WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must give migrants sent to an El Salvador prison a chance to challenge their removals.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg said that people who were sent to the prison in March under an 18th-century wartime law haven’t been able to formally contest the removals or allegations that they are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He ordered the administration to work toward giving them a way to file those challenges.

The ruling is the latest milestone in a monthslong legal saga over the fate of deportees imprisoned at El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center.

There’s no way around it: All-Pro center Frank Ragnow’s retirement is a significant blow to the Detroit Lions.

Ragnow, a first-round draft pick in 2018 who racked up accolades in the middle of Detroit’s vaunted offensive line, is irreplaceable. He’s among the best centers of this generation, and his early exit at 29 years old leaves a massive hole at one of the NFL’s most important positions.

But the Lions, eyeing their first Super Bowl in 2025, have no time to feel bad for themselves. Replacement plans have presumably already begun inside the mind of head coach Dan Campbell, and there are some in-house options that make sense. Graham Glasgow’s 40 career starts at center make him a logical first thought.

Another idea, however, is to have second-round rookie Tate Ratledge move inside. Ratledge, a former Georgia standout, is a natural right guard, with all 34 of his collegiate starts coming in that role. During rookie minicamp and offseason team activities (OTAs), though, he’s been getting first-team reps at center.

What will it take for Ratledge to fully make the transition and grab hold of Detroit’s vacant center spot? The Detroit News spoke to Cole Cubelic, a former starting center in the SEC who now offers analysis for ESPN and on his radio show (The Cube Show), to find out.

“First off, the operation of it is unique,” said Cubelic, who played at Auburn (1996-01) and has been covering the SEC for more than a decade, overlapping with Ratledge’s five-year run at Georgia (2020-24). “It’s different if you haven’t done it. … But with proper repetition, you can get to where it is second nature more so than you can a lot of other things, even in football or other sports. It’s never gonna be just natural, but you can simplify it with repetition.”

Cubelic, a respected voice when discussing trench play, tabbed physicality as one of Ratledge’s defining traits as an offensive lineman. He also mentioned Ratledge’s “natural strength,” which “most offensive lineman are going to have to have, but his is definitely above average.”

Ratledge’s mean streak and rugged style is beneficial — there’s a reason general manager Brad Holmes compared him to 2024 sixth-rounder Christian Mahogany, who Holmes complimentary referred to as a “dirtbag” — but that aggression is something Ratledge will have to learn to turn on and off at center, Cubelic said.

Guards often don’t have to communicate heavily when at the line of scrimmage. Centers, meanwhile, are in charge identifying the defensive front, noting where pressure may be coming from and disseminating that information in a conscience manner to the quarterback and fellow linemen.

All the while, the play clock is ticking, and fans are making it difficult to hear.

“There has to be a calming factor, specifically at that position pre-snap, because you have to distribute a lot of information. … You have to see things, you have to react to things and there needs to be an understanding of processing that quickly and then sharing that quickly,” Cubelic said. “All that can be difficult. …

“You’re worried about you a lot of the times (at guard). Well, at center, very rarely can you get away worrying about yourself. You’ve got to make sure that four other guys are on the same page; you’re going to have to make sure that you and your quarterback are on the same page. … Getting to the line of scrimmage, processing those things, seeing those things, understanding how to share that information quickly and in a way that everyone understands and can absorb it and then utilize it, that’s not easy.”

Becoming adept at center — both as a communicator and as a blocker — takes time, but that’s why the Lions have Ratledge working at the position so early in the offseason. The team knows he can play guard, so now they’re letting take his lumps at center.

At best, he could be Ragnow’s replacement. At worst, he can serve as depth behind whoever ends up at center.

“He definitely needs some time there (at center) training. It’s going to become natural for him,” offensive line coach Hank Fraley said last month. “I thought what he did in rookie minicamp was pretty good, for handling that. Our centers, like across the whole league, they do a lot. They have a lot on their plates. They’re like quarterbacks of that O-line. They set a lot of the protections, a lot of the calls, and they work one-on-one with the QB.

“In time, he’s going to get it down and become a pretty good center here.”

By Max Reinhart, The Detroit News

An Oak Park man was recently struck and killed while crossing a street in Ohio, police said.

Jamil Osman, 32, was walking in the 200 block of North Coy Road, near Ice Castle Drive in the city of Oregon, a suburb located just east of Toledo, at about 11:23 p.m. on May 31, Oregon police said in a press release.

He attempted to cross the street and was struck by a Toyota traveling south on Coy.

Osman was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day, authorities said.

The driver of the vehicle, Caleb Sims, 31, of Toledo, was not impaired and was wearing his seatbelt when he struck Osman, police said. As of Tuesday, he had not been charged in the crash.

Police have not released any further information and said the incident remains under investigation.

A series of new economic analyses released Wednesday, several conducted by the federal government using official data sources, point to slowing economic growth and increased consumer prices brought on by President Donald Trumps trade war.

Despite such indicators, however, the White House has shown no sign of backing down on Trumps trade agenda, moving forward with plans to double the tariff rate on imports of foreign steel and aluminum and pushing ahead on bilateral trade negotiations with countries around the world.

In a statement to Scripps News, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai dismissed concerns about poor economic indicators, arguing Trump administration policies ushered in historic job, wage, investment, and economic growth in his first term, and theyre laying the groundwork the repeat the success in his second term.

Taken together, however, the new data contradict months of White House messaging suggesting foreign producers and not American consumers would bear the brunt of tariff costs, and raise fears of an economic downturn brought on by global trade imbalances.

Over the summer, I think you're only going to continue to see these soft data numbers turn into hard data, and only going to see some more slowing in the economy, said Alex Jacquez, who worked on economic policy in the Obama and Biden administrations and now directs policy and advocacy work for the progressive Groundwork Collaborative think tank.

The president began the day on Wednesday, reiterating his call for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, highlighting a new report from payroll processing firm ADP that showed U.S. employers added just 37,000 jobs in May the lowest private-sector job growth in over two years. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had estimated much stronger growth of 110,000 jobs in May.

Then came new research from Liberty Street Economics, a blog run by economists with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, that found a majority of businesses in that jurisdiction passed along at least some of the added costs of tariffs onto consumers. Relyaing on data from a survey conducted during early May when the 145% tariffs on Chinese imports was still in effect the economists found a significant share of businesses also raised prices on goods not impacted by tariffs, suggesting firms were using Americans' widespread awareness of tariff-related economic uncertainty to justify price hikes across the board.

The Feds monthly Beige Book released later Wednesday pulling together data from all 12 of its districts echoed such trends.

