A 14-year-old boy from Gaza is making remarkable progress in his recovery after surviving a bombing that killed his family and left him severely injured.

Watch Christiana Ford's video report: Teen from Gaza getting treatment in Dearborn Heights

Mohammed Eid is one of four children from Gaza, through Dubai, who were brought to Michigan in April through the nonprofit Heal Palestine's Global Healing Program. While two of the children have since moved to other states for continued treatment, Mohammed remains in metro Detroit, where he continues his rehabilitation.

"He needed help standing, he needed help walking, I still had to hold his hand," said his therapist, Abdullah Mrech, describing his condition upon arrival.

Now, just two months later, Mohammed is not only walking but kicking a soccer ball with Mrech at Max Pro Rehabilitation.

"Playing soccer and being able to walk and do these things is something that all kids should be able to do without any trouble," Mrech said.

There are still things Mrech is working with Mohammed on, like walking up and down stairs quickly, hip mobility, and agility. Mohammed wants to be able to run and play soccer again.

"It was like the biggest blessing I could have asked for, like to be, I'm so grateful to have been able to watch him through the process, and I just wish that I'm able to see throughout the whole thing and see him be as functional as possible," said Mrech.

Despite his progress, Mohammed carries deep emotional and physical scars. When his home in Gaza was bombed, he lost nearly everything, including his parents, siblings, and childhood.

"He's the sweetest kid. He's a very normal 14-year-old kid with an injury, with a trauma, with a lot of loss," said Wisal Samaha, Mohammed's host mom.

Samaha revealed that Mohammed was once an active child before the bombing.

"He was playing soccer every day in the neighborhood with his friend, I mean a typical kid, full of life and full of energy, said Samaha.

FULL INTERVIEW: Wisal Samaha talks about caring for Mohammad Eid FULL INTERVIEW: Wisal Samaha talks about caring for Mohammad Eid

Now, she says, Mohammed won't wear shorts.

"He has to deal with this with so much resilience, with so much positivity, with so much strength," Samaha said. She added that his faith has inspired hers.

Mohammed is receiving both medical care and counseling.

Max Pro Rehabilitation, which has provided physical therapy services free of charge in partnership with Heal Palestine, says he is the third child from Gaza that the center has helped.

"We are indebted to them for life, seeing their resilience, their fight. Just them being a kid. It just inspires us to do more," said Mohammed Elhassan, occupational therapist and president of Max Pro Rehab.

His foot still being mangled and his family thousands of miles away, but Mohammed has a simple message for those hearing his story. He doesn't want what happened to him to happen to any more children.

"His message is for the war to end," said Samaha.

Steve Sosebee, Founder and Executive Director of Heal Palestine, says they are still looking for help with medical care for his foot so that he can move forward with his care.

"We unfortunately were not able to find anyone in the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit area who are able to offer him the orthopedic surgery he needed on a charitable basis. So we're looking for treatment facilities for him in other areas of the country that would uh provide him the care he needs. Um, so hopefully, um we'll be able to arrange that in the coming weeks and get him to the next phase of treatment," said Steve Sosebee.

Sosebee says the three other children are progressing as well.

11-year-old Lana went to Florida, got a prosthetic limb, and is back in Egypt with her mother, waiting for the border to reopen to return to family in Gaza. 7-year-old Saher went to Cleveland, where he had to have his other leg amputated. He battled a severe bone infection and is expected to be released from care next week, receive prosthetic limbs, and then begin to learn to walk again. 12-year-old Whaheed, who lost a leg, arm, and eye, received care in Flint, Michigan, and is walking again.

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.

Community members in Ypsilanti Township are demanding safety improvements at an intersection where a 14-year-old boy was killed while riding his bike just over a week ago.

Watch the video report below: Community calls for change after 14-year-old killed riding bike in Ypsilanti Township

The fatal crash occurred at the intersection of Meritt and Tuttle Hill roads, prompting the Washtenaw County Road Commission to study the area for potential safety enhancements.

A growing memorial with flowers, teddy bears and other tributes marks the spot where the teenager lost his life.

"This particular intersection and this road has been kind of a drag strip, I think, for a long time," said Jason Bolton, a local resident with kids of his own.

Hear more from Jason Bolton in the video player below: Web extra: Jason Bolton pushes for added safety at intersection in Ypsilanti Township

Bolton says the area around Tuttle Hill and Meritt is full of families and sits right across from a community pool.

"If I have the windows open at night, I can hear people doing donuts, racing, particularly like this way because it just kind of goes right down into that neighborhood and there's no other traffic in here and I think people just kind of race back and forth through here," Bolton said.

