CHICAGO (AP) — A Democratic congressional candidate in Illinois has been indicted along with five others over blocking vehicles during protests outside a federal immigration enforcement building in suburban Chicago, according to court documents.

The indictment, filed last week by a special grand jury, accuses Kat Abughazaleh of blocking a federal agent outside the detention center.

“This is a political prosecution and a gross attempt to silence dissent, a right protected under the First Amendment. This case is a major push by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish anyone who speaks out against them,” Abughazaleh said in a video posted to BlueSky.

By BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s decision to shift the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier to South America in his campaign against drug cartels is pulling the ship out of the Mediterranean Sea at a time when a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been threatened by new strikes in Gaza.

The U.S. is set to be in the fairly unusual position of having only a single aircraft carrier deployed and none in the waters off both Europe and the Middle East. The change is especially stark after the U.S. joined Israeli strikes on Iran in June and has engaged in some of the most intense combat operations since World War II against Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

Aircraft carriers, with their thousands of sailors and dozens of warplanes, have long been recognized as one of the ultimate signifiers of U.S. military might and the nation’s foreign policy priorities. There have been five carrier deployments to the Middle East since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, including two carriers in the region at multiple points this year and last.

The new orders for the USS Gerald R. Ford illustrate the Trump administration’s increasing focus on the Western Hemisphere and mark a major escalation of firepower as the U.S. military ramps up fatal strikes on alleged drug boats. With a buildup of warships, aircraft and troops already in the region, Trump himself has signaled what could be next.

Speaking from another aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, in its home port of Japan, Trump noted the U.S. attacks at sea and reiterated that “now we’ll stop the drugs coming in by land.”

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine colonel, questioned how long the Ford would be able to remain in South America, when only three of the 11 U.S. aircraft carriers are typically out to sea.

“It’s such a powerful and scarce resource, there will be a lot of pressure to do something or send it elsewhere,” Cancian said. “You can imagine the peace negotiations breaking down in the eastern Mediterranean or something happening with Iran.”

The USS Nimitz also is deployed but is heading home from the South China Sea to the West Coast before being decommissioned. It recently lost two aircraft — a fighter jet and a helicopter — in separate crashes that are under investigation. A third carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is not deployed but is conducting exercises off the coast of San Diego.

The shift is happening just as violence has flared up again in Gaza despite a ceasefire that Trump helped broker after two years of war. The Israeli army launched a barrage of attacks Tuesday as tensions with Hamas grew two weeks into the fragile ceasefire.

Carrier’s move adds pressure on Venezuela

Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s growing presence near Venezuela and its 13 fatal strikes on alleged drug boats have stoked fears that Trump could try to topple authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.

In response to questions about the speculation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Saturday that the U.S. is taking part in a counterdrug operation. And he again accused Maduro’s government of participating in the shipment of narcotics.

“This is a very serious problem for the hemisphere, and a very destabilizing one,” Rubio said. “And that has to be addressed.”

Maduro said in a recent national broadcast that the Trump administration is manufacturing a war against him.

“They are fabricating an extravagant narrative, a vulgar, criminal and totally fake one,” Maduro added. “Venezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves.”

Experts say the U.S. forces in the region aren’t large enough for an invasion. But they could help push out Maduro — and possibly plunge the nation into chaos.

“There’s a really high potential for violence and instability,” according to Geoff Ramsey, an expert on U.S. policy toward Venezuela who is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. If Maduro loses power, he said Venezuela could “devolve into a Libya-style meltdown that could last years.”

Land strikes are ‘a real possibility’

The Ford strike group, which includes five destroyers, will add to an unusually large U.S. military buildup in the waters off Venezuela. The Navy already has eight warships in the region — three destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, a cruiser and a smaller littoral combat ship that’s designed for coastal waters. It was not clear if all five of the destroyers in the Ford strike group would make the journey.

A U.S. Navy submarine also is operating in the broader area of South America and is capable of launching cruise missiles. The U.S. military also sent a squadron of F-35B Lightning II fighter jets to an airstrip in Puerto Rico and recently flew a pair of supersonic, heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela.

The administration says the military has killed at least 57 people in the strikes against vessels accused of transporting drugs. Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants because of narcotics flowing into the country and said the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with them, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration after 9/11.

Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed concerns about Trump’s lack of congressional approval and unwillingness to provide details about the attacks. Others, such as Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, believe the president has all the authority he needs.

The South Carolina Republican said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that land strikes in Venezuela are “a real possibility.”

“We’re not going to sit on the sidelines and watch boats full of drugs come to our country,” Graham said. “We’re going to blow them up and kill the people that want to poison America, and we’re now going to expand operations, I think, to the land.”

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday welcomed Japan’s determination to accelerate its ongoing military buildup and defense spending.

During a visit to Japan, Hegseth said he hopes to see those pledges implemented as soon as possible, noting China’s increasingly assertive military activity.

“The threats we face are real, and they are urgent. China’s unprecedented military buildup and its aggressive military actions speak for themselves,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, our alliance is critical to deterring Chinese military aggression, to responding to regional contingencies, and keeping our countries safe.”

Hegseth said he was “glad” to see Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — speaking alongside U.S. President Donald Trump this week — make a commitment to increase Japan’s defense spending, calling it “wonderful.”

He said the U.S. government had not demanded Japan’s spending increase.

His comment comes a day after Takaichi, who became prime minister only last week, explained to Trump during their first summit that her government will raise Japan’s defense spending to 2% of its gross national product by March, two years ahead of initially planned. Japan also plans to revise its ongoing national security strategy several years ahead of schedule.

“It’s an important step forward, and one that we hope would be implemented and believe will be as soon as possible,” Hegseth told a joint news conference after holding talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. “The result, through our shared strength, will deter threats.”

“We’re going to invest now and invest quickly while we still have time,” Hegseth said.

Koizumi welcomed the agreement between the two governments to move up deliveries of U.S.-made Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, though he did not give further details.

Japan is seeking to create a more self-sufficient military as a deterrence against China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, and has concentrated on defense buildup on its southwestern islands. Japan also has concerns about the rising tensions caused by North Korea and Russia.

Japan has already moved up a planned deployment of its medium and long-range missiles such as Tomahawk and Japanese-made Tupe-12 anti-ship missiles.

These efforts mark a historic shift from Japan’s longstanding policy of limiting use of force to self-defense only under a pacifist Constitution written after World War II.

It made a major break from that policy under the 2022 security strategy that calls for more offensive roles for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and easing restrictions on arms exports. The Takaichi government is also seeking to further relax weapons transfers.

