A Pontiac teen is facing charges of second-degree murder and other felonies in connection with the fatal shooting of a Warren teen earlier this month.
Kqualin Isaac Douglas, 19, turned himself in to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office on Monday and then arraigned in Pontiac’s 50th District Court on the murder charge as well as tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and using a gun in the commission of a felony — also known as felony firearm. Shot dead was 19-year-old Cornelius Traves Murphy Jr., whose body was discovered on Jan. 8 near a home in the 100 block of North Jessie Street; a caller had reported seeing a man lying in a field and not breathing, the sheriff’s office said.
Kqualin Douglas booking photo
Investigators said the shooting happened Jan. 7.
Murphy suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, the sheriff’s office said.
“I am proud of our team that began an investigation with nothing and through their diligence and professionalism were able to not only identify a suspect, but gather enough evidence that charges could be brought,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard stated in a news release. “We look forward to the justice system moving forward on this case on behalf of the victim, his family and the community.”
Douglas is held in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $300,000.
The U.S. workweek opened with yet more snow dumping on the Northeast under the tail end of a colossal winter storm that brought lingering misery to parts of the South, where freezing rain left hundreds of thousands shivering without electricity Monday. Authorities reported at least 18 weather-related deaths.
Deep snow over a foot extending in a 1,300-mile swath from Arkansas to New England halted traffic, canceled flights and triggered wide school closures Monday. Up to two feet (60 centimeters) were forecast in some of the harder-hit places.
There were more than 800,000 power outages in the nation on Monday morning, according to poweroutage.com. Most of them were in the South, where weekend blasts of freezing rain caused tree limbs and power lines to snap, inflicting crippling outages on northern Mississippi and parts of Tennessee.
Utility officials in New Albany, Mississippi, said some homes and businesses could be without electricity for at least a week. In nearby Oxford, where most residents and University of Mississippi students were without power Monday, Mayor Robyn Tannehill said on social media that so many trees, limbs and power lines had fallen that it looks like a tornado went down every street."
Apparently, the new status symbol in this town is having electricity, said Marshall Ramsey, a University of Mississippi journalism professor whose family was running a generator at their Oxford home Monday to power a space heater and keep phones charged.
A pair of burly, falling tree branches damaged real estate agent Tim Phillips' new garage, broke a window and cut off power to his home in Oxford. He said half of his neighbors had homes or vehicles damaged.
Its just one of those things that you try to prepare for, Phillips said, but this one was just unreal.
The U.S. had more than 6,400 flight delays and cancellations nationwide Monday, according to flight tracker flightaware.com.
More light to moderate snow was forecast in New England through Monday evening.
New York City saw its snowiest day in years, with 11 inches falling on Central Park. Main roads throughout the city were largely clear Monday morning, but pedestrians had to plod through snow on some sidewalks and multiple subway lines with above-ground tracks saw delays.
Bitter cold grips much of the nation
Meanwhile, bitter cold followed in the storm's wake. Many communities across the Midwest, South, and Northeast awakened Monday to subzero weather. The entire Lower 48 states were forecast to have their coldest average low temperature of minus 9.8 F since January 2014.
Record warmth in Florida was the only thing keeping that average from going even colder, said former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue, who calculates national averages based on National Weather Service data.
From Montana to the Florida Panhandle, the weather service posted cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings as temperatures in many places dipped to zero and even colder. Wind made conditions even chillier and the overnight cold made roads freeze over anew early Monday in a cruel reprise of the weekend's lousy travel weather.
In the Nashville, Tennessee, area, electricity was back for thousands of homes and businesses Monday while more than 170,000 others awoke bundled up in powerless homes after subfreezing temperatures overnight. Many hotels were sold out overnight to residents escaping dark and frigid homes.
It already was Mississippis worst ice storm since 1994 with its biggest-ever deployment of ice-melting chemicals 200,000 gallons plus salt and sand to treat icy roads, Gov. Tate Reeves said. In Corinth, Mississippi, heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar told employees to stay home Monday and Tuesday.
Storm leads to deaths in a number of states
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at least five people who died were found outside as temperatures plunged Saturday, though the cause of their deaths remained under investigation. Two men died of hypothermia related to the storm in Caddo Parish in Louisiana, according to the state health department.
In Massachusetts, police said a snowplow backed into a couple walking in a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority parking lot in Norwood on Sunday. A 51-year-old woman was killed and her 47-year-old husband was hospitalized.
