By Adam Graham, agraham@detroitnews.com

The Milford Independent Cinema is ceasing operations, joining a host of other area movie theaters that have run their final credits in recent years.

The one-screen theater, founded in 1972, will close its doors Jan. 31, operators announced in an Instagram post on Sunday.

“This difficult decision follows extensive efforts to sustain operations amid significant and ongoing changes within the film exhibition industry,” the statement said. “Shifts toward streaming platforms, evolving film distribution models, rising operational costs, and increasing box office fees required to show first-run films have made it increasingly difficult for independent theaters to remain viable.”

The theater’s closing follows the shuttering of other Metro Detroit movie theaters and multiplexes, including the AMC Star Southfield, AMC Fairlane 21, Main Art Theatre, Maple Theater and Cinema Detroit, all of which have closed their doors since 2020. The Regal Cinemas UA Commerce Township closed in September after more than 27 years in business.

The Milford theater requires $70,000 in annual support to cover operating costs, the statement said.

“This decision was not made lightly and is not due to a lack of effort or community support,” the Cinema’s Board of Directors said in a statement. “The Milford community showd up for us time and time again — with attendance, fundraising, and unwavering commitment. We truly tried to evolve with the industry and meet the needs of our community. Unfortunately, we simply did not have enough time or the level of corporate and major donor support required to get where we needed to be.”

Details of the theater’s closing events will be announced in the coming days.

The Milford, which was run by the Henn family from 1972 to 2020 and reopened with new ownership in 2021 after shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic, is currently showing “Song Sung Blue,” starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as a Midwestern couple who play in a Neil Diamond tribute band.

The theater had mapped out showings for its Film Appreciation Night for the rest of 2026, including free showings of “Fargo” (Jan. 26), “All the President’s Men,” “Trainspotting,” “The Searchers” and more.

DETROIT – Popular and long-time Red Wings TV analyst Mickey Redmond will be taking a break after Sunday’s telecast for medical reasons.

Redmond, 78, will undergo spine fusion surgery next week, Redmond and the Wings said in statements released Sunday.

“After tonight’s game, I’ll be taking some time away from my analyst duties as I address chronic neck issues that have led me to need cervical spine fusion surgery,” Redmond said. “It’s never ideal to miss time during a season, but I was luckily able to line the procedure up with several nationally televised games and the Olympic break. It’s been an incredible season so far in Hockeytown, and I’m looking forward to being back behind the microphone for our exciting playoff run.”

Redmond had his playing career cut short in 1976, at age 29, because of back pain.

Redmond was the first player in Wings’ history to score 50 goals. He scored 51 in 1972-73 and 52 the following season. Redmond won two Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1968 and 1969 before being traded to the Wings.

Redmond his broadcasting career with the Wings in 1979. He left for a five-year stay on Hockey Night in Canada, then returned to broadcast Wings games in 1986. The pairing of play-by-play man Ken Daniels and Redmond began in 1997 and is generally considered among the best in the NHL.

While Mickey is recovering, Daniels will be joined in the booth by former Wings players Chris Osgood, and Stu Grimson and Frankie Corrado (current TSN analyst).

“Mickey has the support of his Red Wings family, and we appreciate that he’s prioritizing health,” the Red Wings said in a statement. “Mickey decided to wait on having this procedure until a time that was best for the broadcast, for the team and ultimately for the fans – a great example of what an incredible teammate he is both on and off the air. Everyone in the organization will keep him in our thoughts and will do anything needed to support his recovery.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Tuburu Naivalurua had a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds and Isaac Garrett added 17 points and added 10 rebounds as Oakland beat Green Bay 88-63 on Sunday to snap the Phoenix’s five-game win streak.

Ziare Wells finished 6 of 7 from the field and finish with 14 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Golden Grizzlies (11-9, 7-2 Horizon League).

“I’m just really proud of these guys. I haven’t taken many teams in our 14 years in the league up here and went back-to-back like we did — maybe one or two times,” Oakland head coach Greg Kampe said. “Took them off of what we came off of, make this business trip, and played the way we played two nights in a row. I’m really, really pleased with the kids.”

Ramel Bethea finished with 11 points and four blocks for the Phoenix (11-9, 6-3). Justin Allen added nine points and six rebounds for Green Bay. Marcus Hall also had nine points and four assists.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

DETROIT (AP) — Alex DeBrincat scored 36 seconds into overtime to give the surging Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Lucas Raymond and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Detroit. Patrick Kane assisted on Sandin-Pellikka’ goal, moving him two points shy of Mike Modano’s record of 1,374 career points by a U.S.-born player.

John Gibson made 19 saves for his 15th victory in his last 17 games. The Red Wings improved to 9-4 in overtime games.

Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist for Ottawa. Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto also scored, and James Reimer made 30 saves.

DeBrincat’s team-high 26th goal was set up by Andrew Copp as Detroit kept pace with Tampa Bay atop the Atlantic Division standings. The Red Wings have won six of their last seven games.

The Senators took a 2-0 lead 5:05 into the game. Batherson scored on a rebound and Cozens converted in front off a feed from Brady Tkachuk during a power play.

Sandin-Pellikka’s power-play goal came on a shot from the point at 7:16 of the period to get the Red Wings on the scoreboard. Raymond’s shot from the high slot over Reimer’s glove at 6:06 of the second period tied it at 2-all.

Van Riemsdyk’s power-play goal off a rebound with 3:07 left in the period involved some nifty stick work. He maneuvered the puck between his legs and shot it over Reimer’s pad with the stick behind the back.

Pinto’s tip-in during another power play in the final minute of the period tied it once again.

Up next

Senators: Visit Columbus on Tuesday.

Red Wings: Visit Toronto on Wednesday.

If you’re tired of visiting places trod by millions of tourists previously, perhaps you should consider looking in less likely spots this year.

A cheat sheet for that can be found in Afar’s primer, “Where To Go in 2026: Places That Are on the Rise and off the Beaten Path.” The travel-media brand has collected two dozen destinations that serve as a “better way to travel the world: responsibly, creatively and with eyes on places long overlooked.”

Think of Buffalo, N.Y., whose Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor is getting a resurrected jazz club and a pioneering Black radio museum in 2026. Or West Cork, Ireland, a wild and enchanting side of the island that visitors don’t often patronize, or Rabat, Morocco, which is rising as a cultural hub with new museums and a rockin’ summer music festival.

Residents of Northern California might perk up their ears at the inclusion of the Columbia River Gorge, a rugged and waterfall-blessed region in Oregon and Washington that’s within striking range. Here are the first 10 on the list in alphabetical order; for more check the full guide.

Afar’s places on the rise and off the beaten path

1 Adelaide, Australia

2 Albuquerque, N.M.

3 Birmingham, Ala.

4 Bucharest, Romania

5 Buffalo, N.Y.

6 Columbia River Gorge, Oregon and Washington

7 Da Nang, Vietnam

8 East Antarctica

9 Eleuthera, Bahamas

10 Far East London

Source: afar.com/magazine/the-best-places-to-travel-in-2026

Originally, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” was to land on TV screens in mid-2025.

The gods had other ideas.

This third HBO series set in the world that author George R.R. Martin introduced with his “A Song of Ice and Fire” collection of fantasy novels finally arrives this week, mere months before the highly anticipated return of the second, “House of the Dragon,” in the summer.

While “Dragon” is much like “Game of Thrones,” the beloved (until it wasn’t) adaptation of “A Song of Ice and Fire” — an hourlong series chock full of drama, scheming, battles, magic and, of course, dragons — “Knight” is a small-scale, half-hour affair largely grounded in reality while still taking place in the realm of Westeros.

Look at it as an appetizer for the meal that will be the third season of “Dragon.”

“Knight” is based on Martin’s “Tales of Dunk and Egg” novellas, with this first six-episode season an adaptation of 1998’s “The Hedge Knight.” Dunk is the titular figure of that book and the TV series, the towering Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), while Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) is a diminutive boy who comes to squire for him.

Their adventures take place about a century after the events being chronicled in “Dragon” and about 100 years before those of “Thrones.” It is a time when the winged, fire-breathing creatures are thought to be extinct and one of relative peace in the realm’s seven kingdoms — or nine, depending on how you are counting.