All Districts reported elevated levels of economic and policy uncertainty, which have led to hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions, Fed officials wrote, adding that higher tariff rates were putting upward pressure on costs and prices.

Also on Wednesday afternoon, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its first analysis of the impact of Trumps tariffs on the U.S. economy more broadly, projecting a slight slowing of GDP growth and an increase in consumer prices brought on by Trumps tariffs. Federal government deficits would decline substantially due to the added revenues tariffs bring in, the CBO projected, but increased prices would drive up inflation by nearly 1% by 2026.

White House officials declined to comment on such findings, suggesting instead that reporters should take CBOs tariff revenue estimate of $2.8 trillion at face value, which together show a $500 billion deficit reduction over 10 years.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, trade negotiations conversations between U.S. and foreign officials continue, with mixed success.

Following President Trumps late-May threat to levy a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met Wednesday with European counterparts in Paris for what was described as a very constructive conversation that indicates a willingness by the EU to work with us to find a concrete way forward to achieve reciprocal trade.

We are advancing in the right direction at pace, echoed European Union trade commissioner Maro efovi following the meetings. I believe we can achieve positive result, efovi added, But we are also ready to defend our interests and do the utmost to rebalance our trade relationship.

Yet, progress towards a trade agreement with China, with which the U.S. maintains the largest trade deficit, remains elusive.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted last week that trade conversations with his Chinese counterparts were a bit stalled. Meanwhile, Beijings official readout of Tuesdays first meeting between U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue and Chinese Foreign Minister pointed to continued friction between the nations.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has introduced a series of negative measures for groundless reasons, infringing upon China's legitimate rights and interests, the Chinese statement read, suggesting the nation firmly opposes such actions.

Though senior White House officials said Monday that Trump would connect with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, no call had yet been scheduled as of Wednesday afternoon.

I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!! Trump wrote on Truth Social early Wednesday morning.

Michigan's nearly 400 breweries are bracing for potential price increases as new tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect.

"It's been a little bit hard for breweries in general and one more bit of pressure is not really welcome," Scott Graham said.

Graham is the executive director at the Michigan Brewers Guild, which represents about 250 brewers across the state. He notes that the now-50% tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration stand to add more financial strain to beer companies that are already dealing with higher costs for labor, barley and other materials.

Watch our interview with Scott Graham below: Full interview: Michigan Brewers Guild executive director breaks down tariff impacts on breweries

"It really is probably going to add to their costs," Graham said. "A brewery can't just pass every cost on. It kind of has to think of what the price of its beer is to the consumer and how much they can pass on."

With consumers changing their habits in the last year and many families eating out less, Graham says brewers could face stiffer competition if they're forced to raise prices.

Related video: Tariffs on steel and aluminum double President Trump's steel and aluminum tariff goes into effect

When asked about hopes for the brewing industry moving forward, Graham said, "I similarly like to be optimistic and I'm hoping that deals get worked out and negotiated and things settle down. One of the worst parts of this is hearing news and not knowing what's going to happen and being uncertain. Businesses don't like uncertainty."

Graham says it's unclear how long it might take before consumers see impacts on shelf prices on their favorite craft beers if the new tariffs continue as implemented.

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.

While Corey Rosser’s students may have struggled with the traditional format of schooling, at Quest High School, he’s pushing them to new limits.

By Craig Mauger, The Detroit News

A state lawmaker argued Tuesday against ongoing efforts to cap class sizes in Michigan elementary schools, saying classes of 30, 40 or even 50 students had worked successfully in the 1920s to produce the Greatest Generation.

The term Greatest Generation generally refers to Americans who were born from 1901 to 1927 and who lived through the Great Depression. Many of them also fought in World War II.

State Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, cited the generation — individuals who were in elementary school a century ago and 50 years before personal computers became broadly accessible — during an occasionally heated House Oversight Committee hearing about the future of education in Michigan and the state’s declining reading scores.

In a presentation at the meeting, Michael Rice, Michigan’s superintendent of public instruction, asked lawmakers to fund a plan to lower class sizes in high-poverty elementary schools.

An April investigation by The Detroit News found that, unlike most other states, Michigan has no policy aimed at capping class sizes or tying funding to smaller class sizes in elementary schools. The newspaper documented 206 elementary classes, ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade, across 49 schools over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 years that had at least 30 students in them.

Among them was a kindergarten class at Bennett Elementary, where the Detroit Public Schools Community District said 30 students were enrolled.

“(In) 1920, you know, the classroom sizes were 30, 40, 50 kids. That produced the Greatest Generation,” Schriver said.

As the Michigan Legislature continues to craft a funding plan for schools for next year, Schriver said his solution to large class sizes in traditional public schools was to establish a voucher program so parents could spend state tax dollars on homeschool programs.

“That will reduce the amount of individuals in public education,” Schriver said.

There’s no clear evidence that strategy would lead to smaller class sizes. It would likely lead to less funding flowing to Michigan school districts because the state ties funding to every student enrolled and that could impair districts’ ability to keep the staffing levels necessary to offer small classes.

Asked five times after the meeting if he supported having class sizes of 50 students in Michigan elementary schools or if he would be OK with class sizes of 50 students, Schriver didn’t answer with a yes or no but said he was opposed to a mandate capping class sizes.

“I’m drawing a correlation between 1920, when we had zero of these requests,” Schriver said. “We were spending money on zero of these things that they’re coming in here and they’re requesting. And that produced the Greatest Generation.”

‘Whatever is best for the kids’

As a reporter was interviewing Schriver on Tuesday in a hallway of the state Capitol, state Rep. Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy, walked up to him and said in 1930, only about 30% of people graduated from high school. Federal data showed that in 1920, about 16% of people over the age of 25 had completed high school.

“Forty to 50 kids in a classroom, it didn’t work,” MacDonell told Schriver. “It was a disaster.”

“Most people didn’t go to college,” Schriver replied of the 1920s.

“They didn’t go to high school either,” MacDonell fired back.

“Yeah, and it produced the Greatest Generation,” Schriver said.

Asked if he was attributing the Greatest Generation to the large class sizes, Schriver said he was connecting the generation to “many factors.” When asked whether he was OK with class sizes of 50 students in elementary schools in his Oakland County district, Schriver said there should be no mandate on the topic.

“It should be whatever is best for the kids,” Schriver said.

The lawmaker didn’t explain what that meant.

At least 31 of the 50 states have laws about class sizes, tie funding to small classes, or set goals for their schools to attempt to meet and against which to be accountable; Michigan currently doesn’t. As an example, Tennessee state law includes both average class size benchmarks for school buildings and maximum class size limits for individual classes.