Three people died in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday after shoveling or removing snow during the recent storm, the county coroners office said. They ranged in age from 60 to 84.
Two teenagers died in sledding accidents, a 17-year-old boy in Arkansas, and a 16-year-old girl in Texas, authorities said.
A 28-year-old teacher was found dead and covered in snow after leaving a bar in Emporia, Kansas, as temperatures dipped below zero, Emporia police said in a news release after using bloodhounds to find her body.
A man employed by a snow plow company died Sunday in Dayton, Ohio, after a plow backed over him while clearing a private lot, local police said.
Three weather-related deaths were announced in Tennessee, authorities said. Further details were not immediately available.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A lawyer for the immigration officer who shot and killed Renee Good dropped out of the Minnesota governor race Monday, breaking with many fellow Republicans and calling President Donald Trump’s immigration operation in the state an “unmitigated disaster.”
Madel went a step further than most Republicans in his video, saying that while he supports the goal of deporting “the worst of the worst” from Minnesota, he thinks the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities has gone too far.
“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” Madel said. “Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
Madel said that U.S. citizens, “particularly those of color, live in fear.”
“United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship,” Madel said. “That’s wrong.”
Madel said he personally had heard from local Asian and Hispanic law enforcement officers who had been pulled over by ICE.
“I have read about and I have spoken to help countless United States citizens who have been detained in Minnesota due to the color of their skin,” Madel said.
He also said it was unconstitutional and wrong for federal officers to “raid homes” using a civil warrant, rather than one issued by a judge.
Madel was among a large group of candidates seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who dropped his reelection bid earlier this month. Other Republican candidates include MyPillow founder and chief executive Mike Lindell, an election denier who is close to Trump; Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator who was the party’s 2022 gubernatorial candidate; and state Rep. Kristin Robbins.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has filed paperwork to run, but has yet to publicly launch a campaign to succeed Walz.
Madel, in his Monday video posted on the social platform X, described himself as a “pragmatist,” and said national Republicans “have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota.”
Madel did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.
Madel, 59, was a political newcomer making his first run for public office. He got into the race on Dec. 1.
Madel brought 30 years of experience as an attorney to the race, including cases taking on corporate corruption. Madel also defended law enforcement officers, including the 2024 case of a Minnesota state trooper who fatally shot a Black man after a traffic stop. Prosecutors dropped charges against Trooper Ryan Londregan in the killing of Ricky Cobb II, saying the case would have been difficult to prove.
Madel often referenced that victory in his brief campaign for governor, including in his video dropping out.
Republicans were expecting the race for governor to be focused on Walz, who at the time was seeking a third term amid questions about how his administration handled welfare fraud. But the race shifted dramatically on Jan. 5 when Walz dropped out.
That same week, the Trump administration sent thousands of federal officers to Minnesota. ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Good in Minneapolis two days later on Jan. 7.
Madel agreed to offer pro bono legal advice to Ross, although no criminal charges or civil lawsuits have been filed. Madel said he was honored to help Ross, particularly during a gubernatorial campaign.
The arctic weather that has been hitting Michigan and much of the Midwest has also led to a massive increase in Great Lakes ice coverage.
According to data from the NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the total Great Lakes ice coverage has more than doubled in less than a week.
Below is the percentage ice coverage for each of the Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair from Sunday, Jan. 25.
Lake Superior - 30.44% Lake Michigan - 31.25% Lake Huron - 51.61% Lake Erie - 92.15% Lake Ontario - 24.57% Lake St. Clair - 99.9% Great Lakes total - 41.29%
Looking back to a week earlier, on Jan. 18, these were the percentages:
Lake Superior - 7.05% Lake Michigan - 14.34% Lake Huron - 24.64% Lake Erie - 44.69% Lake Ontario - 4.19% Lake St. Clair - 93.84% Great Lakes total - 16.54%
The long-term average annual maximum ice cover for the Great Lakes is 52%
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department has cut its contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton, after a former contractor who worked for the firm was charged and subsequently imprisoned for leaking tax information to news outlets about thousands of the country’s wealthiest people, including President Donald Trump.
The latest move is in line with Trump administration efforts to exact retribution on perceived enemies of the president and his allies.
In 2024, former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington, D.C. — who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton — was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to leaking tax information about Trump and others to news outlets.
Littlejohn gave data to The New York Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020 in leaks that appeared to be “unparalleled in the IRS’s history,” prosecutors said.
In court documents, prosecutors said Littlejohn had applied to work as a contractor to get Trump’s tax returns and carefully figured out how to search and extract tax data to avoid triggering suspicions internally.
