U.S. stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street Friday in a wobbly day of trading to kick off the new year.
Markets were mostly quiet on the first trading day of 2026, with the influential technology sector driving much of the up-and-down action. The mostly minor moves also cap off a tepid and holiday-shortened week. Markets were closed on Thursday for New Year's day.
The S&P 500 rose 12.97 points, or 0.2%, to 6,858.47. The benchmark index is coming off a gain of more than 16% in 2025.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 319.10 points, or 0.7%, to 48,382.39.
The Nasdaq composite fell 6.36 points, or less than 0.1%, to 23,235.63. The index was weighed down by losses for Microsoft and Tesla.
Foreign markets fared better and benchmarks in Britain and South Korea hit records.
Technology stocks steered the market, especially companies with a focus on artificial intelligence, continuing the trend that pushed the broader market to records in 2025.
Nvidia jumped 1.3% and was the biggest force trying to push the market higher. But a 2.2% fall for Microsoft helped to check those gains.
Tesla also weighed on markets with a 2.6% drop after reporting falling sales for a second year in a row.
Nvidia, Microsoft and Tesla are among the most valuable companies in the world and their outsized valuations give them more influence on the stock market's direction. That includes sometimes pushing the market up and down from hour to hour.
Technology companies have been a major focus because of advancements in artificial intelligence technology and the potential for growth within the sector. Wall Street has been betting that demand for computer chips and other items needed for data centers will help justify the big investments from technology companies and their pricey stock values.
Furniture companies gained ground following President Donald Trump's move to delay increased tariffs on upholstered furniture. RH rose 8% and Wayfair rose 6.1%.
E-commerce giant Alibaba climbed 4.3% and Baidu, maker of the Ernie chatbot, jumped 9.4% in Hong Kong after it said it plans to spin off its AI computer chip unit Kunlunxin, which would list shares in Hong Kong early in 2027. The plan is subject to regulatory approvals.
Crude oil prices were mostly stable. Prices for U.S. crude oil fell 0.2% to $57.32 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.2% to $60.75 per barrel.
The price of gold fell 0.3%.
Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.19% from 4.17% late Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, held at 3.48% from late Wednesday.
Wall Street will move past the mostly quiet holiday season starting Monday. The first full week of the new year will include several closely watched economic updates. They will also be some of the last big updates the Fed sees before its next meeting at the end of January.
Next week will feature private reports on the status of the services sector, which is the largest part of the U.S. economy, along with consumer sentiment. Government reports on the job market will also be released. The hope is they'll help paint a clearer picture of how various parts of the U.S. economy closed out 2025 and where it might be headed in 2026.
The Fed has had a more difficult task because of the complex shifts within the economy. It cut interest rates three times toward the end of 2025, partly to help counter a weakening jobs market. But inflation remains above its target rate of 2% and cutting interest rates could add more fuel to rising prices. Consumers have already expressed more caution amid the squeeze from stubborn inflation and the U.S. trade war with much of the world has added more uncertainty.
The Fed has already signaled concern and caution. Wall Street is betting that the central bank will hold its benchmark interest rate steady at its January meeting.
On Sunday, January 4, Spotlight on the News look at the future of healthcare and U.S.-China relations. What impact might these two important topics have on Michigan, including its global automotive manufacturing industry? Join us for an in-depth conversation with Tom Watkins, President & CEO of TDW & Associates, and a longtime healthcare and U.S.-China business advisor.
Spotlight on the News, now in its 60th season, is Michigan's longest-running weekly news and public affairs television program. It airs every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. on WXYZ-TV/Channel 7 in Detroit, is streamed live on wxyz.com and broadcast at 11:30 a.m. on 23.1 WKAR-HD in East Lansing.
Over the holidays, we’re sharing some of the stories Detroit Evening Report hosts produced for the radio this year. Today we hear a story from Nargis Rahman.
Journalist Martina Guzman has created an AI-powered tool to monitor disinformation aimed at Spanish speakers via radio.
The project is a part of Guzman’s work for the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University’s Law School. They recently received a $350,000 grant to expand VERDAD which stands for Verifying and Exposing Disinformation and Discourse.
Guzmán told Nargis Rahman the tool will now expand to all 50 states, into multiple languages and also globally.
Additional headlines for Friday, Jan. 2, 2026
Women’s Hockey League returns
The ladies come to hockey town tomorrow as the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) returns to Little Caesars Arena for their Takeover Tour. The Vancouver Goldeneyes play the Boston Fleet Saturday at 7 p.m.
Detroit audiences have broken PWHL attendance records at previous games.
The league will play in Detroit again March 28 when the New York Sirens and Montreal Victoire play.
The league expanded last year from 6 teams to 8 – adding Vancouver and Seattle. No Detroit team has been announced yet.
Fullmoon Party
The Euphoria Flow Sisters will host a Fullmoon Party Saturday evening at the Congregation. The event offers a chance to de-stress, release negative energy and shove in some self-care after the holidays.
It is free and will include an “ecstatic dance.”
Windsor tarot reading
Start the new year with appreciation for our international border and a psychic reading. GQ Tarot and Celestial Spirit Tarot are hosting Beyond Resolutions! New Year Psychic Readings at Celeste’s Café in Windsor starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The event is scheduled to fall on the Full Wolf Supermoon – a time for emotional release and profound clarity.
Celeste’s Café is at 1295 Ottawa Street in Windsor. Pre-booking is strongly encouraged. Call 519-256-9859.
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For the second time this week, a traffic crash in Commerce Township resulted in serious injuries.
The more recent collision happened shortly after 11 a.m. Friday on West Pontiac Trail near Huntley Drive involving a 2022 Tesla and a 2010 Honda Odyssey, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the Tesla driver, a 24-year-old Dearborn resident, crossed the center yellow line and crashed into the Honda, driven by a 73-year-old Walled Lake resident, the sheriff’s office said. Both drivers were transported to Henry Ford Providence Novi Hospital where the Walled Lake resident was listed in critical condition and the Dearborn resident was in stable condition as of mid-afternoon Friday, the sheriff’s office said..
Both drivers had been wearing their seatbelts at the time, the sheriff’s office said.
While an investigation continues, alcohol and/or drug use aren’t suspected as contributing factors, and speed doesn’t appear to have been an issue in the crash, the sheriff’s office said.
The crash happened three days after another involving a passenger vehicle and semi-truck in Commerce Township caused injuries to an 87-year-old man who was pinned inside his car, officials said.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the elderly man was operating a Chevrolet Malibu on Dec. 30 when he struck the rear of a semi-truck trailer as it was entering eastbound Pontiac Trail near Haggerty Road from the Walmart Supercenter parking lot at around 7:15 a.m. He became trapped inside the Malibu but was subsequently extricated by a crew from the Commerce Township Fire Department.
He was transported to Henry Ford Providence Novi Hospital and evaluated for injuries believed to be minor, the sheriff’s office said. No other injuries were reported.
The semi-truck driver was issued a citation in connection with the crash.
There were a lot of defining political moments in 2025 that made the year stand out.
This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss some major stories and look ahead to 2026.
Pluribus News politics journalist Reid Wilson said “Michigan is the ‘we matter’ state,” on MichMash last month. Zach echoes this, pointing out how things like the senate race has made “Michigan the epicenter of politics in the midterms in 2026.”
