DETROIT — Remember when reports surfaced late in September saying the Tigers and manager AJ Hinch were nearing an agreement on a contract extension?

“Those reports were baseless,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Monday with a wry smile.

They were baseless because Hinch and the Tigers agreed on a contract extension at midseason. They just didn’t announce it.

“I absolutely love working with AJ,” Harris said, during the team’s season-ending media conference at Comerica Park. “He’s one of the best managers in the game. We have now proactively extended him twice because we want him to be here as long as he willing to be here and I want to work with him as long as I possibly can.

“It was one of the easiest conversations I’ve had because he wants to be here and we’re both bullish on the future of this organization and we are proud of what we’ve done.”

The Tigers, as per organizational policy, don’t make public the contract terms for the manager or coaching staff.

Hinch, 51, ranks eighth on the Tigers’ all-time managerial wins list with 394 in five seasons. He’s guided the team to the playoffs and eight postseasons wins over the last two years.

“I love it here and I love working with Scott,” Hinch said. “This was the second time I was approached and asked for more and it’s an immediate yes for me. When you have an environment that both pushes you and satisfies you, I was thrilled.”

Once he got the OK from his wife and family, he signed the deal. With one stipulation: that it wouldn’t be made public during the season.

“It’s hard to look at where you are personally in the middle of the season,” he said. “Which is why my one request and Scott’s one request was that we just do it and not talk about it. It’s about the players during the season, it’s about winning and we had a lot of games left.

“We didn’t want to be a distraction.”

Hinch and his family have been growing roots in the Detroit area over the last three years, since Harris signed him to the first extension before the 2023 season.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am to be the manager of the Tigers,” he said. “It’s a rewarding place to be. We’ve bought a home here. We live here the majority of the year and we continue to become more and more Michiganders as a family.

“I am grateful for Chris (Ilitch, chairman and CEO), for Scott, for Jeff (Greenberg, general manager). All of us are on board to bring a World Series here. That’s why I want to be here.”

Hinch said there would be discussions later this week about his coaching staff. It’s possible there will be some changes.

“We evaluate every possibly way we can get better,” he said. “I think our staff answered a whole lot of the challenges we’ve been given and all of that is in a really good place. But we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t debrief about our entire group.

“But I am really proud of this group of coaches and the culture we’ve created.”

A storm is forecast to continue threatening heavy flooding, high winds and potentially heavy rainfall along the U.S. Northeast late on Monday.

The storm, which contributed to flooded beaches on Monday afternoon and brought winds of up to 60 miles per hour, is expected to move away from the coast starting on Monday.

Flood risks remained elevated across the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast late on Monday. Heavy rainfall stretched from the Carolinas to New England, prompting Delaware to activate the National Guard and forcing road closures and water rescues in South Carolina.

All of New Jersey declared a state of emergency starting on Saturday night and lasting through Monday. Southern counties in New York state were under emergency declarations. Coastal flood warnings applied to New York City and Long Island on Monday.

RELATED STORY | North Dakota tornado that killed 3 was first EF5 in the US in 12 years

The weather was causing significant air travel delays into Monday evening, according to FlightAware. Airports in Boston and New York City led the nation in delays, ranging from half hour stretches for flights leaving Reagan National to delays for flights headed to Boston Logan International that stretched past three hours.

By PATRICK WHITTLE

BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the U.S.’s longest standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction.

Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers and other marine industries.

A GOP-led bill in the works has support from fishermen in Maine who say the law makes lobster fishing more difficult, lobbyists for big-money species such as tuna in Hawaii and crab in Alaska, and marine manufacturers who see the law as antiquated.

Conservation groups adamantly oppose the changes and say weakening the law will erase years of hard-won gains for jeopardized species such as the vanishing North Atlantic right whale, of which there are less than 400, and is vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear.

Here’s what to know about the protection act and the proposed changes.

Why does the 1970s law still matter

“The Marine Mammal Protection Act is important because it’s one of our bedrock laws that help us to base conservation measures on the best available science,” said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager with International Fund for Animal Welfare. “Species on the brink of extinction have been brought back.”

It was enacted the year before the Endangered Species Act, at a time when the movement to save whales from extinction was growing. Scientist Roger Payne had discovered that whales could sing in the late 1960s, and their voices soon appeared on record albums and throughout popular culture.

The law protects all marine mammals, and prohibits capturing or killing them in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It allowed for preventative measures to stop commercial fishing ships and other businesses from accidentally harming animals such as whales and seals. The animals can be harmed by entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and other hazards at sea.

The law also prevents the hunting of marine mammals, including polar bears, with exceptions for Indigenous groups. Some of those animals can be legally hunted in other countries.

Changes to oil and gas operations — and whale safety

Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska, a state with a large fishing industry, submitted a bill draft this summer that would roll back aspects of the law. The bill says the act has “unduly and unnecessarily constrained government, tribes and the regulated community” since its inception.

The proposal states that it would make changes such as lowering population goals for marine mammals from “maximum productivity” to the level needed to “support continued survival.” It would also ease rules on what constitutes harm to marine mammals.

