Michigan Unemployment Fell Slightly Last Week, Still Hovers Near 575,000 Claims

Unemployment line

Although new claims dropped slightly from the previous week, Michigan’s unemployment reversed its downward trajectory in the weeks ending July 11 and July 18.

New claims fell by 2,647 during the last full week of July, from 24,596 the week prior to 21,949 the week ending July 25. That gain was offset by an increase of 54,440 new claims since July 11.

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Commentary: The Only Way to Punish the Left

Leftists are trying to destroy America, her Constitution, her honor, and the patriots who love her. The corrupt leftists are on the streets of blue cities and are Democrats in positions of leadership in the United States government. The chaos you’ve seen on television every night for nearly two months (or not seen lately if you watch mainstream media) is horrifying, but it is routinely ignored—if not encouraged—by the leadership of the Left. “People will do what they do,” Nancy Pelosi said regarding the mob’s destruction of a Christopher Columbus statue on Independence Day.

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Analysis: Public School Funding Per Student Averages 80 Percent More Than Private Schools

According to the New York Times, one of the main reasons why public K–12 schools are reopening more slowly from Covid-19 lockdowns than private schools is because public schools generally have less money. Times reporter Claire Cain Miller makes this claim three times in a single article, but her assertion is the polar opposite of reality and has been so for decades.

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100+ Police Agencies Pull Out of Democrat Convention Security

More than 100 police agencies have backed out of agreements to send personnel to help with security at next month’s Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, The Daily Caller reported.

The original plan was to have 1,000 officers on hand from outside agencies to assist with security.

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US Sees Worst-Ever Contraction for Second-Quarter GDP

The United States gross domestic product (GDP) fell 32.9% in the second quarter of 2020, the Department of Commerce reported, marking the largest decline the country has ever seen, according to CNBC.

In addition to the record drop in GDP, The Department of Labor reported Thursday that over 1.43 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment last week, marking a swift economic contraction as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country.

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More Than 1.4 Million Americans File New Unemployment Claims

More than 1.4 million American workers filed new unemployment claims last week, an increase over the previous week as new restrictions are being put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1.43 million workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 25, up 12,000 from the week ending July 18. It was the second week in a row that new claims increased.

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The McCloskeys’ Lawyer Wants St. Louis Prosecutor Kim Gardner Disqualified After She Fundraised off the McCloskey Case

Attorneys representing Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who displayed firearms after a group of protesters broke a gate and approached their private property, want St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner disqualified from the case after she cited her prosecution of the pair in a fundraising email for her re-election campaign.

The McCloskeys’ attorneys included in Wednesday’s motion two fundraising emails from Gardner’s reelection campaign that clearly referred to the McCloskey case, according to court documents reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Zuckerberg Was the Only Tech CEO to Unequivocally Say China Is Stealing American Technology

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was the only tech executive at Wednesday’s antitrust hearing who unequivocally said China is stealing technology from American companies.

“I think it’s well documented that the Chinese government steals technology from American companies,” the 36-year-old Silicon Valley executive said after Rep. Greg Steube asked him if China is stealing from U.S. technology companies. The Florida Republican posed the same question to CEOs Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, and Sundar Pichai of Google.

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Commentary: The Worst Brand Name in American History

In their eagerness to expose and eliminate every trace of historic racism, Trump-deranged Democrats are walking on very thin ice.

Once-honored figures, now deemed  racist, have had their names removed from important institutions, their statues toppled, and portraits taken down from the corridors of power. 

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Second Stimulus Check Likely to Exceed $1200 for Many

President Trump hinted that the second round of stimulus payments could be higher than the original $1200. The new GOP plan has updated the definition of “dependents” allowing many to receive an additional $500 dollars per person in their families. 

During an interview in Texas yesterday, President Trump spoke on the second stimulus package, saying “we want to take care of people that don’t have jobs,” Noting that “we have to do it smart but we want.. (to be) very generous.” When asked by a reporter if $1200 would be enough the president responded ” We’re going to see it may go higher than that actually.” He went on to praise the economy saying “We just had tremendous job numbers” and “great retail sales numbers.”

