Ford launches F-150 Lightning, Detroit police bust high-end chop shop, 26-year-old mom's battle with cancer

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - Calling the day's announcement a "milestone moment" for America, Ford's production on its new fully electric F-150 begins Tuesday. 

The F-150 Lightning will begin shipping to customers across the country following its April 26 launch at its Dearborn factory, the company announced in a release this morning. The new model represents the culmination of a company-wide shift toward electric vehicles as the industry's biggest automakers pivot toward battery-powered cars and trucks. 

It will be manufactured at Ford's Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. 

"Today we celebrate the Model T moment for the 21st Century at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center," said Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford. "The Rouge is where Ford perfected the moving assembly line, making it a fitting backdrop as we make history again. The stunning anticipation for F-150 Lightning is a credit to the work of our Ford engineers and designers, and the UAW team members who are building these trucks with pride."

Ford will officially discuss the shipping of the Lightning at the company's world headquarters in Dearborn. The press conference will begin at 1:30 p.m.

According to Ford, the EV F-150 is "drawing interest from customers of competitor brands at a record rate." The company also said three of every four reservations among new Ford customers are made for the electric vehicle.

"America’s real transition to electric vehicles starts now," said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley. "F-150 Lightning is just the beginning of our ambitions for growth and leadership in digital, electric vehicles. We continue to expand our EV manufacturing footprint across the U.S., including the start of site preparation at BlueOval City, which will allow us to meet the ever-increasing customer demand for our exciting EV line-up."

Estimates from the company say Ford is on track to deliver 2 million electric vehicles a year by 2026.

Ford's CEO first teased its F-150 reveal in a tweet on April 13.

While electric vehicles still make up a tiny percentage of cars sold in the U.S., many experts believe it's the production of well-known models like Ford's pickup truck that will be necessary if battery-powered cars are to gain traction in the market.

It's likely a reason that President Joe Biden was so excited when he took the new truck for a spin.

"This sucker's quick," he said during the test drive.

To balance the gas and battery-powered markets, Ford is splitting its company into two separate divisions: Ford Blue and Ford Model e.

In addition to the reveal date, the prices of the models were also listed on Ford's website:

• F-150 Lightning Pro will start at $39,974
• F-150 Lightning XLT will start at $52,974
• F-150 Lightning Lariat will start at $67,474
• F-150 Lightning Platinum will start at $90,774

Detroit police bust high-end chop shop with $450,000 worth inside

Detroit police busted a suspected chop shop Monday on the city's west side. DPD recovered four vehicles which will go to the evidence lot  for processing, and ultimately back to their owners. All of the vehicles were big ticket items: Brand new Dodge Rams, a Cadillac and Corvette.

"As of right now, I would say about $400,000 to $450,000 thousand worth of vehicles," said Lt. Clive Stewart, Detroit police. Stewart, of the Commercial Auto Theft Unit, says they came upon these vehicles while investigating another stolen car. The owner says it was pinging at a junkyard and garage on the 14000 block of Fullerton.

The unit responded to check it out but didn't recover it - instead they found some other stolen cars. The two pickups were already loaded up on a shipping container — almost certain to be sold to buyers far from here.

"We believe they were going at a minimum across state lines, and as far as probably throughout the country," Stewart said. "The shortages that’s going on with the vehicles and things through the black market for cars, have shot up completely." It’s making for a pretty busy season for the Commercial Auto Theft Unit.

District 13 candidate accuses opponent of campaign finance violation

The congressional race for the new 13th US Congressional District is heating up - one of the candidates is accusing an opponent of violating campaign finance laws. Calling it "The Hollier Challenge" Michael Griffie is alleging Adam Hollier is in violation of campaign finance law. Both Griffe, an attorney, and Hollier, a current state senator — are running for the same seat.

"You have to be on top of every single thing because when people perceive you as a threat they gonna go at you," said long--time political advisor Adolph Mongo. The issue — apparent errors or omissions in Hollier’s October 2019 quarterly report in regard to reimbursement of fuel for travel to and from the State Capitol in Lansing.

