Road to the west or Greenfield Road to the east, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Lincoln Street closed early Monday, Sept. 15.
The bridge work is part of MDOT’s Restore the Reuther project. MDOT is in the final phase of the lengthy project, which involves rebuilding I-696 between Lahser and Dequindre roads.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Amazon Prime Video will stream two hours of coverage during the first and second rounds of the Masters beginning next year.
The Masters will stream on Prime Video from 1-3 p.m. ET daily on April 9 and 10, leading into ESPN’s coverage both days from 3-7:30 p.m.
“Working alongside Amazon in this capacity is an exciting opportunity for the Masters Tournament and its fans,” Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National and the Masters, said in a statement. “We are proud of our longstanding partnerships with CBS Sports and ESPN, who have set the highest standard for broadcast coverage of the Masters. The addition of Amazon will only further our abilities to expand and enhance how the Tournament is presented and enjoyed.”
Paramount+ will stream the third and fourth rounds on April 11 and 12 from noon-2 p.m. ET before CBS takes over beginning at 2 p.m.
With the addition of Prime Video, primary broadcast and streaming coverage of the Masters will be at least 27 hours, up from 18 hours last year.
“It’s an honor for all of us at Amazon to become a broadcast partner of the Masters Tournament and to provide fans additional hours of live coverage of this treasured event,” Jay Marine, head of Prime Video U.S. and Global Sports, said in a statement. “We are humbled and proud to begin our relationship with Augusta National Golf Club, and we cannot wait to get started.”
FILE – Bryson DeChambeau, left, and walk Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walk on the 11th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)
By GARY FIELDS and CHRIS MEGERIAN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to once again federalize Washington, D.C.’s police force, in what he suggested could come in response to the city’s mayor’s stated refusal to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
Trump’s emergency order, which took over the local police force, expired last week. Hours before it elapsed, Mayor Muriel Bowser said that the city would not cooperate with Immigration, Customs and Enforcement in their continued operations in the nation’s capital. Earlier, she had said the city would work with other federal agencies even after the emergency order expired.
In an early-morning social media post on Monday, Trump said his intervention into the D.C.’s law enforcement had improved crime in the city, a claim Bowser has backed up, though, data shows crime was already falling in Washington before the law enforcement surge began.
Trump said crime could increase if cooperation on immigration enforcement ceases, in which case he would “call a National Emergency, and Federalize, if necessary!!!”
The mayor’s office declined to comment.
The White House did not say if Trump would follow through on his threat. It also did not say whether the president had considered trying to extend his previous order that placed the city’s police force under federal control. The order was not renewed by Congress and lapsed Sept. 11.
Bowser issued an order Sept. 2, setting up how the local police will continue working with the federal law enforcement agencies that continue working in the city. The order listed a number of federal agencies she anticipated working cooperatively with the MPD, the local police, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service, among other agencies. Absent was ICE.
Speaking Sept. 10 at a ribbon cutting ceremony, the mayor said “immigration enforcement is not what MPD does,” referring to the local police department. She added that when the emergency order ends, “it won’t be what MPD does in the future.”
Data analyzed by the Associated Press during the emergency period showed that more than 40% of arrests were immigration related, highlighting that the Trump administration continued to advance its hardline immigration policies as it sought to fight crime in the nation’s capital.
Federal law enforcement agencies and National Guard units from D.C. and seven states are continuing operations in the city.
Trump’s threat comes the same day that the House Committee on Rules is taking up several D.C.-related bills, including a proposal to lower the age at which juveniles can be tried to 14 from 16 for certain serious crimes, as well as restricting the district’s authority over its sentencing laws and its role in selecting judges.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a similar hearing last week.
The district is granted autonomy through a limited home rule agreement passed in 1973, but federal political leaders retain significant control over local affairs, including the approval of the budget and laws passed by the D.C council.
Officers from Metropolitan Police Department, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), are seen monitoring a football game between Bell Multicultural and Archbishop Carroll, Friday, Sept., 12, 2025, at Cardozo High School in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Monday hosted the radio program of Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist who was assassinated last week, telling listeners that the best way he knows how to honor his friend is to be a better husband and father.
