Thousands gathered at Roosevelt Park in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood Saturday for one of more than 100 "No Kings" demonstrations taking place across Michigan. The protesters delivered a unified message: no president is above the law.

The demonstrations, organized by groups like Macomb Defenders Rising, drew participants from across Metro Detroit to 23 locations in the region alone. Protesters voiced opposition to what they called President Trump's "political intimidation and authoritarian outreach," while Trump supporters countered that the administration's actions focus on security and stability.

"People united will never be defeated," chanted the crowd at Roosevelt Park, holding signs reading "You work for us" and "History has its eyes on you."

Rain and Shannon Jacob traveled from St. Clair Shores to attend their first No Kings rally.

"Donald Trump has fashioned himself as a king, and I had the whole party of the Republican Party bows down to him, and that's not what America is about," Shannon Jacob said.

Rain Jacob emphasized the importance of speaking out for future generations.

"I want to prove a point that we're not going to stay silent. We want no kings in America," Rain Jacob said.

Katrina Manetta from Macomb Defenders Rising outlined specific demands for Detroit.

"Here in Detroit specifically, we are making an ask. And the ask is no troops, no ICE, no genocide, and no profiling in our streets," Manetta said.

Oakland County Republican Party's Brian Szmytke disputed the protesters' claims during a Zoom interview, defending Trump's mandate from both the popular vote and electoral college.

"The fact is that in this country, we don't have a king. Donald Trump was elected with a mandate, both popular vote and the electoral college. He's doing exactly what he ran on," Szmytke said.

When asked about signs stating "immigrants make America great" and claims that Trump is anti-immigrant, Szmytke clarified the administration's position.

"President Trump is not anti-immigration. He is for legal immigration. There is a difference," Szmytke said.

State Senator Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat representing Michigan's 8th district, attended the rally and criticized the administration's approach to security.

"Security is essential, but what we are seeing is nothing but security theater. They are not going after cartels. They are not going after violent criminals. They're going after moms who are trying to stay with their babies. They are going after day laborers. They are going after agriculture workers, and they are invading our communities in a way that actually makes us less safe," McMorrow said.

McMorrow emphasized the power of collective action.

"Protests do make a difference because you get thousands of people coming together who see each other, so you realize you're not alone," McMorrow said.

Szmytke called for unity while dismissing concerns about Democratic opposition.

"We need to lower the temperature in this country. We need to come together. I think President Trump has tried to do that. He's tried to find bipartisan solutions," Szmytke said.

Shannon Jacob remained skeptical of such claims.

"I think it's all gaslighting. I think we just need to get this certain person out of office and try, try to get back to the values that we've had as a country," Jacob said.

Organizers say No Kings demonstrations will continue across Michigan to draw the line on presidential power, while Trump supporters maintain the protests represent free speech in action.

"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."

Athens busted a four-game losing streak to city rival Troy High with a 27-0 shutout victory at home Friday night.

Senior receiver Jeremiah Thomas caught a 58-yard touchdown, while classmate Grayson Conrad had the other receiving TD from Red Hawks quarterback Andrew Dunlap (174 passing yards). Cainan Hanbury had 85 rushing yards, and he and Dunlap each had a rushing TD in the win.

Nathan Piggott also had four catches for 45 receiving yards for the Red Hawks (3-5, 2-4 OAA Blue). The Colts fell to 3-5 and 1-4 in the league with the loss.

More football

BLOOMFIELD HILLS BROTHER RICE 43, ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY’S 28 >> Trailing 31-30 with 4:25 left, the Warriors took the lead with just over a minute left on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Sammy Eyde to Christian Marshall. Defensive lineman Dario Morelli put an exclamation mark on the win by scooping a fumble and returning it for a TD with just over 30 seconds left. Eyde’s other TD passes included also threw a 60-yard TD to Brock Zehnder, and he also hit Zehnder in the corner of the end zone for a score that tied the game with four seconds left in the opening half.

NOVI 19, NORTHVILLE 16 >> Aidan Cook was the star for the Wildcats as he kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to win it. Cook also tied the game with a 46-yarder with under six minutes remaining and earlier in the game hit one from 45 yards. Novi (2-5) got its other points off a safety and an 8-yard TD run by Anthony Madafferi (101 rushing yards) followed by Reece Pippin’s 2-point conversion rush. Northville (6-2) had some big kicks as well from Alex Baird, including a 42-yarder, while Adam Sakowski had the lone Mustangs’ score on a 6-yard run.

ALLEN PARK CABRINI 21, WATERFORD OUR LADY OF THE LAKES 6 >> The Monarchs wrapped up an unbeaten run through the CHSL Intersectional 2 Division with Friday’s home win. Matthew Nguyen led the rushing attack for the Lakers (4-4, 2-3) with 74 yards and had the lone TD that capped off a 19-play drive. Ryan Locey finished with 34 receiving yards and recorded an interception as well in Lakes’ defeat.

ST. CLAIR 38, HAZEL PARK 26 >> Montrell Parker piled up an impressive 370 rushing yards and four TDs on 29 carries, but the Vikings (5-3) couldn’t slow the opposing Saints offense on the road.

DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL 36, GRAND LEDGE 14 >> The Shamrocks leaned on senior Cedric Williams, who eclipsed 100 yards on the ground, while Joshua Peters and Connor Ryan found the end zone on runs for CC. Duke Banta threw TDs to Samson Gash and Peyton Sofran, and Jalen Montlouis picked up a fumble and ran it back for a score as well in the Shamrocks’ win.

BIRMINGHAM GROVES 42, AUBURN HILLS AVONDALE 14 >> Quarterback LeVelle Shannon combined for almost 300 yards and five total touchdowns, including a pair of passing TDs to Carter Anderson, as Groves improved to 5-3 on the year. The Yellow Jackets dropped to 1-7 with the defeat.

LAKE ORION 14, OAK PARK 13 >> After the Dragons scored a pair of TDs in the opening quarter, they had to fend off a second-half comeback to pick up their first victory of the season. The Knights, who fell to 3-5, were led on the ground by Devin Young (64 yards) and junior Tre Hawkins had a rushing TD for Oak Park.

CLARKSTON EVEREST COLLEGIATE 28, ROYAL OAK SHRINE CATHOLIC 7 >> Following a 1-3 start, the Mountaineers collected their fourth straight win and fifth of the fall at home on Friday. Andrew Gaglio ran for 100 yards and a score, Dominic Walker rushed for 93 yards and a pair of TDs, and Cameron Tong also found the end zone in the Everest triumph. For Shrine (5-3), senior quarterback Jack Tisko passed for 170 yards and also ran for 33 yards and a TD, and Owen Wisniewski caught a handful of balls for 100 yards.

WALLED LAKE NORTHERN 46, WATERFORD KETTERING 0 >> After just one win in the past three seasons combined, the Knights got their third win of the year on Friday as Reid Widmer ran for over 100 yards and a pair of TDs.

CLARKSTON 49, FARMINGTON 7 >> The second half went by fast with all the points between the Wolves and Falcons scored by halftime. Griffin and Lukas Boman each ran for a pair of TDs, Hank Hornung rushed for a 37-yard score and Aidan O’Neill kicked a pair of field goals (46 and 22 yards) for the Wolves (7-1). Farmington is now 6-2 on the year.

