Today is Monday, April 21, the 111th day of 2025. There are 254 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 21, 2016, Prince, one of the most inventive and influential musicians of modern times, was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis from an accidental fentanyl overdose; he was 57.

Also on this date:

In 1836, an army of Texans, led by Sam Houston, defeated the Mexican Army, led by Antonio López de Santa Anna, in the Battle of San Jacinto, the final battle of the Texas Revolution.

In 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Connecticut, at age 74.

In 1918, German Air Force pilot Manfred von Richthofen, nicknamed “The Red Baron,” was killed at age 25 after being shot during a World War I air battle over Vaux-sur-Somme, France.

In 1930, fire broke out inside the overcrowded Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, killing 322 inmates in the deadliest prison disaster in U.S. history.

In 1975, with Communist forces closing in, South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned after nearly 10 years in office, fleeing the country five days later.

In 1980, Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, but was later exposed as having cheated by entering the racecourse less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) before the finish line. (Canadian Jacqueline Gareau was named the actual winner of the women’s race.)

In 2015, an Egyptian criminal court sentenced ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters in 2012. (Morsi collapsed and died during trial on espionage charges in June 2019.)

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor-comedian-filmmaker Elaine May is 93.
• Author-activist Sister Helen Prejean is 86.
• Singer Iggy Pop is 78.
• Actor Patti LuPone is 76.
• Actor Tony Danza is 74.
• Actor Andie MacDowell is 67.
• Musician Robert Smith (The Cure) is 66.
• Actor Rob Riggle is 55.
• Actor James McAvoy is 46.
• Former NFL quarterback Tony Romo is 45.
• Actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw is 42.

ANN ARBOR — Michigan’s Fred Richard and Paul Juda finished first and second in the all-around and Wolverines team total of 332.224 edged them past five-time defending champion Stanford (332.961) on Saturday to win their first NCAA men’s gymnastics title since 2014.

Juda, the individual champion on the parallel bars with a score of 14.200 and host Michigan’s last competitor of the day, scored a 13.966 on the vault to clinch the program’s seventh national title. The Wolverines finished second, 5.635 points behind Stanford, at the 2024 championships.

Oklahoma finished third with 327.891, ahead of Nebraska (326.222), Penn State (317.258) and Illinois was sixth with 316.293. Penn State and Oklahoma each hold a record 12 national titles.

Stanford’s Asher Hong took home the individual title in the floor exercise (14.600) and defended his crown with a score of 14.433 on the rings. Patrick Hoopes of Air Force scored a 14.833 to win the horse championship, Ohio State’s Kameron Nelson (14.633) won the vault title and Emre Dodanli claimed the high bar championship for Oklahoma with a score of (13.833).

Richard and Juda won bronze medals for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.

DETROIT – Tarik Skubal didn’t want anyone to misinterpret the somber nature of the clubhouse or lose perspective about what’s been going on with this Tigers baseball team.

“We won three out of four,” Skubal reminded everyone after a tough, 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Royals Sunday. “I think the vibe you have in here right now is that we just lost. But look at this series. Winning three our of four is a very positive thing. And we’ve won a lot of series this year. We have to continue doing that and it starts tomorrow against the Padres.”

Contributing to the subdued Easter Sunday vibe, too, was that slugger Kerry Carpenter was pulled from the game in the top of the ninth inning with an apparent right hamstring injury.

“Injuries always suck,” Skubal said. “Hopefully it’s nothing. He’s a big part of our lineup…hopefully it’s nothing serious. Let’s pray for the best.”

Manager AJ Hinch said Carpenter felt something in the hamstring after legging out an infield single in the seventh inning. He would’ve batted third in the bottom of the ninth had he been able to stay in the game.

Carpenter was sent for tests after the game and was not available to comment.

“All losses are tough to swallow,” Hinch said. “This was a winnable game. We put ourselves in position and probably could’ve tacked on and created a little more space. But they did a good job of battling back.”

What stings, too, is that the Tigers contributed to their own demise. The Royals tied the game in the top of the eighth with an unearned run, created by a Javier Baez throwing error. And the Royals won it in the 10th, scoring the free runner without the benefit of a hit.

“You mix up any other sequence of events in the 10th and they don’t score a run,” said reliever Tyler Holton who set down six straight hitters in two innings and still got charged with the loss. “They did a good job of getting (the free runner) over and hitting something deep enough to get him in.

“I struck out the last guy. Wish I’d struck out one of the first two.”

The free runner was Drew Waters, whom Holton struck out to end the ninth. Waters advanced to third on a ground out to second by Jonathan India and scored on sacrifice fly to left by Bobby Witt, Jr.

The loss prevented the Tigers not only from the sweep, but also from getting a little slice of history. A win would have made them the first Tigers team in 83 years to start a season 9-1 at home. Not even the champion 1984 team, with a 35-5 start, did that.

They used a Royals’ misplay to break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh and then returned the favor in the top of the eighth.

Gleyber Torres was on first with one out when first baseman Salvador Perez fielded Carpenter’s ground ball. Both the pitcher, lefty Daniel Lynch, and second baseman Makail Garcia went to cover the base and Perez threw the ball right between them.

t was scored a single and Carpenter, even though he tweaked his hamstring, stayed in the game at that point. Zach McKinstry, whose two-hit RBI single in the fifth tied the game 2-2, was up next. Hinch, with right-handed hitter Andy Ibanez available off his bench, stuck with the lefty-lefty matchup.

“They would’ve brought (righty John) Schreiber in for Ibanez,” Hinch explained. “So the two matchups were a sidearm, nasty righty at 94 mph on Andy or Z-Mac, who has defended himself against a lot of guys. Credit to Z-Mac for giving us the option to hang in there.”

McKinstry, now 7 for 17 against lefties this season, responded with the RBI knock, his third hit of the game.

They missed a chance to expand the lead when Schreiber, the former Tiger and downriver native, got Riley Greene to hit into a 3-2-3 double-play with the bases loaded ending the seventh.

The Tigers gave the lead back in the top of the eighth. With Tommy Kahnle pitching, Baez, playing third base, made an errant throw to first on a ground ball by Witt Jr., a two-base error. One out later, another former Tiger, Mark Canha cashed it in with an RBI single.

The pesky Royals offense made it a short outing for Skubal, too, something they have done to him before. They grind out at-bats, scratch out a few singles and just be a general nuisance. They worked a couple of long innings, pushed his pitch-count up and got him out of the game in five innings. That alone is a win for most teams.

“That’s a good team over there,” Skubal said. “They fouled off a ton of pitches, even good pitches and were able to push some stuff the other way. I gave up seven singles and it seemed like all of them were to the right side. Clearly that was their approach and one through nine they were able to execute it.

“That hard to do and they were able to do it.”

At one point, after Waters blooped a second opposite-field single, Skubal had to joke with him.

“I’ll give you one, but not two,” Skubal said, laughing. “And you saw Salvy (Perez) in the dugout. He was laughing, holding up two fingers.”

The Royals pushed across two runs in the second inning, stringing four singles, including a two-strike RBI single by lefty-swinging Vinnie Pasquantino.

It was just the fifth hit and first RBI Skubal has allowed to a left-handed hitter this season.

“They came out with an incredible team approach against him,” Hinch said. “They were conceding one side of the field (the pull side). They were conceding a lot to create some action on the bases. They did a good job of staying on his fastball and his changeup, fighting off pitches while still working everything toward right field.

“Tarik continued to try and disrupt their timing but not a ton was taking them off their plan.”

Skubal still did a lot of Skubal-like things. He pounded the strike zone (18 of 23 first-pitch strikes), got 12 swings and misses (eight with his changeup on 23 swings) and 21 called strikes.

“That team made me make a bunch of good pitches and they were able to put the bat on some mistakes,” Skubal said. “That’s what that team does. They’re really good.”

He was asked, in hindsight, knowing they were going to be committed to an opposite-field attack plan, what he might’ve done differently to counteract it.

“I probably wouldn’t tell you guys,” he said. “Those are conversations I’ve already had. I think you can see with their swings and stuff. I just need to be better at executing pitches when I know that’s what’s going on.”

Fair enough.

 

DETROIT – Entering play Sunday, the Tigers were the only team in baseball to boast four starting pitchers with ERAs under 3.00. They were also one of the few to not have a pitcher make a single start on the traditional four days of rest.

Cause and effect?

Probably not. But the extra rest between starts has not been accidental.

“The goal is to routinely give guys extra rest this season,” manager AJ Hinch said before the game. “And that’s been on purpose. It’s been designed and it’s been somewhat of a gift from the schedule with the off days early in the year.”

It’s why Keider Montero was called up last week to enlarge the rotation to six. It’s why Montero will get a second start Monday against the Padres.

“One of the things I said when Keider got here was we wanted to give the rotation an extra day,” Hinch said. “When we decided to push to get him a second appearance, we had the opportunity to insert him whenever we wanted to.”

They chose to insert him Monday, a decision at least partially impacted by Casey Mize’s strong seven-inning win Saturday. If the bullpen, already taxed and an arm short, had to pick up multiple innings Saturday, Hinch could have kept Jack Flaherty in place on Monday – figuring with Tarik Skubal (Sunday) and Flaherty going back-to-back, the bullpen could get back on track.

“We are going to continue to do this,” Hinch said. “Just being aware of our whole rotation and being proactive on that as opposed to waiting and being reactive. This has evolved into being the best plan to gain the most in terms of rest and recovery.”

It’s not an exact science, of course, but there is some correlation between the extra rest and performance gains.

“Opinions on that vary,” Hinch said. “The information that comes with that can vary pitcher to pitcher. But generally speaking, recovery is the hardest thing to gauge. We’re a sport that thrives on routine. And the everyday component and the history of the game will tell us that these guys like to pitch routinely every five days.

“The rest and recovery information will tell you that stuff is just a little bit better when you get more rest.”

The data gets a little fuzzy, though, when the extra day of rest turns into two and three days of extra rest. Then it becomes a rust vs. rest argument.

“The best laid plans will get messed up by Mother Nature or odd games or uncontrollable circumstances,” Hinch said. “We targeted this part of the schedule because this is the longest stretch of games in the month of April (23 games in 24 days).

“You need to be adaptable and balance the proactive approach with the fatigue and soreness that come with the rigors of the season, and inevitably it comes at a different time for each pitcher. So it may not be the blanket, ‘everybody gets an extra day of rest’ when we chose to do it again.”

Welcome Bailey Horn

There’s been somewhat of a disconnect with Tigers’ newest reliever, lefty Bailey Horn, between the quality of his stuff and the results.

And neither Hinch nor Horn hesitated when asked for the cause of this disconnect.

“Strike zone,” Hinch said.

“Get in the zone,” Horn said. “Attack the hitters starting with strike one and stay on top of them. Compete in the zone and don’t nibble.”

The 27-year-old, who debuted with the Red Sox last season, has a power arm (95 mph with his fastball) and an 82-mph sweeper. And when he’s working ahead in the count he can be menacing.

Too often, though, he has not been in the zone. He had an 11.4% walk rated in 18 innings with the Red Sox last season and he walked eight in 8.1 innings at Triple-A Toledo this year. He also posted 11 strikeouts.

“If you look across his stuff, there is a lot to like,” Hinch said. “The power, the ability to manipulate the ball and get it to move — there’s a lot he can offer. The difference between Triple-A and the big leagues for him is the strike zone. He’s got to be a reliable strike-thrower and keep his outings condensed to impact the competition.

“The execution is going to be game-changer if we can get him in the zone.”

The Tigers liked his stuff enough to acquire him twice. They claimed him off waivers last November, released him in January, and re-acquired him for cash from St. Louis on March 13.

He was asked if the command issues were a function of trust or mechanics.

“Maybe a mixture of both at times,” he said. “It’s execution. Just executing pitches in the zone.”

Old friend alert

Look who was batting cleanup for the Royals Sunday.

Mark Canha, who was among the Tigers’ roster purge at the trade deadline last season, was activated off the injured list by the Royals, completing what has been an odd stretch for him.

A free agent this winter, he sat waiting until Feb. 24 when the Brewers signed him to a minor-league contract. Then on March 22, he was traded to Kansas City.

“Yeah, the wait was a lot longer than I expected,” he said. “But I knew it would work out in the end and it did. And here I am. Happy camper.”

Canha got off to a hot start with the Royals, going 5 for 14 with a pair of doubles. But he went on the injured list on April 9 with an abductor strain.

Like most, Canha was locked in to the Tigers’ run at the end of last season.

“That was an incredible run,” he said. “Hats off to them. I was pulling for them. I was texting the guys in the playoffs, like, ‘All right, let’s go.’ Sending them encouraging texts. It was fun to watch.”

Canha, in his return to the lineup, got the pleasure of facing reigning Cy Young winning Tarik Skubal. Back on Aug. 31, 2021, when Canha was playing for Oakland, he homered and doubled off Skubal at Comerica Park.

The legitimacy of the homer has been a topic of banter between the two, since the right-handed hitting Canha snuck his home run inside the right-field foul pole.

Around the horn

Spencer Torkelson entered play Sunday leading the American League with 14 extra-base hits. He also had four game-winning RBI on his early-season resume.

… Utility player Matt Vierling (rotator cuff) took an intense round of fielding drills at third base before the game with infield coach Joey Cora. The expectation is, barring setback, he could start his rehab assignment as soon as the end of next week.

… Skubal, over his last 17 starts at Comerica Park before Sunday, had an 11-1 record with a 1.88 ERA.

NEW YORK — Cade Cunningham used a screen from Isaiah Stewart and instantly crossed over Karl-Anthony Towns, who was a bit slow to step up in help defense. The move created an open lane for Cunningham, who finished the play with a two-handed dunk at the 4:05 mark of the third quarter.

His basket was a part of the 19 points the Detroit Pistons scored during the final six minutes of the period, which resulted in a 91-83 lead against the New York Knicks entering the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s playoff game.

“It was a lot of fun being out there — I enjoyed it a lot,” Cunningham said. “I think the whole group enjoyed it. It was loud in there. It was rocking, so those are the best games to play in.”

Cunningham’s dunk was arguably his best play during his playoff debut Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. However, his double-double performance of 21 points and 12 assists wasn’t enough, as the Pistons sustained a 123-112 Game 1 loss to the Knicks.

Cunningham walked off the court dejected after the Pistons gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ comeback win, but he remained grateful for the overall experience.

“Playing our game, battling on the boards, playing with pace, and getting stops, those are the many things that clicked for us,” Cunningham said. “At the end [we] just got to clean up the little things. … It was a solid game through three quarters, but the fourth quarter comes, and there are things we’ll clean up.”

As the player who led Detroit to a 3-1 regular-season record against New York, Cunningham understood that he would be the primary objective of the Knicks’ defensive strategy during their best-of-seven series.

He entered the game with an understanding of how they would defend him. He knew the Knicks would send multiple bodies to force the ball out of his hands. Every time he came off a screen, an extra defender would step up to seal an open lane to the basket.

New York assigned various players to guard Cunningham throughout the night, but Knicks small forward OG Anunoby took the lead as the primary defender. At times, Anunoby’s aggressive defense made it challenging for Cunningham to catch the ball while forcing him into several tough shot attempts.

“OG, he’s a hell of a player,” said Knicks guard Josh Hart. “Defensively, we have faith in him to guard anybody. We’re all locked in and dialed into him. He’s a good player, but OG loves those kinds of matchups, especially in the playoffs, where you can be physical; he’s a physical guy, being able to get through screens and those kinds of things. We need his offense obviously, but more importantly, his defense every game.”