According to Bolton, neighbors have complained for years about speeding in the area. Since the crash, authorities have installed a speed radar sign and car tracker for the first time since he's lived in the neighborhood.

"I hate that something like this had to happen for something to get done about it," Bolton said.

Washtenaw County Undersheriff Matt Harshberger said the 14-year-old who was wearing a helmet was trying to cross the road on his bike in the crosswalk when he was hit around 4 p.m. on June 18.

As the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate, community members have started circulating a petition demanding action from local officials.

"I have signed it. I think that it's necessary. I'm very glad that someone was able to put that together. I just hope that it doesn't fall on deaf ears," said Noah Blank, president of the Creekside Community Pool near where the crash happened.

Blank considers the intersection a safety hazard.

Hear more from Noah Blank in the video player below: Web extra: Noah Blank pushes for added safety at intersection in Ypsilanti Township

"We've been having problems with this particular intersection for years and we think it's time that the county and the township step up. Washtenaw County Road Commission needs to respond. They need to provide us with some kind of solution to mitigate the danger of this intersection," he said.

Currently, the intersection is a two-way stop. Residents are suggesting improvements like a four-way stop with flashing pedestrian crossing lights.

"I feel like with a pool here, we should probably have something for crossing this road. It's a 55 mile an hour road, which is very fast," John Moon, who lives nearby, said.

The Washtenaw County Road Commission says they are evaluating additional safety measures for the intersection.

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.

How much does a sitter cost these days? Well, that depends on who you ask. Pricing has risen over the years, and it has parents talking this summer.

Watch Christiana's full story in the video player below What's the going rate for a babysitter in metro Detroit?

We asked parents how much they pay on average for a sitter and our facebook comments were flooded with answers from $12/hour all the way to $40/hour. So we wanted to know why that range is so big.

For Destiny Tate, a mother of two, finding a babysitter was a big challenge.

"I have a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old," the Clinton Township parent said. "I was having issues finding it on the weekends on Saturday. And I would call off like every Saturday and I would get in trouble at work so it was a pretty big issue."

It took about a year, but she finally found someone trustworthy.

"8 hours I'm paying $130 for both for one day," Destiny said. "So that's almost $500/month."

That price varies based on who you ask.

"Usually it's about $350 weekly because they do like, I'd say like, $15 an hour," said Biggs, a Detroit parent. "And then they do like 4 or 5 days a week. You know they add up."

"For babysitting just like in our home, just like a date night type thing- we're gonna pay, for two kids I would say $15 to $25 an hour," said De'Chana Reed, a St. Clair Shores parent. "I think it's a little overpriced for what they're doing because typically they're just there to kind of put the kids to bed and then just hang out. I mean I did not make that when I was babysitting."

Rising prices has some parents questioning how much they should be paying. So we asked an expert: Francesca Monaco, the founder of Motor City Sitters, a Nanny and Babysitting Placement Agency.

"It depends on what the family is looking for too," Francesca said." Are they looking for just occasional? Are they looking for, and that's a babysitter, or are they looking for a nanny, which you know is the consistent 3 to 4 days a week?"

Monaco says it's a competitive industry in demand with varying levels of skill, which is why the range so board.

"It all depends on your education, expertise, how many years you've been doing it," Francesca said. "It depends on the tasks and duties of what the nanny has to do."

And if you're looking for a price...

"We at Motor City Sitters, we start at $22 an hour because we feel that is fair and we've done our research and we've done our research around multiple areas in metro Detroit," Francesca said.

Francesca's advice?

"Do your research," she replied. "I would say if you are a working parent or a parent that needs help, we are here to help you"

And know that the more children you have, add-ons like travel, certifications and cleaning, the higher the costs. Students should be on the lower range.

Where Your Voice Matters

An annual tradition in Macomb County is one that you may want to add to the summer bucket list. The Bay-Rama Fish Fly Festival in New Baltimore is celebrating 60 years.

Related: Here are summer events across metro Detroit for 2025

The five-day event kicked off Wednesday and is set to continue through the weekend.

This bay-side town has decided to embrace the bugs, hosting whats believed to be the only fish fly festival in the world.

Watch Christiana Ford's report in the video player below Ray-Bama Fish Fly Festival in New Baltimore celebrates 60 years

It's that time of year in New Baltimore when almost everything is covered in fish flies.

"It's our thing and I love the fish fly," said Shannon, a fair attendee.

These flies are just a part of living near the water that people here have grown to accept and embrace.

