A Troy man was arrested for driving with a high blood-alcohol content recently after his son called police to report he’d left their home intoxicated.

According to the Troy Police Department, the son made the call shortly before 4 p.m. on May 9, and officers located the man driving on Crooks Road near Maplelawn Road. He was pulled over for a traffic violation, police said.

The man, 58, showed signs of drunkenness and submitted to a preliminary breath test which measured his blood-alcohol concentration at .28% — more than three times the legal limit for drivers — police said.

He was arrested and taken to the Troy lock-up facility where a chemical breath test was administered and measured his BAC at .25%, police said, leading to a charge of operating while intoxicated.

Bus driver from Pontiac gets probation for accident that killed child

New trial date in home invasion, shooting case; victim stabbed alleged assailant

By CHARLOTTE KRAMON

ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to overhaul how U.S. elections are run includes a somewhat obscure reference to the way votes are counted. Voting equipment, it says, should not use ballots that include “a barcode or quick-response code.”

Those few technical words could have a big impact.

Voting machines that give all voters a ballot with one of those codes are used in hundreds of counties across 19 states. Three of them — Georgia, South Carolina and Delaware — use the machines statewide.

Some computer scientists, Democrats and left-leaning election activists have raised concerns about their use, but those pushing conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election have been the loudest, claiming without evidence that manipulation has already occurred. Trump, in justifying the move, said in the order that his intention was “to protect election integrity.”

Even some election officials who have vouched for the accuracy of systems that use coded ballots have said it’s time to move on because too many voters don’t trust them.

Colorado’s secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, decided in 2019 to stop using ballots with QR codes, saying at the time that voters “should have the utmost confidence that their vote will count.” Amanda Gonzalez, the elections clerk in Colorado’s Jefferson County, doesn’t support Trump’s order but believes Colorado’s decision was a worthwhile step.

“We can just eliminate confusion,” Gonzalez said. “At the end of the day, that’s what I want — elections that are free, fair, transparent.”

Target for misinformation

Whether voting by mail or in person, millions of voters across the country mark their selections by using a pen to fill in ovals on paper ballots. Those ballots are then fed through a tabulating machine to tally the votes and can be retrieved later if a recount is needed.

In other places, people voting in person use a touch-screen machine to mark their choices and then get a paper record of their votes that includes a barcode or QR code. A tabulator scans the code to tally the vote.

Election officials who use that equipment say it’s secure and that they routinely perform tests to ensure the results match the votes on the paper records, which they retain. The coded ballots have nevertheless become a target of election conspiracy theories.

“I think the problem is super exaggerated,” said Lawrence Norden of the Brennan Center for Justice. “I understand why it can appeal to certain parts of the public who don’t understand the way this works, but I think it’s being used to try to question certain election results in the past.”

Those pushing conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election have latched onto a long-running legal battle over Georgia’s voting system. In that case, a University of Michigan computer scientist testified that an attacker could tamper with the QR codes to change voter selections and install malware on the machines.

The testimony from J. Alex Halderman has been used to amplify Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, even though there is no evidence that any of the weaknesses he found were exploited.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has defended the state’s voting system as secure. In March, the judge who presided over Halderman’s testimony declined to block the use of Georgia’s voting equipment but said the case had “identified substantial concerns about the administration, maintenance and security of Georgia’s electronic in-person voting system.”

Can the executive order ban coded ballots?

Trump’s election executive order is being challenged in multiple lawsuits. One has resulted in a preliminary injunction against a provision that sought to require proof of citizenship when people register to vote.

Some of the lawsuits say Trump doesn’t have the authority to direct the commission because it was established by Congress as an independent agency.

While the courts sort that out, the commission’s guidelines say ballots using barcodes or QR codes should include a printed list of the voters’ selections so they can be checked.

Trump’s order exempts voting equipment used by voters with disabilities, but it promises no federal money to help states and counties shift away from systems using QR or barcodes.

“In the long run, it would be nice if vendors moved away from encoding, but there’s already evidence of them doing that,” said Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting, a group that focuses on election technology and favors ending the use of QR and barcodes.

Counties in limbo

Kim Dennison, election coordinator of Benton County, Arkansas, estimated that updating the county’s voting system would cost around $400,000 and take up to a year.

Dennison said she has used equipment that relies on coded ballots since she started her job 15 years ago and has never found an inaccurate result during postelection testing.

“I fully and completely trust the equipment is doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing and not falsifying reports,” she said. “You cannot change a vote once it’s been cast.”

In Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County, voting machines that produce a QR code will be used in this year’s primary. But officials expect a manufacturer’s update later this year to remove the code before the November elections.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said officials had not received any complaints from voters about QR codes but decided to make the change when Dominion Voting Systems offered the update.

The nation’s most populous county, Los Angeles, uses a system with a QR code that it developed over a decade and deployed in 2020 after passing a state testing and certification program.

The county’s chief election official, Dean Logan, said the system exceeded federal guidelines at the time and meets many of the standards outlined in the most recent ones approved in 2021. He said postelection audits have consistently confirmed its accuracy.

Modifying or replacing it would be costly and take years, he said. The county’s current voting equipment is valued at $140 million.

‘Train Wreck’ in Georgia?

Perhaps nowhere has the issue been more contentious than Georgia, a presidential battleground. It uses the same QR code voting system across the state.

Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, a lead plaintiff in the litigation over the system, said her group has not taken a position on Trump’s executive order but said the federal Election Assistance Commission should stop certifying machines that use barcodes.

The secretary of state said the voting system follows Georgia law, which requires federal certification at the time the system is bought. Nevertheless, the Republican-controlled legislature has voted to ban the use of QR codes but did not allocate any money to make the change — a cost estimated at $66 million.

Republicans said they want to replace the system when the current contract expires in 2028, but their law is still scheduled to take effect next year. GOP state Rep. Victor Anderson said there is no realistic way to “prevent the train wreck that’s coming.”

Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy contributed to this report.

Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out.

A split three-judge panel in the nation’s capital sided with government lawyers in a lawsuit filed by unions representing federal employees. The majority ruled on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because the Trump administration has said it won’t end any collective bargaining agreements while the case is being litigated.

Judge Karen Henderson, appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush, and Justin Walker, appointed by Trump, sided with the government, while Judge Michelle Childs, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, dissented.