In May, Michigan’s State Board of Education approved a resolution calling for limits on class sizes to be put in place by the 2030-31 school year, including a cap of 20 students per class for kindergarten through third grade.

Mitchell Robinson, a Democratic member of the State Board of Education, authored the resolution and said action on class sizes was overdue.

“Smaller class sizes are going to be a better learning situation for kids and a better teaching situation for teachers,” said Robinson of Okemos, a former music teacher.

‘Get back to the fundamentals’

After Tuesday’s hearing in the state House, Schriver told a reporter that state Rep. Brad Paquette, a Republican and former teacher from Niles, had led a class of 50 students and the reporter should ask Paquette “how awesome” it was.

Paquette said the 50-student class he was involved with was a high school class and included a team teaching strategy.

In the traditional model of teaching — one teacher in front of a single class of students — Paquette said having 50 students in an elementary school class would not be ideal.

Tuesday’s hearing was supposed to focus on the “current state of Michigan’s public education,” according to the agenda. However, it also showcased the partisan divisions that have dominated the debate around the topic.

Michigan ranked 44th among the 50 states in the average reading score of fourth graders, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress results. And during her State of the State address in February, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said just 24% of Michigan fourth graders were able to read proficiently.

House Oversight Chairman Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Township, said the state’s education system was “failing” students.

Pamela Pugh, a Democrat and the president of the State Board of Education, responded that policymakers were failing children and that funding increases for K-12 schools had not kept pace with inflation.

After the hearing, state Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, and a former teacher, said the meeting amounted to “an attack on public education.” Having 50 students in an elementary school class would be unmanageable, he said.

“That sounds like chaos,” said Wegela.

State Rep. Jason Woolford, R-Howell, contended that Michigan schools needed to get back to teaching the “fundamentals” of English, math, history and what he described as “morality.”

“I’ve traveled and taught in 13 different countries, places like Africa, where there’s no educational budget, there’s no diversity program, no anti-(President Donald) Trump resolutions,” Woolford said. “Yet, they’re increasing in their reading.”

The State Board of Education approved a resolution in March against executive orders by Trump that the Democratic-controlled board said “pose direct threats to children, public education and fundamental civil rights.”

While literacy rates appear to be increasing in some countries in Africa, which is a continent, the countries’ rates appear to be lower than the current rate in the United States, according to data from international organizations.

Woolford also said, “I think we’ve got to just let our kids be kids and get back to the fundamentals that made this country great, invented the car and electricity and other things.”

Asked what Woolford was talking about when he referenced the discovery of electricity, Paquette said one of the problems is that everyone discusses education, but no one defines what the word means to them.

“I think there are a lot of people that are grasping at straws because what they want to do is they want to better a system,” Paquette said. “And that’s a noble cause.”

A federal judge issued an order Wednesday to prevent the deportation of the wife and five children of an Egyptian man charged in the firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado.

U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted a request from the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman to halt deportation proceedings of his wife and five children who were taken into federal custody Tuesday by U.S. immigration officials.

The family members have not been charged in the attack on a group demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Soliman faces federal hate crime charges and state charges of attempted murder in the Sunday attack in downtown Boulder.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Wednesday that they are being processed for removal proceedings. Its rare that family members of a person accused of a crime are detained and threatened with deportation.

RELATED STORY | Suspect in Boulder attack on pro-Israel demonstration charged with hate crime

Solimans wife, 18-year-old daughter, two minor sons and two minor daughters all are Egyptian citizens, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it, Noem said in a statement.

Noem also said federal authorities will immediately crack down on people who overstay their visas in response to the Boulder attack.

Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his planned attack, according to court documents that, at times, spelled his name as Mohammed.

Earlier Wednesday, authorities raised the number of victims in the attack from 12 to 15, plus a dog.

Boulder County officials who provided the update said in a news release that the victims include eight women and seven men ranging in age from 25 to 88. The Associated Press on Wednesday sent an email to prosecutors seeking more details on the newly identified victims and the dog.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, had planned to kill all of the roughly 20 participants in Sundays demonstration at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling Free Palestine, police said. Soliman, an Egyptian man who federal authorities say has been living in the U.S. illegally, didnt carry out his full plan because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before, police wrote in an affidavit.

According to an FBI affidavit, Soliman told police he was driven by a desire to kill all Zionist people a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Authorities said he expressed no remorse about the attack.

RELATED STORY | Most horrific thing Ive ever seen: Witness describes attack on pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder

A vigil is scheduled for Wednesday evening at the local Jewish community center.

Defendant's immigration status

Soliman was born in el-Motamedia, an Egyptian farming village in the Nile Delta province of Gharbia, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Cairo, according to an Egyptian security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media.

Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, Soliman spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents.

Soliman arrived in the U.S. in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. She said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that has also expired.

Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas each year in the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security reports.

The case against Soliman

Soliman told authorities that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting for his daughter to graduate before carrying it out, the affidavit said.

A newspaper in Colorado Springs that profiled one of Solimans children in April noted the familys journey from Egypt to Kuwait and then to the U.S. It said after initially struggling in school, his daughter landed academic honors and volunteered at a local hospital.

Soliman has been charged with a federal hate crime as well as attempted murder counts at the state level, but authorities say additional charges could come. He's being held in a county jail on a $10 million cash bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in state court on Thursday.

His attorney, Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after a state court hearing Monday. Public defenders policy prohibits speaking to the media.

Witnesses and police have said Soliman set himself on fire as he hurled the second incendiary device. Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. Although they did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear.

The attack unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. It happened at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled Free Palestine was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington.

Six victims hospitalized

The victims ranged in age from 25 to 88, and were members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives who were holding their weekly demonstration.

No new details were released Wednesday about three victims who were sent to the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.

They have requested privacy to heal, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said in an email.

One of the victims was a child when her family fled the Nazis during the Holocaust, said Ginger Delgado of the Arapahoe County Sheriffs Office. Delgado is acting as a spokesperson for the family of the woman, who doesn't want her name used.

By Breana Noble and Owen McCarthy, The Detroit News

Consumers’ hunger for new vehicles persisted in May, but affordability concerns could cool sales in June as dealerships start running short on cars and SUVs delivered ahead of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs.

In May, Ford’s U.S. sales increased 16% year-over-year while Hyundai’s grew 8% and Kia’s rose 5%. Subaru and Mazda Motor Corp., however, reported declines of 10% and 19%, respectively. General Motors and Stellantis will report second-quarter sales next month.

