By WILL WEISSERT and COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to promote his efforts to boost U.S. manufacturing, trying to counter fears about a weakening job market and worries that still-rising prices are taking a toll on Americans’ pocketbooks.

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The day trip will include a tour of a Ford factory in Dearborn that makes F-150 pickups, the bestselling domestic vehicle in the U.S. The Republican president is also set to address the Detroit Economic Club at the MotorCity Casino.

November’s off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere showed a shift away from Republicans as public concerns about kitchen table issues persist. In their wake, the White House said Trump would put a greater emphasis on talking directly to the public about his economic policies after doing relatively few events around the country earlier in his term.

The president has suggested that jitters about affordability are a “hoax” unnecessarily stirred by Democrats. Still, though he’s imposed steep tariffs on U.S. trading partners around the world, Trump has reduced some of them when it comes to making cars — including extending import levies on foreign-made auto parts until 2030.

Ford announced last month that it was scrapping plans to make an electric F-150, despite pouring billions of dollars into broader electrification, after the Trump administration slashed targets to have half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, eliminated EV tax credits and proposed weakening the emissions and gas mileage rules.

Trump’s Michigan swing follows economy-focused speeches he gave last month in Pennsylvania — where his gripes about immigrants arriving to the U.S. from “filthy” countries got more attention than his pledges to fight inflation — and North Carolina, where he insisted his tariffs have spurred the economy, despite residents noting the squeeze of higher prices.

Trump carried Michigan in 2016 and 2024, after it swung Democratic and backed Joe Biden in 2020. He marked his first 100 days in office with a rally-style April speech outside Detroit, where he focused more on past campaign grudges than his administration’s economic or policy plans.

During that visit nearly nine months ago, Trump also spoke at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and announced a new fighter jet mission, allaying fears that the base could close. It represented a win for Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — and the two even shared a hug.

This time, Democrats have panned the president’s trip, singling out national Republicans’ opposition to extending health care subsidies and recalling a moment in October 2024 when Trump suggested that Democrats’ retaining the White House would mean “our whole country will end up being like Detroit.”

“You’re going to have a mess on your hands,” Trump said during a campaign stop back then.

Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said that “after spending months claiming that affordability was a ‘hoax’ and creating a health care crisis for Michiganders, Donald Trump is now coming to Detroit — a city he hates — to tout his billionaire-first agenda while working families suffer.”

“Michiganders are feeling the effects of Trump’s economy every day,” Hertel said in a statement.

Weissert reported from Washington.

While Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence turned the smoldering embers of rebellion into the glorious fireworks of independence and revolution, it was a short pamphlet published six months earlier, in January 1776, that ignited the colonies’ revolutionary zeal and crowded out any notion of rapprochement with Britain.

Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” a mere 47 pages long, “swept through the colonies like a firestorm, destroying any final vestige of loyalty to the British crown,” according to historian Joseph Ellis, a prominent Jefferson biographer.

“Common Sense,” as the title implies, is full of practical arguments. The colonies need to declare independence, Paine wrote, because so long as their goal was seen as reconciliation, foreign governments would consider the Americans as rebels and the conflict an internal affair. Declaring independence, Paine argued, would turn the rebellion into a war between sovereign states and open the door for a negotiated peace.

Moreover, without a commitment to independence, the Americans would not be able to secure assistance from France or Spain. Why, Paine asked, would Britain’s rivals choose to support the colonists if their stated goal was to reunite with the mother country?

Finally, to assuage any fears among potential allies that Americans might seek to promote rebellion in their countries, Paine thought it important for the colonists to lay out their grievances and their efforts to see them addressed. Separation needed to be seen as a last resort. As the Declaration would later state, the colonists did not seek independence for “light and transient causes,” but rather as a last resort to restore their rights. France and Spain, therefore, need not fear any contagion of revolution reaching their shores from the Americas.

The pamphlet went viral. There were 2.5 million people in the 13 colonies in 1776. More than 500,000 copies were distributed, or one copy for every five Americans. As a percentage, it doesn’t quite match illusionist Zach King’s “Magic Broomstick” (2 billion views, or 25% of the world population), it dwarfs the popularity of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (a mere 120 million copies worldwide).

John Adams, who would later become America’s first vice president, and after that, its second president, wrote, “Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.” George Washington ordered it read to his troops and commented that it “is working a powerful change there in the minds of men.”

Paine’s arguments for independence helped change history, but he also included a long section on the ills of monarchy, drawing on the Jewish Bible’s recounting of the Jewish people’s demand for a King (1 Samuel 8:5) and the prophet Samuel’s warning of the abuses that would result.

Paine called on the colonists to declare that in America, “THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King.”

This points to a core American principle: that in America, we are governed by the rule of law, not the diktats or whims of individuals.

While a select few American families have succeeded in producing multiple presidents (the Adamses, Bushes, etc.), family dynasties have yet to succeed here.

While “Common Sense” made a compelling case for independence, Paine began his pamphlet by outlining a radical — and controversial — theory of government.

On his account, the role of government was extremely limited. “Society is produced by our wants,” he wrote, “and government by our wickedness.” Society is a “patron,” while government is a “punisher.” “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil.”

Paine’s radical critique of government frightened some, including Adams, who later wrote, “I dreaded the Effect so popular a pamphlet might have among the People, and determined to do all in my Power to counteract the Effect of it.”

Still, Paine’s recognition that Americans’ lives are primarily mediated through voluntary associations in “society,” rather than the coercive power of government, would come to define one of the most admired aspects of American democracy throughout its 250-year history.

