A West Bloomfield man faces nine felony charges after allegedly shooting into a neighbor’s home on Monday.
West Bloomfield Police Deputy Chief Scott Mong said Marquis Greg-Lamar Fletcher, 50, was arraigned via Zoom by a 48th District Court magistrate on Wednesday.
Fletcher was arrested on Monday in the 7400 block of Coach Lane after police were summoned by his wife, who said he was armed and having a mental health crisis, Mong said.
As police were en route to the scene, Fletcher allegedly carried firearms to a neighbor’s home, broke a window and fired several rounds inside. None of the four people inside the home were hurt, Mong said.
Fletcher faces the following charges:
• first-degree home invasion, a 20-year felony,
• assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, a 10-year felony,
• discharging a firearm in or at a building, a 10-year felony,
• wearing body armor during the commission of a violent crime, a four-year felony,
• one count of assaulting, resisting and/or obstructing a police officer, a 2-year felony and
• four counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. If convicted, he faces two years in prison for each count.
Fletcher remains in Oakland County Jail, with bond set at $500,000 cash or surety. His next 48th District Court appearance is 8:45 a.m. Dec. 9.
Mong said suspects in any crime are presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A screengrab from a video obtained by West Bloomfield Township police after a man allegedly shot into his neighbor's home on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. The man kicked at the door before breaking a window and using his firearm to shoot at residents. No one was physically injured, according to police. (Courtesy, West Bloomfield Township Public Safety)
BRUSSELS (AP) — Money is as central to Europe’s vital support of Ukraine as ammunition and intelligence. Yet, the bloc’s most viable funding mechanism involves seizing billions of dollars worth of Russian assets that U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed taking over.
The first draft of Trump’s 28-point peace plan called for an investment scheme for Ukraine’s reconstruction controlled by the U.S. but financed by $100 billion in frozen Russian assets matched by another $100 billion from the European Union — with 50% of profits sent back to Washington.
The plan surprised Europeans, who have spent years fiercely debating the fate of Russia’s frozen fortune.
Those funds are central to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plan to both maintain pressure on Russia and increase support for Ukraine as mysterious drone incursions and sabotage operations rattle European capitals.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addresses the media in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
“I cannot see any scenario in which the European taxpayers alone will pay the bill,” she said Wednesday in Strasbourg, France to applause from lawmakers in the European Parliament.
The 27-nation EU has sent Ukraine almost $197 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago. While there’s no consensus on how to provide more aid, there’s near unanimity on seizing the Russian assets to cover the estimated $153 billion for Ukraine’s budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027.
The Commission has proposed paying that bill with joint debt taken on by the EU and grants by individual nations, but its main source is the $225 billion assets frozen at Euroclear, a Brussels-based financial institution.
That is, if the Trump administration doesn’t get them first.
Perks of the deal
Trump’s brash negotiating style left many in Europe suspecting he wants a quick deal that forces Europeans to make it work and pay for it. All while the U.S. profits.
Analysts say the proposal was essentially a U.S. attempt to snatch these assets, coming as Brussels and Washington relaunch trade negotiations over tariffs.
Agathe Demarais, a senior fellow at the Berlin-based European Council on Foreign Relations, said the proposal was akin to a “signing bonus” for a peace deal heavily slanted towards Russia.
Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, called the U.S. takeover of the assets “outrageous,” but suggested it might also be acceptable to Europeans “if that is ultimately the price to pay for a good deal.”
After intense discussions between the U.S., Germany, France, the United Kingdom and representatives from the European Commission, the investment scheme was removed from the new draft peace plan. Russia has already signaled its total rejection of the new draft.
The assets frozen in Belgium
A quick seizure of Russia’s frozen assets by the EU would not only secure Ukraine’s defense budget, but also empower Brussels at the negotiation table, Demarais said.
“If the EU rushes to seize Russia’s central bank assets before Washington grabs them, the bloc may be able to drastically curb Trump’s interest in a bad deal,” she said.
The European Commission has proposed taking direct ownership of the assets. Under von der Leyen’s leadership, it could then issue a loan to Ukraine, which would be repaid only if Moscow provides war reparations to Kyiv.
The bulk of these assets are held in a clearinghouse called Euroclear in Belgium. However, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has refused to approve their use as collateral for a massive loan for Ukraine, citing fears that Russia would retaliate against Belgian interests.
“We are a small country, and retaliation could be very hard,” De Wever said in October.
Yet the Belgian position on thawing the assets was influenced by an impasse in local politics over deep federal debt. After months of domestic political wrangling ended last week in a deal, politicians from Riga to Lisbon started hoping that De Wever would be able to lift his objections to seizing Russian assets.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said after the Brussels meeting on Wednesday that “the clock is ticking” and that seizing the assets was “the only realistic financing option that would make a real difference and one that would be most fair to taxpayers” in Europe.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat said Wednesday there is now broad EU support for Belgium.
“It would send the strongest message to Moscow that it cannot wait us out, and we need to make this decision fast,” said Kallas.
On Dec. 18, De Wever will join the other EU national leaders for a summit in Brussels over, among other subjects, seizing the Russian assets.
Associated Press writers Geir Moulson and Kirsten Grieshaber contributed from Berlin.
FILE – A view of the headquarters of Euroclear in Brussels, on Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — As the Justice Department gets ready to release its files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, a court battle over sealed documents in Maxwell’s criminal case is offering clues about what could be in those files.
Government lawyers asked a judge on Wednesday to allow the release of a wide range of records from Maxwell’s case, including search warrants, financial records, survivor interview notes, electronic device data and material from earlier Epstein investigations in Florida.
Those records, among others, are subject to secrecy orders that the Justice Department wants lifted as it works to comply with a new law mandating the public release of Epstein and Maxwell investigative materials.
The Justice Department submitted the list a day after U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in New York ordered the government to specify what materials it plans to publicly release from Maxwell’s case.
The government said it is conferring with survivors and their lawyers and that it will redact records to ensure protection of survivors’ identities and prevent the dissemination of sexualized images.
“In summary, the Government is in the process of identifying potentially responsive materials” that are required to be disclosed under the law, “categorizing them and processing them for review,” the department said.
The four-page filing bears the names of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Jay Clayton, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
FILE – In this July 30, 2008, file photo, Jeffrey Epstein, center, appears in court in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Uma Sanghvi/The Palm Beach Post via AP, File)
Also Wednesday, a judge weighing a similar request for materials from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case gave the department until Monday 1 to provide detailed descriptions the records it wants made public. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said he will review the material in private before deciding.
In August, Berman and Engelmayer denied the department’s requests to unseal grand jury transcripts and other material from Epstein and Maxwell’s cases, ruling that such disclosures are rarely, if ever, allowed.
The department asked the judges this week to reconsider, arguing in court filings that the new law requires the government to “publish the grand jury and discovery materials” from the cases. The law requires the release of Epstein-related files in a searchable format by Dec. 19.
FILE — Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during a news conference to announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein, July 2, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
Epstein was a millionaire money manager known for socializing with celebrities, politicians and other powerful men. He killed himself in jail a month after his 2019 arrest. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
In initial filings Monday, the Justice Department characterized the material it wants unsealed in broad terms, describing it as “grand jury transcripts and exhibits.” Engelmayer ordered the government to file a letter describing the materials “in sufficient detail to meaningfully inform victims” what it plans to make public.
Engelmayer did not preside over Maxwell’s trial, but was assigned to the case after the trial judge, Alison J. Nathan, was elevated to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tens of thousands of pages of records pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell have already been released over the years, including through civil lawsuits, public disclosures and Freedom of Information Act requests.
In its filing Wednesday, the Justice Department listed 18 categories of material that it is seeking to release from Maxwell’s case, including reports, photographs, videos and other materials from police in Palm Beach, Florida, and the U.S. attorney’s office there, both of which investigated Epstein in the mid-2000s.
Last year, a Florida judge ordered the release of about 150 pages of transcripts from a state grand jury that investigated Epstein in 2006. Last week, citing the new law, the Justice Department moved to unseal transcripts from a federal grand jury that also investigated Epstein.
That investigation ended in 2008 with a then-secret arrangement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges by pleading guilty to a state prostitution charge. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program. The request to unseal the transcripts is pending.
Foto entregada por el Registro de Delincuentes Sexuales del Estado de Nueva York, que muestra a Jeffrey Epstein, el 28 de marzo del 2017. (Registro de Delincuentes Sexuales del Estado de Nueva York via AP)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated after the governor of West Virginia updated his earlier report that they had died.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were shot Wednesday just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence.
The West Virginia governor initially said the troops had died, but later walked back the statement to say his office was “receiving conflicting reports” about their condition. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to questions about the attack and the condition of the troops.
A suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
“We are in ongoing contact with federal officials as the investigation continues,” Gov. Patrick Morrisey said.
Law enforcement was reviewing surveillance video from the scene and believed the suspect approached the soldiers and pulled out a gun, said another law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
At least one of the soldiers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, the official said. Investigators were trying to determine the gunman’s motive, including whether the suspect was targeting the troops for any specific reason, the official said.
The shooting happened roughly two blocks northwest of the White House.
Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders attempting CPR on one of the soldiers and treating the other on a glass-covered sidewalk. Other officers could be seen steps away restraining an individual on the ground.
Stacy Walters said she was in a car near the scene car when she heard two gunshots and saw people running. Almost instantly, law enforcement swarmed the area. “It’s such a beautiful day. Who would do this, and we’re getting ready for the holidays?”
Emergency medical responders transported all three people to a hospital, according to Vito Maggiolo, the public information officer for the DC Fire and Emergency Services.
The presence of the National Guard in the nation’s capital has been a flashpoint issue for months, fueling a court fight and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.
More than 300 West Virginia National Guard members were deployed to Washington in August. Last week, about 160 of them volunteered to extend their deployment until the end of the year while the others returned to West Virginia just over a week ago.
Police tape cordoned off the scene where fire and police vehicle lights flashed and helicopter blades thudded overhead. Agents from the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby. At least one helicopter landed on the National Mall.
President Donald Trump, who was in Florida for Thanksgiving, warned in a statement on social media that the “animal” who shot the guardsmen “will pay a very steep price.”
“God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
In Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Vice President JD Vance urged “everybody who’s a person of faith” to pray for the two Guardsmen. He cautioned that much remained unknown, including the motive of the shooter.
“I think it’s a somber reminder that soldiers, whether they’re active duty, reserve or National Guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America,” Vance said as he delivered a Thanksgiving message to troops.
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser said local leaders were actively monitoring the situation. Bowser had spent the morning at a Thanksgiving event at the Convention Center and then held a news conference to explain why she was not seeking reelection.
Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the local police force and sent in National Guard troops from eight states and the District of Columbia. The order expired a month later, but the troops remained.
The soldiers have patrolled neighborhoods, train stations and other locations, participated in highway checkpoints and also have been assigned to trash pickup and to guard sports events.
Last week, a federal judge ordered an end to the deployment but also put her order on hold for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to either remove the troops or appeal the decision.
—–
Governor Patrick Morrisey had previously reported their deaths in a social media post.
U.S. Marshalls and National Guard troops are seen after reports of two National Guard soldiers shot near the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
You don’t have to pinch yourselves, Detroit Lions fans, this is real: Frank Ragnow is coming out of retirement, a source confirmed to The Detroit News on Wednesday.
Ragnow, a multi-time All-Pro, first announced his retirement in June, citing health reasons. The former first-round pick and standout in the middle of Detroit’s vaunted offensive line has endured a number of injuries throughout his career, including a fractured throat and, as recently as the 2024 season, a partially torn pectoral muscle.
But those ailments were seemingly not enough to keep Ragnow away from the game for long. His reinsertion into the lineup gives new hope for the Lions’ offensive line, which, at best, has been up and down through the first three months of the 2025 season.
Quarterback Jared Goff has been sacked 23 times (12th-most in the NFL), and Detroit has rushed for fewer than 100 yards in each of its four losses. The Lions were held to under 75 rushing yards against the Green Bay Packers (Week 1), Minnesota Vikings (Week 9) and Philadelphia Eagles (Week 11).
Without Ragnow, the Lions turned to veteran Graham Glasgow, moving him from guard to center. At guard, the Lions initially leaned on second-year pro Christian Mahogany and rookie Tate Ratledge, but Mahogany broke a bone in his leg earlier this month and his since been replaced by Kayode Awosika. Mahogany could return in late December, Lions coach Dan Campbell has estimated.
To call Ragnow’s un-retirement a surprise would be an understatement. Asked on Nov. 4 about Ragnow, Lions coach Dan Campbell said the “ship has sailed” on him coming back: “Here’s what I know about Frank: If Frank really wanted to (play), he would be blowing my phone up, and I haven’t gotten a text yet,” Campbell said in an interview on 97.1 The Ticket’s “Costa & Jansen with Heather” show. “So, I think Frank is feeling good about his decision. Look, they just had another baby, so happy for them.”
“This is awesome for the Lions, can’t wait to watch Frank back out there doing his thing!” former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce said on social media.
Ragnow has appeared in and started 96 games in his career, with all but 16 of those games coming at center; he played left guard his rookie year. Ragnow is a four-time Pro Bowler and was a second-team All-Pro in 2020, 2023 and 2024. The Lions used the 20th overall pick in 2018 to draft Ragnow, who spent four seasons at Arkansas and was a two-time All-American.
As is standard when a player comes out of retirement, Ragnow’s preexisting contract will be in effect, according to ESPN. When he retired, he two years remaining on a four-year, $54 million extension signed in 2021.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) plays during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., in this Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, file photo. (RICK SCUTERI — AP Photo, file)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A Massachusetts woman who was once engaged to the brother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt remains in ICE custody two weeks after being arrested on her way to pick up the son she shares with her former fiancé.
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was driving to her son’s school in New Hampshire on Nov. 12 when she was pulled over in Revere, Massachusetts, her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said Wednesday.
“She wasn’t told why she was detained,” he said. “She was bounced from Massachusetts, to New Hampshire, to Vermont, to Louisiana on this unconstitutional merry-go-round.”
Pomerleau said Ferreira’s 11-year-old son lives with her former fiancé, Michael Leavitt, in New Hampshire, but they have shared custody and maintained a co-parenting relationship for many years since their engagement broke off.
“She was detained for no reason at all. She’s not dangerous. She’s not a flight risk. She’s not a criminal illegal alien,” he said. “She’s a business owner who pays taxes and has a child who was wondering where mommy was after school two weeks ago.”
Michael Leavitt did not respond to a message sent to his workplace. The White House press secretary declined comment. Karoline Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire, and made an unsuccessful run for Congress from the state in 2022 before becoming Trump’s spokesperson for his 2024 campaign and later joining him at the White House.
Pomerleau said his client was 2 or 3 when she and her family came to the U.S. from Brazil, and she later enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Obama-era policy that shields immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. He said she was in the process of applying for a green card.
The Department of Homeland Security said Ferreira entered the U.S. on a tourist visa that required her to leave in 1999. A department spokesperson said Ferreira had a previous arrest for battery, an allegation her attorney denied.
An online search of court cases in several Massachusetts locations where she has lived found no record of such a charge.
“They’re claiming she has some type of criminal record we’ve seen nowhere. Show us the proof,” Pomerleau said. “She would’ve been deported years ago if that was true. And yet, here she is in the middle of this immigration imbroglio.”
A DHS spokesperson confirmed Ferreira is being held in Louisiana.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to broadly reshape immigration policy have included changing the approach to DACA recipients. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin recently issued a statement saying that people “who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportations. DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters at the White House, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The four-part series — directed by Alexandria Stapleton and executive produced by 50 Cent — is described by the streaming giant as “a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend and convicted offender.”
The documentary will feature new interviews with “those formerly in Combs’ orbit,” according to Tuesday’s announcement. It also promises to “[tell] the story of a powerful, enterprising man and the gilded empire he built — and the underworld that lay just beneath its surface.”
In a teaser also released on Tuesday, former Bad Boy Records rapper Mark Curry is heard saying: “You can’t continue to keep hurting people and nothing ever happens. It’s just a matter of time.”
Last month, he began serving his four-year federal prison sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey. He’s also currently facing a barrage of civil lawsuits connected to sexual misconduct allegations as he attempts to appeal his conviction and sentence.
“This isn’t just about the story of Sean Combs or the story of Cassie, or the story of any of the victims, or the allegations against him, or the trial,” said Stapleton, whose previous credits include documentaries on Reggie Jackson, Chelsea Handler and JonBenét Ramsey.
“Ultimately, this story is a mirror [reflecting us] as the public, and what we are saying when we put our celebrities on such a high pedestal,” she continued. “I hope [this documentary] is a wake-up call for how we idolize people, and to understand that everybody is a human being.”
50 Cent, meanwhile, said he’s “grateful to everyone who came forward and trusted us with their stories,” adding that he’s proud to have Stapleton to “bring this important story to the screen.”
The “In Da Club” rapper has had long-standing beef with Diddy, dating back to the 2006 diss track “The Bomb,” in which 50 accused Combs of having something to do with the 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G.
50 Cent has said he suspected Combs’ alleged illegal behavior for years and that the documentary was already in the works prior to Diddy’s arrest in September 2024.
By MARK SHERMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t immediately allow the Trump administration to fire the director of the U.S. Copyright Office, instead delaying a decision until after they rule in two other high-profile firing cases.
The justices’ Wednesday order leaves in effect for now lower court rulings that held that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.
The case is the latest that relates to Trump’s authority to install his own people at the head of federal agencies. The Supreme Court has largely allowed Trump to fire officials, even as court challenges proceed.
Justice Clarence Thomas said he would have allowed Perlmutter to be fired as her lawsuit proceeds. The court majority, though, decided to wait to make a decision until after they rule in two other lawsuits over Trump firings.
Arguments are set for December in the first case, over the removal of Rebecca Slaughter as a member of the Federal Trade Commission.
And in January the court will hear the case of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who remains in her job despite Trump’s attempt to fire her.
Rulings are expected weeks or months after the court hears arguments.
Perlmutter’s case concerns an office that is within the Library of Congress. She is the register of copyrights and also advises Congress on copyright issues.
