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Dave Chappelle, Killer Mike kick off co-headlining tour with Detroit stop

Neha Sharma — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Eastern Michigan professor suspended after sting arrest, Vance returns to state and more top stories

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(CBS DETROIT) – Comedian Dave Chappelle is returning to Detroit this fall and will be joined by rapper Killer Mike for a co-headlining tour.

The duo is kicking off a seven-city co-headlining tour at the Fox Theatre on Friday, Nov. 15. Shows in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, New York City, Oakland and Long Beach will follow, with the tour wrapping up in California on Nov. 24.

Tickets for the Detroit show go on sale at noon Friday at Ticketmaster.

As is standard with Chappelle’s shows, the Detroit date is a phone-free event. The use of phones, smart watches and accessories will not be allowed. Guests can use their phones and smart watches during the shows in designated phone-use areas within Fox Theatre.

Chappelle was last in Detroit in July when he headlined a campaign fundraiser for actor and U.S. Senate candidate Hill Harper at Saint Andrew’s Hall. He also performed at Little Caesars Arena in September 2023 and filmed his controversial Netflix special “The Closer” at the Fillmore Detroit in 2021.

A four-time Grammy winner, Killer Mike will be supported during the show by the Mighty Midnight Revival band.

Joseph Buczek

Joe Buczek is manager of digital content and promotion at CBS Detroit. He previously worked at WWTV, the Grand Traverse Insider, the Leader and the Kalkaskian, the Oakland Press and the Morning Sun.

GM investor day: Cruise, cash and EV profits top of mind for Wall Street

suimt — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 17:42:06 +0000

Mary Barra, chair and chief executive officer of General Motors Co., during a news conference at the Hudson’s building in Detroit, Michigan, US, on Monday, April 15, 2024.

Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images

DETROIT — A lot has changed since General Motors’ last investor day two years ago, but one thing that hasn’t is the automaker’s ability to outperform Wall Street’s expectations — doing so every quarter since then.

GM CEO Mary Barra will attempt to convince investors during a capital markets day Tuesday that she and her executive team can continue to do that despite slowing consumer demand and changing market conditions.

Wall Street analysts are eager to hear about plans for electric vehicles and hybrids, the company’s embattled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit, its China restructuring and GM’s near-term plans for free cash flow, lowering costs and rewarding investors.

Many of them are expecting GM will be more grounded in its near-term targets and messaging than it has in its most recent investor days, including three years ago, when Barra and others laid out ambitious long-term financial targets by to double the automaker’s revenue to about $280 billion by 2030.

“It’s clear we enter a very different industry environment vs. three years ago,” Barclays analyst Dan Levy said last week in an investor note. “Accordingly, whereas the theme for GM three years ago was “Growth Motors,” we believe the theme today is “praGMatic Motors.”

The company is expected to tout its “flexibility” when it comes to producing EVs, as well as vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines, commonly called ICE, at the event. To underscore that effort, the event is taking place GM’s vehicle assembly and Ultium EV battery plants in Tennessee. Spring Hill Assembly produces both types of vehicles.

Barra and other executives have stressed such a dual strategy since lowering or withdrawing nearly all of the company’s EV targets amid slower than expected adoption of electric vehicles.

“We are making the most of every opportunity we have in ICE and in EV and leveraging our core strengths,” Barra said during the company’s second-quarter investor call in July. “We’re being flexible and opportunistic, but also importantly, we’re being very disciplined.”

downgraded GM and cut price targets, citing challenging market conditions and low upside potential, among other things.

“We want to wait and see which updates GM shares with the market and downgrade the stock to Market-Perform,” Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska wrote in a Sept. 23 investor note.

GM’s stock remains overweight with a price target of $54.64 a share, according to average estimates of 29 analysts compiled by FactSet.

business in the country has been in a yearslong freefall.

