On Sunday, a father and son killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Jewish people in that nation’s history.
The attack is part of a larger trend of rising antisemitism.
Since October of 2023, American Jews report a rise in antisemitism, including an uptick in violence against Jewish people. This past year alone, high-profile attacks happened in Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Colorado.
All of this is occurring amid Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, according to scholars.
What is the connection between Israel’s violence and violence targeting Jewish people around the world?
The Metro’s Sam Corey spoke with a variety of Jewish scholars and community leaders to learn more.
This reporting was edited by Metro Host Robyn Vincent.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A parent of a Kentucky State University student has been charged with murder in an on campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.
Jacob Lee Bard was at the school’s campus in Frankfort on Tuesday and fired shots at the victims at a residence hall, police said in a statement.
Investigators said the shooting was isolated, but they have not publicly shared details of the circumstances or a possible motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis. A second student who was shot remains in critical condition, but his name has not been released, police said.
Bard, 48, was booked into jail on murder and first-degree assault charges. Police said Bard is from Evansville, Indiana, which is about 150 miles west of Frankfort.
Bard is being represented by a public defender at the Franklin County Department of Public Advocacy, which declined to talk about his case Wednesday.
University police officers were near the scene of the altercation that ended with the shooting and immediately arrested Bard, police said.
Investigators have watched video taken by others at the scene and surveillance footage.
Asked by reporters about alleged videos showing a fight involving Bard’s sons preceded the shooting or whether Bard might have come to campus to talk to administrators about his sons’ safety, Frankfort Assistant Police Chief Scott Tracy refused to say what may have led to the shooting.
“It’s really too early in the investigation right now to really give any details that led up to it. A lot of it would be speculation,” Tracy said Wednesday.
The shooting happened at Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall. It was the second shooting in four months near the student residence.
Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle on Aug. 17, striking two people that the university said weren’t students. Frankfort police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and a second sustained serious injuries. The dorm and at least one vehicle were damaged by gunfire.
University President Koffi C. Akakpo said the school brought in more police officers after the first shooting and will evaluate whether more needs to be done to keep students safe once the investigation into the latest shooting is complete,
“The campus is a safe place,” Akakpo said at the news conference.
Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.
The school sits about 2 miles east of the Capitol building in Frankfort.
Law enforcement responds to a shooting at Whitney Moore Young Jr. Hall on Kentucky State University’s campus in Frankfort, Ky., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Hannah Brown/The State Journal via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Moments after Luigi Mangione was put in handcuffs at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear.
The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his New York murder case, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier.
“It’s him, dude. It’s him, 100%,” an officer was heard saying on body-worn camera video from Mangione’s Dec. 9, 2024 arrest, punctuating the remark with expletives as the officer combing the bag, Christy Wasser, held up the magazine.
Wasser, a 19-year Altoona police veteran, testified on the fourth day of a pretrial hearing as Mangione seeks to bar prosecutors from using the magazine and other evidence against him, including a 9 mm handgun and a notebook that were found during a subsequent search of the bag.
Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. He appeared in good health on Monday, intently watching the video and occasionally jotting notes. The hearing, which began Dec. 1 and was postponed Friday because of his apparent illness, applies only to the state case. His lawyers are making a similar push to exclude the evidence from his federal case, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Prosecutors have said the handgun found in the backpack matches the firearm used in the killing and that writings in the notebook showed Mangione’s disdain for health insurers and ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference.
Mangione’s lawyers contend the items should be excluded because police didn’t have a search warrant for the backpack. Prosecutors contend the search was legal and that officers eventually obtained a warrant.
Wasser, testifying in full uniform, said she was following Altoona police protocols that require promptly searching a suspect’s property at the time of an arrest, in part to check for potentially dangerous items. She was heard on body-worn camera footage played in court that she wanted to check the bag for bombs before removing it from the McDonald’s.
Wasser told another officer she didn’t want to repeat an incident in which another Altoona officer had inadvertently brought a bomb to the police station.
Thompson, 50, was killed as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for his company’s investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, after police there received a 911 call about a McDonald’s customer who appeared to resemble the suspect.
