GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss court on Monday ordered three months of pretrial detention for a manager of a bar that burst into flames during a New Year's Eve celebration, killing 40 people — mostly young revelers — and injuring 116 others, many seriously.
The court of compulsory measures in the southwestern Valais canton, or region, ordered that Jacques Moretti, a manager of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, be held because of a possible “flight risk” highlighted by prosecutors.
However, the court said in a statement it was inclined to lift the three months of pretrial detention if sufficient “security measures” — potentially including bail — are arranged. It said the manager should remain in custody until the measures are worked out.
The office of Patrick Michod, a lawyer for Moretti, did not respond to emailed requests for comment, and his secretary said the attorney was not immediately available.
A Swiss business register lists French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti as the bar's owners. Lawyers for Jessica Moretti, in a statement, said the court decision would allow her husband “to regain freedom” once conditions are arranged.
Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the owners, who are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire.
Investigators believe that sparkling candles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling, which was outfitted with soundproofing material. Authorities were looking into whether the material conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Fire safety inspections hadn’t been carried out since 2019.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin said Friday that Switzerland was “appalled” by the tragedy.
The owners of the "Le Constellation" bar in Crans-Montana, where the deadly fire happened on New Year's Day, Jacques und Jessica Moretti from France, center, arrive with their lawyers Patrick Michod, Yael Hayat and Nicola Meier, to be auditioned by the Valais public prosecutor's office in Sion, Switzerland, Friday, January 9, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
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.
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 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 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.
His Michigan swing follows economy-focused speeches the president gave last month in Pennsylvania — where Trump's 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.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
