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Johnson says no quick House vote to end partial shutdown and blames Democrats for their ICE demands

By LISA MASCARO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday it will be a few days before a government funding package comes up for a vote, all but ensuring the partial federal shutdown will drag into the week as Democrats and Republicans debate reining in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operations.

Johnson signaled he is relying on help from President Donald Trump to ensure passage. Trump struck a deal with senators to separate out funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader package after public outrage over two shooting deaths during protests in Minneapolis against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The measure approved Friday by the Senate would fund DHS temporarily, for two weeks, setting up a deadline for Congress to debate and vote on new restrictions on ICE operations.

“The president is leading this,” Johnson, R-La., told “Fox News Sunday.”

“It’s his play call to do it this way,” the speaker said, adding that the Republican president has “already conceded that he wants to turn down the volume” on federal immigration operations.

Johnson faces a daunting challenge ahead, trying to muscle the funding legislation through the House while Democrats are refusing to provide the votes for speedy passage. They are demanding restraints on ICE that go beyond $20 million for body cameras that already is in the bill. They want to require that federal immigration agents unmask and identify themselves and are pressing for an end to roving patrols, amid other changes.

Democrats dig in on ICE changes

“What is clear is that the Department of Homeland Security needs to be dramatically reformed,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Jeffries said the administration needs to begin negotiations now, not over the next two weeks, on changes to immigration enforcement operations.

“Masks should come off,” he said. “Judicial warrants should absolutely be required consistent with the Constitution, in our view, before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or ripping people out of their cars.”

It’s all forcing Johnson to rely on his slim House GOP majority in a series of procedural votes, starting in committee on Monday and pushing a potential House floor vote on the package until at least Tuesday, he said.

House Democrats planned a private caucus call Sunday evening to assess the next steps.

Partial government shutdown drags on

Meanwhile, a number of other federal agencies are snared in the funding standoff as the government went into a partial shutdown over the weekend.

Defense, health, transportation and housing are among those that were given shutdown guidance by the administration, though many operations are deemed essential and services are not necessarily interrupted. Workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed.

This is the second time in a matter of months that federal operations have been disrupted as Congress digs in, using the annual funding process as leverage to extract policy changes. Last fall, Democrats sparked what became the longest federal shutdown in history, 43 days, as they protested the expiration of health insurance tax breaks.

That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on proposals to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But the legislation did not advance and Democrats were unable to achieve their goal of keeping the subsidies in place. Insurance premiums spiked in the new year for millions of people.

Trump wants quick end to shutdown

This time, the administration has signaled its interest in more quickly resolving the shutdown.

Johnson said he was in the Oval Office last week when Trump, along with border czar Tom Homan, spoke with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York to work out the deal.

“I think we’re on the path to get agreement,” Johnson said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Body cameras, which are already provided for in the package, and an end to the roving patrols by immigration agents are areas of potential agreement, Johnson said.

But he said taking the masks off and putting names on agents’ uniforms could lead to problems for law enforcement officers as they are being targeted by the protesters and their personal information is posted online.

“I don’t think the president would approve it — and he shouldn’t,” Johnson said on Fox.

Democrats, however, said the immigration operations are out of control, and it is an emergency situation that must end in Minneapolis and other cities.

Growing numbers of lawmakers are calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired or impeached.

“What is happening in Minnesota right now is a dystopia,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who led efforts to hold the line for more changes.

“ICE is making this country less safe, not more safe today,” Murphy said on “Fox News Sunday.”

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street after meeting Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

The Grammys are here with Kendrick Lamar leading the nominees

By MARIA SHERMAN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 68th annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday with a dramatically different tone than last year.

The 2025 award show was completely reimagined and refocused to relief efforts following the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires. In 2026, focus has been placed once again on the music, where Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny and more will go head-to-head.

Comedian Trevor Noah will host for a sixth and final year and history could be made when some of the biggest names in music gather. Here’s some key things to know ahead of Sunday’s show at the Crypto.com Arena.

How to watch the show and red carpet

The main show will air live on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 1.

The Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.

Paramount+ premium plan subscribers will be able to stream the Grammys live; Paramount+ essential subscribers will have on-demand access the next day.

The premiere ceremony will take place just ahead of the Grammys’ ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, 12:30 p.m. Pacific at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It can be streamed at the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.

The Associated Press will stream a four-hour red carpet show with interviews and fashion footage. It will be streamed on YouTube and APNews.com ahead of the Grammys on Sunday.

Who’s nominated at the 2025 Grammys

Kendrick Lamar leads the 2026 Grammy Award nominations with nine. Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff and Canadian record producer/songwriter Cirkut follow with seven nominations each.

Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas and Serban Ghenea all boast six nominations. Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, the Creator have five each.

 Jack Antonoff, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga are shown in a combination of photos.
This combination of photos show Jack Antonoff, left, Kendrick Lamar, center, and Lady Gaga. (AP Photo)

Who’s attending and performing at the Grammys

Doechii, Harry Styles, Carole King, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Jeff Goldblum, Karol G, Lainey Wilson, Marcello Hernández, Nikki Glaser, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah and Teyana Taylor will present at the 2026 Grammys.

Performers include Justin Bieber, Clipse, Pharrell Williams, Sabrina Carpenter Bruno Mars, Rosé, Tyler, the Creator, Lady Gaga and all eight of this year’s best new artist nominees: Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean, global girl group Katseye, The Marías, Addison Rae, sombr, Alex Warren and Lola Young.

Reba McEntire, Brandy Clark and Lukas Nelson will take the stage for the in memoriam. Ms. Lauryn Hill will pay tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack. Post Malone, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Duff McKagan and Slash will honor Ozzy Osbourne.

Karol G arrives at the Pre-Grammy Gala
Karol G arrives at the Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

FILE – Kendrick Lamar performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Spreading ice in southeast Michigan leads to ice cutters, jam fears and ice fishing

By Ben Warren, Tribune News Service

The long-term cold spell that has settled over Michigan has quickly expanded the ice cover on the Great Lakes and other waterways, forcing vessels to adapt, creating fears of ice jams and providing leisure activities for those wanting to take advantage of the thick ice.

On Friday, a Canadian ice breaker helped to lead a group of tankers through the ice on the Detroit River. The U.S. Coast Guard only has one heavy icebreaker to cover the entire Great Lakes region, so Canadian vessels sometimes help out.

