(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?
Today: Clouds and fog possible early. Then sun slowly works its way in. Highs in the upper 60s and low 70s. A sprinkle is possible late as some clouds try to build back up some. Winds: NW 10-15 mph.
Tonight: Clearing skies and falling temps with lows in the mid 40s. Winds: NNE 10-15 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny and cooler with highs in the low 60s. Winds: NE 10-20 mph.
Any traffic issues?
So far, no major traffic issues this morning. Be sure to check our live traffic map here.
The top stories to know about
Michigan man who survived suicide attempt receives face transplant, now helping others
A Michigan man who attempted to take his own life and survived is now the 18th person in the country to receive a face transplant.
Only about 50 people in the world have ever received a face transplant, and the story of how this man got to this point is full of miraculous moments.
Derek Pfaff, 30, showed us the first version of himself. The one who in 2012, had a seemingly perfect life. He was a captain of his high school football team, he scored a touchdown in the game that won them the state championship.
He had a 4.0, amazing friends and family, blessings that followed him to his freshman year of college, but stress about maintaining his success followed him as well.
The pressure weighed heavily, but Derek said overall he was really quite happy, which makes his story perhaps even more shocking.
"I was on a spring break, I had came back from a ski trip up north with my friends. I had them over that night to play cards in the basement. And yeah, I don't remember getting the gun or doing any of that," he said.
"So before that day, you never had any thoughts of suicide?" I asked him.
"No, never, never crossed my mind," said Derek.
Derek was 19. He had no drugs or alcohol in his system. Derek and Lisa had plans to go to church early the next day. She woke up and went to check on all her kids around 1:30 in the morning.
"I went to Derek's rooms first and opened his door, and he wasn't in his room, and that was really strange," said Lisa Pfaff. "I went through the house, I couldn't find him, and Jerry went outside, and then I heard this loud scream, ‘Derek, no, Derek no.' And he yelled, ‘call 9-1-1,’ and he said ‘Derek shot himself,'" recalled Lisa.
From 2014 through 2020, he underwent 58 surgeries. Somehow, Derek defied all odds and made it back home, but that doesn’t mean life got easier. He no longer had a nose, he lost an eye, his teeth and lips were mostly gone. The second version of himself looked very different.
His face transplant at the Mayo Clinic would make Derek the 18th person in the country to ever receive a face transplant. He would be one of only about 50 in the world to ever receive one. Derek is now 30. He will soon have his last surgery, which includes getting new teeth, and having his trach taken out, allowing him to eat solid foods for the first time in 11 years.
DEA impersonators targeting medical offices and everyday citizens with fake fines
A local dermatology office is sounding the alarm after a brazen attempt at a con job targeting medical professionals. A man called their office impersonating a DEA agent, which is an increasingly common scam targeting medical offices.
The scammer claimed to be a DEA agent named Daniel Patel and demanded to speak with doctors about an urgent matter, but an experienced office administrator recognized the red flags.
“Part of it was when he hung up, he said ‘God bless America,’” said Gladys Moore, a practice administrator at Affiliated Troy Dermatologists.
Moore, who has more than 30 years of experience, says this was the first scam call of this nature in her career. Her vigilance protected the practice from what could have been a costly fraud.
"So, I might get a call maybe twice a month from people all over the country about these DEA scams. And sometimes, they get cash from people — Target, iTunes, Amazon gift cards. They're just so rattled, they're willing to do whatever it takes to, quote on quote, get the feds off their back," DEA spokesperson Brian McNeal said.
McNeal explained that what makes these scams believable is that the culprits sometimes dig up a doctor's DEA registration number — which the agency provides to medical practitioners allowing them to prescribe drugs — and the scammers sometimes use the names of actual DEA employees to seem more credible.
"So usually, the way the scam works is they will say that registration number has been involved in some type of illegal activity and that you must pay a fine or you'll face arrest," McNeal said.
These so-called "fines" range anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000.
McNeal says these DEA impersonators don't just target doctors and people who prescribe drugs, they also go after regular everyday citizens.
Escaped peacock 'Bob' becomes local celebrity in Milford after leaving farm
A peacock that escaped from a Milford farm has become a local sensation, appearing in backyards and farms across the area.
Debbie Foster, owner of D&D Farms, has owned peacocks for 16 years and currently has about 35 peacocks and peahens on her property.
Last month, Foster took one of her peacocks out of its pen to treat a sinus problem when the unexpected happened.
"He jumped up and hit me in the face so when he did that, I jumped back and he went off into the woods," Foster said.
In the three weeks since the escape, dozens of people across Milford have spotted the peacock, sharing photos and videos on Facebook. The community even gave him a nickname.
"There was a guy on Facebook who kept calling him Bob, so my husband goes 'that sounds like a good name. His name is Bob,'" Foster said. "So that's how he got his name."
Foster has received about 50 calls about Bob, who has mostly been visiting farms or finding bird feeders in residential areas. One of those visits was to Diana Ellis' backyard, approximately 5 miles from D&D Farms.
If you spot Bob the peacock, Foster asks that you do not try to catch him yourself. Instead, call her at 248-249-3657.
