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By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under questioning from Democrats Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein twice after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child, reversing Lutnick’s previous claim that he had cut ties with the late financier after 2005.

Lutnick once again downplayed his relationship with the disgraced financier who was once his neighbor in New York City as he was questioned by Democrats during a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of meetings that were years apart.

“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him,” Lutnick told lawmakers.

But Lutnick is facing calls from several lawmakers for his resignation after the release of case files on Epstein contradicted Lutnick’s claims on a podcast last year that he had decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein again after a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

The commerce secretary said Tuesday that he and his family actually had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 and he had another hour-long engagement at Epstein’s home in 2011. Lutnick, a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, is the highest-profile U.S. official to face bipartisan calls for his resignation amid revelations of his ties to Epstein. His acknowledgement comes as lawmakers are grasping for what accountability looks like amid the revelations contained in what’s known as the Epstein files.

In countries like the United Kingdom, the Epstein files have triggered resignations and the stripping of royal privileges, but so far, U.S. officials have not met the same level of retribution.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the Democrat who questioned Lutnick, told him, “There’s not an indication that you yourself engaged in any wrongdoing with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s the fact that you believe that you misled the country and the Congress based on your earlier statements.”

Meanwhile, House members who initiated the legislative effort to force the release of the files are calling for Lutnick to resign. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky called for that over the weekend after emails were released that alluded to the meetings between Lutnick and Epstein.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, joined Massie in pressuring Lutnick out of office on Monday.

“Based on the evidence, he should be out of the Cabinet,” Khanna said.

He added, “It’s not about any particular person. In this country, we have to make a decision. Are we going to allow the rich and powerful people who are friends and (had) no problem doing business and showing up with a pedophile who is raping underage girls, are we just going to allow them to skate?”

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI, STEVE PEOPLES and STEVEN SLOAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Governors Association will no longer hold a formal meeting with President Donald Trump when the group of state leaders meet in Washington later this month after the White House planned to invite only Republicans.

“NGA staff was informed that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business meeting, scheduled for February 20, to Republican governors only,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who is the chairman of the NGA, said in a Monday letter to fellow governors obtained by The Associated Press. “Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event, and it is no longer included in our official program.”

The NGA is scheduled to meet in Washington from Feb. 19-21. Representatives for Stitt, the White House and the NGA didn’t immediately comment on the letter.

Brandon Tatum, the NGA’s CEO, said in a statement last week that the White House meeting is an “important tradition” and said the organization was “disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year.”

The governors group is one of the few remaining venues where political leaders from both major parties gather to discuss the top issues facing their communities. In his letter, Stitt encouraged governors to unite around common goals.

“We cannot allow one divisive action to achieve its goal of dividing us,” he wrote. “The solution is not to respond in kind, but to rise above and to remain focused on our shared duty to the people we serve. America’s governors have always been models of pragmatic leadership, and that example is most important when Washington grows distracted by politics.”

Signs of partisan tensions emerged at the White House meeting last year, when Trump and Maine’s then-Gov. Janet Mills traded barbs.

Trump singled out the Democratic governor over his push to bar transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, threatening to withhold federal funding from the state if she did not comply. Mills responded, “We’ll see you in court.”

Trump then predicted that Mills’ political career would be over for opposing the order. She is now running for U.S. Senate.

The back and forth had a lasting impact on last year’s conference and some Democratic governors did not renew their dues last year to the bipartisan group.

Peoples reported from New York.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, KEVIN FREKING and SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders say a proposal from the White House is “incomplete and insufficient” as they are demanding new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and threatening a shutdown of the Homeland Security Department.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement late Monday that a White House counterproposal to the list of demands they transmitted over the weekend “included neither details nor legislative text” and does not address “the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.” The White House proposal was not released publicly.

The Democrats’ statement comes as time is running short, with another partial government shutdown threatening to begin Saturday. Among the Democrats’ demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards and a stop to racial profiling. They say such changes are necessary after two protesters were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.

Earlier Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had expressed optimism about the rare negotiations between Democrats and the White House, saying there was “forward progress.”

Thune said it was a good sign that the two sides were trading papers, and “hopefully they can find some common ground here.”

But coming to an agreement on the charged issue of immigration enforcement will be difficult, especially as rank-and-file lawmakers in both parties were skeptical about finding common ground.

Republicans have balked at the Democrats’ requests and some have demands of their own, including the addition of legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote and restrictions on cities that they say do not do enough to crack down on illegal immigration.

And many Democrats who are furious about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s aggressive crackdown have said they won’t vote for another penny of Homeland Security funding until enforcement is radically scaled back.

“Dramatic changes are needed at the Department of Homeland Security before a DHS funding bill moves forward,” Jeffries said earlier Monday. “Period. Full stop.”

Trump deals with Democrats

Congress is trying to renegotiate the DHS spending bill after Trump agreed to a Democratic request that it be separated out from a larger spending measure that became law last week. That package extended Homeland Security funding at current levels only through Feb. 13, creating a brief window for action as the two parties discuss new restrictions on ICE and other federal officers.

Democrats made the demands for new restrictions on ICE and other federal law enforcement after ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, and some Republicans suggested that new restrictions were necessary. Renee Good was shot by ICE agents on Jan. 7.

While he agreed to separate the funding, Trump has not publicly responded to the Democrats’ specific demands.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said late last week that the Trump administration is willing to discuss some items on the Democrats’ list, but “others don’t seem like they are grounded in any common sense, and they are nonstarters for this administration.”

