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Man charged in YMCA locker room attack in which ex-NFL star Braylon Edwards saved 80-year-old's life

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Man charged in YMCA locker room attack in which ex-NFL star Braylon Edwards saved 80-year-old's life

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A man accused of attacking an elderly gym patron in Farmington Hills, Michigan — where ex-NFL and Michigan football star Braylon Edwards intervened to save the gym-goer’s life — was charged. 

Malik Ali Smith, 20, is being charged with assault with intent to murder, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted, Fox 2 Detroit reported.

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Smith attacked the 80-year-old man after an exchange of words inside the locker room at Farming Hills YMCA around 10:45 a.m. on March 1. Edwards, a Michigan Wolverines legend who was drafted third overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2005, overheard the commotion caused after the verbal tussle and stepped in just in time. 

University of Michigan All-American & NFL Pro-Bowler, Braylon Edwards attends the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy Golf Tournament presented by Tom Gores & Platinum Equity held at Detroit Golf Club at Detroit Golf Club on August 26, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Scott Legato/Getty Images)

“I walk into the locker room after work, and basically, I hear about four rows behind me arguing about music and how it was being played too loud,” Edwards explained. “So, I’m not paying attention, and I was just minding my business.

“The noise escalates, and then you can hear some pushing and shoving, so you know what fighting sounds like, but once I hear a thud, that’s when I got up and turned around.”

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BRAYLON EDWARDS, EX-NFL AND MICHIGAN STAR, SAVES 80-YEAR-OLD MAN’S LIFE DURING LOCKER ROOM ATTACK

Edwards revealed to WDIV-TV that authorities found out, if he didn’t step in, the elderly man may have died. He is currently in the hospital in critical condition.

“I see the guy for what I was thinking was reaching for a phone underneath the victim, grabs the back of the victim’s head by the hair, and he was about to slam it down on the counter,” Edwards said.

Braylon Edwards #17 of the New York Jets during the first practice in Metlife Stadium on June 16, 2010 at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Benjamin Solomon/Getty Images)

“I didn’t know it was that serious. I mean, the victim probably had a serious concussion by nature, but it wasn’t until I talked to the detective, Jacobs down in Farmington, who told me that if I didn’t step in, but at the end of the day that’s what you do.”

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Smith allegedly fled the YMCA, but police were able to arrest him nearby. They made note of the Good Samaritan in Edwards. 

“This was a vicious, senseless attack,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said, via Fox 2 Detroit. “I commend the witness who intervened, and we will seek justice for this victim.”

Mark Ali Smith was charged in an assault at a Michigan YMCA. (Oakland County Sheriff’s Office)

Smith is being held on $250,000 bond and has a probable cause conference for March 13 at 1:30 p.m. 

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Detroit, MI

Part of Detroit Riverwalk reopens after infrastructure work

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Part of Detroit Riverwalk reopens after infrastructure work


Detroit — A three-block portion of the Detroit Riverwalk just north of the Renaissance Center reopened this week after being closed for five months for the installation of an underground drainage system, state officials announced.

The stretch of the pedestrian and bicycle path that had been closed since Nov. 20 is between Beaubien and Rivard streets in downtown Detroit. Crews for the Michigan Department of Transportation installed a new storm sewer outfall intended to reduce the risk of flooding on nearby streets, officials said.

The sewer outfall is part of the larger I-375 project, a major infrastructure initiative around the I-375 corridor.

Sewer outfalls are key components of wastewater management systems, designed to safely discharge water and waste while protecting public health and the environment.

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“The new storm sewer outfall will provide lasting environmental benefits for residents and businesses along the I-375 corridor and the riverfront by supporting cleaner water being discharged into the Detroit River and relieving pressure on the existing city combined sewer system after heavy rain events,” according to an MDOT press statement Thursday. “The installation of the new storm sewer will reduce the risk of flooding on streets and in neighborhoods.”

This week’s opening of the Riverwalk is ahead of the May 1 target date that had been set.

“Crews worked diligently through harsh winter and wet spring conditions to achieve our goal of reopening prior to seasonal festivities starting up,” said Jason Garza, MDOT’s Metro Region Deputy Engineer.

In addition to reopening the Riverwalk, crews also opened Atwater and Franklin streets to through-traffic between St. Antoine and Rivard streets.