Vance hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show” from his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. The livestream of the two-hour program was broadcast in the White House press briefing room and featured a series of appearances by White House and administration officials who knew the 31-year-old Kirk.
Vance, who transported Kirk’s body home to Arizona aboard Air Force Two last week, opened by saying he was “filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for, but I’ll do my best.”
Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at the White House, following the assassination of the show’s namesake, Monday, Sept., 15, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at the White House, following the assassination of the show’s namesake, Monday, Sept., 15, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at the White House, following the assassination of the show’s namesake, Monday, Sept., 15, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
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Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at the White House, following the assassination of the show’s namesake, Monday, Sept., 15, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
The Republican vice president, 41, was especially close to Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, one of the nation’s largest political organizations with chapters on high school and college campuses. The two began a friendship nearly a decade ago, and Kirk advocated for Vance to be Republican Donald Trump’s choice for vice president last year.
Vance spoke Monday about sitting with Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and being at a loss for words. But he said she told him something he’ll never forget, which was that her husband had never raised his voice to her and was never “cross or mean-spirited to her.”
Vance allowed that he could not say the same about himself.
“I took from that moment that I needed to be a better husband and I needed to be a better father,” the vice president said on the program, which was streamed on Rumble. “That is the way I’m going to honor my friend.”
After Kirk was fatally shot last Wednesday at Utah Valley University, Vance tore up his schedule for the next day — he was scheduled Thursday to attend the 24th annual observance in New York of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — to fly instead to Orem, Utah, with his wife, second lady Usha Vance.
The two accompanied Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk’s casket to Arizona aboard Air Force Two.
Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at the White House, following the assassination of the show’s namesake, Monday, Sept., 15, 2025, in Washington. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
You’ll find few singers as grateful and happy to still be performing with their band than Tim Booth.
He co-founded the British group James back in 1982 and, save for a six-year break during the 00s, has fronted it through 18 studio albums— 11 of which hit the Top 10 in the U.K. — and hits such as “Sit Down,” “Born of Frustration,” the title track to 1993’s “Laid” and others. And if you need proof of its continuing potency, it’s latest album, “Yummy,” knocked Beyonce out of the No. 1 spot on the U.K. charts during the spring of 2024.
The current incarnation of James is nine members strong, with Booth and bassist Jim Glennie the only remaining founding members. And Booth notes with pride that drummer Debrah Knock-Hewson is doing the current tour at nearly five months’ pregnant. Those dates find the band playing the “Laid” album, albeit in non-sequential order, along with an ever-changing array of material from throughout the group’s history — which Booth, 65, says is a long way from being over…
• Booth says via Zoom from a tour stop in Ottawa that the idea of doing “Laid” in its entirety was a former manager’s idea, and that he was “a bit averse to it at first,” mostly because “I like the unpredictability of a set list where you don’t know what’s coming.” But he’s allayed that concern by taking the songs out of chronological order and performing them amidst the other selections. “So there’s still a level of unpredictability to the whole evening that I kind of love. That is James; something that differentiates us from most bands is we change the set list nightly, we change the set list during the set. I look at bands that do the same set every night and I’m like, ‘What are they thinking? How boring!'”
• Booth adds that breaking the “Laid” songs better up serves the aesthetic of the shows as well. “It’s a great record to perform, but to perform the whole thing in one row, to a standing audience…I think it’s a big ask ’cause there’s a lot of very mellow jams on there, and it becomes a little bit too much. And emotionally for me it gets a bit dark…and it’s hard to come out of it. It’s better for everybody, I think, if we move those (‘Laid’) songs around and maybe next to…some little uplifting, joyful things, and then go back to the moody.”
• “Laid,” according to booth, was heavily influenced by James touring with Neil Young during 1992. “He invited us to play with him in America, but we had to play acoustic and had to figure out how to do that. We had some new songs we were working on and tried them out on the tour; by the time (‘Laid’ producer) Brian Eno came to see us, we were still playing acoustically — we enjoyed it so much we didn’t stop for about a year — and he was like, ‘That’s great. Let’s just continue like that,’ and that’s how we approached the album.