Democratic demands

Schumer and Jeffries have said they want immigration officers to remove their masks, to show identification and to better coordinate with local authorities. They have also demanded a stricter use-of-force policy for the federal officers, legal safeguards at detention centers and a prohibition on tracking protesters with body-worn cameras.

Among other demands, Democrats say Congress should end indiscriminate arrests, “improve warrant procedures and standards,” ensure the law is clear that officers cannot enter private property without a judicial warrant and require that before a person can be detained, it’s verified that the person is not a U.S. citizen.

Republicans have said they support the requirement for DHS officers to have body-worn cameras — language that was in the original DHS bill — but have balked at many of the other Democratic asks.

“Taking the masks off ICE officers and agents, the reason we can’t do that is that it would subject them to great harm, their families at great risk because people are doxing them and targeting them,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday. “We’ve got to talk about things that are reasonable and achievable.”

Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty said on “Fox News Sunday” that Democrats are ”trying to motivate a radical left base.”

“The left has gone completely overboard, and they’re threatening the safety and security of our agents so they cannot do their job,” Hagerty said.

Consequences of a shutdown

In addition to ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the homeland security bill includes funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. If DHS shuts down, Thune said last week, “there’s a very good chance we could see more travel problems” similar to the 43-day government closure last year.

Lawmakers in both parties have suggested they could separate out funding for ICE and Border Patrol and pass the rest of it by Friday. But Thune has been cool to that idea, saying instead that Congress should pass another short-term extension for all of DHS while they negotiate the possible new restrictions.

“If there’s additional time that’s needed, then hopefully Democrats would be amenable to another extension,” Thune said.

Many Democrats are unlikely to vote for another extension. But Republicans could potentially win enough votes in both chambers from Democrats if they feel hopeful about negotiations.

“The ball is in the Republicans’ court,” Jeffries said Monday.

Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

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By Gavin J. Quinton, Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s promises on affordability in 2024 helped propel him to a second term in the White House.

Since then, Trump says, the problem has been solved: He now calls affordability a hoax perpetrated by Democrats. Yet the high cost of living, especially housing, continues to weigh heavily on voters, and has dragged down the president’s approval ratings.

In a poll conducted this month by the New York Times and Siena University, 58% of respondents said they disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy.

How the economy fares in the coming months will play an outsize role in determining whether the Democrats can build on their electoral success in 2025 and seize control of one or both chambers of Congress.

With housing costs so central to voters’ perceptions about the economy, both parties have put forward proposals in recent weeks targeting affordability. Here is a closer look at their competing plans for expanding housing and reining in costs:

How bad is the affordability crisis?

Nationwide, wages have barely crept up over the last decade — rising by 21.24% between 2014 and 2024, according to the Federal Reserve. Over the same period, rent and home sale prices more than doubled, and healthcare and grocery costs rose 71.5% and 37.35%, respectively, according to the Fed.

National home price-to-income ratios are at an all-time high, and coastal states like California and Hawaii are the most extreme examples.

Housing costs in California are about twice the national average, according to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, which said prices have increased at “historically rapid rates” in recent years. The median California home sold for $877,285 in 2024, according to the California Assn. of Realtors, compared with about $420,000 nationwide, per Federal Reserve economic data.

California needs to add 180,000 housing units annually to keep up with demand, according to the state Department of Housing. So far, California has fallen short of those goals and has just begun to see success in reducing its homeless population, which sat at 116,000 unsheltered people in 2025.

What do the polls say?

More than two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a Gallup poll last month said they felt the economy was getting worse, and 36% expressed approval for the president — the lowest total since his second term began.

The poll found that 47% of U.S. adults now describe current economic conditions as “poor,” up from 40% just a month prior and the highest since Trump took office. Just 21% said economic conditions were either “excellent” or “good,” while 31% described them as “only fair.”

An Associated Press poll found that only 16% of Republicans think Trump has helped “a lot” in fixing cost of living problems.

What have the Democrats proposed?

The party is pushing measures to expand the supply of housing, and cut down on what they call “restrictive” single-family zoning in favor of denser development.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats plan to “supercharge” construction through bills like California Sen. Adam Schiff’s Housing BOOM Act, which he introduced in December.

Schiff said the bill would lower prices by stimulating the development of “millions of affordable homes.” The proposal would expand low-income housing tax credits, set aside funds for rental assistance and homelessness, and provide $10 billion in housing subsidies for “middle-income” workers such as teachers, police officers and firefighters.

The measure has not been heard in committee, and faces long odds in the Republican-controlled body, though Schiff said inaction on the proposal could be used against opponents.

And the Republicans?

A group of 190 House Republicans this month unveiled a successor proposal to the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the sprawling tax and spending plan approved and signed into law by Trump in July.

The Republican Study Committee described the proposal as an affordability package aimed at lowering down payments, enacting mortgage reforms and creating more tax breaks.

Leaders of the group said it would reduce the budget deficit by $1 trillion and could pass with a simple majority.

“This blueprint … locks in President Trump’s deregulatory agenda through the only process Democrats can’t block: reconciliation,” said Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who chairs the group. “We have 11 months of guaranteed majorities. We’re not wasting a single day.”

Though the proposal has not yet been introduced as legislation, Republicans said it would include a mechanism to revoke funding from blue states over rent control and immigration policy, which they calculated would save $48 billion.

President Trump has endorsed a $200-billion mortgage bond stimulus, which he said would drive down mortgage rates and monthly payments. And the White House, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two enterprises that back most U.S. mortgages — continues to push the idea of portable and assumable mortgages.