WEST BLOOMFIELD 37, BLOOMFIELD HILLS 0 >> The Lakers piled up over 250 yards rushing as Obi Duru led with 86 yards and a score, Kam Hall had 73 yards and two TDs and Jamal Shakespear also kept it four times for 51 yards. Shannon Rochon caught a 52-yard TD from Shakespear and Will Espy also ran for a score in West Bloomfield’s sixth win of the year.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza completed 24 of 28 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns and No. 3 Indiana celebrated its highest ranking in program history with a 38-13 rout of Michigan State on Saturday.

The Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten), who have won all but one game by double digits, kept pace with No. 1 Ohio State atop the conference standings with touchdowns on their first five possessions.

Mendoza threw a pair of TD passes to Elijah Sarratt, and also hit E.J. Williams Jr. and Omar Cooper Jr. for scores.

Sarratt’s first touchdown on a 24-yard play put Indiana ahead 14-10 in the second quarter. Sarratt’s 27-yard TD reception gave the Hoosiers a 35-10 lead in the third quarter.

Mendoza, a redshirt junior transfer has 21 TD passes and just two interceptions this season.

Cooper finished with eight receptions for 115 yards. Kaelon Black added a 29-yard TD rush.

Michigan State (3-4, 0-4) lost its fourth in a row by double digits despite twice taking first-half leads. Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 27 of 33 passes for 243 yards and one TD.

Poll implications

Expect Indiana to move up a spot in the rankings after No. 2 Miami lost to Louisville on Friday.

The takeaway

Michigan State: Mired in a Big Ten slump after its 10th conference loss in 12 games, second-year coach Jonathan Smith is searching for any positives. The Spartans monopolized the clock with time-consuming scoring drives of 8:07 and 9:22 for a 10-7 lead in the second quarter to provide a glimmer of hope that this team can compete with the elite.

Indiana: An offensive juggernaut that averages 44.8 points per game ensured this outcome as the Hoosiers drove 75 yards on three of their first four scoring drives and 80 yards on the other. Three of those possessions lasted just 1:47, 1:51 and 2:40. The only thing that stopped the Hoosiers temporarily was a 20-minute halftime delay due to lightning.

Up next

Michigan State: Hosts Michigan next Saturday.

Indiana: At home against UCLA next Saturday.

— By PHILLIP B. WILSON, Associated Press

The two survivors of an American military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean will be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, President Donald Trump said Saturday.

The military rescued the pair after striking a submersible vessel Thursday, in what was at least the sixth such attack since early September.

It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route, Trump said in a social media post. U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics.

The Republican president said two people onboard were killed one more than was previously reported and the two who survived are being sent to their home countries for detention and prosecution.

The repatriation avoids questions for the Trump administration about what the legal status of the two would have been in the U.S. justice system.

With Trumps confirmation on his Truth Social platform of the death toll, that means U.S. military action against vessels in the region have killed at least 29 people.

The president has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels. He is relying on the same legal authority used by the George W. Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks and is treating the suspected traffickers as if they were enemy soldiers in a traditional war.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jordan Marshall ran for a tiebreaking touchdown late in the third quarter and Bryce Underwood threw his second touchdown pass early in the fourth to help Michigan pull away and beat Washington 24-7 on Saturday.

The Wolverines (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) took control by scoring touchdowns after picking off passes on consecutive possessions and kicking a field goal after the Huskies (5-2, 2-2) turned it over on downs.

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. threw two interceptions in a pivotal stretch of four passes in the third quarter and was picked off for a third time on the first snap of the following drive.

Marshall, playing in place of injured running back Justice Haynes, had a career-high 133 yards rushing on 25 carries and his 14-yard touchdown run one snap after Williams’ first interception put Michigan ahead 14-7.

Underwood was 21 of 27 for 230 yards and matched a season high with two touchdown passes to fellow freshman Andrew Marsh on a 22-yard throw late in the first quarter and a 10-yard toss to Zach Marshall in the fourth.

The takeaway

Washington: Williams, a sophomore, threw one interception in his first 185 passes this season but was picked off three times in a span of five pass attempts.

Michigan: The offense has started slow in most games this season, a troubling trend for a team that fell out of the AP Top 25 after losing 31-13 at USC last week.

Injury report

Washington tight end Quentin Moore was carted off the field. Moore was responsive and moving all extremities when he was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons. Michigan left tackle Evan Link, who had a lower-body injury, was also carted off the field.

Up next

Michigan plays at rival Michigan State and Washington hosts Illinois on Saturday.

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said Saturday, but the territory's sole gateway to the outside world will remain closed to people trying to leave.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement within minutes, saying that the Rafah crossing wouldn't reopen "until further notice," adding that it would depend on how Hamas fulfills its role in returning all the bodies of the dead hostages.

Israel's foreign ministry on Thursday had said that the crossing would likely reopen Sunday another step in the fragile ceasefire.

The Rafah crossing is the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Gazans to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

It's unclear who will operate the crossing's heavily damaged Gaza side once the war ends.

Meanwhile, Gaza's ruins were being scoured for the dead, over a week into the ceasefire. Newly recovered bodies brought the Palestinian toll above 68,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Thousands of people are still missing, according to the Red Cross.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. But the ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hostages' remains

Israel on Saturday said that the remains of a 10th hostage that Hamas handed over the day before were identified as Eliyahu Margalit.

The handover of 28 hostages' remains is among key points along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory's future in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.

The 76-year-old Margalit was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 attack. His remains were found after bulldozers plowed up pits in the southern city of Khan Younis.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that he would greenlight a resumption of the war by Israel, if Hamas doesn't return the remains of all dead hostages.

Hamas has said it is committed to the ceasefire deal, but that the retrieval of remains is hampered by the devastation and the presence of unexploded ordnance. The group has told mediators that some remains are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.

In a statement, the hostage forum that supports the families of those abducted said it will continue holding weekly rallies until all are returned.

As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel on Saturday returned the bodies of a further 15 Palestinians to Gaza. Gaza's Health Ministry said the International Committee of the Red Cross handed them over to Nasser Hospital, bringing the total Israel has returned to 135.

Hamas accuses Israel of violations

Hamas again accused Israel of continuing attacks and violating the ceasefire, asserting that 38 Palestinians had been killed since it began. There was no immediate response from Israel, which still maintains control of about half of Gaza.

On Friday, Gaza's Civil Defense, first responders operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said nine people were killed, including women and children, when their vehicle was hit by Israeli fire in Gaza City. The Civil Defense said the car crossed into an Israeli-controlled area in eastern Gaza.

The Civil Defense said Israel could have warned the people in a manner that wasn't lethal. The group recovered the bodies Saturday with coordination from the United Nations, it said.

Israel's army said it saw a "suspicious vehicle" crossing the so-called yellow line and approaching troops. It said it fired warning shots, but the vehicle continued to approach in a manner that posed an "imminent threat." The army said it acted in accordance with the ceasefire.

Aid demands

Hamas has urged mediators to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza for its 2 million people, expedite the full opening of the Rafah border crossing and start reconstruction of the battered territory.

There are continued closures of crossings and Israeli restrictions on aid groups.

U.N. data on Friday showed 339 trucks have been offloaded for distribution in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Under the agreement, about 600 aid trucks per day should be allowed to enter.

COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid in Gaza, reported 950 trucks including commercial trucks and bilateral deliveries crossing on Thursday and 716 on Wednesday, the U.N. said.

Throughout the war, Israel restricted aid to Gaza, sometimes halting it altogether.

International food security experts declared famine in Gaza City, and the U.N. says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including over 100 children.

Israel has long said it let in enough food and accused Hamas of stealing much of it. The U.N. and other aid agencies deny the claim.

