By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on the former congressman’s ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer.

The Florida Republican’s announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.”

Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that Trump could face resistance from members of his own party.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Which playpen is best?

Every parent knows about the dreaded silence that falls when children get into things they shouldn’t be while you aren’t looking. You can avoid this by using a playpen. Playpens can also help keep toys from being scattered everywhere by containing everything to a designated play area in addition to occasionally doubling as barriers and fences to make an entire room a playpen.

The best playpen for many occasions and needs is the Baby Care Funzone Play Pen. This highly durable and incredibly safe playpen has an effortless setup and takedown. It’s pretty expensive but well worth it.

What to know before you buy a playpen

Types of playpens

• Standard: Standard playpens have no floor and generally come in adjustable sizes, with four to 14 individual panels. They typically include gates for easy entrance and exit and are often secured to the floor using suction cups or balanced on feet.
• Portable: Portable playpens are meant for when you’re on the go. They have a floor to protect your child from the uncomfortable ground and are typically collapsible or at the very least have a carrying case to store panels and the floor.

Playpen materials

• Plastic: Plastic playpens are generally thick, though lightweight. They’re durable, easy to clean and often come in a wide range of bright colors. They’re less likely to scratch hardwood flooring, and they sometimes come with activity panels to help entertain your child. They don’t last very long in the sun as sunlight will bleach out the color and weaken the plastic.
• Wood: Wood playpens are thinner than plastic but also heavier. They generally don’t have any activity panels and last even shorter outside, thanks to absorbing moisture. This also means they don’t hold up to chewing. They sometimes have feet to add to stability and limit scratching of hardwood floors. They tend to have a more refined look over plastic.

Panel quantity

Where you plan on using your playpen and how often affect how many panels you typically need. You might want extras in case of damage or to adjust the play space as required. Certain configurations of panels are also sturdier.

What to look for in a quality playpen

Safety

Playpens generally have a Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certification label, which shows compliance with all safety standards set by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. If your prospective playpen doesn’t have this, look for a different playpen.

Height

Playpens are generally 20 inches tall at a minimum, so children can’t climb out, but many playpens are taller than this. If you want your playpen to last as long as possible, choose one that has a lot of extra height so your child won’t be able to grow and escape for a long time.

Gate

Some playpens include a gate for easy entrance and exit. These are often usable with one hand to make using the gate and holding your child easy. A playpen without a gate means you’ll have to lift your child in and out when in use.

How much you can expect to spend on a playpen

Playpens can be quite expensive with higher quality and a larger play area space. You can find most average playpens for $100 or a bit less, but some can be well over $150.

Playpen FAQ

Can you buy extra panels if you need to without buying an entire extra playpen?

A. Many playpen manufacturers sell extra panels in extension packs. If you think you’ll need more later, check if extension packs are available before purchasing. Otherwise, you might find yourself needing to repurchase the full playpen.

Do standard playpen types fold up for storage?

A. No, standard playpens don’t fold up for storage. The panels can be taken apart and stacked out of the way to take up less space when not needed, but if easy storage is high on your list of what to look for, purchase a portable playpen.

What’s the best playpen to buy?

Top playpen

Baby Care Funzone Play Pen

What you need to know: Although this playpen is expensive, the easy setup and takedown and large play area make this the top pick.

What you’ll love: Rounded edges and durable construction make this an incredibly safe playpen for children inside and outside.

What you should consider: There are some reports of rare instances of the door not closing or opening easily, plus it isn’t very portable.

Top playpen for the money

Graco Pack ‘n Play On The Go Playard, Kaden

What you need to know: This versatile playpen can act both as a bassinet for younger babies and a playpen or crib for older babies.

What you’ll love: It has a foldable bassinet insert you can put on the top for younger babies. It’s affordable and easy to open and close with just one button. It’s also easy to take on the go and comes with a travel bag. It has a fun toy bar for babies to play with, too.

What you should consider: You can only use the bassinet insert when your baby is small.

Worth checking out

Dreambaby Brooklyn Converta Playpen

What you need to know: This dual-purpose mesh playpen can function as a fence or barrier.

What you’ll love: The mesh provides excellent visibility and folds down very easily for maximum storage capability.

What you should consider: It has a smaller play area and corners that seem weak, which doesn’t match up to the slightly high cost.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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By BRIAN SLODYSKO, JOSHUA GOODMAN and ALAN SUDERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — As incoming White House chief of staff, one of Susie Wiles ’ vexing challenges will be policing the buffet line of powerful interests who want something from Donald Trump.

It’s a world she knows well. During Trump’s first presidency, she lobbied for many of them.

Trump was first elected on a pledge to “drain the swamp” in Washington. But his transactional approach to the presidency instead ushered in a lobbying boom that showered allies, including Wiles, with lucrative contracts, empowered wealthy business associates and stymied his agenda after his administration was ensnared in a series of influence-peddling scandals.

Now, as Trump prepares to return to power, his victory is likely to embolden those who think they can get his ear, raising the prospect that his second administration could face many of the same perils as his first. That will test the ability of Wiles to manage a growing number of high-powered figures — including Trump’s children, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and billionaires like Elon Musk — who will not be dependent on her for access to him.

The appointment of a former lobbyist to such an important job “bodes very poorly for what we are about to see from the next Trump administration,” said Craig Holman, himself a registered lobbyist for the government watchdog group Public Citizen. “This time around, Trump didn’t even mention ‘draining the swamp.’ … He’s not even pretending.”

In a statement, Brian Hughes, a spokesman from the Trump transition effort, rejected any suggestion that Wiles’ past as a lobbyist would make her susceptible to pressure.

“Susie Wiles has an undeniable reputation of the highest integrity and steadfast commitment to service both inside and outside government,” Hughes said. “She will bring this same integrity and commitment as she serves President Trump in the White House, and that is exactly why she was selected.”

Wiles’ job won’t be easy

Wiles’ selection as chief of staff was Trump’s first announced hire after his win. Wiles co-led the former president’s campaign and was widely credited with having run an operation that was far more disciplined than his two previous efforts. Even so, she will have her work cut out for her. Though the job has traditionally entailed policing who has access to the president, Trump chafed at such efforts during his first presidency as he churned through four chiefs of staff.

During his recent victory speech, Trump called Wiles an “Ice Maiden” while praising her as a consummate behind-the-scenes player. She will be the first woman to hold the position.

What is also clear is that Wiles, 67, has successfully managed headstrong men across a lengthy career in politics, government and lobbying. The daughter of NFL player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, Wiles worked for U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp, a conservative icon, in the 1970s, followed by stints on Ronald Reagan’s campaign and as a scheduler in his White House.

She later headed to Florida, where she advised two Jacksonville mayors and is credited with helping businessman Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, win the governor’s office. After briefly managing Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign, she oversaw Trump’s 2016 campaign in Florida, when his win in the state helped him clinch the White House.

Wiles represented a Venezuelan TV network

Wiles was a partner at Ballard Partners, a regional firm that lobbied for Trump’s companies in Florida. Shortly after Trump’s election, Ballard set up shop in Washington and quickly became a dominant player, pulling in more than $70 million in lobbying fees during Trump’s presidency, representing a who’s who of corporate America, lobbying disclosures show.

Many of Wiles’ clients were plain vanilla entities with obvious aims — General Motors, a trade group for children’s hospitals, homebuilders, and the City of Jacksonville.

One in particular stood out that speaks to the ways, subtle or otherwise, that foreign interests seek to influence U.S. policy. In 2017, Wiles registered as a lobbyist for Globovisión, a Venezuelan TV network owned by Raúl Gorrín, a businessman charged in Miami with money laundering.

Gorrín bought the broadcast company in 2013 and immediately softened its anti-government coverage. He hired Ballard to advise on “general government policies and regulations,” lobbying disclosures show. But rather than working with the agencies that oversee telecommunications, Ballard’s lobbying was trained on the White House, which would have little say in regulating a foreign broadcaster in the U.S. Globovisión paid Ballard $800,000 for a year of work.