With Anunoby at the helm, Cunningham finished the night shooting 8-of-21 from the field, including one made 3-pointer, and committed six turnovers. Three of his giveaways accounted for the six turnovers the Pistons committed as a whole during their fourth-quarter collapse.

After a subpar debut, the All-Star guard vows to learn and adjust from his mistakes ahead of their Game 2 matchup. His most significant lessons came from acknowledging his lack of ball security and making a commitment to improving his decision-making and overall play on both ends of the floor.

Cunningham’s crossover and dunk late in the third quarter were among a few plays when he gave a glimpse into the player who averaged 30.8 points per game against the Knicks during the regular season. He is determined to regain form in an attempt to help the Pistons end their nine-game playoff losing streak come Monday night.

“This was definitely a learning experience,” Cunningham said. “It was something I’ve never been a part of. But also, I did not treat it like it was a different game. I tried to approach it like a regular game, read what the defense gives me and exploit it. At the end of the day, it’s basketball…

“We’re excited. I’m excited for this series to keep going. I’m ready for Game 2.”

The Pistons and Knicks will meet for Game 2 on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in New York. FanDuel Sports Network and TNT will carry the game.

DETROIT — Instead of preparing for Game 1 of the playoffs on Saturday, the Red Wings were packing for the summer and saying their goodbyes.

It’s become a familiar routine. This is the ninth consecutive year the Wings are outside of the playoff picture, the second-longest streak currently in the NHL (Buffalo is at a record 14) and the fourth longest all-time in the NHL.

You could sense the frustration Saturday and the disappointment is mounting.

“We can’t make excuses anymore,” forward Alex DeBrincat said. “It’s time to take that next step and be a competitor. We have to do it.”

The Wings never were able to sustain the sort of positive traction that would have produced a playoff season.

They started slowly, and a 13-17-4 record at the Christmas break forced general manager Steve Yzerman to fire Derek Lalonde and hire Todd McLellan.

The Wings immediately surged. They had two seven-game win streaks and were in playoff position at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament break. But going 9-13-2 to end the season, including another miserable March (4-10-0), sent the Wings home again in mid-April.

“It’s not fun. You want to get ready to play Game 1 right now and that didn’t happen,” forward Lucas Raymond said. “Everyone is disappointed. We put ourselves before the 4 Nations break to be in a good spot coming back and making a good push for it. It didn’t click for us.”

Raymond completed his fourth NHL season and has yet to make the playoffs.

“You grow up playing hockey, and you play to win, whether that’s a Pee-Wee tournament or whatever it is,” Raymond said. “You’re always used to playing those games and not being able to do that is frustrating. Not fun at all.

“Everyone is determined to change that, and we want to take next step very soon.”

There were positives. The injection of youth and contribution by players such as Marco Kasper, Elmer Soderblom, Jonatan Berggren, Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson — along with more help next season — gives considerable hope for the future. Players like Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, Raymond and DeBrincat are still very much in the prime of their careers.

Plus, McLellan will have a full training camp to incorporate his systems, which the Wings believe will be a major plus.

“Todd is real good coach and I’ve been very impressed with him,” said Larkin, the Wings’ captain. “(Having) training camp with our group, our young guys and our core with him, it could be very valuable. Todd will really help turn this around here.”

Larkin, 28, made the playoffs his rookie season (2015-16) and has yet to return. The Waterford native admits it’s been “difficult.”

“(It’s) something I think about a lot, think about it every day for a long time during days. But that doesn’t do any good and you have to go out and play and win hockey games,” Larkin said. “We came up five or six wins short this year.”

The swoon in March, for basically the third consecutive year, will be on the Wings’ minds. Once the losing started and the momentum was going away, they couldn’t turn it around.

“It’s something we can’t figure out,” Seider said. “We’re always engaged. We’re dialed in. But we just couldn’t get it done. That hurt us. We were in it, and after March it was tough to look at the standings. I don’t really have an explanation.”

Playing hurt

Larkin played all 82 games this season but admitted Saturday he returned from the 4 Nations tournament — in which he was one of Team USA’s best players — with injuries.

“I picked up a couple injuries there and that’s just what it is. There were times I didn’t feel good and was playing hurt and I wasn’t able to do some things, a lot of things I wanted to,” Larkin said. “But I still went out there and tried my best. It is another disappointing year. I did play all 82 games, but I would have liked to be more effective in a lot of them.”

Larkin had 30 goals and 40 assists but was off the point-per-game pace he was near, or at, the last three seasons.

Larkin didn’t think any sort of surgeries would be needed for his injuries before adding he doesn’t “know yet.”

Ice chips

Patrick Kane, a prospective unrestricted free agent, would like to return to the Wings.

“I’ll take some time to think, but overall I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Kane said. “It’s a great place to continue to my career and play and there are a lot of things about the organization that have helped me, not only with my (hip) injury but find a good role within the team and play. There’s definitely some mutual interest coming back and continuing on here.”

… Soderblom, who has been battling an undisclosed injury, expects to play for Grand Rapids in the AHL playoffs.

“If my injury gets back to 100%, I’ll be down there,” Soderblom said.

… Potential UFAs goaltender Alex Lyon and defenseman Jeff Petry both said they haven’t given much thought yet to what their futures hold. Petry, 37, is 19 games short of 1,000 for his career and is planning on playing next season.

Petry disclosed he had abdominal surgery the second half of this season, which limited him to 44 games.

… Andrew Copp (shoulder surgery) said he’ll be completely healthy for the start of September training camp.

Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft (April 24-26 in Green Bay), we’ll be taking a position-by-position look at the Detroit Lions‘ roster and how the team’s needs can be met on draft weekend. Today: Secondary.

Current roster outlook

The Lions have steadily fixed their secondary over the last few seasons. After years of it being a deficiency, the safety tandem of All-Pro Kerby Joseph and Pro Bowler Brian Branch proved to be one of the best, if not the best, in the NFL last season.

Joseph became eligible for a contract extension this offseason and is entering the final year of his deal; next offseason, Branch will be in the same position. Should Detroit bring them both back, it’s possible that the duo will end up as some of the highest-paid safeties in the league (with each deal worth upward of $20 million annually).

Though that position looks strong, Detroit bid farewell to Ifeatu Melifonwu in free agency. When healthy, Melifonwu’s combination of size and speed made him a dangerous player in three-safety looks, with his blitzing ability among the best on the team, so there’s a role up for grabs there. Entering the draft, the Lions’ safety depth is comprised of Loren Strickland, Erick Hallett II and Morice Norris. It’d be prudent to start backfilling at this position at the draft to make some decisions down the road a bit easier.

At cornerback, the team is in good shape. Terrion Arnold, the No. 24 pick in last year’s draft, steadily improved over his rookie season and is a top candidate to take the biggest leap in 2025. Opposite of Arnold, the team ensured the departure of Carlton Davis III wouldn’t sting too badly by signing veteran DJ Reed, a player of similar caliber, from the New York Jets in free agency.

The Lions added another cornerback in last year’s draft, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., with the 60th pick. He was a standout in training camp but dealt with injuries all of last season and missed out on a starting opportunity in Week 2 that could have led to a prominent role in the defense for the rest of his rookie campaign. Rakestraw is expected to challenge Amik Robertson, who’s entering the final season of his two-year agreement, for the starting nickel cornerback job next season.

Khalil Dorsey, one of the team’s best gunners on punt coverage, is also back for another season and will serve as a reliable depth option alongside returning defensive back Stantley Thomas-Oliver and two free agency signings, Avonte Maddox and Rock Ya-Sin.

Level of need: Low-medium

Detroit has up-and-coming talent all over its secondary, but will face some extreme financial commitments because of it in the next few seasons. If the Lions hope to get cheaper in the defensive backfield, it’d be wise to start adding that talent in the near future. Given the track record of Lions general manager Brad Holmes, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lions add a cornerback or safety (or both) early in this draft.

At the top

This year’s cornerback group features the draft’s most tantalizing prospect, two-way star and reigning Heisman winner Travis Hunter (Colorado). It’s expected that he’ll be gone within the first few picks, most likely to the Cleveland Browns at No. 2. Behind him, Jahdae Barron (Texas), who picked off five passes last year, and Will Johnson (Michigan) are projected to be the next two cornerbacks off the board, with both of those guys having the potential to be top-15 picks.

From there, the top of the board has a lot of variance. West Bloomfield’s Maxwell Hairston (Kentucky) has been climbing up draft boards since the NFL Combine and could sneak into the back half of the first round. Shavon Revel (East Carolina), who had his 2024 season ended by a torn ACL, is also a late climber with first-round potential. Other potential first-rounders include Trey Amos (Ole Miss), Azareye’h Thomas (Florida State) and Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame).

At safety, there are really only two prospects with first-round buzz entering next week: Malaki Starks (Georgia), who fits the do-it-all mold of a player like Branch, and Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina). Most mock drafts have Starks as the first safety off the board, with some even believing he could be a top-10 pick. But as we’ve seen with top safeties over the years, it also wouldn’t be surprising to see him slip to the end of the first round, making him available for the Lions, or into Day 2 altogether. Emmanwori (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) is one of the draft’s best athletes; he recorded a 4.38 in the 40, a 43-inch vertical jump and an 11-foot-6 broad jump and makes good use of it in his versatile game.

Teams who could be after a DB in Round 1

Cleveland Browns (No. 2), New York Jets (7), Carolina Panthers (8), New Orleans Saints (9), San Francisco 49ers (11), Miami Dolphins (13), Arizona Cardinals (16), Cincinnati Bengals (17), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19), Green Bay Packers (23), Minnesota Vikings (24), Los Angeles Rams (26), Baltimore Ravens (27), Washington Commanders (29), Buffalo Bills (30)

Crystal Ball: Star-studded 2019 opener provided clear 2025 draft preview

Down the board

If the Lions happen to address other positions on the field during the draft’s early stages, there will be several intriguing options to help aid the defensive backfield in Days 2 and 3.

The consensus is that Xavier Watts (Notre Dame), tied for second in interceptions (six) last year, is the third-best safety in the draft; he’s an option for the Lions on Day 2. Penn State has a pair of safeties that are expected to be gone by the middle rounds, Kevin Winston Jr. and Detroit native Jaylen Reed (Detroit King). Andrew Mukuba (Texas) was one of the best coverage safeties in the nation last season (tied-fourth with five interceptions) and has Day 2 potential. Lathan Ransom (Ohio State) and Malachi Moore (Alabama), two other middle-round guys, were solid run defenders and could help fill the void left by Melifonwu (not that Detroit will be trying to find a one-for-one replacement for that “need”). R.J. Mickens (Clemson) is an attractive late-round option with good coverage ability.

Among the cornerbacks expected to be available on Days 2 and 3, Cobee Bryant (Kansas) stands out as a player with the mental makeup Detroit is looking for; he’s a willing run defender and snagged four interceptions last season. Nohl Williams (Cal), who led the nation in interceptions (seven), and Jacob Parrish (Kansas State) could easily find their way to Detroit in the earlier rounds.

Denzel Burke (Ohio State) was at one time thought of as a possible first- or second-rounder in last year’s draft, but after returning for a title-winning season with the Buckeyes, his stock has slipped; he enters the draft as a late-Day 2, early-Day 3 guy. Western Michigan is putting a lengthy cornerback into the draft in Bilhal Kone (6-foot-2), who had six pass breakups and an interception last year.

Time to target

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lions grab a falling safety at the back end of the first round, but if Detroit does add to the secondary, our best guess is that it’ll come on Day 3 (or even late on Day 2), when there will be plenty of gems to mine. Cornerbacks (and to a lesser extent, safeties) tend to be similar to receivers in the sense that there’s always a “voluminous” (as Holmes would put it) supply of potential contributors down the board.

By Hannah Mackay, The Detroit News

A search warrant affidavit for the West Bloomfield home where three siblings died in a fire in February revealed that the first 911 call came from the family’s 16-year-old daughter, who told authorities, “there’s no way for us to get out.”

The affidavit sheds new light on the Feb. 2 fire that killed Hannah, Jeremiah, and Jacob Oliora, ages 16, 14, and 12, and why the siblings, one of whom had nonverbal autism, weren’t able to escape.

The investigation into the fire, meanwhile, is ongoing, according to West Bloomfield police. The West Bloomfield police and fire departments have denied Freedom of Information acts requests related to the fire and its investigation.

Police executed a search warrant at the Oliora home on Feb. 4. No findings have been submitted to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Police Chief Dale Young.

According to the affidavit, Hannah told 911 dispatchers that the fire started in the living room. Authorities haven’t revealed what caused the blaze.

After the fire, police interviewed the parents, Don and Liz Oliora, the next day and learned that Jeremiah had been diagnosed with nonverbal autism. He’d previously attempted to climb out of a second-story window of the home on Pembury Lane and left the home unsupervised through the front door. He was found in their neighborhood by a passerby, according to the documents.

To prevent similar incidents from happening again, the parents told police they installed window locks and an interior front door lock. The key to unlock the front door was kept in a lockbox inside, near the home’s garage. Only the parents and their oldest daughter had access to the lockbox, according to court documents.

Hannah’s initial 911 call came in around 8:05 p.m. on Feb. 2. Her father had left the home around 2:40 p.m. to work for DoorDash, and her mother left at the same time for work as a nurse, according to the documents.

At 7:10 p.m., Hannah called her father to ask about the family’s dinner plans. She told her father that she would start cooking hamburgers for her and her brothers, and her dad said he would come home after completing a few more DoorDash stops.

Liz was working when she was told about the fire by a neighbor and the police. She told police that her three children were inside and that she was on her way home, and called her husband to alert him at 8:27 p.m.

When police arrived on the scene of the fire and learned about the children trapped inside the home, they attempted to extinguish the flames in the back of the house but couldn’t.

Firefighters then arrived and were able to enter the home and extract the kids. One was found right behind the front door, while another was in an upstairs bathroom, according to the documents.

Hannah and Jeremiah were taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital, while Jacob was taken to Henry Ford Hospital in West Bloomfield, but all three succumbed to their injuries.

An autopsy by the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed that Jacob’s preliminary cause of death was accidental and due to smoke and soot inhalation, according to the court documents. Autopsies for his brother and sister had not been conducted when the search warrant affidavit was filed.

When firefighters entered the home, they could hear the ignitor of the gas stove clicking, according to the documents.

hmackay@detroitnews.com

By Henry Larweh, KFF Health News

Fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid driving the nation’s high drug overdose rates, is also caught up in another increasingly serious problem: misinformation.

False and misleading narratives on social media, in news reports, and even in popular television dramas suggesting people can overdose from touching fentanyl — rather than ingesting it — are now informing policy and spending decisions.

In an episode of the CBS cop drama “Blue Bloods,” for instance, Detective Maria Baez becomes comatose after accidentally touching powdered fentanyl. In another drama, “S.W.A.T.,” Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson warns his co-workers: “You touch the pure stuff without wearing gloves, say good night.”

While fentanyl-related deaths have drastically risen over the past decade, no evidence suggests any resulted from incidentally touching or inhaling it, and little to no evidence that any resulted from consuming it in marijuana products. (Recent data indicates that fentanyl-related deaths have begun to drop.)

There is also almost no evidence that law enforcement personnel are at heightened risk of accidental overdoses due to such exposures. Still, there is a steady stream of reports — which generally turn out to be false — of officers allegedly becoming ill after handling fentanyl.

“It’s only in the TV dramas” where that happens, said Brandon del Pozo, a retired Burlington, Vermont, police chief who researches policing and public health policies and practices at Brown University.