"I think our challenge speaks for itself - we feel that because he violated campaign finance law he should not appear on the ballot," Griffie said. "Unfortunately that matter - even though it was three years ago, should have been resolved. It hasn’t been resolved to the date of filing - which was April 15th 2022, three years late."

State Senator Hollier (D-2nd District) declined to speak to FOX 2 about the matter on Monday night. He says he is discussing the matter with his attorney and plans to release a statement, "in the very near future." The Griffie campaign is calling for the Wayne County Clerk to deny certification of Hollier’s candidacy in the August primary and the general election in November.

Beaumont Outpatient Campus opens in Livonia this week

The new Beaumont Outpatient Campus in Livonia opens Wednesday. The center at 7 Mile and Haggerty will have CAT scans, X-ray services, and more.

"When you think about Beaumont as a whole and where we have Beaumont locations this was an area that was missing," said Imana "Mo" Minard, the director of nursing for Beaumont. Also, an emergency center will open June 1.

The new center is something the community wanted. "We are all moving to the outpatient because we are all into preventative services, so everything is shifting to outpatient," Minard said.

There’s also a staffing model the Livonia campus is utilizing to recruit top level talent and avoid a worker shortage "We created a staffing model that No. 1 gets rid of the midnight shift so we split our shifts differently, which has brought in more people, and we’ve given people the opportunity to choose the day they want to work, so they have structure but also the flexibility," MInard said.

26-year-old Detroit mother battles stage 5 kidney disease

Teana Williams is in the fight of her life. "The first time I had kidney failure was when I was 13 years old," she said. Williams, 26, says it’s been a struggle since then. She recently started dialysis treatments. 

FOX 2: "What’s that process been like?" "Not good," she said. "Every time I go I’m always feeling sick, I'm feeling lightheaded." She has two young boys and says it’s been difficult to support them - and deal with her illness.

"They do try to help me though they so sweet," Williams said. "If I'm in pain, they'll sit by me and rub my back like, 'You okay?'" Her plea now is to find a donor - so she can be there for her kids and live a full life. "(My dream is) to finish school, so I can go into the field of criminal justice," she said. "That’s what I want to go to school for."

To help: Teana Williams has a GoFundMe account set up to help her and her children. GO HERE to learn more or donate.

What else we're watching

1. Despite pushback from residents Monday night, Royal Oak officials approved special permits for three proposed marijuana businesses during a five-hour meeting. Many residents packed the meeting opposing the permits.
2. The U.S. Postal Service is kicking off the launch of its new service, USPS Connect, which offers same-day and next-day delivery options for neighborhood businesses looking for affordable options. 
3. Oakland County is doing an election equipment test in preparation for the May 3 election on Tuesday. The public accuracy tests are intended to ensure a smooth process of counting absentee ballots during the election.
4. It's not just Ford making noise this week about their new EV automobiles. GM also announced a fully electric corvette that could be offered as soon as next year. 
5. The stage is set for many state-level races on the Republican side of politics. Following the party's convention in Grand Rapids, officials have lined up support for two candidates favored by the former president running for attorney general and secretary of state. 

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Tuesday is going to be a bit on the colder side and come with some rain showers and maybe even a few snowflakes for communities to the north. Plan on low 50s today and temperatures in the 40s tomorrow. 

Everything Elon Musk wants to change about Twitter

Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising several changes to the social media platform which has received backlash for how it has policed content in the past. 

Musk has promised a more lenient touch to policing content on the social media platform that for many years has worked to eliminate hate speech and toxic behavior. 

Musk said in a joint statement with Twitter that he wants to make the service "better than ever" with new features, such as getting rid of automated "spam'' accounts and making its algorithms open to the public to increase trust.

"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," the 50-year-old Musk said, adding hearts, stars and rocket emojis in a tweet that highlighted the statement.

Musk has hinted at several possible changes he could bring to Twitter prompting speculation and concern alike. 

Here is everything Musk wants to change about Twitter.