Aircraft owners at the Oakland County International Airport will get a smoother ride thanks to a $6 million grant from the state.

Work to replace  nearly 8,000 feet of pavement will begin next spring, said airport manager Cheryl Bush.

A $6 million grant managed by Michigan’s Department of Transportation will help renovate Oakland County International Airport. This grant money comes from the Federal Aviation Agency but is managed by MDOT. It will pay to reconstruct and improve lighting for Taxilanes D, F and Y and renovate the airport apron.

The county will add just over $151,000 to the state Department of Transportation’s funds.

Bush told commissioners on the county commission’s Economic Development and Infrastructure committee that the work is a year overdue.

“The pavement has been pretty rough. We’ve had some complaints about it,” she told the committee last week, adding that the work couldn’t happen without the support of federal grants.

The work will begin next spring on the airport’s north side and will be done in phases over four months so the nearly 400 airplanes kept at the airport will remain accessible to their owners, Bush told commissioners.

The committee also advised the commission to approve a separate, nearly $2.2 million MDOT grant to reimburse the airport for purchased snow-removal equipment and land to add to a protection zone for Runway 27L and renovate the pavement for Taxilane M.

The airport is in Waterford Township and is the second-busiest in Michigan.

The commissioners’ general business meeting is 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30 in the auditorium at 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac. The full agenda and packet are online at https://oaklandcomi.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1302/files/agenda/11994.

By MATT BROWN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — When he was elected the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in June, Rep. Robert Garcia at once gained a powerful perch and a pressing problem.

Colleagues elected Garcia with a mandate to hold President Donald Trump’s administration to account. He’d pitched himself as an energetic personality who cared about good governance and accountability. But with Democrats locked out of power, he had few tools available to carry out his mission besides strongly worded letters to federal agencies and speeches during committee hearings.

Then came a renewed burst of public attention to the case of Jeffrey Epstein and Trump’s vow to release documents related to the late sex trafficker. As Republicans faced mounting public pressure from conservative activists and voters after Trump backtracked on that promise, Garcia saw an opening.

“If he can betray the American public about this, he can betray and lie to the public about anything,” Garcia said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It all goes together. The Epstein files case shines a light on how Donald Trump is only out for himself.”

How Democrats staged an ambush on Epstein issue

Garcia in July coordinated Oversight Democrats to force a surprise vote on subpoenaing the Justice Department for documents related to Epstein — and it worked. Republicans narrowly backed the subpoenas at a subcommittee hearing. Democrats similarly pushed Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., in August to subpoena the executors of the Epstein estate for documents.

Garcia dismissed the first tranche of more than 33,000 documents from the Justice Department in September as inadequate, mostly public information that lacked a “client list” of Epstein’s purported associates.

The Epstein estate, meanwhile, provided a book of messages compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday. That book contained a poem and alleged signature from Trump with a sexually suggestive drawing. Democrats immediately published the page online and pointed to it as reason to investigate Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s activities. The estate has shared more information since, including Epstein’s flight logs, personal schedules and financial ledgers.

The burst of attention gave Democrats, still grappling with their party’s failure in last year’s election and divided on a path forward, a jolt of energy and potential blueprint for navigating Trump’s second term.

“I think you’re going to see us take that kind of aggressive approach in the work that we have ahead,” Garcia said.

Commanding the spotlight

The Oversight Committee, led by Comer, is one of the most powerful in Congress, with broad leeway to investigate nearly anything. Lawmakers have long used the panel’s clout to command attention and investigate scandals inside and outside the government.

Garcia has sought to use his position as the committee’s ranking Democrat to weave his party’s disparate stances on Trump, affordability, corruption and democracy into a single message. Oversight Democrats have also sought information on the treatment of U.S. citizens by the Department of Homeland Security, gifts and payments to administration officials and the administration’s response to natural disasters.

“I continue to think this is the most corrupt administration in American history, and we have a huge responsibility to investigate that corruption and to also try to make government work better for working people,” Garcia said.

Garcia has also been a critic of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to delay the swearing in of Adelita Grijalva, a Democratic congresswoman-elect from Arizona. Johnson says Grijalva can’t be sworn in until the government shutdown ends and legislative work resumes in the House. But Garcia and other Democrats say Johnson’s real aim is to delay a vote on legislation that would broaden the subpoena for the Epstein files.

As Democrats revamp their media strategy, Garcia has encouraged Oversight Democrats to engage in new digital media to boost the party’s message. He’s also been meeting with government reform groups to craft legislation around transparency that they hope to put in front of voters next year.

“I think on oversight we have a responsibility to gather the information and then to put it out to the court of public opinion, especially in front of Trump’s voters,” he said.

A fraught relationship with the Republican majority

Oversight hearings have devolved into shouting matches repeatedly during this Congress, reflecting the near-total breakdown of bipartisan relations on the committee.

Comer, the Republican chair, said it was “appalling” for Democrats to release the Birthday Book sketch and accused them of engaging in “cherry-picking documents and politicizing information” to imply without evidence that Trump was involved in Epstein’s actions.

Comer has largely directed the Republican majority to investigate issues that dovetail with the Trump administration’s priorities, like the state of crime in cities and states across the country, former President Joe Biden’s age and alleged misconduct by nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Garcia has opted to focus on the Trump family and Democrats’ priorities rather than respond to GOP investigations.

“If we’re going to actually save this democracy and restore the American public’s trust and move forward post-Trump’s presidency, we have to take on the current grift that this man is doing on the country,” Garcia said.

After Democrats made another attempt at a surprise committee vote — this time to subpoena the head of the Federal Communications Commission for comments about the suspension of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel — Comer and Garcia brokered a bipartisan invitation for FCC Chair Brendan Carr to testify on a range of issues.

But Comer, a close Trump ally, also called Garcia “a real big drama queen,” after which Garcia accused him of being homophobic.

Garcia says his identity as a gay immigrant and naturalized citizen has influenced his leadership style and outlook on the country, especially as the Trump administration pursues its hardline immigration agenda.

“I always say that immigrants who are naturalized are some of the most patriotic people we have in this country, because we all have to fight for those rights that many folks are born with,” said Garcia, who became a U.S. citizen in his 20s. “It built a drive to try and make this country better and that drives me in my oversight work.”

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After waiting more than four decades to clear his name in a friend’s 1980 killing, Subramanyam Vedam was set to walk free from a Pennsylvania prison this month.

Vedam and Thomas Kinser were the 19-year-old children of Penn State University faculty. Vedam was the last person seen with Kinser and was twice convicted of killing him, despite a lack of witnesses or motive.