They can be gross sometimes but theyre funny if like one gets on you," said Charlotte, a festival attendee.

"We love those little buggers," said Lisa Thomas, the Bay-Rama treasurer.

So much so, it's home to the Bay-Rama Fish Fly Festival, a beloved annual tradition in New Baltimore celebrating 60 years.

This festival is a staple in New Baltimore. It was the first major festival (in the city)," Lisa said. "They changed it in the 80s to the Bay-rama Fish Fly Festival, mainly because the timing of the festival is the same time as the fish fly hatch. So instead of fighting it, they decided to embrace it and we've had a lot of fun with that ever since.

Each year comes with a different fish fly theme.

"Every year we dress our fish flies up to match the theme of the festival," Lisa said.

The festival brings the community together for a week of fun and excitement, from carnival rides and games to live music and fireworks.

There's always something to look forward to and something to do when you come down," said Dawn Wolscheleger, the Bay-Rama Secretary.

Festivities befin with the Miss and Little Miss Bay Rama Pageant, followed by a two-night cornhole tournament, Kid's Day on Saturday with Power Wheels Demolition Derby, Chicken Chuckin, a cardboard boat race and finishes with a parade on Sunday.

I got involved 20 years ago working with Kids Day, and we started out with maybe 75 kids that would come through in a 4-hour period," Dawn said. "We knocked it down to 2 hours, and we have well over 500 kids that come through in that 2 hour period. So it's a huge event.

The event is put on by Bay Rama Incorporated. Every dollar spent goes back into the community. To date, Bay Rama Inc. has contributed over two million dollars in donations.

They're hoping this year is the best yet.

Everything you can imagine, it's all down here," Dawn said.

For more information on the festival, click here.

More summer events this weekend below

June 20-22

Downtown New Baltimore: June 18-22 Bay-Rama Fishfly Festival

New Haven: June 22 Fun Foods Friends Festival

Canton: June 20- Summer Palooza

Detroit: June 20-21 Juneteenth Jubilee Detroit Freedom Weekend

Ypsilanti: June 20-22 Thunder over Michigan Air Show

Troy: June 20-22 Opa! Fest

Grosse Pointe: June 21 Grosse Pointe Pride

Auburn Hills: Jun 20-21 SummerFest

Berkley: June 22 Berkley Pride Block Party

Keego Harbor: June 20 Block Party at Rose Sortor Park

Lake Orion: June 19-22 Lake Orion Jubilee

Rochester: June 21 - Makers Market

Royal Oak: June 21-22 Royal Oak Live! (jazz/r&b/funk)

Wolverine Lake: June 21 Dog Show

Lenox Twp: June 22 Fun Foods Friends Festival

Romeo: June 21 Romeo Vintage Fest

Shelby Twp: June 20-21 Summer Fest

Warren: June 21 Shop Small Mix & Mingle Summer Rain vendor and craft show

Downtown Ypsilanti: June 20-22 Juneteenth Celebration

Brighton: June 22-24 Brighton Street Art Fair

Where Your Voice Matters

Here in the strawberry field at Spicer Orchards in Fenton, families are marking the unofficial start of summer.

Watch the full story from Christiana Ford in the video player below 'They're very juicy': U-Pick strawberry season is officially here

"I've been doing this since I was five," said Kara Kinsan, who was picking strawberries.," said Kara Kinser, who was pioking strawberries. "It's been a good day."

After about two hot hours in the orchard, Kinser has enough strawberries for her family's annual tradition.

"We'll bake strawberry pies, strawberry shortcakes, we'll do strawberry cake"

She's one of the many visitors already stopping by the patch for the early strawberry season.

"The strawberries are pretty good, they're very juicy," Lucy told me.

"I just kinda went running around and just grabbed the bigger ones," Mia said.

Spcier Orchards in Fenton is one of few in metro Detroit kicking off the U-Pick season, managing their 10 acres. The 300-acre family farm is known for you pick just about everything you can grow in Michigan.

"You get on the wagon, yep, you go out and pick and then, and then you'll wait for the wagon to bring you back up and then they'll weigh in when you get up here and that's when you'll pay for your berries,"

Third-generation farmer Ryan Spicer says their 10 acres of strawberries are thriving despite the colder tempatrues.

"The average temperature has stayed pretty low so far, but not looking at this next week, we look like we're getting into our normal Michigan 80 degree, you know, summer, which we've been kind of waiting for because that's what kind of makes all these berries and stuff start moving and you need the heat to ripen them up and your average degree temperature has to be up too," Spicer said.

Spicer says they got creative, using an irrigation system that rose the temperature around the strawberries and frost fans.