• The six members of James at the time famously posed in women’s dresses for the “Laid” album cover, but Booth doesn’t believe any of the musicians have them anymore. “I think they were our girlfriends’ dressed that we borrowed, so we don’t have those. It’s probably one of the best covers we ever had. I’ve got a nice dress for (the current tour), and Andy’s (Diagram, trumpet) got a nice dress we tend to wear for these gigs. It seems appropriate.”
• James’ next projects include a compilation album with two new songs and a documentary about the band that’s being directed by U.K. filmmaker Chris Atkins. Booth says the band is also working towards a follow-up to “Yummy.” “We’re in the best time of James, the most enjoyable time we’ve ever been in. I’ve been with (Glennie) 44 years — that’s more than most marriages — and it’s an amazing, enduring relationship. WE get to live our passion. We are so full of gratitude that we get to do what we love. So often old school friends will turn up and…they’re retired and they’re so happy they’re retired. We don’t want to retire. We really love what we do, and It really makes a difference I’ve been lucky enough to do what I love for 44 years.”
James performs Thursday, Sept. 18 at the Majestic Theatre, 4140 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. (313)833-9700 or majesticdetroit.com. The concert will also be livestreamed via nugs.net; a subscription is required.
British band James performs Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Majestic Theatre in Detroit (Photo by Ehud Lazin)
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office failed to establish a timely incident command and was late to dispatch fire crews in response to the Oxford High School shooting, according to an independent investigative report released Monday.
The office did not establish a formal incident command at Oxford High School until 25 minutes after a teenage gunman who went on a murderous rampage was in custody, according to an after-action review of the emergency response to the 2021 school shooting.
The 275-page report found no evidence of neglect or dereliction of duty by individual responders, but noted that failing to quickly establish an initial command and promptly integrate with other public safety agencies can lead to severe consequences.
“Successful incident command operations in the first five minutes of a critical event often determine response success. These operations include not only ‘sizing up’ a scene, but also a brief description of initial actions, and instructions for additional responding personnel,” investigators wrote in the report’s executive summary.
Nearly 560 emergency personnel responded to the scene from more than two dozen agencies. But poor communication and inadequate training hamstrung some EMS, police and fire workers, investigators found.
Survivor accounts from the attack revealed a chaotic scene in which nearly 1,600 students and dozens of staff were fleeing the sprawling school building while emergency responders tended to the wounded and dead and police searched for the student gunman.
Although multiple ranking OSCO officers were present, the report says there was a 25-minute gap before a lieutenant assumed the role of incident commander.
“During this 25-minute period, although critical objectives were met and the shooter was apprehended, there was some confusion about where resources should be directed and coordination with public safety officials such as fire/EMS was disjointed,” the report says. “Once command was established, law enforcement agencies were aligned with the roles needed to complete the building clears, secure the interior of the building, and create a perimeter around the outside of the building.”
Release of the Guidepost Solutions report follows a Detroit News investigation that revealed complaints from fire department officials that their crews were dispatched late to the attack. The News also reported that the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office declined to participate in a third-party review of its department’s response as recently as January 2024, a claim that Sheriff Michael Bouchard has denied.
Oakland County government officials approved $500,000 to hire a review firm three weeks after The News’ report. Guidepost was tasked with conducting a comprehensive report evaluating the multi-agency response to the shooting and the recovery effort that followed.
The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, a sophomore at the school at the time, fired his weapon 33 times in the attack and killed Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17.
The report determined that, despite the misteps in response, the victims’ injuries were “inherently fatal” and that a quicker emergency response could not have saved their lives. The conclusion was based on information from a medical examiner’s report and analysis by an independent medical expert.
“Our review determined that the nature and extent of Madisyn, Tate, and Justin’s single gunshot wounds to the head were inherently fatal,” the report says. “Hana sustained multiple gunshot wounds, with resulting abdomen and chest injuries, which were collectively inherently fatal. Even with immediate medical intervention, the experts’ consensus is that the outcomes would not have changed.”