During the weekend, along the St. Clair River in St. Clair County, sheets of ice dominated the river around Marine City and created the threat of ice jams for homeowners along the river, especially those with docks.

Sheets of ice dominate the St. Clair River near downtown Marine City on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. The ice has become concentrated enough in places to jam up against docks, threatening to create damage for businesses and homeowners along the river. (Richard Burr, TNS)
Sheets of ice dominate the St. Clair River near downtown Marine City on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. The ice has become concentrated enough in places to jam up against docks, threatening to create damage for businesses and homeowners along the river. (Richard Burr, TNS)

Others took to the lakes for activities like ice fishing. At Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown, dozens of ice-fishing tents were visible on the frozen lake. The park is located a short drive south of Detroit and has acres of trails and a golf course. But this time of year, the thick ice near the shores of Lake Erie is a major draw.

Mike Shankelton, 68, of Monroe was fishing out on the ice at the Metropark on Saturday with two friends, Tom Clark of Temperance and Dave Wagenknecht of Ida, both also in their 60s. Shankelton said, “it hasn’t frozen that good for years.”

He added, “The ice is solid in a lot of areas, but you’ve still got to be cautious.”

The ice coverage of the Great Lakes has expanded in January as temperatures have occasionally hit subzero levels in recent weeks.

Mike Shankelton of Monroe, 68, hauls his fishing gear onto the surface of Lake Erie before ice fishing with two friends on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township. (Katy Kildee, TNS)
Mike Shankelton of Monroe, 68, hauls his fishing gear onto the surface of Lake Erie before ice fishing with two friends on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township. (Katy Kildee, TNS)

The total ice cover across the five lakes reached 51% on Saturday, up from 5.5% on Jan. 14, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor.

Shankelton’s strategy for staying safe out on the ice is to watch where other people are already walking. When there’s no one else around, he uses a drill to see how deep the ice really is.

Shankelton was looking for perch, but he said, “of course if a walleye wants to bite it, that’s OK too.” He said he preferred to deep fry what he caught to eat.

All of Lake St. Clair is frozen over at this point, according to research lab data, while 95% of Lake Erie is covered with ice and 68% of Lake Huron is covered with ice. The largest Great Lake, Superior, has nearly 40% ice coverage despite being farther north, while Lake Michigan is at 37% and Lake Ontario is at 34%.

While St. Clair is not one of the five official Great Lakes, it is often considered part of the same lake system.

Dozens of people ice fish on the surface of Lake Erie on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township. (Katy Kildee, TNS)
Dozens of people ice fish on the surface of Lake Erie on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026 at Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township. (Katy Kildee, TNS)

In just the last week, ice coverage in Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Superior has doubled. Across all the lakes, ice coverage has expanded beyond what is typical for this time of the year, and above long-term January averages.

The culprit is what meteorologists call an “Arctic air mass,” which has hovered over much of the eastern United States in recent weeks. That weather pattern is responsible for the below-average temperatures across Michigan through the end of January, according to the National Weather Service.

Typically, ice coverage in the lower lakes peaks in mid-to-late February, while the upper lakes reach maximum coverage between late February and early March.

When Great Lakes ice coverage is higher than normal, it can impact weather patterns across the region: there’s often less lake-effect snow and it takes longer to warm up in the spring, according to the NOAA. This happens because the ice cover prevents water from evaporating, leading to drier conditions. And the ice reflects sunlight, meaning the water underneath remains colder for longer.

©2026 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The tankers Algoberta, Algocanada and Algoterra follow the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Vincent Massey through the ice on the Detroit River near Grosse Ile, Fri., Jan. 30, 2026. The three ships battled their way through the Lake Erie ice with the Algoterra and Algocanada headed to Sarnia while the Algoberta is headed to Milwaukee according to the ship tracking website Marinetraffic.com. (Andy Morrison, TNS)

Milford Independent Cinema no longer closing after crowdfunding campaign

By Adam Graham, Tribune News Service

It’s almost like a movie.

The Milford Independent Cinema will no longer be closing its doors, its Board of Directors announced Saturday.

On what was slated to be the one-screen cinema’s final day, the theater’s board said the theater can remain sustainable “in the near term,” according to a press release. The news comes following a successful crowdfunding effort that was “nothing short of remarkable,” the cinema’s operators said in a statement.

“We are truly blown away by the support, passion, and resilience of this community,” said the Milford Independent Cinema Board of Directors. “This theater exists because of the people who believe in it, show up for it, and see its value far beyond the screen.”

The theater announced in mid-January that it would be closing its doors at the end of the month, due to “significant and ongoing changes within the film exhibition industry.”

But then the community spoke up, and on Jan. 24, operators shared a message on social media saying that donations were pouring in and that they may be able to stave off closing. “There is hope!” they said at the time.

In recent years, Metro Detroit has seen the closure of several movie theaters and multiplexes, including the AMC Star Southfield, AMC Fairlane 21, Main Art Theatre, Maple Theater, Cinema Detroit and Regal Cinemas UA Commerce Township.

The Milford theater has been open since 1972 and has operated as a non-profit since reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday’s announcement didn’t come with a timeline attached, but operators said the theater will expand its offerings going forward with live events, “new and fun” film series, and new members will be added to its board. There will also be increased volunteer efforts and a new membership program for the theater.

The theater will take a short hiatus, and operators plan to reopen its doors on Feb. 11.

“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you,” the Board said in its statement. “Because of you, we are here— and we will continue to show up for this community just as you have shown up for us.”

©2026 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Milford Independent Cinema, founded in 1972, will not close as originally announced after a successful crowdfunding effort. (Google)

Oakland County home sales: A look at 2025, 2026

When Kate Brouner decided to put her six-bedroom, three-bath 3,590-square-foot Howell house on the market, she called the previous owner: Novi-based Realtor Jenn Anderson.

Anderson lived in the home for 11 years before selling to Brouner.

“We call it ‘our house’ and we wanted to make sure to find the right buyer,” Anderson said.

Winter tends to be a slower time for agents but it allows real-estate agents to size up last year’s marketplace and forecast the year ahead. But houses are still being bought and sold.

Steve Stockton has a national and local perspective of the housing market. He’s a board member for RealComp, Michigan’s largest multiple-listing service; the North Oakland County Board of Realtors; and the National Real Estate Review Board.