Ten people were hospitalized, including one person in critical condition, after a balcony collapsed Friday night near the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati police said.

The Cincinnati Fire Department (CFD) said that an 8-foot by 12-foot porch at an apartment complex on Stetson Street collapsed 20 feet to the ground below due to the weight of too many people.

WATCH: Here's the latest on what we know about the balcony collapse

10 people injured in balcony collapse near the University of Cincinnati

Of those injured, CFD said one is in critical condition, while the rest have non-life-threatening injuries. Police told us Friday that seven of the victims were taken to UC Medical Center, two people went to Good Samaritan Hospital and one person went to Christ Hospital. CFD said other victims may have self-transported to hospitals.

"It was a very chaotic scene very early on in the incident," said CFD Chief Frank McKinley.

CFD said UC is helping with any displaced students due to the balcony collapse. McKinley also said there is no concern for other units in the apartment complex.

We have reached out to UC for a statement about the balcony collapse.

This story was originally published by Molly Schramm and

Millions gathered in cities across the U.S. and Europe on Saturday as part of the No Kings protests, demonstrating against President Donald Trump and his administrations policies.

The organizers behind the protests who emphasized the importance of remaining peaceful said there were over 2,600 registered events across all 50 states.

Saturdays protests come three months after the initial nationwide No Kings demonstrations on June 14, organized as a counter-protest to the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, D.C., which fell on President Trumps birthday.

People packed into New York City's Times Square, Boston Common and Chicago's Grant Park; outside state capitols in several Republican-led states and a courthouse in Billings, Montana; and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.

In Washington, Iraq War Marine veteran Shawn Howard said he had never participated in a protest before but was motivated to show up because of what he sees as the Trump administration's disregard for the law. He said immigration detentions without due process and deployments of troops in U.S. cities are un-American and alarming signs of eroding democracy.

I fought for freedom and against this kind of extremism abroad, said Howard, who added that he also worked at the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. And now I see a moment in America where we have extremists everywhere who are, in my opinion, pushing us to some kind of civil conflict.

Democratic Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Chris Murphy of Connecticut were among the political headliners at the No Kings rally in Washington.

Bill Nye, known as "Bill Nye the Science Guy," compared President Trump to King George III and criticized the administration's approach to science during his address to protesters in Washington.

"They do not promote the progress of science. They suppress it, to the detriment of our health, well-being, and international competitiveness," Nye said. "It is a formula for failure."

In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelled out No King! and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she too had never been to a protest before. Only recently she began to view Trump as a dictator.

I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland Portland bothered me the most, because I'm from Portland, and I don't want the military in my cities. That's scary, Wingard said.

Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the citys first No Kings march in June.

And more than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and the citys history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.

It just feels like were living in an America that I dont recognize, said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote last November.

It was so encouraging, Yother said. I walked in and thought, Here are my people.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker addressed protesters in Chicago, where President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to allow the National Guard to be deployed following clashes between residents and federal immigration authorities in recent weeks.

"History will judge us by where we choose to stand right now, today. Future generations will ask: 'What did we do when fellow human beings face persecution? When our rights were being abridged? When our constitution was under attack?'" Pritzker asked. "They'll want to know whether we stood up or we stayed silent."

The recent rallies come against the backdrop of a government shutdown, which is in its 18th day, that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.

Over 200 organizations have partnered to put the protests together, including the American Federation of Teachers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

RELATED STORY | 'There is nothing more American:' Millions expected to turn out for 'No Kings' protests, organizers say

Over the past few months thousands of people have organized once again in their communities, on the ground locally, volunteering to bring their neighbors, families and friends together to say unequivocally, We have no kings, said No Kings organizer Eunice Epstein-Ortiz.

They led sessions leading up to Saturday in which speakers have shared tips for de-escalating potential confrontations and have prepared for cases in which the National Guard could get called in, given the Trump administrations decision to authorize their presence in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., and the Chicago area.

The ACLU emphasized that the First Amendment protects the right to assemble and express your views through protest, laying out what protesters should do if they are approached by law enforcement.

From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders disparaged the rallygoers as "communists and Marxists."

"I encourage you to watch we call it the Hate America rally that will happen Saturday," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

According to NBC News, President Trump is in Palm Beach, Florida, this weekend and has no public events on his schedule.

ALLEN PARK — Jared Goff has been strong against the blitz since joining the Detroit Lions, but the quarterback has taken things to another level this season, so far turning in an NFL-best passer rating (137.1) on the 51 dropbacks in which the defense has sent at least one extra rusher.

That excellence will be tested Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have a blitz rate (32.6%) that ranks third in the NFL, behind the Atlanta Falcons (39.9%) and Minnesota Vikings (35.8%). Offensive coordinator John Morton called Tampa Bay’s defensive strategy, which kept him up late preparing Saturday evening, “a blitz fest.”

“If he sees something (at the line of scrimmage), we get to our blitz check. He can see everything,” Morton said of Goff’s proficiency against the blitz. “He’s a veteran guy, and he studies, man. This guy works his butt off. … He’s like a coach. It makes it so much easier (to operate the offense).”

Goff has completed 36 of 49 passes (73.5%) for 468 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions on the plays he’s been blitzed, according to Pro Football Focus. Much of that success is due to Goff’s continued growth, of course. But some of it can be ascribed to the defensive looks Goff faced in training camp.

“I know it’s helped him,” defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. “Because not only him, but Johnny Mo tells me. He’s like, ‘Coming out of training camp with you guys, they feel like they’re prepared for anything.’ That’s a credit to not only myself, but my staff. … There’s a lot of hands in the jar on this thing, and we present a lot of different defenses week to week. That takes a staff, not just one person.”

Sheppard and Goff have met often throughout the season, “whether that’s (for) two minutes or 20 minutes.” The parties do their best to inform the other of what they’re seeing from one another’s units during practice, handing nuggets of information back and forth in preparation for game day.

Goff, through six games, currently has career-high marks in completion rate (75.9%), success rate (56.3%), passer rating (120.6) and quarterback rating (72.4). His completion rate leads the NFL, more than 2.5% better than the next closest quarterback — New England’s Drake Maye (73.2%).

In his first year as defensive coordinator, Sheppard joked Goff never visited this much previously: “I said (to Goff), ‘I guess when I was a linebackers coach, I was a nobody because you never came in my office.’ Now, he’s in my office every week.”

“I think real guys respect other real guys,” Sheppard said of his relationship with Goff. “Like at the end of the day, you watch … how people work and you respect it in this game. … Real guys respect real guys. We have mutual respect for each other, and I think we want to see each other benefit and win. Because both of us will be mutual beneficiaries off of that.”

Three people wearing Halloween masks threatened a family and attempted to break into their Alexandria home Tuesday night, according to CBS-affiliate WUSA.

The incident happened around 9:50 p.m. at a home in the 100 block of South Iris Street. That is where the masked individuals were captured on Ring doorbell footage, banging on the door and shouting threats at the residents.

When the intruders couldn't enter through the front door, they moved to the back of the house, where they broke down a fence and damaged a screened porch.

The homeowner's daughter was present during the 10-minute ordeal and called 911. The incident has left her mother deeply concerned about her safety.

"At first I thought it was just a Halloween joke, a little prank, so I said, 'Happy Halloween,'" Shayla, who was visiting the home her mother owns and lives in, told WUSA.

Shayla told WUSA the trio kept knocking and pounding "harder and harder" on the door.

"It's either you coming out or we coming in," one person can be heard saying on the video. Another shouted, "Open the door!"

Shayla told WUSA they tried to enter the home.

