ROCHESTER

Parking rates will soon increase in Rochester as the city works to update its parking meter technology.

BoysBeecher at AthertonBentley at Flint EliteRochester at DavisonChesaning at DurandHolly at KearsleySwartz Creek at FlushingCroswell-Lexington at Imlay CityBendle at International AcademyGenesee at Kinden North HuronFenton at LindenNew Lothrop at MontroseGenesee Christian at MorricePowers Catholic at Mount PleasantCorunna at Ortonville BrandonClio at OwossoFlint Chase vs. Rochester ChristianHamady at WebbervilleGirlsBeecher at AthertonBentley at Flint EliteKimball New Life at St. Thomas MoreChesaning at DurandHolly at KearsleyMount Pleasant at Powers CatholicGenesee at Kinde North HuronBay City Western at LapeerFenton at LindenGenesee Christian at MorriceCorunna at Ortonville BrandonClio at OwossoHamady at WebbervilleMORE:LakeVille basketball player named Athlete of Week

A man once dubbed “King Perry” was sentenced Thursday to more than 17 years in prison for his role in masterminding a long-running investment scam that collected more than $115 million from 1,000 investors nationwide. Perry Santillo appeared in federal court in Rochester, New York, more than two years after pleading guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy. Santillo and his alleged conspirators in the Ponzi scheme coaxed clients to cash in their retirement accounts and invest in sham companies under their control, using the money from newer investors to repay earlier investors, according to court documents.

As omicron rages and more people find themselves quarantining, these ideas from lifestyle pros will help you pass the time while you are stuck at home.

The girl was left in the van for about seven hours and two workers were fired as a result, according to the owner.

As of Monday, there are more options for people to get tested for coronavirus in Oakland County.

Classes at Oakland University will remain virtual through the end of January due to the spread of the COVID omicron variant, officials said.

To keep up with demand and surging COVID-19 cases in Michigan, Oakland County is ramping up its testing efforts starting next week.

The announcement came the day after the deadline they were given. They can return, but only if they get vaccinated. They make up about 1% of the Mayo Clinic's workforce.

Oakland University announced Tuesday classes for the Winter 2022 semester will begin online Jan. 5 following the university's holiday break.

A sprawling estate in Oakland County once owned by Eminem has hit the market for $3.2 million.

We’re in the thick of holiday preparations now, which can be such a magical time.

ROCHESTER, MI - A Michigan hotel’s “Buddy the Elf” room comes with everything a fan of the movie could want, minus Will Ferrell, himself. The Royal Park Hotel in Rochester has brought back this holiday suite it created last year inspired by the popular 2003 Christmas movie. The suite runs $599 per night Sundays through Thursdays and $899 Fridays and Saturdays. Interested guests can call the reservation desk at 248-652-2600. 10% of proceeds will be donated to the Downtown Rochester Big Bright Light Show.

Rochester Community Schools will be closed Thursday (Dec. 2) out of an abundance of caution.

After some controversy surrounding a change in who runs the Paint Creek Cider Mill the winning bidder has withdrawn their bid.

The Paint Creek Cider Mill has been a mainstay in northern Oakland County for decades.

Rochester Junior Olivia Chittick took home the honor of Favorite Junior in our 4Frenzy contest

With a click of a mouse or a swipe of a screen you can connect with businesses, family and old friends all over the world -- but with Facebook now under fire, it has people looking at social media differently.

Track live election results for Rochester in the 2021 Michigan General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

ANN ARBOR -- The regular season for Ann Arbor-area high school football teams has come to a close. See how teams fared in Week 9 below. FRIDAY, OCT. 22Ann Arbor Huron 31, Rochester 14Chelsea 41, Dexter 20Milan 51, Detroit Osborn 0Saline 34, Lake Orion 21St. Clair Shores South Lake 58, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 26Tecumseh 27, Ann Arbor Skyline 18Utica Ford 23, Ann Arbor Pioneer 21Whitmore Lake 1, Southfield Bradford Academy 0 (Forfeit)Ypsilanti Lincoln 41, Ypsilanti 23MORE:Ann Arbor-area prep football Power Rankings for Week 9Chelsea-Dexter showdown headlines Ann Arbor-area football picks for Week 9See which Ann Arbor-area football teams are in good shape for postseason after Week 8If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and signup for one of our local high school sports newsletters.