Trump said the move would allow buyers to keep their existing mortgage rate or enable new homeowners to assume a previous owner’s mortgage.

The Department of Justice, meanwhile, has launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the Fed’s renovation costs, as Trump bashed him over “his never ending quest to keep interest rates high.”

The president also vowed to revoke federal funding to states over a wealth of issues such as child care and immigration policy.

“This is not about any particular policy that they think is harmful,” California Democratic Rep. Laura Friedman said. “This is about Trump’s always trying to find a way to punish blue states.”

Is there any alignment?

The two parties are cooperating on companion measures in the House and Senate.

The bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act seeks to expand housing supply by easing regulatory barriers. It passed the Senate unanimously and has support from the White House, but House Republicans have balked, and it has yet to receive a floor vote.

A bipartisan proposal — the Housing in the 21st Century Act — was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a 50-1 vote in December. It also has yet to receive a floor vote.

The bill is similar to its twin in the Senate, with Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) working across the aisle with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). If approved, it would cut permitting times, support manufactured-housing development and expand financing tools for low-income housing developers.

There was also a recent moment of unusual alignment between the president and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who both promised to crack down on corporate home buying.

What do the experts say?

Housing experts recoiled at GOP proposals to bar housing dollars from sanctuary jurisdictions and cities that impose rent control.

“Any conditioning on HUD funding that sets up rules that explicitly carve out blue cities is going to be really catastrophic for California’s larger urban areas,” said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

More than 35 cities in California have rent control policies, according to the California Apartment Assn. The state passed its own rent stabilization law in 2019, and lawmakers approved a California sanctuary law in 2017 that prohibits state resources from aiding federal immigration enforcement.

The agenda comes on the heels of a series of HUD spending cuts, including a 30% cap on permanent housing investments and the end of a federal emergency housing voucher program that local homelessness officials estimate would put 14,500 people on the streets.

In Los Angeles County, HUD dollars make up about 28% of homelessness funding.

“It would undermine a lot of the bipartisan efforts that are happening in the House and the Senate to move evidence-backed policy to increase housing supply and stabilize rents and home prices,” Garcia said.

The president’s mortgage directives also prompted skepticism from some experts.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were pressed to get into the riskier parts of the mortgage market back in the housing bubble and that was a part of the problem,” said Eric McGhee, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California.

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By GABRIELA AOUN ANGUEIRA, Associated Press

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will resume staff cuts that were briefly paused during January’s severe winter storm, according to two FEMA managers, stoking concern across the agency over its ability to address disasters with fewer workers.

FEMA at the start of January abruptly stopped renewing employment contracts for a group of staffers known as Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery, or CORE employees, term-limited hires who can hold senior roles and play an important role in emergency response.

But FEMA then paused the cuts in late January as the nation braced for the gigantic winter storm that was set to impact half the country’s population. FEMA did not say whether that decision was linked to the storm.

The two FEMA team managers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the staffing changes with the media, were told this week that dismissals were going to resume soon but were not given a specific date. It was not clear how many people would be impacted.

FEMA staff told The Associated Press that the policy indiscriminately terminates employees without taking into account the importance of their role or their years of experience. The hundreds of CORE dismissals have wiped out entire teams, or left groups without managers, they said.

“It’s a big impact to our ability to implement and carry out the programs entrusted to us to carry out,” one FEMA manager told The Associated Press.

The officials said it was unclear who at the Department of Homeland Security or FEMA was driving the decision. Managers used to make the case to extend a contract months in advance, they said, but now leaders were often finding out about terminations at the same time as their employee.

DHS and FEMA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

There are over 10,000 CORE workers, making up nearly half of FEMA’s workforce. While they are employed on two- and four-year contracts, those terms are “routinely renewed,” one manager said, calling CORE the “primary backbone” for FEMA’s response and recovery work. Many CORE are supervisors and it’s not uncommon for them to have worked at the agency for many years, if not decades.

CORE employees are paid out of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund and are not subject to as long a hiring process as permanent full-time federal employees. That allows the agency to be more nimble in its hiring and onboard employees more quickly as needs arise. With DHS funded only temporarily because of a battle in Congress over immigration tactics, CORE employees can work and be paid during a government shutdown, so long as the disaster fund still has money.

The administration’s efforts to reduce the workforce come as the Trump administration has been promising reforms for FEMA that it says will reduce waste and shift emergency management responsibilities over to states.

It also comes as DHS faces increasing criticism over how it manages FEMA, including delays in getting disaster funding to states and workforce reductions.

FEMA lost nearly 10% of its workforce between January and June 2025, according to the Government Accountability Office. Concern has grown in recent months among FEMA staff and disaster experts that larger cuts are coming.

A draft report from the Trump-appointed FEMA Review Council included a recommendation to cut the agency’s workforce in half, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the report with media. The council’s final report, due last November, has not been published.

“Based on past disasters, we know that slashing FEMA’s workforce will put Americans at risk, plain and simple,” Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said after introducing a resolution Wednesday condemning FEMA staff cuts.

Last week, a coalition of unions and nonprofits led by the American Federation of Government Employees filed a legal complaint against the Trump Administration over the FEMA reductions.

A CORE employee at FEMA headquarters who asked not to be named for fear of losing their job said that even though FEMA was able to support states during Winter Storm Fern, a year of staff losses could already be felt. There were fewer people available for backup, they said, and staff were burned out from ongoing uncertainty.