"It's not even a joke gone wrong... My heart dropped when they said they were gonna take a chair and break down the door," Shayla said.

Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire issued a warning about the dangers of such threatening behavior.

"People that are in their residences according to our laws and laws across our nation can defend themselves. So it's a warning to people do not go up to people's doors, make threats, advance their doorways and play with their lives, because it ultimately can end up in a dangerous event," McGuire said.

The family expressed relief that the situation didn't escalate further.

"My dad recently just died, so... I'm just glad I was there," Shayla said. "Now she's in fear, she don't wan to stay there by herself."

Police are continuing to search for the suspects.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.

This story was originally published by the Scripps News Group station in Richmond.

DETROIT – There is nothing new on Tarik Skubal contract extension front. Nothing new was reported Thursday when MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reiterated the Tigers “non-competitive” initial extension offer – which happened roughly a year ago at this time when the Tigers had Skubal under control for two seasons.

And if the numbers that Heyman and others threw out there are accurate – four years, roughly $100 million – then that would have been the highest extension offered to a pitcher prior to free agency, topping Justin Verlander’s $80 million extension in 2010.

Skubal, through his representation (Scott Boras), rejected the offer last year. But that, by no means, represents the Tigers’ base offer going into this offseason. To say there is a $250 million gap is just a guess. It’s not based on anything real.

Nobody truly knows whether there have been any new negotiations. Neither side is saying anything publicly. But the leverage points are different now on both sides with Skubal entering his final year of team control.

Spotrac, an industry data base for contracts, payrolls and market values, projected an eight-year extension worth $300 million ($37.5 million annual salary).

That doesn’t mean that’s the number Boras is seeking. That doesn’t mean Boras would accept any extension offer. He generally prefers to take his high-end clients on to the open market where 30 teams can bid.

It makes good fodder for website clicks and talk radio discussion, but these numbers that are being thrown around, again, aren’t based in fact. Information leaked from agents comes with an agenda. They are generally trying to build a market for their clients.

If information leaks out from the team, someone might get fired. Tigers president Scott Harris steadfastly refuses to talk about contracts or trades even in the most general terms.

Here was his answer when I asked him if the club faced a decision point this offseason on Skubal.

“Listen, I totally understand the question, and I understand that you have to ask me,” he said. “I’ve kind of learned over time, especially with this question, that general comments tend to get chopped up and forced into narratives. I can’t comment on our players being traded. I can’t comment on free agents. And I can’t comment on other teams’ players.

“So I’m going to respond by just not actually commenting on it. Tarik is a Tiger. I hope he wins the Cy Young for the second consecutive year. He’s an incredible pitcher and we’re lucky to have him. That’s all I can say on that.”

Things were read into Skubal’s statement on the issue, too. He was asked about his future immediately after the Tigers lost Game 5 of the ALDS in Seattle.

“My job is to play,” he said. “(It’s) not my job to do anything other than play. Those questions should be asked toward the front office and the people that make those decisions. But my job is to go out there and play.”

He wasn’t implying anything. He was simply saying what is fundamentally true: These decisions and discussions are between the Tigers and his agent. It’s not his place or in his best interest to comment publicly.

Free agency starts the day after the World Series ends. Qualifying offers go out five days after the World Series. Nov. 21 is the deadline for tendering arbitration-eligible players.

Skubal, per estimates by MLB Trade Rumors, could get as much as $17.8 million if he went to arbitration.

That’s where this is right now and that’s where it’s been. Nothing has changed. The Tigers options, presuming there will be no extension, are to seek a trade for Skubal this winter or ride it out in 2026 and try to win a championship with him.

The time for the Tigers to get the maximum return in a trade would’ve been last winter when he had two years of control left. Getting the same yield on a player with one guaranteed season left, even one as dominant as Skubal, is unlikely.

Trading him in-season, unless the team falls out of playoff contention, is sub-optimal, as well.

The Tigers traded Verlander at the trade deadline in 2017 and got Jake Rogers as part of the return package. The other prospects didn’t pan out. They lost Max Scherzer to free agency in 2015, getting a compensatory draft pick that ended up being Christin Stewart.

Anything can still happen. All scenarios are open. But nothing to this point has happened.

One Harlem Night is a blend of music, theater, and star power.

The musical stageplay features performances by Pooch Hall, Lamman Rucker, Darrin Henson, Jamal Woolard, Avery Wilson, Christopher Williams, and Michael Colyar. Adding to the magic are the voices of Kourtney NuNu Thurman, Kimmie Horne, and world-renowned flutist Alexander Zonjic. Together, this all-star cast delivers a thrilling stage experience that captures the heartbeat of Harlem.

For ticket information on One Night in Harlem and other upcoming shows at Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit, visit https://www.musichall.org/

OXFORD – The Oxford Wildcats came from behind to beat the North Farmington Raiders 27-14 on Senior Night on Friday.

“It feels great,” senior quarterback and three-year starter Jack Hendrix said. “All our fans showed out again. We went down at first, and everybody stuck with it and had a big win.

“This is my last guaranteed one (home game), so I’m feeling all the emotions right now. But I’m definitely happy with the outcome of the game. I think we’ve just got to keep chugging along and we can get another one.”

The Wildcats roared back from down 14-0, scoring 27 unanswered points, including 20 in the second half.

Trailing by one score at halftime, Oxford was a much different team over the final 24 minutes. The Wildcats took the opening kick of the half and marched straight down the field for a touchdown, capped by a 7-yard pass from Jack Hendrix to Brady Hasselbring.

Although the extra point was blocked, bringing the hosts within a point at 14-13, the Wildcats would go on to score touchdowns on their next two possessions. Seth Tabert finished both drives with short rushing TDs, giving him three overall as the Oxford offensive line, anchored by captain Liam Samborski, started to push around the North Farmington front.

On the other end, after having the Raiders run all over them in the first half – particularly quarterback Elijah Cobb and tailback Terrance James – the Oxford defense was dominant in the last two quarters, holding the Raiders to just one first down and 18 total yards.

“There were a few schematic changes,” Oxford head coach Trevor Potts said. “But it was just getting back to details, tackling the ball well. Their skill guys are talented guys that made us miss quite a bit, but the kids played well.”

With tight end Jonathan Majcher sealing the edges, the Raiders’ offense dominated early as they were able to run the ball almost at will on their first two drives. They took the opening kickoff and methodically drove the field in a possession that featured a slew of penalties by both teams. Eventually, the Raiders punched it in for a touchdown, using almost eight minutes off the clock before Cobb scrambled in from seven yards out. After Oxford turned the ball over on downs, the Raiders needed just four plays to go 64 yards, highlighted by a 50-yard touchdown pass from Cobb to James that gave North Farmington a 14-0 lead with 10:24 to play in the second quarter.

“Those guys did a great job in the first half,” North Farmington head coach Jon Herstein said. “Both guys are really talented guys.”

Photo gallery of North Farmington vs. Oxford in OAA crossover football action

But the Wildcats scored on their next possession, then escaped the half down only seven when the Raiders missed a field goal on their next drive and ran out of time after taking over with only 29.5 seconds on their last possession of the half.

With the win, Oxford improves to 6-2 overall and realistically guarantees itself a playoff spot in the D1 field. Despite being picked last in the OAA Red to start the season, the Wildcats finished 2-2 in the division and have a chance to host a playoff game if they can beat a tough Macomb Dakota team on the road next week.

