Hello, old friends.

Waterford Kettering and Mott appear set to re-join the Oakland Activities Association, ending over a decade-and-a-half stint combined competing elsewhere in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Lakes Valley Conference.

Rumors of the move had began to circulate in recent weeks, and the district’s membership application to the OAA was confirmed on Tuesday.

“We are grateful for the competition we have been privileged to experience as a member district of the LVC for the past eight years,” Waterford School District director of communications and community relations Sarah Davis said. “Many factors went into our decision to apply for membership to the OAA – such as competitive alignment with like-districts, game proximity, and academic and student leadership advantages. These opportunities will best serve our Waterford School District athletes, coaches and families now and into the future.”

Both Waterford schools were charter members when they, along with Clarkston, Lake Orion and Pontiac Northern joined from the Greater Oakland Activities League to help form the OAA with schools from the Metro Suburban Activities Association and Southeastern Michigan Association back in 1994.

However, in 2008 the pair of WSD schools jumped ship when the merger of the Kensington Valley Conference and Western Lakes Activities Association helped form the KLAA, a 23-school conference that included the newly opened South Lyon East.

In 2017, nine of those KLAA members, among them Mott and Kettering, split to create the Lakes Valley Conference. When it joined the LVC, Mott and Kettering’s enrollment numbers were neither the largest or the smallest in the conference, notable as other KLAA program’s student bodies were larger.

While a variety of factors have led to declining enrollment numbers throughout the state, and LVC schools have been no exception, it has been sharp enough that Mott and Kettering were now both in the bottom-third of the league, and may find themselves again playing more similarly sized programs in the OAA.

That has been reflected from a competitive standpoint. The LVC website charts year-by-year all-sports standings for both female and male sports. In the first six years of the conference, Mott and Kettering averaged finishing in the bottom-3 of the table in female sports, and the same could be said for male sports, with the exception of 2017-18 when Mott had exceptional seasons in baseball, basketball and football to place in the upper-half.

A source said that the LVC, now down to seven schools — Lakeland and Milford, along with the South Lyon and Walled Lake schools — intends to discuss filling the spots the Captains and Corsairs would vacate.

DETROIT — Can you imagine a better or more fitting birthday present for Tigers’ lefty ace Tarik Skubal? Or a better way to cap a sensational, breakthrough season?

On Wednesday, the day he turned 28 years old, Skubal was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2024 by a vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Skubal becomes the fifth Tigers pitcher to win the award. Denny McLain won it twice (1968 and 1969). Willie Hernandez (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013) also won the prize while wearing the Old English D.

Full disclosure: I had a Cy Young Award vote this year and I did not put Cleveland’s dominant closer Emmanuel Clase on my ballot. I have been steadfast on every Cy Young vote I’ve cast over the years that it’s an award for starting pitchers. Relievers have their own award, as they should given the disparity between the two distinct roles.

The lines on this are getting blurrier as starter innings continue to shrink and bullpen roles expand. But this season, after comparing every candidate including Clase on a spreadsheet with every relevant statistical category — sabermetric and traditional — there were five starting pitchers who scored higher than Clase.

Thus, my ballot: 1. Skubal, 2. Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, 3. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert, 4. Kansas City’s Cole Ragans, 5. Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes.

Putting Skubal at the top of the ballot was a no-brainer. And not just because he became the 22nd player in MLB history to win the pitcher Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228).

He joins Hal Newhouser (1945) and Justin Verlander (2011) as the only Tigers to achieve the feat.

It was much more. When manager AJ Hinch said that Skubal was “everything for us,” this is what he meant:

After dealing away Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline, the Tigers were left with two starting pitchers — Skubal and rookie Keider Montero. The other three starting slots in the rotation were, for the final two months, covered by a creative and elaborate mix of openers and bulk relievers.

For that strategy to work, the Tigers needed Skubal, especially, to cover at least six innings in his starts. Here’s how Skubal responded to that challenge:

From Aug. 2 through Sept. 24, he went 6-1 and averaged 6.2 innings in 10 starts. He limited opponents to a .206/.252/.292 slash-line with 74 strikeouts and 11 walks.

He managed to be at his best exactly when his team needed him the most.

The Tigers were 21-10 in his 31 regular-season starts, a stat that held more value to Skubal than his 18 pitcher wins. He won two of his three postseason starts and threw 17 straight scoreless innings until the fatal fifth inning in Game 5 of the American League Division Series in Cleveland (see Lane Thomas homer).

Skubal limited opponents to two runs or less in 24 of his 31 regular-season starts, covering at least six innings in 21 of those.

Skubal day turned into win day for the Tigers. There is no better measure of greatness for a pitcher.

“He’s unbelievable,” said first baseman Spencer Torkelson after Skubal posted his 200th strikeouts of the season in a 2-1 win against Boston on Aug. 31. “It’s not only his stuff. It’s the conviction behind it. The intent and the confidence he has every single pitch he throws.

“You can really look up to somebody like that. He sets the tone. It builds character in our pitching staff and even in the position players.”

He set the tone for his season on the first day of live batting practice in Lakeland when he hit 99.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. He was asked about hitting 100 mph so early in camp.

“It wasn’t 100,” he said. “We don’t round up in the big leagues.”

He would hit and surpass 100 mph legitimately on May 11 against Houston, becoming the first Tigers starting pitcher to hit triple digits since Verlander in 2012.

He took the ball on Opening Day in Chicago and pitched six scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He got the start in the home opener, too, on April 5, making him the first Tigers pitcher to start both the regular-season opener and home opener since Mike Moore in 1993.

He struck out 12 in six innings at Yankee Stadium on May 5. But his most dominant strikeout performance came in Cincinnati on July 7 when he punched out 13 and got a remarkable 23 misses on 51 swings.

By the All-Star break he was 10-3 with a 2.41 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP (0.879) and earned his first All-Star berth. He threw a perfect second inning in the game, setting down Christian Yelich, Alec Bohm and Teoscar Hernandez.