Treasury says the agency has 31 contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton totaling $4.8 million in annual spending and $21 million in total obligations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in statement that the firm “failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including the confidential taxpayer information it had access to through its contracts with the Internal Revenue Service.”
A representative from Booz Allen Hamilton was not immediately available for comment.
FILE – A sign is displayed outside the Internal Revenue Service building May 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
The Bloomfield Township Police Department is seeking the public’s help in identifying the thieves who recently stole eight tires from a business on Telegraph Road.
Police said the theft happened on Jan. 17 at around 6:45 a.m. at Detail Express, located at 1751 S. Telegraph Rd. Video surveillance shows two sets of tires, listed for sale, were stolen from the back of the property by two people who loaded them into the cab of a red Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that had driven through a gate onto the property, police said.
Police said the theft occurred at Detail Express on Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Township (Image from surveillance video shared by Bloomfield Township Police Dept.)
The truck left the property approximately three minutes after arriving, police said.
As an investigation continues, anyone who can identify the suspects or the truck’s owner, or has additional information on the incident, is asked to call the Bloomfield Township’s investigation unit at 248-433-7762.
Police say this truck was driven onto the property and the tires were loaded into the cab (Image from surveillance video shared by Bloomfield Township Police Dept.)
New legionella test results from county buildings show at least one has signs of the bacteria. But county officials note it is two fewer than the previous round of tests.
Results from 23 samples collected Jan. 13 and 14 at the county’s circuit courthouse, 1200 N. Telegraph Road in Pontiac, found traces of legionella in a men’s room in the clerk’s vital records office.
Legionella is a bacteria found in the ground and in some water systems. The bacteria can cause a type of pneumonia called Legionnaire’s disease or a less-severe lung infection called Pontiac fever. County health officials have emphasized that such infections are rare.
The county has been testing water systems since November after a custodian’s Legionnaire’s disease was traced to the sheriff’s administration building on the county’s Pontiac campus.
In April 2025 a man diagnosed with Legionnaire’s listed the county’s circuit courthouse among the places he visited. That man later died, according to Lisa Brown, county clerk and register of deeds. The man has not been identified by name; the county custodian’s condition has not been shared with the media.
In addition to follow-up testing, the county is following what county spokesman William Mullan called “rigorous preventive measures,” including regular flushing, water temperature monitoring and temperature adjustments.
The county installed 300 filters and reinstalled three that malfunctioned, he said. Earlier this month, Brown told the county commission’s health and safety committee that at least one of the malfunctioning filters sprayed a man using a sink.
County tests will continue through May in areas where legionella was initially detected.
Last week the county started its routine-testing program to meet standards set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These tests are at buildings where legionella has not been detected.
Routine tests in the east and west wings of the courthouse and the medical examiner’s office on the county’s Pontiac campus showed no signs of legionella in the Jan. 23 results. Twelve samples were collected in the courthouse and five were collected in the medical examiner’s office. Buildings with clean-water results do not have to be immediately retested, under CDC guidelines.
Routine tests at the county jail will start Tuesday, Jan. 27.
This 1978 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Legionella pneumophila bacteria which are responsible for causing the pneumonic disease Legionnaires' disease. (Francis Chandler/CDC via AP)
Gov. Tim Walz confirmed he received a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi outlining requests from the federal government to help bring back law and order to Minnesota.
The federal government has sent thousands of officers to Minnesota in what it describes as a crackdown on illegal immigration. Their presence has sparked protests and multiple shootings involving federal agents. Two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed in separate incidents while monitoring federal officers.
Bondi's letter asks the state to turn over records related to Medicaid and food and nutrition programs so the federal government can investigate fraud. Bondi also said Minnesota must end its sanctuary policies and work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to remove people from the country who are in state prisons or jails. A third request calls for the state to turn over voter rolls so the federal government can confirm that Minnesota is complying with federal election law.
"I think everybody understands what the last request was, totally unrelated to anything in the voter files," Walz said. "Donald Trump telling everybody that the election was rigged."
Walz called the requests unserious, saying the state is already investigating fraud, turns over undocumented immigrants who commit crimes and routinely works with federal officials on immigration enforcement.
In a blunt response, Walz said Bondi should address other issues in her purview.
I would just give her a pro tip to the attorney general There's 2 million documents in the Epstein files we're still waiting on. Go ahead and work on those.