Wasser said that prior to responding to the McDonald’s she had seen some coverage of Thompson’s killing on Fox News, including the surveillance video of the shooting and images of the suspected shooter.
Wasser began searching his bag as officers took him into custody on initial charges of forgery and false identification, after he acknowledged giving them a bogus driving license, police said. The same fake name was used by the alleged gunman used at a Manhattan hostel days before the shooting.
By then, a handcuffed Mangione had been informed of his right to remain silent — and invoked it — when asked if there was anything in the bag that officers should be concerned about.
According to body-worn camera video, the first few items Wasser found were innocuous: a hoagie, a loaf of bread and a smaller bag containing a passport, cellphone and computer chip.
Then she pulled out the underwear, unwrapping the gray pair to reveal the magazine.
Satisfied there was no bomb, she suspended her search and placed some of the items back in the bag. She resumed her search at the police station, almost immediately finding the gun and silencer. Later, while cataloging everything in the bag in what’s known as an inventory search, she found the notebook.
A Blair County, Pennsylvania, prosecutor testified that a judge later signed off on a search warrant for the bag, a few hours after the searches were completed. The warrant, she said, provided a legal mechanism for Altoona police to turn the evidence over to New York City detectives investigating Thompson’s killing.
As he has through the case, Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann described Thompson’s killing as an “execution” and referred to his notebook as a “manifesto” — terms that Mangione’s lawyers said were prejudicial and inappropriate.
Judge Gregory Carro said the wording had “no bearing” on him, but warned Seidemann that he’s “certainly not going to do that at trial” when jurors are present.
Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in New York. (Sarah Yenesel/Pool Photo via AP)
New York City reached a record-tying 12 days with no murders — a streak only ended when a 38-year-old man was shot in the stairwell of a Bronx NYCHA building, police said Monday.
Gregory Stewart was shot in the head about 9:05 p.m. Sunday inside a Sotomayor Houses building on Watson Ave. near Rosedale Ave. in Soundview, cops said. Medics rushed the victim to Jacobi Medical Center but he could not be saved.
Stewart’s murder ended a stretch of 12 days, beginning Nov. 25, that saw no new recorded homicides citywide. The only other time the city is known to have gone that long with no murders was in 2015, which also saw a 12-day stretch with no homicides, according to NYPD stats.
“Right strategy. Great execution. That’s how you set record after record,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement Monday. “Thank you to the members of the NYPD who have sacrificed so much this year to drive down violent crime to record lows.”
A man was taken into custody in Sunday’ slaying but has not yet been charged. The victim lived in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, according to cops.
The last known murder in the city before Sunday’s homicide was the stabbing death of 80-year-old Lev Vayner inside his apartment on Overlook Terrace near W. 184th St. in Washington Heights on Nov. 24.
The suspect, 45-year-old Alon Riabichev, whom Vayner was kindly letting crash with him, called 911 around 3:15 a.m. and confessed to having killed Vayner, according to prosecutors. Riabichev is charged with murder.
38yr old Gregory Stewart was pronounced dead at Jacobi Hospital after he was shot in the head inside of 1744 Watson Avenue in the Bronx on Sunday December 7, 2025. 2107. Police took a Person of Interest into custody. Photos taken on Monday December 8, 2025. 0903. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
A suspect has been arrested upstate for the Midtown Manhattan shooting that wounded Jets player Kris Boyd last month, law enforcement sources said Monday.
The 20-year-old suspect was not immediately charged but sources say he is expected to face charges of attempted murder after he is transported to Manhattan from Amherst, a Buffalo suburb where a U.S. Marshals task force nabbed him.
The suspect lives in the Bronx and has four prior arrests, including one last year for reckless endangerment and a 2018 robbery arrest as a juvenile delinquent that was sealed, law enforcement sources said.
The gunman early on Nov. 16 was part of a group of men who mocked the stylish clothes Boyd and his friends were wearing when they arrived at Sei Less, a W. 38th St. Asian fusion hot spot popular with the well-heeled.