Despite the ties to Congress, the register “wields executive power” in regulating copyrights, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court.
Perlmutter claims Trump fired her in May because he disapproved of advice she gave to Congress in a report related to artificial intelligence. Perlmutter had received an email from the White House notifying her that “your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately,” her office said.
A divided appellate panel ruled that Perlmutter could keep her job while the case moves forward.
As a person on a bicycle rides past, construction on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court continues Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
DALLAS — One of the happier narrative arcs in Hollywood belongs to Macaulay Culkin, who shot to superstardom as a kid in the 1990 smash “Home Alone.” It’s hard to endure the fame machine at only 10 years old, but Culkin turned out OK. These days, he lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Brenda Song, another former child star (Disney’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”), and their two little boys.
From left to right: Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song attend the world premiere of Zootopia 2 at El Capitan Theatre on Nov. 13, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images North America/TNS)
After years of distancing himself from “Home Alone’s” Kevin McCallister, the precocious boy left behind on a family Christmas trip to Paris, Culkin has learned to accept his fate as the (screaming) face of a generation.
I spoke with Culkin by phone on Nov. 17, a day after “Home Alone’s” 35th anniversary. When I mentioned this, there was a beat of silence as he checked the date. “What do you know? I missed it!” He laughed. “Thank you for reminding me.” He’d spent the previous day with Song at a Los Angeles Rams game that the team won by two points. “Man, that was a nailbiter,” he said.
Q: Everyone has to deal with growing older, but you’re like a mirror held up to the rest of the world. As you grow older, we grow older, too.
A: Exactly. I am the opposite of Dorian Gray. This movie being 35 years old doesn’t just age me, it ages everyone else. Someone at the grocery store will ask how old I am, and I’ll say, aw, man, you don’t want to know. I’m 45, and sometimes, it’s a little punch in the gut.
Q: You pushed away from “Home Alone” for a long time. What convinced you to come back?
A: I’ve been embracing it a lot over the last few years, because I have kids of my own [Dakota, 4, and Carson, 2]. I show it to them, and my kids don’t even know it’s me. I’m taller now, I’m bearded, so they don’t quite put it together. My oldest thinks he’s Kevin. I’ll ask him if he remembers sliding down the stairs on the sled, and he’s like, sure do. What a liar! [Laughs.]
But the movie has taken on a different meaning for me. It’s fun getting people together to see this movie in a theater. Laughter is infectious. I did the tour last year, and I was touched by the reception. People want to share it with their kids the way I want to share it with my kids.
It’s a different experience watching it as an adult. There are a number of jokes that go past the kids’ heads. And slapstick is funny. Watching people get smashed in the face and fall on their butts — who doesn’t love that?
Q: I’m curious if you have any memories attached to Dallas.
A: Dallas was the first city I flew on a plane to visit. I went there to work on Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July.” I was cast in that movie, and they cut my part out. I’ve never seen the scene in any DVD extras, so Lord knows it’s probably lost to time.
Q: No way! What was your role?
A: I was probably just “boy in the crowd No. 1.” It was the third movie I’d done, so this would have been like 1988. I think Tom Cruise was in a parade or something, and my line was, “Mom, when I grow up I wanna be just like him,” and the mother turns to me and says, “No you don’t.”
Q: OK, rank these things: Dallas Cowboys, “Dallas” the TV show and the Von Erich wrestling family.
A: Ooh, the Von Erichs are No. 1 for sure. I’ve been a wrestling fan since I was a kid. I even got [my partner] Brenda into wrestling. So wrestling is a part of my DNA, and there’s quite a legacy in Texas.
Now, I don’t want to alienate any of your readers, but I’m going to say the show “Dallas” next, and I’m going to put the Cowboys last, simply because: Go Rams! Also, I grew up a Giants fan, because I’m from New York, and at the same time, the Rams are me and Brenda’s team. I can’t for the life of me put the Cowboys anywhere but last.
Q: I think a lot of our readers will agree with that ranking. Last question: You’re the one leaving your kids home for the holidays now. What will you miss most?
A: Everything. They’re such a fun age, where they believe in magic. Christmas is their favorite. Being away from them is tricky, but I make sure to go home, three days on, four days off. Last year I didn’t do that, and it was kind of a grind. Last year we had to get a plastic tree, because I’m the one who takes care of the tree. This year we got a real tree.
Macaulay Culkin attends the Los Angeles special screening of Amazon MGM Studios’ ” John Candy: I Like Me” at The Montalban on Oct. 2, 2025, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images North America/TNS)
LONDON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war closely mirrors the tactics he used to end two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas: bold terms that favor one side, deadlines for the combatants and vague outlines for what comes next. The details — enforcing the terms, guaranteeing security, who pays for rebuilding — matter less.
“You know what the deadline is to me? When it’s over.” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday.
The formula has worked so far in the tense Middle East, though its long-term viability remains in question. Trump got his moment to claim credit for “peace” in the region from the podium of the Israeli parliament. Even there, he made clear that next on his priority list was resolving the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
“Maybe we set out like a 20-point peace proposal, just like we did in Gaza,” U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser in a phone call the day after Trump’s speech, on Oct. 14. A recording of that call leaked to Bloomberg News.
They did just that, issuing a 28-point plan heavily tilted toward Russia’s interests that set off alarms in Europe, which had not been consulted. Trump insisted Ukraine had until Nov. 27 — Thanksgiving in the U.S. — to accept it.
But by Tuesday, Trump had eased off the hard deadline. It seemed clear, even to Trump, that the Israel-Gaza model doesn’t fully apply in Russia and Ukraine as long as Putin refuses to be flattered, pushed or otherwise moved to take the first step of a ceasefire, as Israel and Hamas consented for different reasons on Oct. 9. Making the point, Putin launched waves of bombings on Ukraine Tuesday and Wednesday even as American negotiators renewed Trump’s push to end the war.
“I thought (a Russia-Ukraine deal) would have been an easier one, but I think we’re making progress,” Trump said during the annual White House turkey pardon to mark the Thanksgiving holiday. Hours later, he told reporters that the 28-point plan actually “was not a plan, just a concept.”
FILE – Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential building which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike on Ternopil, Ukraine, Nov. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Vlad Kravchuk, file)
The president’s goal may not be a formal, long-lasting peace treaty, one expert said.
“Trump’s approach emphasizes the proclamation of a ceasefire, not its observance,” Mariia Zolkina, a political analyst at the Kyiv-based Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, wrote on Liga.net, a Ukrainian news outlet, adding: “Donald Trump is not interested in whether the ceasefire will be sustainable.”
Trump’s approach toward ‘peace’ bears similarities to the tactics and style he used in the Israel-Gaza talks
Fresh off the Gaza deal and coveting the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump named his next priority before he’d even left the Israeli Knesset.
“If you don’t mind, Steve, let’s focus on Russia first, All right?” Trump said, turning to Witkoff.
Where the Gaza ceasefire agreement had 20 points, the Russia-Ukraine proposal would start with 28 items and include more detail on who would pay for reconstruction. They envision “peace” boards headed by the president to lead and administer the aftermath. Both lack detail on incentives for complying and enforcement. And both depend on a ceasefire.
Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre think tank, said the proposals for Gaza and Ukraine show a kind of “naivete by believing that by intervening at that level, by imposing your will on something like this, that you will reach some form of long-term conclusion.”
He said both proposals reflect Trump’s political and personal self-interest.
FILE – People wearing hats that read “Trump The Peace President” inside the Knesset as President Donald Trump prepares to deliver remarks, Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
“In the end, the focus is solely on what Trump thinks he will get out of this in terms of reputation and money,” Zuleeg said.
Each Trump administration plan to end the wars heavily favor one side.
The Trump plan for Gaza leans to Israeli terms. It makes disarming Hamas a central condition for any progress in rebuilding the devastated territory. It also lays out no strict timetable for a full Israeli troop withdrawal, making it conditional on deployment of an international security force.
FILE – President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the West Wing of the White House, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
For Russia and Ukraine, Witkoff looked to open peace plan talks with terms skewing toward Russia. He quietly hosted Kirill Dmitriev, a close ally of Putin’s, for talks in south Florida to help launch the plan that opened talks in Geneva, according to a senior administration official and a U.S. official familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House insists that the plan was U.S.-authored with input from both the Ukrainians and Russians.
But that’s where the similarities end. The differences are buy-in — and Putin
The draft that was formally presented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decidedly favored the Russians, with no European input. In contrast, the Gaza ceasefire talks got buy-in from Egypt, Qatari, Jordanian, Saudi and other regional powers.
The 28-point Russia-Ukraine plan called for Ukraine to give up land in the industrial Donbas region that the Russians currently don’t control and dramatically shrink the size of its military. It also effectively gave Russia oversight of both NATO and EU expansion. The draft has narrowed by a few points since it was first presented, and Trump is sending his envoys on a bit of shuttle diplomacy to “sell it,” as he said. He said Witkoff will visit Moscow next week — perhaps joined by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was also involved in the Gaza plan. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will meet with the Ukranians.
European leaders worried that Trump is leaving them out of high-level discussions and vulnerable to Russian aggression.