Zach also spoke about the dynamics of the candidates.
“We’ve got the first legit Democratic primary for U.S. Senate since 1994. Three really strong, viable candidates. But then we’ve got on the Republican side, it appears they’ve consolidated support behind Mike Rogers. And for the most part, he’s just going to be waiting to see who emerges as the Democrat.”
Beyond elections, Zach also has his eye on the Michigan legislature. He thinks recent inertia will continue because of Speaker Matt Hall’s intention to not get involved what he described as “small things”.
And although there was an agreement after the budget was decided to focus on economic development, Alethia said those plans may be falling apart. “I think the House and Senate could come together and put together [the] top wants of both. It’s just a question of…is there the willingness to get that done, especially if this is more of a Governor Gretchen Whitmer priority and less of a legislative priority?”
The Michigan legislature will come back to session by mid January 2026.
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A yellow Labrador out for a walk with his owner in Rhode Island had to be rescued by firefighters on New Year's Day after he wandered onto a thin layer of ice covering a pond and fell through the center.
According to the Misquamicut Fire Department, volunteer firefighters and other emergency officials were dispatched early Thursday morning for a water rescue. Once on scene, firefighters saw a dog named Phoenix struggling and unable to move to shore in the slushy, icy water.
Members from both the Misquamicut and Watch Hill fire departments donned ice rescue suits, which help protect the body from frigid temperatures, to enter the pond and successfully rescue Phoenix. The National Weather Service reported it was 26 degrees Fahrenheit around 9 a.m. on Thursday, with the wind chill dropping the temperature to 14 degrees.
"It was the chillest dog I've ever seen in my life," said Steve Howard, deputy chief of the Misquamicut Fire Department, in a phone interview on Friday. "The dog never made a sound. He was pretty chill."
While the firefighters were evaluated for possible hypothermia, they did not require treatment. The fire departments described the incident as "a successful first call of 2026," in a statement posted on Facebook.
Phoenix was also declared free of injuries, but Howard made sure to check in with his owner later Thursday.
"He got a little bit of extra food last night," Howard said. "And he took a little nap."
The incident served as a reminder to treat all ice as potentially dangerous, particularly over bodies of water, the fire department warned.
"No ice is ever safe. Our firefighters train extensively for cold water and ice rescues, but these situations are extremely dangerous," the fire department said.
It won’t be long before the burned-out remains of Fork n’ Pint are cleared away, according to Waterford Township officials and a demolition contractor.
Bob Hoffman, an Oakland County commissioner whose business portfolio includes the demolition company American Recycling, said he expects to sign a contract with the restaurant’s owners soon.
Doug Young, one of the restaurant’s owners, and manager Bill Schwab did not respond to The Oakland Press’ requests for comment.
Gene Butcher, Waterford’s deputy fire chief and former fire marshal, investigated the fire and said neither he nor the insurance company’s investigator could find a definitive cause, likely because of the intensity of the blaze. He said it was clear that the fire started outside, at the back of the building at 4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, but is not considered suspicious.
As far as timing for work on the site, Hoffman said, he can’t “say the exact start date of demolition, because we’re waiting on notifications from Consumers Energy and DTE that services are disconnected for safety reasons,” adding “it should be relatively soon.”
Hoffman said he grew up near the restaurant when it was called Mitch’s and owned by a local family. Mitch’s and Fork n’ Pint were community favorites, he said.
Township Supervisor Anthony Bartolotta said he was relieved to learn the building would come down sooner rather than later.
“Why it took so long, I have no idea,” he said, adding that he was glad to see a long-empty Don Pablo’s Mexican Kitchen at 513 N. Telegraph Road, demolished after a significant fire in August.
Bartolotta said Fork n’ Pint officials told him that an insurance dispute was behind the delay in removing the debris from the May 1 fire
The township’s building division superintendent, Rick Hutchinson, told The Oakland Press he’s been in regular contact with the restaurant’s owners, brothers Doug and Burge Young, and was aware of the insurance dispute. Hutchinson said he learned Tuesday afternoon that the Youngs plan to apply for a demolition permit this month.
Based on Tuesday’s conversation with the restaurant officials, Hutchinson said, “this isn’t something they are just telling me to make me go away.”
A May 1, 2025, fire destroyed Fork n' Pint, a popular Waterford Township restaurant, but debris remains almost eight months later. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
The Wolf Moon got its name because of the howling of wolves often heard this time of year. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, other names for the January full moon include Center Moon (Assiniboine), Cold Moon and Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin) and Severe Moon or Hard Moon (Dakota).
Because of the bold brightness of the Wolf Moon, it will be harder to see the second special celestial event: the Quadrantid meteor shower.
The meteor shower will reach peak activity Saturday evening. Don't fret, though, astronomers say the shower will be active through Jan.16.
A woman was killed in a suspected mountain lion attack while she was hiking alone in the mountains of northern Colorado on Thursday, in what would be the first fatal attack by one of the predators in the state in more than 25 years, authorities said.
Wildlife officers later in the day located two mountain lions in the area and fatally shot the animals, said Kara Van Hoose with Colorado Parks and Wildlife
The attack occurred in the mountains south of the small community of Glen Haven, about 7 miles northeast of Estes Park and considered the gateway to the eastern entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Shortly before noon, two hikers encountered a mountain lion near the woman's body along a remote section of the Crosier Mountain trail, which is on a national forest.
The hikers threw rocks at the animal to scare it from the immediate area so they could try to help the woman, Van Hoose said. One of the hikers was a physician who attended to the victim and did not find a pulse, she said.
Details on the woman's injuries and cause of death were not immediately released.
Van Hoose said the search for other mountain lions in the area was ongoing. She said circumstances would dictate whether any additional lions that are found are killed.
Sightings of mountain lions are common in the forested area where the suspected attack occurred, but there have not been any recent documented attacks on humans, Van Hoose said.
"This is a very common time of year to take mountain lion sightings and reports and especially in Larimer County, where this is very good mountain lion habitat," she said. "Trails in this area are in pretty remote land, so it's wooded, it's rocky, there's elevation gains and dips."
Mountain lion attacks are rare and Colorado's last suspected fatal attack was in 1999, when a 3-year-old was killed. Two years before that, a 10-year-old boy was killed by a lion and dragged away while hiking with family members in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Last year in Northern California two brothers were stalked and then attacked by a lion that they tried to fight off. One of the brothers was killed.
The animals, also known as cougars, catamounts and other names, can weigh 130 pounds (60 kilograms) and grow to more than six feet long. They eat primarily deer.
Colorado has an estimated 3,800-4,400 of the animals, which are classified as a big game species in the state and can be hunted.
Michigan endured a turbulent year in 2025, marked by acts of violence at places of worship and businesses. The year also brought high-profile oustings and departures at several universities, the auto and battery industries tapping the brakes on electric-vehicle investments, and the state emerging as a prime target for AI companies seeking to build massive data centers.
From a historic ice storm in northern Michigan to severe flooding in Detroit early in the year — and a bomb cyclone to close it out — Michigan’s calendar was bracketed by harsh and often punishing winter weather.