The government says Trump needs the executive order so his administration can cut the federal workforce to ensure strong national security. The law requiring collective bargaining creates exemptions for work related to national security, as in agencies like the FBI.

Union leaders argue the order is designed to facilitate mass firings and exact “political vengeance” against federal unions opposed to Trump’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government.

His order seeks to expand that exemption to exclude more workers than any other president has before. That’s according to the National Treasury Employees Union, which is suing to block the order.

The administration has filed in a Kentucky court to terminate the collective bargaining agreement for the Internal Revenue Service, where many workers are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. They say their IRS members aren’t doing national security work.

Other union employees affected by the order include the Health and Human Services Department, the Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission.

A Pontiac man who killed a 3-year-old child while driving a bus in Hamtramck last summer was sentenced recently in Wayne County.

Marvin Lee Flentroy, 64, was sentenced to three years probation for reckless driving causing death — which he pleaded no contest to in April.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. It can also offer some liability protection in civil cases.

Flentroy was working for Auxilio Services — which transports Hamtramck Public School students — when he reportedly struck the child with the bus, killing her. It happened July 16, 2024 while Flentroy was turning onto Burger Street from MacKay Street.

The child was transported to a local hospital where she died from her injuries.

Flentroy faced up to 15 years in prison and a fine. Sentencing was handed down May 15 by 3rd Circuit Judge Tracy Green.

New trial date in home invasion, shooting case; victim stabbed alleged assailant

The Big Ass Stadium Tour certainly lived up to its name on Sunday night, May 18, at Detroit`s Ford Field — even above and beyond Post Malone’s plus-sized headlining set.

The night’s headline was actually made by support act Jelly Roll, and hometown hero Eminem. The Tennessee singer and rapper declared Detroit his “second home” early during his fourth Detroit performance in 13 months, including at the Michigan Central Open concert last June and his own headline date at Little Caesars Arena in November. As usual he paid tribute to favorite singer-songwriter Bob Seger (“The GOAT”) with a bit of his “Old Time Rock and Roll,” and his rendition of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” later in Jelly Roll’s hour-long performance appeared to be another homage — until the Detroit rapper came swaggering out during the second verse, prompting a response from the more than 46,000 fans that was as loud as a Detroit Lions’ touchdown (or Eminem’s July 13, 2025 surprise appearance with Ed Sheeran at the stadium).

Eminem bestowed greetings and left with a hearty, “I love y’all. Peace!,” after which Jelly Roll — who guests on Eminem’s latest album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace), and also joined Slim Shady and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on “Sing For the Moment” at the Michigan Central concert last June — gushed “that was a childhood dream come true.” Jelly Roll incorporated an Eminem Mom’s Spaghetti sign and the rapper’s reverse-E logo into his visuals for the occasion and also shouted out Eminem’s manage and Detroit native Paul Rosenberg for his support of his career.

That — along with anthems such as “Son of a Sinner,” “I Am Not Okay” and “Save Me — certainly threw down gauntlet for Malone, who answered with a diverse and, yes, big-ass two hours that spotlighted the unlikely, genre-hopping career the Texas-raised artist has pursued since his hip-hop beginnings just under a decade ago.

It would certainly have been hard to imagine that the Malone who performed as part of the Monster Energy Outbreak package during 2016 at the Fillmore Detroit would wind up fronting a version of Nirvana and topping the Alterative Rock (with 2023’s “Austin”) and Country (with last year’s “F-1 Trillion”) charts. But Malone has, and Sunday’s 26-song show certainly celebrated that latter ascent, from the country-style tailgate party outside Ford Field during the afternoon to the makeup of the crowd inside, the giant cowboy and cowgirl neon sculptures flanking the stage, the decidedly 10-gallon country opening acts (Chandler Walters and hoop-skirt sporting Sierra Ferrell) and even Malone’s honky-tonk worthy belt buckle and frequent swigging (of beers he ordered up from a crew member named Pat) from red Solo cups.

His brand of country has a swagger of its own, however, which Malone — in a long-sleeved Bob Dylan 1978 tour T-shirt and very tight jeans — exercised as he loped along a runway that stretched to the middle of the stadium floor and another ramp that took him to floor level on the right side of the audience, frequently flashing his metallic, diamond-encrusted smile. And while it took him nine songs in to get into “F-1” mode — with “Losers” and Jelly Roll coming back to recreate their duet on the album — Malone and his band delivered a generous half of its 18 tracks, back-ending the show with spirited roll through the likes of “Finer Things,” “Pour Me a Drink,” “Dead at the Honky Tonk” and the buoyant “I Had Some Help.” He also threw in “I Ain`t Comin’ Back,” his new collaboration with Morgan Wallen from the latter’s new album.

Much of Malone’s older material — “Wow.,” “Go Flex,” “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” “White Iverson,” “rockstar,” “Sunflower” and more — took on slightly different flavors in the context of the show, but he gave his hip-hop roots props, too, bringing on Houston rapper BigXThePlug for a rendition of his “Texas.” And Malone picked up an acoustic guitar (and lit a cigarette) for a solo acoustic rendering of “Feeling Whitney” followed by the tour debut of “Yours,” an “F-1…” song about his daughter, who he said was about to turn three years old.

Malone, whose father was a concessions manager for the Dallas Cowboys, poked at Lions fans during his show, playfully acknowledging the team as “the second best” in the NFL — even though the Lions beat the Cowboys 47-9 last October — before admitting to rooting for them after his team faltered.

The show was visually Big Ass too, of course, with a Fourth of July fireworks (from the get-go, during the opening “Texas Tea”) an abundance of fire and an elaborate video presentation with screens positioned throughout the stadium. Malone saved his best stunt for the very end, singing “Congratulations” in an elevated cage of light at the back of the floor; it should have been positioned earlier, however, as a great many fans began exiting after “Sunflower,” while the band jammed as Malone worked his way to the prop.

Nevertheless, you’d be hard-pressed not to be impressed with the stylistic breadth of Malone’s musicality and his aw-shucks genuineness that, 13-letter epithets aside, owes more to country than any of the other genres he dipped into. “Congratulations” were certainly in order.

By PAUL WISEMAN, CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Business Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that President Trump’s massive import taxes – tariffs – would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports don’t match the doom and gloom: Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid in April.

For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. Trump and his supporters are quick to point out that the trade wars of his first term didn’t translate into higher overall inflation across the economy.

