(WXYZ) — Hey, you're busy — we get it.
We know a lot happens throughout the week, and you may not catch all of our stories here at WXYZ. So we've decided to gather the most talked-about stories from the past week all in one place that you can check out during your free time over the weekend.
Have a story idea or tip? Feel free to let us know using the contact form below.
Here are the buzz-worthy stories from the week starting October 14th.
WXYZ-TV's Michigan U.S. Senate debate between Mike Rogers & Rep. Elissa Slotkin
WXYZ was proud to host the final U.S. Senate debate between Mike Rogers (R) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) on Monday evening.
In was moderated by Editorial Director Chuck Stokes, as well as 7 News Detroit Anchors Carolyn Clifford and Alicia Smith.
In the hour-long debate, the candidates touched on a variety of different topics, from the economy and immigration, to the future of EVs, Michigan education and democracy.
You can watch their entire debate in the video above, or read a recap and breakdown of each topic at the link here.
Lions fans recreate Ford Field in their front yard
We caught up with Detroit Lions fans who wentviral on social media this week for recreating Ford Field in their front yard! Brad and Tracie Smith in Woodhaven spoke to us about how their idea came about.
"He was mowing the lawn and all of a sudden, he started screaming 'babe, babe, I got this great idea,'" Tracie Smith said.
"I just happened to visualize it, if you will," Brad Smith said. "It took a little time and a little effort, but I think it turned out OK."
"We had to make all the templates. We didn't know how hard that was going to be because we had to draw everything out by hand," Smith said.
He recruited his neighbor Jared Blair, the unofficial mathematician behind the project.
"My brain hurts from the calculations we had to do. It's a one-tenth exact replica," Blair said.
"My only advice was if you're going to do it, it better look great and it does," Tracie Smith said.
About $100 of materials and almost 24 hours of labor later, both Smith and Blair say it was worth it.
Leave the Leaves: the unique No Rake Movement that's begun in many Metro Detroit neighborhoods
With leaves starting to fall across metro Detroit, a new campaign is leaving some people scratching their heads. It's called the "no rake movement," and it encourages people to leave the leaves in their yard.
"Once a week," Tom Hobrowski said when asked how often he rakes his leaves. "I'm retired so I can get away with it."
"I have never done it, but that's not saying it's a good thing," said homeowner Rick Trute when asked about participating in the no rake movement.
"It's kind of getting back into nature," said Aaron Hiday with EGLE.
St. Clair Shores resident Tom Hobrowski is not a fan of leaving the rake or blower in the garage. He was out with his blower for some afternoon yard work, getting the rest of the leaves off his lawn.
"Leave them in place because they're going to decompose and be beneficial to your soil saves you from having to rake them up and it's good for your yard," Aaron said.
'He got me before I got it': Tips for steering clear of deer on the roads during peak season
It's peak season for deer-related crashes. According to the state, deer are most active from April-June and from October- December. That's bad news for your car. In fact, Michigan ranks No. 3 in the nation for animal collision crashes, according to insurance company State Farm.
“I was actually going out deer hunting and he got me before I got it," said Michael Golda.
It was a few weeks ago that Golda was hunting when the deer got the better of him.
“So I hit it right here, and it kind of bounced off and rolled into the ditch, and it took off after it did hit," Golda said.
Luckily he has the skills for the fix: he's a master technician with interstate auto care in Madison Heights.
However, not everyone is as fortunate. I asked Golda how much the fixes would likely cost him if he wasn't a mechanic.
“Probably around $1,000," he responded.
But the price tag depends on your car.
MSP says deer are usually out between 6-9 a.m. and 6-9 p.m. Deer are creatures of habit and they take the same path with their friends. So if you see a deer crossing sign, be aware and slow down.
“October to December is a big time in Michigan for a couple of reasons, deer are looking for dates, that is the number one reason, two it is hunting season, so there is a lot of hunters that are pushing the deer around, and get them to move a little bit durning those times as well," MSP First Lt. Michael Shaw said.