By ALEXA ST. JOHN

Energy Star, the program that helps guide consumers to more energy-efficient appliances and electronics, has survived the Trump administration’s plans to cut it.

The program received sufficient support in Congress that it was included in budget legislation signed this week by President Donald Trump.

Environmentalists and advocates called it good news for consumers and the planet, but raised concerns over how the program will be administered under a shrunken Environmental Protection Agency.

But Energy Star is not the only energy efficiency program targeted by Trump.

Here’s what to know about the outlook for that program and others.

What’s Trump got against energy efficiency?

Trump has regularly said efficiency standards for household items and appliances — many strengthened under predecessor Joe Biden’s administration — rob consumers of choice and add unnecessary costs.

His first executive order upon returning to office last year outlined a vision to “unleash American energy.” In it, he emphasized safeguarding “the American people’s freedom to choose” everything from light bulbs to gas stoves to water heaters and shower heads.

At the same time Trump has targeted efficiency, he’s also sought to block renewable energy development such as wind and solar and boosted fossil fuels that contribute to warming, including gas, oil and coal.

What happened with Energy Star?

Energy Star is a voluntary, decades-old EPA-run program that informs consumers about how efficient home appliances and electronics are, including dishwashers, washing machines and more. The idea is to simultaneously reduce emissions and save consumers money on their energy bills.

The Department of Energy develops product testing procedures for Energy Star, while the EPA sets performance levels and ensures the certification label is reliable for consumers. It also applies to new homes, commercial buildings and plants.

EPA says the program has saved 4 billion metric tonnes (4.41 billion tons) of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions since launching in 1992, and can save households an average of $450 annually.

Last May, EPA drafted plans to eliminate Energy Star as part of a broader agency reorganization that targeted air pollution regulation efforts and other critical environmental functions. The agency said the reorganization would deliver “organizational improvements to the personnel structure” to benefit the American people.

Many groups advocated against the potential closure of the program, citing its benefits to consumers.

The legislation Trump signed this week allocated $33 million for the program, slightly more than 2024’s $32.1 million, according to the Congressional Research Service, but it continues the general trend of declining funding for the program over the past decade. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, among many industry groups to advocate for keeping the program in letters sent to Congress, said it was “very pleased” to see the funding continue.

Some concerns remain

Experts say uncertainty around the program likely didn’t impact consumers much over the past year. They note that manufacturers can’t change their product lines overnight.

Amanda Smith, a senior scientist at climate research organization Project Drawdown, said the uncertainty may have had a bigger effect on EPA’s ability to administer the program. She was among experts wondering how staffing cuts may affect EPA’s work.

EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch didn’t address a question about that, saying in a statement only that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin “will follow the law as enacted by Congress.”

What other energy efficiency rules are still in limbo?

The Department of Energy has proposed rolling back, weakening or revoking 17 other minimum efficiency standards for energy and water conservation as part of 47 broader deregulatory actions. Those are standards that must be met for the products to be sold legally.

That includes air cleaners, ovens, dehumidifiers, portable air conditioners, washers, dishwashers, faucets and many more items that have been in place and updated over the years.

“These are standards that are quietly saving people money on their utility bills year after year in a way that most consumers never notice,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. “The striking thing is that consumers have a huge array of choices in appliances in the market today. Repealing these standards would simply increase cost. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Changing efficiency measures also drives up energy demand at a time when utilities are already challenged to meet the growing needs of data centers, electrification and more.

While Congress has supported Energy Star and these separate appliance standards, it also has advanced legislation that would give the president new powers to roll back rules.

Manufacturers are likely to continue making efficient consumer appliances, but weakened rules could negatively impact the U.S. marketplace.

“The problem for U.S. manufacturers is that overseas competitors making inefficient products elsewhere could now flood the U.S. market,” deLaski said, noting that would undercut American manufacturers.

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

Read more of AP’s climate coverage.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Friday requested records related to firms partially owned by the husband of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, taking the extraordinary step of scrutinizing the spouse of a sitting House member.

Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, released a letter to Timothy Mynett, a former Democratic political consultant who is married to Omar, requesting records related to a pair of companies that had a substantial jump in value between 2023 and 2024, according to financial disclosures filed by the congresswoman.

Comer’s request marked a highly unusual move by the chair of a committee with a history of taking on politically-charged investigations, but almost always focused on government officials outside of Congress. The House Ethics Committee, which is comprised of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans and tries to stay away from political fights, typically handles allegations involving lawmakers and their family members.

Yet since her 2018 election as one of the first Muslim women in the House, Omar has received nearly-nonstop attacks from the right. She has dismissed allegations around her finances as “misleading” and based on conspiracy theories.

A spokesperson for Omar, Jackie Rogers, said in a statement that Comer’s letter was “a political stunt” and part of a campaign “meant to fundraise, not real oversight.”

“This is an attempt to orchestrate a smear campaign against the congresswoman, and it is disgusting that our tax dollars are being used to malign her,” Rogers added.

Comer has also displayed a willingness to push the traditional parameters of the Oversight panel. In a separate investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, he is enforcing subpoenas for depositions from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, marking the first time a former president will be forced to appear before Congress.

In the letter to Mynett on Friday, Comer said, “There are serious public concerns about how your businesses increased so dramatically in value only a year after reporting very limited assets.”

There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Omar, but President Donald Trump also said last month that the Department of Justice is looking into her finances.

In response to the president, Omar said on social media that “your support is collapsing and you’re panicking,” adding that “Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing.”