FILE – Firefighters put out the fire after a drone hit a multi-storey residential building during Russia’s night drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, file)
“He appears perfectly ready to sacrifice Ukraine’s security and Europe’s in the process,” Hannah Neumann, a German member of the European Parliament, said of Trump on Tuesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted Trump’s pressure to agree to a ceasefire, for a time. But Putin refuses to concede anything on Ukraine.
He’s appeared to be considering the matter, notably when Trump rolled out a red carpet for the Russian leader at a summer summit in Alaska — an old front line of the Cold War. Trump left without an agreement from Putin to end the bloodshed. The Russian leader walked off with long-sought recognition on the world stage.
To the horror of Ukraine and the vexation of Trump, Putin has stood firm.
FILE – A man hugs his children as they react to the death of their mother killed by a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
As the envoys flew home from Geneva last week without any agreement, the White House scrambled to explain. One U.S. official argued that the 28-page plan, which calls on Ukraine to cede the Donbas region and bar Ukraine from joining NATO, represents considerable concessions from Putin because he would be agreeing to give up on his claim, once and for all, that all of Ukraine should be part of Russia.
Putin, the official noted, has long grumbled that the West doesn’t respect Russia’s position in the global world order. The official added that the Trump White House in its approach is not affirming Putin’s position but trying to reflect the Russian perspective is given its due in the emerging peace plan.
It’s not for the administration to judge Putin’s positions, the official said, but it does have “to understand them if we want to get to a deal.”
McNeil reported from Brussels and Madhani from Washington. Associated Press writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed.
FILE – In this file photo taken Sept. 25, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the InterContinental Barclay New York hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
ANN ARBOR — This is it. The Game. Michigan-Ohio State. And whether it’s to maintain an unbeaten record or if there are no postseason stakes involved, whether you’re a multi-touchdown favorite or underdog, this game means everything to the two programs.
Top-ranked and defending national champion Ohio State, 11-0 this season and already a lock for the playoff, will face No. 15 Michigan 9-2, 7-1, vying for a potential berth in the Big Ten title game and playoff, on Saturday at Michigan Stadium in the series’ 121st meeting.
Michigan has won four straight against Ohio State, including a 13-10 upset last year as a three-touchdown underdog in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the eight games prior to that streak.
“Anybody that says that this is just another game is crazy, because it’s not,” captain and tight end Marlin Klein said Monday. “This is The Game, and that’s for a reason.
“I can’t really tell you what it feels like. I can’t really tell you the emotions that I have when I go out there for a game like that, especially for that game. You can’t really talk about it. You got to be in it, and you got to experience it.”
This will be Sherrone Moore’s second Michigan-Ohio State coach as head coach, but he led the Wolverines to victory in 2023 as acting head coach. Much has been made of Michigan having a perceived mental edge against the Buckeyes during the four-game streak. In 2023, the Wolverines were trying to remain unbeaten and went on to win the national championship. Last year, they had just become bowl eligible a week before and had nothing but pride on the line. This year, the Wolverines have the potential, if other things fall into place, of making the Big Ten title game and the playoff.
Mental edge or not, the Wolverines simply want to beat their arch rivals.
“Whatever happened in the past doesn’t matter, so all we can do is focus on now,” Moore said. “This is a new team, new staff, new players, new coaches, new environment, different, so all we can do is focus on today, and that’s it.
“But the players on the team the previous couple year’s wins, they know what it takes to win this fight, right? They understand what the game is about. But again, they’re a different team, we’re a different team.”
Klein said Moore’s message to the team Monday was clear.
“It’s about us. It’s about Michigan. That’s what it’s always about,” Klein said of the message delivered. “There’s a playoff game. We win this one, we’re in playoffs. But you win this game, you’ll be remembered in Ann Arbor forever. We, especially as seniors, get to put our stamp on this one, which is super exciting.”
Starting left guard Gio El-Hadi, also a captain, and Klein will share their experiences from this game with the younger players, and there are quite a few of them on offense, starting with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Freshman receiver Andrew Marsh also will be making his Michigan-Ohio State debut, and the offensive line starts three redshirt freshmen.
El-Hadi has been around for these games since 2021, but last year was the first he started.
“And just that feeling you get, it’s kind of like when siblings fight,” El-Hadi said of facing the Buckeyes. “You guys know that feeling when siblings fight, you have that rage. We have three guys that never played against this team, so I try to explain to them how important it is to play against this team that’s (going to) be a brawl. They throw some jabs, we throw some jabs. Be a couple uppercuts.
“The end of the day, we have to win the game. That’s what’s important.”
Winning at Ohio Stadium last year for a second straight time after not winning in that stadium since 2000 was enormous for the program, which went on to upset Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
“It was sweet winning down there last year, but it’s gonna be even better here in front of our fans and our student section, our band and just in Ann Arbor, the best place on earth,” Klein said. “Getting that win against that team at home will be huge. So just super excited for the opportunity.
ESPN’s College GameDay and Fox Big Noon Kickoff will host their shows from Ann Arbor, and Moore is more than aware of the distractions before this game. He said he wants his players to remain in the playoff mindset they’ve embraced since losing at USC before winning five straight entering this game.
“There’s a lot of things going on, but at the end of the day, we got to channel our focus on our preparation, and that’s how you win,” Moore said.
Klein said he thinks about the Michigan-Ohio State game every day.
“That’s what this game means to me,” he said. “It means everything to me. If you ask me what the greatest day of my life was, it was last year going down there and beating them in their place. It was the best day of my life so far. And just trying to repeat that this year.”
He was asked how a win Saturday would rate.
“My senior year, Senior Day, them coming to our house in front of our fans, students, band,” Klein said, “it’ll be the best day of my life.”
Injury update
Two-time captain Max Bredeson, a fullback/tight end, was in a right boot and on crutches in the second half of the game at Maryland. Moore said Bredeson had X-rays.
“Didn’t look great, but if anybody can push through it, it’s Max Bredesen,” Moore said. “So we’ll know more as we go through the week.”
Receiver Semaj Morgan and linebacker Ernest Hausmann, a captain and the team’s leading tackler, did not travel to the Maryland game last weekend.
“Semaj will be fine, and Ernest will be day to day,” Moore said.
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore led his team out for the start of last season’s game against Ohio State in Columbus. He’ll try to engineer another victory over the Buckeyes on Saturday in Ann Arbor. (DAVID GURALNICK — The Detroit News)
For all the memorable moments that it provided, the majority of the Lions’ performance was forgettable — a shocking unraveling for most of four quarters before Jahmyr Gibbs stitched it all back together with two big-time touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Giants played Detroit like they have most contenders they’ve faced this season: With a general fearlessness that keeps them in it until the very end. In their prior two games, they took both Green Bay and Chicago to the wire, with both Lions’ divisional foes needing a late touchdown to win; the Packers scored their winning touchdown with 4:02 to go, and the Bears took their lead with 1:47 remaining.
All of this is to say that the Giants were no easy out, despite being the first team eliminated from the playoffs with Sunday’s loss.
And while that’s not going to make any nervous Lions fan feel better about the road ahead, what ultimately matters most is that they added to their win column instead of the loss column. The 8-seed Lions (7-4) are still on the outside looking in of the playoff picture after Sunday’s events, and a loss would have put them in a hole that could have been tough to climb out of, especially given what’s on the docket.
Detroit’s next six opponents have a combined record of 39-25-2, tied with Chicago for the third-most difficult remaining schedule in the league, per Tankathon. (Green Bay, for what it’s worth, is first.)
Under normal circumstances, the Lions likely would have to find three more wins in this six-game span just to get into the playoffs, but even that might not be enough: The 49ers (7-4) are currently in the 7 seed. It might take 11 wins (and a 4-2 record down the stretch for Detroit) to find a way in if they can’t track down Chicago for the division lead.
The silver lining is the Lions can quickly climb the standings by beating the teams ahead of them. These next three games are critically important. They can jump Green Bay in the North with a win Thursday. A win over Dallas the following week would go a long way toward shoving the Cowboys out of the playoff picture while adding an NFC win. And if they can win those two and find a way to beat Los Angeles, well, we’d have to think Detroit is the favorite to win the NFC North.
Of course, it won’t be that simple. Green Bay stuffed Detroit in a locker in Week 1, and the Packers’ front is still a major mismatch for a Lions offensive line that has since lost a starter. Dallas has a potent offense and has shown a propensity for shutting down the run since making some trade-deadline acquisitions. And the Rams have established themselves as the best team in football through 12 weeks.
When I look at the back half of this schedule, I’m really not sure what to expect. They could go 5-1 or 2-4, and neither would truly surprise me.
On the one hand: The pass protection is still an inconsistent mess; the pass rush has barely gotten home in the last three weeks; the secondary has been extremely volatile at times; and the Lions, one of the league’s worst third-down teams (25th), have lost one of their best money-down options, tight end Sam LaPorta, indefinitely.
On the other hand: The Lions have the best lineman-running back-receiver trios in the league in Penei Sewell, Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown; their defensive front has been playing lights-out against the run; they’re expected to continue getting defensive starters back; and they still have the pedigree of a team that’s used to winning the division.
Everything is on the table — positive and negative — for these final six weeks.
Audio glitch
Had Jake Bates missed the last-minute kick that tied the game, there would be one major topic of conversation today that’s instead being glossed over.