Bondis letter hasnt just drawn attention in Minnesota. Officials in Oregon have also taken note, and its now been referenced in a lawsuit there where state leaders are trying to block the Department of Justices access to their voter rolls. A hearing on that issue is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
The first time Patrick Thaw saw his University of Michigan friends together since sophomore year ended was bittersweet. They were starting a new semester in Ann Arbor, while he was FaceTiming in from Singapore, stranded half a world away.
One day last June he was interviewing to renew his U.S. student visa, and the next his world was turned upside down by President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from 12 countries, including Thaw’s native Myanmar.
“If I knew it was going to go down this badly, I wouldn’t have left the United States,” he said of his decision to leave Michigan for a summer internship in Singapore.
The ban was one of several ways the Trump administration made life harder for international students during his first year back in the White House, including a pause in visa appointments and additional layers of vetting that contributed to a dip in foreign enrollment for first-time students. New students had to look elsewhere, but the hurdles made life particularly complicated for those like Thaw who were well into their U.S. college careers.
Universities have had to come up with increasingly flexible solutions, such as bringing back pandemic-era remote learning arrangements or offering admission to international campuses they partner with, said Sarah Spreitzer, assistant vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education.
In Thaw’s case, a Michigan administrator highlighted studying abroad as an option. As long as the travel ban was in place, a program in Australia seemed viable — at least initially.
In the meantime, Thaw didn’t have much to do in Singapore but wait. He made friends, but they were busy with school or jobs. After his internship ended, he killed time by checking email, talking walks and eating out.
“Mentally, I’m back in Ann Arbor,” the 21-year-old said. “But physically, I’m trapped in Singapore.”
He was at Michigan ‘to think and take risks’
When Thaw arrived in Ann Arbor in 2023, he threw himself into campus life. He immediately meshed with his dorm roommate’s group of friends, who had gone to high school together about an hour away. A neuroscience major, he also joined a biology fraternity and an Alzheimer’s research lab.
Students walk around the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Emily Elconin)
His curiosity pushed him to explore a wide range of courses, including a Jewish studies class. The professor, Cara Rock-Singer, said Thaw told her his interest stemmed from reading the works of Philip Roth.
“I really work to make it a place where everyone feels not only comfortable, but invested in contributing,” Rock-Singer said. “But Patrick did not need nudging. He was always there to think and take risks.”
When Thaw landed his clinical research internship at a Singapore medical school, it felt like just another step toward success.
He heard speculation that the Trump administration might impose travel restrictions, but it was barely an afterthought — something he said he even joked about with friends before departing.
Thaw’s U.S. college dream had been a lifetime in the making but was undone — at least for now — by one trip abroad. Stuck in Singapore, he couldn’t sleep and his mind fixated on one question: “Why did you even come here?”
As a child, Thaw set his sights on attending an American university. That desire became more urgent as higher education opportunities dwindled after a civil war broke out in Myanmar.
For a time, tensions were so high that Thaw and his mother took shifts watching to make sure the bamboo in their front yard didn’t erupt in flames from Molotov cocktails. Once, he was late for an algebra exam because a bomb exploded in front of his house, he said.
So when he was accepted to the University of Michigan after applying to colleges “around the clock,” Thaw was elated.
“The moment I landed in the United States, like, set foot, I was like, this is it,” Thaw said. “This is where I begin my new life.”
Michigan Stadium at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Emily Elconin)
When Thaw talked about life in Myanmar, it often led to deep conversations, said Allison Voto, one of his friends. He was one of the first people she met whose background was very different from hers, which made her “more understanding of the world,” she said.
During the 2024-25 school year, the U.S. hosted nearly 1.2 million international students. As of summer 2024, more than 1,400 people from Myanmar had American student visas, making it one of the top-represented countries among those hit by the travel ban.
A last-ditch effort to stay enrolled
A Michigan official said the school recognizes the challenges facing some international students and is committed to ensuring they have all the support and options it can provide. The university declined to comment specifically on Thaw’s situation.
While the study abroad program in Australia sparked some hope that Thaw could stay enrolled at Michigan, uncertainty around the travel ban and visa obstacles ultimately led him to decide against it.
He had left Myanmar to get an education and it was time to finish what he started, which meant moving on.
“I cannot just wait for the travel ban to just end and get lifted and go back, because that’s going to be an indefinite amount of time,” he said.
A flag blows in the wind atop the Michigan Union on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Emily Elconin)
He started applying to colleges outside the U.S., getting back acceptance letters from schools in Australia and Canada. He is holding out hope of attending the University of Toronto, which would put his friends in Ann Arbor just a four-hour drive from visiting him.