So is it time to breathe easy?

Not yet, economists say. Trump’s tariffs are still huge – the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. They’re unpredictable: The president frequently announces tariffs only to suspend them days later and to conjure up new ones. And they are still working their way through the system.

“We had a good jobs report. We had a cool inflation report, and that’s great,” said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at Yale University’s Budget Lab. “But that should not give us comfort about what next month will be, particularly on inflation.’’

Walmart, for example, warned its customers last week that prices will be going up for everything from clothing to car seats. Prices for some items like bananas have already increased.

True, the truce with China last Monday dramatically reduced the risks to the U.S. economy, and U.S. and global stock markets rallied last week in relief. The United States dropped the import tax that Trump angrily imposed on China – America’s third-biggest source of imports – from an eye-watering 145% to 30%; Beijing cut its retaliatory tariffs from 125% to 10%. Economists at JPMorgan Chase, who had forecast last month that the China tariffs made a recession likely, don’t expect one now.

Trump’s tariffs are the highest since the Great Depression

But even with the lower levies on China, the Yale Budget Lab reported that the cost of Trump’s trade war will be high. Climbing prices will reduce the purchasing power of the average household by $2,800. Shoe prices will rise 15% and clothing 14%. The tariffs will shave 0.7 percentage points off U.S. economic growth this year and increase the unemployment rate — now a low 4.2% — by nearly 0.4 percentage points.

Trump has plastered 10% taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. He’s also imposed 25% duties on cars, aluminum, steel, and many imports from Canada and Mexico.

The Yale Budget Lab estimates that Trump policies will push the average U.S. tariff rate to 17.8%, highest since 1934 and up from around 2.5% when Trump took office. (Other economists put his tariff rate at 14% to 15%.) During Trump’s first term, the average tariff rose just 1 percentage point despite all the headlines generated by trade policies. Now, according to the budget lab, they are rising 15 percentage points.

And the tariffs have only begun to bite. In April, the import tax revenues collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection came to a tariff rate of just 4.5%, a fraction of what’s coming, Tedeschi said. That’s partly because of delays in rolling out the tariffs, including technical glitches that prevented customs agents from collecting them for a couple of weeks.

The full impact has also been delayed because companies beat the clock by bringing in foreign goods before Trump’s tariffs took effect. Retailers and importers had also largely halted shipments of shoes, clothes, toys, and other items due to new tariffs, but many are resuming imports from China.

Tedeschi, who was chief economist at President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, also notes that it just takes time for tariffs to translate into higher prices. During Trump’s first term, his January 2018 levies on foreign washing machines didn’t yield more expensive appliances until April that year. Still, a Federal Reserve study this month found that duties Trump imposed in 2018 and 2019 meant higher prices as soon as two months later, suggesting consumers could start paying more in June.

Consumers are less willing to accept higher prices

Things have changed from the first time Trump was in the White House, when companies essentially passed along the entire cost of his tariffs. Now American consumers, still scarred by the burst of inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, may be more reluctant to accept higher prices.

“Consumers weren’t inflation exhausted in 2018 the way that they are now,’’ Tedeschi said. Surveys by Federal Reserve banks in Atlanta and Dallas have found that most companies would eat at least some of the tariff costs this time around. And one reason that the Labor Department’s producer price index fell in April was that retailers and wholesalers reported lower profit margins, a sign that they may have been absorbing some of the tariff cost.

Trump, who has long insisted that foreign countries and not U.S. companies or consumers pay his tariffs, on Saturday lashed out at Walmart for saying it would raise prices. On social media, he demanded that the giant retailer “ EAT THE TARIFFS, and do not charge valued customers anything. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!’’

The economic damage doesn’t just come from the cost of tariffs, but from the erratic way the president imposes them. For instance, the 145% China tariffs were just suspended for 90 days. Likewise, Trump has paused high taxes he slapped last month on imports from countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. Could those levies come back?

Consumers are clearly fearful that the duties will boost prices, as consumer confidence surveys have plummeted since Trump began ramping up his tariff threats in February. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index has fallen for five straight months to its lowest level since the depths of the pandemic in May 2020.

Costlier coffee and Christmas wreathes are coming

Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters in Sandwich, Massachusetts, which imports beans from Brazil, Nicaragua, Burundi and other countries, is only now planning to raise its prices this week to cover the cost of the 10% tariffs. It plans to add 25 cents to 35 cents to the price for each cup.

“Tariffs are increasing costs and they’re adding to a lot of uncertainty around the potential for a downturn,” said Shayna Ferullo, 44, co-owner of Snowy Owl. “We are looking closely at the year ahead with the goal of consolidating and operating really, really tightly.”

Ferullo will also have to pay much more than she budgeted to renovate her shop in Brewster, Massachusetts — one of her three retail locations — because the contractor has raised his estimate, partly due to tariffs on building supplies. She has already elected to not fill one job after an employee left and is looking at ways automation could help reduce her labor costs, though she hasn’t laid off any of her 35 employees.

Jared Hendricks, CEO of Village Lighting Co., last month halted shipments of supplies he gets from China – holiday storage bags, wreathes, holiday lights and garlands. Now that the U.S. and China have reached a truce, he’s trying to get the products to the United States in time for the holidays.

He estimates that it will take 10 to 20 days from China to the West Coast ports via ship and another 20 days to 40 days for the goods to go through U.S. Customs, then travel via Union Pacific Railways to his company in Utah. Given all the expected delays, Hendricks said he’s worried that his holiday décor won’t arrive by Sept. 1 when it should start appearing in stores.

Meanwhile, he’s figuring out how to foot a $1 million bill for the tariffs. He’s hoping he can cover the cost by raising prices 10% to 15%.

In the meantime, he’s trying to secure a loan against his house to pay for the levies.

“We are moving forward,’’ he said, “but at great cost, personal risk, and weariness.”

D’Innocenzio reported from New York.

Trial has been rescheduled for a Royal Oak man accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend after breaking into her house when she wasn’t there and then waiting for her to return.

The injured woman reportedly stabbed him in self-defense.

Jonah Lowe’s jury trial in Oakland County Circuit Court had been scheduled to start May 19, but due to witness illness it’s been pushed out to Aug. 25, court records show. Lowe, 27, is charged with first-degree home invasion, discharge of firearm at or in a building causing injury, unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, assault with a dangerous weapon, and five counts of felony firearm for an incident last October in Madison Heights.