But not all the news was grim. There was plenty to celebrate, including a compass university team finding national success on the ice and a Detroit rock band earning induction into the music industry’s most prestigious hall of fame. And some of the year’s most captivating moments were delightfully unexpected, from a small houseboat’s improbable voyage across the Great Lakes to other stories that charmed and amused us.
The past 12 months hold a lot to unpack. Here’s a look back at 25 memorable stories that made Michigan’s year truly one of a kind.
Big House bombshell
The University of Michigan fired its head football coach Sherrone Moore this month after an investigation found he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore, 39, was then arrested at the Pittsfield Township apartment of the staffer, jailed and charged with third-degree felony home invasion and misdemeanor stalking and breaking and entering. Players said they were shocked by the scandal. Former coach Jim Harbaugh described it as a tragedy and recommended Moore take care of his family and get spiritual guidance. Moore was eventually replaced by Kyle Whittingham, 66, who spent most of his career at Utah, including since 2005 as head coach.
A pair of church attacks unfolded in Michigan in 2025. A member of CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne ran over a gunman on June 22 after seeing 31-year-old Brian Anthony Browning, of Romulus, drive erratically toward the church, then exit the vehicle in a tactical vest carrying a long gun and handgun and start shooting at the church. Two church members shot at Browning and killed him. Wayne police Chief Ryan Strong credited them with preventing a mass shooting.
Three months later, four people were killed and others wounded on Sept. 28 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township by 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford of Burton. Police say Sanford drove his truck into the side of the church, set the building on fire using gasoline and fired several rounds. The attack was motivated by Sanford’s anti-Mormon beliefs, the FBI later said. Church leader Bishop Jeffrey Schaub said their members were shaken and hurting after the attack but said they could find joy again through faith.
Up north, 11 people were injured in a mass stabbing at a Walmart store near Traverse City on July 26. The attacker, 42-year-old Bradford James Gille of Afton has struggled with serious mental health issues. Police say he swung a 3.5-inch blade at shoppers before others stopped him in the store’s parking lot. Gille was declared incompetent to stand trial. Gille’s mother, Beverly Gille, said she is sorry for the fear and violence he caused and described her difficulty finding him mental health care throughout much of his life. “I’m his mother,” she said of Bradford. “I love him. … The mental health thing has been dropped, and this is what we’re going to continue having until they resolve it.”
Former Detroit Pistons star Malik Beasley was caught up in a federal gambling investigation amid financial problems worth more than $8 million, Detroit News reporting revealed. He was then investigated by the NBA for gambling improprieties. Beasley’s lawyer said he “has not and will not cooperate with any pending federal investigations” and did not provide information to the FBI, which later brought federal charges against former Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups or others accused of profiting off a sprawling gambling scheme impacting the league.
Santa Ono announced in May that he would resign as University of Michigan president to seek a position as head of the University of Florida. He made the announcement after less than three years in Ann Arbor and after campus unrest over student protests of Israel’s war in Gaza and Ono’s dismantling of UM’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Florida Board of Governors blocked Ono’s appointment, citing his former embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Ono later joined the Ellison Institute of Technology, founded by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
To the north east, Wayne State University moved to oust its first female president, Kimberly Andrews Espy, in September after she had been on the job for two years. University leaders and some senior faculty were dissatisfied with her performance. Some on the university board of governors were upset with Espy’s communication with them after placing former School of Medicine Dean Dr. Wael Sakr on administrative leave without disclosing her reasoning. The board agreed to pay Espy roughly a year’s salary, $760,449, and two years of health care coverage as part of a separation agreement after she resigned.
Six Chinese nationals tied to the University of Michigan were charged in 2025 with federal crimes related to smuggling biological material into the country. The criminal cases unfolded as President Donald Trump’s administration moved to revoke Chinese student visas nationwide. One of the students, Chengxuan Han, in September was sentenced to time served and returned to China. Some of the researchers are tied to UM life sciences professor Shawn Xu’s campus lab. Xu is cooperating with investigations into his laboratory and has not been informed that he is the target of any investigation, his lawyer said.
Ford Motor Co. is relocating its headquarters to its new product development center west of Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn, called the Hub. Local leaders cheered the move as a sign of the automaker’s commitment to the city. The company will demolish its nearby Glass House headquarters and turn the area into an outdoor community space. Bill Ford, executive chairman, said announcing the move was an emotional moment.
Boy dies in Oakland County hyperbaric chamber explosion
Thomas Cooper, 5, was killed after the hyperbaric chamber he was receiving treatment in exploded Jan. 31 at the Oxford Center in Troy. Prosecutors allege three employees and the owner of the Oxford Center disregarded safety protocols and failed to follow the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines for that type of treatment. The owner of the Oxford Center, Tamela Peterson, safety director Jeffrey Mosteller and primary manager Gary Marken are charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with Thomas’ death. Chamber operator Aleta Moffitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information on a medical record.
The federal government formally accused former University of Michigan co-offensive football coordinator Matt Weiss of hacking into college athletes’ accounts and stealing photos of students, primarily female, engaging in explicit sexual acts. UM surveillance footage shows him entering team offices at Schembechler Hall seconds before investigators said he hacked into the accounts and stole photos. Weiss is charged with unauthorized access to computers and aggravated identity theft.
Michiganders captivated by small houseboat that reached Lake Huron harbor
An Ontario man’s hand-built houseboat, Neverlanding, kept afloat by 110 plastic barrels, captivated Metro Detroiters’ attention as he navigated it from Harrow, Ontario, to the tip of Michigan’s Thumb. Pilot and boat builder Steve Mylrea had a dream of meeting a poor fisherman in Africa and giving him a houseboat. It inspired him to take the estimated 10-year voyage through the Great Lakes and across the ocean to Africa. For now, the ship is on shore.
Michigan companies of all stripes felt the pain of higher import costs amid President Donald Trump’s import tax hikes that took effect in the spring — from toy stores, to pet food suppliers, to bridal shops. And perhaps no industry was scrambled more than Michigan’s all-important auto sector, thanks to its layered North American supply chains that have long relied on parts and vehicles crossing the Canadian and Mexican borders. Still, the tariffs’ impacts on the overall economy and inflation have been milder than many experts and executives predicted. The Trump administration reined in some of the highest tariff rates that were briefly in effect early on, or provided other avenues for savings, while automakers and other firms also have been quick to adapt.
Tariffs and lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles contributed to major strategy pivots by the Detroit Three automakers. General Motors Co. announced a $4 billion investment in Michigan, Kansas and Tennessee to move production of full-size SUVs and trucks to the United States from Mexico and Canada.
It also canceled production of electric Chevrolet BrightDrop commercial vans in Canada and cut jobs at U.S. EV plants. Ford Motor Co. announced $19.5 billion in special charges starting in the fourth quarter and extending into 2027 with the cancellation of F-150 Lightning production and a next-generation electric full-size truck and commercial van. Stellantis NV announced a record $13 billion U.S. investment to shift production to the U.S. and away from Mexico and Canada. The automaker also canceled plans for an all-electric Ram 1500 REV pickup.
It was a year with ups and downs for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as she broke with the strategy of other high-profile Democratic governors in 2025 and attempted to establish a positive relationship with Republican President Donald Trump. Whitmer appeared with Trump to announce a new fighter mission at Selfridge in April. That came a few weeks after a photographer caught Whitmer covering her face with a blue folder while appearing in the Oval Office with Trump. Later in the year, a semiconductor project that Whitmer hoped would come to Michigan, with federal incentives, fell through.