Showrunner Ira Parker — who has produced and written on “Dragon” — is the writer or co-writer of each “Knight” installment, helping to lend it an unmistakable consistency.

We are introduced to Dunk as he buries the hedge knight for whom he squired, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), and who, Dunk will come to insist, knighted him shortly before dying. Not long after this, we watch as he relieves himself (no, sigh, the second one) behind a tree, the camera still able to catch much of the, um, glory.

Man, it’s great to be back in Westeros!

Unable to conjure a more promising plan, the near-coin-less Dunk decides to ride for Ashford Meadow, soon to be the site of a tournament where he intends to compete in the jousting event. Along the way, of course, he encounters Egg, who asks to be his squire. Dunk initially rejects this idea but soon relents, allowing the lad to be his aide and promising to keep him fed, if not much beyond that, in exchange.

To compete, Dunk must convince others he is a knight — if only a hedge knight, a class of wandering warriors who, we learn, often must sleep in the hedges because no lord will have them. In this pursuit, he meets men with important last names, such as charismatic enjoyer of life Ser Lyonel Baratheon (Daniel Ings) and Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), the heir to the all-important Iron Throne in King’s Landing. The latter is unlike some other powerful members of his family — not just because he has short, dark hair but also because he is thoughtful, measured and kind.

Dunk’s life is complicated when he runs afoul of one of Baelor’s nephews, Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen (Finn Bennett), son of Maekar Targaryen (Sam Spruell), Baelor’s younger brother. Dunk was in the right, of course, protecting a Dornish puppeteer, Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford), who was having a bit of satirical fun at the Targaryens’ expense, but that matters little considering the power wielded by Aerion.

Egg stands by Dunk, but he will need more formidable allies if he is to survive the trial to come.

“Knight,” with its basic story and Dunk’s relatable values — informed by a late-season flashback episode in which a younger version of the character is portrayed by Bamber Todd during a crucial point in his adolescence in the slums of Flea Bottom — is appealing in its simplicity. That said, even with most episodes around 30 minutes, it could use a bit more excitement and action.

Former rugby player Claffey is a nice find for everyman Dunk, and Ansell (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”) brings some clever touches to the complicated Egg. However, there’s more crackle to this series when it involves certain supporting players, including the aforementioned Carvel (“The Crown”) and Ings (“The Gentlemen”).

As has “House of the Dragon,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” serves as a reminder of just how well Martin has fleshed out both the geography and overall mythology of Westeros. (Relatedly, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that this series is keeping a little secret, one no doubt already known to many well-steeped in Martin’s world-building.)

While “Knight” is, again, only so filling, you’ll get no objections here that it already has been renewed for a second season, which you’d expect to adapt Martin’s second novella in the series, 2003’s “The Sworn Sword.”

The gods are good.

‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’

What: Six-episode first season of half-hour series set in author George R.R. Martin’s Westeros.

Where: HBO and HBO Max.

When: 10 p.m. Sundays starting Jan. 18.

Rated: TV-MA.

By Shalina Chatlani, Stateline.org

As part of its deportation efforts, the Trump administration has ordered states to hand over personal data from voter rolls, driver’s license records and programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.

At the same time, the administration is trying to consolidate the bits of personal data held across federal agencies, creating a single trove of information on people who live in the United States.

Many left-leaning states and cities are trying to protect their residents’ personal information amid the immigration crackdown. But a growing number of conservative lawmakers also want to curb the use of surveillance technologies, such as automated license plate readers, that can be used to identify and track people.

Conservative-led states such as Arkansas, Idaho and Montana enacted laws last year designed to protect the personal data collected through license plate readers and other means. They joined at least five left-leaning states — Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Washington — that specifically blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from accessing their driver’s license records.

In addition, Democratic-led cities in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington last year terminated their contracts with Flock Safety, the largest provider of license plate readers in the U.S.

The Trump administration’s goal is to create a “surveillance dragnet across the country,” said William Owen, communications director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit that advocates for stronger privacy laws.

“We’re entering an increasingly dystopian era of high-tech surveillance,” Owen said. Intelligence sharing between various levels of government, he said, has “allowed ICE to sidestep sanctuary laws and co-opt local police databases and surveillance tools, including license plate readers, facial recognition and other technologies.”

A new Montana law bars government entities from accessing electronic communications and related material without a warrant. Republican state Sen. Daniel Emrich, the law’s author, said “the most important thing that our entire justice system is based on is the principle against unlawful search and seizure” — the right enshrined in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“It’s tough to find individuals who are constitutionally grounded and understand the necessity of keeping the Fourth Amendment rights intact at all times for all reasons — with minimal or zero exceptions,” Emrich said in an interview.

ICE did not respond to Stateline’s requests for comment.

Automated license plate readers

Recently, cities and states have grown particularly concerned over the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which are high-speed camera and computer systems that capture license plate information on vehicles that drive by. These readers sit on top of police cars and streetlights or can be hidden within construction barrels and utility poles.

Some cameras collect data that gets stored in databases for years, raising concerns among privacy advocates. One report from the Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive think tank at New York University, found the data can be susceptible to hacking. Different agencies have varying policies on how long they keep the data, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a law enforcement advocacy group.

Supporters of the technology, including many in law enforcement, say the technology is a powerful tool for tracking down criminal suspects.

Flock Safety says it has cameras in more than 5,000 communities and is connected to more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies across 49 states. The company claims its cameras conduct more than 20 billion license plate reads a month. It collects the data and gives it to police departments, which use the information to locate people.

Holly Beilin, a spokesperson for Flock Safety, told Stateline that while there are local police agencies that may be working with ICE, the company does not have a contractual relationship with the agency. Beilin also said that many liberal and even sanctuary cities continue to sign contracts with Flock Safety. She noted that the cameras have been used to solve some high-profile crimes, including identifying and leading police to the man who committed the Brown University shooting and killed an MIT professor at the end of last year.

“Agencies and cities are very much able to use this technology in a way that complies with their values. So they do not have to share data out of state,” Beilin said.

Pushback over data’s use

But critics, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, say that Flock Safety’s cameras are not only “giving even the smallest-town police chief access to an enormously powerful driver-surveillance tool,” but also that the data is being used by ICE. One news outlet, 404 Media, obtained records of these searches and found many were being carried out by local officers on behalf of ICE.

Last spring, the Denver City Council unanimously voted to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, but Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston unilaterally extended the contract in October, arguing that the technology was a useful crime-fighting tool.

The ACLU of Colorado has vehemently opposed the cameras, saying last August that audit logs from the Denver Police Department show more than 1,400 searches had been conducted for ICE since June 2024.

“The conversation has really gotten bigger because of the federal landscape and the focus, not only on immigrants and the functionality of ICE right now, but also on the side of really trying to reduce and or eliminate protections in regards to access to reproductive care and gender affirming care,” Anaya Robinson, public policy director at the ACLU of Colorado.

“When we erode rights and access for a particular community, it’s just a matter of time before that erosion starts to touch other communities.”

Jimmy Monto, a Democratic city councilor in Syracuse, New York, led the charge to eliminate Flock Safety’s contract in his city.

“Syracuse has a very large immigrant population, a very large new American population, refugees that have resettled and been resettled here. So it’s a very sensitive issue,” Monto said, adding that license plate readers allow anyone reviewing the data to determine someone’s immigration status without a warrant.

“When we sign a contract with someone who is collecting data on the citizens who live in a city, we have to be hyper-focused on exactly what they are doing while we’re also giving police departments the tools that they need to also solve homicides, right?” Monto said.

“Certainly, if license plate readers are helpful in that way, I think the scope is right. But we have to make sure that that’s what we’re using it for, and that the companies that we are contracting with are acting in good faith.”

Emrich, the Montana lawmaker, said everyone should be concerned about protecting constitutional privacy rights, regardless of their political views.

“If the government is obtaining data in violation of constitutional rights, they could be violating a whole slew of individuals’ constitutional rights in pursuit of the individuals who may or may not be protected under those same constitutional rights,” he said.

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Stateline reporter Shalina Chatlani can be reached at schatlani@stateline.org.

©2026 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Sarah Atwood, satwood@detroitnews.com

Lansing — Several of Michigan’s public university leaders gathered last week to reveal the results of a study analyzing the positive economic impact their institutions have on the state, generating $45 billion annually.