Police said Lowe contacted 911 from his Royal Oak home on the night of the incident and said he’d been stabbed in the neck by his girlfriend. Another 911 call came in from a 25-year-old woman who said she was Lowe’s ex-girlfriend, he had shot her, she stabbed him in self-defense and he had fled the scene.

The woman suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, police said.

An investigation showed Lowe entered the woman’s house and hid until she returned carrying her 2-year-old daughter, then approached with a handgun pointed at them and refused to let her leave, police said. The woman was reportedly able to obtain a kitchen knife and, when Lowe was distracted, stabbed him in the neck, police said. Lowe reportedly shot the woman as she fled the home with her child.

The woman made it to a neighbor’s house to get help, police said, and Lowe fled to his home in Royal Oak.

Lowe is held in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $500,000. Of the charges against him, first-degree home invasion carries the highest penalty — up to 20 years in prison.

Judge Jeffery Matis will preside over the trial.

By MATTHEW PERRONE and LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. clinched the political support needed to become the nation’s top health official by pledging to work within the decades-old federal system for approval and use of vaccines. Yet his regulators are promising big changes that cloud the outlook for what shots might even be available.

The Food and Drug Administration will soon “unleash a massive framework” for how vaccines are tested and approved, according to Commissioner Marty Makary. Details aren’t yet public but the plan is being overseen by the agency’s new vaccine chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad, an outspoken critic of FDA’s handling of COVID-19 boosters.

Makary and other Trump administration officials already have taken unprecedented steps that raise uncertainty about next fall’s COVID-19 vaccinations, including delaying FDA scientists’full approval of Novavax’s shot — and then restricting its use to people at higher risk from the virus. They’ve also suggested seasonal tweaks to match the latest circulating virus strains are new products requiring extra testing.

The changes cross multiple health agencies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t yet acted on an influential advisory panel’s recent recommendations on use of a new meningitis shot or broader RSV vaccination. A meeting of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” allies was recently told to expect an end to COVID-19 booster recommendations for children — something that vaccine advisory panel was supposed to debate in June. And researchers around the country lost National Institutes of Health funding to study vaccine hesitancy.

“I think you have to assume that RFK Jr.’s intention is to make it harder for vaccines to come to market,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a vaccine expert at Johns Hopkins University. The changes are “looked at suspiciously because this is someone with a proven track record of evading the value of vaccines.”

Raising doubts about vaccines

In a Senate health committee hearing last week, Kennedy wrongly claimed that the only vaccines tested against a placebo, or dummy shot, were for COVID-19.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who chairs the committee, briefly interrupted the hearing to say, “For the record, that’s not true” — pointing to placebo-controlled studies of the rotavirus, measles and HPV vaccines.

Concerned by rhetoric about how vaccines are tested, a group of doctors recently compiled a list of more than 120 vaccine clinical trials spanning decades, most of them placebo-controlled, including for shots against polio, hepatitis B, mumps and tetanus.

“It directly debunks the claim that vaccines were never tested against placebo,” said Dr. Jake Scott, a Stanford University infectious disease physician who’s helping lead the project.

Antivaccine groups argue that some substances scientists call a placebo may not really qualify, although the list shows simple saline shots are common.

Sometimes a vaccine causes enough shot-site pain or swelling that it’s evident who’s getting the vaccine and who’s in the control group — and studies might use another option that slightly irritates the skin to keep the test “blinded,” Scott explained.

And when there’s already a proven vaccine for the same disease, it’s unethical to test a new version against a placebo, he said.

“We can’t always expect placebo-controlled trials,” Scott said. “It’s imperative that be communicated clearly to the public, but it’s challenging especially when there’s so much noise in social media and so much misinformation.”

Trump officials held up vaccine decision

The administration’s promise of a new vaccine framework comes ahead of a Thursday meeting where FDA advisers will discuss updating COVID-19 shots for this fall and winter.

The FDA’s credibility has long rested on the independence of its scientific decisions. While the agency is led by a handful of political appointees, approval decisions are almost always handled by career scientists.

But that standard appears to be shifting. FDA staffers were poised to approve Novavax’s vaccine early last month but the decision was delayed by administration officials, including Makary, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss agency matters. The shot was approved late Friday with unusual restrictions.

Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg — a political appointee serving as Makary’s special assistant — was involved in the unprecedented demand that Novavax conduct a new clinical trial of its shot after approval, according to the people. The requirement came shortly after the agency’s longtime vaccine chief, Dr. Peter Marks, was forced to resign.

Hoeg — along with Makary and Prasad — spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic criticizing the FDA’s handling of booster shots, particularly in children and young adults. All three were co-authors of a 2022 paper stating that requiring booster shots in young people would cause more harm than benefit.

Novavax isn’t the only vaccine manufacturer already affected by changing attitudes at FDA. Earlier this month, Moderna pushed back the target date for its new COVID-and-flu combination vaccine to next year after the FDA requested additional effectiveness data.

COVID-19 booster critics are in control

As the FDA’s top official overseeing vaccines, Prasad is now in position to reverse what he recently called “a number of missteps” in how the FDA assessed the benefits and risks of COVID-19 boosters.

He questioned how much benefit yearly vaccinations continue to offer. In a podcast shortly before assuming his FDA job, Prasad suggested companies could study about 20,000 older adults in August or September to show if an updated vaccine prevented COVID-related hospitalizations.

There is “legitimate debate about who should be boosted, how frequently they should be boosted and the value of boosting low-risk individuals,” said Hopkins’ Adalja. But he stressed that CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has the proper expertise to be making those decisions.

And other experts say simply updating the strain that a COVID-19 vaccine targets doesn’t make it a new product — and real-world data shows each fall’s update has offered benefit.

“The data are clear and compelling” that vaccination reduces seniors’ risk of hospitalization and serious illness for four to six months, said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease researcher.

Nor could that kind of study be accomplished quickly enough to get millions of people vaccinated before the yearly winter surge, said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief.

“You’d always be doing clinical trials and you’d never have a vaccine that was up to date,” he said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Medical Writer

Former President Joe Biden’s office said Sunday that he has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and is reviewing treatment options with his doctors.

