Detroit Public Schools officials want Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release four high school students the government is holding, including a star baseball player at Western International High School.

Agents arrested Santiago Jesus Zamora Perez and his mother last weekend. Their lawyer says ICE is holding them in Texas.

At a school board meeting Tuesday, students and teachers described a climate of fear at the school in Detroit's Mexicantown neighborhood.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says he and the school board will write a letter to ICE asking them to release the students it detained.

Detroit’s Kronk Gym officially reopened this month in the old rec center where Joe Luis trained. It’s now in the recently renovated Brewster-Wheeler recreation center.

Kronk Gym was Founded by Emanuel Steward and trained dozens of world boxing champions including Thomas Hearns and Lennox Lewis. 

Kronk Gym memberships range from $90 to $129 a month, with training and HIIT classes, or $35 a month for youth.

The social justice group CodePink Detroit will join a coalition of grassroots organizations for a Human Rights Day march this Saturday starting at Hart Plaza.

The groups are calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and Military aid to Israel, abolishing ICE and ending National Guard presence in some U.S. Cities. The march begins at 2:00pm.

For more information visit codepink.org/detroit1213.

Dearborn Heights came close to canceling it’s annual tree lighting ceremony this year but a local business man saved the day.

City officials had ordered an artificial tree from China but the shipment ran into serious delays. The city decided to try to find a replacement tree, and businessman Sam Hussein helped pay for it. Hussein told Channel 7 he felt it was the right thing to do and was a great way to give back to his community.

The tree lighting ceremony will take place Friday at 6:30 p.m. outside of the Dearborn Heights City Hall.

The Charles H Wright Museum’s Season of Soul is back! The daylong event is Sunday Dec. 14 starting at 10 a.m. The event falls on Second Sunday.

The museum offers free admission on the second Sunday of every month. Activities include morning yoga, photos with Black Santa and Mrs. Claus, and a holiday silent disco.

For more information, check out the events page on the museum’s website at thewright.org.

Detroiters had to deal with a messy commute this morning – as snow overnight turned to rain, making a slushy mess on area roads and sidewalks. While northern suburbs received as much as five inches of snow, the city got about two inches before rain moved in.

The National Weather Service says the rain is expected to turn back into snow this evening. Temperatures will drop through the day as a cold front moves into town. Make sure to shovel your sidewalks or driveways today, because any slush will freeze tonight, with lows dropping to around 19 degrees. Highs for the rest of the week will only be in the 20s.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District closed today because of the weather. Students, teachers and staff got to stay home and all district buildings remained closed. Hundreds of other schools in metro Detroit were also closed today.

With temperatures expected to fall into the 20s over the next few days, the City of Detroit has put out a list of places where residents can warm up. The city’s 13 recreation centers will be available. Some will be open until 7 p.m.; others until 9 p.m. Detroit Public Library branches are also places where you can go to warm up.

Detroit casinos brought in just over $108 million in revenue last month. That’s up one-tenth of a percentage point from November 2024.

MGM Grand retained the top spot in Detroit with 47% of the market share. Motor City had 30%. Hollywood Casino at Greektown controlled 23% of the market.

The three casinos paid $13.2 million in taxes and development agreement payments to the City of Detroit last month. They paid another $8.6 million in taxes to the State of Michigan.

Kilpatrick wants restitution cut

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wants to have a federal judge reduce his restitution payments.

Kilpatrick appeared on WJR saying assets previously seized and restitution already paid should cover the remainder of what he owes the city.

The Detroit News reports Kilpatrick owed the city hundreds of thousands of dollars last year at this time. He was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison on racketeering conspiracy and other charges, but President Trump commuted his sentence in 2021.

A Michigan Court of Claims judge has declined to block a 24% wholesale tax on marijuana in the state less than a month before it’s scheduled to go into effect.

However, Judge Sima Patel allowed the challenge to the tax to proceed.

