More Michigan snow • Popular Harrison Township eatery burns down • Ann Arbor schools' novel resolution

THURSDAY NEWS HIT - The frigid temperatures appear to be living over metro Detroit during this round of winter weather - however, more snowfall is expected over the next two days heading into the weekend. 

Most commuters will awake to a fresh round of snow that's expected to fall over Southeast Michigan Thursday morning. Light precipitation will continue through the early hours before tapering off closer to noon. The bulk of snowfall totals will be found along I-69 and M-59, reaching two inches.

The snow is wet, so be extra careful on the roads, which could see conditions get slippery.

Luckily, temperatures will rebound back up to 26 degrees by midday Thursday. It won't be enough to melt any snow, but plan on some of relief from the cold.

Friday will offer more of the same, with snowfall expected to continue in the morning before tapering off in the afternoon. 

The National Weather Service is expecting up to 3 inches of snow in the heaviest hit places, partly because of lake effect snow. Temperatures will again hit the mid-20s. 

MORE: Accidents, mechanical issues hinder plow trucks in Bloomfield Township during storm

It is expected to rebound back up near 40 degrees next week, which means all that snow that has fallen over the past week will likely disappear by then. 

Benvenuto restaurant burns down

A popular eatery in Harrison Township that was visited by families from the area caught fire early Thursday morning, burning to the ground. 

Nobody was injured, but the structure is out of commission after several fire crews were called to the scene of Jefferson Avenue. The Benvenuto staff posted on Facebook that the restaurant "suddenly caught fire in the middle of the night" and they expect to be out of business indefinitely.

"Thank you to Harrison Township Fire Department and Macomb County Sheriff's Department for the quick response and thank you to all of our loving Benvenuto family, customers, and clientele, you have made this experience wonderful for us! Please keep us in your thoughts during this devastating and difficult time," the post read.

According to the Harrison Township Fire Department battalion chief, flames were raging out of the building and pouring through the roof when most of the crews arrived. Fighting fires in the winter is particularly challenging, because while the cold weather doesn't prevent fires, it does make it harder to slow them down. 

Ann Arbor schools call for Hamas-Israel cease-fire

A public school district in Michigan approved a resolution calling for a bilateral cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war while also encouraging its teachers to discuss the conflict in its classrooms following an emotionally charged meeting Wednesday.

The resolution approved by the Ann Arbor Public Schools board appears to be among the first times that a public school system in the United States has made such a statement on the international conflict.

It followed an over five-hour meeting that stretched into the early hours of Thursday after 120 people gave public comments in both support and opposition of the resolution.

Tensions remained high throughout the meeting in Ann Arbor, a community close to 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Detroit and home to the University of Michigan. Similar tensions have been seen across the nation in response to the war in Gaza, which is now entering its fourth month following a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants.

Courtesy of the Associated Press

Detroit sports coming to Amazon Prime

Sports fans will soon be able to stream some of their favorite teams on Prime Video as part of a restructuring agreement between Diamond Sports and Amazon. Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy. 

Diamond owns 18 networks under the Bally Sports banner. Those networks have the rights to 37 professional teams — 11 baseball, 15 NBA and 11 NHL. That includes Detroit's Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers. But do fans think this deal is a slam dunk?

"It’s nice to see our good Detroit teams playing on Amazon," said 12-year-old Miguel Chappa. "I think it’s really good what they’re doing. I’m pretty excited for it." Some lifelong fans say they also cannot wait to see it. A source tells FOX 2 that the games will still air on cable; Prime Video is just another option to watch. 

Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection last March. The company said in a late 2021 financial filing that it had debt of $8.67 billion.

Woman charged for assaulting 10-year-old at Somerset

A 10-year-old girl was randomly attacked by a woman as she waited at the Mrs. Fields cookie shop at Somerset Mall in Troy last week, according to police. On Friday, the girl was with group of friends and her guardian when all of a sudden she "got pushed face-first into the display (where) the food is," said Troy Police Captain Josh Jones.

Police said the attack appeared to be "unprovoked and for no apparent reason." The victim was startled but not severely injured. The attacker is allegedly 25-year-old Reanna Valentine of Detroit. 

"That person kind of started laughing like it was a big joke, and then made their way through the mall," Jones said. The guardian with the group of little girls told security about the attack, who reviewed surveillance footage. A day after the incident, Valentine returned to Somerset – that's when she was spotted by mall security and Troy Police, then arrested.

"It's ridiculous, uncalled-for, immoral," said Denise, a shopper at the mall. Valentine faces a misdemeanor charge for simple assault. She was released on personal bond, but the judge put her on a tether – a rarity for this charge. FOX 2 reached out to Valentine multiple times for comment but did not receive a response.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

We're looking at snow falling until the late morning before precipitation begins to wane by the afternoon. It's a wet snow that's falling, so be careful when shoveling it. 

What else we're watching

1. There's another fake Lions playoff ticket scam that authorities are warning about. This time, it's coming from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, which is worried about people on Facebook and Venmo after one man was tricked. Learn more here.
2. The Detroit Red Wings are also hitting their stride, earning a hard-fought away victory against the Florida Panthers in overtime Wednesday night. The move put them back into third place of the Atlantic Division.
3. Upgrades are coming to the Detroit People Mover, which improvements being installed starting this week. Along with the fixes is the people mover's transition to operating for free under a pilot program this year. FOX 2 will have more on this later Thursday.
4. Macomb County is expected to unveil it's new central intake and assessment center project Thursday. Aimed at fixing an aging jail system that's plaguing communities around the U.S., the new facility will provide inmates with mental health needs and other appropriate care.
5. Wayne County is expected to announce a new partnership aimed at increasing access to life-saving narcan. They're teaming up with Wayne State University to deploy 100 naloxone vending machines around the county.

HARIBO breaks Guinness World Record for largest gummy mosaic: 'Remarkable'

HARIBO had a sweet start to 2024 by breaking a gummy-related world record. The German candy company announced on Friday that it has broken the Guinness World Record for the world's largest jelly/gummy mosaic.

The mosaic, which features over 150,000 individual gummy bears, measures 353.1 square feet and took 300 people to build. The gigantic gummy art was made at University of Wisconsin at Parkside in Kenosha County. The county is also the location of Haribo's first American manufacturing facility.

"The artwork took four hours to complete and used custom acrylic 12"x12" trays inlaid with the printed design that participants followed like paint-by-numbers using HARIBO gummies," Haribo explained in a statement.