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?
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for Sanilac, St.Clair and Macomb counties until Thursday 7 AM
Advisories are in effect for the same times for the rest of southeastern lower Michigan.
Today: Cloudy & cold morning. Snow moves in after 1 p.m with the heaviest snow from 3 pm to 9 pm. Highs in the upper 20s. Winds: ENE 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Lingering snow until 4 am with cloudy skies and lows in the upper teens. Winds: NE 5-10 mph.
Thursday: A few light snow showers and slick roads, then mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 20s. Winds: WNW 15-25 mph.
Any traffic issues?
So far, no major traffic issues to know about this morning. Be sure to check our live traffic map before heading out.
The top stories to know about
'It hurts': Mom talks after 2 kids died of apparent hypothermia in Detroit casino parking garage
After two kids died of apparent hypothermia in a Detroit casino parking garage Monday, their mother spoke with 7 News Detroit.
A 2-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy were not breathing when their mother Tateona Williams says she tried waking them up on Monday. Police said Williams, her mother and five children were sleeping at the parking garage at Hollywood Casino Hotel at Greektown.
"I lost the one who made me a mother (and) I lost a 2-year-old. I'm dying inside. It hurts," Williams told 7 News Detroit reporter Darren Cunningham. "I feel like my heart is breaking, and I have two more kids to live for."
The family, who is homeless, parked their van in the garage Monday around 1 a.m. The van ran out of gas.
Around noon, she realized her 9-year-old was not breathing.
"Yesterday, it was like a normal day… I woke them up to wake them up for school, my son wasn’t moving. And I kept saying ‘Fatty, please get up. Please, please for me, just get up. Don’t do this to me,’” Williams said.
Williams said she’s a certified nursing assistant and medical assistant, and she tried to perform CPR on her son.
“I’ve been working there since I was 17. I tried to give him CPR and I was giving him CPR. I just kept saying ‘Fatty, don’t leave me. Don’t leave me, please,” Williams said.
A friend took him to the hospital. While her son was being taken to the hospital, Williams' mother called her to say her 2-year-old also wasn’t breathing. The friend then returned and took her to the hospital as well.
Both kids were pronounced dead at the hospital.
"She didn't even get to live her life. She didn't even get to do anything. She lost her life because I had to sleep in the car,” Williams said. “I regret having to sleep out there so bad. I tell them I'm sorry, but I tried. I tried to keep hotels, I tried to pay people to stay there, it wasn’t working for me.”
School officials meet to determine closures as snowstorm moves in Wednesday afternoon
As the snow moves in, we can expect to see school districts across Metro Detroit cancel classes. In just a few hours, many school leaders will start making those decisions as the snow storm moves in.
Everybody is keeping an eye on the First Alert Weather Team and their forecasts ahead of this year's first big winter storm, especially parents looking ahead to yet another possible snow day.
Here in Farmington, the superintendent tells us she and other superintendents in Oakland county plan to meet this morning to develop a game plan. The snow is not expected to hit until this afternoon. That'll certainly make things tougher for the evening drive home.
Farmington schools is certainly concerned about that, but they're also thinking about plans for tomorrow and beyond. We caught up with Farmington Schools Superintendent Dr. Kelly Coffin to find out how she's handling things in her district and her possible plans for tomorrow.
“Oakland County has a process where the Oakland County Superintendents come together whenever there’s a weather," Dr. Coffin said. "And, we work with a meteorologist to try to get the most accurate information. I’m assuming our weather call is going to happen tomorrow morning. And, that will give us better information.”
They're also trying to see what things are going to be like at the end of the school day today.
'It was disgusting': Detroit worker shares video of roaches inside RenCen Marriott kitchen
A Detroit man says he was working a Michigan Education Association conference last Thursday when he noticed live and dead cockroaches inside the Marriott at the Renaissance Center kitchen that serves a banquet hall.
7 News Detroit brought the claims to the attention of the Detroit Health Department, which is now investigating.
One worker decided to speak out anonymously in fear of losing work. He has found work through Instawork for three years and gets contracted to do all types of jobs at restaurants, plants and hotels wherever he’s needed.
Last Thursday morning, he was sent to work the Michigan Education Association Winter Conference at the Marriott downtown. He was in charge of serving coffee and food. Quickly after arriving to work, he noticed the cockroaches.
"When I said something, they were just like continue to work, it's OK — and it’s not," he said. “I was ready to just get out of there. I thought it was disgusting."
He claims the roaches were on the counters where food was prepared. He brought it up to people in charge in the kitchen and claims he was told to just kill them.
"Nobody was saying anything. They were just walking by like it was just a normal day. They didn’t even really care, and it didn’t sit right with me," he said.
The Detroit Health Department investigated the incident and Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair Razo provided the following statement:
"Upon receiving notification of the issue at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, the Detroit Health Department’s Environmental Health Inspectors promptly conducted an inspection of the hotel’s main kitchen. During their visit on Friday, February 7th, they observed that cleaning efforts were underway and that pest control treatments had been recently applied. The inspection revealed only a few dead roaches present at the time, which is an indication the treatments are being effective. We will be conducting a follow up visit in the coming days to check on progress."