“If he comes anywhere near me, basically on the continent of North America, I’m going to go see him,” said Voto, whose friendship with Thaw lately is defined by daylong gaps in their text conversations. “I mean, he’s Patrick, you know? That’s absolutely worth it.”
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Students walk out of South Quad on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Mich., Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Emily Elconin)
A coalition of current and former Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) employees is calling on Congress to freeze funding for federal immigration enforcement operations after what they describe as the "execution" of a Veterans Affairs nurse who was protesting the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
In a public letter released Monday, the group Save HHS said its members were deeply shaken by the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti who was fatally shot on Saturday while being apprehended by federal officers.
The letter accuses the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of creating a growing public health crisis through acts of violence, alleging that DHS agents are "murdering, assaulting, and terrorizing people who call this country home."
The employees urged lawmakers to block this weeks must-pass appropriations bills from funding ICE and CBP unless the agencies:
Immediately halt the invasion of American cities, submit to independent investigations, and adopt new protocols that do not violate the Constitution.
The Senate is expected to vote within days on a package combining funding for DHS, HHS, and other federal agencies. If Congress does not pass the legislation by Jan. 30, many HHS workers could face unpaid furloughs.
Despite that risk, the letters authors argue ICE and CBP present a greater threat to the health of our nation than the lapse of HHS services, citing widespread fear among immigrant and U.S. citizen communities alike. According to the statement, families are avoiding medical care, skipping school, and going without food out of concern for deportation or assault when immigration authorities are present.
We urge you to act in the best interest of the American people, the letter concludes, noting that it was submitted in our personal capacities, on our personal time, and without the use of government resources, as protected by the First Amendment.
By Melissa Nann Burke, Beth LeBlanc, Craig Mauger and Grant Schwab, The Detroit News
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit was among the House Democrats last week who voted to advance resolutions to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress in relation to the congressional probe of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s serial sexual abuse.
Tlaib was among nine Democrats on the Republican-led House Oversight Committee to vote to advance the contempt measure against Bill Clinton. Tlaib was among three Democrats — along with Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico — who voted to advance the contempt resolution for Hillary Clinton.
The rare contempt of Congress proceedings set up a potential vote by the full House in early February if the committee leadership doesn’t strike a deal with the Clintons before then.
The Clintons have not been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein or his sexual abuse of dozens of teenage girls.
But several Democrats on the panel like Tlaib stressed the need for transparency in the Epstein matter, as they also blasted the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to meet the deadline imposed by Congress to publicly release all its case files on Epstein.
“We should hold anybody connected to Epstein in contempt who will not give us information. The survivors deserve transparency and justice,” Tlaib wrote on social media after the vote.
In committee, Tlaib noted her meeting with Epstein survivors, including one who said she saw a photo of Clinton with his arms around Epstein when she first went to his house.
“It’s not just one president but now two that have been connected to the Epstein sex trafficking,” said Tlaib, whose 12th congressional district includes the Oakland County communities of Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Franklin, Lathrup Village, Southfield and Southfield Township.
“I didn’t need to see the photos by the chairman today of Clinton. All I needed to do was hear the survivors tell us, ‘Please do something,’” Tlaib added. “These are people that have impacted their lives forever, but I just don’t understand Mr. Chair ― and this is with all due respect ― I just don’t get why (Attorney General Pam) Bondi cannot be held in contempt?”
The Associated Press reported that the Clintons contend the subpoenas are invalid because they do not serve any legislative purpose, and have offered the committee written declarations about their interactions with Epstein.
A spokesman for the Clintons, Angel Ureña, said on social media that the couple is trying to aid the Epstein investigation, but that “both Clintons have been out of office for over a decade. Neither had anything to do with him for more than 20 years.”
“No witness, not a former president or a private citizen, may willfully defy a congressional subpoena without consequence,” Kentucky U.S. Rep. James Comer, the House Oversight panel chairman, said during the proceeding on Wednesday.
“But that is what the Clintons did, and that is why we are here.”
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Office of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib)
USA TODAY Co., the current owner of the Detroit Free Press, has plans to buy The Detroit News.
In a press release Monday, USA TODAY Co., formerly known as Gannett, announced it has agreed to a binding letter of intent with MediaNews Group to acquire The Detroit News.