In fact, fentanyl overdoses are commonly caused by ingesting the drug illicitly as a pill or powder. And most accidental exposures occur when people who use drugs, even those who do not use opioids, unknowingly consume fentanyl because it is so often used to “cut” street drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

Despite what scientific evidence suggests about fentanyl and its risks, misinformation can persist in public discourse and among first responders on the front lines of the crisis. Daniel Meloy, a senior community engagement specialist at the drug recovery organizations Operation 2 Save Lives and QRT National, said he thinks of misinformation as “more of an unknown than it is an anxiety or a fear.”

“We’re experiencing it often before the information” can be understood and shared by public health and addiction medicine practitioners, Meloy said.

Some state and local governments are investing money from their share of the billions in opioid settlement funds in efforts to protect first responders from purported risks perpetuated through fentanyl misinformation.

In 2022 and 2023, 19 cities, towns, and counties across eight states used settlement funds to purchase drug detection devices for law enforcement agencies, spending just over $1 million altogether. Two mass spectrometers were purchased for at least $136,000 for the Greeley, Colorado, police department, “to protect those who are tasked with handling those substances.”

Del Pozo, the retired police chief, said fentanyl is present in most illicit opioids found at the scene of an arrest. But that “doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money on fentanyl detection for officer safety,” he said. If that spending decision is motivated by officer safety concerns, then it’s “misspent money,” del Pozo said.

Fentanyl misinformation is affecting policy in other ways, too.

Florida, for instance, has on the books a law that makes it a second-degree felony to cause an overdose or bodily injury to a first responder through this kind of secondhand fentanyl exposure. Similar legislation has been considered by states such as Tennessee and West Virginia, the latter stipulating a penalty of 15 years to life imprisonment if the exposure results in death.

Public health advocates worry these laws will make people shy away from seeking help for people who are overdosing.

“A lot of people leave overdose scenes because they don’t want to interact with police,” said Erin Russell, a principal with Health Management Associates, a health care industry research and consulting firm. Florida does include a caveat in its statute that any person “acting in good faith” to seek medical assistance for someone they believe to be overdosing “may not” be arrested, charged, or prosecuted.

And even when public policy is crafted to protect first responders as well as regular people, misinformation can undermine a program’s messaging.

Take Mississippi’s One Pill Can Kill initiative. Led by the state attorney general, Lynn Fitch, the initiative aims to provide resources and education to Mississippi residents about fentanyl and its risks. While it promotes the availability and use of harm reduction tools, such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips, Fitch has also propped up misinformation.

At the 2024 Mississippi Coalition of Bail Sureties conference, Fitch said, “If you figure out that pill’s got fentanyl, you better be ready to dispose of it, because you can get it through your fingers,” based on the repeatedly debunked belief that a person can overdose by simply touching fentanyl.

Officers on the ground, meanwhile, sometimes are warned to proceed with caution in providing lifesaving interventions at overdose scenes because of these alleged accidental exposure risks. This caution is often evidenced in a push to provide first responders with masks and other personal protective equipment. Fitch told the crowd at the conference: “You can’t just go out and give CPR like you did before.” However, as with other secondhand exposures, the risk for a fentanyl overdose from applying mouth-to-mouth is negligible, with no clinical evidence to suggest it has occurred.

Her comments underscore growing concerns, often not supported by science, that officers and first responders increasingly face exposure risks during overdose responses. Her office did not respond to questions about these comments.

Health care experts say they are not against providing first responders with protective equipment, but that fentanyl misinformation is clouding policy and risks delaying critical interventions such as CPR and rescue breathing.

“People are afraid to do rescue breathing because they’re like, ‘Well, what if there’s fentanyl in the person’s mouth,’” Russell said. Hesitating for even a moment because of fentanyl misinformation could delay a technique that “is incredibly important in an overdose response.”

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©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

As the Trump administration slashes funding for health, energy and climate research, there’s one science the administration is promoting: de-extinction.

Earlier this month, a biotechnology company announced it had genetically engineered three gray wolf pups to have white hair, more muscular jaws and a larger build — characteristics of the dire wolf, a species that hasn’t roamed the Earth for several millennia.

Now, the Trump administration is citing the case of the dire wolf as it moves to reduce federal protections under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a proposed rule to rescind the definition of “harm” under the act — which for decades has included actions like harassing, pursuing, hunting or killing endangered wildlife and plants, as well as habitat destruction.

“The status quo is focused on regulation more than innovation. It’s time to fundamentally change how we think about species conservation,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in an April 7 post on X, formerly Twitter. “The revival of the Dire Wolf heralds the advent of a thrilling new era of scientific wonder, showcasing how the concept of ‘de-extinction’ can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation.”

But bioethicists and conservationists are expressing unease with the kind of scientific research being pioneered by Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based company on a mission to bring back extinct animals.

“Unfortunately, as clever as this science is … it’s can-do science and not should-do science,” said Lindsay Marshall, director of science in animal research at Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the U.S.

The dire wolf also came up at an April 9 meeting of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources that considered amendments to a proposed law that would strip federal protections from western Great Lakes gray wolves — the latest in a decadeslong back-and-forth between conservationists, hunters and politicians that has shifted the species on and off the endangered list since its inclusion 50 years ago.

At the congressional meeting, Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California suggested an amendment to allow a federal judge to reconsider the removal of federal protections if population numbers begin to decline significantly again.

“Well, didn’t we just bring a wolf back that was here 10,000 years ago? I mean, if it really gets that bad, we can just bring woolly mammoths back,” responded Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a Republican and the bill’s sponsor.

“That’s a deeply unserious response to what should be a very serious issue,” Huffman replied.

Gray wolves that live in the Great Lakes and West Coast regions are one of 1,662 species currently protected under the Endangered Species Act. Hunting and trapping almost drove them to extinction in the lower 48 states by the mid-20th century.

Naomi Louchouarn, program director of wildlife partnerships at Humane World for Animals and an expert on human-wildlife coexistence, had a gut reaction to the dire wolf news: “This is going to be a problem for gray wolves,” she recalls thinking. “It almost immediately undermined our ability to protect species.”

In a Wednesday statement to the Tribune, Colossal’s chief science officer, Beth Shapiro, said the company sees de-extinction as “one of many tools” that can speed up the battle against biodiversity loss, which humans are “not close to winning.”

“We don’t see this as an ‘either/or’ question, but rather as a ‘both and,’” she said. “We as a global community need to continue to invest in traditional approaches to conservation and habitat preservation, as well as in the protection of living endangered species.”

Advancements in genetic technologies could revolutionize wildlife conservation, said J. Elizabeth Peace, senior public affairs specialist with the Interior Department, in a statement Wednesday.

“By preserving genetic materials today, we equip future generations with the tools necessary to restore and maintain biodiversity,” the statement said. “This approach aligns with our commitment to stewarding natural resources responsibly, ensuring that our actions today support a sustainable and thriving ecosystem for the future.”

However, critics say de-extinction sends a misleading message and is, overall, a flawed approach to conservation.

“It’s important to realize that they did not bring the dire wolf back from extinction,” said Craig Klugman, a bioethicist and professor of health sciences at DePaul University. “What they did was genetically tweak a gray wolf … so you have a gray wolf that has some characteristics of a dire wolf.”

“It’s like one, but it isn’t one,” he added.

Shapiro said Colossal is working toward functional de-extinction.

“The goal of de-extinction has never been to create perfect genetic copies of an extinct species,” she said, “but instead to bring back key traits that fill an ecological niche that is vacant because of extinction.”

An inefficient science?

As the executive branch targets federal agencies through mass firings, funding cuts and regulatory rollbacks in the name of efficiency, those skeptical of de-extinction argue that it’s an inefficient science.

“It requires a lot of embryos that fail, a lot of pregnancies that don’t take, to get one creature,” Klugman said.

Those few dozen embryos were implanted in the wombs of two female domestic hound mixes, one embryo taking hold in each. A similar procedure was repeated a few months later with another surrogate who gave birth to a third puppy.

“This type of pioneering genetic research often requires multiple attempts to achieve success,” Shapiro said, “and the knowledge gained from both successes and failures contributes to future improvements in efficiency.”

Colossal announced in early March — around the same time Burgum met with company leaders to discuss their role in conservation efforts — that they had genetically edited 38 mice to have hair like the woolly mammoth, a significant step toward engineering Asian elephants with traits similar to those of the extinct species.

To get to those few dozen mice, however, scientists produced 385 embryos, of which 291 were implanted in 16 surrogate females.

“It’s mice. People don’t really care about mice — but we care about mice. We care what’s happening to them,” said Marshall, of Humane World.

Colossal’s facilities are certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Shapiro. She said the company’s research is overseen by a committee of scientists and nonscientists that is required by federal regulations. The committee reviews and evaluates the company’s research protocols and ensures the ethical use of animals.

Skeptics also argue that animals manipulated to mimic extinct ones likely have no future in the wild.

“They have to be taught how to live and hunt and take care of themselves,” Klugman said. “How do they know how to survive? How can they thrive?”

Leaders at Colossal have acknowledged this reality.

According to an Associated Press report, Matt James, Colossal’s chief animal care expert, said that despite the resemblance, “what they will probably never learn is the finishing move of how to kill a giant elk or a big deer,” because they won’t have opportunities to watch and learn from wild dire wolf parents

Shapiro said the pups won’t be released into the wild, where they would have to compete with gray wolves. Instead, they will live in an “expansive ecological preserve” — the company has said it’s a 2,000-acre site in an undisclosed location — where their health and needs will be continually evaluated under managed care.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a wild wolf pack’s territory can be as large as 32,000 acres, extending up to 640,000 acres where prey is scarce. They can travel as far as 30 miles a day to hunt.

“If you think about (it), those pups aren’t going to live much of a life trapped in an area that’s a tiny percentage of what they should have,” Marshall said. “They’re not a self-sustaining population. They have nowhere to live. … We don’t know if those animals are going to suffer as they get older.”

Ed Heist, a professor at Southern Illinois University and a conservation geneticist,  said the news bothered him.

“This is not conservation, but people conflate it,” he said. “The point is entertainment.”

Nichole Keway Biber feels similarly unsettled. She is a tribal citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa and leads the wolf and wildlife preservation team at the Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party. She said it demonstrates that the natural world, to humans, is for consumption or entertainment — and that it ignores the inherent worth of voiceless animals beyond any commercial or amusement benefit they can provide.

“That has a danger,” she said, “of setting a pattern of behavior: to be dismissive of the vulnerable, or take advantage of the vulnerable or be abusive toward the vulnerable.”

Inability to coexist

Louchouarn, the Humane World program director, has dedicated her studies and research to the relationship between humans and animals, specifically carnivores like gray wolves.

“The reason our current endangered species are becoming extinct is because we don’t know how to coexist with them,” she said. “And this doesn’t solve that problem at all.”

Humans can treat the symptoms of wildlife conflict with “big, flashy silver bullets” and “in this case, advanced, inefficient science,” she said, but the real solution is behavioral change.

“Assuming that we could actually bring back a full population of animals,” Louchouarn said, “which is so difficult and so crazy — that’s a big if — I don’t understand the point of trying to bring back a woolly mammoth when we already can’t coexist with elephants.”

In the United States, political discussions surrounding gray wolf conservation have been based on different interpretations of whether their populations have recovered enough to be sustainable without protections.

“But we define what well is, not the wolves,” Louchouarn said. “The ecosystem can carry a lot more wolves than that. We just refuse to live with them.”

Recent winter estimates count more than 750 wild gray wolves in Michigan, almost 3,000 in Minnesota and just over 1,000 in Wisconsin. Some of those wolves may occasionally travel to Illinois, where they were common until they were wiped out after the arrival of European settlers.

The bill in the U.S. House aimed at removing protections from the species is called the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, and its supporters and sponsors argue it will allow ranchers and communities to manage conflict with wolves as they fear for the safety of their domesticated animals.

In Wisconsin, wolf attacks on livestock have increased over the last three years, resulting in animal deaths or injuries: from 49 confirmed or probable cases in 2022 to 69 in 2023 and up to 85 in 2024. While wolf attacks on dogs in residential areas are rare, they have also increased in recent years, according to state reports.

Conservation biologists who oppose hunting worry it will only exacerbate this type of conflict. When a wolf is killed, it can disrupt pack dynamics, which can in turn lead to lone wolves preying on livestock or pets outdoors — smaller and easier to kill than larger prey such as bison, elk, moose and deer.

For other people, coexistence is a way of life. Biber said the Anishinaabe, the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region, live by the principle of dabasendiziwin, or humility in regard to other living organisms.

“It’s not self-denigration, but a realistic awareness of our dependence (on) the elements,” she said, “but also plants and animals, and us. And all the other orders of being can exist apart from us. They’re OK. They were here long before. We’re the newcomers.”

Anishinaabe people, like the Ojibwe and the Odawa, believe in a parallel history with the gray wolf or Ma’iingan, that their fates are intrinsically connected.

“What happens to one, will happen to the other,” Biber said.

A question of stewardship

Species don’t exist in a vacuum, Heist often reminds his students at SIU. “They are parts of their communities.”

So when a species ceases to exist, it loses its place in the ecosystem. It’s a void left to be filled by others over hundreds, thousands of years.

Klugman wonders whether resurrecting animals unprepared for the modern world — “which we clearly have not done yet” — would even be fair to them. “Is that us being good stewards of this planet?”

During a livestreamed town hall with Interior Department employees on April 9, Burgum said: “If we’re going to be in anguish about losing a species, now we have an opportunity to bring them back. Pick your favorite species and call up Colossal. And instead of raising money to get animals on the endangered species (list), let’s figure out a way to get them off.”

Ken Angielczyk, curator of mammal fossils at the Field Museum who researches extinct species that lived 200 to 300 million years ago, said it’s a misguided approach.

“If that’s the basis … for changing regulations related to the endangered species list, that is very, very premature,” he said. “Because we can’t resurrect things.”

Biber said humans should be focused on preventing further loss. “It’s a lot better use of effort, time, resources, mind power.”

“If the purpose is to restore the damage to the shared ecosystem, we have that opportunity right now,” she said. “And that’s the necessity immediately.”

Angielczyk, who studies mammals that survived the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history, said fossil records after such events show it takes a long time for real ecosystem recovery to occur: 1 to 10 million years — way longer than the human species has existed.

“So, changes that we can cause today quite easily, in some cases, have very, very long-term implications,” he said. “Just another reason why conservation efforts really are important and something that we should be concerned about and actively involved in.”

It’s also crucial to preserve the ability of species to adapt to changing conditions, Heist said, which requires large populations and genetic diversity.

Red wolves represent one such opportunity. The species — once common in most of the eastern and southern United States — still exists, but is critically endangered partly because in the wild, the wolves often mate with coyotes and produce hybrid offspring. That has led to low genetic diversity and weak evolutionary fitness. Just under 20 red wolves exist in their wild, native habitats today.

Alongside the dire wolf news, Colossal announced it cloned four of these hybrids and removed most of the coyote DNA along the way. They say it’s the first step to restoring genetic diversity in the captive breeding populations of red wolves, 241 of which live in 45 facilities across the country.

Some conservationists feel more hopeful about this endeavor, though they still express reservations.

“There is a benefit to trying to bring back some of the genes that would diversify … red wolves, that would enhance their ability to survive,” Louchouarn said. “But will that fix red wolf extinction, at the rate that they’re going extinct? No, because the reason it’s happening is they’re being poached at extreme rates.”

Heist said it might not be practical to spend so much money trying to create genetically diverse red wolves to significantly restore their populations.