“It feels good to get to 6-2 in our last home game for our seniors. It’s really good to have those guys celebrate a little bit here,” Potts said. “It’s been a lot of years we’re picked last in the OAA Red, and our kids kind of wear it as a badge of honor here. We just go out and work every day and try to get better. The stark reality is we get to go play Dakota at Dakota, and so that will bring things back down quickly. They’re a great football program, and we’re just excited to go compete with the state’s best."

North Farmington (5-3) will be looking to improve its playoff seeding when the Raiders travel to Troy next week to take on the Colts.

“We had chances. We didn’t capitalize. To play and beat good teams as you move forward, you’ve got to capitalize on those opportunities,” Herstein said. “We’re going to close out our OAA schedule for the year. We’ve got Troy High School. I know they’re working hard. Coach (Chris) Frasier has always done a great job getting those guys ready. I’m sure they’ll come out and be ready for their final home game of the season."

By Hannah Elliott, Bloomberg News

There’s something fundamentally American about the freedom to get in your car and drive.

Driving is self-determination. The liberty to set your own course. The power to move under your own willpower, whether for duty or sheer pleasure. Despite some decline among Gen Zers, plenty of teens still eagerly anticipate getting their driver’s license. In many American towns, where public transportation and walkability are scarce, driving is what empowers you to explore.

Some motoring enthusiasts worry self-driving vehicles threaten that ideal. These robot autos, run by Google and China and Elon Musk, use AI and radars to navigate without human input; they could replace our car-centric culture with faceless communal bots controlled by opaque entities. Even worse, self-driving vehicles present safety concerns and other vulnerabilities, such as being hacked or spoofed by malicious agents at home or abroad.

I’ve covered the car industry for 20 years, and I would hate to see our sports coupes and road trips disappear. The risks associated with relinquishing control over my mobility also give me pause. Or they did. I took a Waymo for the first time recently in Los Angeles and … I haven’t stopped using it since. Rather than replace our cool cars, self-driving vehicles will, I predict, become a welcome complement to modern life, first as part of ride-sharing platforms and then as privately owned transport. Why? Because they offer an excellent solution for something nobody likes: commuting.

If driving is heaven, commuting is hell. Not even the hardest-core drivers like it. So the question isn’t whether self-driving will replace our favorite cars (I think not), but rather, will it remove the burden of our most mundane trips? And could it replace other ride-sharing platforms like Uber? I certainly hope so.

Waymo LLC, the self-driving car service subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, was founded in 2009 with a mission to explore what self-driving technology could offer. It now has more than 2,000 electric vehicles operating across its markets, which include LA, Phoenix and San Francisco, plus Austin and Atlanta, where Waymo rides are hailed via Uber. In 2026, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Nashville and Washington, DC, will join the ranks with Waymos on their streets. New York City just granted the company permission to continue testing there until the end of the year, and Seattle is in the works too. Waymo provides more than 250,000 trips each week, and regulators are already adapting. A new California law will soon authorize police to issue “notices of autonomous vehicle noncompliance” when they see driverless cars breaking traffic rules.

Beyond Waymo, robo-taxis and -shuttles are also running in China, Singapore and the Middle East, and they’re being tested across Europe. The vehicles are expected to become commercially available in the U.S. at a large scale by 2030, according to the research firm McKinsey.

But they’re a long way from being ubiquitous. A world of self-driving cars will require billions of dollars of development, improved navigation systems, increased charging infrastructures and new regulations to amend traffic laws. Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have all canceled autonomous taxi programs they once funded by the billions. (GM is planning to renew exploring autonomous cars for personal use, rather than as a robotaxi service. Later this year, the autonomous mobility subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America Inc. will begin testing electric autonomous ID. Buzz AD vehicles, with plans to offer rides via Uber 2026 in LA. The vehicles will use human operators during their testing and launch phases.) Tesla’s Robotaxis aren’t open to the public. Given the company’s proclivity for extensive delays, it’s unclear when they will be.

As self-driving options develop, consumer demand shouldn’t be a problem, according to experts; most people who try it like it. Waymo reports a 98% satisfaction rating among users in LA. Proponents note that more than 1.3 million deaths occur around the world annually in traffic accidents, whereas self-driving vehicles eliminate the human errors that cause more than 90% of those deaths, according to research by Global Market Insights.

Waymo uses a proprietary AI system for autonomous driving that has been installed on a fleet of Jaguar I-PACEs equipped with dozens of cameras and sensors. The technology is more robust than the hands-free driving systems we have in our own cars, combining AI learning with LiDAR, radar, cameras and high-definition maps to read and anticipate the environment.

There are still significant limitations to Waymo vehicles’ range and their ability to adapt to real-life scenarios. But after a week of Waymo rides, which I ordered easily via an app, other ride-sharing platforms seemed woefully outdated.

My first trip was not perfect. Our house in Hollywood sits outside Waymo’s range, so my gallant husband had to drive me about a mile down the hill to a cafe on Hollywood Boulevard, where I ordered the car. It took 26 (!) minutes to arrive—precious time lost because of high rider volume on a Monday morning. An Uber would have been there within a few minutes. But the vehicle showed up at exactly the time it had promised, unlike Uber, which tends to miss arrival estimates. A spokesperson from Uber did not comment.

Synched with my iPhone, the car unlocked automatically when it pulled up, waiting until I clicked my seat belt and pushed a green button on a screen in the rear to commence the journey. Icons in the app would have let me open the trunk, had I wanted, and allowed me to adjust the sound and temperature in the car.

Any drama I expected to feel from being alone in a moving vehicle just didn’t exist. No driver? No problem. I forgot about it before I even hit Santa Monica Boulevard, and my 44-minute ride to the office proved delightfully uneventful while my productivity soared: I stretched my legs; checked email; made phone calls and wrote to-do lists—all things I cannot do when driving myself to the newsroom each morning. The trip cost $23.28, almost half the price of an Uber Black ($41.25) or UberX ($42.95) at the same hour.

There were a few hiccups. The car froze momentarily behind a truck parked illegally, causing other drivers to honk erratically. More annoyingly, it didn’t drop me at the address I requested but in a hotel valet line across an intersection and down the next block. I’ve learned that Waymos often leave passengers on side streets or one block past a chosen destination, depending on how busy the drop-off point seems. (This is because the cars are programmed to prioritize safety and efficiency rather than moving swiftly in hectic traffic.) That would have been frustrating had it been raining, or an unfamiliar neighborhood, or had I been wearing heels.

There’s room for improvement in the car’s ability to take a direct route to a destination rather than zig-zagging or circling the arrival spot before stopping, as it did one evening when trying to avoid busy corners to drop me off in Hollywood. It made for a slightly longer drive than if I had done it myself. Indeed, the logistical challenges of using Waymo are its biggest problem. One night it wouldn’t let me change my destination just 15 minutes into a 55-minute journey, even though the new destination was far closer. (It would have allowed me to cancel the ride, leaving me on the street corner.)

I’m hoping all this will improve as Waymo expands its range—and incorporates highways and Interstates, which it currently does not—because the privacy, punctuality and peace inside the cabin are delightful. I found myself scheduling Waymos to take me to dinner in West Hollywood or to try on shoes at Reformation on Melrose Avenue. It was freeing not to stress about parking or bad drivers.

If more folks used self-driving cars, it would lead to more parking; reduce road rage, drunk driving and traffic accidents; and alleviate noise pollution and congestion. Waymo is a far better driver than most of the ride-sharing and taxi drivers I’ve had. It’s certainly more courteous, gliding elegantly through yellow lights, and moving up in line at stoplights if the vehicle behind it wants to turn right. The car remained smooth and predictable even in tight traffic, navigating tiny neighborhood streets with ease. I was so relaxed I started dozing.

