Duggan to announce election plan • 2 rescued from Plymouth Twp condo fire • Whitmer addresses Nazi protest

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - Police had to break a window to rescue an elderly couple from a fire early Wednesday in Plymouth Township.

First responders arrived at Bradbury Park Homes near Joy and Haggerty first after a fire in the basement of a home was reported just after 1 a.m. However, they had trouble getting into the home because it was full of items, and a grandfather clock was blocking the door.

Officers busted a window to get inside the home and get the couple out.

"When we got here, our police partners had broken in to the residence and were able to pull the two individuals that lived there out," said Battalion Chief Jeff Mallari, with the Plymouth Township Fire Department.

The couple was taken to a hospital for an evaluation and are expected to be OK. However, their home was a total loss. They will be receiving help from the American Red Cross. 

How proposal to cut Department of Education could impact schools

Big changes could be coming to the federal government as Donald Trump's second presidency begins to take shape, including potential plans to completely eliminate the Department of Education.

While the DOE only makes up 4% of the U.S. government's total spending, education districts in states like Michigan benefit greatly from being able to draw down funds to support programs for low-income and special needs students.

But if the education department is eliminated, it could mean schools tightening their belts and looking elsewhere for funding.

"We're going to take the Department of Education - close it. I'm going to close it," said President-Elect Donald Trump said on FOX News during the 2024 election campaign.

Among those impacted would be the 200,000 students that receive special education services in Michigan. The DOE provides about 15% of the money that goes out.

"One of the most important things that the Department of Education does is provide support for special education to help students with special needs," said Thomas Morgan, with the Michigan Education Association.

Additionally, Morgan said funding from the education department goes toward supporting students in low income districts, "especially those in rural areas and in urban areas."

That's forcing tough considerations for district superintendents like Novi's Benjamin Mainka.

"Particularly for our students when it comes to funding, we certainly would need to have answers on ‘how are we going to ensure equitable funding for our most vulnerable populations,’" he said.

He also wonders about funding federal programs for students with disabilities, students who speak English as a second language, and even school meals. 

Mayor Duggan to announce election plan

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will share if he plans to run for re-election today.

Detroiters will vote for the next mayor in 2025.

Duggan, a Democrat, was elected mayor of Detroit in 2014 and has since served for three terms. Recently, Mayor Duggan campaigned with then presidential candidate Kamala Harris before losing to President-Elect Donald Trump. 

If he chooses not to seek re-election, it isn't clear what his next steps will be.

Man demands answers from Ford after truck fire

A Metro Detroit man wants Ford to take responsibility after his 2023 hybrid F-150 caught fire while he was driving.

Anthony Zeni was driving in Canton with his brother and 4-year-old daughter when he noticed smoke coming from the hood.

"Once I came to a stop, that gray smoke turned to black smoke. The fire started coming through the hood," he said.

He yelled to his brother to get his daughter, and all three got out of the vehicle before it went up in flames, leaving behind nothing but a charred skeleton of what the truck was.

Though everyone is OK, Zeni said the fire changed his views.

"It’s definitely shaken my trust," he said. "I can’t get another hybrid. I can’t."

Two years ago, Ford recalled 125,000 hybrid models of its Escape, Maverick, and Lincoln Corsair models because of three vehicle fires.

"I feel that Ford needs to take some responsibility in this," Zeni said. "I wish I would get a better answer than ‘just deal with your insurance.’ I want to feel some empathy from them, see it, and hopefully, they can rectify the situation."

A Ford spokesperson released a statement saying:

"We are aware of this incident and are working to obtain more information about the vehicle from the customer to assist in our investigation."

Governor addresses Howell Nazi protest

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addressed a protest by Nazis outside a performance of "The Diary of Anne Frank" over the weekend.

As members of the Fowlerville Community Theater performed at the American Legion Devereaux Post 141 in Howell on Saturday, people wearing masks and carrying Nazi flags gathered outside.

"It's distressing," Whitmer said.

It isn't the first time Howell has seen this kind of behavior in recent times. Last July some white supremacists paraded in town shouting "We love Hitler. We love Trump." They were rebuked by local officials.

"I think that some of the rhetoric that we're seeing is really corrosive and very concerning," she said. "And you see rallies like this and how the local community was really shocked by it. It just tells you that we are wading into some concerning territory."

The governor denounced hate speech and reassured local and state residents that her job is to protect the public.

"And that's why I'm going to continue to try to make sure that Michigan residents feel safe," she said. "But you know hate speech and demonstrations to scare and intimidate fellow Americans is not something I take lightly."

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Daily Forecast

Today will be breezy and cool, with rain arriving late.

What else we're watching

1. After hitting a Michigan State Police vehicle on I-94 early Wednesday, an impaired driver kept going and hit another police vehicle.
2. A Westland couple is facing charges after police say their 5-year-old child got his hands on an unsecured gun and shot and killed himself.
3. Detroit police's interim chief Todd Bettison was sworn in on Tuesday. He said his focus is on both crime and traffic enforcement, including drivers running stop signs and red lights. 
4. Detroit residents will now be able to keep chickens, ducks, and bees after city council amended the ordinance regulating animal ownership.
5. Police in Dundee were able to use a woman's credit card and ID to find her after she jumped the counter and assaulted a Splash Universe employee over the weekend.

Biden, Trump to meet at the White House for transition talks

President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House on Wednesday morning after accepting an invitation from President Joe Biden. 

The meeting could be potentially awkward considering when Trump was defeated by Biden back in 2020, he did not extend an invitation to his successor. Trump even left Washington before Biden’s inauguration, becoming the first president to do so since 1869. 

This will also be the first time since 1992 that an outgoing president sits down with an incoming one he competed against in a campaign.

The peaceful transition of power from one president to another does not mandate the outgoing president to invite their successor to a face-to-face meeting at the White House before Inauguration Day.  

But, it has been a tradition for over a century that shows almost a symbolic "passing of the baton."

"The psychological transfer occurs then," former Vice President Walter Mondale once said.