Iggy Pop inducted Jack and Meg White of Detroit garage rock duo the White Stripes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this fall. Jack’s thank-you speech at the ceremony doubled as a love letter to Detroit — and his absent “sister” Meg, who chose not to attend, but helped him with his speech. “I thank you and all of Detroit,” said White, name-checking a mélange of city favorites such as Gold Dollar, the Gories, the Dirt Bombs, the Hentchmen, Coney Islands and the Detroit Zoo.
Two Detroit children, 2-year-old A’Millah and 9-year-old Darnell Currie Jr., died Feb. 10 of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying in a van with their family in a Greektown casino parking lot. Their mom had reached out to Detroit’s homelessness hotline several times. The children were among 45 homeless Detroit residents who died this year, according to the Pope Francis Center. Their tragic deaths became central in the conversation about affordable housing in Detroit and took place as Census data showed Detroit’s child poverty increased to 51% last year.
LIV Golf hosted its first competition in Michigan this year at The Cardinal at St. John’s Resort in Plymouth Township in August. The resort built the course with exactly this in mind — hosting an elite professional golf tournament. It was controversial because LIV Golf is funded by Saudi Arabia, a nation with significant human rights abuses, yet more than 40,000 people attended over the tournament’s three-day run. Compared to the Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club, the LIV tournament felt akin to a festival, with thumping electronic music, pyrotechnics and lots of beer.
Mary Sheffield, 38, made history as Detroit’s first female mayor in November when 77.4% of voters chose her over the Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. The three-term city councilwoman will succeed Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving office to run for Michigan governor. Sheffield is a fourth-generation Detroiter who comes from a long line of civil rights advocates. She is considered more politically progressive than Duggan and has vowed to keep the city’s momentum moving forward while spreading its fortunes to more neighborhoods, residents, and businesses. “At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: a Detroit that works for everyone,” Sheffield said at her victory party.
On a picture-perfect late September evening in Ann Arbor, a record-setting 112,408 fans filed into Michigan Stadium for Zach Bryan’s sold-out concert, making the first show at the storied venue the highest attended ticketed concert in U.S. history. The 29-year-old Oklahoman’s show set a second record to boot, with $5 million in merchandise sales, according to the promoter. The set followed appearances by openers John Mayer and Albion, Michigan, country/Americana duo the War and Treaty.
The Broncos made history when Western Michigan University’s hockey team clinched a national championship title in April after besting Boston University in a 6-2 game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Linemate Iiro Hakkarainen said it was the best moment of his life. Kalamazoo residents welcomed the team back with a parade.
An East Lansing couple, Dawn and Greg Williams, made a $401 million commitment, the largest private one of its kind in the university’s history, in December. The couple earmarked $290 million specifically for athletics and another $100 million for a new initiative that aims to boost NIL offers to student athletes. University officials and athletics leaders said they are grateful to the Williams family and said the money will strengthen the school’s commitment to its student athletes.
In June, Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office raided the Lansing headquarters of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation in an ongoing investigation into a $20 million state grant awarded to Democratic donor and Metro Detroit businesswoman Fay Beydoun. Nessel said the raid was necessary because the MEDC was stonewalling the investigation and suggested the agency’s funding should be cut off until it can improve its oversight. The agency has said it has been cooperative with the attorney general’s probe.
The raid came amid building criticism in the Legislature of the agency’s handling of legislative earmarks and large jobs-for-cash incentive programs.
Later in the year, the state’s economic development arm lost out on a multibillion-dollar semiconductor development in Mundy Township, and, in October, the MEDC announced a controversial battery parts plant planned by Gotion in Big Rapids was in default of its agreement with the state. In the annual budget passed in early October, the Legislature and governor cut off additional funding for the state’s flagship economic development program, the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) fund.
Immigration crackdown sparks outrage
President Donald Trump’s escalation of mass deportations and border enforcement impacted Michigan, especially in Metro Detroit, where there are immigrant enclaves and international border crossings. Immigration advocates in April said more than 90% of foreign nationals stopped by U.S. agents at the Detroit-Windsor crossing were stopped after taking wrong turns onto the Ambassador or Detroit-Windsor tunnel, and some families, including with children, were held without access to attorneys. In December, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials said a Bulgarian man, Nenko Gantchev, died in custody at the North Lake Processing Center in northern Michigan. Thousands of people in Michigan joined protesters from across the country in No Kings rallies in protest of Trump’s immigration policies and authoritarian governance.
A sales and use tax for data centers passed by Michigan lawmakers in 2024 kick-started data center development in 2025, raising fears among Michiganians about the facilities’ potential impact on electricity prices, water supplies and land use in rural communities. More than a dozen data center projects have been unveiled in Michigan so far, and more are expected as tech companies seek to build the facilities that power the internet and burgeoning artificial intelligence industry. The biggest and most controversial data center project is in Saline Township, where 250 acres of farmland will be converted into a facility used to train artificial intelligence products. The Saline Township project will move forward after a contract between the developer and DTE Energy Co. won approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission in December.
A district court judge decided in May that former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Republican from Levering, and his wife, Stephanie Chatfield, should stand trial on felony charges that they embezzled political funds. Meanwhile, Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office reached plea deals with two of Lee Chatfield’s top aides, Rob and Anne Minard, who are expected to testify at the trial in the fall of 2026.
Around 2 a.m. Feb. 17, some southwest Detroit residents on Beard and Rowan streets heard a “loud bang,” according to city officials. A 54-inch steel water transmission line that lay underneath this dense residential area had burst. About one square mile, filled with some 400 homes, was awash in icy water, flooding streets and basements. Members of the Downriver Dive Team rescued dozens of residents and pets by boat. Hundreds, if not more, local residents rushed to help during the weeks of cleanup. Residents from about 200 homes were put in hotels at the city’s expense. Besides replacing the water line, clearing the streets of water and debris, the city replaced 118 furnaces and 118 water heaters. The cleanup took about two months and cost about $8 million to $10 million, according to officials from the city and the Great Lakes Water Authority. It was one of the largest water main breaks in a neighborhood in at least 10 years, officials said.
A water main break in February 2025 flooded a portion of southwest Detroit and affected hundreds of residents, who ended up receiving aid from the city of Detroit. (Andy Morrison, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS)
Mary Sheffield, a political phenom whose rise began when she was elected to Detroit City Council at age 26, made history Sunday when she was sworn in as the city’s first woman mayor.
Tesla lost its crown as the worlds bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musks right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.
Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.
Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.
It's a stunning reversal for a car company whose rise once seemed unstoppable as it overtook traditional automakers with far more resources and helped make Musk the world's richest man.
For the fourth quarter, sales totaled 418,227, falling short of even the much-reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet had expected. Sales were hit hard by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.
Tesla stock was down nearly 2% at $441.15 in early afternoon trading Friday.
Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, investors are betting that Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi services and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices. Reflecting that optimism, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%.
The latest quarter was the first with sales of stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3 that Musk unveiled in early October as part of an effort to revive sales. The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000. Those versions are expected to help Tesla compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia.