For example, the law currently prevents harassment of sea mammals such as whales, and defines harassment as activities that have “the potential to injure a marine mammal.” The proposed changes would limit the definition to only activities that actually injure the animals. That change could have major implications for industries such as oil and gas exploration where rare whales live.

That poses an existential threat to the Rice’s whale, which numbers only in the dozens and lives in the Gulf of Mexico, conservationists said. And the proposal takes specific aim at the North Atlantic right whale protections with a clause that would delay rules designed to protect that declining whale population until 2035.

Begich and his staff did not return calls for comment on the bill, and his staff declined to provide an update about where it stands in Congress. Begich has said he wants “a bill that protects marine mammals and also works for the people who live and work alongside them, especially in Alaska.”

Fishing groups want restrictions loosened

A coalition of fishing groups from both coasts has come out in support of the proposed changes. Some of the same groups lauded a previous effort by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory burdens on commercial fishing.

The groups said in a July letter to House members that they feel Begich’s changes reflect “a positive and necessary step” for American fisheries’ success.

Restrictions imposed on lobster fishermen of Maine are designed to protect the right whale, but they often provide little protection for the animals while limiting one of America’s signature fisheries, Virginia Olsen, political director of the Maine Lobstering Union, said. The restrictions stipulate where lobstermen can fish and what kinds of gear they can use. The whales are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in heavy fishing rope.

Gathering more accurate data about right whales while revising the original law would help protect the animals, Olsen said.

“We do not want to see marine mammals harmed; we need a healthy, vibrant ocean and a plentiful marine habitat to continue Maine’s heritage fishery,” Olsen said.

Some members of other maritime industries have also called on Congress to update the law. The National Marine Manufacturers Association said in a statement that the rules have not kept pace with advancements in the marine industry, making innovation in the business difficult.

Environmentalists fight back

Numerous environmental groups have vowed to fight to save the protection act. They characterized the proposed changes as part of the Trump administration’s assault on environmental protections.

The act was instrumental in protecting the humpback whale, one of the species most beloved by whale watchers, said Gib Brogan, senior campaign director with Oceana. Along with other sea mammals, humpbacks would be in jeopardy without it, he said.

“The Marine Mammal Protection Act is flexible. It works. It’s effective. We don’t need to overhaul this law at this point,” Brogan said.

What does this mean for seafood imports

The original law makes it illegal to import marine mammal products without a permit, and allows the U.S. to impose import prohibitions on seafood products from foreign fisheries that don’t meet U.S. standards.

The import embargoes are a major sticking point because they punish American businesses, said Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer of the National Fisheries Institute, a Virginia-based seafood industry trade group. It’s critical to source seafood globally to be able to meet American demand for seafood, he said.

The National Fisheries Institute and a coalition of industry groups sued the federal government Thursday over what they described as unlawful implementation of the protection act. Gibbons said the groups don’t oppose the act, but want to see it responsibly implemented.

“Our fisheries are well regulated and appropriately fished to their maximum sustainable yield,” Gibbons said. “The men and women who work our waters are iconic and responsible. They can’t be expected to just fish more here to make up a deficit while jeopardizing the sustainability they’ve worked so hard to maintain.”

Some environmental groups said the Republican lawmakers’ proposed changes could weaken American seafood competitiveness by allowing imports from poorly regulated foreign fisheries.

This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

As the shutdown continues, federal government programs that support the least among us are sounding the alarm. They say no money means that aid will simply dry up.

One such program that got a last-minute reprieve is WIC: The USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children supports more than 6 million pregnant women, mothers and their children. The White House says it is using tariff revenues to infuse WIC with about $300 million to pay for food and formula and other truly necessary aid.

Scripps News spoke with Jamie Bussell, a senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, about the state of the program.

"Regular federal funding is running out for the WIC program. The United States Department of Agriculture has said that they can cover a short-term lapse in funding through the end of this month. So in other words, for the next two plus weeks," Bussell said.

"If federal funding does cease, there are some states that will be able to fill the gap. There are many states that will not be able to fill that gap. So we're already seeing reports at the local level of local WIC agencies needing to shut their doors, of funding running out, of participants women, pregnant women being put on waiting lists. The situation is actually quite dire."

RELATED STORY | Here's how the government shutdown will affect federal benefits programs

"The WIC program, the SNAP program, our federal food and nutrition programs, are not luxuries. They're not Republican programs, they are not Democratic programs," Bussell said. "These are lifelines for literally millions of kids and families and people in America. And so I think we can all agree regardless of what side of the line you're on, that kids and families across the country should have steady, stable access to healthy, affordable food. That is a foundational basic need and should be a fundamental human right."

"People are really worried about 'how I'm going to feed my kid tomorrow?' I think what we need to be doing is imploring our policy makers to put people first and not politics," Bussell said. "These are really important programs that people in most cases depend on temporarily. These are not programs that people stay on in perpetuity. They really truly are a hand up, not a handout. And so the ongoing governmental shutdown, our continuing rise in food prices, the recent legislation over this past summer through the 'Big Beautiful Bill' that significantly cutting funding across the board to food and nutrition programs, all of this are increasing the risk of hunger for literally millions and millions of kids and families and people in America. It's unconscionable."

