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WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his knee and be out four to six weeks, the team said Friday.

Jets coach Scott Arneil said Friday that Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goalie, had been trying to play through a knee injury, and the timing is right to get it taken care of. Hellebuyck is from Commerce Twp., and attended Walled Lake Northern High School.

“Obviously, he’s, what is it, 10 years, he’s been pretty healthy,” Arniel said. “And this has kind of been nagging on him here since training camp. It’s something we’ve kind of known about, he was trying to play through it, would be good days, bad days, just something that, timing’s right, get it done now.

“A lot of schedule ahead of us, so that was really just the thinking. Sat down, talked to him, obviously the medical staff, everybody, agent. This was the time to do it.”

The surgery comes less than three months before the start of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament in Milan, Italy.

Hellebuyck is 8-6-0 with a 2.51 goals-against average and .913 save percentage this season for the Jets (12-7-0), who entered a game Friday against Carolina in third place in the Central Division.

The 32-year-old Hellebuyck won his first Hart Trophy as NHL MVP and his second straight — and third career —Vezina Trophy in 2024-25, helping the Jets to the best regular-season record in the NHL. He also won the award as top goalie in 2019-20.

Hellebuyck was not included in the first group of six players announced for the United States’ Olympic preliminary roster, but was widely expected to be added to the team.

Eric Comrie is expected to take the Jets starting role in Hellebuyck’s absence. He is 4-1 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 save percentage this season.

In a corresponding move, the Jets called up goaltender Thomas Milic from the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose.

“Obviously we’ve been really fortunate to have Helly be healthy and available,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “His durability is something to marvel at. Obviously now without him, you can’t replace a guy like that.

“But we’re super confident in Coms and Milly and our defensive game. But definitely, we’ve been fortunate to not have him out of the lineup for a whole lot of years.”

Hellebuyck, who last played on Nov. 15 in a victory over Calgary, was 47-12-3 last season. He has a career record of 330-191-44 with a 2.56 GAA and .918 save percentage and 45 shutouts.

By Ben Strauss and María Luisa PaúlThe Washington Post

CHICAGO – As the Trump administration intensifies a nationwide mass deportation campaign, immigrant parents are scrambling to secure emergency caretakers for their children – flooding legal clinics and naming friends, acquaintances or teachers as temporary guardians.

A Chicago volunteer worker agreed to become a guardian for nine children, using an obscure state law that dates to the AIDS epidemic.

A teacher in Maine recently agreed to be an emergency guardian for one of her students if his parents, both of whom are undocumented, are deported.

And a business owner in Oregon ended up with temporary custody of her friend’s children for four months when the parents were both detained.

Fear of being separated from her son recently led Rosa, an Ecuadorian asylum seeker and single mom in Chicago, to search online for help with a question she never thought she’d face: What happens to my child if I get deported?

The search led her to information about short-term guardianship, or tutela temporal in Spanish, which allows parents to designate a trusted adult to temporarily care for their children under certain conditions without giving up parental rights. In Illinois, the four-page legal document is free and requires no lawyer or notary.

It gives people the authority to make decisions about education and medical needs if parents are unable to care for their children.

“I don’t know if I will come home from work any day; this is my plan,” Rosa said of the short-term guardianship agreement. (Like several others interviewed for this article, she spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation from the federal government.)

Across the country, the effects of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign have had a chilling effect on immigrant communities – both the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and those here legally.

Perhaps nowhere has it been more pronounced than in Chicago, where law firms advertise services on Spanish language radio for parents in need of a plan for their kids if they get detained.

Sometimes parents are seeking help from U.S. citizens they’ve only recently met. Aleah Arundale, who helps a network of immigrants with necessities like food and rent money in Chicago, has made short-term guardianship arrangements for nine children from four families. “The greatest fear for them is: ‘What happens if I get taken?’” Arundale said. “They think I’m the best chance to get their kids back.”

There’s no data to quantify short-term guardianship arrangements since the requirements vary by state. But lawyers report they are being inundated. Clinics are popping up across the country, and one specialist said they usually see two or three cases per year but now receive hundreds of requests each week for information.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the surge of interest in guardianship agreements. The Trump administration has deported more than 400,000 people this year, DHS has said. It has also doubled the number of people detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. As of late September, ICE is holding nearly 60,000 people in custody. It’s unclear how many of those are parents.

