Fatal fire in Southwest Detroit • Shooting outside liquor store leaves 1 dead • Warm-up on the way

THURSDAY NEWS HIT - At least one person has been confirmed dead after a home became engulfed in flames on Detroit's southwest side. 

The Detroit Fire Department said it had pulled at least one body from the home, though it's possible that more people were living there when it caught on fire. 

Community Relations Chief James Harris said firefighters took a defensive position when they arrived due to the intensity of the fire. Soon after they arrived, the roof of the home collapsed.

"We got a call around 4:45 this morning about a dwelling fire in the 4000 block of Florida Street," he said. "When they arrived, they saw fire coming out of the roof and flames going everywhere."

It took a couple of hours before crews got the fire under control. By 7 a.m., it was only hot spots that firefighters were managing. 

The Wayne County Medical Examiner was soon called out to the home. 

A neighbor that lives across from the home said she woke up to the sound of cats in front of her home. But about 10 minutes later, she noticed the whole front of her house was lit up. 

"I screamed for my husband that the whole front of the house was engulfed," said Wanda Chandler. "Within a five-minute period, it's horrible. The house is gone. Everything is gone."

Chandler had tears in her eyes as she was speaking, worried about the residents that occupied the home. A woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s, both who are wheelchair bound, stayed at the home. 

It wasn't immediately clear if both people were at the home when the blaze broke out. The victim's identity hasn't been confirmed. 

"Right now, I'm really tore up and hurt because I know there were handicapped people in the house," Chandler said. "I'm praying they're not there, but it's not looking good because the wheelchairs are out front."

Chandler said she had known the residents since she moved into her home. She also said the woman was a bit of a hoarder and the house might have been full of items when the fire went up.

Suspect fatally shoots woman outside Detroit liquor store

A woman was killed outside a liquor store Wednesday night in Detroit after someone wielding a gun approached and shot her in the stomach.

According to a source with the Detroit Police Department, the fatality happened around 10:40 p.m. on Grand River Avenue at the Beverage One Liquor Store, near Outer Drive. 

The victim was exiting the store as the suspect shooter approached on foot from the north of the store. When the victim got to her vehicle, the suspect shot the victim, striking her in the abdomen area, police said. 

After the victim fell to the ground, the suspect began going through her pockets. Shortly after, the suspect entered the victim's car and fled the location. The vehicle is a Dodge Journey. Police said the victim later succumbed to her injury. She was 53 years old. 

Winter warm-up on the way

Get ready for a big time winter warmup leading us right into New Year's Eve and Day! Stating with today, temperatures on your Thursday will climb all the way to 48 degrees with a steady south wind of 10-20 mph. These warm temps will continue to melt all the remaining snow, so bye bye to this year's white Christmas.

Tonight, some patchy fog is possible despite the winds remaining nearly 10 mph.  

The warm air will be moist and thus, we'll watch for that fog. It'll take us into the late morning hours of Friday, as some light rain showers move in. Friday temperatures will be nearly 50 with rain on and off for most of the day.

New Year's Eve will continue to be wet, as showers sticks around but so does the warmer air. It won't be quite as high as Friday's 50, but will bring the lower and middle 40s. Next week we'll make a run at 60! Could be record-breaking temperatures by Tuesday. Stay tuned!

New Year's Eve in Metro Detroit: Things to do to ring in 2023

Dance, drink, or get the family together to celebrate 2023. There's plenty of ways to celebrate New Year's Eve around Metro Detroit. If you'll be drinking, play it safe and plan ahead. Find yourself stuck? Tow to Go offers safe way home from New Year's parties

So what's available? The city of Southgate is celebrating Noon Year's Eve at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. There's also the New Year's Eve Kids Countdown at Beacon Park in Detroit. 

There's a bar crawl in Detroit at Exodus Rooftop and a party at B. Nektar in Ferndale. 

The Tin Roof and Loving Touch also have events going on.

Teen artists wanted for Isle Royal National Park program

Ever wanted to spend days creating while surrounded by nature? Isle Royal National Park is looking for young artists to participate in the 2023 Teen Artist Exploration.

Two teens who are selected for the program will spend six days exploring the island as they create art. The proposed 2023 residency is July 21-26.

All visual and performing artists, writers, and composers ages 13 to 18 are invited to apply. Applicants must be comfortable camping on a remote island, as it is a five-night stay in the Rock Harbor area. If artists are 17 or younger, a legal guardian must also attend. Park rangers and the program mentor will assist with ferry transportation, campground reservations, and camping equipment.

On the first and last day of the program, the artists and their families will receive complimentary transportation to and from the island provided on RANGER III, a 165-foot ship operating from Houghton. Interested artists can apply between Jan. 2 until Feb. 16. Selected artists will be notified by May 1.

Learn more and apply here.

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Daily Forecast

You won't have to wait until next week to see any coldness disappear from the region. Temperatures will continue climbing Thursday and pretty much finish off the rest of the snow that's still standing. Expect rain Friday. 

What else we're watching

1. Southwest Airlines continues to cause problems for travelers who remain stranded at airports around the country, including at Detroit Metro Airport. Thursday looked to be no different with more than 2,300 flights canceled.
2. The Michigan health office that was closed in Mount Clemens after a car crashed into its side has reopened. MDHHS confirmed repairs were completed and when the holidays are over the office will reopen. 
3. MGM Grand Detroit casino will allow smoking in some lounges in the facility. A rule change by the gambling center will allow people to smoke in two designated spots in the casino.
4. Mazi Smith, the Michigan defensive end who was arrested while in possession of a firearm says he was in the process of applying for a permit when the traffic stop occurred. Smith spoke about the incident with reporters ahead of the University of Michigan's game in the College Football Playoff. 
5. A Livonia pharmacist is combining ingredients to create medications for children's pain relief. A shortage of meds for kids has prompted pharmacist Rudy Najm to create some compounds of his own. 

College student solves ‘revolutionary’ 2,500-year-old language puzzle

A grammatical problem, which has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC, has finally been solved by a Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge.

While researching for his Ph.D. thesis, Rishi Rajpopat decoded a 2,500-year-old rule, which makes it possible, for the first time, to accurately use "the father of linguistics" Pāṇini’s "language machine," according to a press release by the university.

Pāṇini’s system – which is thought to have been written around 500 BC – is meant to work like a machine. By feeding in the base and suffix of a word, this turns them into grammatically correct words and sentences through a step-by-step process.