One morning I even walked myself 20 minutes down to the Hollywood coffee shop so I could take a Waymo again to work. I didn’t love the hike, but I wanted that solitary ride. (Mornings when I needed to be in the office at a specific time, I drove myself.)

The solitude is the top benefit I hear from everyone I speak with about the service—especially women and gay and trans friends who worry about being accosted, harassed or ogled by drivers. Self-driving cars offer a way to ride alone in safety. We just need the services to be bigger and better and more flexible.

It’s encouraging to see the industry growing, with companies like Zoox, Pony Ai and WeRide working to expand the technology. In 2024 the global market for self-driving cars was valued at $1.7 trillion, according to Global Market Insights. It’s expected to hit $3.9 trillion by 2034.

As for me, I’ll plan to hold on to my cars and use Waymo for my daily commute and mundane chores. If I’m lucky, I’ll never have to take an Uber again.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The cycling industry is enjoying a recharge with e-bikes.

When Jeff Radke’s grandfather opened his bicycle shop in St. Clair Shores everyone wanted a Schwinn because they were comfortable and built to last, which is why decades later they are still around.

Now customers who walk into Macomb Bike in Warren want a bicycle they can pedal if they want but is otherwise charged up and ready to take them for a ride on Michigan’s highways, byways and trails.

“We knew early on that electric bikes would evolve further in the industry,” said Radke, whose shop carries a variety of Aventon, Trek and Electra bicycles. “We just never imagined it would be this big.”

And it’s still growing.

According to Vantage Market Research the global e-bike market is currently valued at $55.29 billion but is expected to nearly double by 2035 reaching a value of $108.4 billion, at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 6.32%.

It’s great news for the industry and even the environment as more and more people are choosing to hop on their e-bike rather than in their carbon spewing cars for local rides and even short-commuter trips.

Look at New York City.

Its urban landscape was once predominantly yellow and while taxis. Those are still around but city scenes are streaked with black e-bikes and riders delivering everything from people and pizza to commercial goods and letters.

These are all positive impacts.

But even industry professionals are concerned about the need to address the safety issues that have surfaced along with the growing popularity of e-bikes.

American safety standards

Macomb Bike has been in business for more than 50 years. Their success is largely due to customer service and the fact that they can repair just about any e-bike they sell.

“All of our e-bikes are also built to UL certified safety standards,” Radke said.

But not all bikes are created equal.

“There is an enormous range of quality, safety and compatibility. The quality and safety issues are the main drivers of legislation and change within the United States and our industry,” said Igor Shteynbuk, in his blog for Velo Orange, a company that provides parts and accessories for cycling enthusiasts. “There are numerous reports of fires that cause death, injuries and millions of dollars in damages with the prime culprit being poorly constructed e-bikes. New York City alone saw more than 200 fires caused by e-bikes, e-scooters and similar products. There’s obviously a need for something to be done with regards to safety.”

In fact there are a variety of legislative actions being considered and enacted at the federal, state and local levels in regards to how e-bikes are made, what components are used and how they are transported.

It’s obvious America’s transit infrastructure was built for automotive vehicles but there is a push to build safer infrastructure for both cyclists and pedestrians and federal funding for communities that implement it. This alone could accelerate the planning and construction of biking and walking projects across the country.

“Sterling Heights has been very good with regards to bike paths. They’re my example for communities with energy and a progressive approach,” said Michael Radke, a Sterling Heights city councilmember who has compiled a map of multi-use paths riders can use in Macomb County including the Macomb Orchard Trail.

Michigan is among the states catering to the growing trend of e-bike riders but not alone in its endeavor to tap the market. E-riders who wish to explore other countries can also book cycling tours.

“I have one customer who did a tour of the Carolinas and if it wasn’t for the e-bike she would have never been able to do it,” Radke said of the technology that’s enabled even the eldest rider to enjoy soaring climbs and descents.

For the health of it

Riding a bicycle is a healthy pastime but with greater speeds comes greater risk of injury.

Amidst this surging popularity more than 20,000 people each year are injured while riding an e-bike, and as many as 3,000 of these require hospitalization.

These numbers prompted the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) to issue a position statement addressing critical safety concerns and the need for standardized regulations.

“Electric bicycles are an increasingly popular mode of transportation and recreation. However, their use is associated with a growing number of serious injuries, particularly among children and adolescents,” said the ACS statement. “The ACS recognizes the need to address this emerging public safety problem through evidence-based policy and injury prevention strategies.”

Key recommendations of the ACS statement include:

• Categorizing e-bikes based on speed and power.
• Implementing age restrictions for riders.
• Mandating safety equipment, such as helmets.

Additionally, the ACS recommended each region have a mechanism to report crashes, injuries and deaths involving e-bikes including those not treated at trauma centers and trauma centers that do see high rates of e-bike injuries should consider implementation of targeted safety outreach programs.

“We are seeing an increase in e-bike injuries, the most common include head injuries and severe fractures,” said Sarah Rauner, a pediatric nurse practitioner regional manager for Advance Practice Providers, East Pediatric Emergency Centers at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital, who created and oversees a new national model of care for pediatric concussion diagnosis and management. “Concussion patients who leave our Corewell Health Emergency Centers are offered virtual concussion follow up.”

Rauner collaborated with Toyota to develop the program known as Way Forward, which has proven ideal for monitoring of new and worsening symptoms. It also removes transportation barriers ensuring that more children receive the care they need.

Rauner said e-bike riders travel at speeds significantly higher than traditional bikes leading to more forceful impacts during falls or collisions.

Since the virtual model was developed at five sites in Troy a little over a year ago, Rauner had doubled the national average of pediatric patients to receive crucial follow up care for concussions. Today there are 20 sites across the state.

Rauner offers the following tips to avoid e-bike injuries:

• Always wear a helmet and be sure it’s fitted properly to significantly reduce the risk of head injuries.
• Other protective gear might include gloves and knee/elbow pads to protect against abrasions and fractures in a fall. Reflective clothing will also increase a rider’s visibility for motorists, especially in low light conditions.
• Always follow traffic laws. If you’re on the road observe all traffic signals and signs and use hand signals for turns. Ride with the traffic.
• Practice defensive riding by being aware of your surroundings such as traffic patterns  or unusual turns in a bike path and anticipating potential hazards like cars pulling out of a parking lot. Avoid distractions and poor weather conditions.
• Make sure your e-bike is properly maintained and know your specific bike’s capabilities and speed.
• Don’t just hop on it and go. Take the time to learn how to ride the e-bike safely. As with a motor vehicle, practice riding in a safe area to learn to accelerate, brake, and turn effectively.
• Make sure vehicles are aware of you; by using front and rear lights on your e-bike and making eye contact with drivers before crossing intersections.

By Nada Hassanein, Stateline.org

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Art Martinez has seen the power of ceremony.

Martinez, a clinical psychologist and member of the Chumash Tribe, helped run an American Indian youth ceremonial camp. Held at a sacred tribal site in Northern California, it was designed to help kids’ mental health. He remembers a 14-year-old girl who had been struggling with substance use and was on the brink of hospitalization.

On the first day of the four-day camp, Martinez recalled, she was barely able to speak. In daily ceremonies, she wept. The other kids gathered around her. “You’re not alone. We’re here for you,” they’d say.

Traditional tribal healing practices are diverse and vary widely, unique from tribe to tribe. Many include talking circles, sweat lodge ceremonies with special rituals, plant medicine and herb smudging, along with sacred ceremonies known only to the tribe.