After quarterback Jared Goff moved the chains with a 9-yard completion to St. Brown, he spiked the ball at Detroit’s 47-yard line to stop the clock with 1:12 left in the game. The team huddled, but with the play clock winding down, the Lions ended up using their third and final timeout anyway.
Why?
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell celebrates after the team’s overtime win over the New York Giants in an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Lions coach Dan Campbell said there was an issue with the headset, and he couldn’t get the play to Goff after the spike. The broadcast cameras showed Campbell immediately talking into the headset after the spike, but as the clock wound down to under 10 seconds, the team remained in the huddle.
“I don’t know what happened with that, to be honest with you,” Campbell said. “I just knew I couldn’t get to him. So, I don’t know if something happened, I don’t know. The procedure of what goes on for me, from me to him. Yeah, it was just one of those oddball, weird deals, where thank God it didn’t cost us.”
Goff’s on-field actions — he approached the ref and pointed to his headset after the timeout was called — seemed to confirm that was the case, and the Lions immediately overcame it by hitting Gibbs for an 11-yard pass that went for a first down, helping move Detroit into field-goal range for Bates.
And there is, of course, an argument to be made that one decision begot the other: Because the Lions spiked the ball on first down, they couldn’t afford to run a dud play on second down, and therefore needed to use the timeout to avoid cratering the last-gasp possession.
But it probably still shouldn’t have happened. Campbell has talked at length about how Goff knows the offense as well as he does, and how he can get them into the right play when things go wonky. Yet, that didn’t occur in a moment of utmost importance.
And while it might be asking too much of Goff to just take over the huddle at a moment’s notice and call a play, it’s not like it was the first time a headset has gone down during an NFL game. There needs to be a contingency plan for moments like those, because it could have cost them dearly.
Comeback kids
In last week’s “Final Drive,” one of the things I bemoaned about this Lions team was that they haven’t played well from behind all season. In each of their four losses, they fell behind in the first half and never regained a lead at any point in the second half.
The Lions threatened to extend that streak Sunday, falling behind 17-7 in the second quarter and not regaining the lead until overtime.
New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (17) loses the ball as he is hit by Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)
But for the first time all season, they prevailed. And yes, it was against a crappy opponent, but when they fell behind against the Eagles, for example, it was hard to foresee a comeback; they just hadn’t done it. Now, they have.
That goes further in the locker room than one might think.
“You never know what these (types of wins) can do. Sometimes, it’s just important to remind yourself what we’re all capable of, even when the chips are down and things get hard,” Campbell said. “You don’t ever forget how to dig in one more time and find a way to lean on each other and do your job. And anytime you can get a win like this, it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing.
“Because that very easily a number of times could have gone the other way, and we all know it. But it didn’t, it didn’t. we made the plays we had to make.”
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) receives congratulations from Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) after scoring a touchdown in the first half against the New York Giants during an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
BANGKOK (AP) — Rights groups on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration’s decision to end protected status for Myanmar citizens due to the country’s “notable progress in governance and stability,” even though it remains mired in a bloody civil war and the head of its military regime faces possible U.N. war crimes charges.
In her announcement Monday ending temporary protection from deportation for citizens of Myanmar, also known as Burma, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cited the military’s plans for “free and fair elections” in December and “successful ceasefire agreements” as among the reasons for her decision.
“The situation in Burma has improved enough that it is safe for Burmese citizens to return home,” she said in a statement.
The military under Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing seized power from democratically-elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and is seeking to add a sheen of international legitimacy to its government with the upcoming elections. But with Suu Kyi in prison and her party banned, most outside observers have denounced the elections as a sham.
“Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem is treating those people just like her family’s dog that she famously shot down in cold blood because it misbehaved — if her order is carried out, she will literally be sending them back to prisons, brutal torture, and death in Myanmar,” Phil Robertson, the director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, said in a statement.
“Secretary Noem is seriously deluded if she thinks the upcoming elections in Myanmar will be even remotely free and fair, and she is just making things up when she claims non-existent ceasefires proclaimed by Myanmar’s military junta will result in political progress.”
The military takeover sparked a national uprising with fierce fighting in many parts of the country, and pro-democracy groups and other forces have taken over large swaths of territory.
FILE – Smoke rises from debris and corrugated roofing of a school structure that was burned to the ground in Taung Myint village in the Magway region of Myanmar on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. (AP Photo, File)
The military government has stepped up activity ahead of the election to retake areas controlled by opposition forces, with airstrikes killing scores of civilians.
In its fight, the military has been accused of the indiscriminate use of landmines, the targeting of schools, hospitals and places of worship in its attacks, and the use of civilians as human shields.
An arrest warrant was also requested last year for Min Aung Hlaing by International Criminal Court prosecutors accusing him of crimes against humanity for the persecution of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority before he seized power.
The shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, established by elected lawmakers who were barred from taking their seats after the military took power in 2021, said it was saddened by Homeland Security’s decision.
NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt said the military is conducting forced conscription, attacking civilians on a daily basis, and that the elections were excluding any real opposition and would not be accepted by anybody.
“The reasons given for revoking TPS do not reflect the reality in Myanmar,” Nay Phone Latt told The Associated Press.
In her statement, Noem said her decision to remove the “TPS” protection was made in consultation with the State Department, though its latest report on human rights in Myanmar cites “credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention.”
And the State Department’s latest travel guidance for Americans is to avoid the country completely.
“Do not travel to Burma due to armed conflict, the potential for civil unrest, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, poor health infrastructure, land mines and unexploded ordnance, crime, and wrongful detentions,” the guidance reads.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 30,000 people have been arrested for political reasons since the military seized power, and 7,488 have been killed.
Still, Homeland Security said that “the secretary determined that, overall, country conditions have improved to the point where Burmese citizens can return home in safety,” while adding that allowing them to remain temporarily in the U.S. is “contrary to the national interest.”
John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said that “extensive reporting on Myanmar contradicts almost every assertion” in the Homeland Security statement.
The decision could affect as many as 4,000 people, he said.
“Homeland Security’s misstatements in revoking TPS for people from Myanmar are so egregious that it is hard to imagine who would believe them,” he said in a statement.
“Perhaps no one was expected to.”
FILE -Myanmar’s Military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing speaks during a session at the World Atomic Week forum at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy (VDNKh) in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 25, 2025. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP, File)
When the curtain rises on “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” this December, it won’t just mark the start of Grosse Pointe Theatre’s 78th season. It will christen a new artistic home.
After nearly a decade of performing in borrowed and temporary spaces, the company steps into the gleaming, state-of-the-art Schaap Center with a production that celebrates community, honors veterans and embraces the heart of the holidays.
Running Dec. 5-21, this beloved musical offers everything audiences come to the theater for this time of year: romance, nostalgia, lavish costumes, spirited dance numbers, and, of course, Berlin’s timeless music. But behind the sparkle is a deeper message. It’s one that resonates strongly with this company and the community it serves.
A new stage, a new chapter
For Director Nick Marinello, this performance at the Schaap Center stage is both a milestone and a moment of gratitude.
“Stepping onto the Schaap Center stage feels like the culmination of eight years of creativity, resilience and gratitude,” Marinello said. “We’ve been itinerant performers for nearly a decade, and the Grosse Pointe schools graciously kept us alive during that time. Now, there’s this incredible sense of responsibility that comes with walking into our new performance home.”
That responsibility is woven through every design choice, every rehearsal and every collaborative moment among the cast and crew.
“The Grosse Pointe community, the Detroit community, and so many generous partners came together to make this space a reality,” Marinello added. “We feel called to be good ambassadors for the arts here.”
It’s a fitting sentiment for a production that centers on service, generosity and the bonds that hold people together, particularly during the holidays.
A story rooted in gratitude and service
Based on the iconic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, “White Christmas” follows Army buddies Bob Wallace and Phil Davis as they pursue a pair of singing sisters to Vermont, only to discover that the failing inn where the women are booked is owned by their beloved former commander, Gen. Waverly. In true musical-comedy fashion, romance, laughter and heartwarming surprises ensue.
But beyond the snow-dusted charm and big dance breaks, the story has an emotional core that speaks directly to audiences and to this year’s creative team.
“For me, the song ‘What Do You Do With a General?’ captures the heart of those themes,” Marinello said. “It’s a poignant reflection on how retired service members can be celebrated for their heroism yet still overlooked when they return to civilian life. The show invites us to make sure our words of thanks aren’t hollow, but supported by real acts of service.”
Those themes hit especially close to home for Apprentice Director Kyle Weatherbee, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran who served in Hawaii and Okinawa. Weatherbee sees the musical not simply as a holiday classic, but as a story of reintegration and support.
“The Marine Corps has a way of humbling people through hardship, sacrifice and service,” he said. “Some of the characters in this production are navigating life after the military, trying to find purpose and joy again. I have walked that path and understand the struggles and triumphs of adjusting to a new normal.”
Weatherbee added that the show’s depiction of chosen family — the Army veterans who rally together for their general — reflects the real impact of community support. “At its core, ‘White Christmas’ is about people helping people. Acts of kindness can have a lasting impact.”