Gorrín worked to help Venezuelan leaders

Brian Ballard, president of the firm, said that it’s clear to him that Gorrín’s aims weren’t limited to the media business. Gorrín, who owns several luxury properties in Miami, had long positioned himself as a bridge between Venezuela’s socialist government and U.S. officials.

By the time Wiles and a team of Ballard lobbyists represented Globovisión, Gorrín was leading a quiet charm offensive for Nicolás Maduro’s government that sought closer ties with Trump at a time when the country was facing food shortages, violent crime and hyperinflation. It started before Trump took office when Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, kicked in a $500,000 donation for Trump’s inauguration.

“He was a fraud and as soon as we learned he was a fraud, we fired him,” said Ballard. “He would ask us to set up a lot of things, in LA and D.C., and then nothing would happen. It was all a fantasy. He just wanted to use our firm.”

A few days after Ballard dropped Gorrín in 2018, federal prosecutors unsealed charges against the businessman for allegedly using the U.S. finance system to supply Venezuelan officials with private jets, a yacht and champion show-jumping horses as part of a fake loan scheme perpetrated by insiders to pilfer the state’s coffers. Last month, he was charged a second time, also out of Miami, in another scheme to siphon $1 billion from the state oil company, PDVSA.

Wiles is described as a ‘straight shooter’

Ballard said Wiles had almost no role in managing the relationship with Gorrín or several other clients for which she is listed as a lobbyist. But he praised her as someone who is a highly organized “straight shooter” and “tough as nails” despite her soft demeanor.

“She’s the type of person who you want in a foxhole,” he said. “She will serve the president well.”

During Trump’s first term, Maduro engaged in a peacemaking offensive that included attempts to hire at least two other lobbyists. It fizzled out, however. In 2019, the White House slapped crushing oil sanctions on the OPEC nation, closed the U.S. Embassy in Caracas and recognized the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly as the country’s legitimate ruler. Maduro was then indicted in 2020 by the U.S. Justice Department on federal drug trafficking charges out of New York.

Gorrín has long denied any wrongdoing and remains a fugitive. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, he called Wiles a “lady” and said she always acted professionally and humanely.

Ballard called the firm’s work for Gorrín a “big mistake.” Going forward, Ballard expects access to the White House to be more tightly controlled just as his firm, after a steep learning curve during the first Trump administration, will do a better job vetting potential clients to make sure their interests align with the president’s agenda.

“We learned a lot,” he says, “and so did the president.”

Foreign clients

Globovisión wasn’t Wiles’ only client with foreign ties.

In early 2019, she registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent working for one of Nigeria’s main political parties for two months. Another client was an auto dealership owned by Shafik Gabr, a wealthy businessman who was in a financial dispute related to selling cars in Egypt with a subsidiary of the German automaker Volkswagen.

Wiles was also a registered lobbyist for the subsidiaries of a multinational gaming company and a Canadian company looking to build a massive copper and gold mine near Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay.

Wiles was hardly an outlier in Trump’s Washington, where his eponymously named hotel served as a hub for lobbyists, business leaders and foreign governments looking to rub shoulders with Trump World figures as they sought the president’s favor.

Though much of it was part of the normal course of business in Washington, a number of Trump allies and advisers were investigated and charged with crimes linked to their work on behalf of foreign countries and entities.

After becoming Trump’s de facto campaign manager in 2022, Wiles kept on lobbying, this time for Mercury, a multinational public affairs and lobbying firm. Most recently she was representing the maker of Swisher Sweets cigars.

Goodman reported from Miami and Suderman from Richmond, Virginia.

Which desk organizer is best?

Office desks should be productive workspaces, but if they’re cluttered, it can be hard to concentrate and get work done. Desk organizers will help you maintain a tidy desk so you can be as professional as possible and stay on track with your workflow.

Desk organizers store small office supplies in compartments, shelves or drawers. If you’re looking for a design with visual appeal, the Victor Desktop Organizer is a top choice for its fine wood craftsmanship.

What to know before you buy a desk organizer

Do I need a desk organizer?

Desk organizers, also called desk caddies, come in handy if your desk and drawers lack organization and storage options. These caddies keep essential office supplies literally within arm’s reach, which is extremely convenient on busier days. They’re also popular investments for home offices and remote learning spaces.

However, a larger desk organizer may not be ideal if you’re pressed for space. Smaller desks may be overwhelmed by some desk organizers, and in some situations, they can obstruct access to devices or other office supplies. Desk organizers may be distracting to some individuals, in which case drawer organizers may better serve them.

What can I store inside a desk organizer?

To some extent, desk organizers are considered quick-access stations that store frequently-used essentials to save on frequent trips to the supply closet. Desk organizers typically store small office essentials, such as pens, notebooks and sticky notes. However, many people also keep personal items inside them, like hand sanitizer, lotion or snacks.

Desk organizer sizes

Because desk organizers come in a variety of sizes, it’s easy to find one that suits your setup. Smaller designs are ideal for compact computer desks. If you have a sprawling desk with room to spare, there are plenty of medium and large options that provide a higher level of organization.

What to look for in a quality desk organizer

Wooden desk organizer

One of the most important features to compare in desk organizers is their material. Wooden desk organizers are well-received for their fine craftsmanship. They complement most offices, especially when matching the wooden finish of your desk organizer to the room or desk itself. However, wood desk organizers are usually the most expensive option.

Mesh desk organizer

Mesh desk organizers tick a lot of boxes. They’re affordable, easy to clean and have contemporary visual appeal. They’re made with metal that is often covered with stain- or corrosion-resistant coatings. Depending on usage, some mesh organizers aren’t as durable as other options.

Plastic and acrylic desk organizers

Plastic or acrylic desk organizers are both simple and versatile. Some of these organizers have stacking or modular designs, so you can customize your organization setup. Make sure to clean these with gentle cleansers as more abrasive cleaners can leave plastic and acrylic with a dull or cloudy appearance.

Types of compartments

At the very least, desk organizers have compartments for pens and paper clips. Some have dedicated drawers or trays for sticky notes, while others have longer shelves or slots to accommodate paper, notebooks or files. Newer desk organizers may have built-in cable management for devices.

Nonslip bases on desk organizers

Several desk organizers, including many wood and mesh designs, have nonslip bases or feet with silicone or rubber pads. These bases do more than prevent desk organizers from sliding across desks. They also prevent the bottom of the organizer from scratching or damaging desks and other surfaces.

How much you can expect to spend on desk organizers

Smaller desk organizers with limited organization cost $20 and below. Those with more storage options, including built-in filing systems, run between $25-$50. High-end desk organizers with fine craftsmanship range from $50-$100.

Desk organizer FAQ

Ink leaked in my desk organizer. How do I clean it?

A. There are a few ways to handle this. You should always begin by wiping away any wet ink before deep cleaning. Next, dilute a towel with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer and wipe the unit down. If the ink doesn’t come off, use a heavy-duty cleaner.

Is it worth getting a desk organizer with drawers?

A. Some people gravitate toward desk organizers with drawers because they’re effective at keeping office supplies dust-free. Others feel drawers get in the way, including smaller ones that don’t slide out easily.

What’s the best desk organizer to buy?

Top desk organizer

Victor Desktop Organizer

What you need to know: Appreciated for its sleek design, this organizer has four shelves and a drawer to hold paperwork and small office supplies.

What you’ll love: The boxy design, available in five finishes, integrates seamlessly with most desk setups. The sprawling shelves are long enough to hold standard-size paper and notebooks. It also has nonslip feet to protect the desk from scuffs.

What you should consider: Because the shelves are narrow, it’s somewhat challenging to clean or dust inside them.

Top desk organizer for the money

DecoBros Desk Supplies Organizer Caddy

What you need to know: A budget-friendly option, this mesh caddy has five large and two mini compartments.

What you’ll love: The caddy has a small notched drawer that holds standard-sized sticky notes. Because it has a mesh design, it’s easy to clean either with alcohol wipes or compressed air and is available in black or silver.