The following scores are collected from either the Michigan High School Athletic Association or the Associated Press. These are score from Friday, Oct. 22, or Week 9 of the football season. Allen Park 48, Southgate Anderson 0Ann Arbor Huron 31, Rochester 14Auburn Hills Avondale 30, Troy Athens 10Belleville 46, Hartland 9Bloomfield Hills 21, Troy 10Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 24, Detroit Country Day 7Canton 44, Dearborn 43Carleton Airport 55, Dearborn Heights Robichaud 21Center Line 14, Eastpointe 8Clarkston 50, Oak Park 28Dearborn Fordson 28, Howell 13Detroit Catholic Central 28, Traverse City West 2Detroit Central 38, Detroit Denby 0Detroit Edison 44, Detroit Cody 6Detroit Martin Luther King 39, Cincinnati Moeller (OH) 29Farmington 28, Ferndale 6Flint Hamady 1, Detroit Pershing 0Fraser 54, Royal Oak 13Gibraltar Carlson 28, Brownstown Woodhaven 14Grosse Pointe South 42, Grosse Pointe North 0Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 58, New Haven 22Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse 26, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 23Hazel Park 1, Madison Heights Lamphere 0Jackson Lumen Christi 34, Dearborn Divine Child 14Lincoln Park 39, Melvindale 6Livonia Churchill 31, Novi 28Livonia Franklin 31, Brighton 20Macomb Dakota 34, Roseville 7Macomb Lutheran North 21, Yale 8Marine City 21, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 10Milan 51, Detroit Osborn 0Monroe St Mary Catholic Central 56, Warren Mott 21New Boston Huron 42, Dearborn Heights Crestwood 27Northville 24, Livonia Stevenson 21Oxford 29, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 28Redford Union 38, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 6Riverview 28, Monroe 17Riverview Gabriel Richard 44, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 20Rochester Adams 42, Detroit Renaissance 6Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 1, Pontiac Arts & Technology Academy 0Rochester Hills Stoney Creek 43, Birmingham Seaholm 21Romeo 51, New Baltimore Anchor Bay 0Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 67, Detroit Communication Media Arts 0Saline 34, Lake Orion 21South Lyon 34, South Lyon East 6St Clair Shores Lakeview 35, St Clair Shores Lake Shore 7St Clair Shores South Lake 58, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 26Sterling Heights Stevenson 24, Birmingham Groves 23Swartz Creek 62, Redford Thurston 0Temperance Bedford 35, Detroit Mumford 7Traverse City Central 56, North Farmington 0Utica 35, Sterling Heights 0Utica Ford 23, Ann Arbor Pioneer 21Walled Lake Northern 31, Fenton 28Warren Michigan Collegiate 46, Port Huron 13West Bloomfield 42, Utica Eisenhower 24Westland John Glenn 20, Plymouth 13White Lake Lakeland 44, Milford 7Whitmore Lake 1, Southfield Bradford Academy 0

Here are tonight's top stories.

If someone at the open house Saturday makes an offer at listing price and purchases the home, Rainbow Connection will get $100,000 from the sale.

Multiple parents told Local 4 that something needs to be done to ensure pedestrian safety, especially for kids who walk home.

Readers respond to our September 2021 issue and more.

Each Wednesday through the fall season, fans can vote for the Metro Detroit Athlete of the Week. If you want to nominate someone for athlete of the week voting in the future, please send stats and info to japurcell@mlive.com. Peter Baracco, Farmington boys cross countryBaracco claimed the Oakland County individual championship this last weekend by navigating the challenging Kensington course with a 5k time of 16:23. Lucy Cook, Rochester girls cross countryDoes winning a county championship as a freshman make you a freshman phenom? Cook is one of many talented freshman in Oakland County this year and she flexed her talent with a winning 5k time of 18:57 to claim the county title.

A large African caracal that escaped from its owner’s home in Royal Oak was located late Wednesday night near a garage on Altaneda Avenue.

The school sent out an alert to students, saying the assault happened back in May but the victim reported it in October.

The president of Southeastern Michigan’s Oakland University has committed $1 million to the school for student scholarships.

The George Floyd bust was on display in New York City’s Union Square for just two days before a vandal splattered paint as he skateboarded away. Volunteers immediately helped clean it up.

"This is something we've been asking for for a very long time," said Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.

ROCHESTER, MI - It’s one of the most talked about homes to hit the market in years in Michigan. We’re taking you on a video tour of what’s now known as the “Game of Thrones” castle. It sits on more than 6 acres and is surrounded by a wrought iron fence and two gated towers. “This is ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 9,” Nicholas Asplund of Lux Partners Global told MLive. You can contact Nicholas Asplund at Lux Partners Global for more information at 810-222-9019 or via email.

1 in the Metro Detroit high school football rankings has not been a good thing as we’re already on our third No. Belleville (2-1)Belleville had players missing due to injury and COVID protocols in its shocking 28-21 loss to Livonia Churchill. Livonia Churchill (3-0)Churchill became the first team to beat Belleville in the regular season since Sep. 9, 2016. Detroit Cass Tech (2-1)Cass Tech got locked in a back-and-forth matchup with archrival Detroit King but ended up falling just short in the fourth quarter for a 41-34 loss. Livonia Churchill (3-0)4.

Cabbage Patch Kids touched off the first big holiday toy craze nearly 40 years ago.

Rochester police are searching for two people who have been involved in multiple graffiti incidents, they said.

Thousands died in the war in Afghanistan that followed, from every state in the union.

If you love live music, this is the weekend for you! Tons of shows all throughout Detroit.

Check out the beautiful art and delicious apples at this long-running festival.

ROCHESTER, MI - You could throw some epic murder mystery dinner parties at this “Game of Thrones” type home, which just hit the market today. There’s even secret passageways and a hidden tower with a 50-foot-tall spiral staircase. “This is ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 9,” Nicholas Asplund of Lux Partners Global enthusiastically told MLive when talking about the home. To enter the home, you must cross the drawbridge above the moat and waterfall before walking through the portcullis at the front entrance. There’s also a secret underground grotto with Jacuzzi, a hidden dungeon, fitness center, billiard room, library with a loft and a home theater with an 8′ by 6′ screen.

Dozens of protesters were picketing Thursday morning outside Oakland University.

Oakland University sent a message Thursday morning stating classes will resume according to the schedule despite the threat of a faculty strike.

With hours away from classes starting at Oakland University, faculty and administration cannot hammer out a new contract Wednesday night.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the United States, has died in Minnesota. His family said the Ukrainian-born Vovkovinskiy died of heart disease on Friday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. His mother, Svetlana Vovkovinska, an ICU nurse at Mayo, initially posted about his death on Facebook. He grew to become the tallest man in the U.S. at 7 feet, 8.33 inches (2 meters, 34.5 centimeters) and ended up staying in Rochester. When he was 27, Vovkovinskiy traveled to New York City and was declared America’s tallest living person by a Guinness World Records adjudicator on Oz’s show.

Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the United States, has died in Minnesota.

America's tallest man dies.

Through a friend, she was connected to Leader Dogs for the Blind, a Rochester-based charity that matches partially-sighted and blind clients with guide dogs trained from birth to assist them and give them individual freedom. VanDam-Rand uses a leash and rigid-handled harness in combination to allow Izzy to guide her through the world. Related: New leader dog helps partially blind Jackson woman find her way againLeader dogs help their owners avoid obstacles and find seats, counters and other indoor landmarks on command. If the owner gives the command to cross before it’s safe, the leader dog is trained not to follow through. That relationship came quite naturally to VanDam-Rand and Izzy, who VanDam-Rand says is a perfect match for her own outgoing personality.

Specifically, in 2007, Parris and Santillo, as equal partners, formed a business known as Lucian Development in Rochester. In July 2007, Parris and Santillo were advised by Ephren Taylor that their investors’ money had been lost. In response, in August 2007, Parris and Santillo agreed to acquire the assets and debts of City Capital Corporation. Taylor was later prosecuted and convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme. The Ponzi scheme was headquartered and based out of locations in Rochester, with a number of satellite offices around the country.

An Indiana woman led police on a chase around Oakland County after someone caught her stealing from their car at a Rochester Hills gas pump, officials said.

A Rochester man was killed early Thursday morning when his motorcycle was involved in a crash and caught on fire, police said.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from a police raid that allegedly turned up a rifle and pistol, and her 10-year-old daughter alone, in the home she shares with her husband. A grand jury indicted Warren and her husband Timothy Granison last week on a felony count of criminal possession of a firearm, as well as misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and having unsecured guns in a home. Warren's attorney, Joseph Damelio, said the mayor didn't know about the guns and that he was eager to review the prosecution's evidence.

The Monroe County District Attorney alleged their 10-year-old child was left home alone with an unsecured firearm.

The path to Tokyo for many athletes has taken a few twists and turns.

A funeral mass and procession were held Saturday morning in Clinton Township for Detroit Fire Department Sr. Lt. Francis Dombrowski.

The move means New York can bolster its law enforcement presence and take a variety of steps to curb the growth this summer in gun violence.

“I’ve run quite a few Volkslaufes and won one (2017), so we’ve got one big stein. “This is my first Volkslaufe, but I’ve heard my husband talk about the steins because he has a big one,” Cassandra Klingler said. Cassandra Klingler, 26, finished 11th overall, first in the female division in 36:32, ahead of second-place Amy Corby from Rochester (38:40). Ryan Corby from Novi won the first Volkslaufe half marathon in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 19 seconds. This year, the Volkslaufe replaced the 20K with the half marathon, which is approximately 21.1 kilometers.

Jack Williams of Rochester and Mother Nature were the big winners Thursday on the opening day of match play in the 110th Michigan Amateur Golf Championship at Cascade Hills Country Club in Grand Rapids. Williams, the lowest-seeded player in the 64-man match play field, knocked off No. “It was going in the hole for me,” said Williams, a Michigan State student who does not play on the golf team. “That was fun.”Williams earned the final spot in the match play field after surviving an eight-man playoff. 1Defending Michigan Amateur champ takes first-round leadHockey grit shines through for Tyler Copp

Assuming India Walton is elected, Buffalo would become the largest American city to have a socialist mayor since Milwaukee in 1960.

Two sisters were killed and two drivers were injured over the weekend in Michigan when a car crossed the I-75 median and collided head-on with a car heading in the other direction, officials said.

Jun. 14—A Rochester woman is out more than $2,500 after she fell prey to an Amazon scam. Rochester police received the report on Saturday, June 12, from a 72-year-old Rochester woman. The woman reported that the day before she received a text message saying it was from Amazon and alerting her that a $2,758.88 purchase had been made on her account. The text gave her a number to call if she had ...

A large splash can be seen when the ambulance hits the water. The suspect was able to escape the vehicle and was taken into custody.

EXCLUSIVE: “While I am very glad to be alive I know many have never made it out alive,” John Sims tells theGrio. A Black artist in Columbia, South Carolina was held at gunpoint, handcuffed and detained by police officers who thought he was an intruder in his own apartment and art gallery. Artist and activist John Sims — a Detroit native and Sarasota, Florida resident whose work explores the Confederate flag and other symbols of white supremacy — is an artist-in-residence at the 701 Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Columbia, next to the University of South Carolina.

Luna Reyes, 20, was filmed embracing and physically calming a sobbing migrant who had swam from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave Ceuta.