“When you needed a big performance, he was our guy,” Hinch said in an interview with MLB Network earlier this month. “When you really needed a punch-out to get us out of an inning, he was our guy. We you needed someone to show incredible competitive emotion, he was our guy.

“We leaned on him for so much leadership and performance. And he delivered in all ways. He was the definition of dominant for us and across the league.”

The mantra for the Tigers’ pitching staff all season was “pound the strike zone,” and nobody pounded it more relentlessly and fearlessly than Skubal, evidenced by his 69% strike rate and 68.6% first-pitch strike rate.

To further amplify the point, he had a 30.3% strikeout rate and just a 4.7% walk rate.

Skubal’s 6.3 WAR (baseball-reference) led all big-league pitchers. His pitching run value of 40 (per Statcast) was best in baseball. His fastball run value of 26 ranked in the top 99 percentile.

Opponents hit .197 against his four-seam fastball and .207 off his two-seamer. They hit .216 off his changeup with a 46% whiff rate. His slider (.169) and knuckle curve (.158) rare got hit hard.

“Just Skub being Skub,” said Jake Rogers, who caught every one of Skubal’s starts. “I never get tired of talking about Skub. He’s been big for us all year, and every time he gets on the mound, he gives us a chance to win.

“I’m just really glad he’s on our team.”

Officials confirmed no one was killed in an explosion at a condominium complex Tuesday night in Lake Orion, and the two people injured remain hospitalized but their conditions were improving as of late Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s an absolute miracle, an absolute miracle — if you’ve seen this scene — (that) currently we’re talking about no fatalities,” Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon from Orion Township Hall.

Fire Chief Ryan Allen said an investigation continues into the cause and origin of the explosion at the Keatington New Town Association and is expected to take “a little over a week.” The explosion destroyed 18 units, displacing multiple residents, and caused damage to about a dozen more, Allen said.

First responders were dispatched to the two-story building on Pine Ridge Court between Joslyn and Baldwin roads after the explosion occurred around 6:30 p.m., officials said.

Little information has been released yet on the two people injured, but Allen said one was in non-critical, stable condition and the other in guarded condition which “is between serious and stable condition.”

According to Consumers Energy Vice President Christopher Fultz, crews found no abnormalities in the system from the gas main to the meter which is the extent of the utility company’s responsibility. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said a resident reported she had detected the smell of gas just before the explosion and is part of the investigation.

Allen reminds residents that if they ever have concerns about a possible gas leak to exit the home and contact the fire department by calling either the emergency or non-emergency number.

Barnett noted that there’s been “an incredible show of support” from the community in response to what he described as “a horrific incident.” And it’s what can be expected, he said.

“I’d put our community against any community when it comes to things like this. We step up,” he said. “It’s horrible what happened, but if ever (something like this) happens, you’re lucky if it happens in Orion Township.”

Victims in need of immediate support are encouraged to call the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or Orion Township offices at 248-391-0304 ext. 2009.

Those interested in helping can provide monetary donations through Love INC of Northern Oakland County by calling 248-693-4357 or online at https://loveincofnoc.org/.

Clothing and food donations can be dropped off at Woodside Bible Church, located in Canterbury Village, 2500 Joslyn Road. Those in need of food can visit Woodside’s Village Food Pantry, also located in Canterbury Village, at 2325 Joslyn Court. Reach the pantry by calling 248–391-1900.

Bouchard cautions residents that it’s likely there will be scammers attempting to profit through false charities, so only donate to organizations listed above and any others listed on social media pages for Orion Township or the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Tribune News Service contributed to this report.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge who was nominated by Donald Trump says it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if the president-elect hands out mass pardons to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol after the 2020 election, a rare instance of judicial commentary on a politically divisive subject.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed to the bench in June 2019, expressed his criticism during a hearing Tuesday at which he agreed to postpone a Capitol riot defendant’s trial until after Trump returns to the White House in January.

During his campaign for a second term as president, Trump repeatedly referred to Jan. 6 rioters as “hostages” and “patriots” and said he “absolutely” would pardon rioters who assaulted police “if they’re innocent.” Trump has suggested he would consider pardoning former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison after a jury convicted him of orchestrating a violent plot to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.

“Blanket pardons for all January 6 defendants or anything close would be beyond frustrating and disappointing, but that’s not my call,” Nichols said, according to a transcript. “And the possibility of some pardons, at least, is a very real thing.”

Nichols is one of over 20 judges who have presided over more than 1,500 cases against people charged in a mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Many Capitol riot defendants have asked for post-election delays in their cases, but judges largely have denied their requests and forged ahead with sentencings, guilty pleas and other hearings.

Steve Baker, a writer for a conservative media outlet, pleaded guilty last Tuesday to Capitol riot-related misdemeanors after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper refused to pause the case until after Trump takes office. However, Cooper acknowledged that the case may never reach the punishment stage given the possibility of pardons.

Nichols commented on pardons during a hearing for Jacob Lang, a Capitol riot defendant who is jailed while awaiting a trial in Washington. Within hours of Trump’s victory this month, Lang posted on social media that he and other Jan. 6 “political prisoners” were “finally coming home.”

“There will be no bitterness in my heart as I walk out of these doors in 75 days on inauguration day,” wrote Lang, who was charged several days after the riot with repeatedly attacking police officers.

Nichols, who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas before working for the Justice Department, said he hasn’t delayed any trial solely on the basis of possible pardons. He noted that his decision to delay Lang’s trial was based in part on matters that they privately discussed under seal.

“I agree very much with the government that there are costs to not proceeding here, both to the trial team, to the witnesses and to the victims, as well as to the public, which has an interest in a determination of guilt or innocence in a case that has been pending as long as this one,” Nichols said.

Several days after the election, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras postponed a Jan. 6 trial that had been scheduled to start on Dec. 2. The defendant, William Pope, argued that his trial would be a waste of the court’s time and resources “because there will never be a sentencing, and I will be free.”

Contreras said he didn’t want to bring in dozens of prospective jurors for a two-week trial “just to have it go for naught.”

“Of course, it’s speculative, but there is a real possibility of that happening,” the judge added, according to a transcript.