“This is the longest time period we’ve had growth: 29 months in a row of increased value nationally,” he said. “I don’t remember a month since COVID where we haven’t gone up month over month.”

Regionally, sales rose month-over-month in the Northeast and South, were unchanged in the West, and declined in the Midwest. Demand in Michigan remains steady, Stockton said.

Nationally, home sales rose in December, up by a half percent from November, according to the National Association of Realtors. But compared to December 2024, sales were down by 1%.

The typical homebuyer is 60 years old and the median age for a new-home buyer is at an all-time high: 40, up from 33 in 2021 and 29 in 1991.

“The hardest issue is finding starter homes that younger people can buy. To finally hit 40 as the average first-time buyer’s age is just crazy,” he said.

Market shift

Stockton said the current market is transitioning from one that favored sellers to a balanced market favoring neither buyers nor sellers, aided in part by lower interest rates.

As of late Thursday, a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan was around 6.2% and the 15-year rate was around 5.6%. Few expect interest to drop below 6% this year, despite pressure on the Federal Bank by the Trump administration, he said.

Karen Kage, Realcomp’s CEO and a real estate agent for more than 40 years, said buyers are finding 10% more homes for sale in southeast Michigan this year compared to last year while Oakland County has 15% more.

Oakland County’s hottest markets include Novi, Northville and South Lyon, where builders are busy. Existing homes are selling in Milford, Highland and White Lake townships, Stockton said.

Areas like Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills remain popular and lakeside homes are always in high demand.

Home prices

Southeast Michigan’s median price for existing homes was $270,000 in December, up 5.9% over December 2024. Oakland County’s median home price increased by less than 1%, to $360,000..

“The buyers have a little more to chase,” Stockton said, noting that less than five years ago, buyers were skipping home inspections and warranties to compete with a slew of other buyers.

These days, he said, softer markets in Nevada, Arizona, Idaho and Florida are inspiring older homeowners who are weighing getting a good price for their Michigan home and taking advantage of better prices in what Stockon called “the sunshine states.”

In southeast Michigan, the number of homes on the market represent about three to four months of inventory, up from 2015, when the inventory was a scant six weeks. A truly balanced market requires a five-to-seven-month supply of homes, Stockton said.

More homes for sale means sellers are now waiting on home inspection results, offering home warranties again and bargaining on prices more than in recent years.

But in some areas, buyers are writing love letters about the home they want to persuade a seller to pick their offer.

What’s selling

A refreshed kitchen remains a selling point, as does a newer roof.

“The homes selling quickly now are updated and sharp,” Stockton said. “If you have a house that’s a little tired and dated, it’s going to sit on the market for a while.”

But a motivated seller like Brouner will adjust the home price to attract buyers.

Brouner, a healthcare analyst and mother of five, wanted a new home after her divorce was finalized but didn’t have the time for significant updates.

Anderson said it’s important for sellers to be realistic about their home’s value and the marketplace. Brouner had been watching the real estate market for 18 months before deciding to list her home. She and Anderson agreed to list the house for $449,900.

Less than a week after the listing went online, offers poured in.

“I was pretty confident my house would sell but Jenn really helped me make the most money possible,” she said. “Selling is not as scary as everyone thinks. Find the right agent and they will guide you.”

Brouner will start shopping for a new home with Anderson soon. She hopes to find a house with more land, room for her family and a price under $400,000 and she’s being pragmatic about her options.

“I don’t mind buying a fixer upper,” she said.

The 2026 outlook

“I hate making predictions,” Kage said. “Everything could change tomorrow … Who could have predicted some of the things we’ve been through in the last 40 years?”

She prefers to watch monthly home-sales figures and said two months of numbers gives a short-term peek into the future. The final months of winter can suggest how a season will progress. The second-quarter market is a better indicator, she said.

The solid sellers’ market pressed buyers into bidding wars, which Kage said raised prices to a point that challenges younger buyers.

She believes more sellers are confident of getting a good price for their home and being able to find an affordable next home,” she said.

A rise in the number of homes available has increased the average time on the market by two days, to 43 days, which has alarmed sellers and it shouldn’t because buyers who have more choices are more confident in their offers, Kage said.

Kage encourages buyers and sellers to work with a licensed real estate agent. They can help sellers find the optimum price for marketing a home and typically learn about new listings before they are published.

“People say, ‘Oh, I’ll just check Zillow’ but where do you think Zillow gets the information? They get it from us,” she said.

File photo. (Stephen Frye. MediaNews Group)

Macomb County child drowns in indoor swimming pool in Oakland County

A Macomb County youngster drowned Friday night at an indoor swimming pool at a facility in northern Oakland County, police said.

According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the 5-year-old girl from Sterling Heights died about 7:30 p.m. at the Deer Lake Athletic Club on the 600 block of White Lake Road in Independence Township.

The sheriff’s office said detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Authorities did not release the child’s name.

Sheriff’s officials said additional information will be released as the investigation proceeds.

Deer Lake Athletic Club (GOOGLE IMAGES)

Child drowns at Independence Township club

A 5-year-old Sterling Heights girl drowned Friday at an Independence Township club, according to Oakland County sheriff’s officials.

Police were called shortly after 7:30 p.m. Friday to the Deer Lake Athletic Club, 6167 White Lake Road. The family-athletic club has three pools.

Sheriff’s officials are not releasing the victim’s name at this time. The incident remains under investigation.

lights-from-police-car-file.skf-

Boston University researchers say CTE is a cause of dementia

Boston University researchers in a groundbreaking study found that those with CTE have a much higher chance of being diagnosed with dementia.

The largest study of its kind from the Boston University CTE Center reveals that the progressive brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy should be recognized as a new cause of dementia.

The BU researchers discovered that those with advanced CTE — who had been exposed to repetitive head impacts — had four times higher odds of having dementia.

“This study provides evidence of a robust association between CTE and dementia as well as cognitive symptoms, supporting our suspicions of CTE being a possible cause of dementia,” said Michael Alosco, associate professor of neurology at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine.

“Establishing that cognitive symptoms and dementia are outcomes of CTE moves us closer to being able to accurately detect and diagnose CTE during life, which is urgently needed,” added Alosco, who’s the co-director of clinical research at the BU CTE Center.

The researchers studied 614 brain donors who had been exposed to repetitive head impacts, primarily contact sport athletes.