As public scrutiny of higher education and its mission has grown over the last five years, the speakers, including Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz and Grand Valley State University President Philomena Mantella, explained on Tuesday how Michigan’s public schools are continuing to improve the lives of all Michigan residents.

It’s been 10 years since the last report on the economic impact of Michigan’s universities, said Britany Affolter-Caine, executive director of Research Universities for Michigan, an organization of the four Michigan research universities.

The report, done by the East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group, shows that Michigan’s public universities contributed $45 billion in net new economic activity through operations, student spending and alumni earnings for the state. The report pointed out that this revenue was more than 28 times the amount given in state appropriations for the 15 universities.

“This is economic impact that would not exist in Michigan if these institutions were not here,” said Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association for State Universities.

However, about 70% of Americans now say higher education is going in the wrong direction, a poll by Pew Research released in October showed, up from 56% in 2020.

Guskiewicz and Mantella agreed that the public perception of higher education is something they’re trying to repair. Graduates coming out of college with jobs in their field, more affordable tuitions so students have less debt and showing the impact of universities in local communities are all ways the institutions can rebuild public trust, the speakers said.

Perception of higher education

Americans were losing confidence in higher education because they believe it’s too expensive, doesn’t provide the skills needed for today’s jobs and is “indoctrinating” students, Guskiewicz said.

The misinformation regarding the value of a degree conflicts with the real data that shows, Guskiewicz said, the social upward mobility and the opportunity that come with a degree, along with the improvements to quality of life in all sectors that touch a university.

“We have to do a better job of telling our story, just like we are today,” Guskiewicz said.

But negative perceptions of higher education held by lawmakers, federally and statewide, can hurt a university’s finances. In the past year, President Donald Trump’s administration has cut millions of dollars from Michigan universities, according to Treasury Department data compiled by the Center for American Progress, a liberal group.

Michigan House Republicans toyed with the idea of cutting $291 million from the University of Michigan’s and MSU’s state appropriations to redistribute among the other state universities. This was rejected by the Democratic-led Senate and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and all universities saw an increase in their state appropriations in the budget approved in October.

“That was an effort by one caucus in one chamber, which is a pretty distinct minority in the entire public body that ultimately is responsible for passing the state budget,” Hurley said. “All of our universities need to have reinvigorated state investment. … We are thankful for what the Legislature has done in recent years. … But we are conservatively at least 41st out of 50 in this country as it involves per student state support for public universities.”

The worth of a degree

Pew’s poll showed that about 80% of adult respondents said colleges and universities aren’t doing enough to keep tuition affordable, and about half said higher education wasn’t doing enough to prepare students for well-paying jobs.

The speakers acknowledged the longstanding problem of graduates struggling to find employment in their degree’s field, or any meaningful employment at all.

“This is not a new challenge,” Affolter-Caine said. “It happens to maybe be exacerbated in the current cycle.”

However, the report shows that graduates from Michigan universities make double what high school degree holders earn and, on average, about $20,000 more than what graduates from out-of-state public institutions make.

On average, the report said, Michigan university alumni ages 25-24 earn $91,073 yearly.

Mantella said Grand Valley, like other universities, has embraced and strengthened “experience-based learning.” This includes ensuring all students have access to an internship, project-based learning or other professional workforce experience while still in college.

“This is not only an opportunity to accelerate to the workforce,” Mantella said. “It’s so (students) come into the workforce at the appropriate levels, in the appropriate roles. … It also links the individual to a Michigan employer, so there’s a higher probability that they will, in fact, stay in the state and contribute to the state rather than go somewhere else.”

Hurley said about 84% of the top 50 most in-demand jobs over the next few years will require at least a bachelor’s degree.

“(Those jobs) are our state’s economy, our private sector, our non-private sector, our health care sector speaking,” Hurley said. “And so for us to be competitive in the future, we have to continue generating that talent. And of course, it’s the role of the state government to make sure that college remains affordable.”

By Paula Span, KFF Health News

You’re ready to leave the hospital, but you don’t feel able to care for yourself at home yet.

Or, you’ve completed a couple of weeks in rehab. Can you handle your complicated medication regimen, along with shopping and cooking?

Perhaps you fell in the shower, and now your family wants you to arrange help with bathing and getting dressed.

There are facilities that provide such help, of course, but most older people don’t want to go there. They want to stay at home; that’s the problem.

When older people struggle with daily activities because they have grown frail, because their chronic illnesses have mounted, or because they have lost a spouse or companion, most don’t want to move. For decades, surveys have shown that they prefer to remain in their homes for as long as possible.

That means they need home care, either from family and friends, paid caregivers, or both. But paid home care represents an especially strained sector of the long-term care system, which is experiencing an intensifying labor shortage even as an aging population creates surging demand.

“It’s a crisis,” said Madeline Sterling, a primary care doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine and the director of Cornell University’s Initiative on Home Care Work. “It’s not really working for the people involved,” whether they are patients (who can also be younger people with disabilities), family members, or home care workers.

“This is not about what’s going to happen a decade from now,” said Steven Landers, chief executive of the National Alliance for Care at Home, an industry organization. “Do an Indeed.com search in Anytown, USA, for home care aides, and you’ll see so many listings for aides that your eyes will pop out.”

Against this grim backdrop, however, some alternatives show promise in upgrading home care jobs and in improving patient care. And they’re growing.

Some background: Researchers and elder care administrators have warned about this approaching calamity for years. Home care is already among the nation’s fastest-growing occupations, with 3.2 million home health aides and personal care aides on the job in 2024, up from 1.4 million a decade earlier, according to PHI, a research and advocacy group.

But the nation will need about 740,000 additional home care workers over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and recruiting them won’t be easy. Costs to consumers are high — the median hourly rate for a home health aide in 2024 was $34, the annual Genworth/CareScout survey shows, with big geographic variations. But an aide’s median hourly wage was less than $17.

These remain unstable, low-paying jobs. Of the largely female workforce, about a third of whom are immigrants, 40% live in low-income households and most receive some sort of public assistance.

Even if the agencies that employ them offer health insurance and they work enough hours to qualify, many cannot afford their premium payments.

Unsurprisingly, the turnover rate approaches 80% annually, according to a survey by the ICA Group, a nonprofit organization that promotes co-ops.

But not everywhere. One innovation, still small but expanding: home care cooperatives owned by the workers themselves. The first and largest, Cooperative Home Care Associates in the Bronx borough of New York City, began in 1985 and now employs about 1,600 home care aides. The ICA Group now counts 26 such worker-owned home care businesses nationwide.

“These co-ops are getting exceptional results,” said Geoffrey Gusoff, a family medicine doctor and health services researcher at UCLA. “They have half the turnover of traditional agencies, they hold onto clients twice as long, and they’re paying $2 more an hour” to their owner-employees.

When Gusoff and his co-authors interviewed co-op members for a qualitative study in JAMA Network Open, “we were expecting to hear more about compensation,” he said. “But the biggest single response was, ‘I have more say’” over working conditions, patient care, and the administration of the co-op itself.

“Workers say they feel more respected,” Gusoff said.

Through an initiative to provide financing, business coaching, and technical assistance, the ICA Group intends to boost the national total to 50 co-ops within five years and to 100 by 2040.

Another approach gaining ground: registries that allow home care workers and clients who need care to connect directly, often without involving agencies that provide supervision and background checks but also absorb roughly half the fee consumers pay.

One of the largest registries, Carina, serves workers and clients in Oregon and Washington. Established through agreements with the Service Employees International Union, the nation’s largest health care union, it serves 40,000 providers and 25,000 clients. (About 10% of home care workers are unionized, according to PHI’s analysis.)

Carina functions as a free, “digital hiring hall,” said Nidhi Mirani, its chief executive. Except in the Seattle area, it serves only clients who receive care through Medicaid, the largest funder of care at home. State agencies handle the paperwork and oversee background checks.

Hourly rates paid to independent providers found on Carina, which are set by union contracts, are usually lower than what agencies charge, while workers’ wages start at $20, and they receive health insurance, paid time off, and, in some cases, retirement benefits.

Other registries may be operated by states, as in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, or by platforms like Direct Care Careers, available in four states. “People are seeking a fit in who’s coming into their homes,” Mirani said. “And individual providers can choose their clients. It’s a two-way street.”

