Detroit Free Press
‘AFFORDABLE’ WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Jessica Caldwell talks to lots of journalists. It’s part of her role as head of insights at car-shopping research site Edmunds.com, answering questions about a range of automotive topics. But if there’s one issue that comes up more than others,...
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BORDER BASH
Seeing a highway sign that “all border crossings” were open as I drove toward downtown Detroit signaled that Monday, July 27, was a day of note. Sometimes you get used to the status quo, and in metro Detroit, the status quo had been all border...
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‘IT’S A TREASURE’
Toys, noodle string necklaces, historical exhibits, science, stormtroopers, balloon flowers, face paint and more marked the reopening to the public of the Detroit Children’s Museum this past weekend after a 14-year hiatus. The museum was established...
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Ford recalls continue to mount
Ford Motor Co. has touted recent initial quality gains, yet it has recalled close to 1 million vehicles — including 2026 and 2027 models — in just the week ending July 24. On Monday, July 20, Ford issued a recall for 387,911 vehicles due to a...
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U.S. strikes shipping point on Red Sea
DUBAI – U.S. missiles struck targets across Iran, reaching as far as its Caspian coast, on July 24 after President Donald Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the war to a second major shipping...
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BIG HOUSE, BIG STARS, BIG CASH
When Zach Bryan touched down in Ann Arbor last year for the first-ever concert at the Big House, University of Michigan officials vowed there would be plenty more to come. The next step in that fledgling musical h journey is now at hand, as country...
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TRUMP’S NEW TARIFFS SPOIL BRIDGE PARTY
President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on Canada from 25% to 50% has scuttled plans for a binational celebration to open the new Gordie Howe International Bridge from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. The long-awaited, $4.7 billion (U.S.) span is...
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Farley: Let’s save the ‘essential economy’
Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said the automaker is joining forces with three U.S. corporate giants to help solve the shortage of skilled workers in the nation, a problem that Farley has long advocated must be solved if the United States is to protect...
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Business is booming
Michigan is leading the U.S. in cyclosporiasis cases, and in the last few weeks, consumers have tried to follow rapidly evolving guidance about the risks of everything from lettuce to cilantro. In some grocery h stores, lettuce heads sit forlorn, left...
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Timeline for partial demo of RenCen set
For the ambitious $1.6 billion-plus Renaissance Center redevelopment plan, the big holdup is finally over. General Motors and its development partner, Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock firm, say they are ready to move forward with their plan — and quickly — now...
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SMOKY HAZE SEEPS ACROSS THE NATION
A thick, smoky haze combined with intense heat ranging from 88 to 100 degrees lingered inside Ford Motor’s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne throughout the night and into the morning of July 16, sending several dozen assembly line workers to the medical...
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State approves Enbridge oil pipeline tunnel permit in Straits over protests
Keith Matheny Michigan environmental regulators announced Wednesday, July 15, that they approved a required permit for Canadian oil transport giant Enbridge’s Great Lakes Tunnel Project — a move immediately panned by environmental groups and regional...
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Michigan firefighter mourned: ‘A true hero’
Emily Barker spent 17 years answering the call to fight fires. On Tuesday, July 14, a traditional fire bell rang to symbolize that she had taken her last call. Bagpipes h played, and first responders, friends and family gathered at the Bethesda...
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University accused of hiding football cheating evidence
A former University of Michigan football coach says the school’s expresident actively worked to hide details of the football team’s sign stealing scandal – and that athletic department leaders knew about ex-coach Sherrone Moore’s affair with a staff...
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Ann Arbor woman feared bombs over Iran
For Dr. Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, bombs dropping in Iran hit close to home. h The Ann Arbor woman left to stay with and care for her elderly parents in Tehran, Iran’s capital, in January. After returning to Michigan last month, she recounted what it was...
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Ceasefire falls apart as slain leader is buried
The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran appeared to have fallen apart over continued strife over the Strait of Hormuz as Iranians buried their supreme leader, killed by U.S.-Israel forces at the outset of the war. There were no new...
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VERLANDER’S YEAR HAS BEEN ALL CHECKMATE
Justin Verlander sat on a chair in the middle of the Detroit Tigers clubhouse. He arranged chess pieces on a board and then leaned back. It h was Sunday, July 5, and the Tigers were a few hours from playing the Texas Rangers. Tyler Holton, a relief...
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Michigan faith leaders plot ways to defend voters
About 200 faith leaders gathered in cities across Michigan to speak out against what they said are alarming attacks by Republicans against voter rights and equal access to the ballot. They are part of an effort to defend voters as they head to the...
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Guskiewicz is staying: ‘We love this university’
Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz will remain at the university after reversing his decision to leave for Clemson University, ending weeks of uncertainty over the school’s leadership following his announcement in May that he planned...
