(WXYZ) — 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 wind chills are keeping temperatures colder than usual this morning, but high pressure will continue to build in and keep the weather dry. Highs will be close to average and in the low 50s both days.
Our next chance of rain will be Thursday. It arrives early in the morning and then tapers throughout the day. Dry weather returns starting Friday and into the weekend.
Any traffic issues?
There are two major crashes to know about this morning, and both are Downriver. First, northbound I-75 is closed at S. Huron River Dr. in South Rockwood (Mile Marker 26) due to a crash involving a flat bed semi.
Also, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office is working a crash along southbound I-75 near I-275 and they are shutting down I-275 for a helicopter to land and transport the injured patients.
Be sure to check our live traffic map here.
The top stories you need to know about this morning
Coin flip to determine winner in tied Mount Clemens school board race
Mark this down as something we didn't think would actually happen. It's been a week since Election Day, and almost all of the candidates for races know whether they won or lost – but not in Mt. Clemens.
That's because two school board candidates – Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson – each received 3,495 votes. They tied for the fourth and final open school board position.
“When I woke up Wednesday morning, I went and checked on the official website and I saw that there was a tie between me and the other candidate," Hammond recalled. “I was surprised."
“So, the first thing I do: I call the clerk. I’m like alright, 'What are we going to do about this?' He’s like, ‘Well, it’s unofficial. We gotta wait for everything and then once that’s done, then ya know, come do the process to settle a tie,'” Bronson said.
So what is the process to break the tie? It’s simpler than you might think and you’ve likely done it.
“We’re gonna call the two candidates in and we’re gonna flip a coin. This is how I handle it,” Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini told 7 News Detroit.
Masked men wave Nazi flags, use antisemitic and racial slurs outside American Legion in Howell
After protesters waving Nazi flags showed up in Howell this past weekend, veterans at the American Legion are hoping to send a message that hate isn't welcome. On Saturday, the American Legion Post 141 was hosting a play, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” when a handful of masked men showed up waving Nazi flags, allegedly shouting antisemitic and racist slurs.
“People were shocked. They were appalled," said Bobby Brite, past commander of the post. "Everything you would expect.”
Brite says the legion post hosted the play put on by the Fowlerville Community Theatre in response to rising antisemitic. Everyone in attendance was alerted about the protest during intermission.
“We had 75 people downstairs that watched that play and out of that 75, there were 50 or 60 of them that were afraid to leave this building," Brite said. "We had to escort them to their cars. No one in America should feel like that.”
“It was upsetting," cast member Becky Frank, who played Edith Frank, told WLNS. "Just knowing the character I was playing, knowing a lot of the research on my character.”
'Leave nobody behind.' Vietnam veteran has provided free housing for hundreds of people at Michigan farmhouse
Finally, on Veterans Day, our Sarah Michals shined a light on a remarkable veteran in Lapeer who has provided housing for hundreds of community members.
In 2013 Vietnam veteran Patrick Bell created Caroline House, a home in Lapeer where he has about 20 people – primarily veterans – staying at a time, completely free, as they work to get back on their feet.
He bought the 10-bedroom, four-bathroom farmhouse back in October 2013. He was spending his weekends that fall in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, handing out food to people who had nowhere to live.
"A guy came up and told me he knew I was a farmer and he said, ‘I’d work on your farm for free if I could stay in your barn,’ and that’s when the light went off," Bell said.
Since then, he's hosted hundreds of people, and while they live at Caroline House, Pat helps them find a job and affordable housing. In his 11th year, he says he has about a 97% success rate.
He still spends many weekends giving out food in the Cass Corridor, and he's still dreaming. He told me he's working on a plan to help better the lives of children in foster care.