Finally, recent studies indicate ways that additional training for home care workers can pay off.

“These patients have complex conditions,” Sterling said of the aides. Home care workers, who take blood pressure readings, prepare meals, and help clients stay mobile, can spot troubling symptoms as they emerge.

Her team’s recent clinical trial of home health aides caring for patients with heart failure— “the No. 1 cause of hospitalization among Medicare beneficiaries,” Sterling pointed out — measured the effects of a 90-minute virtual training module about its symptoms and management.

“Leg swelling. Shortness of breath. They’re the first signs that the disease is not being controlled,” Sterling said.

In the study, involving 102 aides working for VNS Health, a large nonprofit agency in New York, the training was shown to enhance their knowledge and confidence in caring for clients with heart failure.

Moreover, when aides were given a mobile health app that allowed them to message their supervisors, they made fewer 911 calls and their patients made fewer emergency room visits.

Small-scale efforts like registries, co-ops, and training programs do not directly address home care’s most central problem: cost.

Medicaid underwrites home care for low-income older adults who have few assets, though the Trump administration’s new budget will slash Medicaid by more than $900 billion over the next decade. The well-off theoretically can pay out-of-pocket.

But “middle-class retired families either spend all their resources and essentially bankrupt themselves to become eligible for Medicaid, or they go without,” Landers said. Options like assisted living and nursing homes are even more expensive.

The United States has never committed to paying for long-term care for the middle class, and it seems unlikely to do so under this administration. Still, savings from innovations like these can reduce costs and might help expand home care through federal or state programs. Several tests and pilots are underway.

Home care workers “have a lot of insight into patients’ conditions,” Sterling said. “Training them and giving them technological tools shows that if we’re trying to keep patients at home, here’s a way to do that with the workforce that’s already there.”

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The New Old Age is produced through a partnership with The New York Times.

©2026 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Halsey hasn’t played a venue as small as the Fillmore Detroit since her first show in these parts — nine and a half years ago at Saint Andrew’s Hall.

But rest assured there was nothing small about the New Jersey-born modern pop singer’s show on Saturday, Jan. 17 — the first of two sold-out Back to Badlands dates at the Fillmore, continuing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her double-platinum 2015 debut album “Badlands.”

Besides offering a generous selection of material (32 songs) from across her catalog, the two-and-a-half-hour spectacle delivered an arena-sized visual punch. Halsey and her three instrumentalists played on a two-tiered stage in front of a floor-to-ceiling high-def video wall that displayed a series of images and animations — and even 3-D imagery (glasses provided as fans entered) during a late-set “Lonely is the Muse,” as fans followed a reclining Halsey floating in front of them.

Halsey herself was the strongest effect, however, prowling and dancing around the stage in a low-plunge black halter-top and low-slug pants and exercising her pipes with extended notes on songs such as “Nightmare” “Without Me.” Fifteen songs from “Badlands” — its original and deluxe editions — were scattered throughout the night, non-sequentially, and the crowd was vociferously happy to hear the likes of “Coming Down,” “Strange Love” and “Garden” for the first time live in many years.

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It was a special night, by any measure, for those used to seeing Halsey in bigger spaces such as Little Caesars Arena and Pine Knob — including a season-opener at the latter last year. And that made some of her attitude for much of Saturday night a bit odd and, truthfully, disingenuous.

Early on, after performing “The Lighthouse,” Halsey dubbed the Fillmore “a weird (expletive) building,” different from other places the tour had played. “There are two shows happening,” she explained, maintaining that it required her to make grand movements and gestures for those in the balcony (“I have to make some (stuff) up on the fly,” she said) that might be off-putting to those packed in front of her on the main floor.

Eh? The former were certainly considerably a far sight closer than those in the back and top of LCA, or on the lawn at Pine Knob. And it’s highly doubtful that anybody down front really minded any of Halsey’s energetic movements. And yet it became a theme for the good stretch of Saturday’s show. At one point Halsey complained about the muted reaction from some “dudes” after she sang into their faces during “Hold Me Close;” “You guys are hard to impress, man,” she groused afterwards. “What do you want me to do?” (She did make a guess, if course. IYKYK.)

And later on, before her Chainsmokers collaboration “Closer” shook the Fillmore, Halsey said that, “I’ve accepted that you guys are tired tonight. You don’t have it; I get that” — even though the evidence right in front of her was quite contrary.

Fortunately she got over it before the end of the main set — or, in her view, the audience raised its game. Halsey did declare her strong affinity to Detroit and Michigan, celebrated in several of her songs (“It’s not like it’s an easy rhyme, y’know,” she quipped). And she rewarded the crowd with “a very special, once-in-a-lifetime Detroit encore” that veered from the tour’s usual program for a half-hour of deeper favorites such as a rocking “3am” (one of two songs on which Halsey played guitar), “Killing Boys,” “Clementine,” “929” and “Bad at Love” before the usual closer “Is There Somewhere.”

“I’ve had a great time with you tonight. Nobody loves you more than I do,” she shouted as the latter finished. The feeling was certainly mutual from the Fillmore crowd, and, despite any reservations she might have expressed earlier, “Badlands” proved to be a nice place for everyone to visit once again.

Halsey performs again on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Fillmore Detroit, 2115 Woodward Ave. Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are sold out. 313-961-5451 or thefillmoredetroit.com.

By Jolie Kerr

Special to The Washington Post

January is a great time of year to pick off decluttering projects, big and small. The new year, new you vibe can transform a task you’ve been putting off into one you cannot wait to cross off your to-do list.

And for many people, that overcrowded, overstuffed feeling the home can take on gives way to a burst of energy to get rid of it all.

Parting with your things, however, can be hard even when you’re excited at the prospect of a fresh start. Picking some easy(ish) decluttering projects is a great way to build momentum.

Here are 20 pretty easy things to consider removing from your home, your car or your life, in service of a less-cluttered 2026:

Holiday decorations

Start with the most obvious: As you take down holiday decor, weed out and throw away broken light sets and ornaments. (Will you need replacements? Order them now when you’re thinking of it, and they’re on sale.) Include holiday cards in the purge; keep the ones you want and throw away the rest.

Unwanted gifts

This one pushes the boundaries of “easy.” It can be hard to get rid of a gift that someone put thought and effort into. But if you got a gift you will truly never use, get rid of it. Return it, regift it, donate it, whatever the right move is, make it now. It won’t be easier in July.

Holiday food

It’s time to break up with that tin of peppermint bark, the container of homemade cranberry sauce or the turkey carcass that hasn’t and will never be turned into stock. Use it up now or throw it out.

Ingredients from 2025 that are languishing

If you bought an ingredient for a dish you made once and will never make again, or that you simply ended up not liking, this is the time to remove it from your life.

That one serving platter that exists to cause you trouble

Not everyone will have one of these, but those of you who do know the exact platter in question: It’s too heavy, too wide or too weirdly shaped, and it never quite works for anything other than getting in your way. Make 2025 the last year you deal with this diva! Donate or sell it if you can, and if it’s an heirloom or similarly significant, pass it along to a family member.

Reusable bags

These things proliferate in the night, and we all have too many of them. If you’ve still got a stack of Trader Joe’s bags with receipts from 2024 in them, a stash of plastic bags spilling out of other plastic bags or shopping bags from stores you haven’t shopped at in years, it’s a sign that you do not actually reuse those reusable bags you keep hanging on to.

Automotive detritus

Does your car need to be cleaned out? Grab a trash bag and spend five minutes purging. It will have an almost-immediate positive effect on your life.

Broken, duplicate or unused cooking utensils and small appliances

This one is especially well-suited to people who plan to make changes to their diets or undertake new cooking or baking endeavors in the new year. Donating or selling utensils and small appliances in January is ideal because for every person who vowed to eat less ice cream in the new year, there’s also a person who is making 2026 their year of ice cream artistry.

Anything you don’t like the smell of

Whether it’s a candle, a body wash, a countertop spray or a perfume, the experience of feeling stuck with a scented item that you hate the smell of is so relatable. Free yourself from those stinking shackles! Admit it was a mistake, and cast it off.

Promotional items and/or freebies you got in 2025

Water bottles, koozies, T-shirts, key chains, notepads — promotional items take many forms, and they’re free, which makes it easy to say, “Eh, it was free. Might as well keep it.” But if you didn’t pay for it and you don’t use it, you owe it nothing and it owes nothing to you. Toss, recycle or donate.