Spring typically marks a surge in vehicle sales, as tax returns hit bank accounts and the weather warms up. But consumer sentiment has plunged to some of its lowest levels in decades amid frequently changing rules on tariffs, and concerns that new vehicle prices could climb later this year. It has led some consumers to purchase vehicles sooner than they had planned.

S&P Global Mobility forecasted May sales up 2% compared to a year ago, but predicted sales were slowing to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.7 million vehicles, down from 17.6 million from March to April.

“Consumer confidence is down, but the sales are not,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director of research and analysis at S&P’s AutoIntelligence. “It doesn’t usually work that way.”

With inventories down and non-tariffed models moving off lots, the “affordability bullet has not come through yet. There’s a little bit of wait-and-see for what automakers really do,” Brinley added, noting June could start revealing the direction companies choose to take.

Some have given consumers confidence that they can wait a bit. Ford, through the July 4 weekend, is offering its customers thousands of dollars per vehicle in discounts typically reserved for its employees. In early May, however, it did increase prices by up to $2,000 forf its Mexico-built vehicles because of tariffs.

Stellantis — the parent of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and other brands — is offering a similar employee discount program, which it has been extended through June. Volkswagen has said it will hold to its current manufacturer’s suggested retail prices through June. GM CEO Mary Barra has said the automaker doesn’t expect major price increases.

But vehicle imports are expected to slow, which will mean less availability and price increases, said Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox Automotive Inc.

“As more tariffed products replace existing inventory over the summer,” he said, in a May forecast, “prices are expected to be pushed higher, leading to slower sales in the coming months.”

Some dealers are already noticing wariness. “I haven’t seen people this cautious since before, or during, the early stages of COVID,” said Jim Walen, the owner of Stellantis and Hyundai showrooms in Seattle.

The ports in Seattle look “empty,” he said. Layoffs by Microsoft in the state of Washington haven’t helped business either. Stellantis’ employee discount program, however, is a boon: “Anytime you can affect the transaction price, it’s a good thing.”

Meanwhile, some dealers are planning to pull back over revenue concerns, Walen said, but he’s taking a different approach: “We’re very aggressive. We stock a lot, we’re part of the community, we advertise a lot.”

While some May sales are occurring over tariff concerns, other shoppers are dropping out of the market altogether, said Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto information website Edmunds.com. It may still be too early to determine if the circumstances will affect vehicle segments as some customers hold off rather than get a vehicle without certain features.

There are also differing views on tariffs, how they work and the impact they will have, Drury added: “Not everybody’s on the same page.”

But there are trends. More consumers bought out their leases in May than in April, rather than leasing again. That could be a sign customers are seeking to limit increases to their monthly payments, but it also means they’re stepping out of the market, Drury said.

He added that while inventory is declining there’s still too much stock — more than 2.5 million vehicles are on dealer lots — to see substantial price increases.

“The last time when we had people really get hit with price increases, where it took them back, was when we were down to 1 million units,” Drury said. “And that’s where you start to see that crossover between consumers getting a deal versus consumers just dealing and saying, ‘OK, fine, I’ll pay MSRP. I’ll pay above.’”

The share of electric vehicles in the market was forecasted to continue slipping. EV’s accounted for about 7% of sales in March and April, and S&P Global Mobility predicts it would be 6.8% in May. Ford EV sales in May were down by a quarter, driven by decreases in the F-150 Lightning pickup and Transit commercial van.

Trump has pulled federal funding for EV charging infrastructure and directed his administration to reevaluate greenhouse gas tailpipe emission regulations and incentives that could be construed as an “EV mandate.” The U.S. Senate last month also removed a waiver that enabled California and a contingent of states to enforce stricter zero-emission requirements on passenger vehicle sales. The result is an uncertain policy environment around EVs.

“They’ve been trending a little bit down the whole year,” Brinley said. “It may be some people looking for an EV in January bought, expecting the incentives to go away, but they’re not afraid of that anymore.”

Rhett Ricart, who has eight new-vehicle stores for Ford and Chevrolet to Nissan and Mitsubishi in and near Columbus, Ohio, said tariffs and policy changes are on the minds of EV buyers, but he otherwise describes sales as normal.

“A possible tariff scare … doesn’t seem to exist,” Ricart said, adding about expectations that Trump or the judicial system will offer some clarity on import taxes. “For any jitteriness, we will hopefully find out if the tariffs stick soon.”

Shortly after the Hazel Park school board formally reinstated Superintendent Amy Kruppe, President Beverly Hinton explained why she was put on administrative leave in January for violation of board policies.

At a May 27 special meeting, Hinton read a statement on “how it all started” and Kruppe’s attorney, Heidi Sharp, immediately rebuked the allegations.

“We are shocked and disappointed that Ms. Hinton would make such a public statement insinuating that the district had financial troubles which were the fault of Dr. Kruppe following the four-month long investigation which cleared Dr. Kruppe of any wrongdoing regarding the district’s finances,” Sharp said in a statement. “Ms. Hinton knows that the investigation absolved Dr. Kruppe of any of these allegations or claimed ‘lack of financial oversight’ because as she admitted, as the Board President, she has been privy to the entire investigation report.”

UHY Professional Services, a national firm with offices in Detroit, was paid $55,000 by the district last summer to conduct an audit.  Hinton said the fee rose to $130,000 due to poor financial record keeping and explained the impact it would later have.

“UHY was scheduled to begin the audit in September, but the audit was delayed five times because the business office had not prepared the required work,” said Hinton. “This resulted in missing the required audit due date of November 1. The audit officially began Oct. 21, 2024 and completed in February 2025.”

Sharp said the district’s business manager at the time, Jason Zirnis, explained to the board in both June and August 2024 that the audit would be submitted late due to Plante Moran resigning as district auditor earlier in the year and Zirnis leaving his position.

Hinton said the delay led to the district having to take out a $12 million loan to cover payroll and operating expenses because state aid could not be distributed to the district until the audit was complete. She said $8 million has been repaid, with $4 million and the remaining interest due this August.

Sharp said those numbers were incorrect.

“$8.9 million (has been) repaid as of Feb. 19,” she said. “This included $97,900 in interest. Currently $3.1 million in principal remains to be repaid. This includes $120,000 interest expense.”

She added, “This loan is a common practice in the district, with loans obtained by the district from 2015-2023 while awaiting state funds.”

Hinton said the final audit revealed Hazel Park had overspent by $6 million, claiming it dropped their fund balance from 11% to 1%. Since the fund balance was below the state mandated 5%, the district was put on a Michigan Treasury watchlist and is now required to submit monthly financial reports to the state. Hinton did not say what the parameters were to be taken off of the watchlist.