The White House has said it is targeting criminals, but some of those who have been detained are asylum seekers, longtime residents, people with pending immigration cases or even U.S. citizens. A Syracuse University research group has found that more than 70 percent of those detained by ICE do not have criminal records.

At a time of heightened anxiety, some immigrants said guardianship planning has become one of the few things they can control. “It helps me breathe,” said one mother, an asylum seeker from Venezuela, who completed the Illinois form with Arundale. “And it took 10 minutes.”

– – –

Hundreds every week

Rosa arrived in Chicago four years ago. She cleans an office with a work permit, but a highly publicized federal immigration raid in her neighborhood sent her into a panic.

After Rosa learned about temporary guardianship, her church connected her with Rebekah Rashidfarokhi, an attorney and director of guardianship and immigration programs for children at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, which offers pro bono representation.

The two met virtually this month to discuss the process.

Unlike adoption or more complicated guardianship procedures that require court approval, short-term guardianship in Illinois needs just the signatures of two consenting parties and two witnesses. Parents can revoke the arrangement at any time. It can last up to a year.

The form is helpful for enrolling a child in school or going to the doctor, Rashidfarokhi said, because it is recognized by state law. It has no federal authority, so it cannot be used to get a passport. (Several parents said that if they are deported they hoped it could also help make international travel and reuniting with their children easier.)

The guardianship does not kick in immediately but takes effect with a specified event. Rashidfarokhi instructed Rosa to be specific about the conditions: “In case I am detained by immigration.”

Rosa said she left Ecuador after her husband was abusing her and threatening her children. She has lived in fear in recent weeks, she said, but also knowing she must make logistical plans. She has been preparing documents, including proof of custody of her son after her divorce. She spoke to a woman, a dual American and Ecuadorian citizen, she met taking English classes at a community college to be her designated guardian. The woman agreed.

She has avoided talking too much about any of it with her 13-year-old son.

“He is confused about what is happening,” Rosa said. “But I am his mother, and I have to do it.”

Rashidfarokhi has been a family law attorney for two decades. Most years, she handles two or three short-term guardianship cases. Now, hundreds of people are requesting information every week, with families and community groups flooding her with requests for clinics and presentations. At one clinic earlier this year, 100 families showed up. (Rashidfarokhi said it’s difficult to quantify how many people fill out the form because many of the consultations she does now are virtual since so many people are afraid to leave their homes.)

Mayra Lira, an attorney with Public Counsel in Los Angeles, said she has seen similar demand for guardianship clinics in her city, where the Trump administration has also carried out immigration raids.

Lira described seeing parents make short-term guardianship plans as “dystopian,” adding that allegations of unlawful arrests and racial profiling have also brought green-card holders and U.S. citizens to the clinics.

“Everyone is afraid of being targeted,” she said.

– – –

‘We want people to know what to do’

The legal framework for Illinois’ short-term guardianship didn’t exist until the late 1980s. It was conceived of primarily to assist HIV-positive parents, many of them low-income, who were worried the state would assume custody of their kids if they died. It took several years of lobbying before Illinois amended its probate law.

“It was revolutionary at the time,” said Linda Coon, a lawyer who spearheaded the effort. “I knew it would help our clients but could never imagine it would be used by thousands of people today.”

Its uses have expanded over the years. During the early days of the pandemic, an executive order in New York state allowed medical workers to designate a temporary guardian. Several states – including Maryland and New York, as well as the District of Columbia – amended statutes during the first Trump administration to recognize immigration detention or deportation as an event that could give designated caregivers temporary parental rights. California passed a law last month that created a new short-term guardianship process for parents who could be detained or deported.

Today, guardianship conversations are happening in all types of settings, some not even planned by parents.

A teacher in Maine said she agreed to be a temporary guardian for one of her students after the parents broke down crying in a meeting over what might happen to their child if they were deported.

“I will do that every single time,” the teacher said. “I shouldn’t have to. I should just be able to teach my kids.”

Mimi Lettunich, an Oregon resident, took care of a friend’s four children after the family was detained by federal agents. (She has a pending U.S. visa and her children are U.S. citizens.) When Lettunich picked up the children, she was handed a coloring book with a note from their mother that said: “I will miss my babies. … I talked to them that they need to obey you.” The note also included a reminder for one of her kids’ upcoming orthodontist appointments.