What you should consider: There are occasional reports that the caddy arrived with damage.

Worth checking out

Simple Houseware Mesh Desk Organizer with Sliding Drawer

What you need to know: This space-savvy desk organizer has an all-in-one design that holds stationery, notebooks and small office supplies.

What you’ll love: It has five vertical sections that can hold papers easily and keep them organized and two horizontal sections for smaller things. The included sliding drawer is divided into nine smaller compartments for easy organization.

What you should consider: Some people thought it wasn’t very sturdy.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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Which mattresses are best for cold sleepers?

With so much of our lives spent in bed, we all must get a restful night’s sleep so we’re ready to start the day energized. While our bodies naturally cool down as we wind down, some sleep much colder than others. The right mattress can help cold sleepers stay warm and cozy throughout the night.

Most mattresses target your sleep position and not your temperature, which makes shopping around tricky. This guide can help you understand what makes the right mattress for cold sleepers and everything you need to know to sleep well. Our top pick, the DreamCloud Premier Rest 16-inch Mattress,  is designed to regulate temperature for a comfortable sleep.

What to know before buying a mattress for cold sleepers

Type

Cold sleepers should look to any mattress containing foam or latex, as these two materials trap heat more than other options, particularly breathable innerspring mattresses. While trapping in heat is a turnoff for some sleepers, those who are cold embrace the warmth kept within.

Hybrid mattresses are increasingly popular. They feature a combination of foam or latex and innerspring layers to provide a balance of comfort and support. The foam or latex layers are typically the uppermost layers and help regulate temperature.

Firmness

How soft or firm the right mattress is for you is influenced mainly by your sleep position and size. Those who sleep on their stomach should avoid a soft mattress so that they don’t sink into the bed and strain their spine, but they should also avoid an extra-firm mattress that doesn’t support their hips and shoulders. Side sleepers should be cradled by a softer mattress with a bit of resistance for their shoulders and head. Back sleepers find firmer options most comfortable.

Heavier individuals should avoid softer mattresses as they can sink in and not receive the proper support. Conversely, slighter persons may enjoy less firm mattresses since they can cradle them.

What to look for in a quality mattress for cold sleepers

Gel foam

For some people, gel foam is a much-desired feature; however, cold sleepers should avoid foam or hybrid mattresses incorporating gel foam. This is because the gel helps offset the heat trappings of foam by adding cooling technology, making the mattress a good choice for those who sleep warm, not cold.

Motion transfer

Most mattresses that include foam or latex are adept at lessening motion transfer, meaning that one person’s rustling or movement won’t disturb the other person in bed. What’s more, foam and latex options tend to be quiet.

How much you can expect to spend on a mattress for cold sleepers

Foam, latex, and hybrid mattresses are pricier, especially those with multiple layers. Cold sleepers can expect to pay between $600 and $1,200 for a queen-size mattress.

Mattress for cold sleepers FAQ

How do I take care of my mattress?

A. Investing in a mattress protector is wise, especially for a densely made mattress that traps heat. A mattress protector prevents dust, mites, and, in some cases, liquids from penetrating the mattress, which can cause an odor and lead to slow deterioration. Rotate your mattress every few months so it’s used evenly, especially if you have foam layers that may conform to your body.

Does mattress size or thickness influence heat?

A. Size and thickness don’t necessarily influence a mattress’s heat retention. Mattresses for cold sleepers come in all standard sizes. That choice should be made based on your size, available space and whether you sleep with a partner. Thickness ranges from around 6 to 14 inches.

What’s the best mattress for cold sleepers to buy?

Top mattress for cold sleepers

DreamCloud Premier Rest 16-inch Mattress – Luxury Hybrid Memory Foam

What you need to know: This high-quality, thick hybrid mattress has foam layers on top for a warm, cozy night’s sleep.

What you’ll love: The innerspring base supports all sleep positions while foam layers hold in warmth. There’s no motion transfer or noise when moving.

What you should consider: It may be too firm for petite individuals.

Top mattress for cold sleepers for the money

ZINUS 12 Inch Green Tea Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress

What you need to know: This mattress offers both comfort and support at a reasonable price.

What you’ll love: It includes layers of low-toxin foam that help maintain the temperature as you sleep. It’s also infused with green tea extract, which helps to fight against unwelcome odors.

What you should consider: While it does say it includes cooling gel, it’s still too hot for some people.

Worth checking out

GhostBed 3D Matrix Mattress

What you need to know: This adaptable mattress adjusts to your shape and temperature to create the most comfortable sleeping experience.

What you’ll love: It’s a hybrid mattress that cradles the body while still supporting the shoulders and hips and lacks motion transfer. The top layers provide warmth and comfort.

What you should consider: It may be too soft for heavier individuals.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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As it did just three and half months ago at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Creed brought the fire to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night, Nov. 20.

And it had some brimstone to go with it this time.

The Grammy Award-winning hard rock group has been on the road much of this year, breaking a 12-year hiatus with a sea cruise, an amphitheater tour during the summer and now an arena run to close the year. It’s been wildly successful, reminding fans both new and old of just how major a player Creed was during the late 90s and early 2000s thanks to chart-topping hits such as “Higher,” “With Arms Wide Open” and “My Sacrifice” — all of which weigh in as relevant today as when they were released.

So the group, including Detroit-born guitarist Mark Tremonti, sounded not surprisingly confident before about 13,000 at Little Caesars, accenting its 100-minute, 16-song set with abundant effects — primarily fire, and a pyrotechnic shower during “What’s This Life For?” — and a combination of prepared and live video on a five-panel screen behind the stage.

For frontman Scott Stapp, meanwhile, it was also an opportunity to reclaim a kind of rock ‘n’ roll pulpit during much of the show, and in a more explicit manner than he did during Creed’s July 31 stop at Pine Knob.

The spiritual grounding of Stapp’s lyrics have never been a secret, and his outspoken fervor was partly responsible for Creed’s initial breakup back in 2004. On Wednesday, Stapp — whose black tank top revealed a torso that’s spent many an hour in the weight room — was clearly comfortable stepping back into that role, promising “a journey in music through the human condition” and invoking praise and other religious affirmations during lengthy introductions to songs such as “Say I,” “Unforgiven” and “Don’t Stop Dancing.” Recalling that the former was inspired by the concept of Original Sin, Stapp explained that “you have to know the absence of God to know the presence of God.”

He offered a call for unity before Creed played “One” from its 1997 debut album “My Own Prison,” but in response to crowd chants of “USA!” afterwards Stapp stepped into post-election political terrain by declaring, “We’ve got to rediscover what that means, because we’ve lost our way…And we’re going to.”

That ministry, undeniably sincere but unquestionably didactic, went over well with the crowd, and if Stapp’s bandmates were bothered by them it was not noticeable. The frontman and Tremonti were particularly warm with each other throughout the concert, introducing each other and embracing on a couple of occasions. And Tremonti was a proud homeboy, noting that he was “born 30 minutes from here” and adding that, “if you come from Detroit, you’re proud of Detroit, and I love this city.”

And when it was playing, Creed gave its Little Caesars audience — a cross-generational gathering from old school fans to their younger siblings and children — every reason to love the band again.

Following solid opening sets from Mammoth WVH and 3 Doors Down — whose frontman Brad Arnold offered his own religious commentary and prayer at one point — Creed came out literally smoking with “Bullets,” bolstering its subsequent parade of brawny, arena-sized anthems bolstered by second guitarist Eric Friedman from Tremonti’s solo band. The set list came from the first three of Creed’s four studio albums (nothing from 2009’s “Full Circle”), swapping in three different songs from the Pine Knob show and happily digging into deeper selections such as “Freedom Fighter,” “What If” and “Never Die.” “Don’t Stop Dancing” was added to the set just this week for the first time since 2002, while “Unforgiven,” also from the “My Own Prison” album, made its tour debut on Wednesday night.

The group also brought a young fan named Noah on stage to receive one of Tremonti’s signature guitars as a reward for being the “hardest rocking” member of the crowd.