Bioethicists and conservationists argue that, at its core, the issue is whether humans can put aside self-interest to invest in the well-being of other creatures.

“This whole idea that extinction is reversible is so dangerous,” Marshall said, “because then it stops us caring.”

adperez@chicagotribune.com

By Sam Whitehead, Phil Galewitz and Katheryn Houghton, KFF Health News

For many years, Eric Wunderlin’s health issues made it hard to find stable employment.

Struggling to manage depression and diabetes, Wunderlin worked part-time, minimum-wage retail jobs around Dayton, Ohio, making so little he said he sometimes had to choose between paying rent and buying food.

But in 2018, his CareSource Medicaid health plan offered him help getting a job. It connected him to a life coach, who helped him find full-time work with health benefits. Now, he works for a nonprofit social service agency, a job he said has given him enough financial stability to plan a European vacation next year.

“I feel like a real person and I can go do things,” said Wunderlin, 42. “I feel like I pulled myself out of that slump.”

Republicans in Congress and several states, including Ohio, Iowa, and Montana, are pushing to implement work requirements for nondisabled adults, arguing a mandate would encourage enrollees to find jobs. And for Republicans pushing to require Medicaid enrollees to work, Wunderlin’s story could be held up as evidence that government health coverage can help people find employment and, ultimately, reduce their need for public assistance.

Yet his experience is rare. Medicaid typically does not offer such help, and when states do try to help, such efforts are limited.

And opponents point out that most Medicaid recipients already have jobs and say such a mandate would only kick eligible people off Medicaid, rather than improve their economic prospects. Nearly two-thirds of Medicaid enrollees work, with most of the rest acting as caregivers, going to school, or unable to hold a job due to disability or illness, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Existing efforts to help Medicaid recipients get a job have seen limited success because there’s not a lot of “room to move the needle,” said Ben Sommers, a professor of health care economics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Most Medicaid enrollees already work — just not in jobs with health benefits, he said.

“The ongoing argument that some folks make is that there are a lot of people freeloading in Medicaid,” he said. “That’s just not supported by the evidence.”

Using health programs to encourage work

The GOP-controlled Congress could allow or require states to implement a Medicaid work requirement as part of revamping and downsizing Medicaid. The first Trump administration encouraged those work mandates, but many were struck down by federal judges who said they were illegal under federal law.

Policy experts and state officials say more attention should be paid to investments that have helped people find better jobs — from personalized life coaching to, in some cases, health plans’ directly hiring enrollees.

They argue work requirements alone are not enough. “The move to economic mobility requires a ladder, not a stick,” said Farah Khan, a fellow with the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank.

While Medicaid work requirements have been debated for decades, the issue has become more heated as 40 states and Washington, D.C., have expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act to the vast majority of low-income adults. More than 20 million adults have gained coverage as a result — but Republicans are now considering eliminating the billions in extra federal funding that helped states extend eligibility beyond groups including many children, pregnant women, and disabled people.

Only Georgia and Arkansas have implemented mandates that some Medicaid enrollees work, volunteer, go to school, or enroll in job training. But a study Sommers co-authored showed no evidence work requirements in Arkansas’ program led to more people working, in part because most of those who could work already were.

In Arkansas, more than 18,000 people lost coverage under the state’s requirement before the policy was suspended by a federal judge in 2019 after less than a year. Those who lost their Medicaid health care reported being unaware or confused about how to report work hours. Since 2023, Arkansas has been giving Medicaid health plans financial incentives to help enrollees train for jobs, but so far few have taken advantage.

Some plans, including Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s, offer members $25 to $65 to complete a “career readiness” certificate. In 2024, some Arkansas health plans offered enrollees educational videos about topics including taxes and cryptocurrency.

Health plans don’t have an incentive to help someone find a better-paying job, because that could mean losing a customer if they then make too much to qualify for Medicaid, said Karin VanZant, a vice president at Clearlink Partners, a health care consulting company.

Rather than offering incentives for providing job training, some states, such as California and Ohio, require the insurance companies that run Medicaid to help enrollees find work.

In Montana, where some lawmakers are pushing to implement work requirements, a promising optional program nearly collapsed after state lawmakers required it be outsourced to private contractors.

Within the program’s first three years, the state paired 32,000 Medicaid enrollees with existing federally funded job training programs. Most had higher wages a year after starting training, the state found.

But enrollment has plummeted to just 11 people, according to the latest data provided by the state’s labor department.

Sarah Swanson, who heads the department, said several of the nonprofit contractors that ran the program shuttered. “There was no real part in this for us to deliver direct services to the folks that walked through our door,” she said. The state hopes to revive job training by allowing the department to work alongside contractors to reach more people.

The hunt for results

State officials say they don’t have much data to track the effectiveness of existing job programs offered by Medicaid plans.

Stephanie O’Grady, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Medicaid, said the state does not track outcomes because “the health plans are not employment agencies.”

Officials with CareSource, which operates Medicaid plans in multiple states, say it has about 2,300 Medicaid and ACA marketplace enrollees in its JobConnect program — about 1,400 in Ohio, 500 in Georgia, and 400 in Indiana.

The program connects job seekers with a life coach who counsels them on skills such as “showing up on time, dressing the part for interviews, and selling yourself during the interview,” said Jesse Reed, CareSource’s director of life services in Ohio.

Since 2023, about 800 people have found jobs through the program, according to Josh Boynton, a senior vice president at CareSource. The health plan itself has hired 29 Medicaid enrollees into customer service, pharmacy, and other positions — nearly all full-time with benefits, he said.

In 2022, California started offering nontraditional health benefits through Medicaid — including help finding jobs — for enrollees experiencing homelessness or serious mental illness, or who are otherwise at risk of avoidable emergency room care. As of September, it had served nearly 280,000 enrollees, but the state doesn’t have data on how many became employed.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which is among the largest private employers in Pennsylvania, running both a sprawling hospital system and a Medicaid plan, has hired over 10,000 of its Medicaid enrollees since 2021 through its training and support services. Among other jobs, they took positions as warehouse workers, customer service representatives, and medical assistants.

The vast majority left low-paying jobs for full-time positions with health benefits, said Dan LaVallee, a senior director of UPMC Health Plan’s Center for Social Impact. “Our Pathways to Work program is a model for the nation,” he said.

Josh Archambault, a senior fellow with the conservative Cicero Institute, said Medicaid should focus on improving the financial health of those enrolled.

While the first Trump administration approved Medicaid work requirements in 13 states, the Biden administration or federal judges blocked all except Georgia’s.

“I don’t think states have been given ample chance to experiment and try to figure out what works,” Archambault said.

KFF Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart contributed to this report.

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©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Shalina Chatlani, Stateline.org

Republicans in Congress are eyeing $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal-state government health care program for lower-income people.

Depending on how states respond, a Republican proposal that would slash the 90% federal contribution to states’ expanded Medicaid programs would end coverage for as many as 20 million of the 72 million people on Medicaid — or cost states $626 billion over the next decade to keep them on the rolls. More than 5 million people could lose coverage if the feds impose work requirements.

In recent months, this complicated government program has increasingly come under the spotlight, so Stateline has put together a guide explaining what Medicaid is and how it operates.

1. Medicaid is not Medicare.

Medicaid serves people with lower incomes or who have a disability. Medicare focuses primarily on older people, no matter their income.

Medicaid and Medicare were created in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, though younger people with special circumstances, such as permanent kidney failure or ALS, may be eligible earlier.

Medicare is a supplemental insurance program that’s limited in scope. It doesn’t pay for long-term care, most dental care or routine physical exams. Around 68.4 million people are enrolled in Medicare.

Medicaid is a more comprehensive government insurance plan that’s jointly funded by the federal government and states. Medicaid covers most nursing home care as well as home- and community-based long-term care. People on Medicaid generally don’t have any copayments. Only people and families with incomes under certain thresholds are eligible for Medicaid. About 72 million people, or a fifth of people living in the United States, receive Medicaid benefits.

2. Medicaid eligibility varies from state to state.

In its original form, Medicaid was generally only available to children and parents or caretakers of eligible children with household incomes below 100% of the federal poverty line ($32,150 for a family of four in 2025). Over the years, the program was expanded to include some pregnant women, older adults, blind people and people with disabilities.

States have to follow broad federal guidelines to receive federal funding. But they have significant flexibility in how they design and administer their programs, and they have different eligibility rules and offer varying benefits.

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which allowed states to expand their eligibility thresholds to cover adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty line (about $21,000 for one person today), in exchange for greater federal matching funds. The District of Columbia covers parents and caretakers who earn up to 221% of the federal poverty line.

Only 10 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming) have chosen not to expand coverage. In the non-expansion states, eligibility for caretakers and parents ranges from 15% of the federal poverty line in Texas to 105% in Tennessee. In Alabama, people can only get Medicaid if they earn at or below 18% of the federal poverty line — $4,678 a year for a three-person household.

3. Traditional Medicaid exists alongside a health insurance program for children called CHIP.

Low-income children have always been eligible for Medicaid. But in 1997, Congress created CHIP, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The law gave states an opportunity to draw down enhanced federal matching funds to extend Medicaid coverage to children within families who earn too much money to qualify for traditional Medicaid coverage, but make too little money to afford commercial health care.

Like Medicaid, CHIP is jointly funded by the federal government and states, but it’s not an entitlement program. CHIP is a block grant program, meaning states receive a fixed amount of federal money every year and aren’t obligated to cover everyone who meets the eligibility requirements. States get to decide, within broad federal guidelines, how their CHIP programs will work and what the income limits will be. Some states have chosen to keep their CHIP and Medicaid programs separate, while others have decided to combine them by using CHIP funds to expand Medicaid eligibility.

4. Medicaid and CHIP are significant portions of state budgets.

In 2024, the federal government spent less on Medicaid and CHIP than on Medicare, with Medicare spending accounting for 12%, or $847.5 billion, of the federal benefit budget, and Medicaid and CHIP accounting for 8%, or $584.5 billion.

But at the same time, Medicaid is the largest source of federal funds for states, accounting for about a third of state budgets, on average, and 57% of all federal funding the states received last year.

5. Federal funding varies by state.

Before the Affordable Care Act, federal Medicaid funding to states mostly depended on a formula known as the FMAP, or the federal medical assistance percentage, which is based on the average personal income of residents. States with lower average incomes get more financial assistance. For example, the federal government reimburses Mississippi, which is relatively poor, nearly $8 for every $10 it spends, for a net state cost of $2. But New York is only reimbursed $5. By law the FMAP can’t be less than 50%.

The ACA offered states the opportunity to expand eligibility and receive an even greater federal matching rate. In expansion states, the federal government covers 90% of costs for expansion adults. If Republicans in Congress reduce that percentage, states would have to use their own money to make up for lost federal dollars. They might have to scale back Medicaid coverage for some groups, eliminate optional benefits or reduce provider payment rates. Alternatively, they could raise taxes or make cuts in other large budget items, such as education.

Another possibility is that states that have adopted Medicaid expansion would reverse it. Nine states (Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia) already have “trigger” laws in place that would automatically rescind expansion if the federal match rate dips below 90%. Other states are considering similar legislation.

One new analysis from KFF, a health research policy group, found that if Congress reduced the federal match for the expansion population to the percentages states get for the traditional Medicaid population— 50% for the wealthiest states and 77% for the poorest ones — it would cost states $626 billion over the next decade to keep everyone eligible under Medicaid expansion on the rolls.

6. Medicaid is the largest source of health coverage, especially for people with low incomes.

Medicaid is the single largest health payer in the nation, and is particularly important for people in poverty. Almost a fifth of people living in the United States are covered through Medicaid. But nearly half of all adults with incomes at or below the federal poverty line are insured through the program. Medicaid covers 4 out of every 10 children overall, but it covers 8 out of every 10 children below the federal poverty line. Medicaid also provides coverage for people experiencing homelessness or who are leaving incarceration.

7. Medicaid covers essential services, such as childbirth.

In exchange for receiving federal funds, states are obligated to cover essential health care services, including inpatient and outpatient hospital services, doctor visits, laboratory work and home health services, among other things. States get to decide which optional services, such as prescription drugs and physical therapy, they want to cover.

Medicaid is a significant payer of essential services. For example, the program covers 41% of all childbirths in the U.S. and covers health care services for the 40% of all adults ages 19-65 with HIV.

8. The majority of Medicaid spending goes to people with disabilities and to pay for long-term care.

ACA expansion adults — about 1 out of every 4 enrollees — accounted for 21% of total Medicaid expenditures in 2021. Children, who make up about 1 out of every 3 enrollees, only accounted for 14% of spending.

People who qualify for Medicaid because of a disability or because they are over the age of 65 make up about 1 out of every 4 enrollees. But they accounted for more than half of all Medicaid spending. That’s because these populations typically experience higher rates of chronic illness and require more complex medical care. Older people are also more likely to use nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, which can be expensive.

Cuts could also mean that older people relying on Medicaid for home-based care and long-term nursing home services could be significantly affected.

9. Some state Medicaid programs cover people who are living in the country illegally.

People who are in the country illegally are ineligible for traditional Medicaid or CHIP. But some states have carved out exceptions to extend coverage to them using state dollars.

As of January, 14 states and the District of Columbia provide Medicaid coverage to children regardless of their immigration status. And 23 states plus the District of Columbia use CHIP to cover pregnant enrollees regardless of their immigration status.

Also, seven states provide Medicaid to some adults who are here illegally. New York opted to cover those who meet the income requirements and are over the age of 65, regardless of immigration status And California provides coverage to any adults ages 19-65 who are under the income threshold, regardless of immigration status.

10. The majority of the public holds favorable views of Medicaid.

According to surveys from KFF, two-thirds of Americans say that someone close to them has received health coverage from Medicaid at some point in their lives. Half of the public also say they or someone in their family have been covered through Medicaid.

Generally, around 3 out of every 4 people — regardless of political party — say that Medicaid is very important, though Republicans are less likely than Democrats and independents to share that opinion. At the same time, a third or less of people want to see any decrease in spending on the Medicaid program. In fact, the majority of people living in states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA want their states to do so.

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

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©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Natalie Skowlund, KFF Health News

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. — When Adolfo Román García-Ramírez walks home in the evening from his shift at a grocery store in this central Colorado mountain town, sometimes he thinks back on his childhood in Nicaragua. Adults, he recollects, would scare the kids with tales of the “Mona Bruja,” or “Monkey Witch.” Step too far into the dark, they told him, and you might just get snatched up by the giant monstrous monkey who lives in the shadows.

Now, when García-Ramírez looks over his shoulder, it’s not monster monkeys he is afraid of. It’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“There’s this constant fear that you’ll be walking down the street and a vehicle rolls up,” García-Ramírez, 57, said in Spanish. “They tell you, ‘We’re from ICE; you’re arrested,’ or, ‘Show me your papers.’”

Silverthorne, a commuter town between the ski meccas of Breckenridge and Vail, has been García-Ramírez’s home for the past two years. He works as a cashier at the grocery and shares a two-bedroom apartment with four roommates.

The town of nearly 5,000 has proved a welcome haven for the political exile, who was released from prison in 2023 after Nicaragua’s authoritarian government brokered a deal with the U.S. government to transfer more than 200 political prisoners to the U.S. The exiles were offered temporary residency in the U.S. under a Biden administration humanitarian parole program.

García-Ramírez’s two-year humanitarian parole expired in February, just a few weeks after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to end the program that had permitted temporary legal residency in the U.S. for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, putting him at risk of deportation. García-Ramírez was stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship when he came to the U.S. Just over a year ago, he applied for political asylum. He is still waiting for an interview.