NEW YORK — Her voice heavy with emotion, Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, stepped onto a church dais in Rochester in February to announce that a grand jury had declined to indict the police officers who were involved in the death of a Black man in their custody. “I’m disappointed — extremely disappointed,” James said. Her office had presented the jurors with what she called an extensive investigation into the death of the man, Daniel Prude, whom the police pinned facedown on the pavement until he lost consciousness. “We sought a different outcome than the one the grand jury handed us today,” James said. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times But transcripts of the grand jury proceedings, released publicly by a judge last month at James’ request, tell a more complicated story. Grand jury proceedings almost always remain secret, and the transcripts of the inquiry into Prude’s death provide a rare view into the inner workings of the criminal justice system at a pivotal moment in the continuing national debate over police accountability. In a grand jury proceeding, prosecutors typically present a one-sided case in hopes of securing a criminal indictment. But during the inquiry into Prude’s death, lawyers from James’ office chose to present both sides of the case, effectively acting as prosecution and defense and telling the grand jury upfront that its purpose was to investigate the facts, not necessarily to indict. Some of the witnesses who were called by prosecutors appeared to absolve the officers of wrongdoing. The revelation prompted fierce criticism of James specifically and anger more broadly over a legal process that often seems to shield the police from criminal consequences. The transcripts underscore the crucial role that grand juries play in deciding whether police officers are charged — or more often, not charged — for encounters that turn deadly. The transcripts also illuminate the particular challenges of prosecuting officers, even for a law enforcement official like James, who campaigned on criminal justice reform and sued the New York Police Department this year over its handling of protests touched off by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Only prosecutors may call witnesses during grand jury hearings, and jurors never hear from the defense. In the case involving Prude’s death, prosecutors from James’ office called police trainers who testified that the officers who restrained him did not violate protocol with their techniques. The state's lawyers also presented a California doctor who is known for defending police actions. He said the officers had not caused Prude’s death. Another expert witness, a professor from South Carolina, testified that the police had used unreasonable force by failing to roll Prude onto his back after he stopped resisting. The prosecutors also questioned two officers who were facing potential indictment, asking why they had resorted to hands-on restraint instead of trying to de-escalate the situation or show more compassion. At least one juror struggled to reconcile the contradictory testimony. “It seemed like one expert had an opinion that there was no improper anything done,” said a juror whose name was redacted from the transcript. “And then, another expert had an opinion that there was some — something that was not quite properly done, am I correct?” Prosecutors told the juror it was the jury’s job to decide whom to believe. The release of the transcripts just days before Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis officer, was convicted of murder in Floyd’s killing reignited outrage in Rochester, where the revelations surrounding Prude’s death touched off fiery protests last year. Citing the transcripts, some community leaders accused James’ office of deliberately presenting a weak case. James said in an interview that the investigation was an earnest effort to let the jury reach an independent conclusion. “It was really critically important that the grand jury engage in an exhaustive and comprehensive analysis of the facts,” she said, adding that the outcome was a result of laws that give police officers broad protections to use deadly force on the job. “These are incredibly tough cases to investigate and prosecute, but ultimately I respect the grand jury’s decision,” James said. “All of us continue to be disappointed by the criminal justice system as a whole.” On Friday, James proposed legislation that she said would strengthen police accountability. The proposal includes allowing officers to use force only as a last resort and establishing criminal penalties for officers who violate the guidelines. Prosecutors in cases where there may be a strong defense, particularly those that involve potential police misconduct, can present all sides to a grand jury; doing so can indicate how trial jurors may react to evidence. Whether James’ prosecutors presented the strongest case they could is difficult to determine, said Geoffrey Alpert, the expert from South Carolina who testified before the Rochester grand jury. “If the purpose of the grand jury is to get an indictment, then no, they could have called different witnesses,” Alpert said in an interview. “If the purpose of the grand jury was to give jurors several different perspectives, then they did.” But Michael Schiano, a lawyer for one of the officers, said that to him, it was as if the prosecutors put on a case for the defense. “Prosecutors put on the case that we would have put on anyway,” Schiano said. “They put on the witnesses we would have put on if there was a jury trial.” The transcripts show that two of the three Rochester officers who were facing potential indictment testified before the grand jury. Although the targets of investigations rarely testify, legal experts said it is more common in cases involving the police, particularly where an officer is claiming to have acted in self-defense. The officers testified that they decided to use force after Prude did not follow their instructions to stay on the ground. “We told him to calm down, and he’s telling us he wants to take our firearms,” one of the officers, whose name is redacted in the transcripts, said. “And then we tell him to stay down and he still tries to get up.” Prude encountered the Rochester police March 23, 2020, shortly after he became emotionally unstable and sprinted out of his brother’s home. Fearful for Prude’s safety, his brother called 911. Responding officers found Prude several blocks away. He was naked and spitting and claiming that he had the coronavirus. They put a mesh hood, or spit sock, over his head and handcuffed him, then pressed his head to the pavement until he lost consciousness. Although it was snowing, no one covered his body or helped him when he vomited, body camera footage shows. Prude died a week later. The medical examiner determined that his death was caused by factors that included oxygen deprivation and PCP drug intoxication. Body camera footage showed Prude becoming more agitated after the officers placed the hood over his head. The officers said they feared contracting the coronavirus. Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former high-ranking official in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, defended James, saying the attorney general was constrained in her ability to prosecute the Rochester officers because of the broad legal protections provided to the police. “Until that law changes, this will keep happening over and over again,” Friedman Agnifilo said. Prosecutors in Minnesota did not have to rely on a grand jury to charge Chauvin. Their counterparts in about half of all states, including New York, can only bring felony charges after convincing grand jurors that there is probable cause that crime was committed, a fairly routine exercise. When the defendant is a police officer, the outcome is less certain. About 1,000 people a year in the United States die in encounters with law enforcement, but few officers are ever charged with murder or manslaughter for deaths in the line of duty. Of those that are, only one-third are convicted. Six years ago, after a Staten Island grand jury failed to indict the officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed Black man who was placed in a police chokehold, Gov. Andrew Cuomo established a special unit in the attorney general’s office to prosecute such cases. The idea was to remove such prosecutions from local district attorneys, who often work closely with the police. But in the 43 investigations that unit has investigated since then, only three officers have been charged, according to the attorney general’s office. About one-quarter of the investigations remain active. Prude’s family did not see how he died until the summer. The video became public in September after their lawyers demanded that city officials release the body camera footage. Revelations of an apparent cover-up led to the firing of Rochester’s police chief and the suspension of the seven officers involved. James brought the case before a grand jury shortly after that. The transcripts revealed James’ selection of an important expert witness: Gary Vilke, a San Diego doctor who is typically hired by the police to defend them. (All witnesses’ names were redacted in the transcript, but some were easily identifiable.) Vilke testified that the weight of the officers pressing on Prude’s back and legs did not impair his breathing, the transcript showed, leading him to conclude that the officers had not contributed to Prude’s death. In an interview last month with a local Minneapolis television station, Vilke said it was “doubtful” that Chauvin had caused Floyd’s death. Peter Neufeld, a civil rights lawyer who has sued police officers, said it was “incomprehensible” that prosecutors chose Vilke, whom he described as a reliable defender of police. “You’re unfairly undermining your case before you get started,” Neufeld said. Vilke did not respond to multiple requests for comment. James said that Vilke had offered his expert opinion and did not tell the grand jury how to vote. She added, however, that his comments about Chauvin, which came after the case involving Prude concluded, were troubling and would “factor into any selection moving forward.” After the grand jury decided not to charge the Rochester officers with homicide, James met privately with local Black faith leaders. The Rev. Myra Brown, pastor of Spiritus Christi Church, said she confronted James there about her office’s failure to obtain an indictment. James said it was her office’s ethical obligation to lay out all the facts, Brown said. To people like Brown, James’ words of extreme disappointment ring hollow now. “Clearly she wasn’t disappointed enough to send in any real scholarship presenting an airtight case to at least get us an indictment,” Brown said, “and at least get the Prude family their day in court.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Navajo Nation already had its own police academy, universities, bar association and court system, plus a new Washington office near the embassies of other sovereign nations. And during the coronavirus pandemic the Diné, as many prefer to call themselves, gained an important distinction: the most populous tribal nation in the United States. A rush to secure federal hardship benefits increased the Navajo Nation’s official enrollment to 399,494 from 306,268 last year, according to the Navajo Office of Vital Records and Identification. That jump was enough for the Diné to eclipse the Cherokee Nation, which has an enrollment of about 392,000. The tribe’s growth, which came while it was enduring some of the nation’s most harrowing virus outbreaks, could affect the disbursement of future federal aid as well as political representation in the Southwest. The Navajo Nation reservation, which is larger than West Virginia, spreads over about 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times “This is the brighter side to a really bad time in the pandemic when we watched so many people go,” said Traci Morris, executive director of Arizona State University’s American Indian Policy Institute. Morris, a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, said that while several tribes saw their enrollment increase during the pandemic, the 30% spike in the Navajo Nation was particularly notable. The Cherokee Nation, which normally sees about 1,200 applications for enrollment each month, has seen an increase to about 1,400 a month since the middle of last year, said a spokeswoman for the tribe. Official tribal enrollment can often be lower than a tribe’s actual population because of factors including migration from reservations to urban areas and the different policies that the 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States have for determining membership. Some tribes, like the Diné, have relatively more stringent requirements than others that have loosened such rules. Over the past year, thousands of Diné scrambled to update their enrollment information or to enroll officially for the first time to receive payments the tribe was directly distributing from its share of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Those payments of up to about $1,350 per adult helped many Diné weather a protracted period of economic instability while Navajo leaders put into place some of the country’s most aggressive virus mitigation tactics, including curfews and checkpoints. The Navajo Nation has also outpaced much of the rest of the country in vaccinating its population; nearly 90% of those on the reservation who are eligible have received at least one shot. At the same time, at least 1,297 citizens of the Navajo Nation have died from the virus. Residents have been particularly vulnerable because of a high prevalence of diseases like diabetes, the scarcity of running water for washing hands, and homes with several generations living under the same roof. Although Navajo enrollment numbers climbed during the health crisis, some experts think the official statistics undercount the actual Diné population. The Census Bureau has not announced how large it considers the Navajo Nation based on data collected during the 2020 census. Wendy Greyeyes, an assistant professor of Native American studies at the University of New Mexico, noted that most Diné live off the reservation, away from the offices that keep up with enrollment figures, and that the Navajo Nation maintains stricter citizenship requirements than many other tribes. The Navajo Nation requires members to be at least one-quarter Diné, in contrast to tribes like the Cherokee that forgo a specific blood quantum requirement in favor of largely basing citizenship on having Cherokee ancestry. “Living in Albuquerque, I’ve met so many members who don’t qualify for the minimum enrollment, or they may be enrolled in another tribe and cannot double enroll,” said Greyeyes, who is from Kayenta, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation reservation. Greyeyes, who assisted people wanting to enroll in the tribe in recent months, also emphasized that the process can be bureaucratically complicated, potentially keeping some Diné from becoming citizens. “It’s not an easy process,” Greyeyes said. “How do you prove your blood descent? You need to get the paperwork for your parents, the paperwork for everybody.” As the tribe has been growing, so has its political power. Diné politicians have recently made inroads in local races in places like southern Utah, and voter turnout in the Navajo Nation, which leans Democratic, is credited with helping President Joe Biden win Arizona in 2020. The Navajo Nation’s population growth is also a sign that efforts to strengthen self-determination among tribal nations are gaining momentum, building on a shift that began more than five decades ago under the Nixon administration. Previously, in the 1950s and 1960s, the federal government had adopted a policy of dismantling tribal sovereignty and encouraged thousands of Native Americans to leave reservations for American cities. Eric Henson, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a research fellow with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, said the Navajo Nation’s growing enrollment stood in sharp contrast to federal policies during the 20th century that were “literally an attempt to get rid of all the tribes.” Henson said of the surging Diné numbers, “This is a really obvious way of saying, ‘Hey, we’re still here.’” This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company