In August, a judge threw out the conviction after Vedam’s lawyers found new ballistics evidence that prosecutors had never disclosed.

As his sister prepared to bring him home on Oct. 3, the thin, white-haired Vedam was instead taken into federal custody over a 1999 deportation order. The 64-year-old, who legally came to the U.S. from India when he was 9 months old, now faces another daunting legal fight.

Amid the Trump Administration’s focus on mass deportations, Vedam’s lawyers must persuade an immigration court that a 1980s drug conviction should be outweighed by the years he wrongly spent in prison. For a time, immigration law allowed people who had reformed their lives to seek such waivers. Vedam never pursued it then because of the murder conviction.

“He was someone who’s suffered a profound injustice,” said immigration lawyer Ava Benach. “(And) those 43 years aren’t a blank slate. He lived a remarkable experience in prison.”

Vedam earned several degrees behind bars, tutored hundreds of fellow inmates and went nearly half a century with just a single infraction, involving rice brought in from the outside.

His lawyers hope immigration judges will consider the totality of his case. The administration, in a brief filed Friday, opposes the effort. So Vedam remains at an 1,800-bed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in central Pennsylvania.

“Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email about the case.

‘Mr. Vedam, where were you born?’

After his initial conviction was thrown out, Vedam faced an unusual set of questions at his 1988 retrial.

“Mr. Vedam, where were you born?” Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar asked. “How frequently would you go back to India?

“During your teenage years, did you ever get into meditation?”

Gopal Balachandran, the Penn State law professor who won the reversal, believes the questions were designed to alienate him from the all-white jury, which returned a second guilty verdict.

The Vedams were among the first Indian families in the area known as “Happy Valley,” where his father had come as a postdoctoral fellow in 1956. An older daughter was born in State College, but “Subu,” as he was known, was born when the family was back in India in 1961.

They returned to State College for good before his first birthday, and became the family that welcomed new members of the Indian diaspora to town.

“They were fully engaged. My father loved the university. My mother was a librarian, and she helped start the library,” said the sister, Saraswathi Vedam, 68, a midwifery professor in Vancouver, British Columbia.

While she left for college in Massachusetts, Subu became swept up in the counterculture of the late 1970s, growing his hair long and dabbling in drugs while taking classes at Penn State.

One day in December 1980, Vedem asked Kinser for a ride to nearby Lewisburg to buy drugs. Kinser was never seen again, although his van was found outside his apartment. Nine months later, hikers found his body in a wooded area miles away.

Vedam was detained on drug charges while police investigated, and was ultimately charged with murder. He was convicted in 1983 and sentenced to life without parole. To resolve the drug case, he pleaded no contest to four counts of selling LSD and a theft charge. The 1988 retrial offered no reprieve from his situation.

Although the defense long questioned the ballistics evidence in the case, the jury, which heard that Vedam had bought a .25-caliber gun from someone, never heard that an FBI report suggested the bullet wound was too small to have been fired from that gun. Balachandran only found that report as he dug into the case in 2023.

After hearings on the issue, a Centre County judge threw out the conviction and the district attorney decided this month not to retry the case.

Trump officials oppose the petition

Benach, the immigration lawyer, often represents clients trying to stay in the U.S. despite an earlier infraction. Still, she finds the Vedam case “truly extraordinary” given the constitutional violations involved.

“Forty-three years of wrongful imprisonment more than makes up for the possession with intent to distribute LSD when he was 20 years old,” she said.

Vedam could spend several more months in custody before the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to reopen the case. ICE officials, in a brief Friday, said the clock ran out years ago.

“He has provided no evidence nor argument to show he has been diligent in pursuing his rights as it pertains to his immigration status,” Katherine B. Frisch, an assistant chief counsel, wrote.

Saraswathi Vedam is saddened by the latest delay, but said her brother remains patient.

“He, more than anybody else, knows that sometimes things don’t make sense,” she said. “You have to just stay the course and keep hoping that truth and justice and compassion and kindness will win.”

Oakland ISD administrator Dwight Levens Jr. has been awarded the 2025 Exemplary Service and Innovation for Technological Advancement Award.

This national award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation in advancing educational technology.

Levens, Jr. is the chief technology and information officer for Oakland Schools, which serves over 175,000 students and 40,000 educators across 28 public school districts.

Levens’ team is responsible for instructional technology coaching and infrastructure modernization to cybersecurity and statewide application support.

The department’s initiatives include the AI Collective, which explores artificial intelligence applications in education in all 28 districts.
“Dwight’s leadership has fostered a culture where operational excellence meets educational innovation,” said Oakland Schools Superintendent Kenneth Gutman. “Oakland Schools Technology Services exemplifies the very mission of an educational service agency: to deliver visionary leadership and equitable access to high-quality services that improve outcomes for all learners.”

By Summer Ballentine, MediaNews Group

About 1,200 workers at General Motors Co.’s Detroit-area all-electric plant will be laid off as the company downsizes to a single shift in response to the slowing U.S. electric vehicle market.

The company also will cut 550 jobs at its joint-venture Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Ohio, with another 850 slated for temporary layoff. The Ultium Cells’ Tennessee plant will temporarily lay off 700 workers.

The layoffs reflect a rapid pullback in EV production as GM adjusts to a U.S. EV market no longer bolstered by $7,500 tax credits for buyers and lessees that expired last month. Automakers also expect to soon be free of expensive government fines for greenhouse gas emissions that pushed EV manufacturing ahead of market demand. Both policy changes were pushed by President Donald Trump.

“In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, General Motors is realigning EV capacity,” according to a company statement. “Despite these changes, GM remains committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint, and we believe our investments and dedication to flexible operations will make GM more resilient and capable of leading through change. Impacted employees may be eligible for SUB pay and benefits in accordance with the National GM-UAW Agreement.”

GM on Wednesday said its all-electric Factory Zero Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center, which went offline this week, will remain shut down until Nov. 24 when it will run two shifts until the holiday break. It will only operate one shift when it reopens Jan. 5 after the holidays.

About 2,000 employees will stay on at Factory Zero, spokesperson Kevin Kelly said. Cuts will be based on seniority.

The plant has repeatedly cut shifts and slowed production this year, including axing a shift each for the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ.

Ultium Cells plants in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Warren, Ohio, will pause operations starting Jan. 5 and continuing through at least May, Kelly said.

“During the temporary pause Ultium Cells plans to make upgrades to both facilities to provide greater flexibility,” according to a GM statement. “Ultium Cells will continue to evaluate and adapt production plans based on evolving market needs.”