“I can’t safely say I’m calm, or I’m OK, right now,” García-Ramírez said. “You feel unsafe, but you also feel incapable of doing anything to make it better.”

Vail and Breckenridge are world famous for their ski slopes, which attract millions of people a year. But life for the tourism labor force that serves Colorado’s mountain resorts is less glamorous. Residents of Colorado’s mountain towns experience high rates of suicide and substance use disorders, fueled in part by seasonal fluctuations in income that can cause stress for many in the local workforce.

The Latino communities who make up significant proportions of year-round populations in Colorado’s mountain towns are particularly vulnerable. A recent poll found more than 4 in 5 Latino respondents in the Western Slope region, home to many of the state’s rural ski resort communities, expressed “extremely or very serious” concern about substance use. That’s significantly higher than in rural eastern Colorado’s Morgan County, which also has a sizable Latino population, and in Denver and Colorado Springs.

Statewide, concerns about mental health have surged among Latinos in recent years, rising from fewer than half calling it an extremely or very serious problem in 2020 to more than three-quarters in 2023. Health care workers, researchers, and community members all say factors such as language differences, cultural stigma, and socioeconomic barriers may exacerbate mental health issues and limit the ability to access care.

“You’re not getting regular medical care. You’re working long hours, which probably means that you can’t take care of your own health,” said Asad Asad, a Stanford University assistant professor of sociology. “All of these factors compound the stresses that we all might experience in daily life.”

Add sky-high costs of living and an inadequate supply of mental health facilities across Colorado’s rural tourist destinations, and the problem becomes acute.

Now, the Trump administration’s threats of immigration raids and imminent deportation of anyone without legal U.S. residency have caused stress levels to soar. In communities around Vail, advocates estimate, a vast majority of Latino residents do not have legal status. Communities near Vail and Breckenridge have not experienced immigration raids, but in neighboring Routt County, home to Steamboat Springs, at least three people with criminal records have been detained by ICE, according to news reports. Social media posts falsely claiming local ICE sightings have further fueled concerns.

Yirka Díaz Platt, a bilingual social worker in Silverthorne originally from Peru, said a pervasive fear of deportation has caused many Latino workers and residents to retreat into the shadows. People have begun to cancel in-person meetings and avoid applying for government services that require submitting personal data, according to local health workers and advocates. In early February, some locals didn’t show up to work as part of a nationwide “day without immigrants” strike. Employers wonder whether they will lose valuable employees to deportation.

Some immigrants have stopped driving out of fear they will be pulled over by police. Paige Baker-Braxton, director of outpatient behavioral health at the Vail Health system, said she has seen a decline in visits from Spanish-speaking patients over the last few months.

“They’re really trying to keep to themselves. They are not really socializing much. If you go to the grocery stores, you don’t see much of our community out there anymore,” Platt said. “There’s that fear of, ‘No, I’m not trusting anyone right now.’”

Juana Amaya is no stranger to digging in her heels to survive. Amaya immigrated to the Vail area from Honduras in 1983 as a single mother of a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old. She has spent more than 40 years working as a house cleaner in luxury condos and homes around Vail, sometimes working up to 16 hours a day. With barely enough time to finish work and care for a family at home, she said, it is often hard for Latinos in her community to admit when the stress has become too much.

“We don’t like to talk about how we’re feeling,” she said in Spanish, “so we don’t realize that we’re dealing with a mental health problem.”

The current political climate has only made things worse.

“It’s had a big impact,” she said. “There are people who have small children and wonder what they’ll do if they’re in school and they are taken away somewhere, but the children stay. What do you do?”

Asad has studied the mental health impacts of deportation rhetoric on Latino communities. He co-authored a study, published last year in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that found escalated deportation rhetoric may cause heightened levels of psychological distress in Latino noncitizens and even in Latino citizens.

Asad found that both groups may experience increased stress levels, and research has borne out the negative consequences of a parent’s lack of documentation on the health and educational attainment of their children.

“The inequalities or the hardships we impose on their parents today are the hardships or inequalities their children inherit tomorrow,” Asad said.

Despite heightened levels of fear and anxiety, Latinos living and working near Vail still find ways to support one another and seek help. Support groups in Summit County, home to Breckenridge and less than an hour’s drive from Vail, have offered mental health workshops for new immigrants and Latina women. Building Hope Summit County and Olivia’s Fund in Eagle County, home to Vail, help those without insurance pay for a set number of therapy sessions.

Vail Health plans to open a regional inpatient psychiatric facility in May, and the Mobile Intercultural Resource Alliance provides wraparound services, including behavioral health resources, directly to communities near Vail.

Back in Silverthorne, García-Ramírez, the Nicaraguan exile, takes things one day at a time.

“If they deport me from here, I’d go directly to Nicaragua,” said García-Ramírez, who said he had received a verbal death threat from authorities in his native country. “Honestly, I don’t think I would last even a day.”

In the meantime, he continues to make the routine trek home from his cashier job, sometimes navigating slick snow and dark streets past 9 p.m. When nightmarish thoughts about his own fate in America surface, García-Ramírez focuses on the ground beneath his feet.

“Come rain, shine, or snow,” he said, “I walk.”

This article was published with the support of the Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS ) Health Journalism Fellowship, assisted by grants from The Commonwealth Fund.

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©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Her first panic attack came at a company-wide meeting, right before her scheduled presentation. Carolina Lasso had given many similar talks about her marketing team’s accomplishments. When her name was called this time, she couldn’t speak.

“I felt a knot in my throat,” Lasso said. “My head, it felt like it was inside a bubble. I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t see, and it felt like an eternity. It was just a few seconds, but it was so profound, and in a way earth-shattering to me.”

Lasso was struggling after a cross-country move followed by a divorce. Her boss suggested a mental health leave, a possibility she didn’t know existed. She worried whether taking time off would affect how her team viewed her or cost her a future promotion, but in the end she did.

“I’m thankful for that opportunity to take the time to heal,” Lasso, 43, said. “Many people feel guilty when they take a leave of absence when it’s mental health-related. … There is some extra weight that we carry on our shoulders, as if it had been our fault.”

Despite a fear of repercussions, more adults are recognizing that stepping back from work to deal with emotional burdens or psychological conditions that get in the way of their lives is a necessary choice, one that a growing number of employers recognize.

ComPsych Corp., a provider of employee mental health programs and absence management services, encourages its business clients to make the well-being of workers a priority before individuals get to a breaking point while also having processes in place for those who require leaves of absence.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, collectively we’ve just been in this constant state of turmoil,” Jennifer Birdsall, the senior clinical director at ComPysch, said. “We just have had this barrage of change and uncertainty.”

Depression, anxiety and adjustment disorder, which involves excessive reactions to stress, were the top three diagnoses of employees who took mental health leaves in the past two years among clients of Alight, a Chicago-based technology company which administers leaves and benefits for large employers.

Structuring a leave

A mental health leave can last weeks or months. In some cases, workers get approval to work a reduced schedule or to take short periods of time off when needed, using an approach called “intermittent leave.”

At most U.S. organizations with 50 or more employees, people can request leaves through the Family and Medical Leave Act. The federal law entitles workers with serious health conditions to paid or unpaid leaves of up to 12 weeks, depending on state and local laws.

Some employers require people to use sick days or accumulated vacation days to continue receiving a paycheck while out. For longer leaves, workers can access short-term disability plans, if their employer offers one.

Lasso’s leave lasted six months, and included therapy and travel to India for additional treatment. She returned to her job but decided after a year to leave for good. She later launched a business to train people on fostering a more humane work culture.

A mental health leave is “not only OK, but it can really unlock new possibilities once we have the time to do the work — therapy, medication, whatever it is — and have enough distance from work to be able to reconnect with ourselves,” Lasso said.

Talking openly about struggles

A social stigma around mental health challenges causes many people to avoid seeking treatment or requesting a leave of absence. Newton Cheng, director of health and performance at Google, hopes to change that by sharing his own struggles.

His first self-disclosure happened during the pandemic, when a senior manager invited employees at a meeting to share how they were doing. When it was his turn, Cheng started crying.

He explained he was struggling to live up to his expectations of himself as a father and didn’t know how to turn things around.

“It was just totally horrifying to me because, one, I had just cried in front of my coworkers and I was definitely taught as a professional — and as a man — you do not do that,” Cheng recalled. “And then two, I had never really articulated and said out loud those words. I hadn’t even allowed myself to think that. But now they’re out there and I had to face them.”

Colleagues responded by relaying their own struggles, but Cheng’s difficulties continued. By February 2021, he couldn’t get out of bed because he felt paralyzed by dread, he said. A therapist said he was showing symptoms of major depression and anxiety.

“I just realized, ‘I’m struggling a lot and this goes pretty deep. I don’t think I can keep just putting duct tape on this. I probably need to take some leave,’” Cheng recalled.

Hoping his decision would benefit others, he announced to 200 people at a conference that he planned to take mental health leave. Instead of derailing the gathering as he feared, his honesty inspired fellow conference attendees to open up.

“It was like a fireworks show,” Cheng said. “They’re like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he did that.’ Then they forgot about me. But the tone was set. It was like ’Oh, this is what we’re doing. Let me talk about what’s going on with me, too.’”

Take the time you need

While balancing classes and a full-time job during her last year of college, Rosalie Mae began struggling to get out of bed and crying uncontrollably. Yet she felt like she had “to keep it together” to avoid burdening her colleagues at the University of Utah bookstore, where Mae worked as an accounting clerk.

Then she found herself calling a suicide hotline. “Once it reached that point, I knew, especially at the urging of my husband, we need to do something more,” Mae, 24, said.

In her case, that meant taking a five-week work leave to put her own health and well-being first. She recommends the same for others who find themselves in a similar position.

“Taking a mental health leave is not necessarily a cure-all, but it is important to give yourself a break and allow yourself to regroup, make a plan of how to proceed and take the steps to work towards feeling better,” Mae said.

Telling managers and colleagues

Before broaching the subject of a mental health leave with a manager, consider the workplace culture and the strength of your professional relationships, Cheng said. He recalls saying, “For my health and well-being, and the sake of my family and what’s best for the business, the least risky thing for me to do is to go on leave soon.”

Individuals who suspect an unsympathetic reception can simply say, “I need to go on medical leave. I need time to recover,” he advised.

There’s also no legal or ethical requirement to tell everyone you work with the nature of your leave.

“Your coworkers don’t need to know why,” said Seth Turner, co-founder of AbsenceSoft, a leave and accommodation management solutions provider. “They just need to know, ‘I’m going to be here at this time, and I’m going to be gone at this time, and I’ll be back.’”

Have you overcome an obstacle or made a profound change in your work? Send your questions and story ideas to cbussewitz@ap.org. 

By Kacie Goff, Bankrate.com

Per the 2024 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Member Profilec, a typical agent had 10 transactions in the last year. With roughly one deal closing per month, the agent you hire should theoretically have bandwidth to provide you with the best possible service.

If that doesn’t ring true for your current experience, however, it could be time for a change. You might be wondering when to fire your Realtor. Or, more pressingly, how to fire your real estate agent.

Let’s take a look at when to make that call — and how to navigate a firing legally.

How to know when to fire your Realtor

We’re all only human, so it’s OK if an agent makes a mistake or two. But you may want to consider finding a new real estate rep if you spot several of these red flags:

• They don’t communicate well. Your agent should be reachable and communicative with you. If they take a long time to get back to you, it can impact your ability to see listings and put in offers before the competition. And if you feel like they’re not being straightforward with you, or possibly even lying, that’s a deal-breaker. Speaking in jargon is another issue — politely ask them to explain anything you don’t understand.
• They’re not marketing your home well. Today, real estate pros have a wide range of options they can use to get the word out about your listing. If your home isn’t turning up on leading listing sites or is otherwise poorly positioned, you might want to figure out how to fire your real estate agent.
• There’s a personality clash. Your agent is navigating one of the biggest decisions of your life with you. You want to feel comfortable working with them. If your personalities don’t mesh well, you might be better served by finding someone else. Trust your instincts. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
• They’re overly pushy or aggressive. An agent’s job is to advocate for you — not against you. Someone who is argumentative or tries to pressure you into things you feel uncomfortable with is not a good fit.
• They act unprofessional. Everyone has a different work style, but there are a few behaviors that just won’t fly. If they consistently show up late to appointments (or not at all), come unprepared, lack knowledge about the property or seem distracted during your interactions, be wary. This shows a lack of respect for you as a client.
• They’re unfamiliar with the market. A good agent stays informed about their local market. If they don’t know about current market trends in your area, how can they help you find the best place or make the best deal possible? Make sure to arrange regular and continual updates from your agent on market conditions, recent sales, new listings, available inventory and price trends.
• They demonstrate a lack of skills. Whether it’s helping you stage your for-sale home or negotiating on price, you want an agent who knows what they’re doing. No one likes to feel like they left money on the closing table, whether you’re the buyer or the seller.

How to fire your real estate agent

Don’t leap to a firing right away. If you’re unhappy with your agent, you may still be able to mend the relationship: Try communicating with them openly in a non-confrontational way about the issues you have. If the issues persist, it’s probably time to let them go. You’ll need to do so legally, ensuring you’re in compliance with any agreements or contracts you signed. The last thing you want is an expensive court battle.

Once you know when to fire your Realtor or real estate agent, you can take certain steps. Those vary slightly between buyers and sellers, so we outline them separately below.

If you follow these steps, be polite and respectful. Your dissatisfaction with the agent will reflect badly on them and probably hurt their career, so be mindful not to make the impact of your feedback worse.

If you’re a buyer

If you had someone helping you buy a home, figuring out how to fire your real estate agent means:

• Checking if you’ve signed anything: If nothing’s in writing and your dealings with the agent have remained informal, then you’re in the clear to walk away.
• Reviewing what you’ve signed: If you’ve signed a buyer’s agent agreement, you’re bound by the criteria in that agreement.
• Pursuing termination rights: Agreements do typically spell out termination rights, though, so review those carefully. If the agent hasn’t held up their end of the bargain (e.g., has missed appointments or made mistakes on documentation), you may be within your legal rights to terminate the relationship before the agreement ends. If you have a real estate attorney, you may want to have them write the termination letter to avoid any complications or liability.
• Trying to make things work: If you have a written agreement with the agent that you can’t get out of, go directly to the agent. Tell them what you need to see change. Writing a list of the issues at hand might help them understand the situation and where they need to make adjustments. Then, give the agent some time to see if they improve. Be constructive and show them you’re interested in creating a positive relationship that works for both of you.
• Escalating the issue as needed: If you’re somewhat stuck and can’t get anywhere with the agent on your own, now’s a good time to escalate the issue to the agent’s brokerage, or the company for which they work. The broker there functions somewhat like the agent’s boss, and may be able to help you and the agent find a better path forward.
• Seeing if they’ll agree to termination: Sometimes, the agent or their broker will allow you to terminate your agreement early when things aren’t going well. You can request that and hope they agree.
• Waiting out the timeline: Buyer’s agreements usually tie you to your agent until the time period specified in the agreement runs out. That probably means sticking with that agent for several months if you haven’t found resolution with them or their broker.

If you’re a seller

For folks who’ve been working with an agent to sell, the process is similar but comes with some differences. Go through these steps if you’re a seller trying to figure out how to fire your real estate agent.