Boyd and his friends, including fellow Jets players Irvin Charles and Jamien Sherwood, ignored the taunts, police said, but left the club after a short while and were mocked again by the same group, sparking an argument that got physical.
Boyd was shot in the chest, the bullet travelling into his lung, as the fight escalated.
NYPD
Police released suveillance images of a man who they believe fired shots that wounded Jets cornerback Kris Boyd in Midtown. (NYPD)
The shooter and his accomplics ran off, police said, with the shooter later identified after cops released surveillance footage of him in the hopes someone would recognize him.
The suspect’s name has not been publicly released as detectives worked to establish probable cause to charge him.
Boyd was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and later released but was returned to the hospital over Thanksgiving after facing setback in his recovery, he posted on social media,
Jets Cornerback Kris Boyd is in critical condition after he was shot in the abdomen on West 38th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday Nov. 16, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News; Getty)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated after the governor of West Virginia updated his earlier report that they had died.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were shot Wednesday just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence.
The West Virginia governor initially said the troops had died, but later walked back the statement to say his office was “receiving conflicting reports” about their condition. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to questions about the attack and the condition of the troops.
A suspect who was in custody also was shot and had wounds that were not believed to be life-threatening, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
“We are in ongoing contact with federal officials as the investigation continues,” Gov. Patrick Morrisey said.
Law enforcement was reviewing surveillance video from the scene and believed the suspect approached the soldiers and pulled out a gun, said another law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
At least one of the soldiers exchanged gunfire with the shooter, the official said. Investigators were trying to determine the gunman’s motive, including whether the suspect was targeting the troops for any specific reason, the official said.
The shooting happened roughly two blocks northwest of the White House.
Social media video shared in the immediate aftermath showed first responders attempting CPR on one of the soldiers and treating the other on a glass-covered sidewalk. Other officers could be seen steps away restraining an individual on the ground.
Stacy Walters said she was in a car near the scene car when she heard two gunshots and saw people running. Almost instantly, law enforcement swarmed the area. “It’s such a beautiful day. Who would do this, and we’re getting ready for the holidays?”
Emergency medical responders transported all three people to a hospital, according to Vito Maggiolo, the public information officer for the DC Fire and Emergency Services.
The presence of the National Guard in the nation’s capital has been a flashpoint issue for months, fueling a court fight and a broader public policy debate about the Trump administration’s use of the military to combat what officials cast as an out-of-control crime problem.
More than 300 West Virginia National Guard members were deployed to Washington in August. Last week, about 160 of them volunteered to extend their deployment until the end of the year while the others returned to West Virginia just over a week ago.
Police tape cordoned off the scene where fire and police vehicle lights flashed and helicopter blades thudded overhead. Agents from the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby. At least one helicopter landed on the National Mall.
President Donald Trump, who was in Florida for Thanksgiving, warned in a statement on social media that the “animal” who shot the guardsmen “will pay a very steep price.”
“God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”
In Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Vice President JD Vance urged “everybody who’s a person of faith” to pray for the two Guardsmen. He cautioned that much remained unknown, including the motive of the shooter.
“I think it’s a somber reminder that soldiers, whether they’re active duty, reserve or National Guard, our soldiers are the sword and the shield of the United States of America,” Vance said as he delivered a Thanksgiving message to troops.
A spokesperson for Mayor Muriel Bowser said local leaders were actively monitoring the situation. Bowser had spent the morning at a Thanksgiving event at the Convention Center and then held a news conference to explain why she was not seeking reelection.
Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the local police force and sent in National Guard troops from eight states and the District of Columbia. The order expired a month later, but the troops remained.
The soldiers have patrolled neighborhoods, train stations and other locations, participated in highway checkpoints and also have been assigned to trash pickup and to guard sports events.
Last week, a federal judge ordered an end to the deployment but also put her order on hold for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to either remove the troops or appeal the decision.
—–
Governor Patrick Morrisey had previously reported their deaths in a social media post.
U.S. Marshalls and National Guard troops are seen after reports of two National Guard soldiers shot near the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Detroit Department of Transportation will be adding 53 new buses to its fleet thanks to a $50 million federal grant. That’s in addition to the 76 busses DDOT purchased in the last two years.