The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association claims the new tax is unconstitutional because it improperly alters a 2018 ballot measure that legalized the drug. Patel disagreed, writing that the new law was “another tax,” not an amendment to the ballot measure.

The City of Detroit is celebrating its “Rides to Care” program. Over the past year, the service has provided more than 20,000 free roundtrip rides for pregnant women and caregivers of babies up to a year old to get to medical appointments.

The goal of the program is to make it easier for those women to get to important prenatal and early childhood medical care.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave his exit interview at the Detroit Economic Club Monday.

He says he doesn’t plan to align himself with either party’s congressional races during his campaign for governor in 2026. Duggan was a lifelong Democrat until he decided to run for Whitmer’s seat. He says he’s not worried about how Michiganders vote in the U.S. House races.

"I am going to work with the people in both parties to get results that won't get reversed every two years as the state flips back and forth. I'm going to try to do what I did in Detroit, convince people that actually solving problems is better politics than tearing each other down."

Duggan says he plans to run his campaign for governor just like he ran his campaign for mayor—by meeting with voters directly.

His term as mayor ends in January.

• Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield got married over the weekend. Her transition team confirmed social media chatter, saying she and Ricke Jackson, Jr. tied the knot in a private ceremony at The Godfrey Hotel on Sunday.
• Hanukkah starts Sunday and that means Menorah in the D! This will be the 15th annual lighting of the 26 foot menorah. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with the menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m.
• The City of Pontiac will celebrate several new additions to its downtown business community tomorrow with a “mass ribbon cutting.” Eight new businesses will be welcomed to North Saginaw Street with ceremonies starting between noon and 4:00 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. there will be a celebration of the one year anniversary of interior design firm Designed Mindfully.
• Admission to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum and the Detroit Historical Museum is free Sunday, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 this month. You can find information about exhibits at both museums at detroithistorical.org.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services plans to invest $38 million in housing support for Michigan residents recovering from substance abuse disorder. The funding is a part of the allocated Substance Abuse Disorder prevention measures for harm reduction, treatment and recovery services.

The state recently found about 7,500 people left treatment without stable housing. The funding will support about 3,400 recovery housing beds by 2028—a 40% increase.

Michigan will receive $1.8 billion from opioid settlements by the year 2040. Half of the funding will be distributed to the State of Michigan Opioid Healing and Recovery Fund while the other half will be distributed to county, city and township governments.

The Michigan Association of Recovery Residencies survey found that providing recovery housing assistance helped people get and keep a job as part of their road to recovery.

HEALTH INSURANCE

There’s about a month left to apply for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is reminding Michigan residents to purchase health insurance by Dec. 15 to have coverage by January 1. People who apply after that by January 15 will not get coverage until Feb. 1.

DIFS Director Anita Fox says people should shop around for the most cost-effective plan with the best coverage. People can visit healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596 for assistance.

LONELINESS IS ON THE RISE FOR ADULTS

A recent study by the American Association of Retired Persons or AARP found loneliness among adults 45 years and older increased to about 40%. That’s a 5% increase since 2018.

Heather Nawrocki is the Vice President of Fun and Fulfillment for AARP. She says people have fewer friends and their social networks are smaller than they used to be. She says men have higher rates of loneliness compared to women.

“They're just not getting out of the house as much. They don't have as many close friends and they're not joining community organizations, clubs or pursuing interests with others the same way as perhaps they did before.”

Nawrocki says the study also found people are volunteering less frequently, leading to less social interaction.

She says it's important to check on friends and loved ones to rekindle relationships for social health which also impacts health, happiness, and longevity.

Film Detroit

Film Detroit is hosting a free film experience this month.

Attendees will learn how to build video production skills, including how to create trailers and teasers. People will also be able to sing karaoke with the Karaoke Kingz.

They will have access to onsite film resources and permit support. The event takes place Dec. 22 from 5-8 p.m. at the Northwest Activities Center located at 18100 Meyers Rd.

Visit detroitmi.gov/filmdetroit for more information.

