Michigan, OSU fined after fights • Stellantis CEO resigns • President Biden pardons son Hunter

MONDAY NEWS HIT - After several fights broke out on the field following Michigan's win over Ohio State on Saturday, both schools are now facing a big fine.

The Big Ten Conference quickly looked at fight footage and decided to issue each school a $100,000 fine for their roles in the melee.

In a short release from the conference, they said that the actions of both teams were unsportsmanlike and jeopardized the "safety of participants and bystanders."

Within minutes of Michigan’s 13-10 victory at Ohio Stadium, players began brawling at midfield when a Michigan flag was planted on the Ohio State logo.

The moment was captured on FOX Sports’ broadcast and on cell phone video from several people inside the stadium. It was not immediately clear which player attempted to plant the flag, but video from the stands showed several Ohio State players rushing the field where the Michigan players were centered around the flag. 

Police in Ohio used pepper spray to break up the players, who threw punches and shoves in the melee that overshadowed the Wolverines' victory. One officer suffered unspecified injuries and was taken to a hospital, a police union official said.

Stellantis CEO resigns

Over the weekend, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares resigned with a letter effective immediately.

His departure comes amid a drop in sales for the automaker, though details of his decision to leave were not shared.

The company is currently working to appoint a new CEO in the first half of 2025. Until then, a new Interim Executive Committee, chaired by John Elkann, will be established.

In a statement, Elkann thanked Tavares for his work, and said he was looking toward the future.

"I look forward to working with our new Interim Executive Committee, supported by all our Stellantis colleagues, as we complete the process of appointing our new CEO. Together we will ensure the continued deployment of the Company’s strategy in the long-term interests of Stellantis and all of its stakeholders," he wrote.

UAW President Shawn Fain also responded to the resignation, calling it "a major step in the right direction."

Tensions have been high between the union and automaker, with the UAW threatening to strike Stellantis in the summer, and Fain taking aim at the company during his State of the Union address in September.

President Biden pardons Hunter

President Joe Biden released a statement Sunday night saying he’s signed a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.

The pardon comes after the family spent several days together in Nantucket for Thanksgiving, and is just days ahead of when Hunter Biden was set to face his first of two sentencing hearings.

The president’s pardon covers Hunter Biden’s trial conviction in the gun case in Delaware and his guilty plea on tax charges in California.

President Biden had repeatedly said that he would not pardon his son or commute his eventual sentence, but said in his statement Sunday that he believes "raw politics infected" the justice process.

"From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," the president said. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong."

Sentencing for felon who posed as autism therapist 

An Oakland County woman with a felony record who is accused of faking her credentials to work as a therapist for children with autism is headed to trial.

Kimberly Casey Coden-Diskin is accused of lying about her education and certifications to get a job at Oxford Recovery Center in Brighton in 2018. Her existing criminal record includes identity theft and larceny from a building.

Authorities said she was never licensed by the State of Michigan. She used professional business cards, verbal statements, and written documents to pose as a licensed medical professional. She also presented university degrees that she is alleged not to have earned and utilized the certification number of another state-certified therapist. That doctor said that Coden-Diskin has used her number three times, and records confirmed this.

Coden-Diskin was charged with sixteen counts of unauthorized practice of a health profession and two counts of identity theft. She was also charged with one count of witness intimidation for her alleged communications with a witness in the original case.

She was ordered to trial, but instead pleaded guilty in September. 

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Daily Forecast

The snow that other parts of the state are getting today isn't expected to be an issue for Metro Detroit. The cold will be the big focus, though.

What else we're watching

1. An investigation is ongoing after a 76-year-old woman hit a crashed vehicle on I-75 in Saginaw County late Sunday. She was killed. 
2. A fight over marijuana between roommates led to a shooting early Sunday. No one was hurt after one person started shooting because they thought their roommate stole their weed. 
3. A barricaded gunman situation ended Sunday night with no injuries after a man allegedly shot at the ceiling and at his wife Sunday in Farmington Hills. 
4. Family and friends will gather Monday afternoon to hold a vigil for a man killed by a wrong-way driver on the Lodge Freeway over the weekend.
5. Michigan gas price averages are up 7 cents from last week, according to AAA. A gallon of unleaded gas is currently an average of $3.08.

Trump's potential recess appointments could land at Supreme Court

Despite Republicans winning control of Congress, President-elect Donald Trump has said he may use recess appointments to fill key Cabinet positions if the Senate doesn’t provide an easy confirmation process. 

It’s a move that could result in a fight that lands at the Supreme Court, which could put Trump at odds with conservative justices. In its 234 years, the Supreme Court has decided only one case involving recess appointments. If the conservative justices had their way in 2014, they would have made it virtually impossible for any future president to make them.

In 2014, the justices unanimously ruled that Democratic President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were illegal.

But they disagreed sharply over the reach of the decision. Five justices backed a limited ruling that held the Senate wasn't actually in recess when Obama acted and, in any event, a break had to be at least 10 days before the president could act on his own.