Watch the full interview with Bussell in the video above.

By ALI SWENSON and JONEL ALECCIA

NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of federal employees working on mental health services, disease outbreaks and disaster preparedness were among those hit by the Trump administration’s mass firings over the weekend, current and laid-off workers said Monday, as the administration aimed to pressure Democratic lawmakers to give in and end the nearly two-week-long government shutdown.

The government-wide reduction-in-force initiative that began Friday roiled the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just six months after it went through an earlier round of cuts and as many staffers already were disconnected from work because of the shutdown.

The situation turned even more chaotic over the weekend, when more than half of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees who’d gotten layoff notices learned they received them in error and were still employed with the agency.

HHS, through its agencies, is responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, and monitoring the safety of food and medicine, as well as for administering health insurance programs for nearly half the country. Among the HHS agencies facing staff cuts were the CDC, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, or ASPR, according to current and laid-off employees who spoke with The Associated Press.

Former staffers and health professionals said they were concerned the layoffs could have negative health impacts and make it difficult for HHS agencies to fulfill their obligations set by Congress.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the laid off employees were deemed nonessential. He added the agency is working to “close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”

Nixon declined to share which HHS agencies saw layoffs or how many HHS employees were affected. However, a Friday court filing from the Trump administration gave an estimate, saying about 1,100 to 1,200 of the nearly 80,000 staffers at HHS were receiving dismissal notices.

CDC is hit with layoffs — and reversals

About 600 workers at the CDC remained fired Monday in conjunction with the federal government shutdown after hundreds more had originally been targeted, according to the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2883, which represents CDC employees in Atlanta.

Of more than 1,300 CDC employees who received reduction-in-force notices Friday, about 700 later received emails revoking their terminations, the union said.

The AFGE Local 2883 called the action a “politically-motivated stunt” to illegally fire agency workers.

“These reckless actions are disrupting and destroying the lives of everyday working people, who are constantly being used as bargaining chips,” AFGE President Yolanda Jacobs said in a statement Monday.

A federal health official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media said the incorrect RIF notices resulted from a glitch in the system.

Among those targeted for dismissal and then reinstated were the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service officers, the “disease detectives” who are deployed to respond to outbreaks that threaten public health, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, former principal deputy director of the CDC, who said she was in touch with EIS officers in that situation.

“These are people who go into really scary places,” Schuchat said. “Usually you think it’s nature that’s going to be giving you a hard time, the viruses, not the government.”

Mental health services cut in sweeping dismissals at agency

SAMHSA, an agency within HHS devoted to addressing mental illness and addiction, also saw cuts, according to two employees of the agency with knowledge of the layoffs who weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

While the full scope of the firings wasn’t clear, some of the departments affected included the agency’s Office of Communications and the Center for Mental Health Services, where dozens were let go from multiple areas, according to one of the employees.

Within CMHS, one of two branches that oversaw millions of dollars in grants for community health clinics was mostly terminated, the employees said.

Dakota Jablon, a public health analyst and former employee of SAMHSA, said the loss of more staff at SAMHSA, primarily a grantmaking agency, would have “devastating ripple effects across the behavioral health field.”

“Even if the grants continue, the loss of experienced staff means those who remain will be stretched far too thin, often outside their areas of expertise,” she said.

Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan, a psychiatrist and the chair of the Committee to Protect Public Mental Health, said staff cuts at SAMHSA could put state safety nets for people with mental illness at risk, because the agency provides significant funding and support to state programs.

Latest layoffs build on earlier cuts as HHS looks to restructure

The mass layoffs come six months after thousands of researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders were either laid off from HHS or took early retirement or volunteer separation offers.

The department’s staff was listed at just under 80,000 employees in a contingency plan before the government shutdown began, down more than 2,000 from its staffing level earlier in the year.

The cuts are part of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sweeping effort to remake the department by consolidating agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America. The plan has been delayed amid ongoing legislation and congressional pushback.

Aleccia reported from Southern California. AP medical writer Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.

A historic tradition is making a comeback in Detroit.

Hundreds of people gathered in Hart Plaza downtown for a powwow celebrating Indigenous People's Day. It marks the first time the event has been held there in 30 years.

Watch Christiana Ford's video report below: Celebrating Indigenous People's Day in Hart Plaza

"I danced when I was (a child) the last time here in this arena 30 years ago. And I'm excited to bring that tradition back. I just got back into dancing and my daughters now dancing," said Erika Watson, who came with her almost 2-year-old daughter.

The event garnered support from tribes across the Midwest.

"It's important to us. It's important for us to salvage what little we have and make sure that our future generations are involved as well," Watson said.

Graham Denton came from Monroe with his mother and son.

"This is our land, so to see this returned to our land is something very special," said Denton, who makes it his mission to teach his son about their culture. "For him to see this even though its not our tribal members, it's important because these are things I cant teach him because theyve been erased from our family.

Jodi Branton, member of Ammjiwnaang First Nation in Sarnia, Ontario, set up an education booth for attendees to learn about the Anishinaabe, the indigenous people's of the region.

