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?
7 First Alert Meteorologist Mike Taylor said snow showers in the area this morning could have an impact on some of the roads. Temps will climb into the 40s with minor snow sticking to the grass on the west side of metro Detroit and farther west.
Light rain showers continue Friday for Light Up the Season. So don't forget your raincoat! Temperatures remain in the 40s for highs and lows in the 30s.
Any traffic issues?
Despite some wet roads and the first snow, we're not seeing any major crashes on the roads throughout metro Detroit! Be sure to check the live traffic map before you hit the roads!
The top stories to know about
Family of Orion Township explosion victim: 'He is doing exceptionally well'
One day after the Tuesday explosion that rocked Orion Township, we're learning that a man who was hospitalized is recovering well and is expected to be OK.
Multiple buildings were affected. Eighteen units were completely destroyed across the complex and 12 others are being questioned for their stability. Miraculously, everyone is alive.
“It is an absolute miracle, an absolute miracle if you have seen that scene that we are currently talking about — no fatalities," Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett said.
A man and a woman were sent to the hospital with serious injuries, including Ann Odden’s 80-year-old brother who she wants to keep anonymous.
Odden says her brother was working in his office and about to make a pot of coffee when he heard a loud boom. Everyday heroes stepped in to help guide him and others to safety.
“The gentleman was standing in the middle of the house with his clothes got blown off and he was coherent. He talked and he said he wanted a chair, so we got him a chair and moved him from here to the street until the medics got here," neighbor Paul Kastran said.
Odden's brother was transported to a burn unit in Detroit where he is recovering. She said her brother lost everything in the explosion but is just grateful that he's alive.
“He is doing exceptionally well. I mean, everybody’s just shocked at how well he’s doing because he shouldn’t be here," she said.
Float designed by middle school student for Detroit's Thanksgiving Day parade revealed
Some Detroit students were honored for their creativity, continuing 33 years of tradition during the unveiling of this year’s float for The Skillman Foundation.
This year's theme is "We are better together."
Ten-year-old Harmony Henry's drawing was chosen out of the hundreds of submissions to be the winner of this year's competition. She said that is the meaning behind her drawing.
“I was like, oh my gosh, woah. My mom was jumping up and down. She was like ‘you earned it, you earned it.’ But I was really excited and proud of me, myself and I.” Harmony said.
Angelique Power, president and CEO of the Skillman Foundation, said it's not easy to choose a winner, but Harmony's drawing checked all their boxes.
“All the different types of people working together to make the world better, not people who were like each other, but specifically people who were different,” Powers said.
Family mourns loss of 72-year-old pedestrian hit by car, killed in Rochester Hills
A man who was critically injured earlier this month after being hit by a car in Rochester Hills has since died.
Seventy-two-year-old Stephen Singleton, a beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, was out for his morning walk on Nov. 3 when he was hit and killed crossing Rochester Road near Avon Road around 6:45 a.m.
Investigators say he was wearing a reflective vest and was in the marked crosswalk.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office says the driver is a citizen of Colombia who was in the country illegally. However, he did have a valid foreign drivers license, which is accepted in Michigan.
“I was sitting at the table reading my bible waiting for him to come back and he left about 6 o'clock or so," the victims wife Teri Singleton recalled. "It started being 7 (o'clock) and then 7:30 and I started thinking did something happen?"
“I was sitting there as there was a knock on the door and it was unusual for someone to knock on the door that early in the morning," Teri Singleton said. "I went to the door and when I looked out, I saw a sheriff."
The deputy informed Teri Singleton of the accident and she says her husband was initially alert at the time.
“Initially, he was talking," Teri Singleton said of her husband. "I don't know how he was talking because the car hit him so hard that he flew in the air and hit the windshield and broke it.”
Stephen Singleton was a former WXYZ-TV employee back in the 80s. During 9/11, he went to Ground Zero as a volunteer. It was one of his many selfless actions that we highlighted with a story back in 2022.
“I started tearing because I couldn't find survivors," Stephen Singleton said during the 2022 interview. "We would find people who were perished, but we couldn't find survivors.”