The operations, which recorded $2 billion in equity income in 2018, posted a loss of $104 million during the second quarter — its second consecutive quarterly loss after hitting a roughly 20-year low in 2023.

China has been inundated with domestic automakers such as BYD that have caused a pricing war, especially when it comes to EVs.

GM’s 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV (right) next to a gas-powered Chevy Equinox on May 16, 2024 in Detroit.

Michael Wayland / CNBC

In GM’s home market, investors are seeking updates to its plans for EVs as well as hybrids. Unlike crosstown rival Ford, which has amped up its focus on hybrids, GM hasn’t offered a hybrid option other than a Corvette for many years.

“The event will likely provide a glimpse into GM’s efforts to balance the slowdown in EV adoption with its Future business plan, which we still expect will be centered on electrification, but with a greater emphasis on hybrid technology,” BofA Securities analyst John Murphy said in a Sept. 20 note.

GM has maintained expectations that its EVs will be profitable on a production, or contribution-margin basis, once it reaches output of 200,000 units by the fourth quarter.

Regarding Cruise, Wall Street is particularly interested in the company’s future funding plans for the embattled autonomous vehicle unit.

After ceasing all on-road operations last year and ousting leaders following an accident involving a pedestrian in October, Cruise has slowly been attempting to relaunch operations, but it remains far from it was before the incident.

Fans upset over royal disaster at

Neha Sharma — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 21:24:00 +0000

Fans upset over royal disaster at “Bridgerton” ball in Detroit

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(CBS DETROIT) – Attendees of Sunday evening’s rescheduled “Bridgerton” ball at Harmonie Club in Detroit are airing their frustrations online, claiming the event didn’t live up to expectations.

Fans of the TV show “Bridgerton” already expressed some frustrations when the event was rescheduled from August to this past Sunday after the original venue, Castle Hall, canceled their contract with organizers due to safety concerns. Those who ended up attending the event at the Harmonie Club this weekend are calling it a “royal disaster.”

The event was originally planned to host 3,000 guests, with tickets ranging between $150 and $1,000. Unable to get a refund, many still attended the rescheduled event even if they were reluctant to do so.

“We didn’t actually get an email saying the event was canceled, so we actually showed up all dressed up and everything,” said Seana Schade, who attended the ball.

Schade said she only stayed for about an hour after seeing the reality of the event.

“Just because it was too hot and we obviously weren’t going to be getting any food or drinks,” she said.

Another attendee posted her immediate reaction to TikTok after the “ball” turned out to be a “bust.”

“Are we at the club or are we at a ball,” asked Nita Morton in her TikTok post.

Guests were promised live music, elegant backdrops and an immersion into the world of “Bridgerton.”

“This was the only person playing live music,” Morton said while showing a video of a single violinist. “There were three floors — three floors. I saw her maybe like twice throughout this whole time.

“Doesn’t this look like something your cousin had at her baby shower that they ran real quick to Family Dollar to get? Exactly.

“The caterers, look what they have on. And not to mention, these aren’t even the caterers. I don’t know where the caterers are.”

Adding to her disappointment, Morton says she spent an additional $600 on hair, makeup and her outfit.

“People spent hundreds of dollars, not just on their tickets, but on upkeep and making sure they look presentable for this ball themselves,” Morton said.

Morton said her requests for a refund are going unanswered as the promoters, Uncle N Me LLC, are staying true to their strict no-refund policy. She says she probably could have gotten into the venue without paying for one.

“They didn’t check my ticket,” she said. “They were not checking tickets. They allowed everyone to go in. I would rather keep all my money and throw it myself.

Morton said she estimates roughly half of the original 3,000 guests showed up, but like the case of Schade, many left quickly after realizing what they were really walking into.

CBS News Detroit reached out to Uncle N Me LLC and is awaiting a response.

Jack Springgate

Jack Springgate joins the CBS News Detroit team after working for nearly seven years as a news reporter and anchor in South Bend, Ind., and Minot, North Dakota.