Whether, and how, Creed continues with its current reunion is up in the air, though Tremonti has said the band plans to play shows during 2025. And after drawing 28.000 to its pair of fairly close-together metro area shows, it’s clear Creed will always find a welcome and receptive crowd in its guitarist’s home town.

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City.

But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers to stop the practice.

The reason? A recent federal judge’s decision that ordered U.S. regulators to consider the risk that fluoride in water could cause lower IQ in kids.

“It’s too dangerous to look at and just say ‘Ah, screw it. We’ll keep going on,’” said the town supervisor, Ed Lachterman.

Yorktown isn’t alone. The decision to add fluoride to drinking water rests with state and local officials, and fights are cropping up nationwide.

Communities in Florida, Texas, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and elsewhere have debated the idea in recent months — the total number is in the dozens, with several deciding to stop adding it to drinking water, according to Fluoride Action Network, an advocacy organization against water fluoridation. In Arkansas, legislators this week filed a bill to repeal the state’s fluoridation program.

The debates have been ignited or fueled by three developments:

• In August, a federal agency reported “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between high levels of fluoride exposure — more than twice the recommended limit — and lower IQ in kids.
• In September, the federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children.
• This month, just days before the election, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that Donald Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day as president. Trump later picked Kennedy to run the Department of Health and Human Services.

In Durango, Colorado, there was an unsuccessful attempt to stop fluoridating the water during Trump’s first term in office. A new push came this year, as Trump saw a surge of political support.

“It’s just kind of the ebb and flow of politics on the national level that ultimately affects us down here,” said city spokesman Tom Sluis.

Fluoride is a public health success story but opposition persists

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and the addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data.

There is a recommended fluoridation level, but many communities exceed that, sometimes because fluoride occurs naturally at higher levels in certain water sources.

Opposition is nothing new, though for decades it was considered a fringe opinion. Adherents included conspiracy theorists who claimed fluoridation was a plot to make people submissive to government power.

Health officials could point to studies that showed that cavities were less common in communities with fluoridated water, and that dental health worsened in communities without it.

But fluoride isn’t just in water. Through the years it became common in toothpaste, mouthwash and other products. And data began to emerge that there could be too much of a good thing: In 2011, officials reported that 2 out of 5 U.S. adolescents had at least mild tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride.

In 2015, the CDC recommended that communities revisit how much they were putting in the water. Beginning in 1962, the government recommended a range of 0.7 milligrams per liter for warmer climates where people drink more water to 1.2 milligrams in cooler areas. The new standard became 0.7 everywhere.

Over time, more studies pointed to a different problem: a link between higher levels of fluoride and brain development. The August report by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program — summarizing studies conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico — concluded that drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter was associated with lower IQs in kids.

“There’s no question that fluoride prevents cavities,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, who was director of the CDC when the agency changed the recommended fluoride levels. “There’s also no question we’re getting more fluoride than we were 50 years ago, through toothpaste and other things.”

Frieden said “a legitimate question” has been raised about whether fluoride affects brain development, and studies making that link “need to be looked at carefully.”

U.S. towns wrestle with what to do

Many people in health care strongly embrace water fluoridation. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed their endorsement of current CDC recommendations in the wake of the federal report and the judge’s ruling.

Colorado’s health department, which weighed in during a Nov. 5 Durango city council meeting, said in a statement that it “seeks to align its public health recommendations with the latest scientific research. The facts of this court ruling are not sufficient” to revise current fluoridation levels.

Durango officials are waiting to see what the EPA does in reaction to the recent court decision, said Sluis, the city spokesman.

“We follow the science,” he said. “It wouldn’t be in the best interest of the city to stop fluoridation based on one judge’s interpretation.”

In Yorktown, Lachterman concluded the judge’s decision was enough to halt fluoridation. He recalled a community discussion several years ago in which most people in the room clearly favored fluoridation, but recently it seems public comment has reversed.

“It’s like a total 180,” he said.

But not all public pressure these days is against the idea.

In September, Buffalo, New York, announced it would resume water fluoridation after not having it for nearly a decade. News reports had described an increase in tooth decay and families sued, seeking damages for dental costs.

The Buffalo Sewer Authority’s general manager, Oluwole McFoy declined to discuss the decision with The Associated Press, citing the litigation.

For its part, the EPA “is in the process of reviewing the district court’s decision,” spokesman Jeff Landis said this week.

Debates have become heated

In Monroe, Wisconsin, fluoridation “has become a very hot issue,” said its mayor, Donna Douglas.

The small city, near Madison, started fluoridating its drinking water in the early 1960s. But in the late summer, some residents began calling and emailing Douglas, saying she needed to do something about what they saw as a public health danger. The first call “was more like a threat,” she recalled.

Douglas said she did not take a position on whether to stop, but decided to raise it to the city council for discussion. The discussions were unusually emotional.

Few people tend to speak during public comment sessions at council meetings, said Douglas. But more than two dozen people spoke at a city council meeting last month, most of them in favor of fluoridation. At a subsequent meeting, about a dozen more people — all opposed to fluoridation — came out to speak.

“This is the first time we’ve had any debates at all” like this, Douglas said. “I didn’t realize it would be such a heated discussion.”

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AP video journalist Brittany Peterson and AP reporter Andrew DeMillo contributed to this report.

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

FARMINGTON HILLS – Elayna Bowser tried professional golf after her stellar amateur career, which included winning the 2019 Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship and being a standout golfer for Loyola University Chicago.

“I gave it a good go for four years,” she said. “I can sit here and say I gave it my all and it led me to why I decided to switch back to amateur golf. I didn’t want to continue the route I was going and end up hating the game.”

She returned to the amateur ranks in 2024 and quickly made an impact by winning the GAM Women’s Mid-Amateur championship, and later in the summer reaching the round of 32 in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Those accomplishments combined with what she called one of her most consistent years of golf competition put her at the top of the Golf Association of Michigan Points List, and she has been named the 2024 GAM Women’s Player of the Year, Ken Hartmann, senior director of competitions and USGA services, announced today.

Player of the Year point totals can be found on a pull down from the PLAY tab at GAM.org Carl’s Golfland is the presenting sponsor of the points lists.

Earlier this week, McCoy Biagioli of White Lake was named the GAM Men’s Player of the Year, and over the next few weeks the GAM will announce more Players of the Year in gender and age categories.

Bowser, 27 and a real-estate agent, earned 652.5 points to top the points list. Bridget Boczar of Canton, a Baylor University golfer and the winner of the GAM Women’s Championship for a second consecutive year, had 550 points.

Shannon Kennedy of Beverly Hills, a Michigan State University golfer and this year’s Michigan Women’s Amateur Champion, was third with 490 points. Kimberly Dinh of Midland, the 2023 Women’s Player of the Year, who had 445 points, and Laura Bavaird of Trenton, who had 355 points, rounded out the top five.

Bowser said she previously considered 2019 as her best year in golf because of her Michigan Women’s Amateur win and her success as a college player.

“I would have thought that would be my best shot at player of the year awards, but I realize that summer wasn’t so much about consistency as it was winning the big tournaments,” she said. “I’m surprised how consistently I competed this year because I can’t devote the time to golf that I could before. I won my first tournament back as an amateur though and played well the rest of the summer.”

She said a great support system has helped her. Michael Phillips, her superior at Keller-Williams Legacy in Dearborn, has played a key role in supporting her transition from being a discouraged golf professional into a real-estate salesperson who maintains a competitive golf game. In addition, the continued support by her father, Brett, and her brother, Evan, who is now a PGA professional in Florida, meant she could never just quit the game.

“Professional golf was a struggle, mentally, physically, emotionally but my dad and Evan are always there for me,” she said. “We’re a golf family. We’re all “golfaholics.” They are going to enjoy me being player of the year as much or more than I enjoy it.”

The summer of 2024 started with Bowser supporting her brother and serving as his caddie in the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville last May. He had qualified as a top finisher among other club professionals in the PGA Professional Championship.