Frederic J. Fransen is the president of Ameritas College Huntington (W.Va.) and CEO of Certell Inc. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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Today is Tuesday, Jan. 13, the 13th day of 2026. There are 352 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Jan. 13, 1982, an Air Florida Boeing 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and plunged into the Potomac River shortly after takeoff from Washington National Airport during a snowstorm, killing 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge; four passengers and a flight attendant survived.

Also on this date:

In 1733, James Oglethorpe and some 120 English colonists arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, while en route to settle in present-day Georgia.

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In 1794, President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. (The number of stripes was later reduced to the original 13.)

In 1941, a law took effect affirming that those born in Puerto Rico are granted U.S. birthright citizenship.

In 1979, singer Donny Hathaway died in a fall from a hotel window in New York. He was 34. Hathaway was known for his duets with Roberta Flack and the holiday song “This Christmas.”

In 1990, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first elected Black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond, the state’s capital.

In 1992, Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers during World War II, citing newly uncovered documents that showed the Japanese army had a role in abducting the so-called “comfort women.”

In 2012, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia slammed into a reef and capsized in shallow water while maneuvering off the coast of Italy, killing 32 of the 4,200 people aboard.

In 2021, President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House over the violent Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol, becoming the only president twice impeached; 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump on a charge of “incitement of insurrection.” (Trump would again be acquitted by the Senate in a vote after his term was over.)

Today’s birthdays:

Golf Hall of Famer Mark O’Meara is 69.
Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 65.
Country singer Trace Adkins is 64.
Actor Patrick Dempsey is 60.
TV producer-writer Shonda Rhimes is 56.
Actor Orlando Bloom is 49.
Actor Liam Hemsworth is 36.
Actor Natalia Dyer is 31.
NHL center Connor McDavid is 29.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sheldon Rankins returned a fumble by Aaron Rodgers 33 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to highlight a dominant performance by the NFL’s top-ranked defense, and the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 on Monday night for the first road playoff win in franchise history.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 12: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers passes the ball while pressured by Danielle Hunter #55 of the Houston Texans in the second quarter of an NFL wild card playoff game at Acrisure Stadium on January 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

The Texans (13-5) play at New England (15-3) in the divisional round on Sunday night.

C.J. Stroud turned it over three times but also threw a first-half touchdown pass to Christian Kirk, who had eight catches for 144 yards. Woody Marks had 112 yards rushing for Houston, which had been 0-6 on the road in the postseason before shutting down Rodgers and the Steelers (10-8).

Marks’ 13-yard touchdown run with 3:43 to go sealed it, and Calen Bullock added Houston’s second defensive score with a 50-yard pick-6 less than a minute later on Rodgers’ final throw of the game — and possibly his 21-year career.

Rodgers passed for just 146 yards as the Steelers were held to 175 yards of offense. The four-time MVP will take some time before deciding whether to return next fall.

While Rodgers’ play down the stretch was one of the reasons the Steelers won the AFC North, he struggled in much the same way his predecessors Russell Wilson and Mason Rudolph did as Pittsburgh lost its seventh straight playoff game and dropped a Monday night home game for the first time since 1991.

His Hall of Fame career may have ended on a forced downfield throw that Bullock stepped in front of. Rodgers tried and failed to tackle Bullock on the way to the end zone.

The Steelers’ defense, long the biggest problem during a playoff victory drought that is nearing a decade, forced Stroud into numerous mistakes and kept Pittsburgh in the game until late.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 12: Woody Marks #27 of the Houston Texans runs the ball in the third quarter of an NFL wild card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on January 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The result, however, was the same as it has been for the Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin since they fell to New England in the 2016 AFC championship game, with a long walk to the locker room and a longer-than-hoped-for offseason to figure out what went wrong.

Houston’s 10th straight win was hardly a thing of beauty, as a thrilling opening weekend of the playoffs ended with a rock fight between clubs trying to shed some ignominious playoff history.

The Texans survived the way they have much of the season, by letting the league’s best defense smother their opponent.

The Steelers failed to capitalize on the miscues from a jittery Stroud, who fumbled twice and threw a pick. Pittsburgh scored just three points off those turnovers.

Not even the return of wide receiver DK Metcalf from a two-game suspension for making contact with a fan in Detroit helped. Metcalf finished with two catches for 42 yards and had a critical drop that cost the Steelers a chance to extend a 3-0 lead.

The Texans gathered themselves after an iffy start and took a 7-6 lead when Stroud finished off a 16-play, 92-yard drive by flipping a pass to Kirk for a 4-yard touchdown.

Stroud let a chance to extend the lead get away early in the second half when he was intercepted deep in Pittsburgh territory.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 12: Payton Wilson #41 of the Pittsburgh Steelers and James Pierre #42 of the Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Christian Kirk #13 of the Houston Texans in the second quarter of an NFL wild card playoff game at Acrisure Stadium on January 12, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Steelers’ offense again did nothing with the opportunity.

Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 51-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter pushed Houston’s lead to 10-6. Will Anderson sacked Rodgers on Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession, the ball popped loose and Rankins alertly scooped it up and raced to the end zone to put the Texans up by 11.

Unlike a heart-stopping fourth-quarter rally against Baltimore that earned them their first AFC North title since 2020, this time there was no late-game magic from Rodgers and the Steelers.

Instead, Tomlin’s postseason losing streak hit seven, tying Marvin Lewis of the Bengals for the longest playoff skid by an NFL coach.

While the NFL’s longest-tenured coach is all but assured of returning for a 20th season if he wants — even if there were chants for his firing in the final moments — Pittsburgh heads into yet another offseason in search of a quarterback and answers to a playoff drought whose weight seems to grow by the year.

Houston, meanwhile, heads to New England as the hottest team in the NFL with a quarterback who will be eager for a chance at a reprieve and a defense that can keep a game close against any opponent.

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