Cleaning products you don’t use

A small collection of cleaning agents are all you need to keep a clean home. Stocking a huge array of cleaning products is counterproductive. They’ll get in your way and make it harder for you to keep your home clean! Unwanted cleaning products, including ones that have been opened, are also super donate-able.

Old slippers

Alas, old slippers are not super donate-able, which can make them oddly hard to part with. But when you replace old slippers with new ones, it is time to say goodbye to your old friends. Beware of the role reassignment trap, here: Are those house slippers you bought in 2019 really going to serve as your new outdoor shoe?

Old dog leashes and collars

Leashes and collars are to our dogs as slippers are to us, which is funny to think about! Hopefully, bringing a bit of humor to the purge party will make it easier to admit that those old leashes and collars will not be used again.

Broken luggage

If you returned from holiday travels with broken luggage, repair it or toss it. Deal with it now; it won’t become less broken in the future.

Hair accessories, products or tools from two hair styles ago

Maybe it’s a bottle of purple conditioner from your short-lived platinum blond era or the round brush you bought when you decided to cut bangs or those clips you bought when you admitted the bangs were a mistake and set about growing them out. If it’s intended for a hairstyle you no longer have, it’s clutter that’s taking up valuable bathroom storage space.

Too many hangers

A common reason people struggle to keep their clothes organized is that their closets are simply too jammed up to be functional. Free up some space by paring down your spare hanger collection.

Rags, used sponges and old toothbrushes

All the stuff you reassigned as cleaning tools, if you’re not actually using them, then you’re just storing old, gross trash with your cleaning supplies.

Clothes you didn’t mend in 2025

This can feel like a bummer, because it requires admitting that you meant to do something, and didn’t, and that you’re unlikely to do it in the future. Use January’s “fresh start” energy to make a clean break from those unmended clothes, instead of clinging to a past you’ve grown out of.

Broken electronics you didn’t fix in 2025

Ditto broken electronics.

Empty boxes

Empty boxes — shipping boxes, product boxes, even unused storage containers — take up space and get in the way. Remove them from your orbit! Put the broken electronics and unmended clothes and gross old toothbrushes in them and get rid of all of it at once!

Community activities

• Zenning Your Space wellness workshop is 6-7:30 p.m. Jan. 23, at Wint Nature Center, 9501 Sashabaw Road, Independence Twp. Craft a kokedama (a Japanese moss ball plant) and discover ways to weave natural elements into your environment for relaxation, balance and better air quality, suited for ages 8+, $10/person, preregistration is required; call 248-858-0916, or visit www.oakgov.com/community/oakland-county-parks.

• The Meadow Brook Garden Club meeting is Jan. 23, at Meadow Brook Hall, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester. Coffee and refreshments will be served at 9:15 a.m., program at 10 a.m. featuring guest speaker, Marilyn Trent, founder of Rochester Pollinators, “Petals, Pollinators & Pocket Forests”. Reservations are not required, $5 non-member fee, enter through the De Carlo Visitor Center. For information, call 248-364-6210 or email MBGC@Oakland.edu.

• Oakland County Farmers Market offers free cooking demonstrations, 10-11 a.m. Jan. 24, Feb. 7, Feb. 21, March 7 and March 21, held in cooperation with edibleWOW, at Oakland County Farmers Market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Twp. Guests can shop for ingredients during market hours, 7 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Oakland County Farmers Market. Copies of the recipes will be available at the market and online at www.oakgov.com/community/oakland-county-parks/parks-trails/farmers-market, following the demonstrations.

• Annual Birmingham Youth Assistance  Kids’ Dog Show 2026 is Feb. 1, at Berkshire Middle School Gym, 21707 W 14 Mile Road, Beverly Hills, children ages 4-14, can compete with their dogs. Tickets are $25+ per dog, dogs must be immunized and on a leash. For online purchases, use a computer, not mobile at www.birminghamyouthassistance.org. Registration closes on Jan. 30. To pay by check, print a form from the website.

• Oakland County is accepting applications for the Oakland Together 40 Under 40 Class of 2026, through 5 p.m. Feb. 2. The annual program recognizes 40 leaders younger than 40 who live or work in Oakland County – and who are driving positive change in their communities. Applicants must self-nominate, and be at least 18 years old, born after Dec. 31, 1985. For more information or to apply, visit www.oakgov.com/40under40. For questions, email 40under40@oakgov.com or call 248-858-5400.

Education

• The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Detroit Chapter is offering $2,500 scholarships to Michigan students and apprentices pursuing careers in construction and skilled trades. NAWIC Detroit is hosting a free, in-person scholarship workshop on Jan. 24, at Detroit’s Northwest Activities Center, RSVP at https://forms.gle/Dknj4uwvHixp7Wb18. Scholarship applications are due by Feb. 28, https://nawic.org/nfsf-scholarships.

Expos

• The Troy Public Library will host a Preschool Expo, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jan. 22, at the Troy Community Center and is seeking organizations to participate. The free event is an opportunity for organizations that provide services to children ages birth to 5 years old in the Troy area, troypl.org for more information or call 248.524.3538.

• The HBA and the Construction Association of Michigan (CAM) to present the Great Lakes Design and Construction EXPO 2026 for residential and commercial designers, contractors, suppliers and service providers, Feb. 3, at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace (formerly Suburban Collection Showplace), 46100 Grand River Ave. in Novi. For registration and ticket information, visit https://miconstructionexpo.com.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day events happening in Oakland County

 

Festivals/Shows

• Detroit Auto Show is Jan. 14-25, Huntington Place, Detroit, https://detroitautoshow.com, ticket prices vary.

• The Novi Home Show is Jan. 16-18, Vibe Credit Union Showplace, formerly Suburban Collection Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave., Novi, www.vibeshowplace.com, general admission is $12, ($5 for ages 6-14) parking is $10.

• Winter White Wonderland Party is at 7 p.m. Jan. 23, 135 S Broadway, Lake Orion, hors d'oeuvres, entertainment from DJ Junbugg and dancing, https://www.facebook.com/winesociallakeorion, https://wine-social.com, $49.87+.

• BRRmingham Blast is 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, downtown Birmingham, along South Old Woodward Avenue from Maple Road to Brown Street, featuring a 300-foot zip line, magic shows, marshmallow roasting, inflatable axe throwing, food trucks and warming tent. Free parking in the 333 Pierce Street and the 222 Peabody Street municipal garages, downtownbirmingham.com/park. Zip line participants must weigh at least 40 lbs. and a maximum of 225 lbs. and be at least 6 years of age. The line will close early to accommodate all riders before the end of the event, downtownbirmingham.com.

• Winter Carnival is noon-4 p.m. Jan. 24, Bear Creek Nature Park, 740 W. Snell Road, Oakland Twp., ice skating, sled dogs, snow games, archery shoot, food trucks, weather permitting, https://oaklandtwpmi.gov/winter-carnival, free parking and shuttle service at Rochester Christian Church, 4435 Rochester Road, Oakland Twp.

• Ice Age Giants is 2-3:30 p.m. Jan. 24, at Red Oaks County Park Nature Center, 30300 Hales St., Madison Heights, see and touch fossils from Michigan’s frozen past, explore how DNA studies and replication research may reveal some ice-age genes, program is suitable for ages 8+, $5/person. Register at www.oakgov.com/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/8846/763, or call 248-858-0100.

• Winterfest 2026 is 1-4 p.m. Jan. 25, Oak Park Community Center, 14300 Oak Park Blvd., Oak Park, free carriage rides, live music, Mini Scottish Cows, reindeer, ice carver, crafts, chili, hot chocolate, www.oakparkmi.gov, free admission.

Health/safety activities

• The American Red Cross is in need of blood donations. Those who give now through Jan. 25 will be automatically entered to win a trip for two to Super Bowl LX in February in Santa Clara, California. Donors with types O, A negative and B negative blood are especially needed. To make an appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org/SuperBowl, or use the Red Cross Blood Donor app or call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

• The Dorothy and Peter Brown Jewish Community Adult Day Program, which offers care for metro Detroiters living with dementia, will host a free virtual program on the latest treatments available for treating Alzheimer’s Disease. The live webinar is at 2 p.m. Jan. 29. The program is suitable for caregivers and advocates of people living with dementia. Register for the program by Jan. 27, by email to Joanna Dorfman at jdorfman@jslmi.org or call 248.661.6390 ext. 1, www.brownadultday.org.