“During the February (budget) amendment after the audit the fund balance was projected to be $1.39 million as of June 2025,” said Sharp. “Thereafter at the next amendment provided to the board in April the fund balance was projected at $1.43 million.”

She added, “Revenue that should have been received by September 2024 was not and would be actualized in the 2024-2025 budget. Meaning the funds are not missing but being reported in subsequent years.”

“The cumulative financial mismanagement led to over $755,000 in additional unplanned expenses ….. largely stemming from improperly maintained financial records,” said Hinton. “And that’s why it all began, because the books were not in order and it cost us $755,000 of money for students because everything was in disarray.”

At the opening of the meeting, a board vote to immediately reinstate Kruppe was approved 4-3. Secretary Darrin Fox and Trustees April Beato, Nathon Becker and Monica Ratte voted in favor. Hinton, Treasurer Heidi Fortress, Vice President Deborah LaFramboise voted against.

The Oakland Press has requested final report on Kruppe and the audit submitted in February.

Sharp said Kruppe is looking forward to putting this chapter behind her.

Millions watched on television in horror on April 15, 2019, as plumes of fire shot up from the Notre-Dame de Paris, one of the world’s oldest and most celebrated cathedrals. At first, the devastation seemed nearly total, with much of the roof and the iconic spire lost to flames. But, today, more than five years later, visitors once more pour into its sanctuary, eager to see how the $1 billion restoration work has progressed.

I was lucky enough to visit on Easter Sunday 2025, a day filled with masses and special events. Thousands of families — tourists and locals alike — stood patiently in hours-long lines to get inside, to attend a mass or just have a chance to see the remarkable restoration.

The interior of the cathedral reopened to the public on Dec.8, although much restoration work still remains to be done. Giant cranes still hang over the building, but thousands of people a day line up to see the rebuilt interior.

Larger than a football field, the inside of the cathedral now glows with oatmeal-colored walls and cavernous vaulted ceilings, after the controversial decision to wash them with a latex solution, obscuring the old soot and candle smoke of the centuries. If you’re used to seeing gray, grimey walls in ancient buildings, you may be startled to walk in and see the light-filled interior.

The French government, which owns Notre-Dame, made the decision in 2019 to rebuild the cathedral as it was before the fire, and vowed to do it within five years — a deadline that was only exceeded by a few months. There have been some changes, including a modern bronze main altar, baptismal font and lectern. Some people would have preferred a more traditional style, but the new style is not jarring.

Fortunately for posterity, the cathedral’s three magnificent medieval rose windows, created in the 13th century, were saved from the inferno. The sanctuary is covered with stained glass, thanks to an architectural innovation of the time. The so-called flying buttresses pulled the weight of the roof outside the structure, meaning that the interior walls could be opened up for spectacular displays of leaded and stained glass. The ancient 8,000-pipe organ was also saved and restored, removing toxic dust that had settled there from the collapsed lead roof.

You could spend hours looking around at all the details, but I like to attend a service when I visit remarkable churches. That’s when they show their true selves, including the faith of the worshippers. If you can go to a high mass, also known as a Gregorian mass, you’ll see the worship at its finest.

No ancient European cathedral is complete without its holy relics, which are venerated by the faithful as sacred artifacts from various saints and the life of Jesus.

Notre-Dame offers its believers the following: The remnants of the “holy crown of thorns,” which Biblical accounts say was placed mockingly on Jesus’ head by Roman soldiers while he was being crucified.  Also, a piece of the cross used for the crucifixion, and a nail from the cross.

The relics were rescued from the 2019 fire in dramatic fashion, involving a chain of police and firefighters, and moved temporarily to the Louvre. They were recently returned to Notre- Dame with pomp and ceremony, to be displayed in a newly built reliquary. At this writing, the public can see them on the first Friday of every month.

One thing that surprised me on my visit: Even though the cathedral was absolutely jammed with people, it was relatively quiet.

Visitors couldn’t help gasping when they entered and got their first looks, but otherwise seemed more solemn and respectful than is often the case.

Hopefully, they appreciated the five years of slavishly devoted work by some 2,000 sculptors, engineers, art restorers, stonemasons, carpenters, roofers, iron workers to bring this church back to life. And it still continues today.

Timeline of Notre-Dame de Paris:

• 1163: The cathedral was built between 1163 and 1260, in French Gothic style.
• 1789: During the French Revolution, many statues and decorative elements of the cathedral were destroyed and it was at one time used as a warehouse. The 28 statues of saints were beheaded, mistaken for French kings, and some of the bells were removed and melted down.
• 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor of France with the pope in attendance in Notre-Dame, and portions of the cathedral were restored. But the property continued to decay, and there was talk of demolishing it.
• 1831: “ The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by Victor Hugo is published and becomes a massive best-seller, sparking a campaign to restore the cathedral.
• 1844: King Luis Phillippe orders that the cathedral be restored. A grander spire than the one destroyed during the French Revolution is constructed.
• 1991: For the 800th anniversary of the cathedral, a 10-year-long restoration project repaired decorative elements that had fallen off, gargoyles, turrets, and sculptures. The stone exterior was also cleaned of centuries of pollution.
• 2019: On April 15, a fire broke out in the attic and spread across the roof and spire before firefighters were alerted. They prioritized saving the two towers, because their heavy bells could have destroyed the interior if they fell. But 750 tons of debris. including toxic lead dust, fell into the sanctuary from the roof and spire.
• 2021: Two years of cleaning up from the fire and shoring up the structure meant that reconstruction could finally begin. Because the church is owned by the French government, the decision was to rebuild it as it was before.
• 2024: The new roof is completed in March. In September, eight massive tower bells returned after cleaning, with three new bells added later. In December the church’s doors were symbolically reopened and the pipe organ’s 8,000 pipes could be heard for the first time since being covered with toxic dust, as the public ws allowed inside for the first ceremonies and masses.
• 2025: Construction continues on the massive project, hoped to be completed by 2027.

• 

Things to know:

• English language website: notredamedeparis.fr/en/
• Address: Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, 6 Parvis Notre-Dame, Place Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris
• The cathedral is open and free to visit, 7:50 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays (until 10 p.m. on Thursdays); 8:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.
• The famous “crown of thorns” is only on display intermittently, check the website.
• Due to gruelingly long lines, it’s highly advisable to make an advance timed reservation at the above website. They can be made two days to several hours in advance. You don’t need to reserve to attend a mass; arrive 20 minutes early and find the special line. Here’s the mass schedule: notredamedeparis.fr/en/pray/services-masses/
• If you’re disabled, talk directly to the staff at the far left of the cathedral for special entry.
• Here’s the schedule of sacred music concerts (must buy tickets) billetterie-musiquesacree.mapado.com/en

The Education Department is pressuring Columbia Universitys accreditor to take action against the Ivy League school over findings that it failed to protect Jewish students from harassment.