Kelly said more layoffs are coming at two other sites. GM’s Pontiac Metal Center, a Metro Detroit stamping plant that supplies parts for Factory Zero, will temporarily lay off 45 workers and New York’s Rochester Operations, which makes electric vehicle battery cooling lines supplied to Factory Zero, will temporarily idle 74 employees. Both actions will take effect Nov. 17.

The moves come as battery manufacturers ― including the Detroit Three ― scale back plans for EV battery production, citing tepid demand and a sharply changing regulatory environment under the Trump administration.

Ford Motor Co. has delayed production plans at major battery plants it has a stake in, while a Stellantis NV partnership isn’t moving forward with major parts of its originally-planned battery factory footprint. Numerous battery projects have been scrapped, delayed or mothballed.

Automakers are in many cases rethinking their entire game plan for EVs under Trump, pivoting more to hybrids and big-engine trucks, pausing EV assembly lines, and in some instances ― including with GM ― altogether stripping EV-related production equipment out of factories.

Aidan Hutchinson, the homegrown heart and soul of the Detroit Lions’ defense, has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the team, his agent announced via social media Wednesday morning.

Financial terms have not been released.

Hutchinson, still just 25 years old, was the No. 2 pick out of Michigan in the 2022 NFL Draft and becomes the first member of general manager Brad Holmes’ second draft class to receive a significant contract extension.

Over his first two seasons, Hutchinson appeared in all 37 games (including playoffs) for Detroit and averaged 10½ sacks during the regular season, finishing as the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022 and making his first Pro Bowl in 2023 after an 11.5-sack, 121-pressure campaign.

To begin the 2024 season, Hutchinson cemented himself as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. At the time of his injury, which occurred after the Lions’ Week 5 bye, Hutchinson led the NFL in pressures (45) and sacks (7½). He remained the NFL’s pressure leader until Week 8, when his total was surpassed by Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers).

“Every time you watch him, he gets better and better and I was pretty blown away last night,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said after Hutchinson recorded a career-high 4.5 sacks in a Week 2 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.

“He’s a force. He’s a force. … He’s just relentless, he’s powerful, he’s explosive.”

Despite the severity of his injury, which required immediate surgery at a Dallas-area hospital, Hutchinson remained adamant he would be able to return for the Super Bowl, if the Lions had been able to make it that far. Campbell repeatedly warned against such optimism, but noted, “If anybody can come back from this, it would be Aidan.” The point ultimately became moot as the Lions fell to the Washington Commanders, 45-31, in the NFC’s divisional round.

Still, as highlighted by Campbell’s comments, Hutchinson’s dedicated work ethic is the shining example of what the Lions want their players to be.

Shortly before Detroit’s 2024 opener, former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said of Hutchinson, “Hutch has had a tremendous offseason. He had a tremendous training camp, and now he’s at the point that he needs to set his sights at being, if not the best player defensively in this league, to one of the best players — which he is, but now it’s time to look at himself as the best player.”

Since graduating from Dearborn Divine Child High School, Hutchinson has been at the forefront of reviving two local programs. In Hutchinson’s senior year at Michigan (2021), the Wolverines snapped an eight-game losing streak against rival Ohio State — a 42-27 victory at Michigan Stadium in which Hutchinson sacked Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud three times — and a 17-year drought as Big Ten champions, reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.

With his multi-sack performance against Ohio State, Hutchinson set Michigan’s single-season sack record (14), a distinction previously owned by his father, Chris. He was named a unanimous All-American and finished as runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

Two years later, Hutchinson helped propel Detroit to its first division title in 30 years as the Lions won two playoff games — doubling their total (one) from 1957-2022 — en route to an NFC Championship appearance, where the Lions came up short by way of a furious second-half comeback by the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.

Though Hutchinson didn’t necessarily grow up donning the Honolulu blue — “My dad’s from Texas, so he was never a big Lions fan,” he said last year — he acknowledged the surreal nature of the team’s turnaround ahead of the NFC title game.

“Growing up here, you grow up with a lot of the ‘Same Old Lions’ stuff, and a lot of the tragedy and whatever you want to call it,” Hutchinson said. “I see videos of little kids (excited about the Lions), and just like, seeing that generation growing up with this Lions team and the Lions teams to come, it’s just cool to have two different perspectives on it and to see kind of both sides of the coin.”

Entering the 2022 draft, Hutchinson was long believed to be the obvious No. 1 pick before Jacksonville ultimately chose to select Georgia pass rusher Travon Walker. Though Walker has steadily improved into a really good player, he has yet to exhibit the sky-high potential of Hutchinson. And he probably won’t be getting paid like him either.

Culver’s restaurant recently opened a new location on Southfield Road north of 12 Mile Road in Southfield and plans to begin construction next spring on another store on Telegraph Road in that city.

The second Southfield Culver’s will be on Telegraph north of 12 Mile.

Culver’s will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Southfield Road store at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.

Culver’s, a national chain, is known for its burgers and frozen custard.

In Oakland County, Culver’s has locations in Novi, White Lake Township, Commerce Township, Wixom, Waterford Township, Madison Heights, Clawson, Rochester Hills, South Lyon and two in Orion Township.

In 1984, Craig and Lea Culver, along with Craig’s parents, George and Ruth, opened the first Culver’s in Sauk City, Wis., according to Culver’s website.

He fatally shot intoxicated firefighter, was granted new trial — then opted out

Police: 2 caught in crossfire at Southfield gas station; suspects sought

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday confirmed the names of five candidates to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the powerful Federal Reserve next year.

On an Air Force One flight to Asia with President Donald Trump, Bessent said he would engage in a second round of interviews in the coming weeks and present a “good slate” of candidates to Trump “right after Thanksgiving.” Trump said he expected to decide on Powell’s replacement by the end of this year.

The five people under consideration are: Federal Reserve governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman; former Fed governor Kevin Warsh; White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett; and Rick Rieder, senior managing director at asset manager BlackRock.

The names suggest that no matter who is picked, there will likely be big changes coming to the Federal Reserve next year. Bessent, who is leading the search for Powell’s replacement, last month published extensive criticisms of the Fed and some of the policies it has pursued from the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 to the pandemic.

Trump on Monday, meanwhile, repeated his long-standing attacks on Powell, charging that he has been too slow to cut interest rates.

“We have a person that’s not at all smart right now,” Trump said, referring to Powell. “He should have been much lower, much sooner.” The Fed is expected to lower its key rate Wednesday for the second time this year.