Biden was having increasing urinary symptoms and was seen last week by doctors who found a prostate nodule. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and the cancer cells have spread to the bone, his office said in a statement.

When caught early, prostate cancer is highly survivable, but it is also the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed over their lifetime with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Here are some things to know about prostate cancer that has spread.

What is the prostate gland?

The prostate is part of the reproductive system in men. It makes fluid for semen. It’s located below the bladder and it wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out through the penis.

How serious is Biden’s cancer?

Biden’s cancer has spread to the bone, his office said. That makes it more serious than localized or early-stage prostate cancer.

Outcomes have improved in recent decades and patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center.

“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said.

What are the treatment options?

Prostate cancer can be treated with drugs that lower levels of hormones in the body or stop them from getting into prostate cancer cells. The drugs can slow down the growth of cancer cells.

“Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy,” Smith said.

What is a Gleason score?

Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what’s known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling, killed June 22 while pursuing a stolen vehicle, was among those honored Wednesday during Oakland County’s National Peace Officers Day ceremony.

“We thank you for stepping forward when it is much easier to stand still,” Undersheriff Timothy Willis told the standing-room only crowd in the county commissioners auditorium.
.
Three suspects were ultimately arrested and charged in the homicide.

Reckling is remembered as a dedicated public servant, respected colleague, and a loving husband and father of four.

The valor award cited his courage, professionalism, and selfless devotion to duty represent the highest ideals of law enforcement.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard was in Washington D.C. for another ceremony honoring Deputy Reckling. Bouchard sent a message that he’s proud of the men and women of the sheriff’s office who are willing to risk their lives daily to serve and protect our community.

The Pontiac ceremony included a 21-gun salute from the Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, the playing of Taps, and Amazing Grace by a bagpiper to honor the many of the fallen law enforcement heroes from the past year. The list of honorees was more than two dozen pages long.

2025 awards ceremony final

Highlights:

Command Officer of the Year
• Sergeant Joseph Ashley, for responding to the splash pad shooting by taking charge of the scene, administered lifesaving tourniquets to victims, and seamlessly switching to SWAT commander once the suspect was located.

Investigator of the Year
• Detective Kyle Standifer, a narcotics enforcement team, member, led NET in both search warrants and arrests in 2024 and participated in major cases where firearms and significant quantities of drugs were seized.

Corrections Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Ryan Lotan, a trainer and member of the cell extraction Team and SWAT, for being a role model for new deputies and highly respected by his peers.

Patrol Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Jeremy Berquist from the Pontiac substation, wrote 450 reports in 2024, the most out of any patrol deputy, personifying all the virtues required of law enforcement.

Communications Employee of the Year
• Dispatch Specialist Shauna Bentley, for the August 2024 call she handled, saving the life of a deputy’s family member. The citation called her “an exemplary asset to the organization.”

Employee of the Year

• Sheriff Administrative Specialist Adam Blankenship, Freedom of Information Act coordinator, for expertly handling thousands of requests annually, including videos, subpoenas, and digital media.

Part-Time Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Thom Seling, a retired lieutenant who works with the training unit, for being organized and hardworking keep the new-hire training programs the best in the state.

Reserve of the Year
• Reserve Sergeant Jason Kajy, who volunteers for ride-alongs, Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, SWAT support and many community events, including Sheriff PAL and Dream Cruise, for being a reserve-unit role model.

Support Services Deputy of the Year
• Deputy Stephanie Alston, a forensic lab investigator with her own caseload and top-notch trainer for individuals. She was called caring, empathic and willing to stay late or be available during off-duty hours for priority cases.

Other awards were presented sheriff’s office employees for: Bravery, distinguished service, lifesaving, meritorious service, special commendations and several individual unit awards.

Several outside agencies that responded to the splash pad shooting were also honored: Rochester Hills Fire, Shelby Police dispatchers, the ATF, Rochester police, Troy police, the FBI and Auburn Hills police.

Civilians honored included:

Citizen Citation for their extraordinary actions in responding to the June 15 Brooklands Splash Pad shooting: Raymond Shaw II, Garland Whitney Jr., Stefanie Slate, Derek Slate, Nicole Boyd, Roseanna Martin, Eugene Bass, Antonio Bass, Haylee Koss, Kristopher Lockard, Thomas Schmidt, Melissa Natzke and Ashley Smith.

Each stepped in while police were en route to provide lifesaving first aid, including applying tourniquets and dressings. Some even drove victims in their personal vehicles to safety and called loved ones on their personal phones.

• Orion Township resident Naveyah Lemmon, 17, was honored for finding a missing K-9 and sharing an alert on social media. Lemmon took the dog to a vet and kept it safe until a sheriff’s detective saw the alert and was able to get the K-9 back to its handler, an Orion Township resident who works for Novi Police.

• Jamison Maynard, who worked with his cousin, Sgt. Melissa Nations to save a family member’s life after the relative collapsed during a family Christmas party. Maynard and Nations performed chest
compressions and rescue breathing until emergency services arrived.

• Brandon Shaya, owner of C.J. Mahoney’s in Rochester, provided food and beverages to sheriff’s deputies as they grieved the loss of Deputy Reckling; during the aftermath of the splash pad shooting; and to motorcade officers traveling with the various candidates during the presidential campaigns.

• Sean Stockman, who provides free lawn care for people in
Need to make a positive difference in their lives.

• Larry McKenzie: McKenzie, of McKenzie Moving & Storage, for supporting the sheriff’s annual Coats for the Cold drive, bottle and can drives for PAL during the pandemic and transporting bikes for the sheriff’s Re-Cycle program. He’s volunteered to help since 2015.

• Brooke Blomberg, an off-duty registered nurse, who stopped her car to assist a man who collapsed while jogging. She called 911 and performed CPR until help arrived.

• Allyson Dale, who raised over $20,000 since August to help the Thomas Richards Foundation buy six K9 ballistic vests for sheriff’s K9s.

• Berkley American Legion Post #374, for the Sept. 14, barbecue fundraiser to support Deputy Reckling’s family, which raised close to $45,000.

• Natalie Nellett and Kara Obrecht, for cataloging the vast evidence in the Oxford High School shooting case. Their efforts were called meticulous, precise and crucial in convicting the shooter and his parents, according to the sheriff’s office.

ROYAL OAK –  The Allen Park Cabrini Monarchs claimed their second consecutive Catholic High School League St. Anne Division championship with a 4-1 win over the Wixom St. Catherine of Siena Academy Stars on Saturday afternoon.