"You can buy a lot of things from any of these vendors but to get the true perspective of what it's like to be Anishinaabe, to grow up that way and to have the culture... it's important to teach that to show people what they're going to be seeing in here to give the context and the history," Branton said.

The event was organized and hosted by the city of Detroit and led by councilwoman Gabriella Santiago-Romero. They partnered with the North American Indian Association of Detroit, Detroit Indigenous Peoples Alliance, American Indian Health and Family Services and the South Eastern Michigan Indians.

Organizers say it's more than an event but a homecoming to the place called Waawiyatanong. That is the indigenous name for the Detroit area known as "where the water goes around."

"When I see some of the older ones, our elders that are here that were here back then and how much it meant to them, it brings a tear to your eye just to see them all together again. It's a big deal for us," said Brian Moore, the executive director of the North American Indian Association of Detroit.

From food to craft vendors to the people who just came to watch, it's sparking a new chapter in history.

"We're able to carry on this work and that's really meaningful. We're setting good examples for our children and for the coming generations to come," said Rosebud Bear Schneider, an organizer with the Detroit indigenous Peoples Alliance.

CHICAGO (AP) — Latino leaders expressed dismay Saturday over recent immigration enforcement operations in Chicago that resulted in a fatal shooting during a traffic stop, the arrest of an immigrant at a barbershop and a tense standoff between protesters and agents at an immigration processing facility.

An Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officer fatally shot a man who tried to evade arrest Friday by driving his car at officers and dragging one of them, officials said. The man, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, was pronounced dead at a hospital.

On the same day, Willian Gimenez was pulled over while driving in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and detained by ICE agents. Kevin Herrera, Gimenez’s attorney, said he believes it was retaliation for his involvement in a lawsuit against Chicago leaders, Home Depot and an off-duty police officer for their actions toward immigrant workers.

Herrera said Gimenez has a work permit and is going through the process of pursuing an asylum claim.

In a statement Saturday, immigration authorities said Gimenez was arrested for being in the country illegally.

“No one is above the law. Gimenez Gonzalez is an illegal alien with charges for criminal trespassing and a history of not showing up to court, including when he failed to appear in immigration court in April of last year, after which an immigration judge ordered him removed from the country,” the statement said.

During a morning news conference outside an ICE facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Rep. Chuy Garcia, a Democrat, said the incidents are troubling.

“These incidents make us all ask, if ICE can kill one of our neighbors in broad daylight … if they can arrest someone for joining a lawsuit or simply for being Latino, what’s to stop them from getting any one of us?” Garcia said.

A planned 12-hour protest Friday outside the facility included several clashes between participants and officers wearing face coverings, helmets and later gas masks. The facility has seen regular demonstrations in response to increased immigration enforcement.

Rep. Delia Ramirez, also a Democrat, said she will demand a thorough investigation of the traffic stop that led to Villegas-Gonzalez’s fatal shooting and called for community unity.

The Department of Homeland Security’s campaign, labeled “ Operation Midway Blitz,” targets so-called sanctuary laws in the state.

“This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” DHS said in a statement.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has been one of the most vocal opponents of the Trump administration’s immigration operations in Chicago.

The recent incidents have also raised fears in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods about celebrations for Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16.

By DAVID BAUDER

News organizations including The New York Times, The Associated Press and the conservative Newsmax television network said Monday they will not sign a Defense Department document about its new press rules, making it likely the Trump administration will evict their reporters from the Pentagon.

Those outlets say the policy threatens to punish them for routine news gathering protected by the First Amendment. The Washington Post and The Atlantic on Monday also publicly joined the group that says it will not be signing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reacted by posting the Times’ statement on X and adding a hand-waving emoji. His team has said that reporters who don’t acknowledge the policy in writing by Tuesday must turn in badges admitting them to the Pentagon and clear out their workspaces the next day.

The new rules bar journalist access to large swaths of the Pentagon without an escort and say Hegseth can revoke press access to reporters who ask anyone in the Defense Department for information — classified or otherwise — that he has not approved for release.

Newsmax, whose on-air journalists are generally supportive of President Donald Trump’s administration, said that “we believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon will review the matter further.”

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the rules establish “common sense media procedures.”

“The policy does not ask for them to agree, just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is,” Parnell said. “This has caused reporters to have a full blown meltdown, crying victim online. We stand by our policy because it’s what’s best for our troops and the national security of this country.”

Hegseth also reposted a question from a follower who asked, “Is this because they can’t roam the Pentagon freely? Do they believe they deserve unrestricted access to a highly classified military installation under the First Amendment?”

Hegseth answered, “yes.” Reporters say neither of those assertions is true.

Pentagon reporters say signing the statement amounts to admitting that reporting any information that hasn’t been government-approved is harming national security. “That’s simply not true,” said David Schulz, director of Yale University’s Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic.

Journalists have said they’ve long worn badges and don’t access classified areas, nor do they report information that risks putting any Americans in harm’s way.