Despite the shooter being apprehended just two minutes after the sheriff’s department arrived on scene, and OCSO ranking personnel arriving on scene within the first seven to nine minutes after the shooting began, incident command was not formally established until Lt. Todd Hill arrived at 1:20 p.m. and initiated command at 1:25 p.m., the report found.
“This constitutes a time gap of approximately 27 minutes after the SRO (school resource officer) and OCSO Deputy 1 arrived on scene, approximately 25 minutes after the shooter was in custody, and approximately 24 minutes after OCSO dispatch confirmed the suspect’s arrest,” the report says. “Lieutenant Hill ultimately established incident command inside the lobby of OHS by a bench across from the administration offices.”
Guidepost found breakdowns in communication regarding the locations of officers and victims early in the response. The first two officers to enter the schools, “while understandably focused on the apprehension of the shooter,” did not provide updates on their movements, victim locations or their conditions via radio, the report says.
“Best practices suggest that, as the first responders on the scene, they are the ‘de facto’ command and should not only announce their entry point but also provide information about what they saw as they came upon the victims in the hallway. Also, due to a lack of effective communication, some efforts were duplicated. Injuries were reported multiple times and OHS surveillance depicted numerous deputies clearing the same hallways.”
A lack of training, for both law enforcement and firefighters, was identified in the report as a challenge.
At the time of the shooting, sheriff’s deputies and supervisors were not sufficiently trained in incident command and unified incident command, Guidepost found. Since that time, the sheriff’s office has instituted programs on those concepts, the report says.
“During this review numerous fire department members indicated that, when on scene at OHS, they did not feel that they were adequately prepared to deal with the chaos and pressures of an active assailant situation,” the report says.
“Departmental training was limited to mass casualty scenarios within EMS continuing education programs. There was insufficient or even non-existent training on the use of ballistic protective gear at the fire department, which was frequently stored away and never utilized by personnel,” the report says. “For many OFD members, the day of the shooting was the first time they donned ballistic vests and helmets.”
Guidepost recommended that fire department chiefs mandate bi-annual active assailant training with the sheriff’s department.
Oakland County Executive David Coulter said he was briefed Monday morning by Guidepost officials and had not yet read the entire report.
“I appreciate the report. It is comprehensive. I think it’s fair,” Coulter said. “We engaged with Guidepost because we’re committed to taking an honest look at how we respond to these kinds of emergency, tragic events, and to see where there could be lessons that we can learn from them, and it certainly appears that there are areas that could be strengthened.”
Coulter said there was a very successful and courageous response by first responders and a lot of things done right.
“And I continue to be proud of the people who responded on that horrible day,” he said.
Dispatch delay found
In its report, Guidepost identified a delay in dispatching the Oxford Fire Department in response to early 9-1-1 calls that came in at 12:52:32 with a definitive report of injury.
At 2:19 minutes into the call, at 12:54:51, the caller confirmed a victim was shot, the report says. At 12:52:59, information regarding shots fired was dispatched to all OCSO units. Oxford Fire Department was not dispatched until 12:59:56, Guidepost says.
“Best practices suggest dispatch should be within 15-30 seconds of receipt of a call, and within no more than 60 seconds. The call data reviewed indicates that the call takers recognized this incident as a confirmed active shooter event well before the decision to dispatch the fire department,” the report says.
“OCSO follows the practice of waiting to dispatch fire departments until confirmation of an injured party is established. Although OCSO asserts that this is based upon directions from fire departments, we suggest that in low occurrence-high threat events such as active shooter incidents, especially those at schools, it is logical that all necessary resources be dispatched even before confirmation of injuries.”
The Guidepost report critiqued the response and offered recommendations to improve emergency preparedness and response to incidents, including a recommendation to Oakland County to ensure that a formal after-actio review is conducted for all multi-agency critical events in the county.
In interviews with The Detroit News in 2024, Oxford Fire Chief Matthew Majestic and Addison Fire Chief Jerry Morawski said they self-dispatched their crews when the high school came under attack.
While both chiefs said the dispatch delay did not impact their treatment of victims as fire and EMS crews staged outside the school until police worked to secure the scene, Majestic told The News then that the delay cost his department valuable time to develop a plan ahead of treating victims, four of whom died. It’s an aspect of the tragedy he has struggled with for years.