A prosecutor objected to the delay, saying that “the speculative nature of what Mr. Pope hopes will be a pardon is not a sufficient reason to continue this trial.”

Judges have largely echoed that argument. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton refused to delay a Nov. 8 sentencing hearing for Anna Lichnowski, a Florida woman who believes she would be a good candidate for a pardon. Walton, who sentenced Lichnowski to 45 days in jail, wrote that the possibility of pardons is “irrelevant to the Court’s obligation to carry out the legal responsibilities of the Judicial Branch.”

By MEG KINNARD

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed a line of guitars, following up on the Bibles, sneakers, watches, photo books and cryptocurrency ventures launched during his third White House campaign.

Trump on Wednesday posted to Truth Social a photo of himself holding what he said was a “Limited Edition ‘45’ Guitar,” an electric model emblazoned with an American flag and eagle on the body, and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan inlaid into the neck. Both acoustic and electric styles are available, for $1,250 and $1,500, respectively, as well as “Presidential” and “God Bless the USA” models and “Signature Edition” guitars, which — with a $10,000 price tag — also include Trump’s signature.

What’s not clear is the financial relationship between Trump and proceeds from the guitar sales.

Following his long tradition of melding his political and business interests, Trump has hawked a series of branded products since he launched his 2024 White House campaign, a slew of items that went up for sale in the wake of a $489 million civil fraud judgment against the former president.

Some of them, like the “Official Trump Watch Collection” — where one model costs $100,000 — were listed as affiliated with CIC Ventures LLC, a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure.

Websites for items like the watches note that the products are subject to a “paid license agreement,” the same mechanism that allowed Trump, well before he entered politics, to profit for years from sales of everything from water to vodka and steaks.

As of Wednesday, GetTrumpGuitars.com included no such disclaimers, or even the name of the company selling the items. An FAQ page lists information about how many of each model are being made available — and notes that these models are “the ONLY guitars endorsed by President Donald J. Trump!” — but includes none of the disclaimers or licensing language on some of Trump’s other product sites.

The guitar website’s privacy policy does include a suburban Nashville address for a couple, neither of whom immediately returned a message seeking comment Wednesday. Photos on their social media pages showed that they attended Trump’s election-night party in Florida.

Messages left with 16 Creative — a branding agency listed at the bottom of the guitar website — and Trump’s transition team also were not immediately returned.

Leading up to his win in the general election, Trump this year has announced the sale of $100 silver coins bearing his face, urged his supporters to spend $59.99 for a “God Bless the USA Bible,” inspired by country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic ballad, and hawked new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.”

He also has dabbled in NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, and last year reported earning between $100,000 and $1 million from a series of digital trading cards that portrayed him in cartoon-like images, including as an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Sheetz, a 24-hour gas station, convenience store and restaurant, will ask the Farmington Hills Planning Commission on Thursday night, Nov. 21, to recommend approval of their plan to locate on the site of a vacant restaurant at 12 Mile and Middlebelt roads.

But a residents’ group has formed to oppose the development and plans to protest at Farmington Hills City Hall, 31555 W. 11 Mile Road, at 7 p.m., before the meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

Concerned Citizens Against Sheetz says violent crime, noise, increased traffic and environmental issues have plagued Sheetz establishments in other states.

Sheetz will be open after almost all other establishments have closed and the restaurant will have a drive-through window. That will make it a target for crime, or at the very least, customers loitering and making noise late at night, said Lloyd Banks, spokesman for the group.

Sheetz proposes to locate on the site of the former Ginopolis restaurant, which closed five years ago. Banks said it’s too close to several subdivisions for a 24-hour operation.

“It needs to be another restaurant,” he said.

At previous hearings, sizable groups of residents have spoken in support of Sheetz, saying the development is better than a vacant building that is starting to fall into disrepair. Proponents also say Sheetz is a good employer and serves high-quality food. Banks said he doubts those people live near the proposed site.

When Sheetz appeared before the commission in June, it proposed six pumps, creating 12 fueling stations; and a 6,100-square-foot convenience store and restaurant.

 

Nick Ruffner, public affairs manager for Sheetz, defended the company’s crime prevention efforts.

“Sheetz serves as a community hub where families gather for a meal, friends meet up before the big football game and local residents meet to conduct safe online marketplace exchanges,” he said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, all retailers – not just convenience store operators – are occasionally subjected to criminal acts. At Sheetz, the safety and security of our employees and customers – both inside and outside our stores – is our highest priority. Sheetz’s advanced security systems cover nearly every area of our stores and parking lot. We also have a first-class, advanced security operations center that is connected to our stores in real time and staffed 24/7 to help address any issues that arise at our store locations. These safeguards at our stores allow our employees to notify police as soon as an emergency situation develops.” he said in a statement.

If the Planning Commission OKs the proposal, it goes to the City Council for final approval.

Sheetz opened in Romulus in late August, its first location in Michigan. The company plans to open 50-60 stores in the Detroit area within the next five to six years, he said.

To date, Sheetz has announced the locations for eight other planned Detroit locations:
23 Mile Road east of I-94, Chesterfield Township

— 8200 Telegraph Road, Taylor

— 20623 Eureka Road, Taylor

— 45011 Garfield Road, Macomb

— 31925 Van Dyke Ave., Warren

— 19001 E. Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe

— 2103 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti

— Southwest corner of 14 Mile and Utica roads in Fraser

Each store will employ about 35 people; most will be full time, Ruffner said.

Over the next few days, Waterford Township officials will consider two options for the community’s waste-hauling service.

On Wednesday, Supervisor Gary Wall and his successor, Anthony Bartolotta, met with the current contractor, Priority Waste, to discuss a one-year contract extension. But township trustees will also consider drafting a request for a new waste hauler contract.

Priority’s Waterford contract expires in March. To consider other companies the township must publish a request for proposals, allow time to evaluate bids, make a selection and sign a new contract before the end of February.