“It was so great to see Evan competing in a major championship against the best players in the world, and thriving in that moment,” she said. “I soaked everything in. I learned so much from watching him compete and how he handled things and watching all the other players. I think that experience maybe helped me more than anything with how I think about golf and how I played.”

Hartmann said he was pleased to see Bowser return to amateur golf.

“I didn’t know why she didn’t want to be a professional any longer, but I know how much golf means to that family,” he said. “We lose a lot of women players that age for several reasons. It was great to see her out there, and I wasn’t surprised she played well. Golf and a competitive spirit run through that family.”

By ISABELLA VOLMERT, Associated Press

Women will for the first time make up a majority of state legislators in Colorado and New Mexico next year, but at least 13 states saw losses in female representation after the November election, according to a count released Thursday by the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.

While women will fill a record number of state legislative seats in 2025, the overall uptick will be slight, filling just over third of legislative seats. Races in some states are still being called.

“We certainly would like to see a faster rate of change and more significant increases in each election cycle to get us to a place where parity in state legislatures is less novel and more normal,” said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the CAWP, which is a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

As of Wednesday, at least 2,451 women will serve in state legislatures, representing 33.2% of the seats nationwide. The previous record was set in 2024 with 2,431 women, according to the CAWP.

The number of Republican women, at least 852, will break the previous record of 815 state lawmakers set in 2024.

“But still, Republican women are very underrepresented compared to Democratic women,” Debbie Walsh, director of the CAWP, said.

States that gained women in legislatures

By the most recent count, 19 states will have increased the number of women in their state legislatures, according to the CAWP. The most notable increases were in New Mexico and Colorado where women will for the first time make up a majority of lawmakers.

In New Mexico, voters sent an 11 additional women to the chambers. Colorado had previously attained gender parity in 2023 and is set to tip over to a slight female majority in the upcoming year.

The states follow Nevada, which was the first in the country to see a female majority in the legislature following elections in 2018. Next year, women will make up almost 62% of state lawmakers in Nevada, far exceeding parity.

Women in California’s Senate will make up the chamber’s majority for the first time in 2025 as well. Women also made notable gains in South Dakota, increasing its total number by at least nine.

States that lost women in legislatures

At least thirteen states emerged from the election with fewer female lawmakers than before, with the most significant loss occurring in South Carolina.

Earlier this year, the only three Republican women in the South Carolina Senate lost their primaries after they stopped a total abortion ban from passing. Next year, only two women, who are Democrats, will be in the 46-member Senate.

No other state in the country will have fewer women in its upper chamber, according to the CAWP. Women make up 55% of the state’s registered voters.

Half the members in the GOP dominated state were elected in 2012 or before, so it will likely be the 2040s before any Republican woman elected in the future can rise to leadership or a committee chairmanship in the chamber, which doles out leadership positions based on seniority.

A net loss of five women in the legislature means they will make up only about 13% of South Carolina’s lawmakers, making the state the second lowest in the country for female representation. Only West Virginia has a smaller proportion of women in the legislature.

West Virginia stands to lose one more women from its legislative ranks, furthering its representation problem in the legislature where women will make up just 11% of lawmakers.

Why it matters

Many women, lawmakers and experts say that women’s voices are needed in discussions on policy especially at a time when state government is at its most powerful in decades.

Walsh, director of the CAWP, said the new changes expected from the Trump administration will turn even more policy and regulation to the states. The experiences and perspectives women offer will be increasingly needed, she said, especially on topics related to reproductive rights, healthcare, education and childcare.

“The states may have to pick up where the federal government may, in fact, be walking away,” Walsh said. “And so who serves in those institutions is more important now than ever.”

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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By MARTHA MENDOZA, BRIAN SLODYSKO and JULIET LINDERMAN, Associated Press

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late Wednesday.

Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

News of the allegations surfaced last week when local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey.

Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Palatore, said in a statement that the police report confirms “what I have said all along that the incident was fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed.”

Hegseth paid the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit, Palatore has said.

The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and offers the first detailed account of what the woman alleged to have transpired — one that is at odds with Hegseth’s version of events. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.

The woman’s name was not released, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.

A spokeswoman for the Trump transition said early Thursday that the “report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false.”

The report does not say that police found the allegations were false. Police recommended the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Investigators were first alerted to the alleged assault, the report said, by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam. The patient told medical personnel she believed she was assaulted five days earlier but couldn’t remember much about what had happened. She reported something may have been slipped into her drink before ending up in the hotel room where she said the assault occurred.

Police collected the unwashed dress and underwear she had worn that night, the report said.

The woman’s partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told police that he was worried about her that night after she didn’t come back to their room. At 2 a.m., he went to the hotel bar, but she wasn’t there. She made it back a few hours later, apologizing that she “must have fallen asleep.” A few days later, she told him she had been sexually assaulted.

The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican Women gathering at which Hegseth spoke, told police that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him stroking multiple women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a “creeper” vibe, according to the report.

After the event, the woman and others attended an after-party in a hotel suite where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him that she “did not appreciate how he treated women,” the report states.

A group of people, including Hegseth and the woman, decamped for the hotel’s bar. That’s when “things got fuzzy,” the woman told police.

She remembered having a drink at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report states. She also told police that she argued with Hegseth near the hotel pool, an account that is supported by a hotel staffer who was sent to handle the disturbance and spoke to police, according to the report.

Soon, she told police, she was inside a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so that she could not leave, according to the report. She also told police she remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” the report said.

Her next memory was of lying on a couch or bed with a bare-chested Hegseth hovering over her, his dog tags dangling, the report states. Hegseth served in the National Guard, rising to the rank of major.

After Hegseth finished, she recalled he threw a towel at her and asked if she was “OK,” the report states. She told police she did not recall how she got back to her own hotel room and had since suffered from nightmares and memory loss.

At the time of the alleged assault, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his third wife, according to court records and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after infidelity by Hegseth, according to court records.

Hegseth, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 before becoming co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” left the network after Trump announced his intention to nominate him.

Hegseth said he attended an after party and drank beer but did not consume liquor, and acknowledged being “buzzed” but not drunk.

He said he met the woman at the hotel bar, and she led him by the arm back to his hotel room, which surprised him because he initially had no intention of having sex with her, the report said.

Hegseth told investigators that the sexual encounter that followed was consensual, adding that he explicitly asked more than once if she was comfortable. Hegseth said in the morning the woman “showed early signs of regret,” and he assured her that he wouldn’t tell anyone about the encounter.

Hegseth’s attorney said a payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to file a lawsuit that he feared could have resulted in him being fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host. The attorney would not reveal the amount of the payment.

Slodysko reported from Washington and Linderman from Baltimore.

Hello, old friends.

Waterford Kettering and Mott appear set to re-join the Oakland Activities Association, ending over a decade-and-a-half stint combined competing elsewhere in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Lakes Valley Conference.

Rumors of the move had began to circulate in recent weeks, and the district’s membership application to the OAA was confirmed on Tuesday.

“We are grateful for the competition we have been privileged to experience as a member district of the LVC for the past eight years,” Waterford School District director of communications and community relations Sarah Davis said. “Many factors went into our decision to apply for membership to the OAA – such as competitive alignment with like-districts, game proximity, and academic and student leadership advantages. These opportunities will best serve our Waterford School District athletes, coaches and families now and into the future.”

Both Waterford schools were charter members when they, along with Clarkston, Lake Orion and Pontiac Northern joined from the Greater Oakland Activities League to help form the OAA with schools from the Metro Suburban Activities Association and Southeastern Michigan Association back in 1994.

However, in 2008 the pair of WSD schools jumped ship when the merger of the Kensington Valley Conference and Western Lakes Activities Association helped form the KLAA, a 23-school conference that included the newly opened South Lyon East.

In 2017, nine of those KLAA members, among them Mott and Kettering, split to create the Lakes Valley Conference. When it joined the LVC, Mott and Kettering’s enrollment numbers were neither the largest or the smallest in the conference, notable as other KLAA program’s student bodies were larger.

