(WXYZ) — Here at 7 News Detroit, we want to make sure you start your day off on the right foot, informed about weather, traffic, the latest news and more. That's why we have the 7 Morning Digest, where we'll get you out the door informed and ready to go.
What's the weather for today?
As a cold front slides through Metro Detroit, an isolated shower will be possible through the afternoon. However, most locations will remain dry for the remainder of the day. Sunshine and more comfortable air returns for both Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will be cooler with highs in the mid to upper 80s and dew points will be lower, making it less humid across the region. The August summer heat does return this weekend with highs back to near 90°.
Today: Partly sunny with a slight chance for a shower. Highs in the upper 80s. Winds: SW 5-10 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the low to mid 60s. Winds: NE 5-10 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 80s.
The top stories to know about
Metro Detroiters wake up to storm damage and power outages
After intense storms overnight, people across metro Detroit are waking up to power outages and storm damage.
The view from Kaytee Dwyer’s Rochester Hills window Tuesday night went from bright and sunny to dreary in a matter of moments.
"All of a sudden, thunder starts to come around, and everything’s whipping around, we hear ping pong balls bouncing off of our windows," she said. "The last thing we see is a big gust and then the power just go out and video stopped."
The storm knocked out Kaytee’s power, too. She is the owner and baker of KK's Sourdough and Sweets – a micro bakery she runs out of her house. When her power was cut, she had 160 loaves of sourdough proofing in her refrigerators. Not wanting them to go to waste, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
"I went to the store, grabbed some ice, and was just chucking ice in those fridges every half hour, cooler packs, whatever I had to keep the fridges cold," she said.
Kaytee says the loaves are looking good.. and like her proofing bread – she and her community rose to the challenge.
I had people messaging me, 'Do you need my freezer? Do you need my fridge? let me know about an oven.. what can we do to help you?'" she recalled.
The power came back on just before 4 a.m. Kaytee says worst-case scenario would be the loaves overproofing or deflating because they warmed up. If that happened, she was going to pivot to selling focaccia bread and croutons! She said that’s her backup plan – or her Bob Ross happy accidents when the bread overproofs
Neighbors relieved after MDOT postpones I-375 project amid concern, costs
The Michigan Department of Transportation has postponed the I-375 Reconnecting Communities project that was set to begin construction this fall and continue into 2029.
The project would have transformed the nation's shortest highway into a surface-level boulevard, but rising costs and community pushback about the specific redesign plan selected led to MDOT's decision to pause.
"We weren't pro-boulevard or against-boulevard. We did not like the current design," said Dr. Rebecca Chung of the Rethink I-375 Coalition.
For the last two years, Detroit residents like Chung have been asking MDOT to reconsider their plans for the I-375 project.
"There's excitement and concern. We have many residents that want a more walkable Detroit, so the idea of having any road instead of what we call the moat is very appealing to them. And then we have other residents who are very concerned because they're small business owners and they know no one will be able to do business in this neighborhood while construction is happening," Chung said.
Historically, the land where I-375 now sits was home to two thriving African American communities — Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. As the freeway was constructed in the 1960s, neighborhood residents and businesses were displaced.
The I-375 project was designed to replace the 1-mile stretch over the next five years. It represented not only an opportunity to update aging infrastructure and bridges but also an effort in restorative justice.
After noting rising costs and growing pushback from Detroiters about the specific redesign plan selected, MDOT announced it would postpone the project, bringing a sigh of relief for residents unsure about the current course of action.
"It would have been a very wide road, and when people started examining pedestrian crossings, they said it is not reasonable to think pedestrians will feel safe crossing these intersections, particularly seniors and children," Chung said.
Chung says another concern top of mind was accessibility for emergency vehicles, given the length of the project.
MDOT sent the following statement to 7 News Detroit:
"MDOT’s decision to pause the I-375 project was not taken lightly. Significant momentum has been gained in recent years as we continued working through public engagement to ensure the selected design would meet the needs of all users. It’s difficult to reach a consensus with all parties when developing a project of this magnitude. MDOT started seriously considering the future of the I-375 corridor in 2014, when we conducted a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study. PEL studies are intended to consider environmental, community, and economic considerations as part of the early planning of a project, and I-375 is the perfect mix of business and residential, with needs for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. A location with all these considerations requires an in-depth review, and based on the feedback we’ve received most recently, we’re not confident we’ve landed on the most ideal design. We don’t know what this pause means for the timeline of the project, but the $37 million investment to date has yielded valuable information we’ll continue to use as we work toward a final design. We do know we have poor pavement and bridge conditions, with at least four bridge locations that require an action plan sooner rather than later. Next steps and continued opportunities for public engagement will be announced in advance of their start."
Focus Hope's Head Start loses federal funding, leaving hundreds of children without services
A crucial free service for hundreds of metro Detroit children is ending after Focus Hope's Head Start program was denied $6 million in federal funding.
The nonprofit held a town hall Tuesday, informing families that their Head Start program would not continue, affecting 300 metro Detroit children and resulting in over 100 staff layoffs.
"Honestly, I'm a grown man, but I cried tears because the first thing I was thinking about was my babies," said Vincent McCormock, whose child attends the Head Start program.
McCormock says his family faces an uncertain future following the news. His wife was laid off from Focus Hope in June because of budget cuts, and now his two children are left without vital services.
"Since I leave Jamaica, they are my new family here in Detroit because I got no family but Focus Hope," McCormock said.
Focus Hope CEO Portia Roberson expressed her shock at the funding denial.
"Maybe it was naive of me, but I thought there was no way we wouldn't get the federal funding," Roberson said.
The nonprofit began worrying in June when there was still no update on their December grant application. The consequences for working families are severe.
"If you're working and you're relying on Focus Hope for its Head Start services and we come to you and tell you there are no more, it's quite possible you have nowhere to place your children while you're going to work every day," Roberson said.
Head Start's staff orientation was supposed to start on August 18, with the academic year beginning September 2. Instead, classrooms designated for Head Start remain empty.
Waymond Hayes, Focus Hope Director of Early Learning, described the emotional impact of the situation.
"And now to see classrooms empty, it's just overwhelming," Hayes said.