The acquisition of The Detroit News will be a strategic investment that strengthens the USA TODAY Networks audience and its portfolio of more than 200 local publications nationwide and reinforces our commitment to local journalism in the Detroit metropolitan area, said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of USA TODAY Co., in a statement. Welcoming The Detroit News
fully to our network will enable the continued delivery of trusted, high-quality news and content to our audiences and advertisers in the region.
According USA TODAY Co., the plan is to have the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News continue to publish separately.
Related Story: Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News JOA to end, papers announce Detroit Free Press and Detroit News joint operating agreement to end, papers announce
The news comes just over a month after the dissolution of a joint operating agreement between the papers, which started in 1989. The agreement allowed for both papers to combine advertising, printing and distribution services.
We are pleased to reach this agreement with USA TODAY Co. now that the Joint Operations Agreement has expired after decades of successful operations, said Guy Gilmore, COO MediaNews Group in a statement. Both companies have a mutual desire to ensure that these publications and their distinct journalism continue to serve the greater Detroit area.
Leaders of law enforcement organizations expressed alarm Sunday over the latest deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis while use-of-force experts criticized the Trump administration’s justification of the killing, saying bystander footage contradicted its narrative of what prompted it.
The federal government also faced criticism over the lack of a civil rights inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department and its efforts to block Minnesota authorities from conducting their own review of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.
In a bid to ease tensions, the International Association of Chiefs of Police called on the White House to convene discussions “as soon as practicable” among federal, state and local law enforcement.
“Every police chief in the country is watching Minneapolis very carefully,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy organization. “If a police chief had three officer-involved shootings in three weeks, they would be stepping back and asking, ‘What does our training look like? What does our policy look like?’”
Pretti’s death came on the heels of the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good and another incident a week later in Minneapolis when a federal officer shot a man in the leg after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while attempting to arrest a Venezuelan who was in the country illegally.
“We’re dealing with a federal agency here,” Wexler said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security, “but its actions can have a ripple effect across the entire country.”
Experts say video of shooting undermines federal claims
While questions remained about the latest confrontation, use-of-force experts told The Associated Press that bystander video undermined federal authorities’ claim that Pretti “approached” a group of lawmen with a firearm and that a Border Patrol officer opened fire “defensively.” There has been no evidence made public, they said, that supports a claim by Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino that Pretti, who had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, intended to “massacre law enforcement.”
“It’s very baked into the culture of American policing to not criticize other law enforcement agencies,” said Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and use-of-force expert who testified for prosecutors in the trial of the Minneapolis officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
“But behind the scenes, there is nothing but professional scorn for the way that DHS is handling the aftermath of these incidents,” Stoughton said.
Several government officials had essentially convicted Pretti on social media before the crime scene had been processed.
Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller generated outrage by describing Pretti as “a would-be assassin” in a post, while a top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, drew the ire of the National Rifle Association for posting that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.”
“In a country that has more guns than people, the mere possession of a weapon does not establish an imminent threat to officers — and neither does having a weapon and approaching officers,” Stoughton said. “I don’t think there’s any evidence to confirm the official narrative at all. It’s not unlawful for someone to carry a weapon in Minnesota.”
Minnesota official says state investigators blocked from shooting scene
In the hours after Pretti’s shooting, Minnesota authorities obtained a search warrant granting them access to the shooting scene. Drew Evans, superintendent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said his team was blocked from the scene.
Minnesota authorities also received an emergency court order from a federal judge barring officials “from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers.”
Bovino sounded a less strident tone at a Sunday news conference, calling Pretti’s shooting a “tragedy that was preventable” even as he urged people not to “interfere, obstruct, delay or assault law enforcement.” He refused to comment on what he called the “freeze-frame concept,” referring to videos circulating on social media that raise doubts about the dangers Pretti posed to officers.
“That, folks, is why we have something called an investigation,” Bovino said. “I wasn’t there wrestling him myself. So I’m not going to speculate. I’m going to wait for that investigation.”
Policing experts said the irregularities in the federal response went beyond the government’s immediate defense. Before Pretti’s parents had even been notified of his death, DHS posted a photograph on X of a 9mm Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun seized during the scuffle, portraying the weapon as justification for the killing.
“The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID,” the post said. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage.”
However, the photo showed only one loaded magazine lying next to the pistol, which had apparently been emptied and displayed on the seat of a vehicle. Minnesota state officials said that, by removing the weapon from the scene, Border Patrol officers likely mishandled key evidence.
Videos show Pretti holding a cellphone
None of the half-dozen bystander videos shows Pretti brandishing his gun. Rather, the videos showed Pretti’s hands were only holding his mobile phone as a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire.