Detroit rapper Big Sean and music legend Usher are partnering to invest in a new $1 million entertainment production facility for Detroit youth. It will be called the Detroit Entertainment Innovation Incubator and will be located inside the new Boys and Girls Club at Michigan Central.

The program will give young people from the ages of 14 to 24 access to a virtual production studio, special effects lab, creators lounge and more.

Both artists grew up going to Boys and Girls Clubs and are looking to give back with this effort. The new Boys and Girls Club location is slated to officially open with a ribbon cutting ceremony in February according to a statement from representatives.

As the weather drops, the city is reminding Detroiters in need that there are respite centers available. Recreation centers and public libraries serve as respite centers during their regular operating hours.

Some of the locations open this weekend include the Coleman A young Recreation Center at 2751 Robert Bradby, the Kemeny Recreation Center at 2260 S. Fort and the Bowen Branch of the Detroit Public Library at 3648 Vernor Hwy.

For more locations and more information go to detroitmi.gov.

The city of Detroit is looking for someone to sculpt a second statue of Joe Louis that honors his achievements outside the boxing ring.

Officials already unveiled the first statue celebrating the Brown Bomber's contributions to golf. He was the first amateur Black golfer to play in a PGA-sanctioned event.

The new statue will pay tribute to his impact on equestrian sports. Louis bought a horse farm in Shelby Township in 1939 and created the nation's first horse show featuring Black riders and trainers.

In Hamtramck mayoral candidate Adam Alharbi was deemed the winner by 11 votes after a recount this week. But the race may not be over yet. Alharbi's opponent Muith Mahmood filed a lawsuit arguing that the city should count all 37 votes that were disqualified.

The ballots were found improperly stored in the City Clerk's office and were excluded from the final count after the Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked on the issue.

Former Michigan state elections director Chris Thomas says although there is a security concern about how the ballots were handled Hamtramck residents should not be penalized. "Apparently these envelopes were received, their date, time and date stamped. The signatures were compared and found to be valid. So these voters have been disenfranchised, so there's no question about that. And the question before the court is, what are you going to do for these voters?"

Another hearing is scheduled to settle the issue.

NFL

The Lions bounce back from their Thanksgiving loss with a win against the Dallas Cowboys last night with the score of 44-30. The Lions haven’t had back-to-back losses since the 2022 season and now tie the all-time NFL record with 15 Straight wins after a loss.

They look to continue their playoff hopes as they face the Rams on Sunday December 14th.

NBA

The Pistons have back to back matchups as they face the Portland Trail Blazers today at 7:30pm and the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be at Little Caesars Arena.

NHL

And the Red Wings fell to The Columbus Blue Jackets last night with a 6-5 loss. They hope to bounce back against the Seattle Krakens tomorrow at Climate Pledge Arena. Game starts at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Tomorrow the city will be merry with the first ever Merry Midtown event. There will be dining and shopping experiences, Santa sightings, Christmas music, a roaming photo booth and more.

For more information go to citybirddetroit.com.

State energy regulators heard from people last night who oppose a large data center project near Saline. The Michigan Public Service Commission held a virtual hearing on DTE Energy’s request to fast-track contracts with the project’s developers.

The data center would require DTE Energy to substantially increase its peak electrical load. The company says that won’t raise customer’s rate.

Opponents say the facility would draw almost as much power as the city of Detroit.

Protestors rallied Wednesday in Beacon Park near DTE Headquarters.

DTE said the data center’s operators would pay for the energy they use, almost 1.5 gigawatts.

Wayne State’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights received a $350 thousand grant for its AI powered tool “VERDAD", which stands for Verifying and Exposing Disinformation and Discourse.”

VERDAD founder and journalist Martina Guzman says the tool started monitoring ethnic radio stations for disinformation in Latino communities.

Since VERDAD launched last year, more than 320 academics and journalists have registered to use the free tool. It will expand to all 50 states in multiple languages, including Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese.