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Portable generators blamed for deaths of three children
Three children — age 8, 12 and 16 – died in two separate incidents in Wayne County this weekend as more than 350,000 Michiganders who had their power knocked out by storms struggled to keep the lights on. Both fatal incidents — the worst of the...
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New owner hopes to continue quirky legacy
As drivers head to Michigan International Speedway, campgrounds in the Irish Hills and on their daily routes along U.S.-12 in Onsted and Brooklyn, a giant bright yellow sign saying “Mystery Hill” and “the amazing force of gravity” sits on the corner of...
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Whitmer: Let’s recommit to doing good
This Fourth of July, Michiganders will spend time with family, fire up the grill and enjoy fireworks. But this is a special Fourth of July: This year, we commemorate our nation’s 250th birthday. American democracy is the longest continuous democracy...
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THE MEANING OF REVOLUTION
Like Americans today, the people living in the United States in 1826 were preparing to celebrate a milestone for their country. July Fourth of that year marked the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. As what was known as the “Jubilee”...
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Holiday heat wave has America in its grip for birthday
With the Fourth of July weekend near, the heat is on. h A prolonged, dangerous heat wave continues intensifying across most of the central to eastern United States, with both smothering humidity and searing highs that could approach records in the...
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Jet stream more wavy than usual pattern
The same North American weather pattern bringing dangerously hot temperatures this week to Michigan and much of the eastern United States is also bringing winter-like weather to the West. Metro Detroit is expecting temperatures nearing record highs,...
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GM may be at risk of losing top-selling slot to Toyota in 2026
General Motors may yet again be dethroned as the top selling automaker in the United States, economists warn, as higher sales in segments for which the company no longer produces vehicles threaten to impact the Detroit company. At the halfway point in...
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MICHIGAN BRACES FOR DANGEROUS HEAT WAVE
It’s going to be a dangerously hot week in metro Detroit and elsewhere in Michigan, with record-breaking temperatures of up to 100 degrees and heat index values soaring well above that. The hot and humid conditions will arrive on h Monday, June 29,...
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Death toll soaring amid frantic victims search
The death toll after a doublet of devastating earthquakes in Venezuela soared to more than 500 as of June 26 as crews worked to comb through rubble for signs of life. The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, struck within one minute of each other...
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One lot, $93K: Costs rise for Detroit ‘dirty dirt’ cleanup
Violet Ikonomova The demolition at the house on 4551 25th St. two years ago cost Detroit taxpayers $22,500. Removing and replacing the toxic dirt used to fill the site is expected to cost them nearly $93,000. Detroit City Council members this week...
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Chevy goal: Win hearts, minds with heartbeats
When Josh York received an invitation from Chevrolet to be included in its next commercial campaign, he thought it was spam. But then he remembered what he did for a living and what might have brought the bow-tie brand to his inbox. A nearly lifelong...
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The man who makes the tunes pop with the booms
On an April morning at the Parade Company’s headquarters on Detroit’s east side, Black Sabbath is blasting inside an executive office. It’s two months from one of the institution’s signature events – the Ford Fireworks – and company president Tony...
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MAY CASHES IN, HEADS TO NBA
Believe nobody. Not players. Not coaches. Not athletic directors. Not university presidents. The whole college sporting world has gone transactional. When the cards kiss them, they head to the cashier’s window, chips in hand. Dusty’s in the wind. The...
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GM’s battery chemistry experiments
Jackie Charniga General Motors is tapping sodiumion as a potential energy source for battery technology used for storage, relieving considerable expense and resourcing issues that exist with its current chemistries. The Detroit automaker said June 9...
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All aboard for childcare at bus station facility
Four years ago, a 12,000-squarefoot commercial space inside of Grand Rapids Central Station, the area’s main bus hub, lay vacant. Today, it’s a childcare center. Equipped to serve around 100 kids, the facility prioritizes slots for those with parents...
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Holiday’s pioneer, 99, passing on advice, memories
Opal Lee has held many titles in her nearly 100 years – mother, grandmother, teacher, activist. But she’s most heralded as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” the woman behind the momentum to federally recognize the holiday. h This Juneteenth marks 161...
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World Cup fever hits metro Detroit in a unifying way
World Cup fever has hit metro Detroit in the most beautiful, intense, dramatic and unifying way. A massive crowd of about 2,000 crammed into Dearborn Peace Park West on June 16 − everybody hanging on every moment of action, riding waves of emotion and...
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Fain: We’ll back those who fight for working people
With Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” booming through the convention hall in downtown Detroit, UAW President Shawn Fain on Tuesday, June 16, walked to the podium and met a standing ovation from the thousand or so members and delegates to the union’s 39th...
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Iran peace agreement shifts balance in Gulf
BEIRUT – The U.S.-Iran deal may silence the guns, but it cannot alter the verdict of more than three months of war. The region has emerged from one of its most dangerous crises in decades with the balance of power broadly unchanged, Iran politically...