For fourth-quarter earnings coming out in late January, analysts are expecting the company to post a 3% drop in sales and a nearly 40% drop in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Analysts expect the downward trend in sales and profits to eventually reverse itself as 2026 rolls along.
Investors have largely shrugged off the falling numbers, choosing to focus on Musk's pivot to different parts of business. He has been saying the future of the company lies with its driverless robotaxis service, its energy storage business and building robots for the home and factory and much less with car sales.
Tesla started rolling out its robotaxi service in Austin earlier this year, first with safety monitors in the cars to take over in case of trouble, then testing without them. The company hopes to roll out the service in several cities this year.
To do that successfully, it needs to take on rival Waymo, which has been operating autonomous taxis for years and has far more customers. It also will also have to contend with regulatory challenges. The company is under several federal safety investigations and other probes. In California, Tesla is at risk of temporarily losing its license to sell cars in the state after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about their safety.
Regulatory is going to be a big issue, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well-known bull on the stock. We're dealing with people's lives.
Still, Ives said he expects Tesla's autonomous offerings will soon overcome any setbacks.
Musk has said he hopes software updates to his cars will enable hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles to operate autonomously with zero human intervention by the end of this year. The company is also planning to begin production of its AI-powered Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals in 2026.
To keep Musk focused on the company, Teslas directors awarded Musk a potentially enormous new pay package that shareholders backed at the annual meeting in November.
Musk scored another huge windfall two weeks ago when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that deprived him of a $55 billion pay package that Tesla doled out in 2018.
Musk could become the world's first trillionaire later this year when he sells shares of his rocket company SpaceX to the public for the first time in what analysts expect would be a blockbuster initial public offering.
A quiet Milford community is reeling after a 26-year-old man was found murdered inside his apartment on Wednesday afternoon, with police saying this was no random crime.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report: Milford man killed in 'violent attack' on New Year's Eve; suspect in custody
Milford Police Chief Scott Tarasiewicz said the attack was targeted, not random violence that has shaken the typically peaceful neighborhood.
"One thing I wanted to get out is this was not random. This was more something of a targeted attack," Tarasiewicz said.
The investigation began when the victim's girlfriend called police requesting a welfare check. She hadn't heard from her boyfriend in quite some time and grew concerned when she couldn't reach him at his apartment.
"The girlfriend hadn't heard from her boyfriend in quite a long time, and she was concerned. She went out to the apartment and couldn't get a hold of him. Called us to come and do a welfare check. We noticed that his phone was still in the residence based on it ringing," Tarasiewicz said.
Milford police, with help from the fire department, forced entry into the man's apartment and discovered his body with clear signs of foul play.
"It was obvious, obviously a quite violent attack, and it was readily apparent that this was not self-inflicted, this was not natural, this was a homicide," Tarasiewicz said.
The news struck neighbors hard in what they describe as a very quiet community.
"It's unbelievable, really. Surprising. We live in a very quiet place here. And to hear something that my neighbor is gone, that he was killed. Unbelievable," said Kirk Calvin, a neighbor.
Working with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Milford police were able to identify a suspect within hours of finding the victim's body. They apprehended the suspect about 30 miles away in Royal Oak.
"The individual that was apprehended was in Royal Oak at a bar," Tarasiewicz said.
The suspect, a 29-year-old man from Sterling Heights, is being held in the Oakland County Jail. His name has not been released because he has not yet been charged, which is expected to happen in the coming days.
Police say they believe the victim knew his attacker, making this a targeted crime rather than random violence.
"We completely feel for the family. We understand that they are devastated. I think this is awful. I couldn't imagine being in their shoes right now, and we're trying to support them in any way we can," Tarasiewicz said.
The victim's family was too shaken to speak about the tragedy.
Police continue investigating and ask anyone with information about what happened to call Milford police.
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.
President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Iran, threatening U.S. military intervention if the country kills peaceful protesters amid ongoing demonstrations over economic concerns.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that "if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
The threat comes as protesters in Iran have demonstrated over economic concerns in their country. It also follows Trump's suggestion earlier this week that the U.S. could strike Iran if it rebuilt its missile or nuclear programs and could offer backing to Israel, as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago before New Year's.
Iranian officials responded swiftly to Trump's comments with their own verbal warnings.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called Trump's comments "reckless and dangerous" and said they would reject any interference.
Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council stated that "Trump must realize that U.S. intervention in this internal matter will lead to destabilizing the entire region and destroying American interests."
Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that "all American centers and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets for us in response to any potential adventurism."
The exchange marks a significant escalation in rhetoric between the two nations as Trump has increased his warnings toward Iran this week, particularly regarding protests.
A 75-year-old Wixom man was left unconscious in the roadway after an alleged assault by a Door Dash driver on Dec. 28, officials said.
According to the Wixom Police Department, the victim, Lloyd Poole, was hospitalized in serious condition following the attack in the area of Barberry Circle and Windingway Drive in the Hidden Creek subdivision. The alleged assailant, Ryan Daniel Turner, 40, of Wixom reportedly admitted to striking Poole with a closed fist, claiming he had felt threatened after Poole confronted him about speeding, police said.
Poole fell and hit his head on the roadway after being struck, police said, and Turner drove away, leaving him there.
Turner subsequently came to the Wixom police station and spoke with officers about the incident. Charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault, he was booked into the Oakland County Jail on Dec. 29 and released three days later after posting a $3,500 bond — 10% of the $35,000 bond set at his arraignment. His next court appearance is pending.
A nearly four-decade-long business partnership between The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press ended Sunday, Dec. 28, pitting the newspapers against each other financially at a time when few other U.S. cities support two major papers.
Free Press owner USA TODAY Co., formerly known as Gannett Co. Inc., and MediaNews Group — owner of The News — in June opted against renewing the longstanding agreement, thus ending among the last such tie-ups in the country. The companies have not provided further reasoning behind the split.
The News announced Friday it will launch a Sunday edition Jan. 18, at which point it will once again print newspapers all seven days. Other changes include makeovers for the detroitnews.com website and mobile app, an updated print design and a refreshed eNewspaper, Editor and Publisher Gary Miles said. The changes are expected to take place during a roughly month-long transition period.
The end of the Detroit joint operating agreement (JOA) marks the end of an era in U.S. newspapers. Aside from a contentious Las Vegas partnership that was ruled invalid earlier this year, the Detroit JOA was the last major JOA still in existence, and the only one in which both newspapers emerged to print seven days and compete on all digital platforms.
“To the JOA’s credit, there are two newspapers to this day in metropolitan Detroit,” said Mark Silverman, who was editor and publisher of The News from 1997 to 2005. “So that’s clearly a positive. And both newspapers had very different editorial page positions. That’s a positive for a community.”
Joint operating agreements were cost-saving measures allowed by the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970, which permitted two newspapers in the same city to merge their business operations to protect diversity in opinion and newsgathering. If approved by the federal government, the newsrooms continued to compete, but companies saved overhead costs associated with newsprint, printing presses and distribution.
“Even in the federal government, there was some understanding of the value of journalism and the value of preserving those voices,” said Carole Leigh Hutton, a former Detroit News editor and the Free Press’ former editor and publisher.
