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RFK Jr. loses attempt to withdraw from Michigan ballot

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RFK Jr. loses attempt to withdraw from Michigan ballot


LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the state’s November presidential ballot, ending Kennedy’s efforts to withdraw his name to help support former President Donald Trump.

Kennedy suspended his third-party presidential campaign and endorsed Trump in August. He sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, on Aug. 30 in an attempt to remove his name from the ballot so as not to siphon votes away from Trump, who won Michigan by about 10,000 votes in 2016.

Monday’s decision reverses an intermediate-level Court of Appeals ruling made Friday. It ensures that Kennedy’s name will appear on voters’ ballots in the valuable battleground state despite his withdrawal from the race.

The court said in a brief order that Kennedy “has not shown an entitlement to this extraordinary relief, and we reverse.”

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“This plainly has nothing to do with ballot or election integrity,” Kennedy’s attorney, Aaron Siri, said in a written statement. “The aim is precisely the opposite — to have unwitting Michigan voters throw away their votes on a withdrawn candidate.”

Angela Benander, spokesperson for Benson’s office, said the department is grateful for the high court’s “swift response.”

“Clerks can now move forward with the ballot printing process to ensure absentee ballots will be delivered to voters by the federal deadlines,” Benander said in a written statement.

Kennedy is attempting to withdraw his name from states where the presidential race will be close in November. He had scored a legal victory in North Carolina and suffered a setback in Wisconsin Friday.

Justices nominated by Democrats currently hold a 4-3 majority on the Michigan Supreme Court. The order was unsigned and two Republican-nominated justices wrote a dissenting opinion.

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“We can only hope that the Secretary’s misguided action — now sanctioned with the imprimatur of this Court — will not have national implications,” the dissenting justices wrote.

Kennedy was nominated for president by the Natural Law Party in Michigan. Benson had previously cited a state law saying candidates who are nominated and accept a minor party’s nomination “shall not be permitted to withdraw.”





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‘Big Brother’ season 28 to premiere this week. One guest from Michigan

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‘Big Brother’ season 28 to premiere this week. One guest from Michigan


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Doors will to the “Big Brother” house will open soon, as season 28 premieres this week — and the cast list includes one guest from northern Michigan.

At 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, “Big Brother” season 28 will premiere on CBS to introduce the new guests in a 90-minute episode.

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“This season’s cast includes an MMA fighter, rocket scientist, game show host, daughter of an ’80s pop star, and a DRAG RACE All Star, among others,” CBS said in a July 7 announcement. “This new group of Houseguests is stepping into a summer where nothing is as it seems, where every twist rewrites the rules, and where time becomes the ultimate twist.”

There is one Michigan guest, Rome Seymour, 28, who works as a professional pickleball coach from Traverse City.

“I would describe myself as bashful, extroverted and extremely excitable. To be on ‘Big Brother’ is a dream. I’ve never felt anything as exiting as this before,” Seymour said in the “Big Brother” July 7 live cast announcement video.

Seymour said he will use his inner nerdiness to befriend and protect guests who are perhaps similar.

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“I see myself as hero, but I think a lot of people in the house are going to see me as a villain just because I’m so competitive that I want to win,” Seymour said.

After the 14 guests were revealed by CBS, the cast was said to be joined by long-time “Survivor” contestant Rick Devens, according to a July 7 Entertainment Weekly article.

Here’s more on the cast and how to tune in this week:

What is ‘Big Brother’ about? What is the theme for season 28?

“Big Brother,” is a reality TV show that follows a group of people living in a large house surrounded by 112 cameras and 113 microphones as an unfiltered 24-hour live feed to capture every interaction, strategic move and challenge.

A guest will be voted off each week, and the last remaining guest will win the grand prize of $750,000, according to CBS.

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The theme for season 28 is called, “Time Trip,” according to Sneak Peak from Paramount+.

Is anyone from Michigan on ‘Big Brother’ season 28?

Yes. There is one guest from Michigan on season 28 of “Big Brother:” Rome Seymour, 28, is a professional pickleball coach from Traverse City, located in the northwest Lower Peninsula.