Temporary guardianship allowed Lettunich to take the kids to doctor’s appointments and enroll them in a new school.

Lettunich’s friend was eventually released, and the two are now working on a handbook to help families facing the same circumstances. One of its strongest recommendations: arrange for short-term guardianship.

“We want people to know what to do,” Lettunich said. “Because you never think it’ll happen – until it does.”

The Detroit Lions bounced back from last week’s lackluster showing against the Minnesota Vikings with an offensive clinic in a 44-22 road win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Here are all the sights from the game:

Detroit Lions offense is commanding in 44-22 road win at Washington

Dan Campbell calls plays, Lions plaster Commanders with dominant offense

Autonomous car company Waymo says it plans to deploy its “robotaxi” service in Detroit this winter. In a series of announcements Monday, Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., said it planned to launch the service in Detroit, in addition to San Diego and Las Vegas: Waymo is headed to Motown! Detroit is […]

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Stage musical adaptations of movies and TV shows are buyer-beware propositions.

It’s, over the years, proven not easy to capture such productions in the flesh, with songs added. The ratios of success to failure largely tilts in the latter direction, with a fair number of attempts also follow under the category of “meh.”

So “Back to the Future: the Musical?” As Doc Brown would say, “Great Scott!”

With an emphasis on the great.

At the Detroit Opera House through Nov. 9, the treatment of the hit 1985 sci-fi comedy — which premiered days before the pandemic shutdown during 2020 in England and on Broadway in 2023 — ticks off all the boxes that make for a winning musical of any kind, regardless of its source material. The songs — by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, save for those couple of Huey Lewis & the News hits from the film. The acting is on a high level, the choreography energetic. And, as an adaptation, it makes tweaks to the plot that are clever enough to make it work on stage but without losing any of the original, joyous and tongue-in-cheeky spirit of the movie.

It adds to that, in fact. Musical numbers such as “It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Got No Future,” “It’s Only a Matter of Time,” “Future Boy” and “For the Dreamers” dig into the existential struggles Marty McFly (Lukas Hallauer) and Doc Brown (David Josefsberg) are experiencing in their quests to make some sort of mark on the world. That’s added emotional content that brings welcome dimension to the goings-on in Hill Valley, both in 1985 and 1955, where Marty unwittingly travels back to in the infamous DeLorean.

And the car, Flux Capicitor and all, is front and center in “Back to the Future’s” most striking visual moments, as the production uses scrims, screens and video projections to simulate the time travel experience in a seamless fashion that will impress “BTTF” die-hards — including those who dress up in character for the show — and casual theater fans.

Key lines from the film, meanwhile, pop up with applause-generating regularity, and the Under the Sea school dance sequence is recreated in all of its Chuck Berry-predicting glory. The new or changed aspects of the script work so well that they belie any complaints about what might be missing — and even at times make the story that much more enjoyable.

It is, in the end, a great deal of fun — right down to the video screen messages pre-show and during the intermission — which is exactly what it should be.

The performances are strong from top to bottom. Hallauer channels plenty of Michael J. Fox into his Marty, even looking the part — and, like Josefsberg, has the gift of opening his mouth wide enough that his moments of comic angst can be seen and felt in the top row of the balcony. Josefsberg, meanwhile, plays Doc a bit more like Beetlejuice than Christopher Lloyd but injects a bit more of a human touch into his film counterpart’s zany eccentricity.

A perhaps unexpected standout is Cartreze Tucker as future mayor Goldie Wilson, a character that’s given more real estate in the musical and nearly steals the show with his gospel-flavored “Gotta Start Somewhere.” Mike Bindeman nails Crispin Glover’s demeanor from the film but brings more physical comedy to the role, as did Jenny Dalrymple (an understudy for the show’s media night) as Marty’s future mom/seductress Lorraine Banes.

And Central Michigan University grad Nathaniel Hackmann brings the right amount of comedy to Biff Tannen — a role he created for the Broadway production — particularly in the slapstick of “The Hill Valley School Fight Song” and “Something About That Boy.”

All of that makes for a wholly enjoyable and even timeless kind of trip back, and forth, in time. And if you are a fan of those Huey Lewis tunes (“The Power of Love” and “Back in Time”), don’t leave during the bows; there’s no moment of this party that should be missed.