The department on Wednesday told the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that Columbia should face action because it has been found in violation of antidiscrimination laws.

Accreditors work on behalf of the federal government to decide which colleges can accept federal financial aid. Without an accreditors seal of approval, Columbia could no longer accept students federal grants or loans.

Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

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The announcement says the accreditor must take action against Columbia if it doesnt come into compliance.

The Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services determined on May 22 that Columbia violated federal law by acting with deliberate indifference toward the harassment of Jewish students.

Columbia and its accreditor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Could warning labels on your favorite ultra-processed foods help improve your health or just add confusion? The Food and Drug Administration is weighing bold new labels that could change how we shop for food, but would they actually help make Americans healthier? 

These warning labels are part of a proposed FDA plan to put simple, easy-to-see nutrition information right on the front of packaged foods. The goal is to give shoppers quick, clear guidance. Theyd show whether a product has high, medium or low levels of added sugar, saturated fat or sodium.

So, why put them right on the front? Well, ultra-processed foods like chips, snack bars, cereal, frozen pizza and many other popular prepared foods often contain high amounts of these ingredients.

These are foods that you cant really make in your home kitchen. Why? Because theyre created using industrial techniques that chemically or physically change the food. They also have things added like artificial colors, flavors and preservatives to make them last longer and make your taste buds want more.

Now, heres the problem: research has linked eating too much sugar, salt and unhealthy fats to obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disorders and even depression and anxiety.

Right now, many Americans are eating more of these ingredients than they should, often without realizing it.

Some countries are using warning labels albeit different from what the FDA is proposing. Results have been mixed. In Chile, warning labels led people to buy fewer foods high in sugar, salt and fat, but they didnt stop obesity rates from rising. Nor did the labels affect rising diabetes rates in Mexico. And in Brazil, warning labels didnt really change how people shopped or how healthy they thought a product was.

So, while warning labels might help raise awareness, they dont seem to spark big behavior changes on their own. Thats likely because food choices are influenced by many factors like price, habits, culture and, of course, marketing.

I think wed see similar patterns here. Labels wont be a magic fix, but they could help, especially if theyre part of a bigger effort that includes nutrition education, smarter food policies and better access to fresh, whole foods.

One hopeful outcome is that manufacturers start changing their recipes to avoid getting a warning label. That could lead to more healthy options over time.

In the meantime, we really need to keep educating people to choose healthy, nutrient-dense foods and go easy on the junk food.

A 34-year-old West Bloomfield mother is facing a criminal charge for allegedly leaving a loaded gun in her child’s backpack which was brought into a Royal Oak daycare center.

Karen Reid is charged with reckless use of a firearm — a misdemeanor — for the alleged May 14 incident.

According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, Reid handed the daycare employee the backpack when she dropped off her 3-year-old at the childcare facility.

It was supposed to have the child’s snack in it, but when the employee opened the backpack the loaded handgun was found. It’s alleged Reid put the gun in the backpack to carry it to and from her car but failed to remove it before dropping off her child.

“I’m grateful this is a story about a misdemeanor charge instead of a tragedy,” Prosecutor Karen McDonald stated in a news release. “A loaded gun needs to be secured. Failing to do so around small children is absolutely reckless. The employee who found the gun should be commended for quickly securing it and contacting police.”

The charge is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. It can also result in suspension of hunting privileges for up to three years.

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A graphic designer testified Wednesday that she was so traumatized after Sean "Diddy" Combs held her over a 17th-floor apartment balcony that she sometimes screamed in her sleep afterward.

Bryana 'Bana' Bongolan, 33, a friend of Combs' former longtime girlfriend Cassie, said the 2016 assault at Cassie's Los Angeles apartment caused a bruise on the back of her leg, along with back and neck pain. It also left her emotionally scarred, she told the jury.

"I have night terrors and paranoia and I would scream in my sleep sometimes," said Bongolan, a creative and marketing director who runs her own art agency.

Her testimony came in the fourth week of evidence presentation by prosecutors as they seek to prove that Combs oversaw a racketeering organization composed of his employees and associates as he physically and sexually abused women for two decades.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and other charges that, if convicted, could send him to prison for 15 years to life.

Bongolan is the latest woman to testify that the hip-hop mogul acted violently toward her and Casandra "Cassie" Ventura, who already testified for four days about the abuse she incurred. Other witnesses described seeing him physically abusing women.

Cassie testified that she saw Combs bring one of her friends back over the railing of a balcony at her apartment in the early morning.

Cassie said she was asleep in her room when she awoke to the episode.

"I saw him bring her back over the railing of the balcony and then throw her onto the patio furniture," Cassie testified.

When Bongolan recalled the attack, she said Combs barged into Cassie's apartment, lifted her up and put her on the rail. She said she feared that she would plummet to her death as she pushed back against Combs.

"I was scared to fall," she said. Combs was yelling at her throughout the ordeal, Bongolan said, estimating he held her over the railing for 10 to 15 seconds.

She said Combs then threw her onto balcony furniture. Adrenaline helped her power through the ordeal, Bongolan said. She recalled getting up immediately after being thrown down.

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Bongolan said Cassie, who was sleeping in the bedroom, then came out and asked Combs: "Did you just hang her over the balcony?" Told that Bongolan's ex-girlfriend was also in the apartment, Combs swiftly left, Bongolan said.

Bongolan said she has lasting effects from Combs assaulting her.

"I have nightmares and I have a lot of paranoia and I used to scream a lot in my sleep, but it's dissipated a little bit," she testified.

Part of her paranoia, she said, includes opening doors carefully and peeking into rooms before going inside, and she added that she had a nightmare as recently as a few days ago.

Bongolan said Combs gave her drugs on three or four occasions, including ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and G, a substance she understood was the depressant GHB.

She said she also did drugs about once a week with Cassie when Combs wasn't around.

Bongolan, testifying in response to a subpoena from prosecutors, was granted immunity after she initially said she would refuse to answer questions and invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. She was at least the third witness given immunity to testify.