Waterford is weighing the options after Priority bought out 72 Green for Life (GFL) municipal waste-hauling contracts and equipment in May. The issue may be discussed at the trustees’ next study session, at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, in the conference room 3-2 at the township hall at 5200 Civic Center Drive.The regular meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the auditorium. Meeting agendas are online at https://www.waterfordmi.gov/AgendaCenter

The transition started on July 1 and led to significant criticism by residents in Waterford and many of the 71 other communities.

Priority Waste finalizes GFL purchase and takes over some Oakland County routes

Months of long-delayed pickups of trash, yard waste and recycling led to emergency meetings between municipalities and company officials.

Priority blamed many of the problems on shoddy trucks bought from GFL, the inability to rapidly expand the fleet, hire and train adequate drivers to properly service existing and new customers.

Waterford is not the only community evaluating other waste pickup options.

Rochester Hills sets deadlines for Priority corrections

In October, Orion Township officials announced Priority would be dropped on Dec. 31. The township signed a contract with Waste Management for service starting on Jan. 1. Priority and Standard Waste Services also bid for the contract.

Township residents will pay $62.23 per quarter for a single-family household, a $1.15-per-month increase over current rates. Waste Management agreed to honor existing discounts. The township will release more details this month.

In October, Priority secured a 5-year contract with Rochester. It’s the only renewal the company has among the former GFL communities. Pontiac signed a 10-year agreement on June 28.

Waterford Township to host town hall on Priority Waste service

On Thursday, Keego Harbor’s city council will consider extending its contract with Priority. In March, the city’s GFL contract had been extended through 2027, but a new company means a new agreement is needed. Priority officials promised to honor GFL’s 2025 terms with rates set for $20.36 each for weekly pick-up for household waste, recycling and yard waste. Payments would increase to $21.06 in 2026 and $21.99 in 2027.

Keego Harbor’s council meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at city hall, 2025 Beechmont St. in Keego Harbor and will be livestreamed on the city’s website: https://civiccentertv.com/watch-live. The agenda and complete meeting packet are online at https://www.keegoharbor.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif3301/f/pages/november_21_2024_city_council_meeting_packet.pdf.

Central Michigan University head football coach Jim McElwain is retiring from coaching according to numerous media reports reported on Wednesday afternoon.

He will retire at seasons end.

McElwain led the Chippewas to a 16-14 win over rival Western Michigan University at home on Tuesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The Chippewas have struggled in recent seasons as they are 4-7 this season after going 5-7 in 2023 and 4-8 in 2022.

Moreover, McElwain is currently under investigation by the NCAA pertaining to Connor Stalions’ alleged attendance on the CMU sideline in its 2023 season-opener at Michigan State University.

McElwain and Stalions worked together while assistant coaches at the University of Michigan in 2018.

A story that was published by footballscoop.com writer Zach Barnett reported, ‘McElwain will move into a special assistant to the AD role within the CMU athletics department.”

The story quoted McElwain as saying, “”My wife Karen and I have cherished every moment of our football journey. We want to express our deepest gratitude to the all the players who have welcomed us into their lives, and the incredible coaches and support staff at every stop along the way—it has been a true privilege to work alongside all of them. The lifelong friendships that were created mean the world to us.

“We are especially thankful for our time at Central Michigan. Mount Pleasant and the CMU community hold a special place in our hearts, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of this program and this great community. Thank you for the unwavering support and the unforgettable memories.”

McElwain said his reasoning behind his abrupt retirement were his own according to numerous reports.

CMU Athletic Director Amy Folan was quoted by footballscoop.com and stated, “Coach McElwain and his wife Karen have meant so much to the Central Michigan community,” AD Amy Folan said. “He has brought pride and excitement to Mount Pleasant and our football program and we look forward to his contributions to the department in other ways in the years ahead. We are grateful for his service and mentorship to our student-athletes. We wish both Jim and Karen the very best in their well-deserved retirement from coaching and we are glad that they will continue to help us.”

CMU closes the 2024 regular season at Northern Illinois on Nov. 30.

The 62-year old McElwain spent 40 years coaching in the college ranks and closes his career with a career record of 77-63 as head coach at CMU, Florida and Colorado State. He signed a five-year contact with CMU in 2022.

CMU’s Jim McElwain under investigation by NCAA

CMU football snaps 5-game losing streak, tops rival WMU 16-14

A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges for threatening an American Muslim organization in Michigan last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced.

Michael Shapiro, 72, faced one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce after calling six times and leaving three threatening voicemails to the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan.

The West Palm Beach resident also admitted to intentionally targeting CAIR-MI with threats because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of people who work at or are assisted by the organization, officials said in a press release.

Shapiro could serve up to five years’ incarceration for his guilty plea or pay a fine of up to $250,000, according to a plea agreement filed with the court on Tuesday.

He also faces up to three years of supervised release.

“No one should be able to threaten violence and instill fear on an entire community,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement. “Today’s conviction should send a strong message that those who do so will be investigated, identified, and aggressively prosecuted.”

His attorney, Elizabeth Young, was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Shapiro first called CAIR-MI’s Canton Township office on Dec. 8 at 6:43 p.m. and left a voicemail laughing maniacally and twice saying “I’m going to kill you bastards,” according to the plea agreement.

He left another threatening voicemail six days later, investigators reported.

“I’m going to kill you mother f******g bastards,” Shapiro said in the 1:02 p.m. voicemail. “Muslims! I’m going to kill you mother f*****s. I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!”

He also called the next day, on Dec. 15 at 6:24 p.m.

“You’re a violent people,” Shapiro said. “Why do you come to America? Why do you come to Europe? Mother f******s. You’re violent. You’re killers. You’re rapists. I’m going to kill you mother f*****s!”

When prosecutors unsealed the grand jury indictment against Shapiro, CAIR-MI officials said the threat was among others as the war in Gaza escalated.

Shapiro’s case is the third time he has been charged in the last five years with federal crimes and has been accused of threatening U.S. Capitol Police officers, a member of Congress and their child, according to federal court records reviewed by The Detroit News.