When voters in Florida and Georgia want to vote by mail in next year’s races for governor, they will have to make sure they take one more step to ensure they receive a ballot: providing their identification. Just two states had ID requirements in 2020 for voters requesting a mailed ballot. In addition to Florida and Georgia, legislation to require additional identification for mail voting was introduced in Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, according to information compiled by the Voting Rights Lab, which advocates for expanded voter access.

The husband of the mayor of Rochester, New York, was arrested Wednesday after police said they discovered drugs and guns in searches of his car and home, the latest crisis for the mayor in a year continually whipsawed by scandal. Mayor Lovely Warren’s husband, Timothy Granison, 42, was accused of being part of a midlevel cocaine trafficking ring and charged Thursday with drug and gun possession in what prosecutors said was the culmination of a seven-month-long investigation. Six other people were charged in connection to the case, and additional charges are expected, according to the Monroe County district attorney. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times Warren was not charged with a crime, and prosecutors have not suggested she was a target of the investigation. A lawyer for Granison said Warren had no involvement with anything of which he is accused. But Granison’s arrest, and the discovery of 31 grams of powder in his possession that the police believe is cocaine — as well as a semi-automatic rifle and an unregistered handgun in Warren’s home — threatened to once again upend Warren’s reelection campaign. The episode was the latest in a series of scandals linked to Warren, who is seeking her third term as the mayor of Rochester, a small city just south of Lake Ontario. Last summer, the city was rocked by revelations of an apparent cover-up of the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died in police custody, which led to the firing of its police chief and censure of top officials. In the fall, Warren was indicted by county prosecutors on campaign finance charges for financial fraud during her 2017 reelection campaign. She has pleaded not guilty. In an address from City Hall on Thursday, Warren said she was the victim of a vast conspiracy to discredit her just a month before the city’s Democratic primary election. She accused the New York State Board of Elections of manipulating the evidence in its case against her, and suggested that the district attorney was framing her because she was angry the mayor had supported her opponent. And Warren intimated that the timing of Granison’s arrest and next court date — June 21, the day before the primary — had been designed to prevent her reelection. “People will try anything to break me,” Warren said. She described the recent events biblically, as her “Job year,” and denied any involvement in Granison’s troubles; the mayor and her husband had long ago signed a separation agreement, she said, but continued to co-parent their 10-year-old daughter. At a news conference Thursday, Sandra Doorley, the Monroe County district attorney, repudiated Warren’s accusations. “I’m sure there are going to be people out there who think this was politically motivated,” Doorley said. “It was not.” Doorley described Granison as a player in a “narcotics ring,” adding that the investigation was ongoing and more arrests and searches were expected. More than 2 kilograms of crack cocaine and powder, worth about $60,000, as well as more than $100,000 in cash, were recovered across searches of the homes and other property of the seven people arrested. “We believe this whole organization was a midlevel drug organization that was affecting the city of Rochester,” Doorley said at the conference, adding that the quantity of drugs recovered was considered “significant.” Granison has had past run-ins with the law: When he was 17, he pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery after serving as a getaway driver in a jewelry store robbery. He was sentenced to five years' probation. On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty to one count of criminal possession of a firearm, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, and was released on his own recognizance. Doorley said that investigators were also assessing whether the semi-automatic rifle was legal, and said he could face charges related to that weapon if it was not. John L. DeMarco, Granison’s lawyer, said that his client also wanted to stress that his wife had not been involved. “The mayor has played no role in any of this,” DeMarco said. “Other than merely being a resident of the home, there is no involvement.” Officials declined to specify what sparked the initial investigation, but Doorley said that Granison was not one of the original targets. About three months ago, conversations captured on police wiretaps revealed he played a role, she said. Police are seeking to interview Warren but have not yet done so, according to Maj. Barry C. Chase, a troop commander with the state police. Officials declined to comment on whether the mayor was heard on the wiretap. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company

The police action took Warren by surprise and she didn't immediately know what investigators could have been looking for, a spokesman said.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren's husband Timothy Granison has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and a firearm.

The husband of Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren was awaiting arraignment on criminal charges Thursday following a police search of the house he shares with the mayor. Timothy Granison, Warren's husband, was to be arraigned in Rochester City Court at 9:30 a.m., a spokesperson for the Monroe County district attorney said.

State police troopers spent several hours searching the home of Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren on Wednesday, saying it was part of a criminal investigation but disclosing no details. Troopers closed off the block around Warren's home with police tape and could be seen taking items from the residence, according to video recordings by journalists at the scene. State Police Maj. Barry Chase said he could release no additional information about the presence of law enforcement at the home.

Stanley Martin wants to rethink Rochester police — a radical new plan to abolish the police gradually. Others also talk about "reimagining" police, though they mean the same word very differently.

Rochester Community Schools and its school board president are already named in a federal lawsuit accusing them of costing a parent her job because she criticized board policies on a return to face-to-face instruction.

“Makes me think of the crypt at Winterfell.”

In-person instruction has been an emotional topic for school districts around Metro Detroit.

Robin Cooper, a security guard at a high school in Rochester, New York, sprang into action when she realized a teenager was choking and saved his life.

The grand jury ultimately rejected criminally negligent homicide charges against the three officers, transcripts show.