• National Radon Action Month is January. Radon test kits for homes are available through the month at no cost to Oakland County residents at Health Division offices: North Oakland Health Center, 1200 N. Telegraph, Building 34E, Pontiac or South Oakland Health Center, 27725 Greenfield Road, Southfield. Hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed, Jan. 19). Contact the office ahead of time if you want more than five test kits, 800-848-5533, epa.gov/radon, oakgov.com/health.

Library activities

• Winter Wonder Library is 6-8 p.m. Jan. 23, Rochester Hills Public Library, 500 Olde Towne Rd., Rochester, celebrity storytime readers, cookies and cocoa, kids and adult crafts, a Yeti scavenger hunt, games, and a brightly lit library garden. The library closes early at 5 p.m. to prepare and reopens its doors at 6 p.m. for the event. No registration is required,  rhpl.org/news.

Museums

• Holocaust Remembrance Day: 7 p.m. Jan. 18, with The Zekelman Holocaust Center, at The Hawk Black Box Theatre, 29995 W. Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, TheHawkTheatre.com, $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

Parks/Outdoor activities

Snow fort making and campfire is 1-2:30 p.m. Jan. 19, at Bloomer Park,  345 John R Road, Rochester Hills, at the Hilltop Shelter, build a fort and deconstruct afterward with talk about “leaving no trace,” includes hot chocolate and a campfire, recommended for ages 7+. Tickets are $7 per person for all ages, children under 12 must be accompanied by a paid adult, register online at www.eventbrite.com/e/snow-fort-and-campfire-tickets-1976877787679?aff=ebdsoporgprofile.

• City of Auburn Hills Winter Solstice Lantern Walk is 6-9 p.m. Jan. 23, (previously scheduled for Dec. 19) at Hawk Woods Park and Campground, 3799 Bald Mountain Rd, Auburn Hills, family event to check out the night sky with a local astronomy group, create a winter craft by a campfire, and walk an illuminated woodland trail, www.facebook.com/CityofAuburnHills, (248) 370-9353.

• Introduction to Classic Cross-Country Skiing, a two-hour class is offered Jan. 24, Feb. 7 or Feb. 28, at Independence Oaks County Park, 9501 Sashabaw Road, Clarkston. The two-hour class includes skis, poles and boot rental. The cost is $35/person/session and each session is limited to 20 participants. Classes meet at the boathouse. Preregistration and payment is required by calling 248-625-2044 Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. or visiting www.oakgov.com/community/oakland-county-parks/events.

• Independence Oaks County Park in Independence Twp. has groomed trails, cross-country skiing rental equipment and restroom facilities. Call the park at 248-625-0877 for current information about hours and equipment availability. For hikers or those with their own cross-country or snowshoe equipment, ungroomed trails can be enjoyed at Addison Oaks north of Rochester, Highland Oaks in Highland, Lyon Oaks in Lyon Township, Orion Oaks in Orion Township and Rose Oaks near Holly, www.oakgov.com/parks/recreation/Pages/Winter-Fun.aspx.

• Winter Park is open Fridays-Sundays, through March 1, at Bowers Farm, 1219 E Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills. Timed tubing tickets must be purchased in advance at www.schoolfarm.org/winter-activities, $17+, festive lights during evening hours. Activities include viewing farm animals, hay tower, bonfires, shopping at Farm Kitchen and Farm Store for local products, free admission to the park.

• The Rink at Royal Oak, ice skating at Centennial Commons in downtown Royal Oak, weather permitting, www.therinkatroyaloak.com.

• The Rink at Stine Community Park is open daily through the season, 241 Town Center, at the corner of Town Center and Civic Center Drive at the City of Troy Civic Center Campus, free admission, skate rentals are $3 residents, $5 non-residents, https://rec.troymi.gov/parks___facilities/the_rink/index.php, weather permitting.

• Riley Park Ice Rink in downtown Farmington open through February, 23600 Liberty St., Farmington, www.downtownfarmington.org, open daily, weather permitting, free admission, bring skates, https://farmgov.com/Community/Parks-and-Recreation/Riley-Park-Ice-Rink.

• Huron-Clinton Metroparks in Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne, metroparks.com. Park entrance fees apply. Annual vehicle passes are $40 for residents or $45 for non-residents. Senior citizen pricing on annual passes are available in-person at toll booths or park offices with ID as proof of age.

• Michigan State Parks and Recreation Areas, michigan.gov/dnr. Park entrance fees apply.

Support resources

• For access to local community services, dial 211 (844-875-9211) or text zip code to 898211, for information and referrals to physical and mental health resources; housing, utility, food, and employment assistance; and suicide and crisis interventions, United Way, https://unitedwaysem.org/get-help.

• The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7 confidential support for people who are suicidal or in emotional distress, or who know someone who is. Calls and text messages to 988 route to a 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline call center, www.fcc.gov/988Lifeline.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-799-7233, available 24/7.

• Common Ground's Resource & Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 - call or text 800-231-1127.

• Veterans Crisis Line, dial 988 and then press 1 to connect to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline. For texts, veterans should text the Veterans Crisis Lifeline short code: 838255.

Submit community events online at https://bit.ly/40a2iAm.

By Craig Mauger, Carol Thompson, The Detroit News

Lansing — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Thursday that she said would help explore geologic hydrogen as a new source of energy in Michigan, requiring state agencies to plan for needed infrastructure and policy changes.

Whitmer announced the initiative during a speech at the Detroit Auto Show, saying if Michigan’s hydrogen reserves are proven to be safe and viable, they could lead to a “massive economic boom, creating jobs, lowering costs and reducing our reliance on foreign fuel.”

The directive, her first of 2026, will require the Department of Natural Resources to develop a report on any legal impediments to leasing “state-owned subsurface rights” for hydrogen exploration and the Michigan Public Service Commission to develop a report on needed infrastructure upgrades.

“The directive could make us a national leader in this space,” Whitmer said Thursday, according to her prepared remarks for the event. “We’re already seeing a lot of interest in Michigan because we have more potential reserves under our feet than every other state.”

The reports from state agencies are due by April 1, according to the directive. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy must file one on “statutory and regulatory authority to permit” geologic hydrogen exploration and any impediments in current law.

A statement from the governor’s office described geologic hydrogen as “a natural energy resource with the potential to serve as a fuel source at a scale and price that is competitive with fossil fuels.” Hydrogen releases water when it is burned, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, while petroleum and other fossil fuels release planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide.

The USGS released a report last year indicating Michigan could be rich with geologic hydrogen that could be tapped for fuel. The state has three elements needed for hydrogen accumulation, the report authors said: a source of hydrogen generation, porous reservoirs that store hydrogen and seals to prevent hydrogen from leaking.

The four-page directive that Whitmer signed said Michigan could see “billions of dollars in new economic activity by tapping into a fraction of the U.S. hydrogen economy.”

In the statement from the governor’s office, Judd Herzer, director of mobility research and innovation at Michigan State University, said Whitmer’s directive sent a signal that Michigan was serious about leading in geological hydrogen.

“With the right coordination across state agencies, research institutions and the private sector geological hydrogen can move rapidly from scientific promise to practical application, supporting hydrogen-powered mobility, clean energy independence and the advanced manufacturing opportunities that will define Michigan’s next era of innovation,” Herzer said.

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Energy is funding ongoing research into safe hydrogen handling and storage practices, according to the department’s website.

Geologists predict Michigan rich with hydrogen

Exploration of underground hydrogen stores is in the early stage, USGS geologists said in their report published last year. Finding underground hydrogen stores has historically been considered a problem or gone unreported, since companies were typically on the hunt for petroleum and lacked the tools to measure hydrogen.

Geologists used multiple data sets that covered the 48 contiguous states to determine where hydrogen reserves were likely, said Geoffrey Ellis, a USGS geochemist at the Central Energy Resources Science Center and coauthor of the report. He said geologists need to do more focused work to better understand reserves in Michigan.