A long awaited 11-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Robocop has finally taken its permanent place in Eastern Market. The statue is located at 3434 Russell St.

A recount in the Hamtramck race for mayor shows that Adam Alharbi has won the election. Alharbi beat City Councilman Muhith Mahmood by just 11 votes. Muhith requested a recount because the initial margin of victory was so small. The Wayne County Board of Canvassers recounted just over 4,000 ballots by hand Tuesday.

Legal action continues in the case, though. Mahmood has sued, claiming that 37 ballots found in the City Clerk’s office after the election should be counted.

The City of Detroit is holding a series of meetings this week to give residents more information on its 20-year master plan.

The meetings, held by the Planning and Development Department, will also give Detroiters a chance to provide their input on proposals for land use in parts of the city.

There’s a meeting for east siders tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Farwell Recreation Center on East Outer Drive. Another takes place at 6 p.m. Thursday in Southwest Detroit at the Patton Recreation Center on Woodmere. A virtual Zoom meeting will be held on Monday, December 9th. Passcode: 900187

Two conservative political operatives have been sentenced to probation in a scheme to discourage Black Detroiters from voting by mail in the 2020 presidential election.

This week’s sentencing was the last court hearing for Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman in a multistate effort to generate and distribute thousands of robocalls. The pair were accused of creating robocalls that warned people they could be questioned by police, debt collectors and vaccine advocates if they voted by mail.

Wohl and Burkman pleaded no contest to several crimes after unsuccessfully challenging the charges on free speech grounds.

The price for crossing the Ambassador Bridge will rise next year.

Tolls for passenger vehicles traveling across the international bridge between Detroit and Windsor will rise to $10 each way starting January first. That’s up from $9 right now.

For motorists paying in Canadian funds, the toll jumps from $12 CDN to $14.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel will deliver his State of the County address tonight. He’ll speak to an invitation-only crowd at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts in Clinton Township.

He’s expected to review events of the past year and preview the year to come. Macomb County’s Black population is now at 12.4%. That’s up from just around 1% in 1970. Tonight’s speech is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. You can watch it live at WDET.org.

Detroiters should brace for a deep cold spell over the next few days.

The National Weather Service says the worst of it in the short run will be now through Friday night. Lows tonight are forecasted to be around 15 degrees. Highs tomorrow and Friday will only rise into the mid-20s. Lows Thursday night will drop to around 6 degrees with wind chills of -2.

If you’re headed outside, dress in layers. Make sure you have a hat and gloves to keep you warm and avoid frostbite.

Merchants and organizations in the midtown area have organized a holiday event to keep the spirit of Noel Night going. The annual event’s 51st run has been canceled. But almost 60 shops, restaurants, and community organizations have come together to launch “Merry Midtown” in the spirit of Noel Night.

City Bird’s Andy Linn says there will be concerts at the Detroit School of the Arts, exhibits at Wayne State, DJs at several sites and more.

“And there’s going to be pop up markets at about a dozen of the larger businesses including a really cool vintage and flea market at the majestic. And then there’s going to be live music at a number of locations including Red Hook and Motor City Brewing Works. There’s going to be so many little surprises.”

Business owners say Noel Night is often one of the most lucrative of the whole year – and also when many people discover small businesses in the area. They hope it returns next year, but Merry Midtown may also be here to stay.

For more information about Merry Midtown events visit citybirddetroit.com/events.

• Detroit has welcomed three new lions at the Detroit Zoo.
• Pontiac is hosting its 44th Holiday Extravaganza Saturday. There will be a 5K Elf Run, a “Run, Little Elf” Run, a holiday parade, pony rides, winter festival, a visit from the Clauses and more. The event is a holiday celebration for Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Waterford and White Lake. It starts at 8 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. around Saginaw Street in downtown Pontiac.
• This fall was metro Detroit's driest autumn since 1998. The National Weather Service's preliminary data show we got just over four inches of rain, the least amount of precipitation for any fall this century.