Officials with CAIR-MI are pleased with the results of the case, Amy Doukoure, a staff attorney with the organization, told The News.

“What he’s doing is very serious,” Doukoure said. “We had to close our business for several days. He was calling every day — we didn’t know where he was, whether he was serious. It was a very scary and serious incident, and we’re happy that it’s over and he has pled guilty and will be sentenced to jail time.”

Discrimination complaints to CAIR-MI rose by over 340% in the three months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks compared to the three months leading up to it, officials said in a 2023 CAIR-MI Civil Rights Report.

Reports of anti-Muslim bias incidents, including hate crimes, education and employment discrimination, surged in 2023, according to the report. Officials attributed the increase in complaints to increased anti-Muslim sentiment following media coverage of Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

The past year brought a record number of hate crime complaints to CAIR-MI, paralleled only by reports in 2018, according to the report.

CAIR-MI officials also recently called on the University of Michigan to conduct an independent investigation into the school’s “pattern of disparate treatment” of UM Muslim and Arab students.

In other recently reported hate crime cases, a Michigan man was sentenced in June for defacing a Jewish synagogue with swastikas and white supremacist group images.

A Warren man was also charged in March for spray painting swastikas and other graffiti on a predominantly Black church and in a Warren park’s public bathroom.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is nominating the billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has promised to dismantle.

McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.

McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Birmingham Detroit Country Day defeated North Branch in a Division 2 volleyball quarterfinal at SC4 Fieldhouse in Port Huron on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. The Yellowjackets won by scores of 17-25, 20-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-6.

Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy won National League Manager of the Year on Tuesday after a stellar debut season with the Brewers, while Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt took the AL honors honor after leading the Guardians to 92 wins and a division title in his first year as a skipper at any level.

The 40-year-old Vogt beat Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and Detroit’s A.J. Hinch, both AL Central rivals. He’s the first AL manager to win the award in his debut season since Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli did it in 2019. He’s also the first to go from player to Manager of the Year in just two years.

Hinch, a 50-year-old in his fourth season leading the Tigers, also made the playoffs with a torrid second-half despite losing quality players like right-hander Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline.

Murphy, 65, led the Brewers to an NL Central title, a 93-69 record and is the franchise’s first manager to earn the award since it was introduced in 1983. In the playoffs, Milwaukee lost to the New York Mets in a three-games Wild-Card Series.

Murphy had an unusual career path to big league success — he was a longtime college coach at Notre Dame and Arizona State before moving to the professional ranks in 2010. He worked in the Padres’ minor league system until 2015 when he was hired to be Milwaukee’s bench coach under Craig Counsell, who played for Murphy at Notre Dame.

After Counsell left for the Cubs during the offseason, the Brewers quickly turned to Murphy. The transition was nearly seamless.

Murphy beat San Diego’s Mike Shildt and New York’s Carlos Mendoza,. He received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Shildt, Mendoza and Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson each received one vote.

The previous fastest was Joe Girardi from 2003 to 2006, when he won NL Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins.

Vogt received 27 of the 30 first-place votes. Quatraro got two and Hinch one.

Vogt led the Guardians to a 92-69 record and the playoffs in his first season after replacing three-time manager of the year Terry Francona. The former big league catcher took Cleveland to the AL Championship Series before losing to the Yankees in five games.

Vogt is the third Cleveland skipper to win the honor, joining Francona (2013, 2016, 2022) and Eric Wedge (2007).

Mendoza — in his first year leading the Mets — guided the franchise to an 89-win season and an appearance in the NL Championship Series before they lost in six games to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

Shildt guided the Padres to the playoffs in his first season in San Diego, winning 93 games. He won the Manager of the Year award in 2019 when he was in charge of the Cardinals.

The 51-year-old Quatraro, in his second season with the franchise, led the Royals to the postseason one year after a 106-loss season. Kansas City finished with an 86-76 record before beating Baltimore in a Wild Card Series.

Kansas City, led by catcher Salvador Perez young star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., lost to the Yankees in a four-game Division Series.

— By DAVID BRANDT, Associated Press

By JONATHAN J. COOPER

Mehmet Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru, is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the massive federal health care bureaucracy that covers more than a third of Americans.

Here’s a look at a television doctor who became a politician and is now designated to lead an agency that touches nearly all Americans in some way.

Who is Dr. Oz?

Trained as a heart surgeon, Oz rose to prominence on Oprah Winfrey’s leading daytime television show before spinning off his own series, “The Dr. Oz Show,” in 2009.

The program aired for 13 seasons and made Oz a household name.

Oz stopped doing surgeries in 2018 but his physician license remains active in Pennsylvania through the end of this year, according to the state’s online database.

Oz is an author of New York Times bestsellers, an Emmy-winning TV show host, radio talk show host, presidential appointee, founder of a national nonprofit to educate teens about healthy habits, and self-styled ambassador for wellness.

He also guest hosted the “Jeopardy!” game show and helped save a dying man at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Oz was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of a heart surgeon who emigrated from Turkey.

He attended a private high school in Delaware and Harvard University as a college undergraduate, also playing football there, and served in the Turkish army to maintain his dual citizenship.

He made his reputation as a surgeon, but he made a fortune as a salesman

Oz dispensed nutritional and lifestyle advice on his show, portraying himself as a trusted doctor capable of explaining health matters in an engaging and approachable way. But his show also blurred the line between medical advice and advertising, failing to make clear to his audience just how closely he worked with the companies he pitched.

He repeatedly promoted products of questionable medical value and was named in lawsuits that alleged he made misleading claims on the show. Several of the companies he has promoted are structured as multilevel marketing businesses whose practices have repeatedly drawn the attention of federal regulators.

Oz had a net worth between $100 million and $315 million, according to a federal financial disclosure he filed in 2022, which gives dollar values in ranges but does not provide specific figures.

He ran for U.S. Senate

Oz ran for U.S. Senate as a Republican in 2022, one of the highest-profile races of that year’s midterms. Though he was a longtime resident of New Jersey and worked in New York City, Oz ran in Pennsylvania, citing ties to the state through his wife’s parents.