“The fact that a state like Michigan has so much interest is great,” Ellis said. “Hopefully, we can work with the state (geological) survey and do that type of effort.”

Sara Ryker, USGS associate director for energy and minerals, described the report as “tantalizing” when it was released in January 2025.

“For decades, the conventional wisdom was that naturally occurring hydrogen did not accumulate in sufficient quantities to be used for energy purposes,” Ryker said in 2025. “This map is tantalizing because it shows that several parts of the U.S. could have a subsurface hydrogen resource after all.”

The USGS report sparked interest in recovering hydrogen from below ground rather than making hydrogen by splitting molecules such as water, said Todd Allen, University of Michigan College of Engineering associate dean for research.

While the report shows what federal geologists believe to be the best places for finding geologic reserves of hydrogen, there hasn’t been much test drilling to determine whether the geologists’ predictions are right, Allen said.

“To a great extent, it’s unknown,” he said. “I think the interest in the state of Michigan is that the USGS map said we ought to have a lot.”

It could be a big deal for Michigan if the geologists turn out to be right and the state has large quantities of hydrogen available to recover, he said.

Hydrogen fuel cells could power heavy vehicles, such as ships and trucks. Some clean energy advocates see it as a way to decarbonize heavy-duty transportation and shipping as well as some heavy industries like steelmaking that traditionally rely on coal to power furnaces.

Hydrogen fuel typically is created by separating molecules that contain hydrogen – taking the H₂ out of H₂O, for example.

“If we could bring hydrogen out of the ground, it would be much cheaper,” Allen said. “If people can recover geologic hydrogen at the same rate we do natural gas, it would be much, much cheaper (than other sources of hydrogen) and it would be much, much easier to bring it into commerce.”

Separating out that hydrogen requires a lot of electricity and sometimes is done using natural gas, which releases fossil fuels is costly and negates some of the climate benefits of hydrogen. Extracting hydrogen from the ground also could be a win for the climate, Allen said, because it wouldn’t require electricity.

During a speech in Detroit on Tuesday, Republican President Donald Trump referenced hydrogen, appearing to joke — as he has many times during previous campaign stops in Michigan — that he would “pass on” using hydrogen to power cars.

“I’m hearing it’s not testing so well,” Trump said. “It’s fine, except when there’s an explosion, you’re a goner.”

Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Energy funded regional hydrogen hubs to study and produce hydrogen fuel and develop a supply chain for its use. Michigan is part of one such hub, the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen, known as MachH2, which was set to receive up to $1 billion in federal funding as of 2023.

The hub programs are on “standby,” Allen said. Most were in the planning stage when Trump took office and had not yet received much of their promised funds, according to Allen.

“To a great extent, I think the hubs are just stuck,” Allen said. “There’s not a lot of action. I think it’s because the administration is not on a path to provide the big funding.”

Geologic hydrogen may be more appealing to the Trump administration because it requires a familiar process of extracting resources from underground, much like fracking natural gas or drilling for oil, Allen said.

“It could be a (good) thing just in general, a good, useful way of powering modern society, but it could be that the federal government shifts their focus, too,” Allen said. “It’s an extension of the thing we know how to do.”

Governor seeks new North American trade pact

Whitmer’s speech at the auto show Thursday touched on tariffs, Michigan’s economy and some of her goals for her final year as the state’s governor. She can’t run for reelection this fall because of term limits.

She called on Trump’s administration not to abandon the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which is up for review this year.

“Instead, we should build on the best parts and make it even better,” Whitmer said, according to her prepared remarks. “The USMCA has some of the strictest auto rules of any free trade agreement in the world.

“It raised wages for workers in all three countries, and guaranteed that more parts were made in the U.S. Is it perfect? No. But without our allies, we do not stand a chance.”

The USMCA started in 2020, during Trump’s first term in the White House. But in recent days, he’s downplayed it. During his trip to Michigan on Tuesday, he labeled it “irrelevant.”

Also, on Thursday, Whitmer called on the Legislature to get a new state budget to her desk by June 30.

“With so much uncertainty, we owe it to local governments, schools, and businesses leaders to enact a transparent, timely budget,” Whitmer said. “I’m confident we can get it done.”

Last year, lawmakers and Whitmer failed to get the budget approved until after the Oct. 1 constitutional deadline.

Today is Sunday, Jan. 18, the 18th day of 2026. There are 347 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 18, 2019, Jason Van Dyke, the white Chicago police officer who gunned down Black teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.

Also on this date:

In 1778, English navigator Captain James Cook reached the present-day Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the “Sandwich Islands.”

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson asked Congress in a confidential message for $2,500 in funding for exploration of Western lands all the way to the Pacific, an early step in the eventual formation of the Lewis and Clark expedition that would ultimately accelerate American expansion westward beyond the Mississippi River.

In 1911, the first landing of an aircraft on a ship took place as pilot Eugene B. Ely brought his Curtiss biplane in for a safe landing on the deck of the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Harbor.

In 1958, Canadian Willie O’Ree became the first Black player in the National Hockey League as he made his debut with the Boston Bruins.

In 1977, scientists identified the bacteria responsible for the deadly form of atypical pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease.

In 1990, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was arrested after FBI agents caught him smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room in a videotaped sting. (Convicted of drug possession, Barry spent a few months in prison, returning to win a D.C. Council seat in 1992 and his fourth and final mayoral victory in 1994. He died in 2014.)

In 1993, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.

In 1996, Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson, citing “irreconcilable differences” after less than two years of marriage.

In 2013, former Democratic New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted on charges that he’d used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the devastated city was struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina. (Nagin was later convicted, served time, and was released from prison in 2020.)

In 2025, a gasoline tanker exploded in Nigeria, killing at least 70 people as individuals sought to transfer gasoline from one tanker into another truck as numerous bystanders looked on.

Today’s birthdays:

• Actor-filmmaker Kevin Costner is 71.
• Actor Mark Rylance is 66.
• Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier is 65.
• Actor Dave Bautista is 57.
• Actor Jesse L. Martin is 57.
• Rock singer Jonathan Davis (Korn) is 55.
• Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers is 46.
• Actor Jason Segel is 46.
• Actor Carlacia Grant is 35.
• Singer and activist Montana Tucker is 33.
• Spanish soccer star Aitana Bonmati is 28.
• Actor Karan Brar is 27.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Both were happy to be there, but there could only be one to emerge between Walled Lake Central and West Bloomfield Saturday afternoon.

Ultimately, the Vikings outpinned the Lakers 220-212, 191-180 in the finals to win the 2026 Oakland County boys bowling tournament.

“We haven’t really done well here (recently),” Walled Lake Central head coach Jeff DeSlippe said. “But I’d say this is probably one of the biggest highlights we’ve ever had (as a program). It’s a career win.”

Walled Lake Northern, who won the regional the Vikings were in last postseason, finished top of qualifying with a 3,907 total, followed by South Lyon East (3,866), but the margins were slim for the top-3 as the Vikings came in just behind that at 3,863.

When match play began, WL Central defeated Avondale (201-156, 171-132), Detroit Catholic Central (197-174, 232-178) and then Clarkston (223-200, 212-212) in the semifinals to reach the championship.

“We felt pretty confident going in, and I don’t think we were too concerned about anyone really until West Bloomfield,” DeSlippe said.

In singles play, Vikings senior Connor Martin was dominant, his best competition proving to be runner-up Joe Lindholm of Troy (717), who rolled a 300 in his first game. That pair aside, there were fewer than 10 other scores of 250 or higher throughout the singles portion, but Martin compiled scores of 235, 257 and 267 for a series total of 759.

“It’s incredible,” Martin said. “I’ve never shot that high of a series before ever in high school. I was nervous at first, but throughout the day I got better. I was just making good shots, being happy.”

Martin, who went to states as a freshman, now has a special tool in his box that has taken him up a level.

“I gave him my bowling ball (I used in) my men’s league,” DeSlippe said. “I found a new ball that I don’t like as much. Now I’m just wondering if I can get the ball back.”

“Yes, very,” Martin responded when asked if he’s been improved since he began utilizing it. “It goes through the pins better, hits them stronger.”

Central’s next-best performer in individual play was Justin Jensen, who finished 15th individually (636), followed by Aaron Dorfman (33rd, 605).