Mayor Mike Duggan says the new purchase will replace more than 40% of Detroit’s bus fleet. Many of the new buses will operate out of the $160 million rebuilt Coolidge Terminal on Detroit’s west side.
Additional headlines from Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
Michigan’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force is making its final recommendations, including giving out free gun locks and banning certain types of weapons.
Members say the changes would help the state enforce its existing gun safety laws more effectively. Other recommendations include creating a statewide school safety tip line and standardized training for school resource officers.
Pro-gun lawmakers have resisted supporting some of the goals, such as raising the firearms purchase age and banning high-capacity magazines.
Billups pleads not guilty in sports gambling scheme
Former Detroit Pistons star Chauncey Billups is pleading not guilty to charges that he conspired with the Mafia to help rig poker games.
The federal government accuses Billups of being part of a criminal ring that used celebrity athletes to draw in poker players, then manipulated the games to make them lose. Prosecutors say the scheme de-frauded victims of roughly $7 million, and claim Billups and other sports stars received a portion of the proceeds.
Billups, a hall of fame player and coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, denies the allegations.
His attorney calls Billups a “man of integrity” who would not risk his reputation or freedom for anything—let alone a card game. He is currently free on a $5 million bond.
Both the money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy charges against Billups carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Merry Midtown
Noel Night has been canceled this year, but midtown businesses are working together to make sure the first Saturday in December remains festive – and lucrative – for the area.
Businesses are working together to host Merry Midtown on Dec. 6. Stores, restaurants and organizations will have performances, crafts, special deals and other offerings in the afternoon and evening.
Merry Midtown – a festive evening in the spirit of Noel Night starts at 5 p.m. throughout the Midtown area.
A Noel Afternoon
The Detroit Public Library has its own alternate programming to replace its annual Noel Night festivities.
A Noel Afternoon will offer crafting, performances from the Nutcracker ballet, Dickens-themed carolers, the Detroit Youth Choir, Dutch Girl donuts, Good cookies, hot cider, a visit by Mr. and Mrs. Claus and more.
A Noel Afternoon is Saturday, December 6 from 10:30 a.m. til 6 p.m. at the Main Library at 5201 Woodward Avenue.
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Michigan lawmakers are working on bipartisan approaches to ensure crimes are accounted for and increase privacy for lawmakers.
WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben talk with State Senator Stephanie Chang and State Representative Sarah Lightner. They discuss the Violent Crime Clearance Act, shielding of addresses for certain public officials, and more.
According to a Michigan State Police report, the murder-solve rate is at 31.7% as of March of 2025. State Rep. Lightner said there could be more done to help law enforcement solve crimes.
She says a bill she introduced with State Senator Stephanie Chang will, “allow more for technical assistance for forensics or more people to investigate. [This bill] would help utilize those dollars better and have better access to labs.”
Privacy for public officials
Another proposal both lawmakers were unified on was a bill that shields the addresses of certain public officials. Due to the increased climate of political violence over the past several years, both legislators want to help ensure safety for lawmakers.
State Sen. Chang said, “We are in a different time with the heightened risk of political violence. The judicial protection act was spurred by the killing of a judge’s son. Having personal identifying information puts everyone at further risk.”
State Sen. Chang said now that the state budget is done, these bills have a better change of being addressed
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In this episode, we discuss data centers, the Michigan gubernatorial race and what items on the legislature’s to-do list are likely to get accomplished.
State Senator Stephanie Chang and State Representative Sarah Lightner discuss the Violent Crime Clearance Act, increasing privacy measures for politicians, and more.
CARBONDALE, Kan. (AP) — Four law enforcement officers were shot Saturday morning while responding to a domestic violence call at a home in a rural area south of Topeka, and a 22-year-old male suspect died of gunshot wounds at the scene.
The suspect’s 77-year-old grandfather also was wounded in the gunfire but he and the law enforcement officers are all expected to recover, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said.
The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. Three Osage County sheriff’s deputies and one Kansas Highway Patrol trooper were shot, the KBI’s director and the patrol’s superintendent said.