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The opening comes as the popular Riverwalk area is set to kick into high gear with a variety of events. The Riverwalk path runs continuously from Gabriel Richard Park, just east of the bridge leading to Belle Isle, to the Ralph Wilson park to the west. It attracts about 3 million people annually, according to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages the Riverwalk and many of the adjoining parks and connected pedestrian/bike paths.

On Thursday afternoon, the Riverwalk was busy with walkers, bicyclists and people fishing such as Terraile Jefferson, 56, from Detroit.

“It’s always a good experience out here,” Jefferson said. “Especially when I catch something good.”

laguilar@detroitnews.com

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins in bid to keep Antetokounmpo this summer

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Milwaukee Bucks to hire Taylor Jenkins in bid to keep Antetokounmpo this summer


The Milwaukee Bucks became the first NBA team to hire a new coach this offseason, targeting and landing former Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins to succeed Doc Rivers.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Jenkins and the Bucks’ front office were finalizing a deal on Thursday afternoon to bring the 41-year-old former Milwaukee assistant back to serve as the franchise’s fourth coach since parting ways with Mike Budenholzer in 2023.

Jenkins served as an assistant under Budenholzer in 2018-19 after serving under him for five seasons in Atlanta. 

Rumors of Jenkins being spotted with Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who faces a decision regarding his own future this summer, made the rounds on social media this week as unconfirmed sightings suggested the Bucks’ franchise star was helping the coach tour schools.

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Bobby Portis, under contract for next season and holding a player option for ‘28-’29, was on popular NBA show “Run it Back and believed landing him to lead the team going forward would be a positive in convincing Antetokounmpo to stay put.

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“What helps is that (Jenkins) was in Milwaukee during Coach Bud’s stint in Milwaukee. He was one of the assistant coaches on the roster,” Portis said. “I think that kind of relationship with Giannis and that kind of relationship with (GM) Jon Horst sits well with the franchise, and I think that kind of helps”

Horst and Bucks ownership courted Jenkins in Memphis and clearly zeroed in on him as the top target in the coaching search. Although what Antetokounmpo is going to do is anyone’s guess, keeping the “Greek Freak” in Milwaukee has been the franchise’s primary objective over the last few years as rumors he was growing dissatisfied with the direction of the team intensified, so it’s clear that the team’s leadership views Jenkins as an asset in retaining Antetokounmpo’s services.

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ESPN’s Charania reported that Antetokounmpo wasn’t involved in Jenkins’ hiring and has had no communication with the Bucks.

Jenkins went 250-214 in six seasons with the Grizzlies, but was fired late in the 2024-25 season with a postseason berth lined up. He was linked to the New York Knicks opening last summer that Mike Brown ultimately filled and was going to be a candidate for the vacancies in Chicago and potentially Orlando if the Magic move on from Jamahl Mosley after their postseason run ends.

Jenkins was already in Memphis when the Bucks broke through to win the NBA Finals in 2021, but he reportedly had a great relationship with Antetokounmpo and helped set the foundation for the last big winner in Milwaukee. The Bucks lost 50 games this past season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16 under then-head coach Jason Kidd.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis Man Gets 8.5 Years For Trying To Join ISIS In Somalia

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Minneapolis Man Gets 8.5 Years For Trying To Join ISIS In Somalia


MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A 23-year-old Minneapolis man was sentenced Wednesday to 102 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota.

Prosecutors said Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan tried to travel from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Somalia in December 2024 to join and fight for the foreign terrorist organization.

ISIS has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. secretary of state since 2014.

According to court documents cited by federal prosecutors, Hassan consumed and reposted ISIS propaganda, obtained bombmaking and weapons-related manuals, and communicated on social media with ISIS media wings and recruiters operating in Somalia.

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The U.S. attorney’s office said Hassan bought a one-way ticket, left Minneapolis for Chicago on Dec. 29, 2024, and was prevented from continuing to Somalia after an interview by Customs and Border Protection’s Tactical Terrorism Response Team.

Prosecutors said he later continued researching ISIS attacks and posting pro-ISIS content online before the FBI arrested him on Feb. 27, 2025.

Hassan pleaded guilty Sept. 29, 2025, before Judge Donovan W. Frank, who imposed the sentence on April 22.

In the announcement, FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson said, “Abdisatar Hassan took active steps in an attempt to join and support ISIS—a brutal foreign terrorist organization responsible for the violent deaths of thousands of innocent people.”

He added that the sentence “takes a would-be terrorist off the streets and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will unremittingly pursue anyone seeking to join or support a foreign terrorist organization.”

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This case was investigated by the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Customs and Border Protection and the New York Police Department.





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