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Lions safety Brian Branch’s suspension upheld on appeal, will miss Buccaneers game

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Lions safety Brian Branch’s suspension upheld on appeal, will miss Buccaneers game


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Brian Branch’s one-game suspension for striking JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face has been upheld by appeals officer Jordy Nelson, the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver.

The NFL said today Branch will serve the suspension he was given for this week’s Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he knocked Smith to the ground in the final seconds of the Detroit Lions’ 30-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Branch, who has been fined three other times this season for unsportsmanlike conduct or unnecessary roughness violations, hit Smith-Schuster in the side of the helmet as players from both teams began shaking hands after Patrick Mahomes’ final kneel-down snap.

He said the incident was retaliation for an illegal blindside block Smith-Schuster made on him late in the game. Smith-Schuster’s block was not penalized by officials.

[ Maybe we can all learn something from Brian Branch’s infraction to end Lions-Chiefs ]

Branch apologized for the incident and called his actions “childish” after the game, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said the incident was “inexcusable.”

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In a letter to Branch announcing the punishment, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote Branch violated the league’s policy on unsportsmanlike conduct.

“Your aggressive, non-football act was entirely unwarranted, posed a serious risk of injury, and clearly violated the standards of conduct and sportsmanship expected of NFL players,” Runyon wrote. “Your conduct reflected poorly on the NFL and has no place in our game.”

Campbell said Tuesday he was approaching this week as if Branch would lose his appeal and not play against a Buccaneers team that has the best record in the NFL at 5-1 and an MVP candidate at quarterback in Baker Mayfield.

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Branch’s absence comes at a tough time for a Lions secondary that will be shorthanded for the third straight week.

Starting cornerback D.J. Reed is on injured reserve and out till next month with a hamstring strain, fellow starting cornerback Terrion Arnold (shoulder) and backup safety Avonte Maddox (hamstring) are not expected to return until after the Lions’ Week 8 bye, and safety Kerby Joseph has been playing through a knee injury he suffered in a Week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Campbell said the team will decide on Joseph’s availability later this week and could give him two weeks off like it did Taylor Decker with his injured shoulder. The Lions have a bye next week.

“We saw the game the other day,” Campbell said. “He tried to gut through it, played most of the game. Look, it wasn’t his best performance, but he’d tell you that, too. He was giving us what he had, and so we’ll have to reassess.”

A second-round pick out of Alabama in 2023, Branch has been one of the Lions’ most valuable defensive players since he entered the league while also struggling with on-field discipline.

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Branch has been fined 10 times since the start of the 2024 season and was fined last year for striking Arizona Cardinals tight end Tip Reiman in the face, similar to how he hit Smith-Schuster, after a field goal. This year, he’s lost more than $111,000 in wages, including the $76,625 he will be docked for Sunday’s game.

He will be eligible to return to the Lions’ active roster on Tuesday, Oct. 21

“Look, this is one instance of something that happened,” Campbell said. “It doesn’t matter what led to it, that’s no different than you’re driving down the road and something happens on the highway, you can’t take out your aggression on somebody else. Can’t cross that line. Our players know that. Brian knows it. He’s fine. He’ll learn from this and be better. Listen, he’s an outstanding young man, he really is and he’s got a big heart and he made a mistake and he’ll learn from it.”

Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.





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Detroit, MI

Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym

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Police search for suspect, accomplice after teen injured in shooting outside Detroit school gym



The Detroit Police Department is searching for a suspect and an accomplice in connection with a shooting last week that injured a teen outside a school gym.

The shooting happened in the 3400 block of St. Aubin, the same area where the Detroit Edison Public School Academy’s Early College of Excellence is located. Police say that at about 8:27 p.m. on Feb. 27, there was an altercation inside the gym that continued outside. 

Detroit police are searching for a suspect and their accomplice in connection with a shooting outside a school.

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Detroit Police Department


Police say the suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at the victim, striking him. The teen was taken to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is unknown.

Police say the accomplice who was with the suspect was also armed.

Anyone with information is asked to call DPD’s seventh precinct at 313-596-5740, Crime Stoppers at 800-Speak Up or DetroitRewards.tv.

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Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans

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Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans



Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.

Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.

“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.

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He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”

Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”

The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.

Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.

“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”

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Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”

He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.

In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.

“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.

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agraham@detroitnews.com





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Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:

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Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:


“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.

Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.

“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.

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Michigan State Police


Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.

“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.

The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.

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“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.

The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated. 

Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.

“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.

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“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.

Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.

In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.



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