DPD Sgt. wanted fellow officers, negotiator to respond to scene before he opened fire
A Detroit police sergeant on the department's Special Response Team who shot two Detroit police officers this week wanted his fellow officers and a negotiator to respond to the scene before he opened fire.
At 2:26 PM, Sgt. Jacob Moss—a 13-year veteran of the department and an SRT officer—called from a building at Davison and St. Aubin with a list of demands.
According to internal DPD notes taken by the 911 operator who answered the call, Sgt. Moss wanted to talk to a negotiator, had a gun, and was about to kill himself.
He told the operator that he wanted his fellow SRT officers to respond.
“Do not send regular (officers),” Moss is reported saying. “If they run in, they will get hurt.”
The call lasted more than 30 minutes. By the end, Moss was shot dead after opening fire on two responding officers, grazing one and striking another.
While the call was going on, the operator wrote that she could hear gunshots in the background. They came from Moss’s department-issued rifle and handgun.
It is not unusual for SRT officers to have their firearms with them outside of work.
At the same time Moss was talking to 911, his commander placed a call to Moss’s cell phone and tried to talk the sergeant down.
It is not clear how long the two spoke.
According to the 911 notes, Sgt. Moss complained that his “job has no compassion” and that he “has (severe) back pain.” Moss said he was “upset about injuries from the job.”
But according to department sources, the most recent injury Moss had reported stemmed from an off-duty incident in June.
Moss complained of physical pain he noticed after lifting weights, sources say, and started to use his sick leave. He would return to work months later in a limited-duty role. Moss was back on October 3, faced no work restrictions, and helped serve at least one search warrant.
What do you do when a stranger knocks on your door?
After the murder of a Rochester Hills man last week, allegedly by two men posing at DTE workers, we wanted to examine how you can keep yourself safe and the precautions you can take if a stranger knocks on your door.
When he got an unexpected knock on the door in the middle of the day, longtime Detroiter Rodney Goins did what he always does.
“First I looked at my camera and saw that someone was at the door," Goins said. "I keep my exterior door locked no matter who comes to the door for safety."
Goins has seen the video of the fake DTE employees gaining access to a Rochester Hills home, allegedly killing a man and tying up his wife.
“Being in the world we live in now, you can’t trust like we did back in the day, so it’s best to have cameras. I have there, there, all over the perimeter. I’m in cyber security so I’m big on security period," Goins said.
The video is just one example of criminals getting creative to cause harm. It's why former assistant police chief Steve Dolunt says people have to be more cautious with their trust.
“If you don’t recognize em’, don’t trust 'em. And unfortunately, they prey on senior citizens. Don’t answer the door," Dolunt said.
What Dolunt says you should do instead:
“Hopefully your screen door is shut and if you have a regular door with a peephole- 'who are you? What are you doing here. I’m blah blah blah, I’m not expecting you, who can I call to verify you’re here,'" Dolunt said.
'I'm a new racist.' New recordings surface as investigation into Oakland County judge continues
It’s a story the 7 Investigators first broke: a local judge caught on tape, accused of making racist and homophobic comments. Now 7 Investigator Heather Catallo has obtained more of those recordings.
Judge Kathleen Ryan was removed from her docket in late August. The 7 Investigators have learned that investigators from the Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) have been conducting interviews about the judge’s alleged behavior with employees at the Oakland County probate court.
It's unclear at this point will she be taken off the bench for good, disciplined, or allowed to go back to work.
7 Investigator Heather Catallo first obtained the recordings that Oakland County officials say prompted Judge Kathleen Ryan’s removal from her docket in August.
In one recording Ryan allegedly said: “I can honestly say that, ok I’m not systemically racist – I’m a new racist.”
In another recording obtained by the 7 Investigators, she allegedly said: “You f*****g Black c***. I’m so pissed off at this Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, all this bulls***, oh my God – f**k you b***h.”
Ryan is the Oakland County Chief Probate Pro Tem Judge and she’s been on the bench for more than 13 years.