“Back to the Future” runs through Nov. 9 at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St. (313)237-7454 or broadwayindetroit.com.

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The longtime activist has confronted drug dealers and predatory landlords, led searches for missing people, and organized countless rallies for justice

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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — James Franklin is out at Penn State.

The school fired the longtime head coach on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 22-21 home loss to Northwestern all but ended whatever remote chance the preseason No. 2 team had of reaching the College Football Playoff.

Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season for the Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten), who began the year with hopes of winning the national title only to have those hopes evaporate by early October with three consecutive losses, each one more stinging than the last.

Penn State, which reached the CFP semifinals 10 months ago, fell at home to Oregon in overtime in late September. A road loss at previously winless UCLA followed. The final straw came on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, where the Nittany Lions let Northwestern escape with a victory and lost quarterback Drew Allar to injury for the rest of the season.

Franklin went 104-45 during his 11-plus seasons at Penn State. Yet the Nittany Lions often stumbled against top-tier opponents, going 4-21 against teams ranked in the top 10 during his tenure.

Hired in 2014 in the wake of Bill O’Brien’s departure for the NFL, Franklin inherited a team still feeling the effects of unprecedented NCAA sanctions in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Armed with relentless optimism and an ability to recruit, Franklin’s program regularly churned out NFL-level talent, from Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons. Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to the 2016 Big Ten title and a seemingly permanent spot in the rankings.

There was hope this fall might be the one when Penn State would finally break through and win its third national championship and first since 1986. Yet after three easy wins during a light nonconference schedule, the Nittany Lions crumbled.

Athletic director Pat Kraft said the school owes Franklin — who is due nearly $50 million in a buyout — an “enormous amount of gratitude” for leading the Nittany Lions back to relevance but felt it was time to make a change.

“We hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships,” Kraft said.

Smith now will be tasked with trying to stop the bleeding on what has become a disastrous season. He will have his work cut out for him: Penn State’s next three games are at Iowa on Saturday, at No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1 and home against No. 3 Indiana on Nov. 8.

The matchups with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers were expected to be a chance for the Nittany Lions to bolster their CFP credentials. In the span of a handful of weeks, Penn State will instead find itself in the role of spoiler.

The move will cost Penn State at a time the athletic department has committed to a $700 million renovation to Beaver Stadium. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.

Former athletic director Sandy Barbour signed Franklin to a 10-year contract extension worth up to $85 million in 2021. According to terms of the deal, Penn State will have to pay Franklin’s base salary of $500,000, supplemental pay of $6.5 million and insurance loan of $1 million until 2031.

It’s a steep price, but one the university appears willing to pay to find a coach who can complete the climb to a national title.

“We have the best college football fans in America, a rich tradition of excellence, significant investments in our program, compete in the best conference in college sports and have a state-of-the-art renovated stadium on the horizon,” Kraft said. “I am confident in our future and in our ability to attract elite candidates to lead our program.”

There will be no shortage of interested coaches. Kraft has ties to at least one. He was the athletic director at Temple when he hired current Nebraska coach Matt Rhule back in 2013.

Rhule and the Cornhuskers will visit Beaver Stadium in Penn State’s home finale on Nov. 22. What back in August looked like one of the final hurdles for the Nittany Lions to clear on their way to a CFP berth might instead be both an audition for Rhule and a chance for the Nittany Lions to potentially salvage a shot at a bowl game of any variety, let alone a premier one.

— By TRAVIS JOHNSON, Associated Press

AP National Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

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Below is a list of all the games for teams, organized by league, covered by outlets in the MediaNews Group Michigan cluster — the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun, the Macomb Daily, the Oakland Press, the Royal Oak Tribune, the Voice, the Dearborn Press & Guide, and the Southgate News Herald — for Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.

Check back throughout the night, to see as scores come in, with links to coverage from all of the papers in our cluster.