Full ‘Big Brother’ season 28 cast list

Here is the full guest list for “Big Brother” season 28:

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  • Rick Devens, 42: TV journalist and long-time “Survivor” contestant from Blacksburg, Virginia.
  • Jason De Puy, 35: Drag Queen and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum from San Francisco, California.
  • Ashley Trail, 24: Bartender from Alton, Illinois.
  • Barrett Pfeiffer, 27: Jumbotron Engineer from Benton, Arkansas.
  • Chuk Anyanwu, 27: Supply Chain Analyst from Dallas, Texas.
  • Drew Campbell, 22: Surgical Dental Assistant from Temecula, California.
  • Haley Thogmartin, 29: Telemedicine Executive from Neosho, Missouri.
  • Rome Seymour, 28: Pickleball Coach from Traverse City, Michigan.
  • Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk, 32: MMA Fighter from Phoenix, Arizona.
  • LaTrice Verrett, 57: Boutique Salesperson from Kankakee, Illinois.
  • Lyric Medeiros, 25: Attorney from Honolulu, Hawaii.
  • Mallory Aurichio, 24: Rocket Scientist from Township of Washington, New Jersey.
  • Melody Morris, 24: Corporate Game Show Host from Thornton, Colorado.
  • Taylor Brown, 27: Elementary School Counselor from Deerfield Beach, Florida.
  • Yash Patel, 24: Financial Analyst from Monroe Township, New Jersey.

What time does ‘Big Brother’ season 28 premiere?

The 90-minute “Big Brother” season 28 premiere is set to air at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 9.

“Big Brother: Unlocked,” will air at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, July 10, and a 90-minute episode will air at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 12.

Where can I stream the ‘Big Brother’ premiere this week?

“Big Brother” Season 28 will air on CBS and will be available on Paramount+ Premium, priced at $13.99 per month.

Paramount+ Essential subscribers will be able to catch the episode the day after it airs.

Following the season premiere this week, the series will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, followed by hour-long shows on Thursdays, featuring live evictions, and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

USA TODAY contributed.

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Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com



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Michigan Supreme Court rules rape admission invalid due to LSD use

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Michigan Supreme Court rules rape admission invalid due to LSD use


A man who took a large quantity of LSD before allegedly sexually assaulting his friend was too dazed to legally confess to the incident when deputies questioned him about it hours later, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

In a 6-1 decision in which the dissenting justice agreed that the case should be retried, the high court sent the case against Zebadiah J. Soriano, 24, back to the trial.

Soriano’s attorney argued that not only was his client high on the hallucinogenic drug when he admitted to being a rapist after being read his Miranda rights, he also was sleep-deprived, hungry and unfamiliar with law enforcement procedures.

“Voluntary intoxication does not make a Miranda waiver per se invalid,” Justice Kimberly Thomas wrote in the opinion. ” … However, the circumstances here undermined Soriano’s ability to make a knowing and intelligent waiver.”

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Defense attorney Ali Nathaniel Wright called the decision “a victory for Michiganders and our right to be protected from self-incrimination.”

“The decision serves as a reminder to our lower courts and law enforcement that confessions elicited from hospitalized teenagers who cannot fully appreciate their rights because they are intoxicated and sleep deprived have no place in a court of law,” Wright said in a statement.

‘I am a rapist’

Soriano was 18 years old on the night of Nov. 20, 2020, when he used LSD with a platonic friend, identified in court documents as “AC,” at her home in Grand Traverse County. Records show that Soriano had made romantic advances toward AC in the past, which she had rebuffed.

AC allegedly took one acid tablet while Soriano has claimed that he took six.

AC later told investigators that, a short time later, Soriano disrobed, forced himself on top of her and groped her, according to court documents. When she got away from him, Soriano allegedly caught her and put his arms around her throat. The alleged victim again was able to escape from Soriano, who eventually fell down a flight of stairs and ran out of the house.

