(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 a warm front moved through this morning. Skies will be partly sunny with highs climbing into the mid-70s in the afternoon, nearly 20° warmer than average. The record high temperature of 77° is in jeopardy Tuesday with a forecast high of 78° in Detroit. Winds begin to pick up across Metro Detroit with gusts near 30 mph Tuesday and continuing through Thursday.
Clouds increase Wednesday with highs peaking in the upper 70s. The record high temperature of 76° is in jeopardy Wednesday with a forecast high of 78° again in Detroit. A cold front arrives early Thursday, bringing rain showers and dropping high temperatures into the 50 to finish the week.
Any traffic issues?
So far this morning, there are no major traffic issues to know about! We'll update this section if any major road closures arrive.
We do have some good news this morning! MDOT said I-96 now has three lanes open in each direction – including ramps – from Kent Lake Rd. to I-275. That excludes the WB I-96 exit ramp to NB Milford Rd. which will open tomorrow.
The use of flex lanes along that highway begins in early 2025.
Be sure to check our live traffic map here
The top stories you need to know about this morning
'A huge success.' First weekend of early voting in Michigan draws more than 250K people
With just one week until Election Day, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said nearly 1/4 of the active registered voters in Michigan have already voted either through absentee ballots or early voting.
Early voting kicked off Saturday across Michigan and more than 250,000 people early voted over the weekend, Benson said.
"While we were surprised by the large turnouts, it was a pleasant surprise. Clerks were well-prepared, the processes and systems they had in place ran smoothly and overall, Michigan’s first day of voting in the general election was a huge success," Benson said.
You can learn more about early voting, absentee voting, see your sample ballot and more on our voter guide.
'My wife’s in labor!': Utica police officer escorts speeding couple in labor to hospital
How is this for a crazy story?! A Utica police officer helped escort a young Sterling Heights couple who were racing to the hospital while she was actively in labor.
Back on Oct. 17, Mary Weertz went into active labor one day before her due date. She was caught off guard.
While they were driving to the hospital, Officer Liz Demuynck saw the erratic driving of the young, panicked couple making an illegal turn.
Expecting to be pulled over, the couple actually called dispatch to notify them why they were speeding. The dispatcher recommended they slow down to be evaluated by the officer. Demuynck, who is a mother of two young children herself, quickly jumped into action and escorted the couple to Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital.
“Being a mom and being able to put yourself in her shoes of what you’ve gone through when you’ve delivered babies, it’s a very scary situation. Things can turn so fast," Demuynck said. “I think it just really made me go into go-mode — just get her there and get her safe.”
Bostick family home in Garden City goes all out for Halloween
You HAVE to check out the Bostick home in Garden City. The family is once again setting the bar for Halloween decorations. For the past five years, the family's decorations have been the talk of the town.
The show includes 15,000 lights blinking at you and about an hour's worth of songs synced up with the lights.
Every Halloween for the last half-decade, the Bosticks light up Garden City. Kyle Bostick says it all started when his wife sent him a clip of another house syncing lights to the Bostick's favorite Halloween song.
"It just kind of grew and spiraled out of control," Kyle said. "We're just like we should add this. We should add that. I'm like I want this I want that and just add, add, add, add until we got to where we're at."
Share your National Cat Day photos!
Finally, today is National Cat Day, and we're looking to see photos of your feline friends right meow! You can head over to our Facebook page to comment on the post and we may use your photo on air!
Check out the National Cat Day photo gallery here.