 

BLUE WATER AREA CONFERENCE

Algonac at Croswell-Lexington

Armada at Almont

Richmond at Imlay City

CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE

Allen Park Cabrini at Madison Heights Bishop Foley

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Macomb Lutheran North

Detroit U-D Jesuit at Dearborn Divine Child

Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett at Riverview Gabriel Richard

Marine City Cardinal Mooney at Clarkston Everest Collegiate

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at Detroit Country Day

Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes at Royal Oak Shrine

 

CENTRAL STATE ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

Big Rapids at Remus Chippewa Hills

 

CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE

Detroit Leadership Academy at Arts & Technology Academy of Pontiac

Ecorse at Harper Woods Chandler Park

Melvindale AB&T at Southfield Bradford Academy

Redford Westfield Prep at Mt. Clemens

Romulus Summit Academy North at Detroit Old Redford

 

DOWNRIVER LEAGUE

Allen Park at Lakeland

Dearborn Edsel Ford at Woodhaven

Southgate Anderson at Gibraltar Carlson

 

FLINT METRO LEAGUE

Ortonville Brandon at Clio

Holly at Flushing

 

HIGHLAND CONFERENCE

Lake City at Beal City

 

HURON LEAGUE

Flat Rock at Riverview

Grosse Ile at Carleton Airport

New Boston Huron at Monroe Jefferson

 

INDEPENDENTS

Center Line Prep at Whitmore Lake

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s at Detroit Country Day

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep at Oak Park

Vestaburg at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart

 

JACK PINE CONFERENCE

Beaverton at St. Louis

Gladwin at Shepherd

Sanford Meridian at Farwell

Standish-Sterling at Clare

 

KENSINGTON LAKES ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

Dearborn at Belleville

Livonia Stevenson at Dearborn Fordson

Novi at Salem

LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE

Allen Park at Lakeland

South Lyon at Waterford Mott

South Lyon East at Milford

Walled Lake Central at Walled Lake Northern

Waterford Kettering at Walled Lake Western

 

MACOMB AREA CONFERENCE

Anchor Bay at Sterling Heights Stevenson

Center Line at Eastpointe

Chippewa Valley at Utica Eisenhower

Clawson at Clintondale

Grosse Pointe South at L’Anse Creuse North

Hazel Park at Madison Heights Madison

L’Anse Creuse at St. Clair Shores Lakeview

Macomb Dakota at Romeo

Madison Heights Lamphere at Marysville

Marine City at Sterling Heights

Port Huron Northern at Fraser

St. Clair Shores Lake Shore at Grosse Pointe North

St. Clair Shores South Lake at St. Clair

Utica at Roseville

Utica Ford at Port Huron

Warren Lincoln at New Haven

Warren Mott at Warren Cousino

MICHIGAN INDEPENDENT ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Auburn Hills Oakland Christian at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian

Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest at Lutheran Westland

OAKLAND ACTIVITES ASSOCIATION

Auburn Hills Avondale at Royal Oak

Berkley at Jackson Northwest

Birmingham Groves at Southfield A&T

Bloomfield Hills at Troy Athens

Lake Orion at Clarkston

North Farmington at Birmingham Seaholm

Pontiac at Ferndale

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep at Oak Park

Rochester at Harper Woods

Rochester Adams at Stoney Creek

Troy at Farmington

West Bloomfield at Oxford

 

SAGINAW VALLEY LEAGUE

Mt. Pleasant at Bay City Western

 

TRI-VALLEY CONFERENCE

Flint Powers at Alma

Ithaca at Saginaw Valley Lutheran

 

WESTERN WAYNE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Melvindale at Dearborn Heights Crestwood

Redford Thurston at Dearborn Heights Robichaud

Redford Union at Dearborn Heights Annapolis

Romulus at Garden City

—————

8-PLAYER FOOTBALL

Fulton at Breckenridge

St. Charles at Carson City-Crystal

Montabella at Coleman

—————

SATURDAY GAMES

Detroit Voyageur College Prep at Warren Michigan Collegiate, 2 p.m.

Warren Fitzgerald at Warren Woods Tower, 1 p.m.

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By Craig Mauger

MediaNews Group

U.S. Rep. John James, a GOP candidate to be Michigan’s next governor, told a group Monday that he “was screwed” in his 2020 U.S. Senate race and suggested he’ll pursue “consequences” for those who had wronged Republicans five years ago.

The comments, made at a meet-and-greet gathering in Kent County that was not open to reporters, provided new insight into how James of Shelby Township views lingering but unproven claims of widespread election fraud in the battleground state he’s seeking to lead.

During the event inside the Kent County GOP office, an attendee asked James about the voting system in Michigan being “totally corrupt” and Republican state senators investigating the 2020 vote but finding no evidence of systematic fraud.

“How about this: Get you a governor who was screwed in 2020 and you’ll get consequences for those who did you wrong,” James replied, according to an audio recording of the discussion obtained by The Detroit News.