“The Pentagon certainly has the right to make its own policies, within the constraints of the law,” the Pentagon Press Association said in a statement on Monday. “There is no need or justification, however, for it to require reporters to affirm their understanding of vague, likely unconstitutional policies as a precondition to reporting from Pentagon facilities.”

Noting that taxpayers pay nearly $1 trillion annually to the U.S. military, Times Washington bureau chief Richard Stevenson said “the public has a right to know how the government and military are operating.”

Trump has applied pressure on news organizations in several ways, with ABC News and CBS News settling lawsuits related to their coverage. Trump has also filed lawsuits against The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and moved to choke off funding for government-run services like the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

David Bauder writes about the media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social

It's been more than five years since 36-year-old Natalie Ramstrom from Indiana was found murdered in an apartment in River Rouge. Now, the man accused Efrain Medina is facing his third trial, set for Jan. 20 in Wayne County's Third Circuit Court.

I spoke with Ramstrom's aunt, who says the family is clinging to hope while bracing for another emotional courtroom battle.

Watch Faraz Javed's video report below: River Rouge murder case heads to third trial after 5 years

"He didn't have the right to take her life. Justice needs to be served where he is not a free man again," said Tracy Curtis, Ramstrom's aunt.

Curtis will never forget the morning of Oct. 27, 2020, when a welfare check led police to discover Ramstrom's body inside Medina's River Rouge apartment. Investigators say she'd been shot and killed and that Medina fled to Mexico. Nearly a year later, U.S. Border Patrol detained Medina at the border and returned him to Michigan to face first-degree murder and felony firearm charges.

Watch our mistrial coverage from December 2022 below: Mistrial for local man accused of murder

"The truth was that he was not apprehended, he surrendered," said defense attorney Todd Perkins, who is representing Medina for a second time.

Perkins says he plans to challenge the evidence and prove his client's innocence.

When I asked Curtis what justice looks like to her and her family, she expressed frustration with the repeated trials.

"These trials need to stop. It's re-traumatizing the family members. They're in that courtroom and they're seeing pictures. They're hearing about what goes on," Curtis said.

Two previous trials ended in mistrials the last one resulted in a hung jury, while the first had missing video evidence by police and a discrepancy in fingerprint collection procedures. However, the 46-year-old remains in custody at the Wayne County Jail after a judge denied his bond request.

"I'm thoroughly disappointed with the city of River Rouge. I'm thoroughly disappointed with... there are some good officers there, but there are some officers who just don't know what they are doing or they are cheating or lying," Perkins said.

"I've had experts in the field look at her case and they all are just dumbfounded that it's happened," Curtis said.

Ramstrom, a mother of two daughters, worked as a schoolteacher in Indiana. Curtis claims Ramstrom and Medina's nearly four-month-long relationship was abusive.

"We are holding on that maybe this time is the time that he is convicted," Curtis said.

Perkins said, "Doesn't escape me that a life has been lost. But I do have a client who has a family. And I have a client who has lost essentially sive years of his life."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

NEW YORK (AP) — Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was suspended for one game without pay by the NFL on Monday for unsportsmanlike conduct following a loss at Kansas City.

Branch punched Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sunday night, setting off a postgame melee.

“Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players,” Jon Runyan, league vice president of football operations, wrote in a letter to Branch. “Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”

Detroit (4-2) will host NFC South-leading Tampa Bay (5-1) without Branch, another blow for a team with a banged-up secondary.

Branch will be eligible to return to the active roster on Tuesday, Oct. 21, during the team’s bye week ahead of its home game against NFC North rival Minnesota on Nov. 2.

After Kansas City beat Detroit 30-17, quarterback Patrick Mahomes extended his hand toward Branch and the third-year pro walked past the superstar. Smith-Schuster then walked toward Branch. They exchanged a few words and Branch responded by throwing a right hook that knocked Smith-Schuster to the ground.

Smith-Schuster leapt to his feet and went after Branch. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco tried to get between them, but Branch ripped Smith-Schuster’s helmet off as a slew of players converged on the scrum.

Smith-Schuster came away with a bloody nose.

“I did a little childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said after the game. “They be trying to bully me out there and I don’t — I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish.”

Branch was fined $23,186 for facemask and unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties against Green Bay last month.

“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Sunday night. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologized to coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”

Detroit drafted Branch out of Alabama in the second round in 2023 and he has been one of the franchise’s top players during its recent run of success. He was a Pro Bowl player last season after finishing fifth in voting for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

By JEANNE KUANG/CalMatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill allowing a broad range of relatives to step in as children’s caregivers if their parents are deported, a measure that had provoked a firestorm of conservative criticism.

Assembly Bill 495 will also bar daycare providers from collecting immigration information about a child or their parents, and allow parents to nominate a temporary legal guardian for their child in family court.

“We are putting on record that we stand by our families and their right to keep their private information safe, maintain parental rights and help families prepare in case of emergencies,” Newsom said in a press release.

It was one of several measures the Democratic-dominated Legislature pushed this year in response to the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation crackdown in Los Angeles and across California. Newsom, a Democrat, signed several of those other bills — banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing masks in the state and requiring schools and hospitals to require warrants when officers show up — in a ceremony in L.A. last month.