The scrutiny of Omar’s finances comes from a required financial disclosure statement she filed in May last year. She reported then that two firms tied to her husband, a winery called eStCru and an investment firm called Rose Lake Capital, had risen in value by at least $5.9 million dollars. Lawmakers report assets within ranges of dollar figures, so it was not clear exactly how much the firms had risen in value or what ownership stake Mynett had in them.

Omar has also pointed out that her husband’s reported income from the winery was between $5,000 and $15,000 and none from Rose Lake Capital.

By CLAIRE RUSH, Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lawyers for conservation groups, Native American tribes, and the states of Oregon and Washington returned to court Friday to seek changes to dam operations on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, following the collapse of a landmark agreement with the federal government to help recover critically imperiled salmon runs.

Last year President Donald Trump torpedoed the 2023 deal, in which the Biden administration had promised to spend $1 billion over a decade to help restore salmon while also boosting tribal clean energy projects. The White House called it “radical environmentalism” that could have resulted in the breaching of four controversial dams on the Snake River.

The plaintiffs argue that the way the government operates the dams violates the Endangered Species Act, and over decades of litigation judges have repeatedly ordered changes to help the fish. They’re asking the court to order changes at eight large hydropower dams, including lowering reservoir water levels, which can help fish travel through them faster, and increasing spill, which can help juvenile fish pass over dams instead of through turbines.

In court filings, the federal government called the request a “sweeping scheme to wrest control” of the dams that would compromise the ability to operate them safely and efficiently. Any such court order could also raise rates for utility customers, the government said.

“We’re returning to court because the situation for the salmon and the steelhead in the Columbia River Basin is dire,” said Kristen Boyles, managing attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm representing conservation, clean energy and fishing groups in the litigation. “There are populations that are on the brink of extinction, and this is a species which is the center of Northwest tribal life and identity.”

The lengthy legal battle was revived after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement last June. The pact with Washington, Oregon and four Native American tribes had allowed for a pause in the litigation.

The plaintiffs, which include the state of Oregon and a coalition of conservation and fishing groups such as the National Wildlife Federation, filed the motion for a preliminary injunction, with Washington state, the Nez Perce Tribe and Yakama Nation supporting it as “friends of the court.” The U.S. District Court in Portland will hear the oral arguments.

The Columbia River Basin, spanning an area roughly the size of Texas, was once the world’s greatest salmon-producing river system, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead. Today, four are extinct and seven are endangered or threatened. Another iconic but endangered Northwest species, a population of killer whales, also depend on the salmon.

The construction of the first dams on the Columbia River, including the Grand Coulee and Bonneville in the 1930s, provided jobs during the Great Depression as well as hydropower and navigation. They made the town of Lewiston, Idaho, the most inland seaport on the West Coast, and many farmers continue to rely on barges to ship their crops.

Opponents of the proposed dam changes include the Inland Ports and Navigation Group, which said in a statement last year that increasing spill “can disproportionately hurt navigation, resulting in disruptions in the flow of commerce that has a highly destructive impact on our communities and economy.”

However, the dams are also a main culprit behind the decline of salmon, which regional tribes consider part of their cultural and spiritual identity.

Speaking before the hearing, Jeremy Takala of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council said “extinction is not an option.”

“This is very personal to me. It’s very intimate,” he said, describing how his grandfather took him to go fishing. “Every season of lower survival means closed subsistence fisheries, loss of ceremonies and fewer elders able to pass on fishing traditions to the next generation.”

The dams for which changes are being sought are the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite on the Snake River, and the Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day and McNary on the Columbia.

By REBECCA SANTANA and ELLIOT SPAGAT

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House border czar Tom Homan’s announcement that enforcement in Minnesota was being unified under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement followed months of internal grumbling and infighting among agencies about how to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Since it was created in 2003, ICE has conducted street arrests through “targeted enforcement.” Homan uses that phrase repeatedly to describe narrowly tailored operations with specific, individual targets, in contrast to the broad sweeps that had become more common under Border Patrol direction in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minnesota and elsewhere.

It is unclear how the agency friction may have influenced the leadership shift. But the change shines a light on how the two main agencies behind Trump’s centerpiece deportation agenda have at times clashed over styles and tactics.

The switch comes at a time when support for ICE is sliding, with a growing number of Americans saying the agency has become too aggressive. In Congress, the Department of Homeland Security is increasingly under attack by Democrats who want to rein in immigration enforcement.

While declaring the Twin Cities operation a success, Homan on Wednesday acknowledged that it was imperfect and said consolidating operations under ICE’s enforcement and removal operations unit was an effort toward “making sure we follow the rules.” Trump sent the former acting ICE director to Minnesota last week to de-escalate tensions after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal immigration officers — one with ICE and the other with Customs and Border Protection.

“We made this operation more streamlined and we established a unified chain of command, so everybody knows what everybody’s doing,” Homan said at a news conference in Minneapolis. “In targeted enforcement operations, we go out there. There needs to be a plan.”

Agencies with different missions and approaches

The Border Patrol’s growing role in interior enforcement had fueled tensions within ICE, according to current and former DHS officials. Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official who was reassigned from Minneapolis last week, embraced a “turn and burn” strategy of lightning-quick street sweeps and heavy shows of force that were designed to rack up arrests but often devolved into chaos.

“Every time you place Border Patrol into interior enforcement the wheels are going to come off,” Darius Reeves, who retired in May as head of ICE’s enforcement and removal operations in Baltimore, said in an interview last year as Bovino’s influence grew.

