DETROIT, MI — United Auto Workers leaders announced the organization’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president on the eve of the Democrat’s planned rally in a city synonymous with auto manufacturing.

“Our job in this election is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris to build on her proven track record of delivering for the working class,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

Along with the endorsement, the UAW statement revealed Harris would host a rally in Detroit on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

While the Harris campaign earlier had announced plans for a rally next week, the specific date of the event was not revealed until the UAW statement. Campaign officials later confirmed the rally was scheduled for Wednesday evening.

The venue has yet to be announced.

UAW officials said union members plan to attend the rally to support Harris.

Why? Fain, in his statement, said the U.S. stands “at a crossroads.”

“We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect Kamala Harris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed,” Fain said. “This campaign is bringing together people from all walks of life, building a movement that can defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box. For our 1 million active and retired members, the choice is clear: We will elect Kamala Harris to be our next president this November.”

The Harris campaign revealed a packed schedule next week for the vice president. It’s a calendar that sends her across battleground states which, like Michigan, could determine the outcome of this fall’s election.

Harris will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 6; to Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Wednesday, hours before her stop in Detroit; to Research Triangle, North Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 8; to both Savannah and Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 9; and to Las Vegas on Saturday, Aug. 10.

The Harris campaign said the rallies will include the Democrat’s running mate, who has yet to be named.

Since President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race for the White House last week and endorsed his vice president, Harris has been on the campaign trail in key battleground states. This week, Harris campaigned in Atlanta and Houston.

She has yet to visit Michigan as a presidential candidate. She did campaign as a vice presidential incumbent in Kalamazoo on July 17, five days before Biden bowed out in her favor.

Detroit has served as a frequent stop for presidential candidates this year.

The week before Biden dropped out, he hosted a rally inside Detroit’s Renaissance High School gymnasium. It was the president’s third trip to Detroit in 2024.

Trump, the Republican nominee seeking to return to the White House, campaigned in the city in June.

Detroit City FC appears to be in a slump.

Le Rouge stumbled on the road Wednesday night, falling 1-0 to Hartford Athletic at Trinity Health Stadium.

Hartford (6W-3D-11L) grabbed the lead with a goal in the 23rd minute and never relinquished it, as Detroit City FC (8W-4D-7L) saw its winless streak reach five (three losses, two draws) as it prepares to play host to Rhode Island FC at 4 p.m. Saturday at Keyworth Stadium in a match to be broadcast nationally on CBS.

Detroit City FC and Rhode Island FC (6W-10D-4L) are currently tied in the United Soccer League’s Eastern Conference with 28 points, with DCFC sitting in sixth and Rhode Island seventh in the 12-team conference.

Detroit City FC’s last victory was June 29, 4-0 at Eastern Conference cellar dweller Miami FC. DCFC has tallied two goals total in the five matches since.

DETROIT — A Detroit man was convicted Wednesday of fatally shooting two people and wounding six others during an argument that started over a vehicle blocking his driveway.

A jury found Winston Kirtley Jr. guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, six counts of assault with intent to murder and 10 counts of using a firearm during a felony, Wayne County prosecutors said in a statement.

The shooting in which Toyake Thirkeild, 39, and Andre Willis, 38, were killed took place July 31, 2022.

Kirtley, who faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, testified Tuesday that he was going to exercise about 2:30 a.m. and an SUV was blocking his driveway, The Detroit News reported.

Willis and Thirkeild were in the vehicle. Kirtley said he asked Willis three times to move it, according to the newspaper.

Kirtley said Willis responded by saying “What?” several times.

“He pulled out a black pistol and pointed it at me, and I went to my house and grabbed my gun,” Kirtley testified. “I was scared and confused of him shooting me. I came back out and shot the Durango. I felt my life was in danger.”

Kirtley also said he heard gunshots from across the street before he retrieved his assault-style rifle and began firing. He said he shot 16 times at Willis and Thirkeild, and another three times at two other men.

Defense attorney James Schlaff told the jury that his client believed he was about to be harmed or killed when he saw Willis with a gun.

But Assistant Prosecutor James Kehoe said during closing arguments that there was no evidence Willis had a gun. Kehoe also said a slug struck a neighbor’s home before one of the men who was wounded began shooting at Kirtley, according to The Detroit News.

“This gun is being shot at everyone because this is a mass shooting,” Kehoe said. “He meant to pull that trigger and he meant to do it at least 19 times. He wasn’t threatened. He wasn’t provoked.”

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4.