The remarks clashed with the fact that James publicly conceded his loss to Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township three weeks after the 2020 election and won a closer contest in 2022 for the U.S. House.

In 2020, Peters beat James by 1.7 percentage points statewide, 49.9%-48.2%, or by more than 92,000 votes. In 2022, James defeated Democrat Carl Marlinga for the 10th District U.S. House seat by less than 1 percentage point, 48.8%-48.3%, or 1,600 votes.

In a Wednesday interview, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democratic candidate for governor and Michigan’s top election official, labeled the comments by James “disqualifying for anyone who seeks to lead the state.”

“The 2020 election was safe, secure,” Benson said. “It is the most audited election in Michigan history, with over 250 audits all reaffirming the election results, which is that James lost, (Republican President Donald) Trump lost. And it’s high time that all leaders in the state abandon conspiracy theories about the election.”

The bipartisan Board of State Canvassers certified the 2020 election results in a 3-0 vote in which Republican canvasser Aaron Van Langevelde joined the two Democratic canvassers in approving the results, while Republican canvasser Norm Shinkle abstained.

The James campaign didn’t directly respond to a series of questions from The News about his speech in Kent County. Instead, James posted on X that Benson “illegally altered election rules at the eleventh hour.”

“As governor, I will rigorously investigate and expose past government overreach and partisan abuses in Lansing,” James added. “My administration will restore integrity, implement robust election oversight, rebuild public trust and promote transparent, impartial governance to protect the rights of every Michigander.”

Over the last five years, President Donald Trump has maintained that there was “massive fraud” in Michigan’s 2020 election, but he hasn’t provided evidence to prove his claims. The comments by James this week appeared to be his most direct, alleging there was wrongdoing in the vote five years ago.

In 2020, Trump lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden by 3 percentage points, 48%-51%, or about 154,000 votes. The Republican president’s advisers sought to overturn the result, and Trump himself pressured two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to sign the certification.

Because James’ loss to Peters was tighter than Trump’s defeat, it was significant that James conceded to Peters on Nov. 24, as Trump continued to contest the election in Michigan.

“It’s too late for me,” James said on Nov. 24, 2020. “While I look forward to participating in efforts to secure both reasonable franchise and integrity in our election in the near future, today is the right time for me to congratulate Sen. Gary Peters.”

A lawyer for the James campaign had previously told the Wayne County Board of Canvassers he had “very serious concerns” about the way the election was administered in Democratic-dominated Wayne County. Republicans have also repeatedly criticized Benson’s decision to send absentee ballot applications to all of Michigan’s registered voters in 2020, but the courts upheld her power to do so.

During the Monday event, James said if Republicans don’t win next year’s gubernatorial election, Benson, who’s been the state’s top election official since 2019, “is going to be your governor.”

“You think she stole one election?” James then asked. “Just wait.”

Someone in the crowd could be heard responding, “Unless she’s in jail,” according to the recording reviewed by The News.

James then answered, “How’s that going to happen? Somebody who’s going to hold her accountable for their crimes, right?”

Benson said James’ remarks were “dangerous and disqualifying.”

“It’s particularly dangerous at a time when political violence is on the rise,” the Democratic secretary of state said.

Benson is in a three-candidate race for the Democratic nomination for governor against Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II of Detroit and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson of Fenton.

Curtis Hertel, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said James was “repeating Trump’s election denial conspiracy theories and dangerously suggesting there will be ‘consequences’ if he’s elected.”

“Michiganders have rejected James’ extremism twice before, and if he somehow makes it out of his messy primary and to the general election, James will lose statewide again,” Hertel said.

A Kent County Republican official at Monday’s event specifically asked members of the media to “depart at this time” before James began his address, according to the recording.

Among the people who remained inside the venue was Jarret Jakubowski, a member of the Kent County GOP’s executive committee. James’ comments about the 2020 election were “red meat” for party members, Jakubowski said, referring to his interpretation of them.

“The 2020 election was not the most secure and the most safe ever,” Jakubowski said.

Of the person in the crowd who suggested Benson might be sent to jail, Jakubowski said he didn’t know who made the remark. People tend to be “over-the-top” in their wishful thoughts, he added.