ICE has also engaged in aggressive tactics that mark a break from the past, especially in Minnesota. An ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Trump administration officials said she tried to run over an officer with her vehicle, an account that state and local officials have rejected. ICE has asserted sweeping power to forcibly enter a person’s home to make arrests without a judge’s warrant, among other controversial tactics.

But ICE’s traditional playbook involves extensive investigation and surveillance before an arrest, often acting quickly and quietly in predawn vehicle stops or outside a home. An ICE official once compared it to watching paint dry.

Bovino, in a November interview, said the two agencies had different but complementary missions and he compared the relationship to a large metropolitan police department. The Border Patrol was akin to beat cops on roving patrols. ICE was more like detectives, doing investigative work.

Asked about the friction, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “There is only page: The President’s page. Everyone’s on the same page.”

“This is one team, and we have one fight to secure the homeland. President Trump has a brilliant, tenacious team led by Secretary (Kristi) Noem to deliver on the American people’s mandate to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country.”

ICE gets blamed for Border Patrol’s tactics, official says

Michael Fisher, chief of the Border Patrol from 2010 to 2015, said last year that his former agency’s tactics were more in line with the Republican administration’s goal of deporting millions of people who entered the United States while Democrat Joe Biden was president.

“How do you deal with trying to arrest hundreds and hundreds of people in a shift?” Fisher said. “ICE agents typically aren’t geared, they don’t have the equipment, they don’t have the training to deal in those environments. The Border Patrol does.”

The Border Patrol’s high-profile raids, including a helicopter landing on the roof of a Chicago apartment building that involved agents rappelling down, rankled ICE officials. A U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity said at the time that ICE often gets blamed for Border Patrol’s tactics.

Meanwhile, Scott Mechowski, who retired in 2018 as ICE’s deputy field office director for enforcement and removal operations in New York, said separately that the Border Patrol was essentially doing roving operations and blanketing an area to question anyone or everyone about their legal status. He considered that an unwelcome contrast to ICE’s traditionally more targeted approach, based on deep surveillance and investigation of suspects.

“We didn’t just park our cars and walk through Times Square going, ‘OK, everybody. Come over here. You’re next, you’re next.’ We never did that. To me, that’s not the way to do your business,” Mechowski said.

Homan offers a narrower approach

As the Border Patrol’s influence grew last year, the administration reassigned at least half of the field office directors of ICE’s enforcement and removals operations division. Many were replaced by current or retired officials from CBP, the Border Patrol’s parent agency.

Homan’s arrival in Minnesota and his emphasis on “targeted enforcement” mark a subtle but unmistakable shift, at least in tone. He said authorities would arrest people they encounter who are not targets and he reaffirmed Trump’s commitment to mass deportation, but emphasized a narrower approach steeped in investigation.

“When we leave this building, we know who were looking for, where we’re most likely to find them, what their immigration record is, what their criminal history is,” Homan said.

On the ground, the mood has not changed much in Minneapolis since Bovino’s departure and Homan’s consolidation of operations under ICE. Fewer CBP convoys are seen in the Twin Cities area, but with ICE still having a significant presence, tensions remain.

On Thursday, The Associated Press witnessed an ICE officer in an unmarked vehicle tail a car and then pull over its driver, only to appear to realize he was not their target. “You’re good,” they told him, after scanning his face with their phones. They then drove off, leaving the driver baffled and furious.

Associated Press writer Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

By DAVID KLEPPER and ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday she is not worried that the involvement of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in an FBI search of a Georgia election office could taint the FBI’s investigation.

Her comments came a day after President Donald Trump offered a new explanation for why Gabbard was at the main elections hub in Georgia’s most populous county last week, saying Bondi had requested her presence.

Gabbard told lawmakers in a letter this week that Trump had asked her to join the search, where agents seized hundreds of boxes containing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia. But speaking Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump asserted that Gabbard “went in at Pam’s insistence.”

At an unrelated press conference Friday, Bondi said Gabbard’s presence in Georgia reflects government collaboration.

“DNI Gabbard and I are inseparable. We are constantly together, as are the people behind us,” Bondi said, with FBI Director Kash Patel standing nearby. “We constantly talk, we collaborate as a Cabinet. We’re all extremely close. Know what each other, what we’re doing at all times, pretty much to keep not only our country safe, but our world safe.”

Gabbard’s involvement in the case, which is tied to Trump’s disproven conspiracy theories about his 2020 loss, has raised concerns from Democratic lawmakers about the blurring of lines between intelligence work, which typically focuses on foreign threats, and domestic law enforcement operations, like the FBI search.

Democrats also fear her involvement may be laying the groundwork for the federal government to assert that the 2020 race that Trump lost was somehow tainted by foreign meddling or to cast doubt on the integrity of future elections.

In the event that criminal charges are brought, her presence — and her assertion that her attendance was requested by Trump as well as her acknowledged role in facilitating a call between FBI agents and the president — could open the door to defense arguments that the investigation was inherently politically motivated.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a television interview days after the FBI search that he did not know why Gabbard was there and said she was “not part of the grand jury investigation.” But he also has defended her as an important player in the administration’s efforts to uphold election integrity.

Gabbard said in her letter to lawmakers that she accompanied senior FBI officials “under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security.”

Gabbard’s office did not immediately respond to questions about the changing explanations for her involvement. Gabbard, a former congresswoman from Hawaii, ran for president as a Democrat and then endorsed Joe Biden, the ultimate winner in 2020, before switching to the Republicans and joining Trump’s second administration.