While a variety of factors have led to declining enrollment numbers throughout the state, and LVC schools have been no exception, it has been sharp enough that Mott and Kettering were now both in the bottom-third of the league, and may find themselves again playing more similarly sized programs in the OAA.

That has been reflected from a competitive standpoint. The LVC website charts year-by-year all-sports standings for both female and male sports. In the first six years of the conference, Mott and Kettering averaged finishing in the bottom-3 of the table in female sports, and the same could be said for male sports, with the exception of 2017-18 when Mott had exceptional seasons in baseball, basketball and football to place in the upper-half.

A source said that the LVC, now down to seven schools — Lakeland and Milford, along with the South Lyon and Walled Lake schools — intends to discuss filling the spots the Captains and Corsairs would vacate.

DETROIT — Can you imagine a better or more fitting birthday present for Tigers’ lefty ace Tarik Skubal? Or a better way to cap a sensational, breakthrough season?

On Wednesday, the day he turned 28 years old, Skubal was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2024 by a vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Skubal becomes the fifth Tigers pitcher to win the award. Denny McLain won it twice (1968 and 1969). Willie Hernandez (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013) also won the prize while wearing the Old English D.

Full disclosure: I had a Cy Young Award vote this year and I did not put Cleveland’s dominant closer Emmanuel Clase on my ballot. I have been steadfast on every Cy Young vote I’ve cast over the years that it’s an award for starting pitchers. Relievers have their own award, as they should given the disparity between the two distinct roles.

The lines on this are getting blurrier as starter innings continue to shrink and bullpen roles expand. But this season, after comparing every candidate including Clase on a spreadsheet with every relevant statistical category — sabermetric and traditional — there were five starting pitchers who scored higher than Clase.

Thus, my ballot: 1. Skubal, 2. Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, 3. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert, 4. Kansas City’s Cole Ragans, 5. Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes.

Putting Skubal at the top of the ballot was a no-brainer. And not just because he became the 22nd player in MLB history to win the pitcher Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228).

He joins Hal Newhouser (1945) and Justin Verlander (2011) as the only Tigers to achieve the feat.

It was much more. When manager AJ Hinch said that Skubal was “everything for us,” this is what he meant:

After dealing away Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline, the Tigers were left with two starting pitchers — Skubal and rookie Keider Montero. The other three starting slots in the rotation were, for the final two months, covered by a creative and elaborate mix of openers and bulk relievers.

For that strategy to work, the Tigers needed Skubal, especially, to cover at least six innings in his starts. Here’s how Skubal responded to that challenge:

From Aug. 2 through Sept. 24, he went 6-1 and averaged 6.2 innings in 10 starts. He limited opponents to a .206/.252/.292 slash-line with 74 strikeouts and 11 walks.

He managed to be at his best exactly when his team needed him the most.

The Tigers were 21-10 in his 31 regular-season starts, a stat that held more value to Skubal than his 18 pitcher wins. He won two of his three postseason starts and threw 17 straight scoreless innings until the fatal fifth inning in Game 5 of the American League Division Series in Cleveland (see Lane Thomas homer).

Skubal limited opponents to two runs or less in 24 of his 31 regular-season starts, covering at least six innings in 21 of those.

Skubal day turned into win day for the Tigers. There is no better measure of greatness for a pitcher.

“He’s unbelievable,” said first baseman Spencer Torkelson after Skubal posted his 200th strikeouts of the season in a 2-1 win against Boston on Aug. 31. “It’s not only his stuff. It’s the conviction behind it. The intent and the confidence he has every single pitch he throws.

“You can really look up to somebody like that. He sets the tone. It builds character in our pitching staff and even in the position players.”

He set the tone for his season on the first day of live batting practice in Lakeland when he hit 99.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. He was asked about hitting 100 mph so early in camp.

“It wasn’t 100,” he said. “We don’t round up in the big leagues.”

He would hit and surpass 100 mph legitimately on May 11 against Houston, becoming the first Tigers starting pitcher to hit triple digits since Verlander in 2012.

He took the ball on Opening Day in Chicago and pitched six scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He got the start in the home opener, too, on April 5, making him the first Tigers pitcher to start both the regular-season opener and home opener since Mike Moore in 1993.

He struck out 12 in six innings at Yankee Stadium on May 5. But his most dominant strikeout performance came in Cincinnati on July 7 when he punched out 13 and got a remarkable 23 misses on 51 swings.

By the All-Star break he was 10-3 with a 2.41 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP (0.879) and earned his first All-Star berth. He threw a perfect second inning in the game, setting down Christian Yelich, Alec Bohm and Teoscar Hernandez.

“When you needed a big performance, he was our guy,” Hinch said in an interview with MLB Network earlier this month. “When you really needed a punch-out to get us out of an inning, he was our guy. We you needed someone to show incredible competitive emotion, he was our guy.

“We leaned on him for so much leadership and performance. And he delivered in all ways. He was the definition of dominant for us and across the league.”

The mantra for the Tigers’ pitching staff all season was “pound the strike zone,” and nobody pounded it more relentlessly and fearlessly than Skubal, evidenced by his 69% strike rate and 68.6% first-pitch strike rate.

To further amplify the point, he had a 30.3% strikeout rate and just a 4.7% walk rate.

Skubal’s 6.3 WAR (baseball-reference) led all big-league pitchers. His pitching run value of 40 (per Statcast) was best in baseball. His fastball run value of 26 ranked in the top 99 percentile.

Opponents hit .197 against his four-seam fastball and .207 off his two-seamer. They hit .216 off his changeup with a 46% whiff rate. His slider (.169) and knuckle curve (.158) rare got hit hard.

“Just Skub being Skub,” said Jake Rogers, who caught every one of Skubal’s starts. “I never get tired of talking about Skub. He’s been big for us all year, and every time he gets on the mound, he gives us a chance to win.

“I’m just really glad he’s on our team.”

Officials confirmed no one was killed in an explosion at a condominium complex Tuesday night in Lake Orion, and the two people injured remain hospitalized but their conditions were improving as of late Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s an absolute miracle, an absolute miracle — if you’ve seen this scene — (that) currently we’re talking about no fatalities,” Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon from Orion Township Hall.

Fire Chief Ryan Allen said an investigation continues into the cause and origin of the explosion at the Keatington New Town Association and is expected to take “a little over a week.” The explosion destroyed 18 units, displacing multiple residents, and caused damage to about a dozen more, Allen said.

First responders were dispatched to the two-story building on Pine Ridge Court between Joslyn and Baldwin roads after the explosion occurred around 6:30 p.m., officials said.

Little information has been released yet on the two people injured, but Allen said one was in non-critical, stable condition and the other in guarded condition which “is between serious and stable condition.”

According to Consumers Energy Vice President Christopher Fultz, crews found no abnormalities in the system from the gas main to the meter which is the extent of the utility company’s responsibility. Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said a resident reported she had detected the smell of gas just before the explosion and is part of the investigation.

Allen reminds residents that if they ever have concerns about a possible gas leak to exit the home and contact the fire department by calling either the emergency or non-emergency number.

Barnett noted that there’s been “an incredible show of support” from the community in response to what he described as “a horrific incident.” And it’s what can be expected, he said.

“I’d put our community against any community when it comes to things like this. We step up,” he said. “It’s horrible what happened, but if ever (something like this) happens, you’re lucky if it happens in Orion Township.”

Victims in need of immediate support are encouraged to call the American Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or Orion Township offices at 248-391-0304 ext. 2009.

Those interested in helping can provide monetary donations through Love INC of Northern Oakland County by calling 248-693-4357 or online at https://loveincofnoc.org/.

Clothing and food donations can be dropped off at Woodside Bible Church, located in Canterbury Village, 2500 Joslyn Road. Those in need of food can visit Woodside’s Village Food Pantry, also located in Canterbury Village, at 2325 Joslyn Court. Reach the pantry by calling 248–391-1900.