Trump’s goal of selecting a new chair by the end of this year could reflect some of the tricky elements surrounding Powell’s status. His term as chair ends next May, but he could remain on the Fed’s board as one of seven governors until January 2028, an unusual but not entirely unprecedented step. Such a move would deprive Trump of an opportunity to nominate another governor for several years.

Still, current governor Stephen Miran was appointed by Trump Sept. 16 to finish an unexpired term that ends next Jan. 31. Trump could nominate his candidate to replace Powell for that seat, and then elevate that person to chair in May after Powell steps down.

Hassett is currently the chair of the National Economic Council at the White House and was also a top Trump adviser in the president’s first term, and a frequent defender of the administration’s policies on television. His longtime loyalty to the president could give him an edge, some Fed watchers say.

Warsh is a former economic advisor in the George W. Bush administration and was appointed to the Fed’s governing board in 2006 at age 35, making him the youngest Fed governor in history. He left the board in 2011. Warsh is now a fellow at the Hoover Institution and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Waller was appointed to the Fed by Trump in 2020, and quickly established himself as an independent voice. He began pushing for rate cuts in July and dissented at that meeting in favor of a quarter-point cut, when the Fed decided to leave its key rate unchanged. But he voted to reduce rates just a quarter-point in September, along with 10 other Fed officials, while Miran dissented in favor of a half-point.

Michelle Bowman is the Fed’s vice chair of supervision, making her the nation’s top banking regulator. She was appointed by Trump in 2018, and before that was Kansas’ state bank commissioner. Bowman also dissented in favor a rate cut in July, then voted with her colleagues last month for a quarter-point reduction.

Rieder has the most financial markets experience of any of the candidates and has worked for Wall Street firms since 1987. Rieder joined BlackRock in 2009. His focus is in fixed income and he oversees the management of roughly $2.4 trillion in assets.

Bessent has set out a wide-ranging critique of the Fed while interviewing for Powell’s replacement. In particular, he has criticized the central bank for continuing unconventional policies, such as purchasing Treasury bonds in order to lower longer-term interest rates, long after after such steps were justified, in his view, by emergency conditions.

“It is essential the Fed commit to scaling back its distortionary impact on markets,” Bessent wrote. “It also likely requires an honest, independent, and nonpartisan review of the entire institution and all of its activities.”

Bessent’s criticisms aren’t entirely new, but they have gained greater traction in the wake of the 2021-22 inflation surge. The Fed is mandated by Congress to seek stable prices as well as maximum employment.

Bessent’s critiques have also inevitably been tangled up with Trump’s insistent calls for lower interest rates, which have threatened the Fed’s independence from day-to-day politics. Trump has also taken the unprecedented step of trying to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee, to open another seat on the board for him to fill.

Cook has sued to keep her seat and the Supreme Court has allowed Cook to remain on the board while it considers the case.

Trump’s attacks on the central bank have left some longtime Fed critics skeptical of the Trump administration’s approach.

Peter Conti-Brown, a Fed historian and professor of financial regulation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, cautioned against placing “loyalists” on the Fed “who are there to push the president’s narrative.”

“Those are the ones that we want as his advisers and spokespeople and his lawyers, not his central bankers,” he said.

By RIO YAMAT

A shortage of air traffic controllers caused more flight disruptions Monday around the country as controllers braced for their first full missing paycheck during the federal government shutdown.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing-related delays on Monday afternoon averaging about 20 minutes at the airport in Dallas and about 40 minutes at both Newark Liberty International Airport and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The delays in Austin followed a brief ground stop at the airport, meaning flights were held at their originating airports until the FAA lifted the stop around 4:15 p.m. local time.

The FAA also warned of staffing issues at a facility in Jacksonville, Florida, that could cause some problems.

Just last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had predicted that travelers would start to see more flights delayed and canceled as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the shutdown, which is nearing the one-month mark.

During a weekend appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures,” Duffy said more controllers were calling in sick as money worries compound the stress of an already challenging job.

“And that’s a sign that the controllers are wearing thin,” Duffy said.

Earlier Monday, flights were also briefly delayed at Los Angeles International Airport, one of the busiest in the world. The disruptions emerged a day after the FAA had issued a temporary ground stop at LAX for about two hours due to a shortage of controllers. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said about 72% of the flights scheduled Sunday at LAX took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure times.

Most controllers are continuing to work mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said Monday. That leaves little time for a side job unless controllers call in sick to the FAA.

Union members were expected to gather Tuesday at major airports across the U.S., including in New York City and Atlanta, to pass out leaflets to passengers detailing how the shutdown is negatively impacting the national aviation system and the workers who keep it running safely. The action coincides with controllers’ first full missing paycheck since the shutdown began.

Some U.S. airports have stepped in to provide food donations and other support for federal aviation employees working without pay, including controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents.

Before the shutdown, the FAA was already dealing with a shortage of about 3,000 air traffic controllers. Nick Daniels, president of NATCA, has said the agency had reached “the lowest staffing we’ve had in decades of only 10,800.”

By JONATHAN MATTISE

Federal funds could begin running dry Saturday that help tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown.

Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out the following week.

Barring a resolution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. Benefits under the program known as SNAP run dry starting Saturday.

Funding for a group of Head Start preschool programs and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, also could run out soon.

Here’s a look at what would happen to each program.

SNAP benefits could leave millions without money for food

Lower-income families who qualify for SNAP receive debit cards loaded each month by the federal government used only for buying groceries at participating stores and farmers markets. The debit cards are recharged in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month, though many beneficiaries get them early in the month.

The average monthly benefit is $187 per person. Most beneficiaries have incomes at or below the poverty level.

There’s also uncertainty about whether benefits left on cards on Nov. 1 can be used. Arkansas officials suggest people who have balances on their cards should use the funds this month on shelf-stable foods. Missouri and Pennsylvania officials expect previous benefits will remain accessible and are telling beneficiaries to save for November if they can.

President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected the idea of using some $5 billion in contingency money to keep providing the federal cash for food, saying that reserve is limited to expenses such as help after disasters.

That decision contrasts with a report late last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that said a contingency fund could cover SNAP benefits if government funding lapsed.

Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged the Trump administration to tap into that fund to provide partial benefits into November.

Some states seeking to fill void of SNAP benefit cuts

Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have pledged to backfill food aid for recipients even while the shutdown stalls the federal program, though state-level details haven’t been announced.

 

In Republican-led Louisiana, the House has voted unanimously for a resolution urging the state’s health department to use $150 million in its budget to avoid an interruption in SNAP benefits to nearly 800,000 residents. The measure awaits Senate action, and Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has said it’s a top priority.