• Checking if you’ve signed anything: If you’ve just been informally chatting, you’re under no obligation. But if your home is already on the market, you’ve likely signed with a listing agent. A listing agent, also called a seller’s agent, usually invests more time and effort in your property upfront, such as pulling comps, marketing the home and holding open houses. This investment makes it trickier to break up with them.
• Figuring out what you’ve signed: The most common agreement a seller would have with a listing agent is an exclusive right to sell, meaning the agent is solely responsible for bringing in prospective buyers and selling your property. It also usually means you’re responsible for paying their commission.
• Seeing if you can get out of it: Your agreement with the agent might lay out requirements for them, and termination rights for you if they don’t live up to those. Make sure they are unambiguous. You may be able to dissolve the agreement if any of those termination rights apply to your situation.
• Raising your complaints with the agent: If no termination rights apply, write down what’s going wrong for you. Craft a letter or list you can share with the agent to help them understand what you need from them. Sharing this with them in a face-to-face, non-confrontational discussion is probably best. Don’t be accusatory or attempt to place blame.
• Going to their broker: Real estate agents legally have to work under the supervision of a broker. This person essentially acts as their boss, so getting them involved can help redirect the agent. They don’t want to lose the listing or suffer the reputational damage, so they should go out of their way to solve the problems and accommodate you.
• Asking for termination: With your list of issues in hand, you can ask the agent and/or their broker if they’re willing to terminate your agreement with them early. If the situation is difficult, they might agree. If they agree, get a written release and a waiver of liability. Also, get a list of all the people they have shown your home to. If any of those people subsequently buy your house, you’ll have to pay a commission.
• Waiting out the agreement: If nothing else works, you’ll need some patience. Your exclusive right to sell agreement should have an expiration date. After that point, you’re free to work with another agent.

Tips for hiring the right agent

You’ve been burned — it’s OK, it happens. But now you want to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and find someone who you really click with.

When you’re looking for a new real estate agent, make sure you do your research. Ask friends and family for recommendations. Search online and read reviews. Once you narrow it down to a few candidates, schedule time to interview them, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Find out about their experience and market knowledge. And trust your gut — working with someone you genuinely like is always best.

Bottom line

Know the signs of a bad real estate agent. You don’t have to settle for someone you don’t like and don’t work well with, or someone who isn’t doing a good job for you. Walk away or figure out how to terminate or wait out the contract. Then, take your time to find a new agent who will meet your needs and work to get you what you want.

FAQs

How do you write a termination letter to a real estate agent?

The letter should have a header that provides your contact information so the brokerage can know which agreement you want to terminate. In the letter, explain why you’re terminating the agreement. Refer specifically to the factual elements that are the basis for termination. Don’t elaborate or exaggerate. Make sure to also mention the specific termination clause from the agreement that you’re calling on.

How do you deal with an unprofessional Realtor?

First, be clear and direct with them. If they’re late for an appointment, for example, tell them that it made you feel disrespected as a client. If they don’t respond to your feedback, escalate the issue to their broker. It is always good to keep a written record of issues and conversations with the agent.

What is unethical Realtor behavior?

If someone is a Realtor, it means they’ve agreed to abide by the NAR’s Code of Ethics. Anything outside of that code, then, is considered unethical. Some common issues here include misrepresenting or concealing facts, discriminating, an unwillingness to work with other agents when it best serves the client and not being transparent about any kickbacks they receive.

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©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The very best thing about high school sports is making memories that last for years, and the very best games are the ones that come up in conversation, over and over again down the road.

The 2019 season opener between then-No. 1 West Bloomfield and No. 3 Oak Park was one of the latter: It may have been sloppy at times, and mistake-filled as openers often are, but it was also a classic defensive slugfest between two behemoths, one where the difference might have been a star play made by one of the star players.

West Bloomfield’s Donovan Edwards broke free for an early 60-yard touchdown run on his third touch of the game — using the breakaway speed that the world would see over and over again in later years, during his years at the University of Michigan — setting up an eventual 20-14 win by the Lakers.

But he was hardly the only star in a game chock full of them.

And, five years on, a ton of those players — coveted by college recruiters and scouts back then, and NFL personnel nowadays — will be some of the same names called during next week’s NFL Draft.

“I was just talking about that game the other day … (Tyrone) ‘Rudy’ Broden has been home, working out in the weight room almost every day, you know, getting ready for the Draft and stuff. And I was talking to him about that game, and he said, ‘No, coach, I was gone that year,’” said Zach Hilbers, then an offensive assistant for the Lakers, and now the head coach at his alma mater.

“I guess, like, if you think back to that game, we knew they were really good. And you know, a lot of our attention went to (Justin) Rodgers, but they had some other D-linemen that were really good, too. … We just knew it’d be a battle, and it was a really close, low-scoring, just back-and-forth battle. If I remember right, Maliq Carr caught like a third-and-15 plus — we blew a coverage and he caught like a 85-yard touchdown, and we got lucky. It got called back because they had an alignment penalty or something that had nothing to do with the play, you know, and that was kind of like a springboard for us to take the lead after we got the ball back after that. But it was just, it was a good game, like, a really high level, good game.”

Broden (No. 49 in Michigan’s class of 2019 per 247Sports, signed with Bowling Green) is indeed one of the top-level recruits who missed that game by a smidge — along with Oak Park’s D’Wan Mathis (No. 9, Georgia), and West Bloomfield’s Lance Dixon (No. 5, Penn State) and Tre Mosley (No. 14, Michigan St.) — graduating the year before.

But there was still a megaton of talent left on the field for that Aug. 30 meeting, a lot of which helped the Lakers to the 2020 Division 1 state title a year later, a ton of which made impacts at the college level.

And a ton who you could quite conceivably hear announced as draft picks next week, or see in training camps as undrafted free agents.

“Surreal. It’s more than cool. And it’s l surreal because it’s why you get into teaching and coaching is to see kids reach their dreams. And in this case, as we’re talking football, this is the pinnacle, the ultimate of it,” Hilbers said. “I don’t know, it’s almost overwhelming. So I’ve been trying to reach out to all of them and talk to them. And Rudy’s been to the school a ton, which is makes it easier. But like, you know, it’s nuts, it’s crazy, especially when you — I have a cool picture of Max (Hairston) and Donovan from middle school basketball that’s hilarious. It’s just hilarious how little they look.”

Rogers was the No. 1 player in the state’s 2019 recruiting class, landing at Kentucky before finishing his college career at Auburn, taken in the seventh round of last year’s NFL Draft by the Cowboys.

Oak Park’s Carr (Purdue) and corner Enzo Jennings (Penn State) were ranked Nos. 3-4 in the 2020 class, followed immediately by Lakers safety Makari Paige (Michigan). The Lakers also had linebacker Cornell Wheeler (No. 22, Michigan), DE Sterling Miles (No. 44, Cincinnati).

Edwards (Michigan) was the No. 1 player in the state’s 2021 class, while corner Maxwell Hairston (Kentucky) was No. 19. Oak Park countered with Rayshaun Benny (No. 7, Michigan), Davion Primm (No. 26, Michigan State), Jaylin Mines (No. 30, Toledo) and Marlon Dawson (No. 39, Miami, Ohio) in the 2021 class.

All of them played in that 2019 opener.

Now most of them are preparing for a shot at the NFL.

—————

2019 Oak Park-West Bloomfield game

(All rankings from 247Sports)

WEST BLOOMFIELD

Maxwell Hairston (No. 19 player in MI in class of 2021) — CB — Kentucky (2025 draft eligible)

Donovan Edwards (No. 1 player in MI in c/o 2021) — RB — Michigan (2025 draft eligible)

Makari Paige (No. 5 player in MI in c/o 2020) — S — Michigan (2025 draft eligible)

Cornell Wheeler (No. 22 player in MI in c/o 2020) — ILB — Michigan/Kansas (2025 draft eligible)

Sterling Miles (No. 44 player in MI in c/o 2020) — DE — Cincinnati/EMU

CJ Harris (No. 50 player in MI in c/o 2020) — QB — Ohio/California

Beau Davis (No. 87 player in MI in c/o 2020) — DE — Southeast Louisiana

Jordan Hoskins (No. 80 player in MI in c/o 2021) — LB — Missouri St./E. Tennessee St./Lincoln University

Gavin Hardeman (No. 89 player in MI in c/o 2021) — S — Air Force

Travis Reece (No. 92 player in MI in c/o 2021) — LB — Davenport/Central State

 

OAK PARK

Justin Rogers (No. 1 player in MI in c/o 2020) — DT — Kentucky/Auburn (2024 draft, Cowboys, pick 244)

Maliq Carr (No. 3 player in MI in c/o 2020) — TE — Purdue (2025 draft eligible)

Enzo Jennings (No. 4 player in MI in c/o 2020) — S — Penn State

Tremayne Oliver (No. 65 player in MI in c/o 2020) — DE — Northwood

Rayshaun Benny (No. 7 player in MI in c/o 2021) — DL — Michigan

Davion Primm (No. 26 player in MI in c/o 2021) — RB — MSU/Morehead St.

Jaylin Mines (No. 30 player in MI in c/o 2021) — S — Toledo/Iowa Central CC

Marlon Dawson (No. 39 player in MI in c/o 2021) — LB — Miami (Ohio)/Iowa Central CC

Spectrum Orchestra welcomes the public to the final concert of its 2024-2025 season at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2, at Bloomfield Hills High School, 4200 Andover Road, Bloomfield Township.

The concert will feature Jeremy Crosmer of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performing Antonín Dvořák’s famous “Cello Concerto” in B minor.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be welcoming Jeremy back as a soloist for the fourth time — that’s how popular he’s been,” said Eszter Horváth, Spectrum Orchestra’s music director. “He’s a fantastic cellist and performer. The Dvořák concerto is nothing short of a masterpiece and this is a wonderful opportunity to hear it played so beautifully by Jeremy.”

Crosmer, an Arkansas native, is a 2004 Stella Boyle Smith Young Artists Competition grand prize winner. He holds multiple degrees from the University of Michigan in cello, composition, and theory pedagogy. He received his doctorate of musical arts in cello performance in 2012 at the age of 24. He was assistant principal cellist of the Grand Rapids Symphony from 2012 through 2017 and joined the Detroit Symphony in May 2017.

In addition to being a busy performer and soloist, Crosmer is a prolific composer and ardent educator. His compositions range from solo pieces to full orchestral works and have been performed by major orchestras and chamber ensembles.

As composer and arranger for the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Music for Health initiative, Crosmer has long recognized the healing power of music and, in 2021, received the Ford Musician Award for Excellence in Community Service, honoring his impactful work piloting the Detroit Symphony’s partnership with Kadima Mental Health Services.

Education is one of Crosmer’s keenest musical passions. He teaches composition, cello classes and music clinics at high schools across the state and maintains a private cello studio. He developed a series of creative workshops to give middle and high school students a well-rounded musical foundation and brings those workshops to schools nationwide. He also enjoys writing and arranging “fun” music for students in order to create unique learning experiences that broaden each young musician’s experience.

Also on the May 2 program are “A Somerset Rhapsody” by Ralph Vaughn Williams and “Scherzo for Orchestra” by Agathe Backer-Grøndahl.

Spectrum Orchestra is a community orchestra comprised of accomplished amateurs and has been bringing symphonic music to the Birmingham-Bloomfield area since 2012. Under the direction of Horváth, the group has been championing the works of lesser-known composers, especially women.

For more information about Spectrum Orchestra, including current openings for musicians, visit the orchestra’s website at spectrumorchestra.org. Tickets for the May 2 concert are $15 for adults and $12 for those 65 and older. Admission is free for those under 18. Tickets can be purchased on the orchestra’s website or at the door.

The following is a list of in-person and online worship services and events happening at churches and synagogues in the Oakland County area. Visit websites or call for service times and events.

• Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, 248-651-6550, abidingpresence.org. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m., virtual services are available on the website.

• Adat Shalom Synagogue, 29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, in-person and online services via Zoom. To view daily Minyan video conferences; email Executive Director Michael Wolf at mwolf@adatshalom.org or visit adatshalom.org, 248-851-5100.

• All Saints’ Episcopal, 171 W. Pike St., Pontiac, allsaintspontiac.org, 248-334-4571, rector@allsaintspontiac.org.

• The Apostolic Church of Christ, 3655 N. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, theapostolicchurch.com, 248-373-4500, Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Archdiocese of Detroit, livestream Mass times, aod.org/livemasses.

• Auburn Hills Christian Center, 2592 Walton Blvd., Auburn Hills, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m., Servicio Evangelistico services (in Spanish) at 2-4 p.m. Sundays, 248-373-7139, www.myahcc.org.

• Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Troy, in-person and online services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, beaconcongregation.org, admin@beaconcongregation.org.

• Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 5631 N. Adams Road, Bloomfield Hills, livestream services at 9 a.m. Sundays, and in person at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. at bslcmi.org, facebook/bslcmi, 248-646-5041.

• Berea Family Tabernacle of Faith, Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m., experienceberea.org, 248-338-4748.

• Berkley First United Methodist Church, 2820 12 Mile Road, Berkley, worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays in person and online at www.berkleyfirst.org.

• Bharatiya Temple, 6850 N Adams Road, Troy, www.bharatiya-temple.org, 248-879-2552.

• Big Beaver United Methodist Church, 3753 John R Road, Troy, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, http://bbumchurch.org.

• Birmingham First United Methodist Church, 1589 W Maple Road, Birmingham, www.fumcbirmingham.org. Sunday worship services in person and online are at 9:30 a.m., and in-person only services at 11 a.m.

• Birmingham Unitarian Church, 38651 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, in-person and online worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays, bucmi.org, 248-647-2380.

• Bridge Community Church, 5700 Rochester Road, Troy, in-person and online worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays, bridgecommunitychurch.com/live, 248-879-9500.

• Bridgewood Church, 6765 Rattalee Lake Road, Clarkston, 248-625-1344, www.bridgewoodchurch.com. Sunday worship services are 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., also online services, and locations in Goodrich.

• Brightmoor Christian Church, 40800 W. 13 Mile Road, Novi, www.brightmoorchurch.org. Sunday worship services at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

• Calvary Chapel Oakland County, 1975 E. Long Lake Road, Troy, 248-457-9673, ccoaklandcounty.com. Worship 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. Sundays.

• Calvary Church, 1361 Giddings Road, Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., https://ccpontiac.org, 248-373-0311.

• Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, 6805 Bluegrass Drive, Clarkston, calvary-lutheran.org. Sunday worship services are Traditional Worship at 7:55 a.m.; Modern Worship at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; and livestream at 9:30 a.m. Food pantry (drive-up or curbside pickup) is 9-11 a.m. Wednesdays.

• Central Church, 1529 Twelve Mile Road, Madison Heights, www.centralchurch.cc. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Central Oaks Community Church, 2005 Rochester Road, Royal Oak, www.centraloaks.com, 248-547-7755. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Central United Methodist Church, 3882 Highland Road, Waterford Twp., 248-681-0040, WaterfordCUMC.org. In-person worship at 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays and online at 10:30 a.m. at Live.WaterfordCUMC.org.

• Central Woodward Christian Church Disciples of Christ, 3955 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 248-644-0512, centralwoodwardchristian.com. Sunday worship services are at 10:30 a.m., in person and online at centralwoodwardchristian.com and Facebook at www.facebook.com/CentralWoodward.

• Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake, 3535 Commerce Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.sscms.edu, 248-683-0310.

• Christian Tabernacle Church, Southfield, ctabchurch.com, 248-213-4770.

• Christ Church Cranbrook, 470 Church Road, Bloomfield Hills, in-person and online worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays, ccc-info.org.