He left AB 495 undecided for weeks, prompting a flurry of advocacy by immigrants’ rights groups to secure Newsom’s signature in the face of intense pushback from conservative activists. The governor announced his decision the day before his deadline to sign or veto the over 800 bills lawmakers sent to his desk last month.

The most controversial aspect of the bill concerns an obscure, decades-old form called a caregiver’s authorization affidavit. Relatives of a child whose parents are temporarily unavailable, and with whom the child is living, can attest to being the child’s caregiver; the designation allows the adult to enroll the child in school, take them to the doctor and consent to medical and dental care.

The new law will broaden who is allowed to sign the caregiver affidavit, from more traditional definitions of relatives to any adult in the family who is “related to the child by blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship,” which includes people like great aunts or cousins. Parents can cancel the caregiver designation, which is intended to be a temporary arrangement and does not give that person custody.

Proponents said parents at risk of deportation should get to choose someone trusted to care for their children if ICE detains them. Expanding who is eligible for the caregiver form, they said, gives immigrant parents more options because they may not have close relatives in the country but benefit from strong ties with extended family or informal community networks.

The legislation was backed by immigrants’ rights groups and children’s advocates such as the Alliance for Children’s Rights and First 5 California.

“I introduced this bill so children do not have to wonder what will happen to them if their parents are not able to pick them up from school,” bill author Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, an Arleta Democrat, said at a recent press conference.

Critics claim strangers could get custody

But Republicans, the religious right and parental rights’ activists argued the bill would instead endanger children.

They claimed it would allow strangers to sign the affidavit and claim the child into their care. Hundreds of opponents showed up at the Capitol by busload to rally against the legislation, organized by Pastor Jack Hibbs of the Calvary Chapel Chino Hills megachurch, who called it “the most dangerous bill we’ve seen” in Sacramento. Some of the blowback stemmed from false claims that the bill would allow strangers to get custody of children to whom they’re not related.

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican, called the legislation “a human trafficker’s dream.”

In an email, Greg Burton, vice president of the California Family Council, took issue with the fact that parents might not be there when the affidavit form is signed.

“What are parental rights?” he wrote. “These rights are nothing if someone else can claim them by simply signing a form.”

Over the summer Rodriguez narrowed the legislation to exclude “nonrelative extended family members” but it was not enough to quell the controversy. The legislation passed along party lines.

In comparison to a fairly progressive Legislature, the governor has often positioned himself as a moderating force on child custody and protection issues, which regularly galvanize conservative activists and put California Democrats on the defensive. In 2023 he vetoed a bill that would have required family court judges to consider a parent’s support of a child’s gender transition in custody disputes.

At a press conference last week where activists urged Newsom to sign the bill, Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrants’ Rights Los Angeles, asked the governor “to not listen to the lies, to not listen to all the other stuff that’s being said about this bill.”

Newsom, announcing his decision, quietly acknowledged the controversy in a press release. He included statements he said were “correcting the record” on mischaracterizations and said the new law does not change the fact that parental rights and legal guardianships must be decided by family court judges.

This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

TORONTO (AP) — Mason Appleton scored the winner with 44.1 seconds left in regulation and Cam Talbot made 38 saves as the Detroit Red Wings survived a blown two-goal lead in the third period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Monday.

Dylan Larkin and James van Riemsdyk had the other goals for Detroit, which picked up back-to-back victories over last season’s Atlantic Division champion.

Matthew Knies, with a goal and an assist, and Calle Jarnkrok replied for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz stopped 12 shots.

Detroit opened the scoring late in a sloppy first period when Larkin dug the puck out of a crowd and roofed a backhand on Stolarz just as a 5-on-3 power play expired. Van Riemsdyk then made it 2-0 early in the third on a partial breakaway, but Knies and Jarnkrok got Toronto back even before Appleton’s late heroics.

Fans at Scotiabank Arena were encouraged to stick around after the final buzzer to watch Game 2 of the American League Championship Series — happening just down the street at Rogers Centre — between the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners on the videoboard above center ice.

Easton Cowan, selected 28th overall at the 2023 draft, made his NHL debut. He is viewed as the Leafs’ top prospect.

Up next

Red Wings: Host the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

Maple Leafs: Host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Westland is moving Fire Station 4 to a new location east of the train tracks to cut down emergency response times, and city officials say the project won't cost taxpayers anything extra.

Watch Meghan Daniels' video report: Westland relocates Fire Station 4 to improve emergency response times

After decades of service, Westland's Fire Station 4 is preparing for relocation to better serve the community. The new station will be located on Cherry Hill Road just west of Newburgh Road, strategically positioned east of the train tracks that have long delayed emergency crews.

"It served the community well, but it's outgrown both in run volume and in space," Fire Chief Darrell Stamper said.

Mayor Kevin Coleman explained the strategic advantage of the new location.

"It'll still be in the south end of the city, but it'll be east of the train tracks. You can hear the train right now. So the train kind of slows down our EMS and fire runs," Coleman said.