“Had they toned us out, we could have been staging and ready and organized,” Majestic told The News in 2024. “I know we would have reviewed the maps, probably made changes to who is responding and where. … We would have had more people on the scene. … We could have made a better-educated triage. … You took away that opportunity of building a plan.”
The role of school resource officers
Guidepost, a New York-based investigations, regulatory compliance, monitoring and security consulting firm, found there was no protocol during the shooting for detailing responsibilities of the school resource officer in relation to non-police school security. School resource officers (SROs) are armed, certified police officers.
The issue stands out because the SRO at Oxford High School was not required to remain on campus and was not present at the time the shooting began, having left earlier for an investigation at Oxford Middle School and a stop at the substation. On the same day, the school security officer was absent on pre-approved leave.
“Consequently, a part-time armed hall monitor was the sole armed individual at OHS. Going forward, expectations must be clearly delineated regarding SROs and school security,” the report says. “There should be protocols in place between the district/school and OCSO about alternative security measures when school security is unavailable.”
Investigators did identify “certain breakdowns in command, coordination, communication, and training, which demonstrate the need for improved rapid response protocols, rescue task force (RTF) training, and enhanced tactical medical readiness.”
Fire and emergency response
In the area of fire and emergency services responses, the report says both command and communications were “hindered” during the incident when fire command at the scene moved all fire communications to a different radio channel.
“This was intended to facilitate information-sharing among all responders. However, fire personnel within OHS were unaware that the radio channel was changed and repeatedly called command on the wrong channel, receiving no response,” the report says. “Dispatch did not intervene to redirect units to the correct channel or have command switch channels.”
Guidepost recommended that dispatch be alert for misrouted communications and proactively redirect personnel to the correct channel, and that fire departments review and revise policies and practices of switching radio channels during critical incidents. The report added: “When a switch occurs, it should be announced by dispatch with a ‘tone out’ to alert all on the channel.”
The report also found that in the absence of clear dispatch protocols, fire and EMS personnel were not informed when the shooter was in custody, delaying their entry into OHS by approximately four and a half minutes.
“The computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system did not utilize specific call types for active assailant incidents, and there was no county-wide operating procedure to guide a coordinated response. We recommend that pre-determined CAD call categories be implemented for active assailant events, not only to streamline dispatch practices but also to ensure that fire and EMS are made aware of developments as they occur,” the report says.
Records from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office show Oxford EMS staging outside the high school at 1:00:53 p.m. and transporting the first victim out of the high school at 1:06:32 p.m., 15 minutes after the shooting began.
Guidepost investigators recommended fire departments reconsider their staging practices to provide “greater clarity and coordination” and move to a unified county-wide policy. At the time of the shooting, the policy of fire and EMS departments from both Oakland and Oxford was to “stage” their response by waiting nearby until the scene is declared safe, the report says.
“This creates confusion for both personnel within the department as well as law enforcement, who remain unsure when firefighters and EMS members will enter a scene to render aid,” the report says. “We recommend that Oxford Fire Department (OFD) as well as other departments across Oakland County reconsider staging practices. This requires agencies to evaluate best practice recommendations to forgo staging during active assailant events and clarify whether dispatch instructions to stage are mandatory or advisory.”
Outdated dispatch system
Guidepost described the sheriff’s department’s Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system as outdated, saying it heavily relies upon manual entry by dispatchers for the transfer of information. It recommends CAD systems be updated to transition from manual to automated entry and that CAD should flag high-risk keywords such as “shot,” “injured,” “weapon,” “gun,” and “active shooter” to trigger response protocols.
The day of the attack, 911 calls were rerouted from Oxford County to Lapeer County. A total of 248 emergency calls would flood sheriff’s dispatch in the first 60 minutes after the attack.
“For example, one call from OHS administration, which proved to be the most valuable for tracing the direction of the suspect, was rerouted to Lapeer. Active shooter incidents can often tax phone systems, as they were not designed for the volume that often occurs after a tragedy. We recommend that public safety organizations establish county-wide policies for handling misrouted 9-1-1 calls and build relationships with local phone service providers to understand how large-scale incidents affect call coverage and routing,” the report said.