Two Sterling Heights cops accused of brutally beating a Black man and siccing a police dog on him during his arrest in February 2024 have been ordered to stand trial in Macomb County Circuit Court. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that officers James Sribniak, 31, and Jack Currie, 29, were bound over on felony […]

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By Max Reinhart, MediaNews Group

In the wake of a shooting that killed right-wing firebrand Charlie Kirk on Wednesday at a Utah college campus, political figures in Michigan offered condolences while reflecting on the dangers associated with life in the public eye.

Robert Lulgjuraj, a Republican candidate seeking Michigan’s 10th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House, said he looked at Kirk as an “inspiration,” given that the two were less than a year apart in age (Lulgjuraj is 32 years old; Kirk was 31) and both are outspoken in their Christian beliefs and willingness to engage in discourse with individuals with opposing political views.

He called Wednesday “an evil day in American history” but said the killing wouldn’t affect his approach on the campaign trail.

“I assure you it’s not going to silence this movement or my campaign,” Lulgjuraj said.

The killing also won’t deter state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, in her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat. She called his death “chilling.”

“But we decided on our team that it’s all the more important we bring people together publicly — It’s the only way we get out of this as a country,” she told The Detroit News via text.

The shooting, which happened around noon on the campus of Utah Valley University, brought to mind the February 2023 shooting on the campus of Michigan State University that killed three students, said Josh Cowen, an MSU professor who is running as a Democrat to represent the state’s 7th District in the U.S. House.

“My first thought was, ‘Man, this happened at another campus, another place of learning and debate,” Cowen said. “(Kirk) was famous for going into places and having debates, and he was killed for that. With political violence on the rise in this country, we all need to take a step back and look at what’s going on.”

The deans of Michigan’s congressional delegation, U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, and Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, issued a rare joint statement Thursday to say they were horrified by Kirk’s shooting and “deeply disturbed” by the rise in political violence taking place across the U.S.

“Silencing voices through violence erodes our foundational principles. Instead, we must do more to protect every American’s freedom to have passionate disagreement, rigorous debate, free expression, and an open exchange of ideas without the threat of harm,” the lawmakers said. “All Americans must do their part to stop the escalation of violence.”

News of the shooting broke while the Michigan House was still in session on Wednesday in Lansing. Voting stopped on the House floor for a time of prayer as House sergeants began closing shutters over the chamber windows as an additional security measure.

State Rep. Bradley Slagh, R-Zeeland, led a prayer from the House floor for Kirk and his family.

House Majority Leader Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, said the decision was made to end the daily session after the prayer out of respect for Kirk as well as safety concerns. He noted it was the first political assassination to occur while lawmakers were in session.

“We decided that’s what would make sense to do in this scenario,” Posthumus said.

State Sen. Jim Runestad, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said he was “devastated” to learn of the fatal shooting.

“For over a decade, Charlie energized the youth of America at college campuses across the country, challenging students to dream big about their future, and inspiring generations of future leaders, legislators, and constitutional conservatives. His wisdom and dedication to upholding our constitutional rights will be dearly missed,” Runestad said in a statement.

Kirk’s killing unfolded less than a half-hour before a separate incident in which a student at Evergreen High School in Colorado opened fire at the school, injuring at least three other students.

End Gun Violence Michigan, a nonprofit that backs gun law reform, said the incidents share a commonality: easy access to firearms.

Progress for People town hall in Warren cancelled

“It is simply far too easy for those who wish to commit heinous violence to access powerful weapons,” Ryan Bates, executive director of the gun control group, said in a statement. “Our leaders need to take action now to address the national crisis of gun violence before another tragedy strikes.”

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence across the U.S. In June, a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed in what authorities have described as a politically motivated attack. Also that month, a man shouting pro-Palestinian slogans firebombed a Colorado gathering held in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Those incidents followed the July 2024 assassination attempt of President Donald Trump at an outdoor campaign rally in rural Pennsylvania. There was also an arsonist’s attack on the residence of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish and had defended Israel’s right to defend itself in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas but who had criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza.

“The wave of political violence gripping our nation is un-American, and unpatriotic,” Runestad said. “No American should fear for their life because of their faith or their political views.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, herself the target of an alleged 2020 kidnapping plot by political extremists, ordered U.S. and state flags lowered to half-staff in accordance with a Trump order.

“I am thinking of Charlie Kirk, his family, and the community at UVU after the horrific shooting that took place earlier today,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Political violence of any form is unacceptable and must be condemned.”