After what had been a pretty even first half that ended with Cabrini leading 1-0, the Monarchs would go on to dominate the second half. Senior Carly Roth would double Cabrini’s lead just over 11 minutes into the second half when she fired a free kick that beat the wall and rocketed into the left side of the net to make it 2-0. Roth would score again with 21:17 remaining in the game. Paityn Hawes drove a corner kick towards the back side, and Roth headed it back the way it came and just inside the right post to make it 3-0.

The Stars would fight back almost immediately with Joanna Namel notching her program record 33rd goal of the season with a volley from inside the penalty area, to get Wixom St. Catherine back within two goals barely a minute after Roth’s second goal.

But Carbini was able to reassert themselves, get control of the game, and put the finishing touches on the win. Madi Smith’s 30-yard rocket with 9:13 to play provided the final margin and took any lingering drama out of the match, restoring Cabrini’s three-goal advantage, 4-1.

“The first half, we were going against the wind. The second half, we had the wind helping us,” Monarchs head coach Tony Pizzo said. “The girls came to play. They were hungry, so I’m happy about that. That’s for sure,’ he added.

The first half had been just as offensive, but without the goals. The teams actually combined for more shots on goal in the first half than they did in the second half, but the only first half goal came from Hawes who juggled a ball in tight, got her first shot saved, but quickly got her own rebound and scored past the goalkeeper who was still off balance from the first save.

Wixom St. Catherine probably should have had a goal in the first half. Between hitting the crossbar with a freekick just 90 seconds into the game and then coming up short on a breakaway late, thanks to a terrific save by Monarchs goalie Bella Perez, the Stars had plenty of chances to score in the first half. But they could not find a goal in the opening half and went into the break down 1-0 despite having a slight edge in shots on goal and a couple of glorious chances.

“When we get those chances and we don’t capitalize, it definitely helps the other team gain confidence too. They were already playing well, and then for us to miss those chances, it kind of gave the other team a boost and knocked our confidence down just a little bit,” Stars head coach Aaron Roy said.

With the win, Allen Park Cabrini goes back-to-back in the CHSL St. Anne Division for the first time in school history. In fact, these are the first two CHSL titles for the Monarchs.

“It feels good. I’m excited. I’m proud of us. I’m proud of our team. We really pushed ourselves in the second half especially because it was getting close there. But overall, I felt that our team did really good,” Roth said.  “It’s my last year here as a senior, so it’s kind of good to leave a legacy for the next couple of years,” she added.

Photos of Allen Park Cabrini vs. Wixom St. Catherine in a CHSL St. Anne Tournament final

Cabrini (10-2-1) opens the state tournament on Wednesday when they host Marine City Cardinal Mooney to open district play. The Monarchs are the district hosts.

Wixom St. Catherine (8-3-2) earned a first round bye and will face the winner of Dearborn Henry Ford Academy and Dearborn Advanced Tech Academy on May 28 in a district semifinal.

"The players came in here and did everything that we worked on to prepare for this game. I’m proud of my players. I’m not leaving here feeling like we played a bad game. There are a couple of bad bounces here and there that just went the other team’s way, and we prepare for districts now,” Roy said.

Allen Park Cabrini defeated Wixom St. Catherine 4-1 in the CHSL St. Anne Division Tournament final played on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

ROYAL OAK – The host Royal Oak Shrine Knights won their first Catholic High School League championship since 2019, claiming the Cardinal Division title with a 3-2 win over the Ann Arbor Greenhills Gryphons in Saturday afternoon’s final.

All the scoring came in the first half. Shrine got things started just 1:12 into the game when Isobel Malcolm’s corner kick deflected through to the far side where Jo Mitroff pounced on it and banged it in, giving the Knights an early lead. With just under 21 minutes to play in the first half, the Knights converted another Malcolm corner. This time it was Molly Salerno finding the net with a quick shot amid the scramble in front of goal.

“The last couple of weeks, we’ve worked on corners and set plays, and trying to finish our opportunities, so it pays off when you score goals,” Shrine head coach Mark Soma said.

At that point, the long shots would start going in for both teams. Cate Alumkal  scored a pair of rockets from about 30 yards out sandwiched around a 40-yard spinning chip shot for Malcolm that handcuffed the Gryphons’ goalie and bounced its way into the net. By the end of the half, the teams had combined for five goals and nearly 20 total shots.

However, after all the offense in the first half, it would be the defenses that dominated the second 40 minutes. The defenses tightened up considerably, and neither team came close to scoring again as the teams combined for just two shots on goal – both by the Knights – in the second half.

“It was a grind. I think the other team played well, and we played well. It could have gone either way, and I think we just took more opportunities than they did,” Soma said.

The win both clinched the Cardinal Division Championship and avenged a loss to the Gryphons earlier this month.

Photos of Royal Oak Shrine vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills in a CHSL Cardinal Tournament final

“It feels really good. We lost to them a couple of games ago, 3-1. So this definitely showed what we’re capable of,” Malcolm said. “We haven’t won Catholic League in a while, so it feels really good to finally bring home a Catholic League Championship for our school,” she added.

“It’s important for these girls to have their own identity that they’re Catholic League (Champs) and we can go into states with a positive momentum,” Soma said.

Royal Oak Shrine is now 12-3-2 on the year. The Knights will host a district this year. Having earned a first round bye, Royal Oak Shrine will await the winner of Clawson and Southfield Christian. That game is scheduled for May 28

Royal Oak Shrine defeated Ann Arbor Greenhills 3-2 to win the CHSL Cardinal Division Tournament final match played on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at Shrine.

ROYAL OAK – The Bloomfield Hills Marian Mustangs claimed their sixth CHSL Bishop Division Championship in the last decade with a 3-0 win over the Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood Cranes Saturday morning.

The Mustangs nearly opened the scoring barely a minute into the game, only to have the goal called back for offsides. Led by the efforts of Sophia Baldwin, Kendall Pankoff and Carola Gorlier, Cranbrook fought their way into the game. The two best chances for the Cranes came back-to-back near the midway point of the period. But the Cranes could not get either one on frame despite some glorious looks, and Marian finally got on the board moments later when Bella Musachio got a clean look at the other end and buried it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Mustangs lead.