The train has been a longtime obstacle for emergency responders, often causing significant delays. City leaders say this relocation will solve that problem without adding financial burden to residents.

"No millage, no tax increase. It's going to be great for our residents," Coleman said.

The city of Westland secured $11 million in state funding to update fire facilities, including construction of the new Station 4. This funding eliminates the need for additional local taxes or fees.

"The train impedes our response times quite a bit. So moving outside of this location but still providing the same service to the community around this area, I think, is of the utmost importance," Stamper said.

Local residents support the move, particularly given the improved safety benefits and lack of additional costs.

"If it's not going to cost any taxpayer money and if it's going to improve response times and I'm sure that they've looked into... studied all of this type of stuff it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea," resident John Frawley said.

Fellow resident Marlon Mainer agreed with the decision.

"You know, if it benefits the community, I think it's no problem for it," Mainer said.

The city expects to begin construction on the new fire station at the beginning of 2026.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

A 9-year-old girl is recovering in the hospital after a vehicle crashed through her bedroom wall while she was sleeping early Monday morning in Center Line.

The crash happened just before 3 a.m. on MacArthur Boulevard. A speeding SUV crashed through the house and into Laila Breitshtrus's bedroom, missing her 22-month-old sibling's room by just a couple of feet.

"Me and my fianc heard a big bang, and we both jumped up and were like, 'oh my God, the kids,'" said Rachael Wright, Laila's mother.

The impact was so violent that it sent Laila flying out of her bed, through a window and into the yard outside. Wright's fianc rushed outside searching for Laila, who was found under debris from the crash, while Wright frantically called 911.

Extended interview: Rachael recounts moment after vehicle plowed through home Extended interview: Mother recounts moments after vehicle plowed through their home

"I was so scared to go outside and see her," Wright said.

Laila is currently hospitalized with multiple injuries, which her family says include a laceration to her liver, three or four cracks in her spine, a fractured nose and various cuts and bruises.

Neighbors who heard the crash described it as sounding like an explosion.

"The sound of just the car hitting the house alone just shook the neighborhood. I am surprised that anyone slept through that," said neighbor Judith Bryan.

Judith called Laila's survival a miracle.

"I totally believe she had an angel with her," Judith said.

Police say the 20-year-old driver of the SUV fled the scene on foot but was arrested a short distance away while walking along 10 Mile Road. The driver is facing multiple charges and is currently being held in the Macomb County Jail.

"There's multiple charges, but we are still in the investigative stage," said Paul Myszynski, Director of Center Line Public Safety.

Police are awaiting the results of a toxicology report to determine if the driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Wright and her family remain at Laila's bedside, grateful their daughter survived the horrific crash.

"We're just hopeful as of right now," Wright said.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family with recovery costs. To learn more or donate, click here.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was suspended for one game without pay by the NFL on Monday for unsportsmanlike conduct following a loss at Kansas City.

Watch Brad Galli's video report: Brian Branch suspended one game following fight after Detroit Lions-Kansas City Chiefs game

Branch punched Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sunday night, setting off a postgame melee.

Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players," Jon Runyan, league vice president of football operations, wrote in a letter to Branch. "Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.

Detroit (4-2) will host NFC South-leading Tampa Bay (5-1) without Branch, another blow for a team with a banged-up secondary.

Branch will be eligible to return to the active roster on Tuesday, Oct. 21, during the team's bye week ahead of its home game against NFC North rival Minnesota on Nov. 2.

After Kansas City beat Detroit 30-17, quarterback Patrick Mahomes extended his hand toward Branch and the third-year pro walked past the superstar. Smith-Schuster then walked toward Branch. They exchanged a few words and Branch responded by throwing a right hook that knocked Smith-Schuster to the ground.

Smith-Schuster leapt to his feet and went after Branch. Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco tried to get between them, but Branch ripped Smith-Schusters helmet off as a slew of players converged on the scrum.

Smith-Schuster came away with a bloody nose.

I did a little childish thing, but Im tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs dont catch it," Branch said after the game. "They be trying to bully me out there and I dont I shouldnt have did it. It was childish.

Branch was fined $23,186 for facemask and unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties against Green Bay last month.

I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable, and its not going to be accepted here," Lions coach Dan Campbell said Sunday night. "Its not what we do. Its not what were about. I apologized to coach (Andy) Reid and the Chiefs, and Smith-Schuster. Thats not OK. Thats not what we do here. Its not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. Thats not what we do.

Detroit drafted Branch out of Alabama in the second round in 2023 and he has been one of the franchise's top players during its recent run of success. He was a Pro Bowl player last season after finishing fifth in voting for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The Trump administration appears to be trying to calm markets and investors seem to be responding after Fridays sharp sell-off and a tense weekend between Washington, D.C., and Beijing.

Stocks, oil and crypto were all back in the green on Monday after nosediving on Friday. The sell-off was triggered by the threat of steep new tariffs on China in response to China's announcement of export controls on rare earths. President Donald Trump also had threatened to pull out of a future meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Over the weekend, the president tried a different tone on Truth Social, writing: "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn't want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it."