"We'll be picking for probably another 3 weeks, of course, depending on the weather," Spicer said. "If it gets super hot and stays super hot, they cook a lot faster, so that could shorten the season, but if it stays colder at nights, they don't ripen as fast."

So far people are hauling in big lots. At $3.99/pound, you can ger one pick flat for about $48.

"This is our most successful year so far, yeah it was a lot more fun," said Jamie Malover. "It's a good feeling because then you get to make your strawberry jams and strawberry pie."

Spicer's tip: come early to beat the crowds and the heat.

Where Your Voice Matters

Madison Heights is celebrating the grand opening of eight new pickleball courts at Rosie's Park, part of a larger investment in recreational spaces throughout the city.

The $351,000 pickleball court project comes alongside the construction of the $7.2 million investment in Red Oaks Park.

"This really fills a void. It's great for people to be able to come close to home and play again on just stunning courts," said Frank Fidel, President of the Southeastern Michigan Pickleball Association.

The new courts address a growing demand for free public pickleball facilities, one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States.

"It is very big. We've got courts going up all over Michigan," Fidel said.

Bob Boguslawski, who lives in Madison Heights, appreciates the addition to the community.

"I think it's great. The only other outdoor courts around are in Royal Oak and there's one in Troy," Boguslawski said.

City officials say the pickleball courts were funded mainly through grants and were developed in response to community requests.

"We really were getting calls to have a multi-generational space for people outdoors, so not just playscapes and baseball fields but really something that could come together and start building community," said Melissa Marsh, City Manager of Madison Heights.

The Red Oaks Garden Project will transform the seven-acre Ambassador Park with open play space, trails, walking paths, seating areas, and a playground. It's funded by the Oakland County Parks Healthy Communities Park and Outdoor Recreation Investment Plan.

Construction is planned for 2025 and 2026. The anticipated investment of $3.75M includes $2.75M from the American Recovery Plan Act and $1M from Oakland County Parks capital improvement fund.

Residents expressed enthusiasm about the developments.

"Looks like they're spending some money, and I like it. It's very cool," said long-time resident Kevin Lang.

Marsh says Madison Heights is focusing on quality of life improvements.

"Madison Heights, unlike a lot of communities, are built out so we don't have any room for subdivisions or more housing or more businesses, so we really have doubled down to invest on quality of life programming. We have a lot of parks in Madison Heights and we are coming back to those parks and making sure that they have features that are available to the residents so every park doesn't have to have everything, but everything needs to be located in your city somehow and accessible to the residents," Marsh said.

Marsh says much of the funding is coming from outside sources, keeping costs maintained for taxpayers.

"The majority of money is through grant funding, but we do strategically have a capital improvement plan and we have been investing back in parks, so a lot of it is grant matching money and we have money set aside by that strategically from our city council, so when grant opportunities do come available we can match that. So when we asked Oakland County to help us fund these pickleball courts, we had to show that we were committed and that we had money to match the grant that they were gonna give us," said Marsh.

The Southeast Michigan Pickleball Association awarded a $16,200 grant for a wind screen. They will also host summer programming at the courts.

The city is currently seeking community feedback for future projects in the coming years through their master plan survey.

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

A massive space that sat vacant for years at 12 Oaks Mall in Novi will soon be transformed with new stores and entertainment options, breathing new life into the nearly 50-year-old shopping center.

Watch Christiana Ford's video report: Community reacting to new proposal for development at 12 Oaks Mall

The former Sears location, which closed in 2019, will be leased to Dick's House of Sport, UK-based Primark, and Round One Bowling and Arcade.

"It was nice, you'd go shopping," said Kathy Hoener, who has been wondering what would become of the empty space. "Clothing, appliances, just about anything. We were sad to see it go."

The building, owned by Transformco, will house Dick's House of Sport on the lower level, with Primark and Round One Bowling and Arcade planned for the upper level.

"I think it's wonderful. Revitalizes the mall and makes people happy," Hoener said.

Dick's House of Sport will occupy approximately 100,000 square feet with in-store experiences including a climbing wall, multiple golf bays, outdoor field with a track, ice rink, and multi-sport cage where athletes can try products while measuring and tracking their performance.

"I think it's necessary just to keep people moving. I think a lot of people getting lazy with just this online shopping stuff. But the mall needs to have more stuff like that so that people can actually get to moving and they'll actually enjoy the mall," said Brandon Baldwin Jr., a shopper.

Kelsey Ames, Marketing & Sponsorship Manager at Twelve Oaks Mall, says they've been working with the city of Novi and all partners involved in the move, which represents an evolution in mall trends toward a more experience-based retail model.