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Police were called to the scene and found Soriano around two hours after the alleged assault, in a wooded area about a quarter-mile from AC’s home, court documents show. He was acting strangely and making nonsensical statements, so officers transported him to a hospital, where they read him his Miranda rights before he made the incriminating statement that lies at the heart of the case:

“I am a rapist. I am f***ed,” he allegedly told a Grand Traverse sheriff’s deputy.

Convicted of criminal sexual conduct

Soriano was charged in Grand Traverse Circuit Court with assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct involving penetration, as well as assault by strangulation, records show.

Before his trial, Soriano filed a motion seeking to suppress the damning statement he made at the hospital, arguing that because he was high on LSD, he was unable to legally waive his constitutional right to remain silent.

The court denied the motion and, in September 2021, a jury convicted Soriano on the criminal sexual conduct charge while acquitting him of assault by strangulation. He was sentenced to three years of probation, six months in jail and ordered to register as a sex offender for life, according to court records.

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The suspect later filed a motion seeking a new trial, arguing that his defense failed to support his motion to suppress with expert testimony, records show.

The trial court denied the motion and, in May 2024, an appeals court affirmed Soriano’s conviction in a 2-1 decision, opining that any alleged errors were harmless and unsupported.

“AC’s testimony, particularly when corroborated by other witness testimony, makes it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found defendant guilty absent any potential error in the admission of his statements made while in the hospital,” the Appeals Court judges wrote.

In September 2025, Soriano appealed the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court. Wright wrote in a brief that two hours after Soriano had been interrogated, a deputy told his parents that he was “too out of it” to speak to them.

“If Zebadiah was not sober enough to hold a basic conversation with his parents two hours after his interrogation, then he was not sober enough to knowingly and intelligently waive his constitutional rights or give a voluntary confession,” Wright wrote. “The State should not be permitted to reap the benefits of (the deputy’s) exploitation of a vulnerable teenager.”

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Too high to confess?

In a decision filed Tuesday, the Michigan Supreme sided with the defense.

Thomas, writing for the 6-1 majority in a 24-page opinion, said Soriano did not fully understand the rights he was giving up when he told law enforcement that he was a rapist.

“The short period of time between defendant’s erratic behaviors and being advised of his Miranda rights supports the conclusion that defendant was not able to understand his rights at the time of waiver,” Thomas wrote.

The high court also rejected the Court of Appeals’ conclusion that other evidence made the error harmless, determining that Soriano’s hospital statement was an important part of the prosecution’s effort to prove his intent.

“Given the other evidence concerning defendant’s intent, the average jury would have found the prosecution’s case significantly less persuasive without the erroneously admitted statement,” Thomas wrote.

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The dissenting justice, Richard Bernstein, disagreed with his colleagues about the legal reason Soriano’s waiver was invalid, but agreed a new trial was warranted.

The ruling reverses the Appeals Court decision, vacates Soriano’s conviction and sends the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.

mreinhart@detroitnews.com



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Michigan religious leaders speak against what they say are voter intimidation efforts

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Michigan religious leaders speak against what they say are voter intimidation efforts


In Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing, religious leaders from many faiths gathered Tuesday to speak against what they described as efforts to intimidate and disenfranchise Michigan voters.

Speaking on the steps of the state Capitol building, Rev. Michael Young criticized the Trump administration’s actions leading up to this year’s midterm elections.

“We’re alarmed at the federal government’s attempts to interfere with election administration, efforts that suppress the vote, intimidate voters, limit access to the ballot box and shut eligible voters out of the process,” Young said.

The pastors are especially concerned about the U.S. Justice Department’s plans to send election observers to three Michigan cities to monitor the August primary.

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Published reports indicate the monitors would be sent to Detroit, Lansing and East Lansing, communities with traditionally large Democratic voter turnout.

“Sending federal election observers to Michigan; they are not coming to protect the vote,” said Rev. Rudra Dundzila of Brighton. “They are coming to intimidate the voters and disrupt the vote.”

The religious leaders are also concerned about a proposed constitutional amendment that may appear on the November ballot in Michigan. The proposed amendment would require citizenship verification to vote in Michigan elections.





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