Other Michigan officials remembered Kirk for his unapologetic brand of activism.

On social media Wednesday, Walberg said, “No one has fought for free speech and challenged ideas on campuses like Charlie.” U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, posted “Rest in peace, conservative warrior.”

Senate GOP Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, called the killing “an act of terrorism, plain and simple.”

“People tried to shame Charlie,” Nesbitt said in a statement. “They tried to kick him off campuses so he couldn’t speak. And, finally, they tried to silence him permanently. Unfortunately, they did.”

mreinhart@detroitnews.com

@max_detroitnews

Staff Writers Melissa Nann Burke and Beth LeBlanc contributed.

WARREN – Sometimes soccer can boil down to finishing and not finishing scoring opportunities.

It’s that simple.

Novi Detroit Catholic Central only had eight shots on frame Thursday, but scored on four of them and ended up earning a 4-1 victory over host Warren De La Salle in Catholic High School League Central Division play.

The Shamrocks (7-2-2, 6-0-0), listed as honorable mention in the Division 1 polls, led 2-1 at the half before tacking on a pair of insurance tallies in the second half.

“We started off a little bit slow. But once we scored we were alright. We took advantage of a little bit of misfortune on them (with the two rebound goals). Their goalkeeper made the initial save but we followed (the shots) up and were able to score on them” noted Catholic Central coach Gene Pulice. “Thaier still has them doing a good job. And yes we did finish our opportunities tonight. I think it’s one of those things that if you can take the wind out of their sails a little. Bit. The first team to score helps you achieve that. They cut it down to 2-1 but we pulled it back a little bit in the second half with two more goals and started to get things done. “

More importantly, CC now had a two-game lead on Detroit U-D Jesuit and a three-game lead on De La Salle in the seven-school Central Division and are now comfortably in the driver’s seat in terms of winning the division and grabbing the No. 1 seed for the CHSL Bishop Tournament in October.

“We’re doing pretty good so far, and in the Catholic League they always pitch that we are one of the best leagues in the state out there. It’s a tough league and it’s a battle every game,” said Pulice. “Sometimes it’s better lucky than good. You have to respect all the teams in this league.”

Catholic Central scored the first two goals off of rebound opportunities. The first came with 24:12 still left in the first half when Luke Perry was near the doorstep to knock it home after Zachary Zahr’s first shot was knocked away by De La Salle backup goalkeeper Giovanni Vitale.

The Shamrocks scored the next goal in similar fashion when Grant Mooradian’s blast from the top of the box was knocked down by Vitale but this time it was Zahr in the right place at the right time to knock in the rebound with 19:51 remaining in the first half.

Andrew Corder finally got the Pilots untracked when he found some open real estate near the upper left corner of the box and uncorked a banger from 18 yards out with 17:27 left in the first half. It was Corder’s 21st goal of the season just one month into the campaign.

But Catholic Central had four opportunities in the second half and two were converted by Mooradian. The first came with 34:58 remaining in the game when Peters found Mooradian unmarked in the middle of the box and ripped a 14-yard banger into the net.

Mooradian later converted a penalty kick with 28:06 left to cap the scoring and open up a three-goal lead.

Defensively, Catholic Central did a great job on limiting Corder’s chances, allowing him only three shots on goal. Goalkeeper Jake Sievers turned aside a laser shot by Corder midway through the second half and finished with four saves for CC.

Catholic Central held a 12-11 overall shots advantage in the somewhat evenly- game and also had a 8-5 shots on goal advantage in the contest. De La Salle held a 4-2 edge off corners.

De La Salle, ranked third in the state in Division 2, slipped to 10-3-0 overall and 3-3-0 in league play. Although the Pilots are essentially out of the Central Division race and only Detroit U-D Jesuit can possible catch the Shamrocks.

“Hats off to CC. The better team won tonight. They outplayed us and scored on their opportunities,” said Thaier Mukhtar, whose team in the defending Division 2 state champion and reached the state semifinals in 2023. “They should win the (Central) and we can’t catch him. But there is still a lot for us to play for. We have to get better and get ready for the state tournament and try to go as far as we can. The ultimate goal is to win the state championship.

“This wasn’t one of our better games,” added Mukhtar. “We just got outplayed by CC tonight. We’ll bounce back.”