Martinez and the girl’s counselor saw her mental health improve under a treatment plan combining tribal traditional healing and Western medicine.

“By the end of the gathering, she had broken through the isolation,” Martinez said. “Before, she would barely shake hands with kids, and she was now hugging them, they were exchanging phone numbers. Her demeanor was better, she was able to articulate.”

Indigenous health advocates have long known the health benefits of integrating their traditional healing practices, and studies have also shown better health outcomes.

Now, for the first time, tribal traditional healing practices are eligible for Medicaid coverage in California and three other states under a new initiative. Last October, the federal government approved Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage of traditional healing practices at tribal health facilities and urban Indian organizations in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon.

These were approved under a federal program that allows states to test new pilot health programs and ways to pay for them.

Arizona’s waiver went into effect this month. While California’s waiver currently only covers patients with substance use disorder, like the girl in Martinez’s camp, any Medicaid enrollee who is American Indian or Alaska Native is eligible in the other three states. Officials have said California’s program will expand to have such coverage in the future.

Under the waivers, each tribe and facility decides which traditional healing services to offer for reimbursement. Services can also take place at sacred sites and not necessarily inside a clinic, explained Virginia Hedrick, executive director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health.

“If a healing intervention requires being near a water source — the ocean, creek, river — we can do that,” said Hedrick, who is of the Yurok Tribe and of Karuk descent. “It may involve gathering medicine in a specific place on the land itself.”

Tribes long had to practice out of sight. The U.S. government’s assimilation policies had targeted tribal languages, cultural and religious practices — including healing. It wasn’t until 1978, when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was enacted under President Jimmy Carter, that they regained their rights.

“It was illegal to practice our ways until 1978 … the year I was born,” said Dr. Allison Kelliher, a family and integrative medicine physician, who is Koyukon Athabascan, Dena. “Traditional healing means intergenerational knowledge that have origins in how our ancestors and people lived generationally to promote health, so it’s a holistic way of looking at well-being.”

Last month, Kelliher and hundreds of others gathered at the National Indian Health Board’s health conference on Gila River Indian Community land in Chandler, Arizona. During a panel discussion about the waivers, tribal members discussed how health centers will bill for services, ways to protect the sacredness of certain ceremonies, and how to measure and collect data around the effectiveness of the treatments, a federal requirement under the waivers.

But teasing out those new protocols didn’t dull the enthusiasm.

“This is where we really start intersecting the Western medicine as well as traditional healing, and it’s exciting,” said panelist Dr. Naomi Young, CEO of the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board in Arizona.

The Trump administration announced earlier this year that it doesn’t plan to renew certain other Medicaid waiver programs approved under the Biden administration. But it hasn’t announced any changes around the traditional healing waivers.

Studies have found that incorporating sweat lodge ceremonies and other cultural practices in treatments led to substance use recovery and emotional health, and better quality diets when incorporating traditional foods, according to analyses of research by the National Council of Urban Indian Health.

“When there is an opportunity to braid traditional healing with Western forms of medicine, it’s very possible, and the research is indicating, we may get better health outcomes,” Hedrick said.

Traditional practices

Decades of historical trauma, such as displacement and forced assimilation in boarding schools — where American Indian and Alaska Native people were forbidden from speaking their languages — are behind their disproportionate rates of chronic illness and early deaths today, tribal health experts say.

Tribes have long offered traditional healing — both outside brick-and-mortar health care settings as well as within many clinics. But health centers have been paying out of pocket or budgeting for the services, said retired OB-GYN Dr. John Molina, director of the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care and member of the Pasqua Yaqui and Yavapai Apache Tribes.

Molina said the new Arizona waiver may help clinics afford to serve more patients or staff more traditional healers, and build infrastructure, including sacred spaces and sweat lodges. For other clinics, “They’ve been wanting to start, but perhaps don’t have the revenue to start it,” he said.

“I’m hoping that when people engage in traditional healing services, a lot of it is to bring balance back into the lifestyle, to give them some hope,” Molina said.

That’s the effect traditional healing practices have had on Harrison Jim, who is Diné. Now a counselor and traditional practitioner at Sage Memorial Hospital in Arizona, Jim, 70, said he remembers his own first all-night sweat lodge ceremony when he returned from a military tour.

“I [felt] relieved of everything that I was carrying, because it’s kind of like a personal journey that I went through,” he said. “Through that ceremony, I had that experience of freedom.”

Kim Russell, the hospital’s policy adviser, who also spoke on the panel about the traditional healing waivers, told Stateline her team hopes to bring on another practitioner along with Jim.

Tribal health leaders have expressed concern about people without traditional knowledge posing to offer healing services. But Navajo organizations, including Diné Hataałii Association Inc., aim to protect from such co-opting as it provides licensures for Native healers, Jim said.

Push in Washington

Facilities covered under the new waivers include Indian Health Service facilities, tribal facilities, or urban Indian organization facilities. In Arizona, urban Indian organizations can get the benefit only if they contract with an Indian Health Service or other tribal health facility.

In Oregon, Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center spokesperson Shanna Hamilton said that while the center can’t speak on behalf of other tribes or clinics, many are still in the early stages of developing programs and protocols. She called the waivers a “meaningful step forward in honoring Indigenous knowledge and healing practices.”

Meanwhile, in neighboring Washington state, a bill that would have required the state to submit an application for a waiver by Sept. 1 died in committee.

But the state doesn’t need the legislative OK to apply. It’s still going to submit an application by the end of the year, the Washington State Health Care Authority told Stateline in a statement, emphasizing that each tribe would determine its own traditional health services available for reimbursement.

Azure Bouré, traditional food and medicine program coordinator for the Suquamish Tribe, a community along the shores of Washington’s Puget Sound, called the waivers “groundbreaking.”

“We’re proving day in and day out that Indigenous knowledge is important. It’s real, it’s worthy, and it’s real science,” Bouré said.

On a brisk summer day in 2009, Bouré recalled, she had attended a family camp hosted by Northwest Indian College. It was then she tasted the salal berry for the first time. A sweet, dark blue berry, it’s long been used by Pacific Northwest tribes medicinally, in jams, and for dyeing clothing.

“It was just that one berry, that one day, that reignited that wonderment,” Bouré said. For her, it unlocked the world of Indigenous plant medicine and food sovereignty, a people’s right to the food and food systems of their land.

She got her bachelor’s in Native American environmental science and now runs an apothecary, teaches traditional cooking classes, recommends herbs to members with ailments and processes foraged foods.

One day she could be chopping pumpkins or other gourds and the next, cleaning and peeling away the salty-sweet meat from dozens of sea cucumbers harvested by shellfish biologist divers employed by the tribe.

Bouré’s grandmother died when her mom was 12 years old. “That’s a whole generation of knowledge that she lost,” she said. One way she unearths that lost knowledge is by learning tribal medicine and teaching it, and holding on to memories like watching her great-grandmother Cecelia, who wove traditional sweetgrass dolls even when she was blind.

“I think that I come from a long line of healers,” she said.

Dr. Gary Ferguson, who is Unangax̂ (Aleut), is the director of integrative medicine at the Tulalip Health Clinic about 40 miles north of Seattle. He’s certified in naturopathic medicine in Washington and Alaska.

His health center already has a variety of integrative medicine offerings, he said, including traditional ones grounded in Coast Salish traditions of the Pacific Northwest. He said he hopes the waivers and continued support for Indigenous ways of healing will help tribes address health disparities.