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THE PROM GOES ON
It was a little bit of deja vu in Macomb County. Clintondale High School students h in glittery dresses and eye-catching suits headed to prom at Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens. But unlike 10 days earlier, when a gun threat canceled h the original...
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FARLEY FAMILY FEUD OVER FUTURE SOLVED
If you travel Woodward Avenue regularly, you might see Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley with his son behind the wheel of a hand-built Mustang street-legal race car. Farley and his teenage son, Jameson, share a passion for wrenching on and driving in fast...
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Home sweet homes to help childcare workers
Pre-K teacher Haylee Fettes and her two young kids started moving into their new home in Battle Creek this month, a light pink duplex with a stone porch. Fettes will be living there rentfree. And so will her neighbor, also an early education educator,...
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Teaching city’s next generation of auto technicians
Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley has long banged the drum about the automaker’s lack of service technicians at its nearly 3,000 dealerships nationwide, but now he and another group are putting money toward fixing it. On June 8, the Detroit Public...
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PRIDE ON DISPLAY
Daija Parker, 24, left, and Champagne Divine, 25, both of Monroe, laugh after cooling off from the mist coming off the Dodge Fountain during Motor City Pride at Hart Plaza
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SENATE NARROWLY APPROVES $70B FOR ICE
Democrats don’t have much leverage in Washington these days – until they do. A small, but significant, political window opened briefly this week as Senate Republicans worked to pass a roughly $70 billion funding bill for Immigration and Customs...
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GOP questions Rx Kids founder on spending, immigrants, abortions
State lawmakers questioned the founder of Rx Kids during a hearing June 2, as the cash aid program for moms and babies rapidly expands across Michigan this summer. Pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids, spoke before a hearing of the House...
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Sports anchor Galli is striking out on his own
Brad Galli had some huge personal news to share. Galli, who was the WXYZ-TV (Channel 7 in Detroit) sports anchor, had decided to quit his TV gig. But he dreaded telling his grandmother, Patricia Galli, who lives in Shelby Township. “That was one of...
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Trump stuns by naming Pulte to acting DNI post
President Donald Trump says he is appointing Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a Trump loyalist whose family has a long history in Detroit and Michigan, as the nation’s acting chief intelligence official. The...
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Lake Erie algae is more harmful than previously thought
As harmful algal blooms chronically persist in western Lake Erie, communities and federal agencies are relying on the lake’s water monitor for microcystins, a health-harming toxin the blooms can produce. h High levels of microcystin led to the infamous...
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‘He was fearless’
On the night of May 15 in Dover, Delaware, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott left his tour bus and strolled over to the nearby bus of fellow NASCAR driver Kyle Busch. Busch had just won the 2026 Ecosave 200 h NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at...
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Driver crashes into Detroit Metro terminal
A 67-year-old man who appeared disoriented drove a Cadillac SUV slowly around barriers and into the Evans Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport on May 29. There were no serious injuries. Tadarial Sturdivant, senior vice president of emergency and support...
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Health care agreement a blessing for Detroit baby
Relief is how Andrew Bashi, of Detroit, described the feeling that washed over him and his wife, Amanda, upon hearing the news Wednesday, May 27, that Michigan Medicine and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan had reached an agreement on a new, five-year...
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Michigan Medicine, Blue Cross agree to long-term contract
Michigan Medicine and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan have reached an agreement after months of negotiations that threatened to knock hundreds of thousands of Michiganders out of in-network coverage at the Ann Arbor-based health system, effective...
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Mass attendance plunge forces tough decisions
Facing $94 million in unfunded building costs and a 40% drop in Mass attendance, the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit has embarked on a restructuring plan that some fear could lead to the merger or closure of parishes, especially those in Detroit and...
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How zoning rules can limit childcare
One boring, obscure element of city bureaucracy could be a reason why you don’t have more childcare options in your neighborhood. h Zoning. h City zoning codes can burden childcare providers with thousands of dollars in fees, costly on-site adjustments...
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Movement festival kicks off in Detroit
In a familiar Memorial Day weekend ritual, downtown Detroit surged to life Saturday, May 23, as the Movement festival revved up on the riverfront. About 30,000 fans piled into Hart Plaza to drop the needle on the three-day electronic music and dance...
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A WIN-WIN SOLUTION
Along-standing environmental problem in Michigan and elsewhere — massive piles of scrap tires and what to do with them — has become a solution for another chronic Michigan problem: bad roads. A researcher at Michigan Technological h University is...
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Without win in sight, Duggan pulls plug on bid
Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he simply didn’t see a path to winning anymore, and that led to his announcement Thursday, May 21, that he would drop his independent bid to become Michigan’s next governor. During a Thursday afternoon news...