The wind was blowing hard all game, and in the second half, Marian got the wind at their back and took full advantage.

“We’ve faced that wind probably two or three times this season already, and the wind is not a factor if you are a team that likes to play the ball on the floor (the ground) as we do,” Marian head coach Danny Price said. “We like to move the ball on the floor, so really it didn’t bother us. We just had to get through the first half without conceding, and with the wind at our back in the second half I always felt confident that we could flourish, and we did that in the second half.”

Indeed, after a first half that saw the Cranes dangerous offensively at times, Cranbrook struggled to create any sustained offensive threat in the second half. Marian took advantage to dominate possession even more than they had in the first half, and the Mustangs made sure to convert a pair of chances to put the game out of reach. Nia Bordogna scored both second half goals for the Mustangs – a 35-yard strike followed barely three minutes later by a 20-yard blast from just outside the penalty area that went in off the right post. That made it 3-0 and gave the Mustangs all the margin they would need.

The win was also a little bit of payback for the Mustangs who were knocked out of last year’s playoffs by Cranbrook in the semifinals.

“It feels amazing. We worked so hard up to this point just practicing and putting in the work, lots of running, lots of discipline. So it feels really good that it paid off, especially against a team that we have a small rivalry between,” junior co-captain Clair Dauer said.

“I’m really happy. I’m happy for my staff. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” Price said. “I’m happy for the players. They were absolutely tremendous today. But we talked about that last year, getting beat in the semifinal to Cranbrook and how that motivation and discipline would play in today. So now, we sort of righted that wrong from last year, and now we want to go all the way to states and go back to the Division 2 final.” He added that, “It was a complete team performance.”

Photo gallery of Cranbrook-Kingswood vs. Marian in a CHSL Bishop Tournament championship

For Cranbrook, it is their second straight loss in the Bishop Division Final in their first two years in the division.

“In these games, you always have a chance. You always will have one just kind of bouncing around and hope to finish it. But hats off to Mairan, they’ve got some great players over there, good coaches, and they make us better,” Cranes head coach David Brown said. “But it just didn’t go our way. We didn’t get the bounces we wanted, didn’t get the finishes we wanted, but just to play in this game and represent the Catholic League was good,” he added.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the playoffs. Marian (14-2-1) earned a first round by and will have to wait to see who they play in the district semifinals.  It could be Cranbrook (3-8-2) who will play Walled Lake Western this Wednesday with the winner advancing to play Marian the following week.

“Nothing is easy this time of year. Everything is hard, so we’ve just got to play our best and hope for the best,” Brown said.

Bloomfield Hills Marian defeated Cranbrook-Kingswood 3-0 to win the CHSL Bishop Division league tournament played on Saturday, May 17, 2025 at Royal Oak Shrine.

By STEPHEN WHYNO
The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Journalism jostled with horses down the stretch, shrugged off the contact, burst through the lane and came from behind to win the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.

The odds-on favorite was bumped by Goal Oriented near the quarter pole, and it looked like another second-place finish was coming two weeks after being the runner-up to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby. Journalism instead ran right by Gosger to give trainer Michael McCarthy his second win in a Triple Crown race.

“A lot of bouncing around there,” McCarthy said. “When I saw that, I kind of resigned myself to the fact it was another fantastic effort and maybe come up a little bit short. But it just goes to show the testament that this horse has. Couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Gosger was second by a half-length. Sandman was third and Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.

Umberto Rispoli became the first jockey from Italy to win any of the Triple Crown races.

“When I crossed the wire, the first things that comes up to my mind, it’s all of the 20 years of my career that pass in front of me,” Rispoli said. “I had to wait so long to be on a champion like that.”

Journalism handled the adversity and thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico Race Course for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby

“This victory symbolizes so much about life,” co-owner Aaron Wellman said. “It took guts for Umberto Rispoli to power his way through a seemingly impossible hole getting side-swiped and threading the needle and powering on through. And it took guts from an incredible horse to somehow will his way to victory.”

Journalism paid $4 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show.

“He’s a remarkable horse,” Baffert said of Journalism. “I wanted to be on the lead and was behind horses. I knew (Goal Oriented) was intimidated. He’s never run that way. He ran well, but he’s still too green for that.”

Sovereignty did not take part after his owners and trainer Bill Mott decided to skip the Preakness, citing the two-week turnaround, and aimed for the Belmont on June 7. That made this a fifth time in seven years that the Preakness, for various reasons, was contested without a Triple Crown bid at stake.

But Journalism staked his claim for 3-year-old horse of the year by winning the $2 million American classic race run at the old Pimlico Race Course for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt. While work went on around him before the postrace news conference, Wellman asked, “Are they already tearing this place down?”

Not yet, and not before Journalism could add a memorable chapter by squeezing through the space he had to win.

“I still can’t realize what this horse did,” Rispoli said. “It’s all about him. It’s a pleasure and privilege to ride a horse like him.”

The Preakness is set to be held at nearby Laurel Park, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., next year before a planned return to the new Pimlico in 2027. McCarthy raved about the history at the place known as “Old Hilltop” and still remembers where he was when Sunday Silence beat Easy Goer at the wire in 1989 in a fashion similar to how Journalism won this time.

“Things kind of come full circle,” McCarthy said. “I’m sad to see this place go, but we’ll try to get back here next year, whichever locale it’s at.”

Journalism is the first horse to win the Preakness after running in the Kentucky Derby since Mark Casse-trained War of Will in 2019. He is the first Derby runner-up to follow that up by winning the Preakness since Exaggerator in 2016.

Only two others from the 19 in the Derby participated in the Preakness: Casse’s Sandman and fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ American Promise, who did not have the same positive response as Journalism.

“The best horse won,” Lukas said. “He finished beautifully.”

Lukas, the 89-year-old who has saddled the most horses in Preakness history, referred to McCarthy once this week as “the new guy.” This was just McCarthy’s second, and he’s 2 for 2 after Rombauer sprung the upset as an 11-1 long shot in 2021.

This one was more emotional, with McCarthy and his wife still displaced from their home by the Southern California wildfires.

“We’ll get back there,” McCarthy said. “Everybody will get back there. We’ll rebuild. This is for Altadena.”

The Michigan Panthers stayed hot and secured a spot in the UFL playoffs.