Newly released transcripts show that prosecutors overseeing a grand jury investigation into the death of Daniel Prude last year in Rochester, New York, undercut the case for criminal charges with testimony from a medical expert who said police officers who held Prude to the ground didn’t do anything wrong.

Coronavirus vaccines will still be administered at Oakland University on Tuesday amid the nation’s recommendation to pause use of all Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Oakland University officials said students living on campus will be required to be fully vaccinated before the start of fall semester.

The suit calls the city's use-of-force practices "inhumane, racist, and antithetical to the functioning of a civilized society."

It's been one year since police in Rochester, New York, were called to help Daniel Prude as he was experiencing what his family called a mental health crisis. Joe Prude, Daniel Prude's brother, helped rally people for Tuesday's demonstrations, saying in a video message that the day should be a time of "no school, no work." We join the Prude family in calling for a day of action and remembrance on the one year anniversary of Daniel Prude’s murder by the RPD. Call out of work, walk out of class, and join us in the streets to demand justice for Daniel Prude! Jones' family has said that Jones was suffering from a mental health crisis after recent deaths in the family.

Match Day is the day the National Resident Matching Program releases results to applicants seeking residency and fellowship training position. It takes place on the third Friday of March every year at most of the medical schools in the United States. READ: Newsweek names several Michigan hospitals as best in the country, world in 2021For Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, more than 120 medical students found out Friday where they’ll be doing their residency. “When a little girl says she wants to do something, just believe in her and encourage her,” Aryana Sharrak said. RELATED: Oakland University, Beaumont Health medical affiliation agreement extended for another 20 years

This photo, provided by the Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, N.Y., Tuesday, March 16, 2021, shows 12 finalists for 2021 induction into the Video Game Hall of Fame. (Strong National Museum of Play via AP)The 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists have been announced. The committee is made up of journalists and scholars who are familiar with the history of video games and their role in society. View the list of 2021 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists below:Animal CrossingCall of DutyFarmvilleFIFA International SoccerGuitar HeroMattel FootballMicrosoft Flight SimulatorPole PositionPortalStarCraftTronWhere in the World is Carmen Sandiego? The winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony by the Strong Museum on May 6 at 10:30 a.m.READ: More entertainment coverage

This photo, provided by the Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, N.Y., Tuesday, March 16, 2021, shows 12 finalists for 2021 induction into the Video Game Hall of Fame. (Strong National Museum of Play via AP)ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Voting is open for the next inductees into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, with Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and Animal Crossing among the 12 finalists. "These finalists embody what it means to be a good game,” said Jon-Paul Dyson, director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong museum, where the hall of fame is housed. The winners are chosen by an international committee of journalists and scholars versed in video games and their role in society. AdThe hall inducted its first class in 2015 with the goal of recognizing electronic games of all types — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile.

Singletary's characterization "likely impacted" how city officials viewed the matter, the report said. Warren claimed to the public that Singletary initially told her that Prude's death was a "drug overdose," but Friday's report said he never told her that. Lawyers for the seven police officers suspended over Prude's death have said the officers were strictly following their training that night, employing a restraining technique known as "segmenting." Prude's death sparked several weeks of nightly protests and calls for Warren's resignation. His family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the police department sought to cover up the true nature of Prude's death.

Singletary's characterization "likely impacted" how city officials viewed the matter, the report said. Warren claimed to the public that Singletary initially told her that Prude's death was a "drug overdose," but Friday's report said he never told her that. Lawyers for the seven police officers suspended over Prude's death have said the officers were strictly following their training that night, employing a restraining technique known as "segmenting." Prude's death sparked several weeks of nightly protests and calls for Warren's resignation. His family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the police department sought to cover up the true nature of Prude's death.

The report said Singletary told the mayor the officers restrained Prude, but the chief “consistently deemphasized” the role of restraints in Prude's death, and his statements to officials didn't “capture the disturbing tenor of the entire encounter." AdA lawyer for Singletary said, under a first review of the report, Singletary “was truthful in his statements" to Warren and other city officials. “He never participated in any cover-up nor did he intentionally downplay the circumstances" around Prude's death, Michael Tallon said in a statement. Warren told the public Singletary initially told her Prude’s death was a “drug overdose,” but Friday’s report said he never told her that. His family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the police department sought to cover up the true nature of Prude’s death.

March 12, 2021 update: An earlier version of this report stated that vaccinations are being given at the Rochester Hills Fire Department. The vaccinations were at the Rochester Fire Department. ROCHESTER, Mich. – Trying to get a COVID vaccine has been a frustrating process for many seniors and their families. Brian Gallagher from Rochester, was eligible to get the vaccine, but called Help Me Hank because he couldn’t get his elderly loved ones a vaccine appointment. On Wednesday, after months of trying, his mother-in-law and aunt were able to get their first dose of the vaccine.

The family claims in the suit in U.S. District Court that both the actions of the Rochester police and an "attempted cover-up" by the department and city government violated Prude's constitutional rights, attorneys for the family said. "Our hearts are broken by his death, but this lawsuit has given us hope for the future." Stephen Schwarz, a lawyer for Prude's children, told CBS News in February there's a different burden of proof in the civil case over the criminal one. The incident went mostly unpublicized until nearly six months later, when police body camera video was released following pressure from Prude's family. On Monday, Schwarz cited a culture in Rochester of "deliberate indifference to the rights of Blacks and Latinos who encounter its police officers."