Grosse Pointe Theatre’s production of "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas" will run Dec. 5-21 at the Schaap Center in Grosse Pointe Park. Leading the cast are Mario Simone (Bob Wallace), top, Manda Borden (Betty Haynes), Jillian Evennou (Judy Haynes),and Zak Shugart (Phil Davis). (Photo courtesy of Grosse Pointe Theatre)
A GPT production through and through
While the story is timeless, the production itself is uniquely Grosse Pointe Theatre. A cast of 26 performers and a backstage crew of 25 bring the musical to life, supported entirely by the passion, talent and craftsmanship of volunteers.
“What makes this production uniquely GPT is the signature blend of artistry, craftsmanship and heart that comes from a volunteer-driven community,” Marinello said. “Every detail — the costumes, choreography, musical arrangements, and set design — carries that unmistakable ‘GPT touch.’ It’s the pride, care and collaborative energy that people in this community pour into a show.”
Audiences can look forward to all the classic visual hallmarks of “White Christmas” — elegant 1950s winter glamour, sweeping dance numbers, and musical favorites such as “Blue Skies,” “Sisters,” “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” and, of course, “White Christmas.” For many, these songs are woven into the fabric of the season itself.
In this production, they will be complemented by stunning costumes, vivid sets and “the kind of warmth only community theatre can deliver,” Marinello said.
In addition to the musical itself, audiences can enjoy festive pre-show entertainment. Metro Detroit choral groups will perform seasonal favorites 30 minutes before each curtain, and Santa and Christmas Carol will appear at select performances. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to explore the theater and enjoy the amenities of the Schaap Center and the Manoogian Art Gallery.
For the broader GPT community, this production is more than the start of a new season; it’s the start of a new home.
“This marks a historic moment in our 78-year history,” said Linda Zublick, executive director of Grosse Pointe Theatre. “The move to a new performance home would not be possible without our dedicated members, passionate patrons, generous donors, and the vibrant community that has supported us every step of the way.”
Marinello echoes that sentiment.
“‘White Christmas’ is Grosse Pointe Theatre’s holiday card to the metro Detroit community,” he said. “Our way of saying ‘thank you’ for making a difference and supporting the arts. We invite everyone to celebrate this special season with us.”
As the company looks ahead, Marinello hopes this production sets the tone for the next chapter.
“I hope this production feels like a housewarming for us and for the audience,” he said.
If you go
What: “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” presented by Grosse Pointe Theatre
When: Dec. 5-21, with evening shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Pre-show choral performances begin 30 minutes before. Special Santa appearances on Dec. 11 and Dec. 14.
Where: Schaap Center for the Performing Arts, 15001 E. Jefferson Ave., Grosse Pointe Park
Parking: Free self-parking and complimentary valet
Runtime: About 2 hours, 30 minutes, with an intermission
Manda Borden as Betty Haynes and Jillian Evennou as Judy Haynes perform the iconic number “Sister” in "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas", presented by Grosse Pointe Theatre.
(Photo courtesy of Grosse Pointe Theatre)
Grosse Pointe Theatre’s production of "Irving Berlin’s White Christmas" will run Dec. 5-21 at the Schaap Center in Grosse Pointe Park. Leading the cast are Mario Simone (Bob Wallace), left, Manda Borden (Betty Haynes), Zak Shugart (Phil Davis) and Erin Johnson (Judy Haynes). (Photo courtesy of Grosse Pointe Theatre)
Here is a list of upcoming holiday activities and events, including tree lightings, holiday markets, and visits with Santa.
• Annual Mighty Gobbler 5K Run/1Mile Walk: 8-11 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27, hosted by Lutheran Church of the Master, Troy. Registration for the 5K is $42 and $37 for the 1M, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Micah 6 Community and Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers. Runners are also encouraged to bring canned goods to help stock the food pantry at Troy People Concerned. Register at mightygobbler.com.
• Holly Dickens Festival: Lighted parade is 6 p.m. Nov. 28, (includes a sensory-friendly portion). Festival continues 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 29-Dec. 14, downtown Holly. Stroll the streets of historic Battle Alley, visit shops, enjoy strolling Christmas carolers, street performers, holiday lights, roasted chestnuts, hot chocolate, children may visit with Santa in the Tiny Tim Children’s Tent, “Run like the Dickens Race” is Dec. 6, register at www.hollydickensfestival.org.
• Holiday House Tours and All Aboard! Model Railroad Exhibit: noon-4 p.m. Nov. 28-30 and select Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays in December, at Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, buy tickets at the door, general adm. is $5/adults, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms.
• Holiday Walk and Winter Wonder Lights: select dates Nov. 28-Dec. 30, Meadow Brook Hall, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, on the campus of Oakland University, annual indoor daytime Holiday Walk, and the outdoor evening light show, featuring music and concessions, meadowbrookholidays.com, (248) 364-6200, ticket prices vary.
• Very Merry Brunch: Nov. 28 and Dec. 22 in Meadow Brook Hall’s ballroom, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, brunch before exploring the three main floors of the mansion decorated for Holiday Walk, meadowbrookholidays.com, tickets are $75 each.
• Birmingham Santa Walk: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Nov. 29, walk with Santa, hot chocolate while supplies last 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Santa visits are noon-4 p.m. Nov. 29 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 30. Free horse Drawn Carriage Rides are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 29-30, Small Business Saturday activities on Nov. 29, register for Santa Walk at www.allinbirmingham.com.
• Annual Elf Shelf Arts & Craft Show: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 29, at Troy High School, 4777 Northfield Parkway, featuring over 200 booths of handcrafted gifts, seasonal décor, jewelry, textiles, hosted by the Troy Women’s Association, (248) 988-0426, www.troywomensassociation.org, $3 donation at the door to benefit scholarships and local charities.
• Handmade for the Holidays: Tuesday-Saturday, Nov. 29-Dec. 20, hours vary, Huron Valley Council for the Arts, 205 W. Livingston Road, Highland Twp., https://huronvalleyarts.org.
• Holiday Tea & Tour: select dates Nov. 30-Dec. 21, in Meadow Brook Hall’s Dining Room, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, includes admission to Holiday Walk. Tickets are $85 each.
• Tannenbaum Teas: Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, Meadow Brook Hall, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, guided Holiday Walk tour, premiere tea, a professional portrait of your group and valet parking. Tickets are $125 each.
Annual holiday lights celebration: 6:30-8 p.m. Dec. 2, ceremony, tree lighting and 20-foot candle, carols, and Santa will arrive via fire truck at Farmington Hills City Hall, 31555 W. Eleven Mile Road, Farmington Hills, followed by free cookies and hot cocoa, and Santa visits inside Fire Station #5 on the campus of City Hall, www.fhgov.com.
• Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony: 6-8 p.m. Dec. 2, on the front lawn of the Southfield Municipal Campus, 26000 Evergreen Road. The City of Southfield opening remarks, followed by the arrival of Santa, escorted by the Southfield A&T High School Marching Band, to officially light the city tree. The event includes a petting zoo, ice carving demonstrations, live entertainment, take-and-make crafts for children, cookies and hot chocolate. Visits with Santa inside the Southfield Pavilion, (248) 796-4620, www.cityofsouthfield.com.
• Starlight Stroll: Dec. 3, Meadow Brook Hall’s ballroom, 350 Estate Drive, Rochester, holiday elegance that includes live music, open bar, strolling dinner, and complimentary valet, meadowbrookholidays.com, tickets are $150 each.
• Holiday Market: 3-7 p.m. Dec. 3, Oakland County Farmers Market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford Twp., decorations, artisan crafts and specialty food items, www.facebook.com/OaklandCountyFarmersMarket, 248-858-5495.
• Holiday Gift and Book Sale: Dec. 3-6, White Lake Township Library, 11005 Elizabeth Lake Road, White Lake Twp., whitelakelibrary.org, 248-698-4942.
• Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s Shop & Champagne fundraiser: 6:30-9 p.m. Dec. 3, featuring sparkling beverages, a gourmet strolling supper and early-access shopping with tickets at $90 in advance at BBArtCenter.org or call 248-644-0866.
• Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center’s (BBAC) Holiday Shop: Dec. 4-19, (10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.–Sat; and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays) at BBAC, 1516 S. Cranbrook Road, Birmingham, featuring handmade gift items from hundreds of juried artists, free admission to Holiday Shop.
• Gifts & Greens Market: Dec. 4-6, (5-8 p.m. Dec. 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 5 and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 6), at the Abiding Presence Lutheran Church, 1550 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills, annual fundraising market with hand-made arrangements of fresh greens, delectables and gifts, presented by Rochester Garden Club, RochesterGardenClub.org, $5 entrance fee opening gala on Thursday and $2 admission on Friday and Saturday.
• Birmingham Winter Markt and Holiday Tree Lighting: Friday-Sunday, Dec. 5-7 (4-9 p.m. Dec. 5; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 6; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 7), Shain Park, 270 W. Merrill St., downtown Birmingham, Tree Lighting ceremony is at 6 p.m. Dec. 5, local artists and vendors, Santa House visits with Santa, 6:45 p.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 5, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 6 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 7. Free carriage rides are 3-7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 7. Snow Queen and Frozen Princess Appearances from 12:30-3:30 p.m. Dec. 6, www.allinbirmingham.com.