By isolating 366 brain donors who had CTE alone, compared to 248 donors without CTE, researchers found that those with the most advanced form of CTE had four times increased odds of having dementia.

The four times odds are similar to the strength of the relationship between dementia and advanced Alzheimer’s disease pathology, which is the leading cause of dementia.

Dementia is a clinical syndrome that refers to impairments in thinking and memory, in addition to trouble with performing tasks of daily living like driving and managing finances. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause, but there are several other progressive brain diseases listed as causes of dementia that are collectively referred to as Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (ADRD).

With this new study, the authors argue that CTE should now also be formally considered an ADRD.

The study also reveals that dementia due to CTE is often misdiagnosed during life as Alzheimer’s disease, or not diagnosed at all. Among those who received a dementia diagnosis during life, 40% were told they had Alzheimer’s disease despite showing no evidence of Alzheimer’s disease at autopsy. An additional 38% were told the causes of their loved one’s dementia was “unknown” or could not be specified.

In addition, this study addressed the controversial viewpoint expressed by some clinicians and researchers that CTE has no clinical symptoms. As recently as 2022, clinicians and researchers affiliated with the Concussion in Sport Group meeting, which was underwritten by international professional sports organizations, claimed, “It is not known whether CTE causes specific neurological or psychiatric problems.”

Alosco said, “There is a viewpoint out there that CTE is a benign brain disease; this is the opposite of the experience of most patients and families. Evidence from this study shows CTE has a significant impact on people’s lives, and now we need to accelerate efforts to distinguish CTE from Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia during life.”

As expected, the study did not find associations with dementia or cognition for low-stage CTE.

The BU CTE Center is an independent academic research center at the Boston University Avedisian and Chobanian School of Medicine. It conducts pathological, clinical and molecular research on CTE and other long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma in athletes and military personnel.

 

 

FILE – A doctor looks at PET brain scans at Banner Alzheimers Institute in Phoenix on Aug. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Fearing ICE, Native Americans rush to prove their right to belong in the US

By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, SAVANNAH PETERS and STEWART HUNTINGTON

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooded Minneapolis, Shane Mantz dug his Choctaw Nation citizenship card out of a box on his dresser and slid it into his wallet.

Some strangers mistake the pest-control company manager for Latino, he said, and he fears getting caught up in ICE raids.

Like Mantz, many Native Americans are carrying tribal documents proving their U.S. citizenship in case they are stopped or questioned by federal immigration agents. This is why dozens of the 575 federally recognized Native nations are making it easier to get tribal IDs. They’re waiving fees, lowering the age of eligibility — ranging from 5 to 18 nationwide — and printing the cards faster.

It’s the first time tribal IDs have been widely used as proof of U.S. citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement, said David Wilkins, an expert on Native politics and governance at the University of Richmond.

“I don’t think there’s anything historically comparable,” Wilkins said. “I find it terribly frustrating and disheartening.”

As Native Americans around the country rush to secure documents proving their right to live in the United States, many see a bitter irony.

“As the first people of this land, there’s no reason why Native Americans should have their citizenship questioned,” said Jaqueline De León, a senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund and member of Isleta Pueblo.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to more than four requests for comment over a week.

  • Paperwork to apply for a tribal identification card is displayed...
    Paperwork to apply for a tribal identification card is displayed Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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Paperwork to apply for a tribal identification card is displayed Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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Native identity in a new age of fear

Since the mid- to late 1800s, the U.S. government has kept detailed genealogical records to estimate Native Americans’ fraction of “Indian blood” and determine their eligibility for health care, housing, education and other services owed under federal legal responsibilities. Those records were also used to aid federal assimilation efforts and chip away at tribal sovereignty, communal lands and identity.

Beginning in the late 1960s, many tribal nations began issuing their own forms of identification. In the last two decades, tribal photo ID cards have become commonplace and can be used to vote in tribal elections, to prove U.S. work eligibility and for domestic air travel.

About 70% of Native Americans today live in urban areas, including tens of thousands in the Twin Cities, one of the largest urban Native populations in the country.

There, in early January, a top ICE official announced the “largest immigration operation ever.”

Masked, heavily armed agents traveling in convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some neighborhoods. By this week, more than 3,400 people had been arrested, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least 2,000 ICE officers and 1,000 Border Patrol officers were on the ground.

Representatives from at least 10 tribes traveled hundreds of miles to Minneapolis — the birthplace of the American Indian Movement — to accept ID applications from members there. Among them were the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe of Wisconsin, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota.

Turtle Mountain citizen Faron Houle renewed his tribal ID card and got his young adult son’s and his daughter’s first ones.

“You just get nervous,” Houle said. “I think (ICE agents are) more or less racial profiling people, including me.”

Events in downtown coffee shops, hotel ballrooms, and at the Minneapolis American Indian Center helped urban tribal citizens connect and share resources, said Christine Yellow Bird, who directs the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation’s satellite office in Fargo, North Dakota.

Yellow Bird made four trips to Minneapolis in recent weeks, putting nearly 2,000 miles on her 2017 Chevy Tahoe to help citizens in the Twin Cities who can’t make the long journey to their reservation.

Yellow Bird said she always keeps her tribal ID with her.

“I’m proud of who I am,” she said. “I never thought I would have to carry it for my own safety.”

Some Native Americans say ICE is harassing them

Last year, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said that several tribal citizens reported being stopped and detained by ICE officers in Arizona and New Mexico. He and other tribal leaders have advised citizens to carry tribal IDs with them at all times.

Last November, Elaine Miles, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon and an actress known for her roles in “Northern Exposure” and “The Last of Us,” said she was stopped by ICE officers in Washington state who told her that her tribal ID looked fake.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe this week banned ICE from its reservation in southwestern South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska, one of the largest in the country.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota said a member was detained in Minnesota last weekend. And Peter Yazzie, who is Navajo, said he was arrested and held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix for several hours last week.

Yazzie, a construction worker from nearby Chinle, Arizona, said he was sitting in his car at a gas station preparing for a day of work when he saw ICE officers arrest some Latino men. The officers soon turned their attention to Yazzie, pushed him to the ground, and searched his vehicle, he said.

He said he told them where to find his driver’s license, birth certificate, and a federal Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood. Yazzie said the car he was in is registered to his mother. Officers said the names didn’t match, he said, and he was arrested, taken to a nearby detention center and held for about four hours.