PREVIOUS TRIAL COVERAGE:

Sean 'Diddy' Combs feared footage of him beating his girlfriend would ruin his career, witness saysSean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-aide says she was 'brainwashed' when she sent loving texts after alleged rapeSean 'Diddy' Combs' former assistant says the job gave her severe PTSD, preventing her from working Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former assistant says fear of being killed kept her from reporting alleged rapes Former stylist says Cassie's outfits needed approval from Sean 'Diddy' Combs Ex-assistant tells of cleaning up booze, drugs and baby oil after Sean 'Diddy' Combs sex marathons Kid Cudi expected to testify in Sean 'Diddy' Combs federal criminal trial 'I can't get out:' Witnesses say Sean 'Diddy' Combs controlled every part of Cassie's life Cassie's husband Alex Fine releases statement as her testimony in Combs trial concludes Cassie's testimony against Sean 'Diddy' Combs ends after days of detailing abuse Diddy's lawyers paint his 'freak offs' as a swinger lifestyle fueled by mutual drug use with Cassie Cassie claims 'Diddy' told her he wanted to blow up Kid Cudi's car in second day of trial testimony Baby oil, Glade candles, prostitutes: Cassie details 'freak offs' in Diddy's sex trafficking trial Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial opens with graphic testimony

Will Nicole Scherzinger, sizzling in “Sunset Blvd.,” beat out Audra McDonald, who made Rose a metaphor for the tragic human condition? Could Jonathan Groff, a knockout Bobby Darin, win back-to-back kudos?  Might Sadie Sink of “John Proctor Is the Villain” be sunk by the wild-eyed Laura Donnelly of “The Hills of California” or the ever-savvy Mia Farrow of “The Roommate,” even though all three women played equally terrifying characters?

These and many other questions will be answered on Sunday at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, where host Cynthia Erivo will present the 78th annual Tony Awards (beginning at 7 p.m. June 8 and broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+). The ceremony will be the climax of the 2024-25 Broadway season and the reason that several struggling musicals (“Real Women Have Curves,” “Boop! The Musical”) are hanging in there, hoping for a life-saving boost.

Tony Award voters are casting their ballots. Let’s look at who should be ascending to the dais in the traditional ebullient panic, holding back tears and staring into the camera to tell all the envious theater kids at home how you, too, can have all this if you only fight off the naysayers and follow your dreams!

Right. Down to it.

Best musical

This one will be, and rightly should be, a runaway victory for “Maybe Happy Ending,” a delightfully unnerving musical that most everyone on Broadway underestimated because it was an original love story between two retired South Korean “helperbots.” To my mind, Will Aronson and Hue Park’s quirky, charming little tuner succeeds mostly because of one small but pivotal idea: the notion that a robot’s battery life can be a proxy for human mortality. Oliver and Claire fall in love as their percentages drop. Thus, the show manages to simultaneously tap into the fear we all have of an imminent robotic takeover (oh, it’s coming) while avoiding the problem of making a dystopian musical. By making the robots as vulnerable as us, they forged a charming romantic comedy performed by Helen J. Shen (robbed of an acting nomination) and Darren Criss (who dove deep into robotland).

The competition? Nothing credible. “Buena Vista Social Club” is a very good time, musically speaking, but has a predictably formulaic book. The inventive “Death Becomes Her” works just fine as a campy frolic but it relies much on its source movie. And “Operation Mincemeat” is the most jolly of pastiches, rib-tickling fun all the way. Only “Dead Outlaw” represents truly credible competition and deserves to siphon off some votes. But at the end of the day, it’s a musical about a corpse.

Should win: “Maybe Happy Ending”

Will win: “Maybe Happy Ending”

Best play

There were two excellent, Tony-worthy new plays in this Broadway season: Jez Butterworth’s “The Hills of California,” set in the British working-class resort of Blackpool, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose,” both a high-style dissection of the dysfunctional family of the civil rights icon Jesse Jackson and a moving exploration of what it’s like to be an introverted kid in a high-pressure family.

“Purpose,” which is still running and more relevant to most Tony voters, is likely to win. But Butterworth’s play forged a complex dramaturgical structure and explored deeply empathetic characters. Its central point? To explore how and why childhood trauma impacts our adulthoods.  Butterworth has been writing plays a lot longer than Jacobs-Jenkins and his experience shows; I wanted the perfectly crafted “Hills” to never end.

Writer Kimberly Belflower’s very lively “John Proctor Is the Villain” might sneak in there, but I think that audiences at this drama about high schoolers studying “The Crucible” are responding more to a brilliant production than to the play itself, which is at the end of the day a melodrama that relies on someone else’s intellectual property. No shame there, but not the equal of the competition and, with much respect, nor is the very smart and potent “English,” a show about ESL students that also leads to an inexorable conclusion matching the playwright’s point of view.

Should win: Either “The Hills of California” or “Purpose”

Will win: “Purpose”

Best musical revival

This category will hinge on how many voters embrace Jamie Lloyd’s cleverly branded deconstruction of “Sunset Blvd.” over George C. Wolfe’s more nuanced approach to “Gypsy.” In many ways, the two leading candidates represent a kind of yin and yang of musical revival.  “Sunset Blvd.” is showy and radical and replaced the gilded excess of the original production with an excess of concept, deceptively minimalist but only on the surface. Wolfe’s “Gypsy” aimed to excise the show of Patti LuPone-like drama. McDonald, who brought her classically trained voice to Rose, saw her antiheroine more as an everywoman and the production responded accordingly, as if Wolfe were trying to say that “Gypsy” was the American tragic musical that few previously understood.

I see the arguments against “Sunset Blvd.” but in the end, Lloyd’s staging was just so audaciously thrilling that it overcame them for me. As a director, he’s obsessed with film, but then this is a musical about a movie star, so if ever there was a show that could stand such a metaphoric obsession, then here it was.  And although this may seem counterintuitive, I thought “Gypsy” missed the chance to stage this title with far more Black actors, allowing it to serve as a metaphor for the condition of Black entertainers in early 20th century America. It almost went there, but not quite.

Should win: “Sunset Blvd.”

Will win: “Gypsy”

Best play revival

This was not a stellar season for play revivals. “Romeo + Juliet,” a pretentious and wildly uneven misfire, did not even remotely deserve its Tony nomination and, bracing moments notwithstanding, “Our Town” was uneven and derivative of David Cromer’s prior revival. “Eureka Day,” a piece about pretentious pre-school parents and teachers, was an effective satire but hardly surprising. That leaves David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face,” an autobiographical piece about Hwang himself and a “Miss Saigon” casting scandal. “Yellow Face” has knocked around the American regions for years. But this was a truly excellent piece of new direction from Leigh Silverman and for the first time, the play transcended its inside-baseball orientation and had much to say about America and race.

Should win: “Yellow Face”

Will win: “Yellow Face”

Best leading actress in a musical

Team Nicole Scherzinger or Team Audra McDonald?