Her office also did not respond when asked who Gabbard believes won in 2020, or if she now believes Trump’s lies about the election.

Democrats on congressional intelligence committees have questioned Gabbard’s role in the investigation and said that if she has a legitimate reason for joining the FBI, she is obligated to inform Congress.

“The intelligence community operates outside the borders of the US for good reason, and the Director of National Intelligence has no business at a law enforcement operation unless there is a legitimate foreign nexus, of which we’ve seen no indication,” Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

Himes and his Senate counterpart, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, said they will continue to push for answers about Gabbard’s involvement in the investigation and what it might mean for upcoming elections.

The post MichMash: A bipartisan solution for medical debt; Campaign finance updates for the upcoming election appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running as an independent gubernatorial candidate, is refusing to say how he would handle federal immigration enforcement if elected governor, even as public opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement is surging nationwide.

The post Duggan goes silent on ICE as public backlash over raids grows appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

In 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump promised mass deportations. Since his election, the president has largely delivered.

In 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security deported more than 620,000 people, with another 70,000 currently in custody.

Millions have taken to the streets in protest. But for places that have seen the greatest influx of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, protests and observation of ICE tactics is a new way of life.

Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Twin Cities have been inundated with federal agents. Residents are putting themselves between immigration officers and the people ICE is attempting to deport.

Protesters have been aggressive in letting agents know they’re not welcome. They’re following them around town, honking horns and blowing whistles. There has been no shortage of profanity.

Protests get bloody

White House Border Czar Tom Homan says those words are violence. “I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop,” says Homan. “I said in March, if the rhetoric didn’t stop, there’s going to be bloodshed, and there has been.”

In Minnesota, the blood that has been shed has come from U.S. citizens. Last month, federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In justifying Good’s killing, Trump Administration officials said she was armed with a car. In the moments leading up to his death, Pretti was exercising both his First and Second Amendment rights with a gun on his hip and a phone in his hand.

Steve Dulan is a professor at Cooley Law School in Lansing.  He’s also on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. Dulan says Pretti’s actions that day were Constitutionally protected.

“Being a protester? That’s not justification to kill somebody,” Dulan said. “Filming the police? Not justification to kill somebody. Being armed? Certainly not justification to kill somebody.”

At Second Amendment rights demonstrations at the Michigan State Capitol Dulan has been armed – but also while doing business inside. After a series of armed protests during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Michigan Capitol Commission largely banned the possession of guns inside the Capitol building – something Dulan believes is likely unconstitutional.

Exercising two amendments at once

Dulan says he would defend the rights of people to carry firearms while protesting, though he wouldn’t put himself in a similar situation.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s responsible gun ownership, particularly when there’s a high likelihood that there could be some kind of a physical confrontation,” Dulan said. “You know, we’ve been teaching classes to gun owners for a long time at MCRGO. We teach that situational awareness is incredibly important, and the best way to solve most problems is by avoidance.”

Carrying a gun can also influence how other protesters see you.

Loren Khogali is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. She says demonstrating 2^nd Amendment rights may make others hesitant to exercise their right to peaceably assemble.

 “What we need right now in this country is as many people as possible to feel as comfortable possible exercising their 1st Amendment right to speech,” Khogali said.

Acting with impunity

The bigger issue to Khogali is the Trump Administration – and the armed agents enforcing his demands – attacking people with seeming impunity.

 “Right now we are watching the government engage suppressing people’s right to speech, suppressing people’s right to protest in the most violent of ways,” Khogali said. “We have watched the federal government murder two people in Minnesota, and so it is extremely important that when you go to a protest, you understand exactly what your rights are based on those state laws.”

 “Law enforcement should be adhering to the Constitution and should be protecting the right of protesters to protest within the law,”Khogali said.

In Minnesota, federal law enforcement has been largely unconcerned with the rights of protesters. Numerous judges have cited ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for violating court orders.

What is qualified immunity?

Steven Winter is the Walter S. Gibbs, Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at Wayne State University. He’s litigated cases on qualified immunity – the rule that shields police and other governmental entities from civil liability. 

He says those who violate constitutional rights should face consequences, but that’s not the reality.

 “Well as a practical matter, very little,” Winter said. “In a theoretical matter, they should both be open to potential civil and criminal liability.”

But asked if he thinks the agents who killed Good and Pretti will face justice… “I think it’d be very unlikely,” Winter said.

Winter says U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of what can negate qualified immunity. “It’s only a violation–it’s only actionable–if it was clearly illegal, clearly unconstitutional. So that’s easy to muddy up, right?”

Knowing your rights regardless

Even if it’s unlikely you will receive justice if your rights are violated, it’s still best to know your rights and have a plan.

“You always have the right to remain silent and to ask to speak to an attorney. You also have the right to walk away from the police calmly,” Khogali said. “If an officer demands that you should turn over your phone, you should refuse and you should tell them that you would like to speak with an attorney.”

However, witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti say their phones were confiscated anyway. Other witnesses were taken into custody.

Khogali recommends having emergency contact numbers memorized and to let loved ones know when you’re headed to a protest.

Steve Dulan says the on-going protests can serve as a teaching tool. “I am hopeful that people will take this opportunity to learn about their rights and I’m hoping that the rhetoric cools.”

This week, Homan announced that 700 ICE agents were being taken out of Minnesota. The protests and deportations continue.