“It’s an ugly feeling. It makes you feel less human. To know that people see your features and think so little of you,” he said.

DHS did not respond to questions about the arrest.

Mantz, the Choctaw Nation citizen, said he runs pest-control operations in Minneapolis neighborhoods where ICE agents are active and he won’t leave home without his tribal identification documents.

Securing them for his children is now a priority.

“It gives me some peace of mind. But at the same time, why do we have to carry these documents?” Mantz said. “Who are you to ask us to prove who we are?”

Brewer reported from Oklahoma City and Peters from Edgewood, New Mexico.

Faron Houle, a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, speaks about applying for a tribal identification card at a pop-up event in Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Stewart Huntington/ICT via AP)

Cops nab Waterford man accused of robbing Great Lakes Crossing stores at knifepoint

A Waterford Township man is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly robbing two stores at knifepoint at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets on Tuesday, allegedly threatening police officers when they confronted him and then fleeing in his car.

Ryan David Kissel, 29, is charged with two counts of armed robbery, felonious assault, fleeing/eluding police-third degree, and two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police in connection with the Jan. 27 incident.

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Ryan Kissel booking photo

According to the Auburn Hills Police Department, officers responded to the mall, located at 4000 Baldwin Road, at around 7:30 p.m. on Jan, 27 after receiving 911 calls about a man armed with a knife who had robbed two stores. Kissel reportedly threatened officers who approached him the parking lot, then got into his car and drove away.

As stated in a news release from the police department, “Officers pursued the suspect until it was deemed too dangerous to continue, and the pursuit was terminated.” A “Be On the Lookout” alert was sent out to area police agencies as an investigation continued, police said.

No injuries were reported in the alleged robberies, police said.

At approximately 9:30 p.m., on Jan. 27, Kissel was taken into custody at his home in Waterford. Charges were issued the next day. At Kissel’s arraignment on Jan. 29 in 52-3 District Court, Magistrate Marie Soma set bond at $250,000 with no 10% provision. If he posts bond, and is released from the Oakland County Jail, Kissel is to be monitored by electronic tether and prohibited from returning to Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.

Kissel’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 12 for a probable cause conference followed by a preliminary exam a week later. Armed robbery is punishable by up to life in prison.

In the news release, the Auburn Hills Police Department acknowledged assistance from the mall’s security staff and the Waterford Police Department for “outstanding cooperation and professionalism.”

“Their timely communication, coordinated response and investigative assistance were instrumental in the safe identification and apprehension of the suspect. This incident highlights the importance of strong partnerships between private security and law enforcement agencies in protecting our community,” the news release stated..

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has additional information about it is asked to call the Auburn Hills Police Department at 248-370-9460.

file photo (Aileen Wingblad/MediaNews Group)

Walled Lake cannabis company faces state charges

A Walled Lake marijuana producer is under state investigation.

Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency filed a formal complaint against Prism Triangle at 850 Ladd Road in Walled Lake.

The complaint lists two counts of not employing a lab manager, one count of not using state-approved testing methods and one count of not meeting state standards for sampling and testing marijuana and marijuana products.

State officials who inspected the company in 2025 found evidence that the company did not meet standards for testing recreational marijuana for pesticides and did not have a lab manager with an advanced degree in medical or laboratory science.

In August, 2025, state officials were alerted to the fact that the company was not using approved testing methods to detect a mold called aspergillus, which may cause people to develop a fungal lung infection.

Investigators found that the company improperly recorded test results and used equipment that was not property calibrated.

The state has the right to impose fines or sanction a license by suspending, restricting, revoking or refusing to renew it. The company has 21 days to respond to the complaint and request a formal hearing.

Prism Triangle officials did not respond to requests for comment from The Oakland Press.

cannabis-marijuana-buds-skf-file

Washtenaw County sheriff says cooperating with ICE puts community members at risk

The impact of the recent series of fatal encounters between some Minnesota residents and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement is being felt in metro Detroit.

Several law enforcement officials in the region say they do not want to cooperate with deportation operations conducted by ICE.

That includes Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer.

She says Washtenaw sheriff deputies and ICE agents often have very different agendas.

Listen: Washtenaw County Sheriff says cooperating with ICE puts community members at risk

The following interview has been edited for clarity.

Alyshia Dyer: It really puts [police] in conflict with the communities they serve. It’s our responsibility, regardless of immigration status, to keep everyone safe. We need our local communities to trust us. As local police, we rely on the public trust that we build in the communities we serve. The way that immigration enforcement operates is completely different.

And it’s not our duty or responsibility to enforce federal immigration law. We don’t ask about immigration status. We don’t get involved in immigration matters. And especially in this climate, where people are so afraid to even leave their homes, we don’t want to be involved in that.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: As a lay person, it has always seemed to me that federal issues would take precedence over local policing matters. Is it legal for your deputies to basically avoid helping a federal agency like ICE?

AD: Absolutely. The Michigan constitution, as well as our state and local laws, make it very clear that we have a duty to protect and serve all residents of the county. We take an oath as well to do that. And it doesn’t say only if they have valid immigration status. Constitutional rights apply to everyone. And we are not trained nor given resources, nor is it our priority, to look into immigration matters.

The 287 (g) program [which allows local police to act as immigration enforcement agents] is a voluntary program. It is a choice to enter into that program or not. There is no mandate that we have to do it. So we are exercising our discretion and not entering into that agreement. We are going to stay focused on local public safety issues. And, honestly, our resources are already stretched thin.

QK: I would imagine there’s additional costs, financial and otherwise, that a department has to bear when it is working with ICE.

AD: There have been a number of rulings that basically say holding somebody in jail after a judge has ordered them released so that ICE can come pick them up, is a serious issue. It raises liability concerns for the county. Agencies have been sued for doing that. And it’s not our responsibility.

My responsibility as sheriff is to make sure we enforce local and state law, keep the county safe and run the county jail. If a judge orders somebody to be released, they are to be released. And it is not a mandate nor, in my opinion, good practice to keep them in jail pending transfer to immigration officials. If we were to hold somebody in jail solely based on an immigration detainer, which is not a judicial warrant, and we keep them past the release date, then we risk liability for the entire county.