More funding for food banks and pantries is planned in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Connecticut and New York, where Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday that she is “fast tracking” $30 million in emergency food assistance funds to help keep food pantries stocked.

Officials from some other states have said they looked into backfilling SNAP benefits with state funds but found they couldn’t because states have no way to load funds onto recipients’ cards.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California deployed the National Guard to help his state’s food banks, though some have declined to use the troops. He is also quickly making $80 million available for food banks.

The USDA advised Friday that states won’t be reimbursed for funding the benefits.

The Trump administration is blaming Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation.

Early childhood education

More than 130 Head Start preschool programs won’t receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down, according to the National Head Start Association.

Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open, since nearly all their funding comes from federal taxpayers. Head Start provides education and child care for the nation’s neediest preschoolers. When a center is closed, families may have to miss work or school.

With new grants on hold, a half-dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct. 1 but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs across the country could be affected.

Food aid for mothers and young children

Another food aid program supporting millions of low-income mothers and young children already received an infusion to keep the program open through the end of October, but even that money is set to run out early next month.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula.

The program, known as WIC, was at risk of running out of money in October because of the government shutdown, which occurred right before it was scheduled to receive its annual appropriation. The Trump administration reassigned $300 million in unspent tariff proceeds from the Department of Agriculture to keep the program afloat. But it was only enough money for a few weeks.

Now, states say they could run out of WIC money as early as Nov. 8.

Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. AP contributors include Moriah Balingit in Portland, Oregon; Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey; David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California.

By John Tozzi, Bloomberg News

Cigna Group will eliminate prescription drug rebates in many of its commercial health plans in 2027, upending an opaque, controversial practice that’s drawn the ire of President Donald Trump.

The insurer will expand the rebate-free model to clients of its pharmacy benefits business starting in 2028. The plan to eventually phase out rebates more broadly portends a seismic shift in the flow of billions of dollars among drugmakers, insurers and employers.

Cigna said it aims to lower patients’ costs at the pharmacy counter with up-front discounts rather than rebates collected from drugmakers long after a medication is dispensed. The company, which has faced criticism over rebates for years, said it’s responding to changes in the marketplace, including the Trump administration’s efforts to lower prices in the U.S.

“The dynamic has changed in terms of where the market is headed,” Adam Kautzner, president of Cigna’s Express Scripts pharmacy benefits division, said in an interview. “We see this as an opportunity to lower the costs for Americans on branded drugs.”

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, contract with drugmakers and pharmacies to run prescription drug plans for employers, health plans and government programs. That system has long relied on rebates — payments drugmakers make to the PBM after a prescription is filled. The value of drug rebates and other discounts reached $356 billion last year, according to researcher Drug Channels Institute.

Pharmaceutical companies pay the rebates in order to get favorable placement on PBMs’ lists of covered drugs, a practice that critics have likened to kickbacks. The two industries have been embroiled in a vitriolic fight, with each side blaming the other for inflated U.S. drug prices that far outstrip costs in other wealthy countries.

Drugmakers complain that patients don’t see the full benefit of rebates. PBMs say they pass nearly all of the money back to their clients, who can use it to lower premiums or offset other costs. Some employers say rebates create warped incentives, because PBMs are collecting money from the drugmakers with which they’re supposed to be negotiating.

Patients who have high-deductible plans can wind up paying the full cost of their medications when they fill prescriptions, while the rebate from that drug goes to their employer later on.

Kautzner said Cigna aims to eventually do away with all that for its private prescription drug plans. People with high-deductible plans will see a 30% discount on average for brand medications, he said.

The change will initially apply to about 2 million of Cigna’s fully insured health plan members. In 2028, it will become the standard option for Express Scripts clients, though they’ll be able to continue with rebate-based models if they choose. It won’t apply to drug benefits for government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised Cigna in a social media post for what he said was “greater transparency and lower drug prices on brand-name medicines” that aligns with administration’s vision.

The move is part of an industry effort to get ahead of regulations, and “could pave way for formal agreement” between the industry and Washington, TD Cowen analyst Charles Rhyee wrote. He said Cigna’s plan “strikes many similar notes” to prior announcements by CVS Health Corp.

Cigna shares rose 2% at 12:37 p.m. in New York.

Trump target

The announcement comes months after Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, urged PBMs to voluntarily do away with what he called the “rebate-slash-kickback system.”

During his first term, Trump tried to do away with rebates by regulation. The effort faltered after court challenges. He attacked PBMs after he was reelected last year, calling them the “horrible middleman” and saying that they “don’t do anything.”

Cigna’s Express Scripts is the largest of the three leading PBMs, along with CVS’s Caremark unit and UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s Optum Rx. All three have been targeted by lawmakers and the Federal Trade Commission, which sued the companies last year alleging that rebates drove up the cost of insulin. The companies dispute that and the litigation, in an internal FTC tribunal, is pending.

Cigna Chief Executive Officer David Cordani praised Trump “for taking decisive action to help lower costs for brand-name medicines that have long been controlled by drug companies,” in a statement to Bloomberg News.

Cajoling from the Trump administration has led pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc to offer some of their products at lower prices to government programs in exchange for a reprieve on potential tariffs. Drugmakers have also tested some “direct-to-consumer” programs for popular weight-loss medications and other products meant to offer discounts for people paying cash.

Cigna said it will ensure members don’t pay more than the discounted direct-to-consumer or cash prices offered by drug companies, if those are less than the company’s negotiated rate. It’s also expanding a program meant to ensure fair reimbursements to pharmacies.

Other PBMs have made moves to head off a tougher crackdown from Washington. Earlier this year, Optum Rx said it would move to pass 100% of rebates to clients. CVS Caremark has promoted a model intended to give rebates to patients when they fill prescriptions.

Replacing rebates

For Cigna to replace rebates with up-front discounts, it will have to renegotiate contracts with drugmakers, employers and health plans. Kautzner said drugmakers will welcome the change, because reducing out-of-pocket costs will make it more likely patients fill their prescriptions and stay on their medications.

“They would also like to see a lower patient out-of-pocket cost,” he said. Kautzner said he expects Cigna will be able to negotiate better discounts with pharmaceutical companies going forward.

The goal is to get half of employer and health plan clients to adopt the model within three years, Kautzner said. Express Scripts has about 100 million members.

Because some clients use rebate payments to offset premium costs, eliminating rebates could risk raising premiums. Kautzner disputed that it would lead to higher costs.

“We do not expect that there will be any raising of premiums,” he said.

Rebate benefits

PBMs have spent years defending the rebate system. The website of Cigna’s Evernorth division, which includes the PBM, says that “without the ability to deliver rebates, health care costs would be much higher.”