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After Detroit shooting, teen’s survival a ‘miracle’
Tracey Clark says she agrees with curfew enforcement and all the talk about parents needing to be more responsible, including having better eyes on their children. But a 9 p.m. curfew she imposed on her 14-year-old son still didn’t stop him from...
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Inflation woes, corporate cash spur a lively debate
Michigan gubernatorial candidates pitched workers in Dearborn on their visions for the state’s economic future and how they’d protect union labor if elected during a candidate forum with the UAW on Monday, May 18. Two Democrats, Secretary of State...
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GAME 7 LOSS SHOULD STING: IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN
Let it hurt. Let it sting like hairspray in their eyes. Let it haunt their sleep for weeks to come. Then maybe next time the Detroit Pistons get a Game 7 at home to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, they won’t play as if they’re chasing a bus...
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Grand Rapids amphitheater makes its debut
GRAND RAPIDS — On a breezy, picture-perfect evening along the Grand Rapids riverfront, Lionel Richie welcomed Michigan’s newest summer concert venue. The $184 million Acrisure Amphitheater marks the state’s most significant entertainment construction...
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New Henry Ford Hospital building hits a milestone
Henry Ford Health held a topping-out ceremony on May 14 for its new $2.2 billion Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit’s New Center area that some say will eventually exceed in height the nearby Fisher Building, if one counts the hospital tower’s future...
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Water main break brings reminders of pandemic
When a water main supplying multiple Oakland County communities ruptured in the predawn hours of Sunday, May 10, it brought immediate disruption to the lives of tens of thousands, starting with restrictions and forced closures reminiscent of the early...
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‘Everything scares me’: Her lawsuit seeks changes
Athletic trainer Morgan Dean was working a hectic high school basketball game when she got that mind-numbing call from the sheriff ’s department. “Ma’am, we think we’ve identified you and your son in one of the videos from the Goldfish swim school...
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Lobby the refs, but Pistons need to fix themselves
CLEVELAND – No, the Detroit Pistons didn’t lose because of the refs. They lost because they didn’t play well enough. Or hard enough. Or with enough force. Yeah, that’s the word. They lost because they didn’t bring it. To start the game. To start the...
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Official: Broken water main should have lasted longer
Crews for the Great Lakes Water Authority were working Monday, May 11, to weld a new segment of a 42-inch water main into place in Auburn Hills. But the timeline for resolving a water crisis that has left Orion Township, northern Auburn Hills and the...
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Greektown facelift nearing fruition
For businesses in Detroit's famous Greektown district, the past 13 months of streetscape construction have felt a bit like the first year of the coronavirus, but without the face masks and PPP assistance loans. The project has temporarily closed three...
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Cunningham already a closer for the ages
In any long-distance race, you need a kick. In any IndyCar showdown, you need a final lap. And in any tight NBA playoff game, you need a closer. Here were the Detroit Pistons, straight-arming the Cavaliers all night long, holding the wolves at bay — a...
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Michigan Catholics value Pope’s opinion
As Pope Leo XIV marks one year as the leader of the world’s largest religious group, the first pontiff from the United States increasingly finds himself under attack from the political leader of the country he’s from. President Donald Trump has...
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Michigan’s new normal: Record rain
Last month’s nearly statewide flooding, fueled by record rainfall and snowmelt from unprecedented lateMarch blizzards, left whole northern Michigan neighborhoods inundated, destroyed roads and bridges and had multiple high-hazard dams at danger of...
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Spirit employees worry about health care, jobs
Operating on her schedule as a flight attendant, even on her day off, Natasha Jones, 50, of Detroit, woke up about 5 a.m. Saturday, May 2 and glanced at her phone while still in bed. There were notifications of missed emails and text messages. A bunch...
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Pistons enter sunlight after shedding dark vibes
In the end, they climbed all the way out of the giant hole, then pushed the Orlando Magic into it. The clock was ticking down, the crowd at Little Caesars Arena was roaring the chorus of “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” And it was indeed, finally,...
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Target store project dead in Midtown
What was once a highly anticipated development for Midtown Detroit featuring a Target store and 350 upscale apartments is now all but dead, and another big nearby project appears to be in danger. Detroit City Council is poised to take back a tax...
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Travelers are in ‘disbelief ’ over airline’s troubles
Passengers at Detroit Metro Airport expressed surprise and disappointment Friday, May 1, over the news regarding Spirit Airlines, which could be on the verge of shutting down over its finances. “I’m really just in shock and disbelief,” Octavia...
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CAN CADE BE A HERO FOR MORE THAN ONE DAY?
Heroes hear trumpets. They rise to the call. So here was Cade Cunningham lifting past the ghost of Isiah Thomas and the night he scored 43 points on a bum ankle in the 1988 NBA Finals. And here was Cunningham, shooting past the specter of Dave Bing and...
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