• Christ Lutheran Church, Waterford Twp., https://christwaterford.org, 248-673-7331. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Christ Lutheran Church and School, 620 General Motors Road, Milford, www.christlutheranmilford.org. Sunday worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

• Christ, Our Light! Catholic Church, 3077 Glouchester, Troy. Mass times are: Saturday at 4 p.m.; Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; weekday Masses (followed by Rosary recitation) are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 9 a.m., and Friday at 12:05 p.m., www.coltroy.org, 248-649-5510.

• Christ the Good Shepherd Progressive Old Catholic Church, 3947 Twelve Mile Road Berkley, church services: Saturday Mass 4:30 p.m. and Sunday Mass 10:30 a.m., 248-439-0470, www.cgs-occ.org.

• Christ the Redeemer Parish, 2700 Waldon Road Orion Township, 248-391-1621, www.ctredeemer.org. Weekend Masses are 5 p.m. Saturdays, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays.

• Crown of Life Lutheran Church, 2975 Dutton Road  Rochester Hills, www.crownoflifechurch.org, 248-652-7720. Sunday worship services are 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Church of the Holy Spirit, 3700 Harvey Lake Road, Highland Twp., www.holyspirithighland.com.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregations in Oakland County include: Bloomfield Hills, Clarkston, Commerce Twp., Farmington Hills, Lake Orion, Pontiac (Spanish), Rochester, Troy and White Lake Twp. The congregations host worship services on Sundays. For worship times and locations, visit churchofjesuschrist.org.

• Church of the Resurrection, 6490 Clarkston Road, Village of Clarkston, https://clarkstonepiscopal.com, 248-625-2325. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Clarkston Community Church, 6300 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, in-person and online services at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, clarkstoncchurch.com, 248-625-1323.

• Clarkston United Methodist Church, 6600 Waldon Road, Clarkston, in-person and online faith services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, clarkstonumc.org, 248-625-1611.

• Commerce United Methodist Church, 1155 N. Commerce Road, Commerce Twp., commerceumc.org/media.

• Community Bible Church, 1888 Crescent Lake Road, Waterford Twp., https://cbcmi.com, 248-674-4871. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Community Fellowship Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 27800 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, church services at 11 a.m. Saturdays, http://communityfellowship22.adventistchurchconnect.org, 248-469-8539.

• Community Presbyterian Church, 4301 Monroe Ave., Waterford Twp. In-person worship is 10 a.m., Sundays, cpcwaterford.org, 248-673-7805.

• Congregation Beth Ahm, 5075 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Twp., 248-851-6880, cbahm.org.

• Congregational Church of Birmingham, UCC, 1000 Cranbrook Road, Bloomfield Hills. Worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, ccbucc.org, 248-646-4511.

• Congregation Shaarey Zedek, 27375 Bell Road, Southfield, offers virtual Jewish religious services including daily morning and evening Minyan services, Shabbat morning services and Youth Shabbat activities, shaareyzedek.org, 248-357-5544.

• Congregation Shir Tikvah, 3900 Northfield Parkway, Troy, www.shirtikvah.org.

• Cornerstone Baptist Church, Ortonville, in-person worship services, Sundays at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Also online at Facebook at Cornerstone Baptist Church Ortonville, cbcortonville.com, 248 627-4700.

• Cornerstone Church, 4995 N Hickory Ridge Road, Highland, cornerstonehighland.com, 248-887-1600. Worship services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Livestream at 11 a.m. Sundays YouTube, Facebook, website.

• Crossroads Free Will Baptist Church, 4804 White Lake Road, White Lake Twp., https://crossroadswl.org, Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. The church has a Blessing Box that is stocked with non-perishable food items, books and other household items for those in need. Donations welcome.

• Destiny Faith Church, 501 University Drive, Pontiac, Destinyfaith.org, 248-322-2200. Worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, in person and online.

• Divine Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3000 S. Lapeer Road, Orion Twp., divinegrace.net, Sunday worship services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., livestream.

• Door of Faith Christian Church, Pontiac, online services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, mydooroffaith.org.

• Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 23425 Lahser Road, Southfield, 248-357-1848, emmanuellutheransouthfield.org.

• Empowerment Church of Southfield, worship services are 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays at new worship center location, Shriner’s Silver Garden Events Center, 24350 Southfield Road, Southfield, 248-569-2299, empowerment.mi.org. Virtual worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays at empowermentmi.org/stream and on Facebook Live.

• Encounter Church, 600 North Campbell Road, Royal Oak, in-person and online services, 11 a.m. Sundays; Prayer and Bible study is 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays, www.encounter360.org.

• Evanswood Church of God, 2601 E Square Lake Road, Troy, 248-879-9240.

• Faith Church in Rochester Hills offers free meals to the community, 5:30-6:45 p.m. Wednesdays, at the church,160 W Hamlin Road, Rochester Hills, faithchurchrochesterhills.org/sharethetable.

• Faith Community Christian Church (meeting at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church), 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, 586-703-6249, Reverend Tom Sayers. Traditional service is at 1 p.m., www.faithcommunitychristianchurch.org.

• Faith Covenant Church, 35415 W. 14 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, worship services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11a.m., Sundays, 248-661-9191, 4fcc.org.

• First Baptist Church, 2601 John R Road, Troy, fbctroy.org.

• First Baptist Church, 255 E. Scripps Road, Lake Orion, fbclo.org, 248-693-6203, info@fbclo.org.

• First Congregational Church, 5449 Clarkston Road, Clarkston, (just east of Sashabaw Road), 248-394-0200, www.fcclarkston.com, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays.

• First Congregational Church of Rochester UCC, 1315 N. Pine, Rochester, worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, fccrochester.org, 248-651-6225.

• First Congregational Church of Royal Oak, 1314 Northwood Blvd., Royal Oak. Worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, www.fccro.org.

• First General Baptist of Waterford, 2933 Frembes Road, Waterford, wgbchurch.com, 248-673-6481, Sunday school at 10 a.m., worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• First Missionary Church, 4832 Clintonville Road, Independence Twp., www.fmcclarkston.org, 248-674-3186. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• First Presbyterian Church Birmingham, 1669 W. Maple, Birmingham, worship services are Sundays, 8:30 a.m. in person, and 10 a.m. in person and livestream, fpcbirmingham.org, 248-644-2040.

• First Presbyterian Church of Pontiac, 99 Wayne Street, Pontiac, fpcpontiac.info.

• First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, 529 Hendrie Blvd., 248-541-0108. Sunday worship services are at 10:30 a.m., online services available anytime at fpcro.org, 248-541-0108.

• First United Methodist Church of Troy, 6363 Livernois, Troy. Church services are 10 a.m. Sundays in person and livestream on YouTube and Facebook, www.FUMCTROY.org, 248-879-6363.

• Five Points Community Church, 3411 E Walton Blvd, Auburn Hills, https://5pointscc.org, 248-373-1381. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1950 S. Baldwin Road, Lake Orion, 248-391-1170, goodshepherdlakeorion.net. Worship service is at 10 a.m. Sundays.

• Grace Gospel Fellowship, 65 East Huron Street, Pontiac; in-person and livestream services are 11 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Livestream services are at www.facebook.com/GraceGospelFellowshipPontiac, 248-334-2187.

• Greenfield Presbyterian Church, 2312 Greenfield Road, Berkley, both virtual and in-person worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, (Memorial Day through Labor Day, services are at 10 a.m. only), youtube.com/user/GreenfieldChurch, greenfieldchurch.com, 248-544-1800.

• Grace Church, 220 Bogie Lake Road, White Lake Twp. Sunday services are 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., Gracechurchinfo.net, 248-887-3700.

• Harvestland Church, 5848 Clintonville Road, Independence Twp., https://harvestland.church, 248-391-2063. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Hazel Park First United Methodist Church, 313 E. Nine Mile Road, Hazel Park, 248-546-5955, hpfirst.org. Sunday worship services at 11:15 a.m.

• Heart of the Hills Christian Church, 5085 Orion Road, Rochester, https://heartofthehills.com, 248-841-1679. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Hillside Bible Church, 73 N Church St, Ortonville, 248-627-2513, hillsidebible.org, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Hilltop Church of the Nazarene, 21260 Haggerty Road, Northville, hilltopnaz.org, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Holly Calvary Church, 15010 N Holly Road, Holly, hollycalvary.org, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m. in person and online, Wednesday worship is at 6:30 p.m.

• Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 4800 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp. In-person worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays, livestream on YouTube youtube.com/@spiritdrivenchurch, 248-682-5441, spiritdrivenchurch.com.

• Hope United Methodist Church, 26275 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, 248-356-1020, hopeumc.org.

• Immanuel Congregational Church of Christ, Oxford, 248-628-1610, icucc.org, in-person worship services at 11 a.m. Sundays, and online at facebook.com/oxfordimmanuelucc.

• International Christian Church, 1630 Joslyn Ave, Pontiac, worship services at 11:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-494-8757, globalicc.org, facebook.com/icchurch/live.

• Islamic Association of Greater Detroit, 879 West Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, www.childrenofabrahamday.org.

• Jewel Heart Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center, 27745 Woodward Ave., Berkley, www.jewelheart.org.

• Journey Lutheran Church, (joined with Holy Cross Church) 136 S. Washington St., Oxford, in-person and online worship services, 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, education hour is at 10 a.m., journeylutheran.church, 248-628-2011.

• Kensington Church with locations in Birmingham, Clarkston, Clinton Twp., Orion Twp. and Troy, in-person Sunday worship times, and online services offered streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and website, kensingtonchurch.org.

• King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1715 S. Lapeer Road, Lake Orion, www.kingofkingslakeorion.org. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m. Sundays, online streaming at www.facebook.com/kingofkingslakeorion.

• Kirk in the Hills, 1340 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., kirkinthehills.org, 248 626 2515.

• Lakecrest Baptist Church, 35 Airport Rd, Waterford Twp., www.lakecrestbaptist.com, 248-681-3214. Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Spanish service at 1 p.m.

• Lake Orion Church of Christ, 1080 Hemingway Road, Lake Orion, www.lococ.org, 248-693-7242. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Lake Orion Methodist Church, Lake Orion, www.lakeorionumc.org. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., in person and online.

• LakePoint Community Church, 1550 W. Drahner Road, Oxford, https://lakepointcc.org, 248-628-0038.

• The Lakes Church, 1450 S Hospital Road, Waterford Twp., www.thelakes.cc, 248-254-7833, Sunday worship services are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. The 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services are livestreamed.

• Liberty General Baptist Church, 3545 Joslyn Rd, Auburn Hills, https://libertygeneralbaptistchurch.org, 248-431-3498. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• Lifepoint Church, 5601 Scott Lake Road, Waterford Twp., lifepointchristian.com.

• Life Renewal Church, 28312 Grand River, Farmington Hills, https://liferenewalchurch.org, worship is 11 a.m. Sundays.

• Madison Heights Church of the Nazarene, 555 E 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights, mhnaz.org, 248-585-5551.

• Maranatha Baptist Church, 5790 Flemings Lake Road, Clarkston, Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m., www.mbcclarkston.org.

• Marimont Community Church, 424 W Walton Blvd., Pontiac, Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., https://marimontcommunitychurch.com.

• Masjid Mahmood, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Center, 1730 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, ahmadiyyamosque.blogspot.com.

• Metro Detroit Christian Church, 33360 W. 13 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, https://metrodetroit.org, 248-562-7998. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church, 25585 Berg Road, Southfield, https://mogccc.com, 248-356-0565.

• Motor City Church, 3668 Livernois Road, Troy, www.motorcitychurch.org, 248-524-2400. Sunday worship services are at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

• Mt. Zion Church, 4900 Maybee Road, Clarkston, mtzion.org. Sunday worship services at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Muslim Unity Center of Bloomfield Hills, 1830 W. Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, Muslimunitycenter.org.

• Nardin Park United Methodist Church, 29887 W Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 248-476-8860, nardinpark.org, www.facebook.com/NPUMC.

• Nativity Episcopal Church, 21220 W. 14 Mile Road, Bloomfield Twp., nativityepiscopalchurch.org, 248-646-4100.

• New Heights Baptist Church, Grand Blanc, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays, newheightsbc.com. For information, email pastornewheights@gmail.com or call 810-866-4563.

• New Hope Christian Fellowship, 6020 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., https://newhopemi.org, 248-886-1500, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 23455 W Nine Mile Road, Southfield,  www.newhope-mbc.org, 248-353-0675. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m., in person and livestream.

• New Hudson United Methodist Church, 56730 Grand River Ave., New Hudson, newhudsonumc.org. Worship services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays.

• Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3633 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 248-644-5920. Worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream, www.facebook.com/TroyNorthminster.

• Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 23925 Northwestern Hwy, Southfield, www.northwestuu.org, 248-281-4902. Worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays in person and virtual.

• North Congregational Church, 36520 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, northcongregationalchurch.org.

• North Hills Christian Reformed Church, 3150 North Adams Road, Troy, worship services, 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-645-1990, northhillscrc.org.

• North Oaks Church, 9600 Ortonville Road, City of the Village of Clarkston, worship services are 10:30 a.m., Sundays, northoakschurch.org, office@northoakschurch.org, 248-922-3515.

• Oakland Church, 5100 North Adams Road, Rochester, worship services, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, www.oaklandchurch.me.

• Oakland Church of Christ, 23333 West 10 Mile Road Southfield, in-person and online worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, TheOaklandChurchofchrist.org, 248-355-9225.

• Oakland Hills Community Church, Farmington Hills, ohcc.net, 313-686-4578.

• Oakland Woods Baptist Church 5628 Maybee Rd, Village of Clarkston, www.facebook.com/OWBCClarkston, 248-625-7557. Sunday worship services are at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.

• Oak Pointe Church,1250 South Hill, Milford, in-person or online worship services are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, opcmilford.org.

• Oak Pointe Church, 50200 W. 10 Mile Road, Novi, in-person or online worship services are 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. oakpointe.org, 248-912-0043.

• Oak Pointe Church, 6343 Farmington Road, West Bloomfield, in-person or online worship services are 10:15 a.m. Sundays, oakpointe.org/westbloomfield.

• Oakwood Community Church, 5791 Oakwood Rd, Ortonville, www.oakwoodcc.org, 248-628-6388.

• Orchard Grove Community Church, 850 Ladd Rd; Bldg. C, Walled Lake, Sunday worship services are at 10:10 a.m., www.orchardgrove.org.

• Orchard Lake Community Church, Presbyterian, 5171 Commerce Road, Orchard Lake, worship services are at 9 a.m., and 10:30 a.m. Sundays, olccp.com, 248-682-0730.

• Orchard United Methodist Church, Farmington Hills, worship services, 10 a.m. Sundays and Weekday Worship Experiences at Noon at youtube.com/c/OrchardUMC and facebook.com/OrchardUMC/live_videos, 248-626-3620, orchardumc.org.

• Our Lady of La Salette, 2600 Harvard Road, Berkley, 248-541-3762, par8551@gmail.com, lasalette-church.org, Mass is at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays.

• Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in-person Mass, Saturday at 5 p.m., Sunday at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., weekdays at 8:15 a.m., 5481 Dixie Hwy., Waterford Twp. Livestream Mass at 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9:30 a.m. Sunday, ollonline.org/live.

• Our Lady of Refuge Church, 3700 Commerce Road, Orchard Lake, olorcc.org, 248-682-4099, Mass is 5 p.m. Saturdays and  8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. Sundays.

• Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 23815 Power Road, Farmington, church.olsorrows.com.