Reunification practices
The emergency operations plan for Oxford Community Schools had identified Meijer, a half mile from the school, as the reunification location. Hundreds of students fled there. The report says many Oxford High Schooll families reported a positive experience with the reunification process, the approach fell short in providing sufficient communication and emotional support to the families of the victims.
“The families of Madisyn, Tate, and Hana came to the reunification center with the expectation of reuniting with their children. However, after two hours and no more students arriving from the school, the parents were ushered into a store breakroom where they were informed that their children were killed,” the report says.
Guidepost investigators wrote that in discussions with Madisyn’s mother, Nicole Beausoleil, Buck Myre, and Steven St. Juliana, the families did not approve of the manner or means by which the information was relayed.
“While they understood that there was no perfect way to convey this information, Nicole Beausoleil felt that the words were emotionally disconnected and significantly contributed to the continued trauma suffered. All agreed that OCSO’s delayed disclosure of their children’s passing, repetition of additional buses coming, and overall silence gave the impression that officers were not being forthcoming,” the report said.
Guidepost suggested the reunification process could be improved by broader staff training and formalized protocols.
Ambulances travel on Ray Road near Oxford High School on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2021. Scores of police, fire, and EMS personnel responded to a shooting that killed four students and wounded seven others, including a teacher, inside the school. (Todd McInturf, The Detroit News)
The podcast is called “Stockton Street,” named for where their home was in Compton, California. It is set to air every other week on Wednesdays and will be distributed on the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
The first episode was filmed at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main arena for the U.S. Open, where Serena won six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, and Venus collected two of her seven.
FILE – Serena Williams, right, and Venus Williams celebrate during their first-round doubles match against Lucie Hradecká and Linda Nosková, of the Czech Republic, at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Sept. 1, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)
“Whatupdoe!” Jimmy Fallon shouted to the crowd at the Detroit Opera House on Sunday, taking the stage during a special on-the-road edition of “The Tonight Show,” which marked the show’s first-ever visit to the Motor City.
It was a lively taping in front of an animated crowd and was filled with Detroit flavor: mentions of Vernors and coney dogs, “Ja-red Goff!” chants from the audience, jokes about Eminem’s Mom’s Spaghetti, nods to Motown, an appearance by the Detroit Pistons’ dancers and a cameo from Aidan Hutchinson, the Detroit Lions’ superstar defensive end. Hutch showed up at the end of the taping and handed Fallon an honorary game ball, just hours after the Lions’ decisive 52-21 victory over the Chicago Bears just a few hundred yards away at Ford Field.
Fallon gave shout-outs to She Wolf, Buddy’s Pizza and Miller’s Bar in Dearborn, spots he had eaten at over the last few days while in town for the taping. He also gave a shout-out to Motown legend Martha Reeves, who was watching on from the box seats in the mezzanine, among the 3,000 attendees at the taping.
It was the first Detroit visit from a network late-night show since 2006, when Jimmy Kimmel brought his show to the Gem Theatre as Detroit prepared to host Super Bowl XL. Ford was a sponsor of the Fallon taping, and there were taped bits of Fallon driving around Detroit in an F-150, with a stop at Ford Field and an appearance by Ford CEO Jim Farley.
The show opened with a pre-taped segment where Fallon tried hyping himself up in his dressing room mirror, “8 Mile”-style. He then ran into his band, the Roots, who were dressed up as Kiss, explaining they thought they were going with a “Detroit Rock City” theme for the evening. The local references were already off to the races.
“We’re officially moving the show to Detroit!” Fallon said after his reception from the crowd. Soaking in the cheers, he said, “This must be how Eminem felt when he found a word that rhymes with orange.” He later joked the word “Detroit” is “a French word meaning, ‘suck it, Chicago.’”
Fallon, 50, sprinkled a sing-songy Detroit tune into his monologue, making punchlines of back tattoos of Lions quarterback Goff, the paddle pubs seen around downtown, and Vernors pop. Yes, pop: another bit had Fallon in conversation with Roots frontman Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, where he accidentally said “soda” instead of pop, and also pretended to confuse Detroit with being in the Central time zone, not Eastern.