His campaign leaned heavily into his celebrity. Its logo looked just like his TV show logo. His themes — “a dose of reality” or “the doctor is in” — spun off his TV doctor reputation.

He ran in a crowded Republican primary and won Trump’s eagerly sought endorsement.

“Women, in particular, are drawn to Dr. Oz for his advice and counsel. I have seen this many times over the years. They know him, believe in him, and trust him,” Trump said when he endorsed Oz.

Following a court battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Oz narrowly won the primary over McCormick by 951 votes but lost to Democrat John Fetterman in the general election.

Oz and Trump have a long personal history

Oz told The Associated Press in a 2022 interview that he first met Trump in 2004 or 2005 when he asked Trump to use his golf course for an event for Oz’s children’s charity. Trump agreed. After that, they saw each other intermittently at social events before Oz interviewed Trump about his health during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In a 2016 appearance on “The Dr. Oz Show,” Trump said his wife, Melania Trump, was “a big fan” of the show.

Trump appointed Oz to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition during his first term.

He would oversee a massive agency

If confirmed by the Senate to lead CMS, Oz would oversee Medicare, Medicaid, children’s health insurance and the Affordable Care Act, better known as “Obamacare.” The programs cover more than 160 million people, from newborns to nursing home residents.

CMS also plays a central role in the nation’s $4.5 trillion health care economy, setting Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors, labs and other service providers. Government payment levels become the foundation for private insurers. The agency also sets standards that govern how health care providers operate.

The agency has more than 6,000 employees and a $1.1 trillion budget.

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary.

The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.

Lutnick, a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, once appeared on Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Apprentice.” He has become a part of the president-elect’s inner circle.

Here are things to know about the billionaire who, if confirmed by the Senate, will lead the Commerce Department.

He was Elon Musk’s pick to lead the Treasury Department

Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit called on Trump last week to dump previous front-runner for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in favor of Lutnick. Musk said in a post that “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.”

The treasury role has been at the center of an unusual high-profile jockeying within the Trump world. At the same time, the position is closely watched in financial circles, where a disruptive nominee could have immediate negative consequences on the stock market, which Trump watches closely. Trump has yet to decide on one of the top remaining vacancies in his proposed cabinet.

The major remaining nominees for the role are Bessent, former Federal Reserve board governor Kevin Warsh, Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan, and Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty, Trump’s former Japan ambassador.

He is a major supporter of Trump’s tariffs plan

Trump on the campaign trail proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports. On the campaign trail, Trump portrayed the taxes on imports as both a negotiating tool to hammer out better trade terms and as a way to generate revenue to fund tax cuts elsewhere.

An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick gave full-throated support for Trump’s tariffs plan in a CNBC interview in September. “Tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the American worker,” he said.

Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.

His brother and hundreds of Cantor employees were killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks

Lutnick’s brother, Gary Lutnick, and 658 of 960 Cantor Fitzgerald employees were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. The firm lost two-thirds of its employees that day. Lutnick is a member of the Board of Directors of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Partnership for New York City.

After Cantor Fitzgerald settled a wrongful death and personal injuries case against American Airlines and insurance carriers in 2013 for $135 million, Lutnick said: “We could never, and will never, consider it ordinary. For us, there is no way to describe this compromise with inapt words like ordinary, fair or reasonable. All we can say is that the legal formality of this matter is over.”

Trump’s Tuesday announcement on the Commerce Department nomination mentioned Lutnick’s loss — stating he was “the embodiment of resilience in the face of unspeakable tragedy.”

He’s a major supporter of cryptocurrency

Lutnick is a proponent of advancing aims of the cryptocurrency industry — namely, the cryptocurrency Tether.

Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital money that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency.

“Bitcoin is like gold and should be free trade everywhere in the world,” Lutnick said at a bitcoin conference earlier this year. “And as the largest wholesaler in the world we’re going to do everything in our power to make it so. Bitcoin should trade the same as gold everywhere in the world without exception and without limitation.”

Trump has taken on a favorable view of cryptocurrencies — from announcing in May that the campaign would begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency as part of an effort to build what it calls a “crypto army” leading up to Election Day. He has also launched a cryptocurrency platform called World Liberty Financial with members of his family earlier this year.

By FARNOUSH AMIRI

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled support Tuesday for a Republican effort to ban Democrat Sarah McBride — the first transgender person to be elected to Congress — from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol once she’s sworn into office next year.

“We’re not going to have men in women’s bathrooms,” Johnson told The Associated Press. “I’ve been consistent about that with anyone I’ve talked to about this.”

Citing his Christian faith, Johnson earlier in the day emphasized the need to “treat all persons with dignity and respect,” adding, “This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before, and we’re going to do that in deliberate fashion with member consensus on it.”

A resolution proposed Monday by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina would prohibit any lawmakers and House employees from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” Mace said the bill is aimed specifically at McBride, who was elected to the House this month from Delaware.

The debate over whether transgender people should be allowed to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity has been prevalent across the U.S. and was a focal point of President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign. At least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from girls and women’s bathrooms at public schools, and in some cases other government facilities.

“I’m absolutely, 100% gonna stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms,” Mace said told reporters Tuesday. The second-term congresswoman added that Johnson assured her the bathroom provision would be included in any changes to House rules for the next Congress.

“If it’s not,” she said. “I’ll be ready to pick up the mantle.”

Democrats, including McBride, denounced the GOP effort as “bullying” and a “distraction.”

“This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing,” McBride said. “We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”

Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, quipped that House Republicans are already “off to a great start.”

“What are they talking about there, on day one, is where one member out of 435 is going, where she is going to use the bathroom?” the Massachusetts lawmaker said during a press conference Tuesday. “That is their focus?”

McBride was elected to the House this month after building a national profile as an LGBTQ activist and raising more than $3 million in campaign contributions from around the country. She became the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the United States in 2016, when she spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

After her election win earlier this month, McBride said that her victory was “a testament to Delawareans that we have shown time and time again that in this state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities.”