In virtually all cases outside of Detroit, newspapers concluded their partnerships with mergers, one partner shuttering its operations or the smaller paper dramatically curtailing operations.
Bitterly contested in court when it was first proposed in 1986, the Detroit joint operating agreement remains a subject of debate over whether it was a success, although its primary stated goal — preserving two editorial voices — was fulfilled.
“Ultimately, what it intended to do was to keep two papers in Detroit,” said the Poynter Institute’s Kelly McBride, who advises news organizations on best practices. “So yeah, I guess that means it was successful. Clearly, I don’t think Detroit would have two papers now if the (joint operating agreement) had not existed.”
But McBride and former editors of both papers said it’s difficult to separate the role of business partnerships in the survival or death of newspapers compared to the existential loss of funding widely blamed on digital advertising.
“It’s been a really tough environment for newspapers,” Hutton said. “And they have gone to online-only in a lot of places. Many have just gone away. So it’s not far-fetched to think it would have been tough to continue to have two nameplates in this particular area, and I think the JOA probably did keep two nameplates alive. But again, it’s hard to know.”
Ed Wendover, a former Plymouth newspaper publisher who fought the Detroit papers’ partnership in court, said the outlets survived in spite of their agreement. Free to compete on all levels without being tethered financially, the papers “would be stronger than they are today and have more circulation,” Wendover said.
Silverman expressed a similar sentiment, saying that “the business aspect of the JOA was a hindrance to both newspapers.”
“The positive was that it kept two newspapers going,” he said. “The negative was that the business staff tried to serve too many masters and didn’t serve either very well.”
In addition, a bitter newspaper strike marked the early years of the JOA, costing the publications both subscribers and brand loyalty.
“The mismanagement under the JOA drove readers away, and advertisers will always play follow-the-readers. It’s a double-edged sword seeing the JOA end,” Wendover said.
Why did the Detroit papers partner?
In the years before the joint operating agreement, The News and the Free Press were locked in a financially draining, “old-fashioned, intense newspaper war,” said The News’ editorial page editor Nolan Finley, who at the time worked as an editor on the paper’s city desk.
Lucrative ad sales were at stake, and advertising rates were based on circulation, said former News reporter Bryan Gruley, whose 1993 book “Paper Losses: A Modern Epic of Greed and Betrayal at America’s Two Largest Newspaper Companies” details the path toward the joint agreement. Both papers steeply discounted subscription prices to beef up readership numbers and increase the prices they could charge for ads.
“You couldn’t throw a stone in Detroit without meeting someone who got a free Free Press or a free Detroit News that they never paid for and that landed on their doorstep every morning,” Hutton said. “Everybody knew that was part of the war.”
In response, The News ― then owned by Gannett (recently renamed USA TODAY Co.) ― and the Free Press ― then owned by now-defunct Knight Ridder ― in 1986 filed for federal approval to merge business operations in a 100-year partnership, leaving separately owned and competitive newsrooms.
Wendover, the former Plymouth publisher, led opposition to the partnership and sued to block it. He said vying for permission from the Reagan administration reflected poorly on the newspapers’ editorial independence and would reduce journalistic competition between them.
Once the deal was before federal judges, scrutiny increased over claims that the Free Press was in imminent danger of failure if not for the agreement. The reason: federal law on joint-operating agreements required one paper to be failing.
“They were saying these are not failing newspapers,” said Gruley, who covered the legal battle. “They’re not failing because the economics are bad. They’re failing because they’re choosing to fail, knowing that maybe we can push the other guys out and then maybe we get the whole banana, the whole enchilada.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled 4-4 on the case, allowing the agreement to take effect in 1989. The pact was renegotiated as a 20-year deal in 2005 when newspaper ownership changed; Gannett bought the Free Press and sold The News to MediaNews Group.
“I remember that when it came about, it was a matter of survival,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor. “And I think local media matters. I think it’s important that there are two newspapers with different perspectives, and I’m someone that thinks we need more media, not less. People need to be able to go to places where you can really get the facts. And I hope both papers survive.”
Although the rise of digital advertising at the expense of newspapers wasn’t what prompted the tie-up, former Free Press publisher Dave Hunke said the timing of the agreement was unwittingly prescient.
“The JOA was necessary from an economic standpoint to keep two newspapers in place,” Hunke said. “We were within a couple of years heading into the deepest financial crisis this country had seen since the Great Depression, and the business was not good.”
The role of journalism and how to pay for it
The papers’ upcoming split once again raises questions about the market for two dailies and whether current economics can support both outlets.
“People wanted two fiercely independent competitive newspapers in that town,” said Hunke, who became president of the joint business operations when the partnership was reconstituted in 2005. “People wanted their newspapers. And they wanted them competitive, and they wanted them separate.”
Throughout the agreement, Detroit maintained its rare status as a two-paper town.
“It kept two fairly strong newspapers in Detroit with opposing … editorial page viewpoints,” Finley said. “So we’re the only market you could say that about in the country, where you have two competitive, fairly equal newspapers, one on the right (and) one on the left that people can choose from.”
Silverman said both papers served readers well during the JOA.
“The News always had a certain journalistic personality embodied by its name: The News,” he said, adding that during his time in Detroit, the Free Press was known as “the friendly Freep.”
Both newspapers won Pulitzer Prizes during the partnership and “changed lives in the community,” Hutton said. She cited coverage of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was convicted 12 years ago of federal racketeering and tax evasion charges after being accused of running a criminal enterprise out of City Hall, rigging bids and pocketing more than $840,000 in bribes and kickbacks.
“Even though there’s a whole political entity out there that likes to trash it and say that journalism is harmful and anti-American, it’s quite the opposite,” she said. “If you think about it, journalism is about preserving the ideals and making sure that people know what’s happening because it’s our money, and it’s our government, and it’s our right, and it’s supposed to be our decision. And it’s just not possible for the average person to oversee what’s happening in the world the way journalists should be overseeing it for them.”
Leadership at The News has said the split will allow the outlet to operate more closely with its sister papers in Michigan, including the Macomb Daily, The Oakland Press, The News-Herald in the Downriver area, and The Morning Sun in mid-Michigan, which share the same ownership as The Detroit News.
Hutton said the success of the papers “all comes down to: What do the advertisers think?”
“You got to unlock the business solution, somehow,” Hunke said. “But you cannot take the shortcuts on the news side. Good journalism, in the end, I swear it will win. I just wish somebody could find a way to unlock the economics.”
Staff of The Detroit News works in the newsroom at 6001 Cass Ave. in Detroit. (Kevin J. Hardy/The Detroit News/Kevin J. Hardy)
A year ago, Zohran Mamdani was a backbench state assemblyman who had just launched a bid for New York City mayor that many saw as a long shot because of his unabashed left-wing politics.
But on Thursday afternoon, Mamdani was inaugurated as the city’s 112th mayor with a vow to “govern as a democratic socialist,” a sign that he sees his upset election victory as a mandate for his leftist affordability agenda, which has resonated with many New Yorkers reeling from skyrocketing costs of living.
“We will govern without shame and insecurity, making no apology for what we believe. I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani, who at 34 is the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century, said in an inaugural address on the steps of City Hall to thunderous applause from thousands of supporters.
“I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical.”