That softer message marks a notable pivot from Friday's fiery rhetoric and seems to have helped soothe Wall Street nerves. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance was more direct about the need for China to decide on how it wants to negotiate with the U.S.

"It's going to be a delicate dance and a lot of it is going to depend on how the Chinese respond," Vance said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday. "If they respond in a highly aggressive manner, I guarantee you the president of the United States has far more cards than the People's Republic of China. If, however, they're willing to be reasonable, then Donald Trump is always willing to be a reasonable negotiator.

In a statement posted online, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said, "China's stance is consistent. We do not want a tariff war but we are not afraid of one."

RELATED STORY | Trump vows new 100% tariffs on Chinese goods amid rare earth export clash

Tensions are unfolding as China moves to tighten exports of rare earth materials key ingredients in everything from electric vehicle motors to smartphones and U.S. defense systems. Its a reminder that while the United States leads in innovation, China still controls the vast majority of the worlds rare earth processing.

Some in corporate America are now angling to get involved; JPMorgan Chase announced a $10 billion investment Monday in U.S. companies focused on defense and aerospace, cutting-edge tech like AI and quantum computing, and energy technologies, including batteries and advanced manufacturing.

CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in a statement that it's become "painfully clear the U.S. has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals and manufacturing all essential for our national security."

Markets seem to be responding more to tone than policy at the moment, with traders betting that tensions could ease at least for now as long as the president signals openness to dialogue.

Presidents Trump and Xi are set to meet in South Korea in late October. The two countries remain in talks to reach a trade deal before their truce, which reduced tit-for-tat tariffs from both sides, expires on November 1.

Hundreds of CDC employees who were told they didn't have a job this past Friday are back in what a former official told Scripps News Group is the latest sign of disorganization at the agency.

"I am concerned about not just the future of CDC, but public health in the United States and the health of Americans if the CDC is not functional," former CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry told Scripps News Group Monday.

The CDC terminated more than 1,300 workers Friday but rehired around 700 over the weekend, according to the union that represents federal workers.

Current staffers were told by the Department of Health the mass firing and rehiring was due to a technical coding error, according to Houry, who said she's been in touch with CDC employees over the weekend.

The standing terminations follow cuts carried out earlier this year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"With the staff cuts we've had, with the budget cuts that are proposed, as well as the lack of stable leadership at CDC, the nation is in trouble," Houry said.

According to Houry, initial terminations included CDC employees working on the U.S. measles response and Ebola containment in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as staff at six global CDC offices.

"I was very thrown off when that was laid off because that allows CDC to really respond to emergencies around the world," she told Scripps News Group.

RELATED STORY | Former Surgeon General explains why he published a warning about RFK Jr.

While groups like those that oversee the U.S. measles response returned, the staff reductions will impact the country's preparedness for future health crises.

"With the continued cuts to staff, there are fewer boots on the ground that can deploy. And when you look at how critical things that are now hampered, like policy and communications offices across the centers, have been cut this past weekend, that is not going to allow scientific information to get to communities," she said.

Houry says that the instability at the CDC is also hurting morale at the agency.

"Morale is at an all-time low and continuing to plummet," she said. "Just really seeing how the secretary continues to say things about the CDC that aren't true and aren't supportive of the staff, like 'don't trust the experts.' That does not help morale."

Health Secretary Kennedy told Scripps News previously what he is "trying to do with the agency is return it to gold standard science."

The Health Department and CDC did not return a request for comment regarding the potential for more terminations. Meanwhile, the White House has signaled that more federal workers could be laid off if the government shutdown continues.

Houry, who was at the agency during its transition from the Biden to Trump administration, said she knew there was "an appetite for budget cuts."

"Across the agency they had proposed where there could be eliminations that wouldn't harm the public and to where they could reduce redundancy as much as possible. Those weren't taken into really consideration," Houry said.

"Instead of taking a scalpel to make some fine cuts, they're really just taking a machete," she added. "Certainly, you can always look for places to reduce, but not when you have to undo it and not when it can harm people."

The post High prices leave a bitter taste for Detroit coffee drinkers appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Sandy Alomar Sr., an All-Star infielder during his playing days in the 1960s and ’70s who went on to coach in the majors and manage in his native Puerto Rico, has died. He was 81.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Guardians said Monday that the team was informed by Alomar’s family about his death. Sandy Alomar Jr., who along with Hall of Fame brother Roberto played for their father in winter ball and in the minors, is on the Guardians’ staff.

“Our thoughts are with the Alomar family today as the baseball community mourns his passing,” the Guardians said on social media.

Alomar broke into the big leagues in 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves, one of six teams he played for. He also spent time with the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers before calling it a career in 1978.

Known more for his speed and fielding than his hitting, Alomar batted .245 with 13 home runs and 282 RBIs in 1,481 regular-season games.

He was named an All-Star in 1970. He stole 227 bases, including a career-high 39 in 1971, when he led the American League with 689 at-bats and 739 plate appearances, and took part in one playoff series with the Yankees in ’76.

Alomar went into coaching in San Diego’s system in the ‘80s and was the Padres third-base coach from 1986-90. He coached for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies and the Mets in the 2000s.