“These ceremonies and ways are part of that deeper healing,” he said.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

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©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Amy Arnott of Morningstar

Deciding where to live later in life isn’t an easy task. Many seniors prefer to stay in their own homes but may need help managing medical issues or day-to-day tasks. Others might move in with their adult children or family members.

One potential solution is a continuing care retirement community, or life plan community.

A CCRC is a community living facility where retirees can access a spectrum of care as they age—care levels typically include independent living, assisted living, nursing care, and memory care. Most CCRCs also offer a range of amenities and activities, such as on-site fitness centers and groups for different hobbies.

There’s evidence that people living in CCRCs enjoy better health outcomes, and higher levels of social and emotional well-being. It can also be an attractive option for couples as they can continue living near each other even if one person eventually needs a higher level of care.

Moving to a CCRC requires a substantial financial commitment, and it carries the sobering possibility that it might be the last time you get to choose where you live. Here are some key things to consider:

Fees and living arrangements

People entering a CCRC generally start in independent living, with their own living quarters.

In many cases, the cost of admission could be on par with buying a house in the same area. Based on data from US News & World Report, entrance fees average about $400,000 but can range from $100,000 to more than $1 million. The hefty price tag doesn’t mean you’re buying the property you live in; instead, the money helps cover part of the costs you may incur while living there and may be partially refundable to your estate after death.

Residents also pay monthly fees, which averaged about $4,200 for independent living as of the end of 2024. Monthly fees, which often increase about 4% per year to cover inflation, generally cover housing, meals, housekeeping, maintenance, transportation, and recreational activities. Depending on your contract, monthly fees may also cover certain healthcare costs.

Three types of CCRC contracts

Type A contracts are the costliest option. They have the steepest entrance fees and the highest starting monthly fees, which generally cover comprehensive long-term-care services and remain the same (except for annual inflation increases) even if you need a higher level of care.

Type B contracts have lower upfront costs than Type A contracts, and lower monthly fees when you first move in. They provide the same access to housing and residential services as Type A contracts, but not the same level of access to healthcare services. If a resident needs a higher level of care, the monthly fee grows to cover the higher cost. In exchange for lower monthly fees at move-in, people in these contracts take the risk that their costs could significantly increase.

Type C contracts generally have the lowest upfront costs and may not include any entrance fee. Instead, the monthly fee changes to reflect the market rate for the type of healthcare needed. Monthly fees start lower when a resident first enters independent living but can grow dramatically if they need higher-level care. As with Type B contracts, people in these contracts pay lower monthly fees when they move in but may end up paying significantly more.

Other factors to consider with contracts

The upfront payments included in Type A and Type B contracts are often partially refundable after you leave the facility or pass away. Though, there fundable portion of the fee varies.

Taxes are another factor to consider.

For Type A and Type B contracts, part of the entrance fee may be eligible for a one-time tax deduction as a prepaid medical expense. A portion of the monthly fees may also be eligible for annual deductions if they’re considered a prepaid medical expense. (In both cases, deductions are only allowed if the costs are more than 7.5% of adjusted gross income.) Facilities typically provide residents with specifics on the portion of fees that may be deductible each year.

Finding the right fit

ACCRC can help seniors maintain a happy, healthy, and rewarding life. But it’s imperative to make sure the facility is not only a good fit for your needs, but financially strong before signing a contract.

The National Continuing Care Residents Association offers resources that include a Consumer Guide, a Handbook on CCRC Finance, and a Model Bill of Rights.

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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance

Amy C. Arnott, CFA is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar.

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Shohei Ohtani propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages.

Ohtani hit three mammoth homers and struck out 10 while pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.

"That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "There's been a lot of postseason games. And there's a reason why he's the greatest player on the planet."

The Dodgers will have a chance to become baseball's first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century after this mind-blowing night for the three-time MVP, who emphatically ended a quiet postseason by his lofty standards. Ohtani was selected the NLCS MVP essentially on the strength of this one unforgettable game.

"This time around it was my turn to be able to perform," he said through his interpreter.

After striking out three in the top of the first inning, Ohtani hit the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in major league history off Brewers starter Jose Quintana.

Ohtani followed with a 469-foot drive in the fourth, clearing a pavilion roof in right-center.

He added a third solo shot in the seventh, becoming the 12th big league player to hit three homers in a postseason game. His three homers traveled a combined 1,342 feet.

Ohtani also thoroughly dominated the Brewers in his second career postseason start on the mound, allowing just two hits during his first double-digit strikeout game in a Dodgers uniform. He didn't give up a hit until the fourth, and he fanned two Brewers in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

"Sometimes you've got to check yourself and touch him to make sure he's not just made of steel," said teammate Freddie Freeman, last season's World Series MVP. "Absolutely incredible. Biggest stage, and he goes out and does something like that. It'll probably be remembered as the Shohei Ohtani game."

After the Brewers' first two batters reached in the seventh, Ohtani left the mound to a stadium-shaking ovation and after Alex Vesia escaped the jam, Ohtani celebrated by hitting his third homer in the bottom half.

The powerhouse Dodgers are the first team to win back-to-back pennants since Philadelphia in 2009. Los Angeles is back in the World Series for the fifth time in nine seasons, and it will attempt to become baseball's first repeat champs since the New York Yankees won three straight World Series from 1998 to 2000.

"That was special," Freeman said. "We've just been playing really good baseball for a while now, and the inevitable kind of happened today Shohei. Oh my God. I'm still speechless."

Following a 9-1 rampage through the NL playoffs, the Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the 23rd time in franchise history, including 14 pennants since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Only the Yankees, last year's opponent, have made more appearances in the Fall Classic (41).

Los Angeles will have a week off before the World Series begins next Friday, either in Toronto or at Dodger Stadium against Seattle. The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 6-2 earlier Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, which continues Sunday at Rogers Centre.

The Dodgers had never swept an NLCS in 16 previous appearances, but they became only the fifth team to sweep this series while thoroughly dominating a Milwaukee club that led the major leagues with 97 wins during the season. Los Angeles is the first team to sweep a best-of-seven postseason series since 2022, and the first to sweep an NLCS since Washington in 2019.

"Before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball," Roberts shouted to the crowd during the on-field celebration. "Let's get four more wins and really ruin baseball!"

The NL Central champion Brewers were eliminated by the Dodgers for the third time during their current stretch of seven playoff appearances in eight years. Even after setting a franchise record for wins this season, Milwaukee is still waiting for its first World Series appearance since 1982.

"We were part of tonight an iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "I don't think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers."

The Brewers had never been swept in a playoff series longer than a best-of-three, but their bats fell silent in the NLCS against the Dodgers' brilliant starting rotation. Los Angeles' four starters combined to pitch 28 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed and 35 strikeouts.

"I really think that to beat us four games in a row, you've got to do a lot of things right," outfielder Blake Perkins said. "Some things had to go their way that didn't go our way. We hit a lot of balls at people. But either way, Ohtani did great today. Is he the greatest player ever? I don't know. But he sure seemed like it tonight."

The Dodgers added two more runs in the first after Ohtani's tone-setting homer, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith both singling and scoring.

Jackson Chourio doubled leading off the fourth for Milwaukee's first hit, but Ohtani stranded him.

Struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed two more baserunners in the eighth, and Caleb Durbin scored when Brice Turang beat out his potential double-play grounder before Anthony Banda ended the inning.

Roki Sasaki pitched the ninth in the latest successful relief outing for the Dodgers' unlikely rookie closer.