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: We'll have partly sunny skies with highs in the low 80s. Storms are expected after 10 PM. They could be severe with wind, hail, and a tornado threat. Winds: SE 10-15 mph.
Tonight: Strong to severe storms move through before 2 am. Warm temps continue into the mid 60s. Winds: S 5-10 mph.
Friday: Slight rain chance early and late. Otherwise, it will be mostly sunny with highs in the low to mid 80s. Winds: SW 5-15 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
Oxford High School seniors reflect on journeys from freshman year shooting to graduation
Seniors from Oxford High School will attend their graduation ceremony Thursday night at Pine Knob. This group is the final class of students to leave school after surviving the deadly mass shooting in November 2021 that claimed the lives of four classmates – Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling and Hana St. Juliana.
For those seniors, the shooting forever changed their four years at high school. I sat down with three families I've kept in touch with to discuss the complex range of emotions they've faced as they close one chapter and start another.
For Aiden Watson, healing is a word that carries a deep meaning on many levels. He and his mother, Linda, talked about the struggles he's had to overcome as a result of the shooting when he was a freshman.
Aiden was among the seven others who were wounded in the shooting.
"I missed, if not all of my 9th grade. Barely went in for 10th grade. Half a day for 11th. Senior year, didn’t go in at all," Aiden said.
Emotions are also powerful for another graduating senior, Luke Johnson, who lost a dear friend and role model in Tate Myre.
"I decided I’m going to take some time, and realize what I’ve been through and how I can move forward. Then, I started to reach out to other people," Luke said.
"Just adversity, whether personal in my family or what the community has been through. The things that happened Nov. 30, and how I represent myself," he said.
Luke is now a champion wrestler and is also committed to playing football at Wayne State University this fall.
"Me and Tate were pretty close. I always looked up to him, during wrestling season especially," he said. "He always took me under his wing during football season. He was always there for me when I needed him.
More hugs were shared during our interviews between the families of Aiden Watson and senior Phoebe Arthur. Both Aiden and Phoebe overcame serious physical wounds, but emotional scars exist to this day.
"It’s not what we thought it would be. When she started freshman year, what she thought graduation would look like. Nothing like what we thought before and it’s sad," Sandra Cunningham, Phoebe's mother, said.
Michigan film industry pushes for incentives to bring productions back to state
Members of Detroit's film industry are rallying to bring more production back to Michigan through a renewed push for state incentives.
Inside Cadieux Sound Studios on Detroit's east side, industry professionals gathered to prepare for another legislative effort in Lansing.
"It's just a great place to shoot and people are hungry for it," said Mike Young, a writer, director and comedian.
Young, a Southfield native who moved to Los Angeles, has filmed two movies in Michigan and wants to bring more productions to the state.
Industry members say the lack of film incentives, which dozens of other states offer, is the main obstacle to attracting productions.
The group met with lawmakers in Lansing, pushing to restore film incentives that ended in 2015, this time with what they describe as a sustainable long-term plan.
"We're looking to get a 10-year program that builds gradually over time that will have between 6 and 8 billion dollars of direct spend in the state," said Alexander Page, legislative chair of the Michigan Film Industry Association.
However, some organizations oppose the initiative. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy argues that previous incentive programs didn't deliver sufficient economic benefits.
"From our perspective, and most economists, it's just not a good use of state tax dollars," said Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
‘Indescribable’: Local designer upcycles family memories into Detroit sportswear
Inside her Royal Oak studio, designer Ashley Harris is giving old Detroit sportswear new life one stitch at a time.
Harris, a metro Detroit native, is turning previously loved tee's, denim jackets, flags and even old stadium memorabilia into hand-sewn jackets, tops and bags. Each piece is crafted using upcycled materials and tells a distinctly Detroit story.
Her unique creations started as personal passion projects, outfits she wore to games herself. The reaction has been outstanding.
“People are always like, ‘You made it?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, in my basement last night,’” Harris said with a laugh.
One of those messages came from Dena Calhoun, a devoted Detroit Lions fan who was grieving the recent loss of several close family members, including her father, cousin and uncles. She reached out to Harris with an idea: could she turn her family's old Lions memorabilia into a jacket?
The custom piece that Harris made is stitched with not just fabric but meaning. It features team logos, handwritten notes and personal photos, all woven into a jacket Calhoun now treasures.
While some pieces Harris creates are custom commissions like Calhoun’s, others come straight from Harris’ creative instincts. No two are alike, and that’s exactly the point.
Each jacket tells a story of a team, a memory or a city, and that’s what Harris hopes will continue to resonate.