"I mean it's a Friday afternoon and we're bustling, and it's because we're sticking to what do consumers want to see again? It's not just retail anymore; it's the experiences. So again by bringing in things like your Primark and your Round 1, your Dick's House of sport, not just a retail concept, but experiences, people still want to get out. They want to touch and feel the product. They want to see it firsthand, and they want something they can take with them right away, you know, and I think that's important. You want a product, you want to be able to grab it and go," Ames said.

This is a model they plan to keep in mind as they continue working to fill vacancies like the big footprint left behind by major retailer Forever 21.

"We work very, very closely with our leasing teams to kind of come up with new and innovative ideas to come into the shopping centers. So there's a lot of talks going on behind the scenes, a lot of new and exciting brands that do want to come here. So we're in a really, really good spot right now," Ames said.

Marquise Cook, who owns Alpha Parfum and has a vendor booth at Twelve Oaks, says despite trends of some malls struggling, he's noticing new businesses opening around him.

"We've had two stores come up over us. We've had, obviously, Pottery Barns relocate from the smaller store that they have to this much larger store," Cook said.

He's also looking forward to increased foot traffic the new lineup will bring in - not only for his business but for the evolution of the mall as a community hub.

"This is that community meet and greet. That old traditional meet and greet, like how you might meet your next wife. You might walk around and run into somebody, an old classmate. It's a great place for the community," Cook said.

Construction is already underway. Dick's House of Sport, Round One and Primark are all expected to open by fall of 2026.

"I love it. I'm intrigued," Cook said.

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

A regional deer cull is moving forward in Oakland County as cities work to address the growing deer population, but some residents are organizing to advocate for alternative solutions.

Watch Christiana Ford's video report: Controversy growing as more communities consider deer culls

Farmington Hills started working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 2015 when they suggested collecting data and researching the issue. Ten years later, they're implementing what they learned.

"As we did that, we saw an incline in that data with deer vehicle collisions, we had more and more residents calling about concerns about deer," said Bryan Farmer, Department of Special Services for Farmington Hills.

Deer-car collisions have been on the rise in Oakland County, with more than 2,000 in 2023. Now, the city of Farmington Hills is putting that research into action, moving forward with plans to use trained USDA sharpshooters in 2026 and public safety archery hunters in 2027 in an annual urban deer cull.

"Based on our research across the country, they're not successful using nonlethal measures. When you look at overpopulation, the only way to control the population is through lethal means; if you use nonlethal measures, the only one that is actually permitted would be sterilization." Farmer said."Each deer in 2016 was $1500 to sterilize each deer in Ann Arbor, and when you multiply that on the number of deer that we would need to sterilize, that's pretty costly, and on top of that, that doesn't address the overpopulation issue."

Farmington Hills is one of three cities within the larger Southeast Michigan Urban Deer Coalition that joined together on a coordinated cull to control the urban deer population.

"Looking at Farmington Hills, Farmington, and Southfield in that regional effort, we're all neighbors, and the deer do not know the borders. So it helps that we're all doing that, and we also have other interested communities like Livonia, Birmingham, so there's several other communities that, as we move forward, as they start to make decisions, it'll help with the overpopulation of deer across the whole region," Farmer said.

But it's a push some residents in nearby communities are actively organizing to try to stop from growing.

"I was appalled, and I decided we need to get a group of people together and stop this from happening," said Inez Garfield, an Oak Park resident.

Garfield, with the Advocates for Michigan Wildlife, lives in Oakland County and is helping coordinate a public meeting to push for support for non-lethal measures.

"I'm a regular community member. I've never had to do this before, but I just think it's getting out of control," Garfield said. "It's never too late."

One idea the group researched and hopes sticks is sterilization.

"If you add the cost of doing culls year after year after year for 25 years in perpetuity forever - it ends up costing a lot more than if you were just to sterilize the original 50 deer," said Michelle Dimaria, a West Bloomfield resident who has done a lot of the group's research.

As the deer culls come to more cities, Chad Steward with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says their role will continue to be a source of education.

FULL INTERVIEW: Chad Stewart with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources talks about deer culls FULL INTERVIEW: Chad Stewart with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources talks about deer culls

"We present them with several different options, both lethal and non-lethal, for them to consider and what the likely efficacy might be for those things, and they take that information to heart, evaluate it, and ultimately make the decision what they feel is best for their community," Steward said.

A meeting is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Bloomfield Township Library on ways to advocate for alternative solutions.

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