• Christmas Tree Lighting: Annual City of Troy Christmas Tree Lighting kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5, at a new location, at The Rink at Stine Community Park, 241 Town Center Drive, Troy. Ice skating will begin at 5 p.m. and the Holiday Lighting Ceremony is at 6:30 p.m. live entertainment, photos with Santa, bring camera, free admission, hot chocolate to purchase, bring ice skates or rent them for $3 residents, $5 non-residents, troymi.gov/holidaylighting.
• Christmas in the Village: 3 p.m. Dec. 5, Ortonville, lighted Christmas parade at 7 p.m., followed by Christmas Tree Lighting. Activities on Dec. 6 are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and include bake and craft sale and pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Old Mill, downtown Ortonville, www.facebook.com/brandontwprec.
• The Holly Jolly Folly: 6 p.m. Dec. 5, at 1491 S. Lapeer Road, Lake Orion, fundraiser for the Orion Lighted Christmas Parade, 248-802-5521, www.orionlightedparade.com, tickets are $60+.
• Orion Lighted Christmas Parade: 6 p.m. Dec. 6, parade traverses from Florence Avenue to E. Flint Street to Broadway, downtown Lake Orion. After the parade, Santa Tent is open, across from the Fork and Pint restaurant (corner of Shadbolt and Broadway), www.orionlightedparade.com.
• Annual Holiday Extravaganza: Dec. 6, downtown Pontiac. The parade is at 11 a.m. (Parade route will begin on Cesar E. Chavez Ave. at Montcalm Street, continue down Saginaw Street, and end at the Pontiac City Square.) Winter Fun Festival is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saginaw Street (between Huron – M59 and Water Street) with live ice carving competition, petting farm, pony rides, Santa and Mrs. Claus, Grinch and Whoville Friends, Horse Drawn Wagon Rides, with community support from Auburn Hills, Waterford Twp. and White Lake Twp. The Run Elf Run race is at 8 a.m., Run Little Elves Run is 9 a.m. register for races, Holidayextravaganza.org.
• Holiday Home Tour: noon-5 p.m. Dec. 6, Friends of the Rochester Hills Public Library annual fundraising event featuring six holiday decorated homes in the greater Rochester area. Tickets with a map to the homes can be purchased for $30 per person at rhpl.org/friends and picked up in the library lobby on Dec. 6.
• Community Tree Lighting Ceremony: 3-6 p.m. Dec. 6, tree lighting at 5:30 p.m., crafts, games, hot cocoa, s’mores, story time, Springfield Township Parks & Recreation, 12000 Davisburg Road, Davisburg, www.springfield-twp.us.
• Kris Kringle Market: 4-10 p.m. Dec. 5 and noon-10 p.m. Dec. 6, West Fourth St. and Walnut, downtown Rochester, festive open-air holiday market, with holiday decorations, jewelry, unique gifts, and seasonal foods. Santa’s Village for children to visit with Santa Claus, Santa will be available until 9 p.m. both days. Story-time is at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, s’more station, live entertainment at Music Stage presented by The Roxy. Ben Sharkey Band is 7 p.m. Friday and Paul & Oates is 7 p.m. Saturday. Warming tent – sponsored by the Rochester Mills Beer Co. with proceeds to benefit local charitable organizations, downtownrochestermi.com or 248-656-0060.
• Twin Lakes Gingerbread House Challenge: noon-3 p.m. Dec. 6, at 455 Twin Lakes Drive, Oakland Twp. Tickets include a gingerbread house, decorations, lunch, shopping, and Chef Nate will be sharing Gingerbread decorating tips, www.golfgenius.com/pages/12118204522917055136, $53+ per child.
• 37th Annual South Lyon Holiday Shop: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 6, South Lyon High School, 1000 N. Lafayette St., South Lyon, www.facebook.com/SLfbHolidayShop.
• A Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 6, at Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms, timed tickets in advance, $7 members, $10 nonmembers. Tickets required for 16 years and younger.
• Cocoa and Crafts with Santa: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 6-7, Troy Historic Village, family-friendly activities, winter-themed games to get kids moving, a creative craft to take home, and a holiday selfie station for a memorable family photo, registration is not required, to register, visit www.TroyHistoricVillage.org, 248-524-3570.
• Rochester parade: 2 p.m. Dec. 7, travelling down Main Street from the corner of Tienken and Rochester Road, Rochester, www.rrc-mi.com/christmas-parade. Local road closures begin at 1 p.m.
• Birmingham Youth Assistance Breakfast with Santa: Dec. 7, at The Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. Times available: 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at The Townsend Hotel – The Regency Room, 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, www.birminghamyouthassistance.org/breakfast-with-santa.
• Corner Shower and Laundry’s Annual Cookie Walk Bake Sale: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Dec. 7, at Temple Beth El, 7400 Telegraph Rd, Bloomfield Hills, 248-214-3611, free to attend, cookie prices vary.
• Cranbrook House Holiday Tours and Teas: Dec. 9-13, Cranbrook House, 380 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills, 248-645-3149, cranbrook.edu. Cranbrook House Holiday Tour – $25 per person, Cranbrook House Holiday Tour & Tea – $70 per person.
• Candlelight Walking Tours: 6-9 p.m. Dec. 11, Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, $8 members, $10 non-members, www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms.
The Polar Express Trolley Ride: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 13, starting at Stadium Drive Elementary School, Lake Orion. The ride includes a reading of “The Polar Express” book with the Conductor and Mrs. Claus, and singing Christmas carols, with family photos with Santa, cookies, and a bell ornament keepsake, rides are 30 minutes, tickets for time slots are at www.shopocmainstreets.com/product/polar-express-ticket-2025, $12 each.
• Wreaths Across America Day: Dec. 13, at Oakview Cemetery 1032 North Main St., Royal Oak, community effort to lay wreaths at veterans grave sites, service at noon, on Wreaths Across America Day, Dec. 13. For information, contact Mike Sherman at 248-224-5973.
• Visits with Santa: Friday-Sunday Nov. 21-Dec. 14 and daily Dec. 18-24, during Santa’s hours by walk-up only at The Village of Rochester Hills Outdoor Shopping Center, Festival Park, 104 N. Adams Road, TheVORH.com. Visits with Santa’s Reindeer take place 1-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 29-Dec. 21.
• Visits with Santa at Holiday Castle: Nov. 17-Dec. 23, (10 a.m.-7:55 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon-5:55 p.m. Sunday), Somerset Collection, Troy, North Grand Court. Guests can reserve a photo session with Santa at https://somersetevents.as.me/SantaPhotos, photo prices vary.
Lighted attractions
• Glenlore Trails-Aurora Interactive Holiday Night Walk: Friday to Sunday evenings Nov. 21-Nov. 30, and Thursday to Sunday, Dec. 4-Dec. 28, at 3860 Newtown Road, Commerce Twp., one-mile walk through experience in wooded setting, ticket prices vary, purchase online at www.GlenloreTrails.com.
• Magic of Lights: Nov. 21-Jan. 3, hours are 6-9 p.m. Nov. 21-Dec. 11; then from Dec. 12-Jan. 3, hours are 6-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5:30-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday; holiday hours are 6-9 p.m. (Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, NYE), closed on New Year’s Day), Pine Knob Music Theatre Parking Area, 33 Bob Seger Drive, Independence Twp., ticket passes must be purchased online at https://magicoflights.com/locations/detroit-mi, prices vary.
• Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo: evenings, select dates, Nov. 22-Jan. 4, outdoor event, adv. gen. advance ticket prices vary, free for children younger than 2, parking is $8, purchase tickets at https://detroitzoo.org/events/wild-lights.
• Royal Oak Holidays: themed weekends of festive activities Nov. 21-Dec. 21, including visits with Santa and skating at The Rink at Royal Oak at Centennial Commons in downtown Royal Oak. The rink is a collection site for The Bottomless Toy Chest, www.royaloakholidays.com.
• Holiday Stroll: Nov. 28-29, Dec. 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, and 22-23, holiday lights, Santa, characters, carolers, at Canterbury Village, 2325 Joslyn Road, Orion Twp., ticket prices vary, register at www.canterburyvillage.com, free for ages 2 and younger, free parking.
• Holly Dazzle: evenings, Nov. 28-30, Dec. 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, 22-24, 26-28 and 31, at 12600 Dixie Hwy., Holly, winter wonderland stroll along a three-quarter mile outdoor trail, adorned with Christmas scenes, 248-634-5552, purchase tickets at www.hollydazzles.com.
• Big Bright Light Show: 5 p.m.-midnight Nov. 24-Jan. 18. The Big, Bright Light Show will illuminate buildings downtown, www.downtownrochestermi.com.
Holiday Walk and Winter Wonder Lights events are held on select dates, Nov. 28-Dec. 30, at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester.(Photo courtesy of Meadow Brook Hall)
Today is Tuesday, Nov. 25, the 329th day of 2025. There are 36 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Nov. 25, 1999, Elian Gonzalez, a 5-year-old Cuban boy, was rescued by two sport fishermen off the coast of Florida, setting off an international custody battle that eventually saw him repatriated to his father in Cuba.