QK: At this point many people have seen the viral videos of ICE tactics in action. They seem to create fear, even among those who have not broken the law. Victims are afraid to call 911, witnesses don’t want to talk, crimes are not reported. Beyond not cooperating with ICE, what can be done by departments like yours to try to restore that trust with the public?

AD: What we have done is made it very clear to the community where our values lie and that we will not be working with ICE. We have maintained a clear separation. We also do not ask about immigration status. So when anyone needs help, they can call 911. But because the national administration remains obsessed with mass deportation, it’s hard for local police. People are fearful. And I have no doubt in my mind that people are not calling the police when they need help because they’re worried. Regardless of what we say, there’s still that fear.

People have confused us with ICE. Them wearing masks and hiding their identities and the tactics they use are not best practices. That’s not what we do at the local level. We try really hard to support all residents. We work closely with immigrant rights groups. I’ve done a number of education town halls, making sure people understand their rights.

Honestly, it puts local law enforcement in an impossible situation. They need the trust of the public to effectively do their job. And when federal immigration agents come in and take someone and detain them, they’re not dealing with the aftermath, right? I’ve had residents in Washtenaw County, people with legal status or who are citizens even, that have said, “Should I carry a birth certificate with me? Is it safe to send my kid to school?”

It is really hard to be sheriff and be responsible for the public safety of a county and know that, unfortunately, there are people in the county that are going to be targeted by immigration enforcement, sometimes solely for just existing. This idea that they’re only going after people with violent felonies or serious criminal records is not true. I have seen the opposite. I’ve also seen cases where they have mistaken someone because they were Latino and they assumed that they were someone undocumented.

Over the years law enforcement has pushed back on that. It’s racial profiling. Seeing these situations play out, not just in Washtenaw County but across the country, is really troubling. I think that local law enforcement and sheriffs have a responsibility to be a voice of reason and assure the public that we are not going to operate how ICE is operating.

QK: You’d raised concerns recently on your personal Facebook page about ICE targeting parents at school bus stops and reportedly detaining a mother in front of her child. Spokespeople for ICE dispute that account, calling it one of the “lies” that put their agents at risk. You later said the report you posted was inaccurate. But you say that doesn’t diminish your worries about how ICE typically operates now compared to a few years ago.

AD: There was a point in time where there was a separation between just focusing on enforcement removal operations and the work that Homeland Security was doing. And there were important things they were doing involving human trafficking and ensuring survivors of violent crime could get citizenship status. Now all of the resources are focused on deporting as many people as possible. I know people that have since retired from some of these agencies, that have said there’s a pressure for quotas. They are told, “You need to deport this many people a month.” That is abhorrent. That’s also a problem.

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Cold, sub-zero wind chills for Metro Detroit to linger through Saturday

By Charles E. Ramirez, cramirez@detroitnews.com

Southeast and central Michigan continue to feel the freezer burn on Friday morning.

Dangerously frigid temperatures prompted the National Weather Service to issue a cold weather advisory, and dozens of schools canceled classes.

The advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. for areas north of Interstate 96, including Michigan’s Thumb and the Bay City-Midland-Saginaw area, the weather service said.

NWS warns temperatures across the region will start at between 5 and 20 degrees below zero. Detroit had reached 3 by about 8 a.m. Friday and was expected to reach a high of 14. The city’s normal high temperature in January is 32.3.

Wind chills are expected to drop to 20 below zero north of I-96 and 15 below zero near Flint and the M-59 corridor, according to the forecast.

NWS also said the coldest conditions are expected by mid-Friday morning.

Some areas of the region may also see some snow on Friday. The eastern part of Michigan’s Thumb could get 1 to 3 inches of snow from Friday night through Saturday morning, thanks to lake effect snow showers from Lake Huron.

Light snow and flurries are possible for the rest of the region, with a dusting to a tenth or two of an inch possible, the NWS said.

Meanwhile, among the districts closed amid the extreme cold is Dearborn Public Schools.

“All Dearborn Public Schools will be closed on Friday 1/30/26. Wind chill temps for Friday A.M. forecasted between -15 to -20 depending on conditions. District uses -20 as a threshold for closing. Temps expected to rise throughout the day but out of an abundance of caution for students in the A.M. schools will be closed,” officials said in a statement on the district’s website.

The Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights followed suit.

“All Crestwood School District school buildings and offices will be closed on Friday, January 30, 2026 to address building needs due to the recent extreme cold conditions,” it said.

Detroit Public Schools Community District remained open on Friday. Earlier this week, district officials said the school system had used its sixth and final ‘forgiveness’ day for weather, but planned to petition the state for more.

The cold will stick around over the weekend. On Saturday, Detroit’s high should climb to 19, according to the weather service. The city is also looking at isolated snow showers between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.

NWS also predicts wind chills will range between 10 below zero and minus 15 for parts of southeast Michigan, the weather service said. Wind chill values in Detroit could fall as low as minus-5.

On Thursday, Detroit officials said they were keeping the city’s overnight stand-by shelters and respite locations open for an additional day due to the continued cold.

Shelters provided by the city with Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries at 13130 Woodward Ave., the Pope Francis Center at 2915 Hancock, and the Neighborhood Service Organization at 882 Oakman Blvd. will remain open until Monday. Earlier this week, officials announced the shelters would be extended through Sunday.

“Our priority is keeping every Detroiter safe and warm,” Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a statement. “During these bitterly cold conditions, the City of Detroit is making sure every resident has access to a safe and warm place.

“If you need shelter, call our Housing HelpLine at 866-313-2520, visit any police precinct, or go directly to a stand-by shelter. No one should have to face this extreme cold alone.”

NWS meteorologists predict that sunshine on Sunday will push temperatures into the lower 20s, and highs in the 20s will linger over the next week.

In Detroit, the mercury could reach 22 on Sunday. The city’s average high temperature in February, which begins Sunday, is 35.2.

As the deep freeze continues across the region, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on Friday reminded the public to be careful when venturing out onto lakes, ponds, and rivers.

The office said fluctuating temperatures and underwater currents can create dangerous, unstable ice conditions often invisible from the surface. Officials also said there is no such thing as ice that’s 100% safe.

“We want everyone to enjoy the winter season, but safety must be the priority,” Sheriff Troy Goodnough said in a statement. “Ice conditions can change rapidly. Just because the ice was safe yesterday, or appears safe from the shore, does not mean it is safe today. We urge everyone to check the ice thickness prior to venturing onto it.”