Bouchard cautions residents that it’s likely there will be scammers attempting to profit through false charities, so only donate to organizations listed above and any others listed on social media pages for Orion Township or the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Tribune News Service contributed to this report.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge who was nominated by Donald Trump says it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if the president-elect hands out mass pardons to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol after the 2020 election, a rare instance of judicial commentary on a politically divisive subject.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed to the bench in June 2019, expressed his criticism during a hearing Tuesday at which he agreed to postpone a Capitol riot defendant’s trial until after Trump returns to the White House in January.

During his campaign for a second term as president, Trump repeatedly referred to Jan. 6 rioters as “hostages” and “patriots” and said he “absolutely” would pardon rioters who assaulted police “if they’re innocent.” Trump has suggested he would consider pardoning former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison after a jury convicted him of orchestrating a violent plot to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.

“Blanket pardons for all January 6 defendants or anything close would be beyond frustrating and disappointing, but that’s not my call,” Nichols said, according to a transcript. “And the possibility of some pardons, at least, is a very real thing.”

Nichols is one of over 20 judges who have presided over more than 1,500 cases against people charged in a mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Many Capitol riot defendants have asked for post-election delays in their cases, but judges largely have denied their requests and forged ahead with sentencings, guilty pleas and other hearings.

Steve Baker, a writer for a conservative media outlet, pleaded guilty last Tuesday to Capitol riot-related misdemeanors after U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper refused to pause the case until after Trump takes office. However, Cooper acknowledged that the case may never reach the punishment stage given the possibility of pardons.

Nichols commented on pardons during a hearing for Jacob Lang, a Capitol riot defendant who is jailed while awaiting a trial in Washington. Within hours of Trump’s victory this month, Lang posted on social media that he and other Jan. 6 “political prisoners” were “finally coming home.”

“There will be no bitterness in my heart as I walk out of these doors in 75 days on inauguration day,” wrote Lang, who was charged several days after the riot with repeatedly attacking police officers.

Nichols, who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas before working for the Justice Department, said he hasn’t delayed any trial solely on the basis of possible pardons. He noted that his decision to delay Lang’s trial was based in part on matters that they privately discussed under seal.

“I agree very much with the government that there are costs to not proceeding here, both to the trial team, to the witnesses and to the victims, as well as to the public, which has an interest in a determination of guilt or innocence in a case that has been pending as long as this one,” Nichols said.

Several days after the election, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras postponed a Jan. 6 trial that had been scheduled to start on Dec. 2. The defendant, William Pope, argued that his trial would be a waste of the court’s time and resources “because there will never be a sentencing, and I will be free.”

Contreras said he didn’t want to bring in dozens of prospective jurors for a two-week trial “just to have it go for naught.”

“Of course, it’s speculative, but there is a real possibility of that happening,” the judge added, according to a transcript.

A prosecutor objected to the delay, saying that “the speculative nature of what Mr. Pope hopes will be a pardon is not a sufficient reason to continue this trial.”

Judges have largely echoed that argument. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton refused to delay a Nov. 8 sentencing hearing for Anna Lichnowski, a Florida woman who believes she would be a good candidate for a pardon. Walton, who sentenced Lichnowski to 45 days in jail, wrote that the possibility of pardons is “irrelevant to the Court’s obligation to carry out the legal responsibilities of the Judicial Branch.”

By MEG KINNARD

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed a line of guitars, following up on the Bibles, sneakers, watches, photo books and cryptocurrency ventures launched during his third White House campaign.

Trump on Wednesday posted to Truth Social a photo of himself holding what he said was a “Limited Edition ‘45’ Guitar,” an electric model emblazoned with an American flag and eagle on the body, and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan inlaid into the neck. Both acoustic and electric styles are available, for $1,250 and $1,500, respectively, as well as “Presidential” and “God Bless the USA” models and “Signature Edition” guitars, which — with a $10,000 price tag — also include Trump’s signature.

What’s not clear is the financial relationship between Trump and proceeds from the guitar sales.

Following his long tradition of melding his political and business interests, Trump has hawked a series of branded products since he launched his 2024 White House campaign, a slew of items that went up for sale in the wake of a $489 million civil fraud judgment against the former president.

Some of them, like the “Official Trump Watch Collection” — where one model costs $100,000 — were listed as affiliated with CIC Ventures LLC, a company that Trump reported owning in his 2023 financial disclosure.

Websites for items like the watches note that the products are subject to a “paid license agreement,” the same mechanism that allowed Trump, well before he entered politics, to profit for years from sales of everything from water to vodka and steaks.

As of Wednesday, GetTrumpGuitars.com included no such disclaimers, or even the name of the company selling the items. An FAQ page lists information about how many of each model are being made available — and notes that these models are “the ONLY guitars endorsed by President Donald J. Trump!” — but includes none of the disclaimers or licensing language on some of Trump’s other product sites.

The guitar website’s privacy policy does include a suburban Nashville address for a couple, neither of whom immediately returned a message seeking comment Wednesday. Photos on their social media pages showed that they attended Trump’s election-night party in Florida.

Messages left with 16 Creative — a branding agency listed at the bottom of the guitar website — and Trump’s transition team also were not immediately returned.

Leading up to his win in the general election, Trump this year has announced the sale of $100 silver coins bearing his face, urged his supporters to spend $59.99 for a “God Bless the USA Bible,” inspired by country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic ballad, and hawked new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.”

He also has dabbled in NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, and last year reported earning between $100,000 and $1 million from a series of digital trading cards that portrayed him in cartoon-like images, including as an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Sheetz, a 24-hour gas station, convenience store and restaurant, will ask the Farmington Hills Planning Commission on Thursday night, Nov. 21, to recommend approval of their plan to locate on the site of a vacant restaurant at 12 Mile and Middlebelt roads.

But a residents’ group has formed to oppose the development and plans to protest at Farmington Hills City Hall, 31555 W. 11 Mile Road, at 7 p.m., before the meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

Concerned Citizens Against Sheetz says violent crime, noise, increased traffic and environmental issues have plagued Sheetz establishments in other states.

Sheetz will be open after almost all other establishments have closed and the restaurant will have a drive-through window. That will make it a target for crime, or at the very least, customers loitering and making noise late at night, said Lloyd Banks, spokesman for the group.

Sheetz proposes to locate on the site of the former Ginopolis restaurant, which closed five years ago. Banks said it’s too close to several subdivisions for a 24-hour operation.

“It needs to be another restaurant,” he said.

At previous hearings, sizable groups of residents have spoken in support of Sheetz, saying the development is better than a vacant building that is starting to fall into disrepair. Proponents also say Sheetz is a good employer and serves high-quality food. Banks said he doubts those people live near the proposed site.

When Sheetz appeared before the commission in June, it proposed six pumps, creating 12 fueling stations; and a 6,100-square-foot convenience store and restaurant.

 

Nick Ruffner, public affairs manager for Sheetz, defended the company’s crime prevention efforts.

“Sheetz serves as a community hub where families gather for a meal, friends meet up before the big football game and local residents meet to conduct safe online marketplace exchanges,” he said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, all retailers – not just convenience store operators – are occasionally subjected to criminal acts. At Sheetz, the safety and security of our employees and customers – both inside and outside our stores – is our highest priority. Sheetz’s advanced security systems cover nearly every area of our stores and parking lot. We also have a first-class, advanced security operations center that is connected to our stores in real time and staffed 24/7 to help address any issues that arise at our store locations. These safeguards at our stores allow our employees to notify police as soon as an emergency situation develops.” he said in a statement.

If the Planning Commission OKs the proposal, it goes to the City Council for final approval.

Sheetz opened in Romulus in late August, its first location in Michigan. The company plans to open 50-60 stores in the Detroit area within the next five to six years, he said.

To date, Sheetz has announced the locations for eight other planned Detroit locations:
23 Mile Road east of I-94, Chesterfield Township

— 8200 Telegraph Road, Taylor

— 20623 Eureka Road, Taylor

— 45011 Garfield Road, Macomb

— 31925 Van Dyke Ave., Warren

— 19001 E. Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe

— 2103 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti

— Southwest corner of 14 Mile and Utica roads in Fraser

Each store will employ about 35 people; most will be full time, Ruffner said.