Kautzner said that rebates will continue to exist “for the foreseeable future,” though the company wants to move the industry to a simpler, more transparent approach. It’s one some smaller PBMs have long attempted to implement.

Cigna and its larger rivals have also opened up new revenue streams from drugmakers in recent years, in the form of other fees that aren’t called rebates but look similar. These fees, collected by affiliates called group purchasing organizations, are often structured as a percentage of the drug’s list price. Kautzner said other compensation the company gets from drugmakers would no longer be linked to list prices.

Kautzner said Cigna is “making investments” in the new model but declined to say how the change would affect its business going forward.

“We think it’s completely manageable,” he said. “We remain confident in the long-term durability of our margin profile.”

(With assistance from Phil Kuntz.)

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By JOSH BOAK and CHRIS MEGERIAN

TOKYO (AP) — President Donald Trump begins one of his busiest days of his Asia trip on Tuesday, meeting with the new Japanese prime minister, speaking to U.S. troops aboard an aircraft carrier and mingling with business leaders.

Although Trump is visiting one of America’s most steadfast allies in Asia, there’s no shortage of uncertainty while he’s there. Sanae Takaichi, who became the country’s first female prime minister only days ago, must solidify her relationship with Trump while defending her country’s economic interests. Trump is trying to nail down $550 billion in Japanese investment as part of a trade deal that would reduce U.S. tariffs.

Takaichi is primed for a charm offensive, including a potential purchase of Ford F-150 trucks. Trump has often complained that Japan doesn’t buy American vehicles, which are often too wide to be practical on narrow Japanese streets.

Although Trump has focused his foreign policy toward Asia around tariffs and trade, he’s also speaking aboard the USS George Washington, which is docked at an American naval base near Tokyo.

Trump arrived in Tokyo on Monday, when he met with the emperor in a ceremonial visit. He was previously in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he participated in the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The gathering was an opportunity for Trump to celebrate an expanded ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, which skirmished along their disputed border earlier this year. Trump had pressured them to stop fighting by threatening to withhold trade agreements.

There were also signs that tensions between the U.S. and China were cooling ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which is expected to take place in South Korea later this week. Top negotiators from each country said a trade deal was coming together, which could prevent a potentially damaging confrontation between the world’s two largest economies.

Details were scarce, and it was unclear how much any agreement would resolve long-standing issues, or if it would return the relationship to the status quo before recent confrontations. China has restructured the export of rare earth elements that are critical for high-tech manufacturing, and Trump responded by threatening tariffs that even he admits would be unsustainable.

Trump is scheduled to leave Wednesday for South Korea, which is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Megerian reported from Seoul.

A Novi man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly carjacked an ambulance, ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, fled on foot and resisted police.

Changlin Li, 33, is held in the Oakland County Jail on a $5 million bond.

Li was involved in a rollover crash with another vehicle at 10 Mile and Novi roads at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24. A paramedic and patient were in the rear of a Medstar ambulance when Li entered it and drove south on Novi Road with emergency lights flashing, said Commander Bob Manar of the Novi Police Department.

Officers pursued the ambulance as it traveled two miles on Novi Road to Eight Mile Road, where it headed west.

The ambulance ran a red light at Beck Road and crashed into a vehicle traveling south on Beck.

The ambulance caught fire; Li attempted to flee on foot, but officers immediately apprehended him.

Li, the paramedic and patient in the ambulance and the driver of the second vehicle in the Eight Mile-Beck crash were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.

Manar said Li attempted to grab firearms from an officer at the scene of the second crash and at the hospital.

He had a knife in his possession at the time of his arrest, Manar said.

He is charged with second-degree fleeing and eluding, two counts of resisting/obstructing a police officer, two counts of peace officer-disarming firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and carjacking. All are felonies.

Manar said police do not know what prompted Manar to allegedly steal the ambulance and flee.

There was no indication that alcohol or drugs were involved, he said.

Manar did not know whether Li has a criminal background or a history of mental illness.

 

 

While Royal Oak police haven’t yet provided an update for the slaying of an 83-year-old man on Oct. 24, his identity has been confirmed as David Ong of Bloomfield Hills.

A volunteer at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church’s parish office told The Oakland Press on Monday that Ong, who died last Friday at a home in Royal Oak, was a member of St. Hugo’s.

The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Ong on Monday and ruled the death a homicide. The cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries to the head and hands, and complications thereof.”

Royal Oak police arrested the suspected killer, a 35-year-old woman — described as an acquaintance of the family — on Friday evening after responding to a report of a man calling for help in the 4300 block of Sheridan Drive in Royal Oak. The suspect had blood on her hands, police said, and was taken into custody following a brief foot chase.

Ong was found unresponsive in the home’s basement with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The suspect’s name has not yet been released. Arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said.

A social media post from Ong’s daughter, Kelley Ong Smith, said he died “while protecting his cherished 3 year old granddaughter.”

“The loss is immeasurable,” she stated.

According to Ong’s obituary, he was “the most loving husband to Jacqueline” — his wife of more than 60 years — devoted father of four, and “Grandpa Dave” to 11.

The obituary further states, in part: “David’s life was defined by faith, humility and a gentle spirit. He was deeply caring, a true friend and a steady source of encouragement and support. He took joy in understanding everything about his children and grandchildren. He loved sports and rarely missed a chance to cheer for his Wolverines, Lions and Tigers. He enjoyed rides in his convertible, loved music and served as a mentor to his family and to many colleagues and employees.”

Ong founded the commercial real estate consulting and development firm, Acquest Realty Advisors, which he led for 45 years, the obituary states.

Visitation is planned for Oct. 31 at Desmond Funeral Home, 2600 Crooks Road in Troy from 1 to 5 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church, 2215 Opdyke Road in Bloomfield Hills on Nov. 1, with visitation at 9:30 a.m. and Mass at 10 a.m.

 

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to fire the director of the U.S. Copyright Office.

The administration’s newest emergency appeal to the high court was filed a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington held that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.

Nearly four weeks ago, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to reconsider that ruling.

The case is the latest that relates to Trump’s authority to install his own people at the head of federal agencies. The Supreme Court has largely allowed Trump to fire officials, even as court challenges proceed.

But this case concerns an office that is within the Library of Congress. Perlmutter is the register of copyrights and also advises Congress on copyright issues.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in his filing Monday that despite the ties to Congress, the register “wields executive power” in regulating copyrights.

Perlmutter claims Trump fired her in May because he disapproved of advice she gave to Congress in a report related to artificial intelligence. Perlmutter had received an email from the White House notifying her that “your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately,” her office said.