Simmons suggested that the city deny the request because the case was still under investigation by the state attorney general's office. In an unsent draft of that email, Warren excoriated Singletary for having "grossly underplayed" Prude's death by first describing it to her a drug overdose. "Quite frankly, I would have expected the Chief of Police to have shown me this video in March," Warren wrote in the draft. Prude's death has sparked nearly two weeks of nightly protests and calls for Warren's resignation. His family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the police department sought to cover up the true nature of Prude's death.

Daniel Prude APDisturbing video that surfaced months after Prude's death showed Prude naked on a snowy street, wearing a "spit hood" over his head during his encounter with police. After calling for more grand jury transparency earlier in the day, James said Tuesday night that a judge had approved her request to unseal and publicly release the grand jury minutes related to the investigation of Prude's death. James said the state should review spit hoods and whether they are appropriate in mental health response cases. James said her office will release a comprehensive report about Prude's death including a minute-by-minute account of the encounter with police. "Our actions going forward will ensure that Daniel Prude's death was not in vain."

CORRECTS TO BROTHER NOT UNCLE OF DANIEL PRUDE - FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2020, file photo, Joe Prude, right, brother of Daniel Prude, and Daniel's nephew Armin, stand with a picture of Daniel Prude in Rochester, N.Y. He always showed me and my brother and sisters how much he loved us," Prude's oldest son, Nathaniel McFarland, said in a statement. The death went mostly unpublicized until nearly six months later, when police body camera video was released following pressure from Prude’s family. Ad“You could hardly find an example of a worse response to a mental health crisis when what happened to Daniel Prude that night,” Piers said during a video news conference with McFarland, who did not speak. He did not immediately respond later in the day after Prude family attorneys outlined their claims in a news conference.

A Rochester police officer has been placed on administrative duty after using pepper spray on the woman, authorities said Friday. Ad“Both incidents involved Black mothers. Both involved Black children. Both involved Black people obviously in crisis. Both involved officers using pepper spray on or around a Black child,” PAB Chair Shani Wilson said during a video news conference Friday.

Grand jury decides no indictments for Rochester officers involved in Daniel Prude's death Protests erupted in Rochester, New York overnight after a grand jury decided not to indict any of the seven officers involved in Daniel Prude's death. Prude died last March after being restrained by police. Jericka Duncan reports.

FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2020, file photo, Joe Prude, right, uncle of Daniel Prude, and Daniel's nephew Armin, stand with a picture of Daniel Prude in Rochester, N.Y. AdLawyers for the seven police officers suspended over Prude’s death have said the officers were strictly following their training that night, employing a restraining technique known as “segmenting.” They claimed Prude’s use of PCP, which caused irrational behavior, was “the root cause” of his death. “The system failed Daniel Prude again," Prude family lawyer Elliot Shields said of the grand jury's decision. Michael Magri, were suspended after Prude’s death became public. "Our actions going forward will ensure that Daniel Prude’s death was not in vain.”AdSome activists said that they never expected the officers to face charges.

One engineer in Rochester has developed a new tool to help improve your exercise game without ever having to go to a gym. MAXPRO is a piece of equipment that can provide just about anything you’ll need for a home gym. The MAXPRO is only 9 lbs, but she said it can easily replace most of the equipment in your gym. Trierweiler demonstrated how you can easily do any exercise you can do with a dumbbell or a cable pulley. Then use some of the many attachments to create a leg workout, bench press, or even use a belt to practice resistance running.

The case has spurred outrage as the latest example of law enforcement mistreatment of Black people, and one that shows even Black children are not exempt. Research shows Black children are often viewed as being older than they are, and are more likely to be seen as threatening or dangerous. Advocates have long said that leads to police treating them in ways they wouldn’t dream of treating white children. A study published in the journal Pediatrics in late 2020 found Black children and teenagers were six times as likely to die from police gunfire as white children. New York isn't the only place where police treatment of Black children has been a flashpoint.

Rochester, New York police released two body-camera videos of officers restraining the girl. According a local news outlet, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren expressed her concern for the child. (Rochester Police Department via AP)The city of Rochester has suspended police officers seen in body-camera videos spraying a chemical “irritant” in the face of a distraught and handcuffed 9-year-old girl, officials announced Monday. The city did not specify how many officers were suspended. “There is no conceivable justification for the Rochester police to subject a 9-year-old to pepper spray, period," NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said Monday.

(Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University basketball coach Greg Kampe is the latest prominent figure to call for Michigan high school sports to resume. “I ask that the latest order be reconsidered and high school athletics (be) reinstated immediately,” Kampe wrote. Michigan high school contact sports ban: What Whitmer said about possibility of resumingKampe, 65, has been a constant in the state’s basketball scene for decades. “They lose the year and the benefits of sport -- team building, memories, physical activity, learning how to win and lose,” Kampe wrote. “Please take a step back and remember that radical statements and radical ideas at a time of crisis never turn out well,” Kampe wrote.

They are, from left: Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, age 54, from Rochester, NY; Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch, age 39, from Honeoye Falls, NY; and Chief Warrant Officer Two Daniel Prial, age 30, from Rochester, NY. (New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs via AP)MENDON, N.Y. – The three National Guard members killed when a helicopter crashed in an upstate New York field this week were experienced pilots with past deployments to Afghanistan, officials said Friday. Killed in the crash were Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven Skoda, 54, of Rochester, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christian Koch, 39, of Honeoye Falls, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel Prial, 30 of Rochester, according to the National Guard. The crew had been conducting night vision goggle proficiency training in the local training area, the National Guard said. Skoda served in the Army from 1985 to 1987 and joined the National Guard 1987.