The City of Pontiac has voted to send the results of a damaging audit to the feds. That audit found former Mayor Deirdre Waterman misused more than $1.6 million in tax dollars, accusations she firmly denies.

NEW YORK – Retail sales in the U.S. grew a sluggish 0.3% in October, even as retailers offered early holiday discounts online and in stores. Economists had expected sales to rise 0.5%, already a significant tail off from September's gain of 1.6%. Sales rose at home and garden stores, electronics and appliance stores, and online retailers. Nationwide, spending fell to 7.4% below a year ago, JPMorgan said, a drop of about 2.5 percentage points from two weeks earlier. Yet at clothing stores and sporting good shops, sales fell more than 4%.

Today, University Prep graduates 90 percent of its high schoolers and sends 90 percent of them to college. Ed Parks is the board president of University Prep and a beloved figure around campus. Thanks to a huge grant from a Plymouth couple named Bob and Ellen Thompson, University Prep could focus its resources and teachers and talent. "Small class sizes, college prep type curriculum and obviously teachers with passion," Parks said. He, this and University Prep prove that educational ideals can still fly high in the heart of Detroit.