A divided appellate panel ruled that Perlmutter could keep her job while the case moves forward.

“The Executive’s alleged blatant interference with the work of a Legislative Branch official, as she performs statutorily authorized duties to advise Congress, strikes us as a violation of the separation of powers that is significantly different in kind and in degree from the cases that have come before,” Judge Florence Pan wrote for the appeals court. Judge Michelle Childs joined the opinion. Democratic President Joe Biden appointed both judges to the appeals court.

Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, wrote in dissent that Perlmutter “exercises executive power in a host of ways.”

Perlmutter’s attorneys have argued that she is a renowned copyright expert. She has served as register of copyrights since then-Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed her to the job in October 2020.

Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress. The White House fired Hayden amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.

By REBECCA BOONE and SUDHIN THANAWALA

Congress has the constitutional power of the purse, but President Donald Trump’s robust assertion of executive authority is testing even that basic tenet of U.S. democracy.

His administration has already canceled or threatened to cancel billions of dollars of previously approved federal spending and now wants to go after even more funding during the government shutdown.

States, cities, nonprofits and other groups have responded with more than 150 lawsuits accusing the Republican administration of an unlawful power grab.

An Associated Press analysis shows that so far, those suits are mostly succeeding in blocking the Republican president’s spending moves, at least temporarily. But most of the legal battles are far from over, and the Supreme Court, where Trump so far has been more successful, could have the final word on at least some of them.

The court’s conservative majority has been receptive at least in preliminary rulings to many emergency appeals from the administration. Legal experts say a pair of recent decisions by the court may bode well for the administration’s push to gain more control over government spending. Here’s a look at the current legal score and what could lie ahead:

Courts have mostly ruled against the administration so far

As of early October, court orders were at least temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s decisions in 66 of 152 lawsuits over federal spending, an AP analysis shows. In 37 of those cases, courts had allowed the administration to proceed. In 26 of the cases, a judge had yet to rule on the matter. The remaining 23 had either been dropped or consolidated.

The count reflects decisions by district courts, appeals courts and the U.S. Supreme Court and will almost certainly change as the cases progress.

The flurry of litigation reflects not only the administration’s aggressive effort to wrest control of spending, but the Republican-controlled Congress’ unwillingness to push back, said Zachary Price, a constitutional law professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.

“Congress seems to be following its partisan interests more than its institutional interests, and that puts a lot of pressure on courts,” he said.

It’s hard to say how much money the administration has withheld

Government watchdogs say the administration is blatantly ignoring a requirement in the 1974 Impoundment Control Act to report funding freezes to Congress.

Research by Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees estimated the administration was freezing, canceling or seeking to block a total of $410 billion as of early September. That’s equivalent to about 6% of the federal budget for the year that ended on Sept. 30.

The administration has disputed that number.

Since the shutdown started this month, the administration has targeted even more funding, primarily in places represented by Democrats.

The Trump administration is taking a page from Nixon

Legal scholars say no president has attempted massive, unilateral cuts like these since Richard Nixon. The moves reflect an expansive view of executive power that is at odds with the Impoundment Control Act, court rulings and the Constitution, which grants Congress supremacy over spending, experts say.

“The power they’ve claimed is the power to delay and withhold funds throughout the year without input from Congress,” said Cerin Lindgrensavage, counsel with Protect Democracy, which is involved in multiple lawsuits against the administration. “That’s a theft of Congress’ power of the purse.”

In a message to Congress earlier this year, the White House said it was “committed to getting America’s fiscal house in order by cutting government spending that is woke, weaponized, and wasteful.”

White House budget director Russ Vought, a proponent of withholding federal funds, has argued presidents long had the power to spend less money than Congress appropriated if they could cut waste or be more efficient, and that power is needed to address the country’s massive debt.

The government shutdown opened up a new opportunity to cut spending, he said this month on “The Charlie Kirk Show.”

“If I can only work on saving money, then I’m going to do everything I can to look for opportunities to downsize in areas where this administration has thought, ‘This is our way towards a balanced budget.’”

The administration has cut entire agencies

The 152 cases the AP identified challenge the closure of government agencies and offices, the cancellation of grants and other assistance and the attachment of new conditions on federal funding.

The administration has used the cuts, or threat of cuts, to try to impose its policies on gender, race, immigration and other issues.

But it’s not just money on the line. The funds supported jobs, school lunches, health programs, scientific research, infrastructure projects, foreign assistance, disaster preparedness, education initiatives and other programs.

Some notable rulings against the administration include the restoration of funding to 14 states that filed suit over nearly $2 billion withheld for electric car chargers and a block on potentially broad funding cuts to some of the country’s largest cities over their “sanctuary” immigration policies.

Judges have raised constitutional concerns

Judges who have ruled against the administration have often found strong reason to conclude the cuts, or threat of cuts, would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers by usurping Congress’ authority over spending.

They have also ruled the moves were most likely arbitrary under the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

Judges who have sided with the administration have likened at least some of the legal claims before them to contract disputes that belong in a different court: the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

That court, which traces its origins to the mid-1800s, handles lawsuits by citizens seeking money from the federal government. Referred to as “the People’s Court,” it is separate from the district courts that are handling most of the high-profile litigation against the administration.

The Supreme Court has often sided with the White House

The high court’s conservative justices have allowed the administration to move ahead for now with plans to shutter the Education Department, freeze $5 billion in foreign aid and cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training and research supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Those decisions may make it harder to challenge the administration’s spending cuts, though the high court has not yet considered their ultimate legality or overturned lower court rulings.

In the National Institutes of Health case, the high court ruled 5-4 in August that lawsuits over the cancellation of grant funding generally cannot be handled entirely by federal district courts. Instead, plaintiffs must sue in federal claims court for any money and turn to the district courts if they want to challenge the guidance that led to the grant terminations.

The impact of the Supreme Court’s decision is still unfolding, but it could force plaintiffs in the grant funding cases to start over in a new courtroom. In some cases, plaintiffs might have to decide if they want to sue on two fronts.

In the foreign aid case, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision in September suggested the Impoundment Control Act did not give private parties the right to sue over so-called pocket rescissions.

That’s when the president submits a request to Congress not to spend approved money, but does it so late in the fiscal year that Congress doesn’t have time to act and the funds go unspent.

Trump notified House Speaker Mike Johnson in August of a pocket rescission for the $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch.

Though the Supreme Court stressed its decision was preliminary, legal experts say it could make it easier for the Trump administration to use the tactic again.

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.