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President-elect Donald Trump digs in on his pick of former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Republican senators are divided over how much information they will demand to move his confirmation — and how much to push back on Trump as he demands that they quickly rubber stamp his Cabinet once he takes office in January.

Gaetz, who is expected to start meeting with senators as soon as this week, is an unconventional pick for the nation’s top law enforcement official, creating a confirmation climb in the Senate, where many Republicans are deeply uncomfortable with his selection.

The Florida Republican spent his congressional career agitating against the Justice Department and has faced a House Ethics investigation into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz denies the allegations.

Publicly, Republican senators say they will give Gaetz the same due process that they give any other nominee. Most are loath to criticize him directly. But they are split on whether to demand access to the ethics report, which the House ethics committee could choose to release after Gaetz resigned from the House last week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has positioned himself as Trump’s top ally in Congress, said last week that he will “strongly request” that the Ethics committee not release the results of its investigation.

Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who will become Senate majority leader in January, deferred to Johnson, saying Monday that the ethics report is “a House issue.” But several in his conference argued that the Senate should see the report, whether it is released publicly or not.

“There’s nothing about that that would smell right, to say, ‘Hey, there’s a report but none of us want to see it,’” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served in the House with Gaetz, said the ethics report is important for the Senate’s “advice and consent” role laid out in the Constitution. “I think the report from the House plays a pivotal role in that,” he said.

Others said the information would come out one way or another, even if it isn’t released. “I’m going to honor Speaker Johnson’s position,” said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. “I think it’s a reasonable position.”

The simmering clash between the Senate, House and Trump could be just the first of many to come. Trump has made clear he expects next year’s unified Republican Congress to give him broad leeway on his nominees.

Cabinet nominees have traditionally provided a flood of paperwork to Senate committees ahead of their confirmation hearings, participating in background checks by the FBI and filling out lengthy questionnaires that probe every aspect of their lives and careers. But Trump’s transition has already signaled that it might not request the background checks and has so far declined to sign agreements with the White House and the Department of Justice to allow that process to begin.

The documentation, including the criminal background checks and financial vetting, could be key for senators in both parties who have questions about Gaetz and some of Trump’s other more controversial nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Pete Hegseth for secretary of Defense and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.

In the absence of the traditional process, whether to proceed without an FBI background check would be up to individual committee chairs, who will be under tremendous pressure from Trump and his allies to move his nominees quickly. On Tuesday, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the incoming No. 2 Republican under Thune, said the Senate will begin hearings once Republicans take the majority on Jan. 3 and start holding confirmation votes once Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Republican senators say they will demand that documentation, but it’s unclear how that might work if Trump’s transition doesn’t consent to it.

“I think that if they want a speedy consideration of this nomination we’ve got to have as much transparency as we can have,” said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who will serve as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman next year. “Because you’ve heard my colleagues, especially on the Republican side, say that they have some questions.”

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he wants a traditional process involving the full FBI background check for Hegseth and the committee’s other nominees. “We should do it by the numbers,” Wicker said.

Democrats are wary, though, that the process could get muddled, or curtailed, as Trump puts the full force of his pressure on Senate Republicans.

“If there’s a cursory background check, like we call 20 people — that’s not going to be appropriate,” said Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the current chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee who will be the panel’s top Democrat next year.

Meanwhile. Gaetz has already paid a visit to at least one group of potential allies, the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, where he outlined for the group “some of the things that that need to be done at the Department of Justice to end the weaponization,” said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus.

Among the ideas Gaetz discussed was “eliminating a lot of the senior staff,” Harris said.

As for the allegations of sexual misconduct against Gaetz, Harris dismissed them saying, “last time I looked, in America, you’re innocent until proven guilty.” He said he did not believe the House Ethics files on Gaetz should be released.

“We think that the president deserves to get his selections approved for the cabinet, and Mr. Gaetz knows what to do to end the weaponization of the department,” Harris said.

Speaker Johnson also made clear his position Tuesday, telling reporters that the Senate should do its job and “sure, take a look, do a deep dive” and then move them along for confirmation so “the president has the team in place to do what the American people have elected him to do.”

“I think President Trump is looking for persons who will shake up the status quo,” Johnson said. “And we got a mandate in this election cycle to do that.”

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY, JOHN HANNA and AMY BETH HANSON, Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Terry Thompson had an election to run for voters in Cascade County, Montana. Why then, she thought, was her office in Great Falls being sent mailed ballots completed by voters in places such as Wasilla, Alaska, Vancouver, Washington, and Tampa, Florida?

It was only about a dozen ballots total from voters in other states. But she said it still raised concerns about the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver election mail and whether the errant ballots would ever be counted.

“I mean, I would have had to been doing FedEx overnight envelopes to all these states to try to get them where they needed to go,” said Thompson, the county’s election administrator.

She received about a half dozen others that should have gone to county election offices in other parts of Montana. For those, she said she “just had to hope and pray” they made it back on time.

While a stray ballot ending up in the wrong place can happen during election season, the number of ballots destined for other states and counties that ended up at Thompson’s office is unusual. The Associated Press found it wasn’t an anomaly. Election offices in California, Louisiana, New Mexico and elsewhere also reported receiving completed ballots in the mail that should have gone to other states.

To some election officials, it confirms concerns they raised before the Nov. 5 presidential election about the U.S. Postal Service’s performance and ability to handle a crush of mail ballots, as early voting has become increasingly popular with voters.

State election officials warned in September that problems with the nation’s mail delivery system threatened to disenfranchise voters in the upcoming presidential election. In a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the election officials noted problems during the primaries that included mailed ballots postmarked on time but received too late be counted and instances of properly addressed election mail returned as undeliverable.

In Louisiana, state election officials said some 40 to 50 ballots destined for 10 other states ended up being delivered to local election offices, mostly in Orleans Parish. Deputy Secretary of State Joel Watson Jr. said the Secretary of State’s Office had “extraordinary frustration” for the Postal Service’s continued “inconsistencies” and “lack of accountability.”

