Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan distances himself from Twitch streamer and debates Fox News host

The Democratic candidate for Senate in the swing state of Michigan has spent the week trying to keep his affordability message front and center as scrutiny mounts from both ends of the political spectrum.

In the span of two days, Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself from leftwing streamer Hasan Piker, spoke out against rightwing hate directed at the Muslim community, and debated Fox News host Jesse Watters on taxing billionaires. The clip circulating most from the Fox interview, though, focused on circumcision - specifically, El-Sayed asking Watters whether he circumcised, in a retort to Watters’ question about gender-affirming care.

Michigan Senate nominee and others have re-energized one-time Democratic voters who abandoned the party under Biden

Two years ago, Zainab Bibi Ahmed thought she had turned her back on the Democrats for good. Now, she is volunteering for the party’s US Senate nominee in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed.

Ahmed was one of 100,000 people to vote uncommitted in the February 2024 Democratic Michigan primary, in a bid to send a message to then US president Joe Biden about his support for Israel, as people watched what Amnesty International later called a “live-streamed genocide” in Gaza on their screens.

Girl called police after she was shot four times in shooting spree that left six dead, including gunman

A 13-year-old girl in Michigan survived being shot four times in a shooting spree that left six people dead – including the suspected attacker – and called emergency help herself shortly before investigators identified the gunman, according to a state police official and her family.

Those actions made the teen a “hero”, said a relative of hers as well as two of the dead victims.

Suspected gunman fled the scene, prompting a manhunt, before he and another individual were found deceased

A mass shooting on Friday has left six people dead, including the suspected gunman, in Missaukee county, a rural area of northern Michigan, according to state police. Another person is in critical condition at a local hospital.

Michigan state police identified the suspected gunman as 39-year-old Chad Hickman in a statement posted on social media.