Behind a three-touchdown performance from backup quarterback Danny Etling, the Panthers rolled past the Houston Roughnecks, 30-18, on Saturday at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

The Panthers led 14-12 at halftime before they pulled away in the third quarter. On a third-and-16, Etling found receiver Devin Ross down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown to make it a nine-point game.

On Houston’s ensuing possession, cornerback Keni-H Lovely (Western Michigan) jumped the route on a quick screen pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 27-12 with 4:15 left in the third.

The Panthers thwarted any thought of a comeback by forcing a pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter — one on a fourth-down stop in the red zone and another on a fumble recovery.

Kicker B.T. Potter tacked on a 52-yard field goal to make it 30-12 with 5:21 remaining before the Roughnecks (3-5) scored in the closing seconds.

Etling finished 14-for-22 passing with 167 yards. He threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Malik Turner in the first quarter and a 1-yarder to receiver Samson Nacua in the second quarter. Nacua’s score was set up by an 88-yard punt return by Xavier Malone.

Roughnecks quarterback Jalan McClendon completed 30 of 50 passes for 316 yards, two touchdowns and the pick-six. Houston outgained Michigan by a considerable margin, 441-254, but went 1-for-3 in the red zone and lost the turnover battle (2-0).

The Panthers will travel to Alabama to face the Birmingham Stallions on May 24 before hosting the Roughnecks in the regular-season finale at Ford Field on May 31. Kickoff for both games is slated for 3 p.m.

After that, it’s on to the playoffs, where the winners of the two conference championship games will advance to the UFL Championship on June 14.

TORONTO – In the dugout before the game Friday, manager AJ Hinch was asked about reliever Beau Brieske. Specifically, he was asked how close he thought Brieske might be to the reliever he relied on so often in leverage at the end of last season.

“I think he’s that guy now,” Hinch said. “I have not treated him any differently. We’re not trying to be something we used to be. Our pitch mix in the back end of the bullpen has been pretty good. It’s a tough back of the bullpen to crack.

Once again, Hinch can envision the ninth before the first pitch of the game is thrown.

Brieske, who hadn’t pitched in a save situation since March 28 in Los Angeles, was indeed summoned in the ninth inning to close out the Tigers’ 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Before the game, Hinch had told Will Vest that he was down for the night. He’d thrown three high-leverage innings, 50 pitches, in back-to-back wins against the Red Sox Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We took it out of Will’s hands,” Hinch said. “I’m sure he wanted to pitch. He was doing his normal routine to throw. But we have to see the long road, here. We ask a lot out of the pen. We have to make decisions going into games as much as we have to make decisions in games.”

It also served as a much-needed boost for Brieske, who has battled through an ankle injury since early in spring training and recently, like several Tigers, has been stricken with a flu bug.

“It’s been tough,” Brieske said before the game. “From trying to feel good and trying to pitch good, just a culmination of not feeling good about either. I’ve seen some glimpses, for sure.”

Before Friday, Brieske had pitched 5.1 innings in five outings since coming back off the injured list and allowed four runs, three earned and two home runs.

His outing Tuesday in the 11th inning against the Red Sox was a good illustration of what he’s been dealing with. Inheriting the free runner in a 7-7 game, he struck out Rafael Devers, freezing him with a changeup. He got Alex Bregman to fly out to left.

Then he threw a first-pitch sinker to Kristian Campbell, 97.1 mph dotted down and in.

“It was the exact pitch I wanted to throw,” Brieske said. “Most often, you make a good pitch, you know, you get your result. If he’d just got a base hit, a single, I would’ve been like, ‘That’s a good swing.’

“But that it went out of the park, it was like, ‘Wow, fantastic swing.’ But hey, it gave us the opportunity for our best win of the year (smiles).”

Brieske’s stuff was electric Friday night. His sinker hit 98 mph and sat 97 with an elite average spin rate of 2,587 rpm. His four-seam was zipping, too, 96-97 mph, 2,581 rpm.

His changeup, coming in at 91 mph, had 14 inches of horizonal movement.

But even with that, things got tense. He got the first two outs quickly, then Myles Straw dropped a sinking liner in front of a diving Javier Baez in center and Michael Stefanic lined a two-strike single to left.

He had to bat down a comebacker from pinch-hitter Ernie Clement to end the game.

“I need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture,” Brieske said before the game. “And not dwell on how things are right now. It’s been a little bit of a battle, just kind of fighting myself.

“Sometimes it’s bad execution. Sometimes I feel like I executed well and gotten beat.”

The full Beau Brieske, which was in full force during the Tigers’ run into the playoffs last season when he was escaping one tight mess after another, hasn’t been there yet in 2025.

But it’s coming.

“I don’t feel I’ve been at my best yet,” Brieske said. “It’s hard for me to say that. I just haven’t done the things that I know I can do, the things I have done in the past. I don’t feel I’ve been there yet.”

The ankle injury has been a straight-up nuisance for him. It was his right ankle on his drive leg off the mound. It happened early in spring and then he tweaked it again in Minnesota, which put him on the IL.

Then, when he came back from that, his energy got sapped with the flu.

“It’s part of a long baseball season, part of the ups and downs of a season,” he said. “It’s been frustrating. It’s been kind of an uphill battle for me physically.”

The ankle is healthy now; his mechanics, not so much.

“It’s getting to the point where I’m trying to get the bad habits out of my mechanics that I learned throwing and trying to compensate (for the ankle pain),” he said. “Now it’s about trying to get my feel back. I know what feels right, but it’s how consistent can I do it.

“That’s why I know it will come back. When I feel like myself and I’m executing at the level I can, with the stuff I have, eventually it’s going to even itself out.”

All in all, Brieske said, it’s been a pretty good perspective-builder for him.

“I was coming in from the offseason and man I was feeling so good,” he said. “I was moving exactly how I wanted, building on how I was throwing at the end of last year. And I came in and, there goes the ankle.”

That’s all in the rearview now, though. He’s pushed through the darkest parts.

“I don’t feel bad for myself, it’s just the hand I was dealt,” he said. “Like, what am I going to do? It’s not a pity party. No one feels bad for you. Can you get it done or not? Sometimes it’s not a perfectly clean transition. Sometimes it’s not a perfect process.

“What helps me is to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. What can I do to not worry so much about how things are going right now. It’s a long season.”

Getting the call in the ninth inning of a one-run game and getting the job done was a good kickstart.