During a brief taping break, Fallon told the crowd about when he was in Detroit in 2008 filming “Whip It,” Drew Barrymore’s roller derby movie in which he plays a small role, and he shared a story about riding a bike through downtown at 3 in the morning.
Guests on the show were Detroit actor and comedian Keegan-Michael Key, Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham and rapper Common. The talk segments unfolded in front of a video backdrop of the Detroit city skyline, from which the Renaissance Center was curiously missing.
Key had joined Fallon at the Lions game earlier in the day. “You came (to the game), and (the Lions) scored immediately,” Key told Fallon. “You have to come back to Detroit every Sunday.”
Key wore a Barry Sanders Lions jersey and played a game with Fallon where he asked the host to do his best at pronouncing several Detroit street names, including Livernois, Dequindre and Gratiot. “Gra-shee-oh?” Fallon tried with the last one, to the great amusement of the crowd. Later, Key and Fallon dined on samples from Slow’s Bar BQ, the Corktown BBQ spot that is celebrating 20 years in business.
The pair also participated in a Lip Sync Battle, with Fallon taking on Björk’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” and the Billboard Hot 100’s current No. 1 song, HUNTR/X’s “Golden.” Key took a more old-school approach, miming a pair of Motown classics, The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street.” Fallon joined him on the latter and did his Mick Jagger impression, nodding to Jagger’s 1985 remake of the song with David Bowie.
Cunningham, the 6-foot-6 Pistons point guard, talked fondly about his time in Detroit and gifted Fallon a pair of Cartier Buffs. He also joined Fallon as he shot shirts into the crowd with a T-shirt cannon as they were flanked by the Pistons’ dance squad and Pistons mascot Hooper.
Common was joined by singer Bilal as they paid tribute to late Detroit hip-hop producer J Dilla, performing “The Light,” a Dilla-produced track from Common’s 2000 album “Like Water for Chocolate.” At the front of the stage, an artist spray-painted a portrait of Dilla during the performance.
Hutchinson crashed the party at the end of the taping, greeting Fallon by giving him a giant bear hug.
The local taping was announced Sept. 5. Tickets for the show were given out free to fans through an online lottery, and lines wrapped around the Opera House on Sunday afternoon as fans were let in to the building.
The show taped from about 5 p.m. until about 6:20 p.m. It is set to air at 11:30 p.m. on Monday on NBC, and will be available to stream on Tuesday on Peacock.
Among those in attendance was Jamie Longenbarger of Monroe.
“I think it’s amazing to have Jimmy come here to our city. Detroit is exciting as it is, and to have someone like Jimmy here makes it extra,” she said. “It was so exciting. Every part of it. It was great. Great experience.”
Said Traci Longenbarger, who joined Jamie at the taping, “Coming out of that (Lions) game, I think (Detroit) was just super hype today. It was amazing.”
Jimmy Fallon (waving Lions flag) of The Tonight Show is introduced with comedian and actor Keegan-Michael Key in the first quarter of the Lions’ home opener against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Robin Buckson, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS)
NEW YORK (AP) — Former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sued the U.S. government Monday to get her job back, saying her firing was for political reasons and was unconstitutional.
Her lawsuit in Manhattan federal court blamed the firing on the fact that her father is James Comey, a former F.B.I. director, “or because of her perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”
Comey is seeking to be reinstated as well as a declaration that her firing was unlawful and a violation of the “Separation of Powers” clause in the U.S. Constitution.
“Defendants have not provided any explanation whatsoever for terminating Ms. Comey. In truth, there is no legitimate explanation,” the lawsuit said.
Comey, who successfully prosecuted hundreds of cases since becoming an assistant U.S. attorney in 2015, was notified of her dismissal in an email with an attachment saying she was being fired “(p)ursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States,” the lawsuit said.
James Comey was fired as FBI director by President Donald Trump in 2017. The lawsuit noted that he has since written a memoir critical of Trump and has continued to publicly criticize Trump and his administration, including a social media post in May that Trump and others perceived as threatening.