Both deconstructed iconic characters (Norma Desmond and Madam Rose) using every ounce of their mutually formidable craft. With all due respect to McDonald, I’m Team Nicole because her work was the more radical of the two performances in rescuing Norma from bathetic senility and giving her back her sexuality, and because McDonald’s tragic approach to Rose inevitably de-emphasized her chutzpah and self-aware vivacity which is much of why “Gypsy” is “Gypsy.”  Still, no shame in being on the other team.

It would feel strange for either Megan Hilty or Jennifer Simard to win for “Death Becomes Her” at the expense of the other and I suspect Tony voters will feel the same way. But let’s add some props for Jasmine Amy Rogers, truly a perfect Betty Boop who managed to turn a vampish cartoon figure into a complex and vulnerable heroine.

Should win: Nicole Scherzinger

Will win: Nicole Scherzinger

Best leading actor in a musical

If you judge a performance by pizzazz, charm and growing star power, Jonathan Groff is your winner for his dazzling take on Bobby Darin in “Just in Time.”  If immersion inside a character is your choice, you are choosing between Darren Criss for “Maybe Happy Ending” and Andrew Durand in “Dead Outlaw.” I thought Durand was just astonishing as the titular outlaw, whose corpse takes on an all-American trajectory of its own. Aside from the technical demands of playing a dead dude, Durand also nailed a guy with zero access to his own feelings. In other words, what he didn’t do was probably as important as what he did. I preferred that to Jeremy Jordan in “Floyd Collins”, but I may be in a minority. And Tom Francis, who sings his way through Midtown eight times a week in “Sunset Blvd.,” will have deserved support.

Should win: Jonathan Groff, “Just in Time”

Will win: Jeremy Jordan, “Floyd Collins”

Best leading actress in a play

Mia Farrow has acted only rarely in the past decade but her empathetic performance as a vegan, pot-growing Iowan in “The Roommate” was a reminder of her astonishing ability to fuse what actors think of as externals and internals — her work felt deeply authentic but savvy observers also noted the sophistication of her comic technique and dramatic timing.

Alas for Farrow, this is an extraordinary category and by far the most competitive at this year’s Tony Awards. Take Sarah Snook, whose work in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” had not a single syllable out of place on the night I saw the show, notwithstanding the huge technical demands of a video-filled production that co-starred numerous versions of her recorded self. She’s one of the world’s great performers.

Then there was the less-famous Laura Donnelly, who played a mother and (later) her adult daughter in “The Hills of California,” all in service of the writer’s point that we all eventually have to live the way we were raised. So distinct were these two characters that some punters in my row clearly did not know they were watching the same actress they’d seen in a different role just a few minutes before. Donnelly was at once empathetic and Medea-like in her intensity. We were supposed to be scared of both of Donnelly’s characters and I swear I could not tell you which terrified me the most.

Sadie Sink also has a lot of fans and that was indeed a savvy turn in “John Proctor.” But this competition is between Snook and Donnelly and it was a hard choice for me. Donnelly haunts me the most.

Should win: Laura Donnelly, “The Hills of California”

Will win: Sarah Snook, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Best leading actor in play

George Clooney is on the list of nominees and I hardly need to recount his formidable talents, but he was fundamentally filmic in “Good Night, and Good Luck,” rather than truly translating his subtle version of Edward R. Murrow to a stage the size of the Winter Garden Theatre.

So, with an additional nod of admiration to the delightfully quirky Louis McCartney, who managed to survive all of the crashes and bangs of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” I preferred Jon Michael Hill, playing a young man born into a famous and famously dysfunctional Black political family even though he just wanted to take photographs and stay as far away as possible from his father and his actions. Hill was the most rooted actor in a stellar Steppenwolf Theatre production of “Purpose.”

But I suspect Cole Escola, the star of “Oh, Mary!,” a silly but strikingly effective satire of Mary Todd Lincoln and her bearded spouse, who will take the prize. No complaints here. Escola hardly was subtle with a guileless, all-in performance that has been packing the house. It’s a one of a kind show and that’s its greatest selling point. But Escola also offers a clever commentary on present-day America, fueled by fun, freedom and frustration.

Should win: Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!”

Will win: Cole Escola, “Oh, Mary!”

What the Tony nominations got right — and wrong

Best direction of a musical

David Cromer’s work on “Dead Outlaw” was typically detailed and worthy and Christopher Gattelli wrangled “Death Becomes Her” with witty aplomb, but “Maybe Happy Ending” was an eye popping career-high for Michael Arden, who created the most romantic of dreamscapes and yet also insisted that the audience look precisely and only where the director wanted its eyes to be.

Should win: Michael Arden, “Maybe Happy Ending”

Will win: Michael Arden, “Maybe Happy Ending”

Best direction of a play

Speaking of career highs, Danya Taymor convinced her youthful cast in “John Proctor Is the Villain” that the stakes in this high school English class were a matter of life and death. Taymor has to compete with Kip Williams, who employed multiple screens and videographers in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for what was more conceptual authorship than direction, and with Sam Mendes, whose mastery of the exquisite ensemble cast of “The Hills of California” was formidable. Mendes has won many kudos; most Tony voters will want to reward Taymor, a rising talent. Fair enough.

Should win: Sam Mendes, “The Hills of California”

Will win: Danya Taymor, “John Proctor Is the Villain”

Last, here are my picks for the remaining acting categories.

Best featured actress in a play

Should win: Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day”

Will win: Jessica Hecht, “Eureka Day”

Best featured actor in a play

Should win: Glenn Davis, “Purpose”

Will win: Francis Jue, “Yellow Face”

Best featured actress in a musical

Should win: Julia Knitel, “Dead Outlaw”

Will win: Joy Woods, “Gypsy”

Best featured actor in musical

Should win: Danny Burstein, “Gypsy”

Will win: Brooks Ashmanskas, “Smash”

Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.

cjones5@chicagotribune.com

New episodes of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" will finally be available to stream on major streaming platforms.

Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that episodes of the popular game shows will be available on Hulu, Disney+ and Peacock starting in September. The episodes will be on the streaming services one day after they air on broadcast television.

While older episodes of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" have been available to stream for years, this marks the first time current episodes will be accessible through streaming platforms shortly after their original broadcast.

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Sony said it's excited to bring the shows to a wider audience. "Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune are two of the most successful game shows in television history and we look forward to giving fans the best possible streaming access to our shows this fall," said Keith Le Goy, Chairman of Sony Pictures Television, in a statement.

Many assume the solution is simple: fill the funding gaps left by the federal pullback. But philanthropy alone can’t replace public investment – and many argue it shouldn’t.

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