West Bloomfield was the more unexpected of the two to reach the final. Beyond the Knights, Cougars and Vikings, The Lakers finished 10th in qualifying behind Southfield A&T, Oxford, Catholic Central, Lakeland and South Lyon. North Farmington, Royal Oak, Lake Orion, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Avondale, Clarkston and Mott also qualified to the Round of 16.

West Bloomfield had just one bowler inside the top-40 individuals in Mason Ermis, whose output of 647 was good for 12th. Collectively, the Lakers beat South Lyon, then Waterford Mott and Lake Orion to reach the final.

Photo gallery from the 2026 Oakland County boys bowling tournament

As far as West Bloomfield's first-year head coach Reg Watts is aware, this is the first time the program has reached the finals of the county tournament. "As a matter of fact, this is our first year winning trophies."

While the Lakers were in a strong regional last postseason, led by Troy Athens, who won last year's county tourney, they finished fifth in that regional. On top of it, they graduated seven seniors.

"Last year, we were pretty good," Watts said. "But this year, a couple of my guys bowled a lot over the summer, some of them that were JV (last year). I'm really deep in good bowlers this year."

Watts also believed that his team could take it up a notch in the last stage Saturday. "I guess my guys just woke up," he said. I knew there was another level. We were performing below my expectations at the beginning of the tournament, but I expected us to do well."

He said this also raises the ceiling on what the Lakers can achieve this postseason, adding, "It does, because we've never made it (this far here) before. This is the second trophy for us this year, not the last .. and I have most of my bowlers -- Mason, Jayden (Watts), Brenden (Doyle), that's my core -- coming back next year, so we'll be even stronger."

After Martin and Lindholm, the rest of the top-10 individuals were Oxford's Dom Hambly (696 series), Walled Lake Northern's Ethan Faurote (685), Southfield A&T's Anthony Jones II (682), Clarkston's Gavin Pittman (676), WL Northern's Hunter Clary (674), A&T's Aiden Mason (661), and South Lyon East duo Dain Virdee (657) and Thomas Martin (651). Mason had the best individual one-game score aside from Lindholm's 300 with a 276.

Astro Lanes in Madison Heights hosted the Oakland County boys bowling tournament on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Walled Lake Central edged West Bloomfield in the finals to win the title.

SEATTLE (AP) — Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 19 points and No. 12 Michigan State beat Washington 80-63 on Saturday for its fourth straight victory.

The Spartans (16-2, 6-1 Big Ten) won in their first game at Washington since 1957.

Fears was 6 of 9 from the field and made 7 of 8 free throws in his fourth straight game with at least 15 points. He also had five assists.

Kur Teng added 11 points, hitting three 3-pointers.

Zoom Diallo led Washington (10-8, 2-5) with 18 points, and Hannes Steinbach had 17 points and nine rebounds. The Huskies have lost four of five, three of them against teams ranked 12th or better.

Washington was without guard Desmond Claude. He announced Friday on social media that he was “stepping away from all on-court activities” due to health concerns stemming from a sprained ankle in fall workouts that forced him to miss the first four games of the season. In 12 games (nine starts), he averaged 13.3 points.

Up next

Michigan State: At Oregon on Tuesday night

Washington: At No. 8 Nebraska on Wednesday night.

— By JOSH KIRSHENBAUM, Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Elliot Cadeau scored 17 points and No. 4 Michigan defeated Oregon 81-71 Saturday afternoon at Matthew Knight Arena.

Nimari Burnett scored 15 points and Aday Mara added 12 points as Michigan (16-1, 6-1) won its second straight game following its lone loss of the season. Morez Johnson Jr. scored nine points in 17 minutes despite foul trouble and Yaxel Lendeborg added six and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Wolverines, who shot 49% from the field and outrebounded the Ducks 36-30.

Sean Stewart scored a career-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds for Oregon (8-10, 1-6), which dropped its fourth straight game. Kwame Evans Jr. had 18 points and seven rebounds while Takai Simpkins scored 12 for the Ducks.

Oregon played without its two leading scorers as senior center Nate Bittle, who averages 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, is likely out for a month after injuring his foot last week in a loss at Nebraska. Junior point guard Jackson Shelstad, who averages 15.6 points and a team-high 4.9 assists per game, missed his fifth straight game with a hand injury.

Oregon led 41-40 at halftime and opened the second period with a basket from Stewart before Burnett answered with a 3-pointer. Oregon went back up 47-46 on a dunk from Devon Pryor before Michigan went on a 12-2 run to take a 58-49 lead.

Oregon got within 74-68 on a basket by Stewart with 3:33 to play, but Cadeau made a layup and Johnson added a bucket to put the Wolverines ahead 78-68 with 2:28 left in the game.

Up next

Michigan: The Wolverines return home to face Indiana on Tuesday.

Oregon: The Ducks host No. 12 Michigan State on Tuesday.

— By STEVE MIMS, Associated Press

The state’s quarterly theme-park injury report for the final three months of 2025 includes a Nov. 25 death following a ride on Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida.

An unidentified 70-year-old woman was unresponsive and later died at the hospital, according to the report compiled by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The state’s major theme parks self-report about visitors injured on rides if they result in at least 24 hours of hospitalization.

The summary “reflects only the information reported at the time of the incident,” the report says. “Due to privacy-related concerns, the department does not receive updates to initial assessments of a patron’s condition.”

A Universal spokesperson said via e-mail that the company does not comment on pending claims. The Orlando Sentinel has requested records for the scene and date from the Orlando Police Department.

The Mummy ride, which opened in 2004, reaches 40 mph as it rolls through dark Egyptian-themed scenes and fiery effects amid appearances by animatronic Imhotep and scarab beetles plus a drop hill of 39 feet. It has appeared on the quarterly report about 20 times since opening, including the death of an Apopka man who fell from the loading platform onto the tracks in 2004. He died after a related surgery, and his death was ruled an accident by the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner’s office.

The latest injury report, posted Thursday, has a mix of spinning rides and high-intensity attractions and roller coasters, including Epic Universe’s Stardust Racers.

On Nov. 6, a 78-year-old man had chest pain after being on the Epic coaster, and on Nov. 14, a 61-year-old man had cardiac arrest on the ride. Stardust Racers is considered Epic’s most intense ride, with dueling trains going up to 62 mph and a top height of 133 feet. Both sides include one inversion, sudden launches and intertwined-rails moments. The coaster debuted with the Universal Orlando Resort park in May.

In September, 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala of Kissimmee died after riding Stardust Racers. His family and Universal reached an “amicable resolution” in December, but no details were shared. Later, five people filed lawsuits against Universal Orlando, claiming severe and permanent injuries after their heads slammed against the seats in front of them while on Stardust Racers.

Of the nine fourth-quarter reports filed from the three Universal Orlando parks, five involved Epic rides. Other incidents included Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, where a 41-year-old woman had numbness and visual disturbance on Oct. 4; on Oct. 25, a 19-year-old woman had altered mental status during Mario Kart: Bower’s Challenge, a flat ride with virtual-reality elements; and on Nov. 14, a 47-year-old woman had nausea after Yoshi’s Adventure, a slow-paced flat ride.

At Islands of Adventure, a 45-year-old women had motion sickness and stroke symptoms after riding the Incredible Hulk Coaster on Oct. 13 and a 49-year-old woman had chest pain after being on Jurassic World: VelociCoaster on Nov. 30. Also at IOA, a 61-year-old woman had lower back spasms after Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, a drop-tower ride.

At Walt Disney World, three Epcot incidents are on the new report. On Nov. 12, a 72-year-old woman was disoriented after exiting Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, an indoor coaster; on Nov. 23, a 59-year-old woman had breathing difficulties while exiting Test Track; and on Dec. 28, a 35-year-old woman lost consciousness while on The Seas With Nemo and Friends, a low-speed dark ride that travels through an aquarium.

At Magic Kingdom theme park, a 65-year-old woman felt chest pain after Peter Pan’s Flight ride on Oct. 28, and a 42-year-old woman had a seizure while on Mad Tea Party, the spinning ride commonly called the teacups, on Nov. 22.

A 75-year-old woman had “stroke-like symptoms” aboard Slinky Dog Dash, a roller coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, on Nov. 28.

No reports were filed in the quarter from SeaWorld Orlando, Legoland Florida, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and their associated water parks.