Attorney Edward Hutton is the Oakland County Probate Court Administrator.
Hutton is in charge of running everything that’s not under the judges’ purview inside one of the state’s largest probate courts.
“I've never met anybody that enjoys hurting people and brags about it the way she does — or intimidating people, or scaring people,” Hutton told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
He alleges Judge Ryan has been calling him both during work and after-hours for years, and Hutton says during those hours and hours of calls Judge Ryan said highly inappropriate and racist things.
In another recording, Ryan allegedly said this: “…with this whole Black Lives Matter stuff you know they’re like - everyone’s all entitled and s**t… Let’s assume they did get screwed just because of the nature of your color, and the way America is, systemic racism, all that s**t! Fine. But don’t they have an obligation to step up to the plate too? I mean think about it, all they have to do is look at their history, like the whole like baby mommas, and the dads taking off, it’s like, you guys have an obligation too. You want us to treat you equally - you got to f*****g step up and do the same job! You know, you don’t get to be a lazy a**”
“Why did you start recording the calls?” Catallo asked Hutton.
“I just felt like it wasn't going to change,” said Hutton. “Nothing's manipulated and it's conversations that I was a part of. It's something that I anticipate at some point I'll probably have to testify to under oath, and I'm absolutely willing to testify to the authenticity of every single one of them.”
Hutton says he sent Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark a formal complaint about Judge Ryan in May. He says very little happened until 3 months later when he sent the recordings of Ryan to the Michigan Supreme Court and to the Oakland County executive.
Judge Hallmark then issued a statement saying she notified the Judicial Tenure Commission (JTC) which decides whether judges should face discipline.
Sources tell the 7 investigators the highly secretive JTC investigative process is underway. But Hutton says he’s always been concerned Judge Ryan’s powerful friends in Oakland County might protect her.
In another recording Ryan allegedly said this: “I hate to say it, knock on wood. I really kind of am untouchable… They can’t touch me… They can’t touch my salary. They can’t touch my job. All they can do is have somebody run against me. Good luck!”
Hutton says Ryan has bragged in the past about knowing people on the Judicial Tenure Commission, although there’s no indication she’s contacted them about this issue.
Hutton says Judge Ryan also previously talked about how the rest of the Oakland County judges would support her in past matters.
Recording: “I’m pretty untouchable. So you guys really want to be d***s… You got 22 judges who are p*****s. Guess what - they’re still going to back me”
This isn’t the first time that Judge Ryan has allegedly made statements about her status as a judge.
In November of 2021, Wixom police arrested Ryan for domestic assault. That charge was later dropped, but police records say Ryan hit her boyfriend in the face and when she was arrested she allegedly mentioned “she was a ‘Judge…” and yelled “obscenities at [the officer], saying, she was going to ‘come after [the officer]…’”
“Judges are at the center of representing the system of justice to the public. It's not only important the way in which they handle their work, but the view that the public has of them,” said Larry Dubin, law professor emeritus at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.
Dubin is a legal ethics expert and says Judge Ryan’s statements about race and being untouchable have the potential for serious consequences from the JTC, because even the appearance of misconduct can violate the Code of Judicial Conduct.
“I would say that if a judge believes that he or she is basically untouchable, that they basically can do whatever they want to do and there will not be any consequences for it -- is really mistaken,” said Dubin. “So the Supreme Court is going to be concerned, even if a judge is creating a bad image before the public.”
“She's a judge and she makes decisions from the bench ... that affect individuals’ lives and families’ lives and have a rippling effect throughout our communities, our county, our state. And it just can't be allowed to continue,” said Hutton.
The 7 Investigators did reach out to Judge Ryan’s attorneys. They did not comment on these new recordings but previously told us in a statement: “We respect the authority of the Michigan Supreme Court. However, we look forward to vindicating Judge Ryan in the appropriate forum.”
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the JTC says their confidentiality rules prevent them from commenting as well.