Mamdani, who’s also the city’s first Muslim mayor, delivered his speech after taking the oath office on a Koran held by his wife, graphic artist Rama Duwaji. The oath was administered by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who, like Mamdani, is a democratic socialist and is seen as a grandfather for the modern American left.
“All of us have heard that Zohran’s opponents have called the agenda that he campaigned on ‘radical, communistic,’ oh, and ‘absolutely unachievable’ — really?” Sanders said before administering the oath. “That’s not what we believe.”
Thursday’s public ceremony came after Mamdani officially was sworn in as mayor at midnight Wednesday during a private ceremony with his family.
Evan Simko-Bednarski / New York Daily News
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is sworn in by New York Attorney General Letitia James shortly after midnight Thursday morning at a ceremony in the abandoned original City Hall subway station. (Evan Simko-Bednarski / New York Daily News)
Having promised to make the city more affordable for working-class communities, Mamdani is entering office with high expectations on his shoulders.
His mayoral campaign centered on three key promises: freeze rents for the city’s 2 million rent-stabilized tenants, make public buses free, and drastically expand fully subsidized child care so it covers every child in the city between 6 weeks and 5 years old.
Each of those pledges comes with its own set of serious challenges.
The bus and child care proposals are contingent on billions of dollars in new funding Mamdani wants to allocate from tax increases — which would need to be enacted by the state — on millionaires and corporations. Gov. Hochul, a more moderate Democrat who was seated on the dais behind Mamdani as he delivered his speech, has openly voiced skepticism about raising taxes this year, throwing a potential wrench into Mamdani’s core agenda.
Mamdani also faces myriad other challenges, including a looming city budget deficit and the responsibility of managing the NYPD, a department he has harshly criticized throughout his political career. Additionally, critics have voiced concern about potential negative fallout from higher taxes, such as an exodus of major business from New York.
But in his inaugural speech, Mamdani reaffirmed he remains committed to all of his agenda items, including taxing millionaires at a higher rate, and vowed not to water down his messaging or promises.
“I have been told that this is the occasion to reset expectations, that I should use this opportunity to encourage the people of New York to ask for little and expect even less. I will do no such thing,” he said. “The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations.”
Barry Williams/ New York Daily News
Zohran Mamdani is sworn in by Senator Bernie Sanders at his ceremonial inauguration at City Hall on Thursday. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
During Sanders’ speech, the inaugural ceremony crowd, which featured dozens of Mamdani supporters donning red Democratic Socialists of America beanies, erupted in a “Tax the rich!” chant.
Thousands more Mamdani supporters who crammed the streets around City Hall for an event his team billed a “block party” joined in on the same chant.
“We’ve got your back, we’ll move those establishment politicians, we’ll tax the corporations, we’ll get it done,” said Paul Nagle, a 67-year-old Chelsea resident.
Hochul declined to take questions after the event.
Asked how Hochul can be persuaded to back Mamdani’s taxation agenda, Sanders told the Daily News after the ceremony that continued public pressure is key. “I hope she’s heard from the people here and the people all over this country,” he said. “It is the right thing to do, and it is what the people want.”
Besides Hochul, Mamdani’s inaugural ceremony dais was a veritable who’s who of New York politics, featuring U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio and several members of Congress, as well as key advisers to Mamdani, including his chief of staff Elle Bisgaard Church and First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose upset 2018 election to Congress was a harbinger of sorts for Mamdani’s defeat of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, delivered the introductory speech at the inauguration. She suggested Mamdani’s election should serve as an inspiration for more left-wing electoral campaigns across the country.
“If we can make it here, we can make it anywhere,” she said.
Fresh off his inauguration, Mamdani got to work, appointing housing advocate Cea Weaver as his new tenant protection czar, and issuing a slate of executive orders that, among other things, directed his administration to identify more city government-owned land that can be used for affordable housing development.
He also held an evening press conference at an apartment building in Brooklyn, where he announced his administration will get involved in a bankruptcy case filed by Pinnacle Realty, a firm that has faced accusations of neglecting its buildings. Though he and his team provided few details, Mamdani said the purpose of his administration’s involvement in the case will be to seek relief for Pinnacle tenants facing hazardous living conditions.
Barry Williams/ New York Daily News
Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, attend his ceremonial inauguration at City Hall on Thursday. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Eric Adams, whose first and only mayoral term came to a close at midnight Wednesday, was also on the dais during Mamdani’s inauguration.
Having dumped his bid for reelection this fall under a cloud of controversy related to his federal corruption indictment, Adams was a thorn in Mamdani’s side on his way out of public service, taking a number of actions in the past few weeks directly aimed at stymieing the new mayor’s agenda.
Among other actions, Adams made last-minute appointments to the Rent Guidelines Board in an effort to at least temporarily block Mamdani’s promised rent freeze for stabilized tenants.
Despite the tensions, Mamdani offered Adams thanks during his inaugural speech, drawing boos from the crowd.
“He and I have had our share of disagreements, but I will always be touched that he chose me as the mayoral candidate that he would most want to be trapped with on an elevator,” Mamdani said, prompting Adams to chuckle.
Actor and comedian Richard Kind was among the revelers who attended Mamdani’s inauguration. He said he was excited for Mamdani to take over from Adams when asked if he thought the new mayor would be better than Adams.
“Anybody would be,” he said, “but especially Mamdani.”
Zohran Mamdani is sworn in during his ceremonial swearing in at City Hall Thursday, Jan. 1, 2025 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
The DOJ and FBI said they foiled an alleged plot to attack a grocery store and fast food restaurant on New Year's Eve, arresting 18-year-old Christian Sturdivant.
Sturdivant allegedly planned to use knives and hammers in a deadly, ISIS-inspired attack at a fast food restaurant and grocery store. Officials said Sturdivant is a resident of Mint Hill, North Carolina.
FBI and DOJ officials claim that Sturdivant began consuming ISIS propaganda videos on social media and pledged his allegiance to ISIS, detailing his plans to undercover officers.
Officials said that he planned the attack for about a year in support of ISIS.
After serving a search warrant on his residence, officials said that investigators also found handwritten notes plotting the attacks. The notes had a goal of stabbing as many people as possible, the FBI said.
Christian Sturdivant allegedly swore allegiance to an international terrorist organization and plotted deadly attacks in its name, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. But the New York City Police Department has a long reach, and our undercover cybersecurity investigators once again identified threats of extremist behavior and thwarted them before they could be carried out. Public safety knows no borders, and we will continue to work with all our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorneys Office to pursue and hold accountable anyone who seeks to spread fear and violence.
He has been charged with producing material support to a terrorist organization.
After Missouri lawmakers passed a gerrymandered congressional map this fall, opponents submitted more than 300,000 signatures seeking to force a statewide vote on whether to overturn the map. But Republican state officials say they will use the map in the meantime.
Missouri courts now appear likely to weigh in.
“If we need to continue to litigate to enforce our constitutional rights, we will,” said Richard von Glahn, a progressive activist who leads People Not Politicians, which is leading the campaign opposing the gerrymandered map.
As some states engage in an extraordinary redraw of congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, state courts may decide the fate of the new maps. President Donald Trump has pushed Republican state lawmakers to gerrymander their states’ congressional maps, prompting Democratic state lawmakers to respond in kind.