Extended Detroit Forecast

Saturday: Partly sunny; high 19, low 5.

Sunday: Sunny; high 22, low 6.

Monday: Mostly cloudy; high 26, low 14.

Tuesday: Partly sunny; high 26, low 13.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy; high 25, low 12.

Thursday: Partly sunny; high 26.

Source: National Weather Service

©2026 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The freighter Algoma Niagara navigates open water as cold weather continues to freeze the Detroit River near Grosse Ile, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Andy Morrison, The Detroit News)

The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights probe into the killing of Alex Pretti

By MICHAEL BIESECKER, REBECCA SANTANA and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday.

“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” Blanche said during a news conference.

Blanche did not explain why DOJ decided to open an investigation into Pretti’s killing, but has said a similar probe is not warranted in the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. He said only on Friday that the Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting and that there have to be circumstances and facts that “warrant an investigation.”

“President Trump has said repeatedly, ‘Of course, this is something we’re going to investigate,’” Blanche said of the Pretti shooting.

Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti’s parents, said Friday that “the family’s focus is on a fair and impartial investigation that examines the facts around his murder.”

FBI to take over federal investigation

The Department of Homeland Security also said Friday that the FBI will lead the federal probe into Pretti’s death.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first disclosed the shift in which agency was leading the investigation during a Fox News interview Thursday evening. Her department previously said Homeland Security Investigations, a departmental unit, would head the investigation.

“We will continue to follow the investigation that the FBI is leading and giving them all the information that they need to bring that to conclusion, and make sure that the American people know the truth of the situation and how we can go forward and continue to protect the American people,” Noem said, speaking to Fox host Sean Hannity.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Homeland Security Investigations will support the FBI in the investigation. Separately, Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, is doing its own internal investigation into the shooting, during which two officers opened fire on Pretti.

DHS did not immediately respond to questions about when the change was made or why. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was not immediately clear whether the FBI would share information and evidence with Minnesota state investigators, who have thus far been frozen out of the federal investigation.

In the same interview, Noem appeared to distance herself from statements she made shortly after the shooting, claiming Pretti had brandished a handgun and aggressively approached officers.

Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing the intensive care nurse had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of Pretti’s pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.

Pretti had a state permit to legally carry a concealed firearm. At no point did he appear to reach for it, the videos showed.

Videos emerge of previous altercation

The change in agency comes after two other videos emerged of an earlier altercation between Pretti and federal immigration officers 11 days before his death.

The Jan. 13 videos show Pretti yelling at federal vehicles and at one point appearing to spit before kicking out the taillight of one vehicle. A struggle ensues between Pretti and several officers, during which he is forced to the ground. Pretti’s winter coat comes off, and he either breaks free or the officers let him go and he scurries away.

When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti reaching for the gun, and it is not clear whether federal agents saw it.

Schleicher, the Pretti family attorney, said Wednesday the earlier altercation in no way justified the shooting more than a week later.

In a post on his Truth Social platform early Friday morning, President Donald Trump suggested that the videos of the earlier incident undercut the narrative that Pretti was a peaceful protester when he was shot.

“Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces,” Trump’s post said. “It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!”

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.

A photo of Alex Pretti is displayed during a vigil for Alex Pretti by nurses and their supporters outside VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

‘Shocking and disappointing’: Nonprofit spars with Oakland health network as services absorbed

By Max Bryan, mbryan@detroitnews

Oakland County’s community mental health agency and a nonprofit that provides mental health services in the county are accusing each other of acting in bad faith as the county absorbed part of the nonprofit’s services Thursday.

Crisis care nonprofit Common Ground announced in a statement Thursday afternoon that it was ending its adult crisis services at its Pontiac location because the Oakland Community Health Network “failed to issue multiple monthly payments” to the nonprofit.

Adult services at Common Ground include a crisis helpline, walk-in assessments and a sober support unit for adults experiencing mental health crisis or substance abuse. Common Ground CEO Heather Rae said 8,000-9,000 people use the nonprofit’s adult crisis services annually.

In its own statement following Common Ground’s, OCHN announced it was immediately assuming responsibility for the services. OCHN is contracted through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to lead the county’s provider service network.

“That the attempts to cause panic among the Oakland County residents and the citizens of the county are very shocking and disappointing, because you’re talking about people whose lives have been put at risk when they believe help is no longer available for them at their most vulnerable,” said OCHN CEO Dana Lasenby.

Common Ground members have attended county meetings since November opposing OCHN absorbing its services.

“Transition meetings between the organizations were initially productive and focused on program continuity and collaboration. However, discussions ultimately stalled as Common Ground shifted its focus toward financial demands rather than operational coordination for the people served,” OCHN’s statement reads.

Rae contends OCHN hasn’t paid the nonprofit since November for its crisis residential unit or sober support unit and hasn’t paid for its main contract since December. In its statement, Common Ground claims OCHN told them Tuesday they didn’t plan to make these payments, citing “outstanding cost settlement reviews.”

Rae said the cost settlement — more than $1 million — is usually worked out in late spring or summer. OCHN claims those funds that Common Ground owes the network were an overpayment.

“It is premature for them to have a number because it is not as simple as that. We go through an audited process, an in-depth review of payments made, expenditures, and we arrive together at a number, and we work that for as long as it takes,” Rae told The Detroit News on Thursday. “Usually, it takes a month or two to arrive at what is the reality of who owes who and how much.”

Rae also claimed Common Ground’s amount would be much smaller if the amounts OCHN hasn’t paid them were factored in.

Lasenby called Rae’s claims about the $1 million and monthly payments “inaccurate.” She said they have tried to work out the overpayment amount with Common Ground “for quite a bit of time now.”

Lasenby also said the last payment they made to Common Ground was in December.

“January payment was not made because of a contractual breach of the provider,” Lasenby said.

In addition to the money claims, Rae said Common Ground issued 155 layoff notices in December for Feb. 13, when OCHN was originally supposed to absorb the services. OCHN claimed in its statement that it has transitioned more than 55 employees from Common Ground “to support the continuation of crisis services” and expects that number to grow as employees transition from the nonprofit.