The lawsuit noted that Maurene Comey’s firing in July came the day after her supervisors had asked her to take the lead on a major public corruption case and three months after she’d received her latest “Outstanding” review.
“The politically motivated termination of Ms. Comey — ostensibly under ‘Article II of the Constitution’ — upends bedrock principles of our democracy and justice system,” the lawsuit said. “Assistant United States Attorneys like Ms. Comey must do their jobs without fearing or favoring any political party or perspective, guided solely by the law, the facts, and the pursuit of justice.”
Named as defendants in the lawsuit were, among others, the Justice Department, the Executive Office of the President, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, the Office of Personnel Management and the United States.
A message for comment from the Justice Department was not immediately returned.
Comey’s July 16 firing came amid a spate of dismissals of prosecutors by the Justice Department without explanation, raising alarm that civil service protections meant to prevent terminations for political reasons were being overlooked.
Comey’s lawsuit noted that she was employed with protections under the Civil Service Reform Act governing how and why she could be terminated, including specific prohibitions against termination for discriminatory reasons such as political affiliation.
“Her termination violated every one of those protections,” the lawsuit said.
The Justice Department also has fired some prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked Trump’s ire, including some who handled U.S. Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Trump.
She became a rising star in her office for her work on the case against financier Jeffrey Epstein and his onetime girlfriend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, and the recent prosecution of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges. She was recently transferred from a prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas.
Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Combs is awaiting sentencing next month after his conviction on prostitution-related charges after he was exonerated in July of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges.
FILE – This photo combination shows, from left, former FBI Director James Comey in Washington, Dec. 7, 2018, President Donald Trump at Morristown Airport, Sept. 14, 2025, in Morristown, N.J., and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey in New York, July 8, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Alex Brandon, Richard Drew)
A driver suspected of being under the influence of a substance was arrested after hitting a parked Farmington Public Safety Department vehicle early Sunday, injuring an officer and two others, police said.
The Farmington Public Safety Department officer was helping the Farmington Hills Police Department with a traffic stop at about 1 a.m. Sunday on Grand River Avenue near Drake Road in Farmington Hills when the crash took place.
A driver going eastbound on Grand River Avenue allegedly rear-ended the Farmington Public Safety Department vehicle. That driver’s vehicle then spun into traffic and was hit head-on by another driver who also was going eastbound.
The police officer and two others were treated for minor injuries at a hospital and were expected to make full recoveries. The crash is under investigation by the Farmington Hills Police Department’s traffic unit.
The department did not say in a release issued on social media what substance officers suspect the driver allegedly had been using before the crash.
In its press release, the Farmington Hills Public Safety reminded drivers to move over and slow down when they approach stationary emergency vehicles.
“We are grateful no one was seriously injured or killed in this crash,” the department said. “We would like to thank the Farmington Hills Police and Fire Departments for the care they provided for our officer and the other drivers.”
Visitors curious about the small island in the middle of Orchard Lake in Oakland County got a chance to explore it Sunday and learn about its history and features.
Once a year, the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society offers free tours of Apple Island. Believed to have once been inhabited by native Americans and later used as a seasonal retreat for a Detroit family and their friends, it’s now owned by the West Bloomfield School District. It’s kept as a nature preserve with several archaeological sites by the school district.
The island, accessible only by boat, stretches 3/8 of a mile long. It is unique “in that it contains examples of every type of ecological system identified within the southeastern Michigan region,” according to the historical society.
“It is home to more than 400 species of trees and plants, including many rare in Oakland County,” according to the group’s website.
From the late 1850s to the late 1930s, the Campbells, Scottish immigrants with a permanent home in Detroit, used the island as vacation retreat, inviting friends and family members to build summer cottages on the island, according to a National Registration of Historic Places Registration form.
In 2018, the National Parks Service approved Apple Island as an historic site with archaeological significance with its listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Carol Fink, a board member with the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society, talks about a tree she calls "Grandma Maple," a towering Sugar Maple tree that is more than 250 years old on Apple Island during a once-annual tour of the uninhabited Island. (John T. Greilick/The Detroit News)
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