Nationwide, state judges are poised to play a pivotal role in adjudicating legal challenges to the maps, which have been drafted to maximize partisan advantage for either Republicans or Democrats, depending on the state. Maps are typically only redrawn once a decade following the census.
While some state courts have long heard map-related lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court has all but taken federal courts out of the business of reviewing redrawn maps this year. On Dec. 4, a majority of the court allowed Texas’ new map, which seeks to secure five more U.S. House seats for Republicans, to proceed. A federal lawsuit against California’s new gerrymandered map, drawn to favor Democrats, hasn’t reached the high court.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s brief, unsigned majority decision voiced concern about inserting federal courts into an “active primary campaign,” though Texas’s primary election will occur in March. Critics of the court’s decision have said it effectively forecloses federal challenges to this year’s gerrymanders. The justices could also issue a decision next year that makes it more difficult to challenge maps as racially discriminatory.
State courts are taking center stage after gerrymandering opponents have spent decades encouraging them to play a more active role in policing maps that had been drawn for partisan advantage. Those efforts accelerated after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 limited the power of federal courts to block such maps.
“Basically, every one of the 50 states has something in its constitution that could be used to constrain partisan gerrymandering,” said Samuel Wang, director of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.
State constitutions, which are interpreted by state supreme courts, typically have language that echoes the right to freedom of speech and association found in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Wang said. They also include a right to equal protection under the law, similar to the 14th Amendment.
Some state constitutions guarantee free and fair elections, language that doesn’t appear in the U.S. Constitution. Thirty states have some form of a constitutional requirement for free elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
At least 10 state supreme courts have found that state courts can decide cases involving allegations of partisan gerrymandering, according to a 2024 review by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
So far this year, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Utah have adopted new congressional maps. New maps also appear possible in Florida, Maryland and Virginia. A handful of other states — Alabama, Louisiana, New York and North Dakota — may have to change their maps depending on the outcome of court cases.
Some of those new or potential maps could face legal obstacles. Florida, New York and Ohio all have state supreme courts that have previously found problems with partisan gerrymanders. Maryland Democrats have so far not moved forward with a gerrymander, in part because of fears of an adverse decision from the state Supreme Court.
Four state supreme courts — including in Missouri — have determined that they cannot review partisan gerrymandering claims, though state courts may still consider challenges on other grounds, such as whether the districts are compact or contiguous.
In Missouri’s case, courts could also clear the way for a referendum vote over the new map, which is intended to force out U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat who has represented Kansas City in Congress for the past two decades. Republicans currently hold six of the state’s eight congressional districts.
The map already faces a bevy of lawsuits, most notably over whether state officials must count some 103,000 referendum signatures gathered before the governor signed the map into law; at least 106,000 signatures are needed to send the map to voters.
Opponents of the new map have also filed lawsuits asserting the Missouri Constitution prevents redistricting without new census data and that an area of Kansas City was simultaneously placed into two separate congressional districts.
Missouri Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ decision this month (relying on an opinion from Missouri Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway) to implement the new congressional map, despite a submitted referendum petition, is expected to become the latest legal flashpoint. Opponents of the map argue it is now paused under state law.
Hoskins spokesperson Rachael Dunn said in a statement to Stateline that local election officials have until late July to verify referendum signatures — months after candidate filing ends March 31 and days before the Aug. 4 primary election. At that point, blocking the new map would be all but impossible, even if map opponents have gathered enough signatures to force a vote.
“Once signatures are all verified, the Secretary will certify the referendum based on constitutionality and verification,” Dunn wrote.
Hanaway’s office didn’t respond to questions.
Breaking out of lockstep
As federal courts limit their review of gerrymandering because of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, some state supreme courts are reluctant to wade into the issue because of a practice called “lockstepping.”
State supreme courts often interpret their state constitutions in line with — or in lockstep with — how the U.S. Supreme Court views similar language in the U.S. Constitution. Because the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to limit partisan gerrymandering, some state supreme courts have also declined to impose limits.
Gerrymandering opponents have used a variety of arguments over the years to try to prod state supreme courts out of lockstep. They have emphasized differences in wording between state constitutions and the federal one, and provisions in state constitutions — such as the free elections requirement — not found in the U.S. Constitution.
Sometimes these arguments work — and sometimes they don’t. The North Carolina Supreme Court in 2022 ruled against partisan gerrymandering. But after two Republicans were elected as justices that fall, the court reversed itself months later.
“Across the country, we have seen advocates turn to state supreme courts, and state courts in general, for state constitutional arguments against gerrymandering or voter suppression more broadly. And it’s been met with mixed success,” said Sharon Brett, a University of Kansas associate professor of law. In 2022 as litigation director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, she unsuccessfully argued a case before the state’s high court challenging Kansas’ congressional map.
In states where legislatures draw congressional maps, some lawmakers argue that state constitutions shouldn’t be interpreted to curb legislative authority over mapmaking. Court-imposed limits amount to violations of the traditional separation of powers, they say, with the judiciary overstepping its authority to interfere in politics.
“We expect them to be nonpartisan. We expect them to be unbiased. We expect them to be fair. We expect them to read the constitution and to protect or at least respect the separation of powers,” said Utah Republican state Rep. Casey Snider, speaking of Utah courts during a floor speech earlier this month.
In Utah, state courts waded through a yearslong legal battle over whether state lawmakers must adopt a non-gerrymandered map. After the Republican-controlled legislature repealed and replaced an independent redistricting process, the Utah Supreme Court last year ruled lawmakers had violated the state constitution.
A Utah district court judge in November then adopted a congressional map that will likely lead next year to the election of a Democrat. The state’s four congressional seats are currently all held by Republicans.
“What we would like is them to redistrict based on population — fairly,” Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, said of state lawmakers.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox called the Utah legislature into special session earlier in December to respond to the judge’s decision. Lawmakers pushed back candidate filing deadlines in hopes that an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court will result in a decision overturning the judge’s adopted map.
They also passed a resolution condemning the judiciary.
Constitutional concerns
As the Indiana legislature weighed a gerrymandered map to boost Republicans this month, some lawmakers were reluctant to constrain state courts. Democrats currently hold two of the state’s nine congressional districts.
The GOP-controlled Indiana Senate voted down the map in a major setback to Trump’s national redistricting push. The vote came after a floor debate where opponents raised concerns about limiting court involvement; the legislation included a provision sending any legal challenge directly to the Indiana Supreme Court, bypassing a jury trial.
Indiana Republican state Sen. Greg Walker said the measure violated the state constitution, which guarantees an “inviolate” right to a jury trial in all civil cases. “In legal terms, ‘inviolate’ has the implication of being sacred, as opposed to being just a piece of the law,” Walker said on the floor.
State Sen. Mike Gaskill, a Republican who sponsored the map, said during a speech that Indiana residents would benefit from a quick process to resolve legal challenges. “Both sides, in any case, want them to be settled quickly so that they don’t cause chaos and interruptions in the elections process,” he said.
If the map had passed, opponents would have likely attacked the measure using a provision of the Indiana Constitution that requires “free and equal” elections.
Missouri Capitol Police officers conduct security checks on boxes of petition signatures submitted to force a referendum vote on the state’ s new congressional map. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent/TNS)
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