Dozens of mail ballots from inside the state also were delivered to the wrong local election office, Watson said.

“There were many instances where our staff had to physically take these ballots and drive them to another parish to get them there on time to make sure those votes count,” Watson said. “We had to use time and resources in the hours and days immediately preceding the biggest election we hold to make sure these ballots were delivered to the right places.”

Louisiana law does not permit ballot drop boxes, and Watson indicated his office does not support moving in that direction and would continue to encourage voters to cast their ballots in person. He cited security concerns such as the arson attacks on drop boxes in Washington and Oregon ahead of the Nov. 5 election in which ballots were damaged.

The U.S. Postal Service said in a statement that it had been working closely with local election officials to resolve concerns, but did not address specific questions regarding the misdirected ballots.

“The United States Postal Service is fully committed to fulfilling our role in the electoral process when policy makers choose to utilize us as a part of their election system, and to delivering election mail in a timely manner,” Rod Spurgeon, a USPS spokesman, said in an email.

Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, said ballot monitors identified some problems inside facilities during the election season but said they were resolved.

“While we are waiting on the final statistics from the Postal Service, all indications show that vote-by-mail was a success in the 2024 general election,” he said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Still, state and local election officials reported numerous cases of ballots ending up in the wrong place.

In New Mexico’s Santa Fe County, County Clerk Katharine Clark said seven ballots bound for her office were instead delivered to Los Angeles County in Southern California. Those ballots were redirected, Clark said, but did not arrive at her office before the state’s deadline to be counted, which is 7 p.m. on Election Day.

“It does mean that person got denied the right to vote, because the ballots from Los Angeles County — even though they were sent (to Santa Fe) with a four- or five-day lead time — they didn’t get to us in time to count,” she said.

In addition, Clark said her office received two ballots destined for Los Angeles County and one for Maricopa County in Arizona that she sent back to the U.S. Postal Service. Nine ballots should have been delivered to other counties within New Mexico.

In addition to the Santa Fe County ballots, Los Angeles County election officials said they also received two ballots that should have been mailed to Torrance County, New Mexico. That county’s clerk, Linda Jaramillo, said she did not recall receiving the ballots from Los Angeles County but expressed faith in the nation’s mail service.

“There’s going to be a few,” Jaramillo said. “You can’t have perfection.”

The California Secretary of State’s office said about 150 mail ballots from Oregon voters were misdirected to California before being sent back. Officials at the state election office in Springfield, Illinois, somehow ended up with a ballot intended for Massachusetts.

“Yeah, I have no idea how that happens,” said Matt Dietrich, spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Amy Cohen, executive director of the National Association of State Election Directors, called the incidents “disappointing and heartbreaking.”

“Election officials don’t ever want to see misdelivered ballots, but it does happen for variety of reasons, not all of which are USPS’s fault,” Cohen said, noting that voters can sometimes forget to use the outer envelope that contains important address information.

But Cohen said the examples from this past presidential election seem to reflect the issues that election officials had been worried about since 2023 and were highlighted in their September letter to U.S. Postal Service leadership.

“We hope they will get to the bottom of what went wrong to prevent it from happening again in the future and that they will be responsive to the issues escalated by the election community,” Cohen said.

In Kansas, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican, was so frustrated after the August primary with hundreds of mail ballots arriving after the deadline for counting them that he posted on social media, “The Pony Express is more efficient at this point.” Schwab, unlike other Republicans, has touted the use of drop boxes.

There were no reports of ballots misdirected from or to other states, but Schwab said in a statement this week: “I still encourage voters to not use the USPS to mail their ballot unless there is no other option.”

Cassidy reported from Atlanta and Hanna from Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California; Jack Brook in New Orleans; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and others contributed to this report.

By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is interviewing candidates for the role of FBI director, incoming Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday in the clearest indication yet that the new administration is looking to replace current director Christopher Wray.

In a social media post that was later deleted, Vance defended his absence from a Senate vote at which a judicial nominee of President Joe Biden was confirmed by saying that at the time of the vote, “I was meeting with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.”

“I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” he added on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Vance was referring to the Senate vote Monday to confirm Embry J. Kidd, a Biden nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, a vote that he and several other Republican senators missed.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment, and the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FBI director’s position carries a 10-year term but Wray’s replacement would not be unexpected given Trump’s long-running criticism of the director he appointed when he was president seven years ago. This past summer, for instance, Trump took to social media to call for Wray to resign after Wray appeared to vouch for Biden’s mental acuity.

Some allies of Trump, including conservative strategist Steve Bannon, have been pushing Trump loyalist Kash Patel for the position but other potential contenders for the job are thought to include Mike Rogers, a former FBI agent and House intelligence committee chairman who recently lost his bid for the U.S. Senate as a Michigan Republican.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Leader Hakeem Jeffries won reelection Tuesday as the Democratic leader, receiving support from his colleagues despite the party’s inability to win back majority control of the chamber in the November election.

Jeffries of New York was chosen during an internal party vote of the House Democrats underway at the Capitol. Most of the Democratic leadership team is expected to be reelected for the new Congress.

In line to become the House speaker, Jeffries remains the highest ranking Black elected official in Congress, and the first to hold the job of party leader.

He fell short of being in place to win the gavel after Republicans swept to power alongside President-elect Donald Trump, winning control of the White House, the Senate and the House.

While the Democratic leader will be the party’s nominee for House speaker, the gavel is expected to go to Speaker Mike Johnson as Republicans continue to hold the majority in the new year.

Jeffries and the House Democratic leadership works as a team — a trio of younger generation leaders that took over when Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi stepped aside from leadership two years ago. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California also won their reelections on Tuesday.

House Democrats picked up a few seats in hard-fought regions, including Jeffries’ home state of New York and in California. But they also lost seats elsewhere and failed to topple some GOP incumbents, and overall there was little change in the House.

Republicans under Johnson are left holding the majority by a so-slim margin — their numbers diminishing in the new year as Trump has tapped three GOP lawmakersElise Stefanik, Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz to serve in his administration. Some need to be confirmed by the Senate.