Two deputies underwent surgery at a Topeka hospital and were in good condition, the KBI said, and the third deputy was discharged. The trooper was transferred from the same hospital to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
“After being on scene less than 10 minutes, gunfire erupted,” patrol Superintendent Erik Smith said during a news conference at the Carbondale City Library.
Carbondale is a town of about 1,300 people about 16 miles south of Topeka, the state capital, off Highway 75.
The shooting stunned neighbors John and Heather Roberts, who live about a mile north of where it occurred on the same two-lane road. They never sensed any problem in any of the family members, such as drugs, alcohol abuse or violence, and they said the suspect’s grandmother gave Christian books to area children she knew.
They said it is not uncommon to see law enforcement vehicles on the road outside their home because they live at the line between Osage County, home to Carbondale, and Shawnee County, home to Topeka, and vehicles turn around there or the counties exchange prisoners.
John Roberts said he was putting siding on his barn when two law enforcement vehicles flew down the road in the morning.
“Both of them were running, I would say, well over 100 miles an hour as they went by,” he said. “Then the city of Topeka officers started going by. That’s when I started to really get concerned.”
He said the suspect visited the shop he has at his home to return tools and was “a good kid.” Roberts added that many families in the area own guns because hunting is a common hobby, and that was the case with this family.
“I love the family. They’re great people,” Heather Roberts said, adding that she and her husband were praying for the wounded officers too.
She said every time the suspect visited their home, he would give her a hug and he was “very respectful.”
“I don’t know what snapped in him today, but his grandparents loved him very much,” she said.
___
Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.
Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi speaks at a news conference about a domestic violence incident that resulted multiple casualties, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at the Carbondale City Library in Carbondale, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Three teenagers and a four-year-old were killed in a string of deadly shootings in Detroit during the summer. In response, Mayor Duggan and Police Chief Todd Bettison announced plans to ramp up enforcement of the city’s curfew policy and more than double the penalty fees.
The city fines parents of teenagers who stay out past curfew hours without adult supervision. Officials say fines will encourage parents to step up and help reduce the violence, but experts argue this approach doesn’t work and that it could cause more hardship for families.
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A Pontiac teen recently acquitted of homicide is headed to prison for related convictions of armed robbery and using a firearm to commit the crime.
Sentenced Oct. 13 by Oakland County Circuit Judge Daniel O’Brien, Christian Harris, 19, will spend 13-50 years behind bars for the 2023 armed robbery of Armani Terrell Baker, 22, of Waterford.
Harris got an additional two years behind bars for felony firearm in connection with the armed robbery.
Christian Harris booking photo
Harris was 17 years old at the time of the incident and charged as an adult. His first trial ended in a mistrial last year after the jury deliberated for three days and failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The retrial concluded this past Sept. 8.
The Oakland Press has reached out to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office with questions about any further legal activity or investigation regarding Baker’s homicide but hasn’t heard back yet.
The other man charged for related offenses, Jeremiah Rodriguez — age 18 at the time of the incident — made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in September to an added count of accessory after the fact. Charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony were dismissed. Last month, O’Brien sentenced Rodriguez to 14 days in jail with credit for 14 days served, and three years probation.
The attorneys representing young people in Detroit’s courts say their pay hasn’t kept pace with their purpose.
They haven’t received a raise in more than three decades.
Wayne County juvenile attorneys handle neglect and delinquency cases. They represent kids and families in crisis, but unlike public defenders, they are independent contractors who receive a set fee per hearing and no benefits.
Juvenile attorney Marc Shreeman says the pay is about $500 for a preliminary hearing and pretrial appearance, roughly half of what similar attorneys earn in nearby Oakland County.
Shreeman says low pay, coupled with rising caseloads, is having an impact. In 2019, roughly 120 attorneys were taking juvenile cases in Wayne County; now, there are fewer than 60.
The dwindling number of juvenile attorneys and stagnant pay come as Detroit faces a rise in youth violence compared with last year, and a higher number of teens being caught with firearms. City officials have responded by strengthening curfew enforcement and raising fines for parents of minors found out after hours.