Also on this date:
In 1783, following the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the last remaining British troops in the United States were evacuated from New York City.
In 1961, the USS Enterprise was commissioned; it was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and remains the longest naval vessel ever built, at 1,123 feet.
In 1963, the body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery after a funeral procession through Washington, D.C. An estimated 1 million people lined the somber procession route.
In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Ronald Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels.
In 2001, as the war in Afghanistan entered its eighth week, CIA officer Johnny “Mike” Spann was killed during a prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif that erupted while he was interviewing detainees, becoming the first American combat casualty of the conflict.
In 2016, Fidel Castro, who led his rebels to a victorious revolution in 1959, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 U.S. presidents during his half-century of authoritarian rule in Cuba, died at age 90.
In 2020, Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona died of a heart attack at age 60. Maradona led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title before later struggling with cocaine use and obesity.
Today’s Birthdays:
Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is 85.
Actor John Larroquette is 78.
Dance judge Bruno Tonioli (TV: “Dancing with the Stars”) is 70.
Musician Amy Grant is 65.
Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter is 60.
Rapper-producer Erick Sermon is 57.
Actor Jill Hennessy is 57.
Actor Christina Applegate is 54.
Former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is 49.
Television personality Jenna Bush Hager and twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush, daughters of former President George W. Bush, are 44.
Soccer manager and former player Xabi Alonso is 44.
Actor Stephanie Hsu is 35.
Five-year-old Elian Gonzalez looks at a Christmas decoration in front of his new home in Miami, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 1999. Days after he was rescued off the coast of Florida, Gonzalez, caught in a political tug-of-war between Cuba and the United States, is starting to ask questions about his future. Family members here want him to stay, saying he will have a better life off the Communist country. His father has demanded he be returned to Cuba. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 15 points and No. 7 Michigan routed San Diego State 94-54 on Monday night in the opening round of the Players Era tournament.
Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr. each had 13 points. Nimari Burnett and Rodd Gale Jr. scored 11 apiece and Will Tschetter added 10. Michigan (4-0) outrebounded the Aztecs (2-1) 45-39 and scored 15 fast-break points.
For the Aztecs, freshman Elzie Harrington scored 15 points and B.J. Davis added 11. San Diego State turned the ball over 17 times.
Michigan started the second half with an 8-0 run to turn a 12-point halftime advantage to 20 points in the first 2:41. Johnson had five of the eight points. The Aztecs never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
The Wolverines led by 17 points midway through the first half, but San Diego State cut it o nine with 1:26 left in the half on Harrington’s 3-pointer. Burnett countered with his own 3-pointer with 1:05 left and the Wolverines went into the half with a 45-33 lead.
Up next
On Tuesday, Michigan will play No.21 Auburn, and San Diego State will face Oregon.
Michigan players celebrate a score against San Diego State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Las Vegas, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Trailing Grosse Pointe South by four points, Farmington Hills Mercy edged out the Blue Devils in the last event of Saturday’s D2 girls swimming and diving state finals in Ypsilanti to be crowned champs for the third year in a row.
The foursome of Avery Tack, Campbell Shore, Lyla Collins and Ella Hafner — none of which are graduating following this season — slipped past GP South by a little over a second with a time of 3:26.05 in the 400-meter relay. That gave Mercy 337 points to South’s 335.
It secured the sixth title under head coach Michael Venos, including the second three-peat. The Marlins’ previously won a handful of titles in a row (2007-10 in D2, 2011 in D1) under former coach Shannon Dunworth. The win also marked Mercy’s 14th championship overall.
The schools from Birmingham came in just behind the Mercy-GP South tandem. Seaholm came third place with 260.5 points, followed by Groves with 155.5. Berkley took eighth with 96 and South Lyon East came in ninth with 94 to round out the top-10.
Beyond that, Royal Oak finished 11th (74 points), Rochester Adams ended 12th (69), South Lyon was 15th (47), Walled Lake Northern finished 17th (27), North Farmington took 23rd (19) and Holly finished 26th (13).
GP South beat out Seaholm (Leah Isaksen, Payton Garn, Layla Stephens, Madailein Howard; 1:46.96) and Groves to win the 200 medley relay and jump out in front to start the day at Eastern Michigan. In the 200 free relay, the Blue Devils won again, just barely defeating Mercy’s same quartet by 31-hundredths of a second.
Elsewhere, the Marlins made headway when Hafner (1:47.53) came runner-up in the 200 free to Adrienne Schadler (1:46.85) of Ann Arbor Skyline as both surpassed the former D2 record held by Marian’s Mollie Pulte. Tack, who took second in the 200 IM as a sophomore, won it this time around with a time of 2:04.64.
Hafner set a new D2 record in the 500 free with her prelim time of 4:49.74, but a mark of 4:49.90 in the finals was only good for second as Schadler raised the bar with a winning time of 4:48.50.
South Lyon senior Emma Klotz was just two-hundredths away from winning the 50 free event a year after Whitney Handworth of GP South, who again took first, beat Klotz out by three-hundredths. However, Klotz got her revenge in the 100 free, banking the Lions 20 points with her time of 50.70 that beat out runner-up Handwork (50.92).
Seaholm's Isaksen was just the winner of the consolation final in the 100 backstroke last fall as a sophomore, but showed off her improvement and came second this year by finishing with in 56.83. Her teammate, freshman Payton Garn, shared the spoils with Groves' Livvy Kamp as both split first-place honors in the 100 breaststroke with their finals times of 1:02.76.
Additionally, Rochester Adams junior Morgan Rea scored 431.75 points to handily win the diving competition.
Berkley senior Tessa Moleski was the victor in both the 50 and 100-yard paralympic freestyle.
Division 3 at Holland Aquatic Center
Bloomfield Hills Marian finished runner-up for the second year in a row, ending Saturday's finals with 228 points compared to the 373 scored by winner East Grand Rapids.
Country Day junior Quinn Norlander works her way to a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke at the county meet in Royal Oak held Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. Norlander came second in that event, as well as the 100 freestyle during Saturday's D3 finals. (BRYAN EVERSON - MediaNews Group)
Cranbrook-Kingswood, who took second in 2023, finished sixth place this year with 134 points, and Country Day was seventh with 116. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep ended 24th place with 16 points, and Bishop Foley came 30th with six points -- five of those earned by sophomore Avery Wood in the 100 breaststroke.
EGR won all three relays. The Pioneers set a new D3 record of 1:44.65 in the 200 medley, which saw the Yellowjackets (Quinn Norlander, Jill Heller, Allie Schwartz, Lauren Clark) end just behind them in a time of 1:48.55. Marian (Cece Grace, Lila Soloman, Peyton Rehbine, Catherine Howe) was runner-up to EGR in the 200 free relay. The Mustangs finished that one ahead of Country Day (1:39.33) with a mark of 1:37.43.
Country Day's Norlander, a third-place finisher in two individual events as a sophomore last season, ended only behind Wayland's Laney Wolf as she came second in the 100 freestyle in a time of 51.32. Additionally, Norlander shaved almost three seconds off her finals time from 2024 in the 100 backstroke. Her second-place mark of 54.77 was only second-best to Camryn Siegers, who set a new D3 record (53.37).
In the 500 free, Marian junior Stella Glorio (5:10.58) only trailed repeat winner Ella Dziobak of Divine Child as no one came close to her finish of 4:56.20. The Mustangs also scored 16 points with Soloman's third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.06).
All of the Irish's points derived from freshman Anna Caudill's third-place finish in diving (369 points).
Farmington Hills Mercy freshman Lyla Collins swims her leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay at the Oakland County Girls Swim Championship held Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 in Royal Oak. The win by Collins, Avery Tack, Campbell Shore and Ella Hafner in the same event allowed Mercy to three-peat as D3 state champions in Holland on Saturday. (BRYAN EVERSON - MediaNews Group)
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Connor Brown had a goal and an assist each and the New Jersey Devils beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday night in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.
Alex DeBrincat, James van Riemsdyk and Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit.
New Jersey scored three goals in the first period on just eight shots for a 3-1 lead after one, snapped a three-game losing streak, and got its first win in regulation since beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Nov. 1.
The Devils’ previous four wins occurred in either overtime or the shootout.
New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves, 13 in the third period.
Hischier scored his fourth goal in five games and added an assist on Meier’s first-period goal for the 102nd multipoint game of his Devils’ career.
Cody Glass snapped a 1-1 tie for New Jersey in his first game back after missing the previous four games with an upper-body injury. He replaced Juho Lammikko on the Devils third line.
Van Riemsdyk, who grew up in New Jersey, scored a power-play goal in his 1,100th game that got the Red Wings to within 3-2 in the second period.
Moritz Seider added two assists for Detroit, who lost for just the second time in its last seven games.
Brown moved the Devils’ lead to 4-2 from Dalton Mercer later in the second period before Larkin scored his 13th goal in the third period.
Cam Talbot had 15 saves for Detroit.
Up next
Devils: Host St. Louis on Wednesday night.
Red Wings: Host Nashville on Wednesday night.
— By EVERETT MERRILL, Associated Press
Detroit Red Wings’ Jacob Bernard-Docker, left, gets the puck away from New Jersey Devils’ Stefan Noesen during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Newark, N.J., Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)