In videos of the scuffle, “gun, gun” is heard, and an officer appears to pull a handgun from Pretti’s waist area and begins moving away. As that happens, a first shot is fired by a Border Patrol officer. There’s a slight pause, and then the same officer fires several more times into Pretti’s back.
Several use-of-force experts said that unenhanced video clips alone would neither exonerate nor support prosecution of the officers, underscoring the need for a thorough investigation. A key piece of evidence will likely be the video from the phone Pretti was holding when he was killed. Federal officials have not yet released that footage or shared it with state investigators.
“The evaluation of the reasonableness of this shooting will entirely depend on when the pistol became visible and how, if at all, it was being displayed or used,” said Charles “Joe” Key, a former police lieutenant and longtime use-of-force expert.
Ian Adams, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, described the federal government’s response as “amateur hour.”
“Jumping to the end result of this investigation, or what’s supposed to be an investigation, is somewhat embarrassing for policing professionals nationwide,” Adams said. “It’s clear that professionals in policing are observing what’s going on and not liking what they’re seeing.”
Associated Press reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed reporting Des Moines, Iowa.
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in response to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier in the day Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)
USA TODAY Co., owner of the Detroit Free Press, will acquire The Detroit News and continue to publish it separately, it announced Monday.
The company said it has agreed to a binding letter of intent to acquire The News from MediaNews Group, a transaction it expects to complete by month’s end. Terms of the deal will not be disclosed, the announcement said.
USA TODAY Co. noted it is acquiring the three-time reigning Michigan Newspaper of the Year for journalistic excellence, as honored by the Michigan Press Association. The News is a leading source of digital news and one of the top regional digital news sources in the nation.
“Welcoming The Detroit News fully to our network will enable the continued delivery of trusted, high-quality news and content to our audiences and advertisers in the region,” CEO Mike Reed said in a statement. The acquisition “reinforces our commitment to local journalism in the Detroit metropolitan area.”
It’s the latest twist in ownership for the Detroit dailies, which on Dec. 28 concluded a 36-year joint operating agreement. In that partnership, business operations of The News and Free Press were merged under management of USA TODAY Co., while the newsrooms competed against each other under separate ownership.
As the companies worked to untether those business operations, The News announced on Dec. 26 that it planned to start a separate Sunday paper beginning Jan. 18. It abruptly delayed those plans on Jan. 9.
Formerly known as Gannett Co., USA TODAY Co. did not immediately disclose its plans for The News, except to say, “The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News will continue to publish separately.”
“We are pleased to reach this agreement with USA TODAY Co. now that the joint operations agreement has expired after decades of successful operations,” said Guy Gilmore, COO of MediaNews Group, in a statement. “Both companies have a mutual desire to ensure that these publications and their distinct journalism continue to serve the greater Detroit area.”
USA TODAY Co. was prohibited from certain acquisitions and increased indebtedness without the consent of its lenders, it said in its 2025 annual report.
On Monday, it said it would finance the purchase of The News in part with cash and also with funds managed by Apollo Global Management, its primary lender. It did not disclose a price.
“Apollo continues to be a great partner of USA TODAY Co.,” Reed’s statement said. “Their commitment enables us to fund this strategic acquisition.”
It is rare for the two major dailies in a metro area to be owned by one parent company, but it is not unprecedented. Cox Enterprises purchased the Atlanta Journal in 1939 and purchased the Atlanta Constitution in 1950. They continued to publish separately until they merged as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001.
Similar deals have prompted scrutiny from the Department of Justice, such as when The News and Free Press first announced their joint operating agreement in 1986; it was contested in courts until 1989, when the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked over an attempt to block it.
The sale to USA TODAY Co. marks a return for The News to its former corporate parent.
Founded in 1873 by James E. Scripps as The Evening News, The News marked several firsts in the 113 years before its sale to Gannett in 1986.
The News founded WWJ-AM (950), broadcasting for the first time in August 1920 from the second floor of The News building.
A pioneer in aerial photography, The News purchased a gyrocopter with a swiveling camera to better cover news events in 1931. It was later donated to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, where it remains on display.
In 1942, News photographer Milton Brooks won the inaugural Pulitzer Prize for photography for his 1941 photograph of Ford Motor Co. strikers being beaten. The News has won three Pulitzers, recognized as the highest honor in journalism.
The News debuted broadcast television in Michigan in 1947, founding WDIV-TV (Channel 4).