WDET contacted multiple county officials for comment.
The Wayne County Executive’s Office did not respond.
A representative for the Wayne County Court Administration, which distributes pay to juvenile attorneys, said in an earlier statement that the department is “working closely with Wayne County to address potential funding options” and that staff have met with the Ways and Means Committee to discuss the issue.
WDET also contacted Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch, who chairs that committee, but did not receive a response.
Juvenile attorney Shreeman joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the work of public defenders in a time when young people are facing more danger.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
The thousands of domestic violence calls Warren police receive annually are pushing law enforcement to act differently, to move faster and meet survivors where they are.
In May, city police launched Operation Cycle Break, a new program designed to close the gaps in how domestic violence cases move through the system. The goal is fewer repeat calls, and fewer incidents overall. The effort brings together the Warren Police Department, prosecutors, a nonprofit that supports survivors, and researchers at Wayne State University.
Detective Sergeant James Twardesky and Captain Brent Chisolm of the Warren police department are the architects of Operation Cycle Break. They joined the show to explain the initiative.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and one local non-profit is recruiting men to help end the abuse.
While men are typically the perpetrators of violence, 23% of men in Michigan experience intimate partner violence, rape or stalking. This places men in a very unique place in which they can discuss, amongst themselves, both the impacts of violence on victims and discuss how their experiences could lead to violence.
Haven, a non-profit in Oakland County, has been calling on men to raise their voices on this issue. The organization aims to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault and provides resources to survivors in their time of need.
Haven is currently recruiting 100 men to lend their voices and support their communities in eliminating domestic violence. There’s a Men of Haven recruitment event coming up on Thursday, Oct. 23 from 6-8 p.m. at Haven’s headquarters in Pontiac.
Christine Kinal is the CEO of Haven. She joined the show to discuss men’s roles in addressing this very important issue.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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At the end of August, at least three women in Southeast Michigan were killed by a partner or family member. Those cases prompted questions about protection orders—processes through which victims of domestic abuse can protect themselves.
Do they make a difference, and what more can be done to prevent instances of abuse?
Chéree Thomas is the Co-Executive Director of the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. She believes the responsibility to protect victims should not be placed exclusively on the justice system, it should also be placed on the shoulders of the broader community.
She joined the show to discuss how to collectively address and reduce domestic violence.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Trial is scheduled in Oakland County Circuit Court for a former Wayne County official and her husband accused of pulling guns on a customer following a physical fight at a Farmington Hills gas station.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Feb. 23, 2026 for the cases against Alicia Bradford and her husband, Larry Bradford of Farmington Hills. Both face charges of assault with a dangerous weapon/felonious assault and using a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with a New Year’s Day 2025 incident.
Alicia Bradford (Wayne County)
According to police reports and security video obtained under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, the charges stem from an incident that happened just before 1 a.m. on Jan. 1 at a gas station on Orchard Lake Road.
A fight broke out between Larry Bradford and another customer who got involved after Bradford began arguing with the gas station clerk, accusing him of charging tax on a bottle of Mountain Dew, police said. Larry Bradford left the store and returned with a 9mm handgun and pointed it at the customer, demanding he get on his knees and apologize, and struck him. Alicia Bradford then entered the store armed with a firearm and pointed it at the customer, according to police.
In this still frame from surveillance video, Wayne County parks director Alicia Bradford points a handgun at an unidentified customer (far right, face digitally obstructed) after the man and Bradford's husband, Larry Bradford, got into a verbal and physical confrontation on Jan.1 over the price of a bottle of pop. (Farmington Hills Police Dept. via FOIA)
At the time of her arrest, Alicia Bradford was Wayne County’s parks and recreation director. She was suspended without pay after the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against her, and then resigned from her job in February.
Alicia Bradford and Larry Bradford are out of custody on $50,000 personal bonds, which require no cash or surety to be posted.
Assault with a dangerous weapon/felonious assault carries a penalty of up to four years in prison. Using a firearm in the commission of a felony is punishable by up to two years in prison.