• Our Mother of Perpetual Help, 13500 Oak Park Blvd, Oak Park, www.omoph.org. Saturday mass is at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday mass is at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

• Oxbow Lake Baptist Church, 10730 Elizabeth Lake Rd, White Lake Charter Township, www.oxbowbc.com, 248-698-3034. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• Oxford United Methodist Church, 21 E. Burdick St. Oxford, 248 628-1289, oxfordunitedmc.org. People Feeding People (PFP) free breakfast is 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays. In-person worship services and online at youtube.com/channel/UCN2R96oWdXzxDqwdz8YBlrQ.

• Paint Creek United Methodist Church, 4420 Collins Road, Rochester, www.paintcreekumc.org, 248-373-2360, Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m.

• Renaissance Vineyard Church, 1841 Pinecrest Drive, Ferndale, https://renvc.com, 248-545-4664. Sunday worship services at 10:33 a.m.

• The River Church of Auburn Hills, 315 S. Squirrel Road, Auburn Hills, http://riverchurch.faith, 248-853-1524. Worship services are 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sundays.

• The River Church, Holly, Lake Orion, Waterford and more locations, livestream and videos of sermons, theriverchurch.cc, 248-328-0490.

• River North Church, 67 N Lynn Ave, Waterford Twp., Sunday School is 10 a.m. Sundays, worship services at 11:15 a.m. Sundays and 7:15 p.m. Wednesdays. Also view sermons online at www.youtube.com/@rivernorthchurch2023, nondenominational family church, 248-724-6559, www.facebook.com/Rivernorthchurch.

• River Of Life Christian Church, 5482 Winell St., Independence Twp., 248-599-3074.

• Rochester Christian Church, 4435 Rochester Rd, Rochester Hills, https://rcc4me.com, 248-652-3353, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Rochester Church of Christ, 250 W. Avon Road, Rochester Hills, www.rochestercoc.org, 248-651-1933, Sunday worship services at 10 a.m.

• Royal Oak First United Methodist Church, 320 W. 7th Street, Royal Oak, www.rofum.org, 248-541-4100. Worship services are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays, in person and online, www.rofum.org/live.

• Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 3400 S. Adams Road, Auburn Hills. Mass times are at 4 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday. Weekday Mass services are 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, www.esacredheart.org, 248-852-4170.

• St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church, 4571 John R Road, Troy, www.stanastasia.org, 248-689-8380.

• St. Anne Catholic Church of Ortonville, 825 South Ortonville Road, Ortonville. Mass times are Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.; Saturday at 5 p.m.; Monday at 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m., 248-627-3965, churchofstanne.org.

• St. Augustine Lutheran Troy (SALT) Church, 5475 Livernois in Troy, www.saltchurch.net, communications@saltchurch.net, 248-879-6400.

• St. Benedict Catholic Church, 60 South Lynn Street, Waterford Twp., 248-681-1534. Sunday Mass times are 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., streaming at stbencc.org/live-stream.

• St. David’s Episcopal Church, 16200 W. Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, www.stdavidssf.org. Sunday worship services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. both in person and via zoom. Food pantry is 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

• St. George’s Episcopal Church, 801 E Commerce, Milford, 248-684-0495. Sunday worship services 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., in person and online, www.stgeorgesmilford.org.

• St. George Orthodox Church, 2160 E Maple Road, Troy, 248-589-0480, www.stgeorgeoftroy.org, www.facebook.com/stgeorgeoftroymi.

• St. James Church, 46325 Ten Mile Road, Novi, Mass times are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sundays, and 4 p.m. Saturdays. Livestream services, 4 p.m. Saturdays, 248-347-7778, stjamesnovi.org.

• St. John Lutheran Church & School, 1011 University Drive, Rochester. Traditional praise worship services are Sundays at  8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Modern praise services are Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 10:45 p.m. The 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Sunday worship services are livestreamed and posted on the website at stjohnrochester.org.

• St. John Lutheran Church, 23225 Gill Road, Farmington Hills, www.stjohn-elca.org, https://form.jotform.com/242835058121149.

• St. John’s Episcopal Church Royal Oak, 26998 Woodward Ave. Royal Oak. Services are 8 a.m. Sundays, in person and 10:15 a.m. Sundays, in-person and online worship, stjohnsroyaloak.org, 248-546-1255.

• St. Joseph Catholic Church, Lake Orion, view Mass services on the church’s Youtube channel, youtube.com/user/stjosephmassarchive, or at Facebook page, facebook.com/StJoeLo, stjoelo.org, 248-693-0440.

• St. Joseph Chapel and Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 400 South Blvd. West, Pontiac, https://terrasanctaministries.net.

• St. Mark and St. Mary & St. Philopater Coptic Orthodox Church, 3603 Livernois Road, Troy, www.stmarkmi.org. Divine liturgy services are at 7 a.m. (Arabic) and 8:15 a.m. (English), Sundays.

• St. Mary Catholic Church, 730 S Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, www.stmaryroyaloak.com, 248-547-1818. Mass at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday.

• St. Mary of the Hills Roman Catholic Church, 2675 John R. Road, Rochester Hills. In-person Mass is 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. Sunday, 248-853-5390, smoth.org. Live online Mass is 4 p.m. Saturday, on Facebook and YouTube.

• St. Mary’s In-the-Hills Episcopal Church, 2512 Joslyn Court, Lake Orion, 248-391-0663, www.stmarysinthehills.org. Sunday Services are at 8:30 a.m.-Simple service of Holy Eucharist and at 10 a.m.-Service of Holy Eucharist with choir and Children’s Church School-Service, livestream on YouTube or Facebook or www.stmarysinthehills.org. Adult Bible Study is held Tuesdays at 10 a.m.

• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 2040 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, 248-624-7676, st-matthew.org. Blended Worship services are 8:45 a.m. Sundays (also livestream on YouTube); Prayer & Praise Worship services are 11 a.m. Sundays; Monday Blended Worship services are 7 p.m.

• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 48380 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 248-624-9525, st-matthew.org. Sunday worship services are 10 a.m.

• St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. Sundays, 760 W Wattles Road, Troy, 248-362-9575, stnicholastroy.org.

• St. Owen Catholic Church, 6869 Franklin Road  Bloomfield Hills, stowen.org.

• St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 1413 E. Thirteen Mile Road, Madison Heights, 248-585-9591, in-person Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m., or online at stpatsmh.org.

• St. Paul Community Lutheran Church, 1133 Joslyn Ave., Pontiac, www.stpaulpontiac.com. 248-758-9019. Sunday worship services at 11 a.m.

• St. Paul Lutheran Church, 202 E. Fifth St, Royal Oak, worship services are 8:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays. Livestream also at 8:15 a.m. service, stpaulroyaloak.org, 248-930-3100.

• St. Paul United Methodist Church, 165 E. Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-338-8233, services are at 9:45 a.m. Sundays, SPUMC.net, facebook.com/spumcbloomfieldhills, 248-216-1657.

• St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 620 Romeo Street, Rochester. Open door worship services are at 9:30 a.m. Sundays and sanctuary worship services are at 11 a.m., Sundays, livestream available, facebook.com/stpaulsrochester, stpaulsrochester.org.

• St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 100 Romeo Road, Rochester, stpfeeds.org.

• St. Rita Catholic Church, 309 E Maple, Holly, 248-634-4841, stritaholly.org. Weekend services are 4 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday.

• St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 5500 N Adams Road, Troy, www.ststephenstroy.org, 248-641-8080, In-person Sunday worship services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Online service at 10 a.m.

• St. Stephens Missionary Baptist Church, 69 S. Astor St., Pontiac, 248-335-5873, www.saintstephenmbc.com. Sunday worship services are at 11 a.m.

• St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church, 6900 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.stccc.org.

• St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Divine Liturgy at 10 a.m. Sundays,  29150 W. 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 248-471-1059, stthomasalbanianorthodoxchurch.org.

• St. William Parish, 531 Common St., Walled Lake, stwilliam.com, 248-624-1421.

• Sanctuary Church, 300 Willits St., Birmingham, in-person and online services, 10:30 a.m. Sundays, 248-644-0550, sanctuary-church.com.

• Sashabaw Presbyterian Church, Clarkston, worship services via Zoom, services at 11 a.m. on 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month, and at 6 p.m. on 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. Email sashabawpresbyterianchurch@gmail.com for a link to services, sashabawpresbyterianchurch.org, 248-310-0792.

• Scott Lake Baptist Church, 811 Scott Lake Road, Waterford Twp., Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., also livestream, https://hisscottlake.org.

• Seymour Lake United Methodist Church, 3050 S. Sashabaw Road, Oxford, in-person or online services at 10 a.m. Sundays, 248-572-4200, email- office@seymourlakeumc.org, seymourlakeumc.org.

• Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church, 2905 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. during Lent and Advent, www.shepherdlakes.org, 248-624-4238.

• Shrine Catholic Church, 12 Mile and Woodward, 248-541-4122, https://shrinechurch.com.

• Silver Lake Church Of The Nazarene, 20 W Walton Blvd., Pontiac, https://slcpontiac.org, 248-977-4698.

• Spirit of Grace Church, 2399 Figa Ave., West Bloomfield Twp., 248-682-0270, Sunday worship at 10 a.m., spiritofgrace.church, facebook.com/spiritograce/videos. The church has a diabetic food pantry for those in need with dietary restrictions. The church seeks donations of non-perishable food items for diabetics including: proteins, nuts, grains and beans, sugar-free foods, low carb and high fiber foods as well as shopping bags and unused boxes. Drive-up diabetic food pantry hours are 10 a.m.-noon, 3rd Saturdays of the month.

• Spiritual Life Center, Troy, www.slctroy.com, 248-925-6214. A Message of Hope is 10 a.m. Sundays at www.youtube.com/c/SLCTroy.

• Temple Beth El Synagogue, 7400 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, www.tbeonline.org. In person services are Friday at 7 p.m. Online services are Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom, www.tbelive.org and facebook.com/tbeonline/live, 248-851-1100.

• Temple Israel, West Bloomfield Twp., streaming video at temple-israel.org.

• Temple Kol Ami, 5085 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., tkolami.org, 248-661-0040.

• Temple Shir Shalom, 3999 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., www.shirshalom.org, 248-737-8700.

• Thrive Church, a Global Methodist Church, 680 W. Livingston Road, Highland Twp., www.thrive-church.us, 248-887-1311.

• Trinity United Methodist Church, 6440 Maceday Drive, Waterford Twp., Services, 11 a.m. Sundays, waterfordtrinityumc.org, 248-623-6860.

• Troy Church of the Nazarene, 6840 Crooks Road, Troy, troynaz.org, 248-802-7650. Worship Services and Bible Study, 11 a.m. Sundays and 6 p.m. Wednesdays.

• Unity of Farmington Hills worship service in person and online at 10 a.m. Sundays, youtube.com/channel/UCi90mgzXUDpw0k21_3JXlTg, Unityfh.com.

• Unity of Lake Orion, 3070 S. Baldwin Road, Orion Twp., unitylakeorion.org, 248-391-9211. Sunday worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream on Facebook.

• Unity of Royal Oak, 2500 Crooks Road, Royal Oak, unityofroyaloak.org, 248-288-3550. Sunday worship services at 10 a.m., livestream on YouTube and Facebook.

• Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, 25301 Halsted Road, Farmington Hills, uufarmington.org. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, in person and livestream.

• University Presbyterian Church, 1385 S. Adams, Rochester Hills, universitypres.org, 248-375-0400.

• The Village Church of Ortonville, 93 N Church St. Ortonville, www.facebook.com/oumvillagechurch, 248 627-3125.

• Walled Lake United Methodist Church, 313 E Northport St., Walled Lake. Sunday worship services at 9:30 a.m. in person, or at Facebook Live, facebook.com/walledlakeumc and YouTube, youtube.com/channel/UCjOTQmG5DAGUdd_ghKdp2FQ, walledlakeumc.org, 248-624-2405.

• Warren’s Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 29860 Dequindre, Warren. Sunday worship services are at 10 a.m. in person and livestream at www.aglc-warren.org, 586-751-7750.

• Waterford Seventh-day Adventist Church, 5725 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., www.waterfordadventist.org, 248-681-3334. Worship services in person and livestream, 11 a.m. Saturdays.

• Waypoint Church, 8400 Dixie Hwy., Clarkston, waypoint.org, 248-623-1224. Sunday worship services at 10:30 a.m.

• Welcome Missionary Baptist Church, 143 Oneida St, Pontiac, www.welcomemissionarybaptistchurch.com, 248-335-8740. Sunday worship services are at 8:30 a.m. in person and livestream on Facebook at www.facebook.com/welcomemissionary.church.

• Wellspring Bible Church, 485 Farnsworth, White Lake Twp., worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, wellspringbiblechurch.org, 248-682-0319.

• West Bloomfield United Methodist Church, 4100 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Twp., worship services are at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, westbloomfieldumc.org, 248-851-2330.

• White Lake Presbyterian Church, 4805 Highland Road, White Lake Twp., worship services are 10 a.m. Sundays, 248-887-4654, whitelakepc.org.

• Williams Lake Church, 2840 Airport Road, Waterford Twp., www.facebook.com/williamslakechurch, 248-673-5911, www.williamslakechurch.com.

• Woodside Bible Church, with 14 locations in Southeast Michigan, in-person service times vary by location, online services at 8:15 a.m.10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sundays, live.woodsidebible.org, 248-879-8533.

• Zion Lutheran Church, 143 Albany St., Ferndale, in-person and online worship services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, www.zionlutheranmi.org.

To add a church or event to this list, visit the link to the online submission form at https://bit.ly/40a2iAm.

— MediaNews Group

Today is Saturday, April 19, the 109th day of 2025. There are 256 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 19,1995, Timothy McVeigh, seeking to strike at the government he blamed for the Branch Davidian deaths two years earlier, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (McVeigh was convicted of federal murder charges and executed in 2001.)

Also on this date:

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord—the start of an eight-year armed conflict between American colonists and the British Army.

In 1897, the first Boston Marathon was held. Winner John J. McDermott ran the course in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.

In 1943, during World War II, tens of thousands of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but ultimately futile uprising against Nazi forces.

In 1977, the Supreme Court, in Ingraham v. Wright, ruled 5-4 that even severe spanking of schoolchildren by faculty members did not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment.

In 1989, 47 sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa during training exercises in the Caribbean.

In 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended as the Davidians set fire to their compound following an FBI tear gas attack. Seventy-five people, including 25 children and sect leader David Koresh, were killed.

In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected pope in the first conclave of the new millennium; he took the name Benedict XVI.

In 2013, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR’ tsahr-NEYE’-ehv), a 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings, was taken into custody after a manhunt that had left the city virtually paralyzed. His older brother and alleged accomplice, 26-year-old Tamerlan (TAM’-ehr-luhn), was killed earlier in a furious attempt to escape police.

In 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, died a week after suffering a spinal cord injury in the back of a Baltimore police van while he was handcuffed and shackled. (Six police officers were charged. Three were acquitted and the city’s top prosecutor eventually dropped the three remaining cases.)

Today’s Birthdays:

• Singer-songwriter Roberto Carlos is 84.
• Actor Tim Curry is 79.
• Motorsports Hall of Famer Al Unser Jr. is 63.
• Actor Ashley Judd is 57.
• Latin pop singer Luis Miguel is 55.
• Actor James Franco is 47.
• Actor Kate Hudson is 46.
• Actor Hayden Christensen is 44.
• Football Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu is 44.
• Actor-comedian Ali Wong is 43.
• Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer is 42.
• Former WNBA star Candace Parker is 39.
• Former tennis player Maria Sharapova is 38.
• Actor Simu Liu is 36.