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: Partly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 40s. Winds: E 10 - 15 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear with lows in the mid to upper 20s. Winds: ENE 5-10 mph.
Thursday: Partly to mostly sunny with highs in the mid 50s. Winds: E 5-10 mph.
Any traffic issues?
So far, no major traffic issues to know about this morning. Be sure to check our live traffic map here.
The top stories to know about
Wyandotte mom-and-pop restaurant overwhelmed with business after heartfelt post
A mom-and-pop Italian restaurant in Wyandotte went viral on social media after a heartfelt felt Facebook post, and now business is out the door.
Debby Celia, co-owner of Gregorio's Restaurant, told 7 News Detroit there have been three record-breaking nights in a row since the post was written on Friday, March 7.
She and her husband, Greg, opened their business in 2003.
Debby Celia said she got the inspiration to write it after seeing a similar post written by a small business up north. As of this writing, her post has more than 5,200 shares.
"I says look, we need help. It's been so bad during the week — three tables, four tables, six tables. It's not cutting my bills. We need help. So, I just did a simple post and I said please remember us when you go out. We're here," she explained.
She said, "Friday night and Saturday was our busiest nights we've ever had and that was incredible — ever, in 21 years."
The business was closed on Sunday and Monday as usual, so staff got a chance to recoup. But it was back to business Tuesday where they served up classic Italian dishes.
"And tonight is our busiest Tuesday night we've ever had. Beyond blessed," Debby Celia said.
She said she didn't expect the community's enormous response both online and showing up at her door.
"I've had to turn away so many tables because we can't accommodate 'em because we can't accommodate 'em, and they're like, 'Oh no. We'll be back. Ya know, we just wanna support you,'" Debby Celia said.
Troy teen with hearing loss swims through barriers, qualifies for 2025 USA Deaflympics Swim Team
For most all her life, 16-year-old Ava Pruden has had an insatiable love of swimming.
"I do remember the first meet," she told us. " I wasn’t that good of a swimmer, I was 5, but it was a lot of fun."
Ava swims next to all the other athletes at meets, she looks exactly the same, but to her, the sport sounds a bit different.
When they're hearing the starter horn, or the cheer of their family members, she's hearing near silence.
"I was born hearing, I passed my newborn hearing test, then we came back at 2 months we found out my brother and I had hearing loss," explained Ava.
She said, "There’s so many people on a team, the coaches can’t watch over everyone at once, so it’s my job to be able to speak up for myself for what I need."
Her head swim coach at Seaholm High School, Karl Hodgson told us, "It’s remarkable, I’m in awe every day."
He said that since meeting Ava, she has continued to advocate for herself, asking written instructions, and to be added to early morning swim practices.
In regards to how Ava receives practice instructions, Hodgson said "Everything is written on the board, or I have paper sheets made up in front of each lane so they can read."
Ava's mom, Julianne Pruden, told us that when Ava first started swimming she couldn't hear the starter horn like her competitors, "and she would look at everybody else when they would jump off and then she would go."
In light of this, Julianne said that they've worked to add strobe lights to signify the start of races, for those who can't hear the horn.
"She’s never given up," said Julianne. "There are times when she’s frustrated and I say, 'don’t worry, keep going, keep swimming as they say.'"
University of Michigan students, a regent react to the US Department's warning letter
The U.S. Department of Education has put 60 universities across the country on notice that they are under investigation for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
Those universities, including the University of Michigan, have been sent warning letters to fulfill their obligations under the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus or face potential enforcement actions.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the University of Michigan experienced several protests from both pro-Palestinian as well as pro-Israeli supporters.
Those moments only made sophomore Cara Lopatin's university experience uneasy.
"This year has been a lot better than last year. Last year was pretty difficult, as I felt unsafe," Lopatin said.
The federal warning letter sent to Michigan is asking the institution to protect Jewish students on campus or face potential enforcement actions. At the time of publishing this article, 7 News Detroit had yet to hear back from the department to understand what enforcement actions entail and the deadline for the institutions to meet the requirements. But a university regent, Sarah Hubbard, says the letter is being taken seriously.
"We certainly saw the federal government say to Columbia University in the last few days that they are going to rescind their $400 million funding they are receiving and that kind of effect on research funding at Michigan would be devastating," Hubbard said.
Hubbard says research funding alone, the University gets around $2 billion from the federal government. Last week on Truth Social, President Donald Trump posted, "All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/ or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested,"
"I think it's ridiculous," Michael Muller said.
Muller completed his doctorate last year at the university.
"Jewish people, students and non-students have been subject to police violence for supporting Palestine just like any other people," Muller said.