Over the next few days, Waterford Township officials will consider two options for the community’s waste-hauling service.

On Wednesday, Supervisor Gary Wall and his successor, Anthony Bartolotta, met with the current contractor, Priority Waste, to discuss a one-year contract extension. But township trustees will also consider drafting a request for a new waste hauler contract.

Priority’s Waterford contract expires in March. To consider other companies the township must publish a request for proposals, allow time to evaluate bids, make a selection and sign a new contract before the end of February.

Waterford is weighing the options after Priority bought out 72 Green for Life (GFL) municipal waste-hauling contracts and equipment in May. The issue may be discussed at the trustees’ next study session, at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, in the conference room 3-2 at the township hall at 5200 Civic Center Drive.The regular meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the auditorium. Meeting agendas are online at https://www.waterfordmi.gov/AgendaCenter

The transition started on July 1 and led to significant criticism by residents in Waterford and many of the 71 other communities.

Priority Waste finalizes GFL purchase and takes over some Oakland County routes

Months of long-delayed pickups of trash, yard waste and recycling led to emergency meetings between municipalities and company officials.

Priority blamed many of the problems on shoddy trucks bought from GFL, the inability to rapidly expand the fleet, hire and train adequate drivers to properly service existing and new customers.

Waterford is not the only community evaluating other waste pickup options.

Rochester Hills sets deadlines for Priority corrections

In October, Orion Township officials announced Priority would be dropped on Dec. 31. The township signed a contract with Waste Management for service starting on Jan. 1. Priority and Standard Waste Services also bid for the contract.

Township residents will pay $62.23 per quarter for a single-family household, a $1.15-per-month increase over current rates. Waste Management agreed to honor existing discounts. The township will release more details this month.

In October, Priority secured a 5-year contract with Rochester. It’s the only renewal the company has among the former GFL communities. Pontiac signed a 10-year agreement on June 28.

Waterford Township to host town hall on Priority Waste service

On Thursday, Keego Harbor’s city council will consider extending its contract with Priority. In March, the city’s GFL contract had been extended through 2027, but a new company means a new agreement is needed. Priority officials promised to honor GFL’s 2025 terms with rates set for $20.36 each for weekly pick-up for household waste, recycling and yard waste. Payments would increase to $21.06 in 2026 and $21.99 in 2027.

Keego Harbor’s council meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at city hall, 2025 Beechmont St. in Keego Harbor and will be livestreamed on the city’s website: https://civiccentertv.com/watch-live. The agenda and complete meeting packet are online at https://www.keegoharbor.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif3301/f/pages/november_21_2024_city_council_meeting_packet.pdf.

Central Michigan University head football coach Jim McElwain is retiring from coaching according to numerous media reports reported on Wednesday afternoon.

He will retire at seasons end.

McElwain led the Chippewas to a 16-14 win over rival Western Michigan University at home on Tuesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak.

The Chippewas have struggled in recent seasons as they are 4-7 this season after going 5-7 in 2023 and 4-8 in 2022.

Moreover, McElwain is currently under investigation by the NCAA pertaining to Connor Stalions’ alleged attendance on the CMU sideline in its 2023 season-opener at Michigan State University.

McElwain and Stalions worked together while assistant coaches at the University of Michigan in 2018.

A story that was published by footballscoop.com writer Zach Barnett reported, ‘McElwain will move into a special assistant to the AD role within the CMU athletics department.”

The story quoted McElwain as saying, “”My wife Karen and I have cherished every moment of our football journey. We want to express our deepest gratitude to the all the players who have welcomed us into their lives, and the incredible coaches and support staff at every stop along the way—it has been a true privilege to work alongside all of them. The lifelong friendships that were created mean the world to us.

“We are especially thankful for our time at Central Michigan. Mount Pleasant and the CMU community hold a special place in our hearts, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of this program and this great community. Thank you for the unwavering support and the unforgettable memories.”

McElwain said his reasoning behind his abrupt retirement were his own according to numerous reports.

CMU Athletic Director Amy Folan was quoted by footballscoop.com and stated, “Coach McElwain and his wife Karen have meant so much to the Central Michigan community,” AD Amy Folan said. “He has brought pride and excitement to Mount Pleasant and our football program and we look forward to his contributions to the department in other ways in the years ahead. We are grateful for his service and mentorship to our student-athletes. We wish both Jim and Karen the very best in their well-deserved retirement from coaching and we are glad that they will continue to help us.”

CMU closes the 2024 regular season at Northern Illinois on Nov. 30.

The 62-year old McElwain spent 40 years coaching in the college ranks and closes his career with a career record of 77-63 as head coach at CMU, Florida and Colorado State. He signed a five-year contact with CMU in 2022.

CMU’s Jim McElwain under investigation by NCAA

CMU football snaps 5-game losing streak, tops rival WMU 16-14

A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges for threatening an American Muslim organization in Michigan last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced.

Michael Shapiro, 72, faced one count of transmitting threats in interstate commerce after calling six times and leaving three threatening voicemails to the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan.

The West Palm Beach resident also admitted to intentionally targeting CAIR-MI with threats because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of people who work at or are assisted by the organization, officials said in a press release.

Shapiro could serve up to five years’ incarceration for his guilty plea or pay a fine of up to $250,000, according to a plea agreement filed with the court on Tuesday.

He also faces up to three years of supervised release.

“No one should be able to threaten violence and instill fear on an entire community,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement. “Today’s conviction should send a strong message that those who do so will be investigated, identified, and aggressively prosecuted.”

His attorney, Elizabeth Young, was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Shapiro first called CAIR-MI’s Canton Township office on Dec. 8 at 6:43 p.m. and left a voicemail laughing maniacally and twice saying “I’m going to kill you bastards,” according to the plea agreement.

He left another threatening voicemail six days later, investigators reported.

“I’m going to kill you mother f******g bastards,” Shapiro said in the 1:02 p.m. voicemail. “Muslims! I’m going to kill you mother f*****s. I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!”

He also called the next day, on Dec. 15 at 6:24 p.m.

“You’re a violent people,” Shapiro said. “Why do you come to America? Why do you come to Europe? Mother f******s. You’re violent. You’re killers. You’re rapists. I’m going to kill you mother f*****s!”

When prosecutors unsealed the grand jury indictment against Shapiro, CAIR-MI officials said the threat was among others as the war in Gaza escalated.

Shapiro’s case is the third time he has been charged in the last five years with federal crimes and has been accused of threatening U.S. Capitol Police officers, a member of Congress and their child, according to federal court records reviewed by The Detroit News.

Officials with CAIR-MI are pleased with the results of the case, Amy Doukoure, a staff attorney with the organization, told The News.

“What he’s doing is very serious,” Doukoure said. “We had to close our business for several days. He was calling every day — we didn’t know where he was, whether he was serious. It was a very scary and serious incident, and we’re happy that it’s over and he has pled guilty and will be sentenced to jail time.”

Discrimination complaints to CAIR-MI rose by over 340% in the three months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks compared to the three months leading up to it, officials said in a 2023 CAIR-MI Civil Rights Report.

Reports of anti-Muslim bias incidents, including hate crimes, education and employment discrimination, surged in 2023, according to the report. Officials attributed the increase in complaints to increased anti-Muslim sentiment following media coverage of Israel’s attacks in Gaza.

The past year brought a record number of hate crime complaints to CAIR-MI, paralleled only by reports in 2018, according to the report.

CAIR-MI officials also recently called on the University of Michigan to conduct an independent investigation into the school’s “pattern of disparate treatment” of UM Muslim and Arab students.

In other recently reported hate crime cases, a Michigan man was sentenced in June for defacing a Jewish synagogue with swastikas and white supremacist group images.

A Warren man was also charged in March for spray painting swastikas and other graffiti on a predominantly Black church and in a Warren park’s public bathroom.