Common Ground's crisis helpline center in Pontiac. (MNG file photo)

Justice Department says it’s releasing 3 million pages from its Jeffrey Epstein files

By ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL R. SISAK and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department said Friday that it was releasing many more records from its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, resuming disclosures under a law intended to reveal what the government knew about the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department was releasing more than 3 million pages of documents in the latest Epstein disclosure, as well as more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The files, which were being posted to the department’s website, include some of the several million pages of records that officials said were withheld from an initial release of documents in December.

The documents were disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure that requires the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

“Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act,” Blanche said at a news conference announcing the disclosure.

  • An email that was included in the U.S. Department of...
    An email that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files is photographed Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, and shows the cell where Epstein was found unresponsive. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
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An email that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files is photographed Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, and shows the cell where Epstein was found unresponsive. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
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The prospect of previously unseen records tying Epstein to famous figures has long animated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and others who have clamored for a full accounting that even Blanche acknowledged might not be met by the latest document dump.

“There’s a hunger, or a thirst, for information that I don’t think will be satisfied by review of these documents,” he said.

He insisted that, “We did not protect President Trump. We didn’t protect — or not protect — anybody,” Blanche said.

After missing a Dec. 19 deadline set by Congress to release all of the files, the Justice Department said it tasked hundreds of lawyers with reviewing the records to determine what needs to be redacted, or blacked out.

Among the materials being withheld from release Friday is information that could jeopardize any ongoing investigation or expose the identities of potential victims of sex abuse. All women other than Maxwell have been redacted from videos and images being released Friday, Blanche said.

The number of documents subject to review has ballooned to roughly six million, including duplicates, the department said.

The Justice Department released tens of thousands of pages of documents just before Christmas, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs and court records. Many of them were either already public or heavily blacked out.

Those records included previously released flight logs showing that Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet in the 1990s, before they had a falling out, and several photographs of Clinton. Neither Trump, a Republican, nor Clinton, a Democrat, has been publicly accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and both have said they had no knowledge he was abusing underage girls.

Also released last month were transcripts of grand jury testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who said they were paid to perform sex acts for Epstein.

Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

In 2008 and 2009, Epstein served jail time in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. At the time, investigators had gathered evidence that Epstein had sexually abused underage girls at his home in Palm Beach, but the U.S. attorney’s office agreed not to prosecute him in exchange for his guilty plea to lesser state charges.

In 2021, a federal jury in New York convicted Maxwell, a British socialite, of sex trafficking for helping recruit some of his underage victims. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence at a prison camp in Texas, after being moved there from a federal prison in Florida. She denies any wrongdoing.

U.S. prosecutors never charged anyone else in connection with Epstein’s abuse of girls, but one of his victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, accused him in lawsuits of having arranged for her to have sexual encounters at age 17 and 18 with numerous politicians, business titans, noted academics and others, all of whom denied her allegations.

Among the people she accused was Britain’s Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after the scandal led to him being stripped of his royal titles. Andrew denied having sex with Giuffre but settled her lawsuit for an undisclosed sum.

Giuffre died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia last year at age 41.


Tucker and Richer reported from Washington.

Follow the AP’s coverage of Jeffrey Epstein at https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein.

FILE – Documents that were included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

Detroit Free Press owner plans to buy Detroit News

The owners of the Detroit Free Press plan to acquire the Detroit News.

USA Today‘s announcement comes less than a month after Michigan’s largest daily newspapers ended a joint operating agreement they entered in 1989.

The Free Press was failing at the time. The JOA allowed both papers to maintain separate newsrooms while combining other parts of their businesses such as printing.

The JOA ended in December 2025. Shortly thereafter, the News announced plans to print its first separate Sunday edition in 36 years. Then it delayed the Sunday paper rollout a few days before USA Today’s takeover announcement.

What happens now?

USA Today CEO Mike Reed says the company will continue to publish separate editions. But for how long?

Bill Shea is a writer based in Hazel Park. He wrote about the city’s newspapers for Crain’s Detroit Business for more than a decade. He also worked for USA Today’s predecessor, Gannett. Shea says before they became partners, the papers were fierce competitors.

“These newsrooms used to have hundreds and hundreds of people in all the various roles,” he says. “Reporters, editors, photographers, copy editors…the whole gamut.”

But as technology changed, so did readers’ habits.

“Customers no longer wanted print as much as they used to,” Shea says.

Bill Shea is a writer based in Hazel Park.

Both papers have a strong online presence. Shea says that will allow them to stay the course editorially in the short term.

“They both get a lot of eyeballs digitally,” he says. “Maintaining separate newsrooms to keep that up is probably the path for now.”

Is a one-paper town inevitable?

But Shea warns that the new owners might lay off reporters to maximize profits.

“I fully expect to hear the crappy corporate-speak of ‘finding efficiencies to better serve our readers and partners,’ which just means job cuts,” he says.

Shea says fewer journalists means fewer stories to cover. He says that would hurt readers, too.

“Because you’re losing out on that vital storytelling in an age where we absolutely need…as many people as possible telling these stories, holding power and capital accountable,” he says.

USA Today said it expected to close the deal before the end of January. It would not say how much it’s paying to acquire the News or whether it will follow through with a separate Sunday edition.

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The Metro: Homelessness rising among families in Oakland County

Over the past decade, homelessness has been down in Oakland County. But in the last three years, it’s been trending up again. 

The 2024 point-in-time count found that about 1,700 people were homeless in Oakland County. 

Last week, the locality conducted its latest count while Wayne County had one on Wednesday. We don’t have the official results from either count yet, but, according to Ryan Hertz, the number of families that are homeless is growing, even as chronically homeless individuals are getting housing more often.

The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke with the CEO and president of the anti-poverty organization, Lighthouse, to learn more.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Support local journalism.

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Inside the Midwest’s largest immigration detention center with a retired pastor

Since September, retired evangelical pastor Dale Dalman has been driving north from his West Michigan home in Rockford to the North Lake Processing Center, sometimes two, three times a week.

Listen: Inside the Midwest’s largest immigration detention center with a retired pastor

Winter storms and frigid temperatures haven’t stopped him from making the four hour round trip to Baldwin, Michigan, so that he can spend 90 minutes visiting people inside.

“It all started when a former member of my congregation was picked up in Indiana as a truck driver, when [federal agents] were pulling over immigrant truck drivers,” Dalman explained. “He’s been detained in Baldwin since.”

Read the rest of the story from Michigan Public Radio here.

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