Over the past month, Southeast Michigan has been shaken by a string of killings. A mother and her 12-year-old son, a woman fleeing an abusive relationship, and a young woman, only 20 years old, were killed with days of each other by a partner or loved one.
These tragic events force us to address hard questions: Where can people living with abuse turn for help? And are the systems that are meant to protect them actually working?
Nushrat Rahman has covering been these instances for the Detroit Free Press. She joined the show to tell us more.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
It’s been another violent year in America. There’s been a renewed focus on political violence following the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the attacks on Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota.
In an interview with Detroit Public Radio, Ware says these latest acts of violence have done nothing to quell the potential for more.
“I think a lot of people in the domestic counterterrorism space are worried about what happens the next day, in terms of, ‘how does this escalate? Which extremist movements are watching this moment, looking for an opportunity, and how do we put that back in the bag?'”
Ware says it’s concerning that some of the safeguards to monitor extremism are gone.
Cuts to counterterrorism
“Our counterterrorism infrastructure has been largely eroded, if not destroyed, by the Trump administration, and in particular, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts in places like the FBI and DHS,” Ware said.
Under the Trump administration, efforts of federal law enforcement have been reassigned to immigration enforcement. Ware says undocumented immigrants are not a threat of political violence or terrorism.
“Undocumented immigrants can be a source of a variety of challenges, including crime, including drugs, but it typically has not had a relationship with with terrorism,” Ware said. “In fact, in a study I conducted last year, I found that the number of terrorist fatalities caused by undocumented immigrants in US history is actually zero.”
Ware believes law enforcement’s focus on immigration enforcement is one factor in a rise in terrorism. Another is a lack of deterrence.
“When President Trump pardoned 1,500 people who committed an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he began to erode that deterrence,” Ware said. “People in America no longer feel like acts of violence perpetrators on behalf of political ideologies are going to be punished.”
The federal government also uses community outreach programs to stop radicalization.
“Prevention is basically federal grants that go to local organizations—grassroots organizations—that work to build resilience against radicalization in their own communities,” Ware said. “That grant making ability has been built up over several administrations, including the first Trump administration… and that work has now largely been been canceled through through the DOGE cuts.”
Response to latest political violence
The Trump Administration has used the killing of Charlie Kirk to blame left-wing groups, even though there’s been no evidence the alleged shooter was aligned with any.
President Trump wants to designate Antifa —the loose collective of left-wing individuals that oppose fascism—as a terrorist organization. Antifa has no leadership structure.
Ware says that’s not the only reason there’s little chance of Trump succeeding.
“It’s important to note that we actually don’t even have domestic terrorism laws, let alone domestic terrorism lists, in this country,” Ware said.
“So in theory, these are really empty threats. There is no way to designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization.
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Political violence has been in the news so much, it can sometimes feel exhausting. Last week, the conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, was killed.
But there’s good reason the incident has gotten so much coverage. It’s an indicator of something much bigger and more devastating than the act alone — it’s a signal that our democracy is in a fragile state.
That’s in part because political violence has been on the rise.
President Donald Trump was shot while on the campaign trail in 2024. An arsonist set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in April. In June, a former Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were assassinated. An insurrection took place at the capitol well before all that.
And that’s all outside of Michigan.
Here, a capital riot took place in 2020. A kidnapping was attempted on our governor, Gretchen Whitmer, that same year, in part with hopes of starting a civil war. Just last week, vandalism hit a mosque in Warren.
But what’s troubling experts about this violence is not just these events. It’s also the reactions to them.
Comments about Charlie Kirk’s death on social media were often ferocious. Conservatives were calling for war against liberals. Liberals were happy with Kirk’s death.
To be sure, these are the loudest voices. That’s the way social media algorithms work. The most extreme voices get the most attention because they translate to more advertising revenue.
But people are still choosing to express views of hate and vitriol.
How did we get here? And how do we get to a place where our democracy is stronger — where disagreement, and the bodies that contain those various perspectives, can live side by side?
Shikha Dalmia studies authoritarianism in an effort to stop it, and make us a freer society. She’s the president of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and the Founder and Editor of the Substack, The UnPopulist. She spoke with Robyn Vincent.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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