The ACLU of Michigan has this handy pocket guide for your rights at protests, and what you should know before, during, and after ICE raids.

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

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By DAVID KLEPPER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Close the cover on the CIA World Factbook: The spy agency announced Wednesday that after more than 60 years, it is shuttering the popular reference manual.

The announcement posted to the CIA’s website offered no reason for the decision to end the Factbook, but it follows a vow from Director John Ratcliffe to end programs that don’t advance the agency’s core missions.

First launched in 1962 as a printed, classified reference manual for intelligence officers, the Factbook offered a detailed, by-the-numbers picture of foreign nations, their economies, militaries, resources and societies. The Factbook proved so useful that other federal agencies began using it, and within a decade, an unclassified version was released to the public.

After going online in 1997, the Factbook quickly became a popular reference site for journalists, trivia aficionados and the writers of college essays, racking up millions of visits per year.

The White House has moved to cut staffing at the CIA and the National Security Agency early in Trump’s second term, forcing the agency to do more with less.

The CIA did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday about the decision to cease publication of the Factbook.

By ALEXANDRA OLSON and CLAIRE SAVAGE

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal agency for protecting workers’ civil rights revealed Wednesday that it is investigating sportswear giant Nike for allegedly discriminating against white employees through its diversity policies.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disclosed the investigation in a motion filed in Missouri federal court demanding that Nike fully comply with a subpoena for information.

The EEOC sought the company’s criteria for selecting employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses worker race and ethnicity data, and information about programs which allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership, or career development opportunities, according to court documents.

In a statement, Nike said the company has worked to cooperate with the EEOC and the subpoena “feels like a surprising and unusual escalation.”

“We have shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses to the EEOC’s inquiry and are in the process of providing additional information,” Nike said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.”

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has moved swiftly to target diversity and inclusion policies that she has long criticized as potentially discriminatory, tightly aligning the agency with one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities.

Nike appears to be the highest profile company the EEOC has targeted with a publicly confirmed, formal anti-DEI investigation. In November, the EEOC issued a similar subpoena against financial services provider Northwestern Mutual.

“When there are compelling indications, including corporate admissions in extensive public materials, that an employer’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-related programs may violate federal prohibitions against race discrimination or other forms of unlawful discrimination, the EEOC will take all necessary steps — including subpoena actions — to ensure the opportunity to fully and comprehensively investigate,” Lucas said in a statement.

The disclosure comes two months after Lucas posted a social media call-out urging white men to come forward if they have experienced race or sex discrimination at work. The post urged eligible workers to reach out to the agency “as soon as possible” and referred users to the agency’s fact sheet on DEI-related discrimination.

The investigation against Nike, however, does not stem from any worker complaint against the company. Rather, Lucas filed her own complaint in May 2024 through a more rarely used tool known as a commissioner’s charge, according to the court documents. Her charge came just months after America First Legal, a conservative legal group founded by top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, sent the EEOC a letter outlining complaints against Nike and urging the agency to file a commissioner’s charge.

America First Legal has flooded the EEOC with similar letters in recent years urging investigations into the DEI practices of major U.S. companies. It is unclear how many other companies the EEOC may be targeting through such commissioner’s charges. The EEOC is prohibited from revealing any charge — by workers or commissioners — unless it results in fines, settlements, legal action or other such public actions.

Lucas’ charge, according to court filings, was based on Nike’s publicly shared information about its commitment to diversity, including statements from executives and proxy statements. The charge, for example, cited Nike’s publicly stated goal in 2021 of achieving 35% representation of racial and ethnic minorities in its corporate workforce by 2025.

Many U.S. companies made similar commitments in the wake of the widespread 2020 racial justice protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man. Companies have said such commitments are not quotas but rather goals they hoped to achieve through methods such as widening recruitment efforts and rooting out any bias during hiring process.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers are prohibited from using race as a criteria for hiring or other employment decisions. Lucas has long warned that many companies risk crossing that line through DEI efforts that would pressure managers to make race-based decisions.

In its statement, Nike said it follows “all applicable laws, including those that prohibit discrimination. We believe our programs and practices are consistent with those obligations and take these matters seriously.”

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

Detroit has a lot of needs, including things like bus transit, policing and security, and trash pickup. Those things cost money — money that can be difficult to come up with in a city of relative poverty. 

But with more people spending time in Detroit, and even moving to the city, it also has more opportunity to raise revenue. 

The Citizens Research Council investigated whether a sales tax could benefit residents by generating $72 million a year. Madhu Anderson is the council’s senior research associate for local government affairs. She believes a sales tax isn’t a great idea, but offered other possible ways Detroit could raise revenue. Anderson spoke with The Metro‘s Sam Corey.

 

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.

WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

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The post The Metro: Why Detroit needs more money — and how it could be raised appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Affordability. That’s the word that’s been buzzing around politics. 

In November, Democrats across the country won on the promise of reducing the cost of living. 

But it’s not just liberals that are embracing an “affordability agenda.” Conservatives and libertarians are latching on as well. 

Jarrett Skorup is the vice president of marketing and communications at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which appreciates the free market and criticizes government regulation. 

In this conversation, The Metro‘s Sam Corey spoke with him about why he thinks unregulated capitalism can help free people from the burden of rising costs.

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.

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

More stories from The Metro

The Metro: Good reads from the Wayne State University Press

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The Metro: Could a free market ease Michigan’s affordability crisis?

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The post The Metro: Could a free market ease Michigan’s affordability crisis? appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.