By its 100th anniversary, The News had achieved the largest evening circulation of any newspaper in the country. With readers moving toward morning newspapers, The News launched a morning edition in 1976.
In July 1995, The News launched detnews.com, becoming among the first newspapers to distribute content on the internet. It now has nearly 3 million users every month.
After 113 years of independent ownership, the Scripps family sold The News and its array of other newspapers and broadcast stations to Gannett for $717 million, instantly making The News the largest local paper in the Gannett chain.
Almost immediately thereafter, the owners of The News and Free Press filed to create the joint operating agreement, declaring that the Free Press was in imminent danger of failing. When finally approved, it became the largest such agreement in the United States.
In 2005, with Free Press owner Knight-Ridder under increasing pressure, Gannett purchased the Free Press and sold The News to MediaNews Group for $25 million. The two companies entered the 20-year business partnership that ended in December.
Detroit News has bee purchased by the USA Today Co., owner of the Detroit Free Press. Terms of the sale were not made public. (Detroit News)
The cases against an Oakland County woman and her son, accused of murdering the son’s former teenage girlfriend, are bound over to Wayne County’s 3rd Judicial Circuit Court for possible trial.
At the conclusion of a recent preliminary exam in Inkster’s 22nd District Court, the judge advanced the cases against Charla Pendergrass, 49, of Clawson and Jalen Pendergrass, 24, of Inkster — each charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of London Thomas, 17, last year.
The body of the Detroit teen was found stuffed inside a container in an SUV parked in Southfield.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, London’s mother had reported her missing on April 6, 2025 because she didn’t return home after being dropped off the day before at Jalen Pendergrass’s house. London had been in a relationship with Jalen Pendergrass, but it allegedly ended at the time she arrived at his house, the prosecutor’s office stated.
Three weeks after London was dropped off at Jalen Pendergrass’s house, a male friend of Charla Pendergrass told Inkster police she had asked him to transport a sealed plastic bin to an SUV parked on Millard Street in Southfield, which he did, the prosecutor’s office stated. The contents were reportedly unknown to him.
Michigan State Police, along with the FBI and the Detroit Police Department, conducted a search at the Millard Street address and found London’s remains inside the bin, the prosecutor’s office stated.
Charla Pendergrass and Jalen Pendergrass are held in the Wayne County Jail. Arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 30.
Under Michigan law, students must have a minimum of 1,098 hours of instruction each year. However, schools in Michigan are allowed six snow days, or days where schools are closed due to conditions not within control of the school.
Those days may be counted toward the days and hours of pupil instruction requirements.
A federal judge is weighing whether to grant a temporary restraining order that would halt a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents operating in Minnesota.
During a hearing, attorneys for the state asked U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino Menendez to immediately block what the administration calls Operation Metro Surge.
The lawsuit argues the expanded federal immigration enforcement presence is causing widespread harm and may violate the 10th Amendment, which reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states or the people.
The state told the judge that since the lawsuit was filed, following the shooting of Renee Good, another person, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed by federal agents.
Minnesotas attorney said the operation is leading people to forgo medical care. In one jurisdiction, the attorney said, learning has essentially stopped because families and students are afraid.
The state also cited economic impacts, with restaurants, businesses and events closing or altering operations. One person compared the disruption to the COVID-19 pandemic, the attorney said.
Judge Menendez questioned whether the federal governments actions violate the 10th Amendment and whether the court has the authority to intervene.
Justice Department attorneys, for their part, said the surge is not intended to enforce federal law. They argued the operation is tied to Minneapolis status as a sanctuary city.
Judge Menendez asked whether the surge would end if local governments complied with federal demands. DOJ attorneys did not say definitively what would happen next.
The hearing ended without an immediate ruling. Judge Menendez said the issue is a priority for the court.
If I had a burner, this would be on the front burner, she said.
It’s an old saying in the cycling community: “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.” Detroiter and nationally known cycling advocate Mark “Marco” Speeks is on a mission to prove there’s truth in the adage, as he bikes year-round, including frigid Michigan winters. It’s both a personal lifestyle and model for empowerment in his […]
One man was pronounced dead after being pulled from a house fire on Detroit's east side, the spokesperson for the city's fire department tells us.
DFD responded to the call of a house fire just before 5:20 a.m. at a home the 40 block of W Parkway. We're told that crews were able to knock the fire down and found the man on the first floor.
The spokesperson said the man was transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead when he arrived at Detroit Receiving Hospital.
We're told that no one else was in the home at the time of the fire, and no firefighters were hurt in the rescue.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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