My most profound travel experience came almost 50 years ago at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Especially jarring was the vibe of claustrophobia. Imagine eight innocent people hiding in eight rooms for two tense years while Nazis hunted them down only because they were Jews.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Wednesday that he will not seek a fourth term in office but declined to address widespread speculation that he’s exploring a potential run for Michigan governor in 2026. The announcement marks a major shift in Detroit politics, as Duggan’s decision opens the field for new leadership in the city and sets the potential stage for his ambitions on a statewide level.

The White Stripes have decided to drop their copyright infringement lawsuit against former President Donald Trump after the unauthorized use of their hit song “Seven Nation Army” in a Trump campaign video earlier this year. Jack White and former bandmate Meg White filed a short notice on Monday to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” allowing the option to refile the suit in the future.

Every now and then, even Donald Trump tells the truth, sometimes accidentally in a rhetorical question. This occurred last Wednesday morning when the felonious former Republican president crowed to a crowd in Florida after beating Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election for the White House. “Look what happened,” the 78-year-old demagogue said as he extended his arms wide to his cheering cult.

Many Arab Americans in Michigan followed through on their pledge to vote against Kamala Harris on Tuesday, with fewer than one in seven Muslims casting a ballot for the Democratic nominee, according to an exit poll released Friday. In fact, about 59% of the state’s Muslim residents voted for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, according to the poll, conducted through a partnership between Molitico Consulting and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is set to reveal his plans for his political future next week, an announcement that is expected to trigger a wave of political activity. The third-term mayor has not yet hinted about his next move, but many political observers are speculating that the Democrat plans to run for governor in 2026.

Donald Trump, a fear-mongering, convicted felon accused of sexually assaulting numerous women and inciting a violent insurrection in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in Michigan, a key battleground state where he had lost by more than 154,000 votes four years ago. Trump went on to win the overall election, defeating Harris in states that President Joe Biden won in 2020.

The U.S. government’s involvement in Israel’s expanding war in the Middle East is unconstitutional because it was not authorized by Congress, Democratic U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit and Cori Bush of St. Louis wrote in a strongly worded letter to President Joe Biden on Friday. “In light of recent regional escalations, including exchanges in hostilities between Israel and Iran and the Israeli government’s ground invasions of Lebanon and Gaza, we are deeply concerned about the increasing role and involvement of the U.S. Armed Forces in expanding wars across the Middle East,” the letter states.

When a loose cannon like Donald Trump bellows at campaign rallies that “the world is on fire” and that we are “on the verge of World War III,” it is easy to dismiss his hot spew as more lava from a verbal volcano. But when an authentic conservative elder like George F. Will objectively opines that this very war is already underway, it is worth considering his intellectual take with some serious thought — as well as fear for what is to come. Israel’s air attack on Iran over the weekend brought this thought into sharp, troubling focus.

As someone who has spent decades working to protect civil rights and to build safety and prosperity for the people of Michigan — including as Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit — I understand just how high the election stakes are this November. Just as in 2016, third-party candidates threaten to muddle the results this year and hand Trump the win. Just as in 2016, Michigan is key to the outcome.

Here we are again, enduring yet another election season filled with inflammatory political rhetoric and campaign ads attacking immigrants. Attacks that seem to be everywhere. I can’t even casually scroll through social media without being traumatized.

A longtime victim advocate for the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office called Prosecutor Peter Lucido a “self-absorbed” leader who mistreated victims, destabilized the office, and triggered an exodus of experienced staff. After 25 years of helping victims of crimes at the prosecutor’s office, Kay McGuire retired in January because she said she was burned out and disappointed that Lucido “destroyed the Victim’s Rights Unit as it was meant to be.”

This article was updated with a statement from the Harris campaign. The Kamala Harris campaign kicked out a prominent Muslim Democrat from the vice president’s rally in Royal Oak on Monday, further driving a wedge between the Democratic Party and Arab and Muslim Americans. Ahmed Ghanim, a Democrat, says he accepted an invitation to the event and was seated in the Royal Oak Music Theatre when a campaign organizer ordered him to leave.

When Donald Trump’s microphone stopped working for about 15 minutes during a presidential campaign speech in downtown Detroit on Friday night, you had to wonder what the Republican candidate might have said or done in that precious but lost quarter-hour. He might have praised the size of Arnold Palmer’s penis, the way he did Saturday night in a Pennsylvania speech that went beyond cringy. He might have insulted the Motor City again, the way he did in the previous week at the Detroit Economic Club, when Trump said the election of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris would make the whole nation as bleak and desolate as Detroit.

Four years ago, in early fall, Daniel Ellsberg thought a lot about the state where he grew up. Michigan loomed large in the presidential election, and the renowned Pentagon Papers whistleblower was eager to communicate with voters in this key swing state.

In July, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer released her memoir True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between, embracing a version of the nickname “Big Gretch” popularized by Detroit rapper GMac Cash. Now, just a few months later, Big Gretch has announced an upcoming young adult adaptation of the book. The new edition, aimed at inspiring young leaders, will be published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

A group of Detroit musicians and artists rolled out a music video over the weekend that calls out Donald Trump’s racist actions and policies. The video titled, “Racist Trump Against the 313,” amassed more than 106,000 views on YouTube since its release Saturday. The 90-second video, produced by the Detroit Area Artists and Musicians Against Trump (DETAMAT), opens with the image of the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross.

By insulting his host city in his speech last Thursday at the Detroit Economic Club, convicted felon and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump figuratively pinned a “Kick Me!” sign on the backside pocket of his baggy, blue suit. Quick to take the bait on Friday were two elected Michigan Democrats, Attorney General Dana Nessel and State Senator Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, both on Deadline: White House on MSNBC with Nicole Wallace. Nessel suggested Trump should contest his many court cases with a plea of his own insanity and demand a competency hearing.

A Detroit educator recently told a congressional committee he is “terrified” at what a second Trump term as president could bring for America’s public schools. Rodney Fresh, a high school social studies teacher in Detroit, said parts of the Republican agenda appear to call for dismantling the public education system.