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Michigan’s Economic Rebound Programs See Millions in New Funds

Forty-one million dollars in taxpayer-funded relief have been approved to bolster Michigan’s flagging economy. A Detroit-based automotive supplies company will receive a two million dollar grant to aid in it’s expansion. This money comes as businesses across the state struggle to deal with the new stresses of the COVID economy and various programs try to fight the downturn.

The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) has approved two community upkeep and revitalization initiatives and made changes to the Michigan Community Development Block Grant program. These changes reportedly allow “the use of $41.9 million in federal CDBG CARES Act funding.”

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Analysis: The Republicans’ Path to a House Majority in 2020

The House of Representatives is in play and Republicans have a real shot at recapturing control of the lower chamber after their dismal performance in 2018.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) deserves credit for her success passing legislation and articles of impeachment, but that it more a testament to her mastery of the whip count than her overwhelming numbers. House Democrats are holding, if not a slim majority, a fragile one.

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Opioid Overdoses Rise in State During Coronavirus Pandemic

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is reporting significant increases in opioid overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

MDHHS reported emergency medical services (EMS) in the state responded to a 33 percent increase in opioid overdoses from April to May of this year. The department adds that opioid overdoses increased by 26 percent from the prior year during the period between April and June. 

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Commentary: Michigan Is Already on Its Way to Full Economic Recovery

With the “v-shaped” economic recovery taking shape nationwide, Michigan has begun to bounce back from the artificial coronavirus downturn sooner than most of us dared to hope. 

Despite Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s excessively harsh stay-at-home orders, Michigan regained more than 460,000 nonfarm jobs since the start of May, reducing the unemployment rate by almost a whopping 10 percentage points. Blue collar industries that provide the lifeblood for Michigan’s middle class, such as construction and manufacturing, are doing particularly well — those two sectors alone created more than 180,000 new jobs in May, no doubt fueled in part by the President’s focus on ramping up domestic production of medical supplies needed to confront the invisible enemy.

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NYPD Reports Demonstrators Damaged 303 Cruisers, Costing $1 Million in Repair

The New York City Police Department said 303 law enforcement vehicles were damaged since George Floyd’s death on May 25, costing nearly $1 million.

A total of 14 cruisers were set ablaze and totaled with another seven still being repaired, according to the Associated Press. The remainder of the damaged cars have since been re-deployed on NYC’s streets that continue to be roiled by protests and riots following the death of Floyd, who died after a former Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, the AP reported.

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Remington Files for Bankruptcy Amid Nationwide Unrest, Surge in Gun Purchases

Remington Arms Co. filed for bankruptcy amid nationwide unrest and surging gun sales.

The firearm company filed for chapter 11 protection, or reorganization bankruptcy, for the second time since 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Remington has been in business for over 200 years, according to its webpage.

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Commentary: Former CIA Officer Says Terrorists Will Learn from COVID

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the media warned breathlessly of “chatter” that terrorists—domestic and international—were planning to exploit and spread the virus. So far no such plots have developed, but a former CIA officer warns that the lessons terrorists have learned from the inept and politicized response to the pandemic, if exploited, may be more dangerous to us than terrorist use of the virus itself.

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Google Deliberately Alters Search Results for Breitbart News

As the 2020 election draws nearer, search engine and tech giant Google is being exposed as engaging in election interference by artificially altering search results to negatively impact right-wing sites, as reported by Breitbart.

Breitbart reports that its own visibility on Google search results has been reduced by as much as 99.7 percent of its previous performance since the 2016 election. In contrast to its performance in April of 2016, when it was among the top ten search results for 355 key search terms, it now ranks in the top ten of only one such search term in the month of July of this year.

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Commentary: Silicon Valley Ramps up Censorship of Conservatives

Silicon Valley’s pre-election censorship of conservatives is rapidly increasing, with anything that questions the imposition of a new level of COVID-19 lockdown misery and economic devastation a top target.

The latest example of this pre-election censorship occurred yesterday, when Facebook, Twitter and Google removed a press conference video by frontline doctors featuring U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and organized by Tea Party Patriots.

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Oregon Governor Says U.S. Agents Will Start Leaving Portland

Federal agents who have clashed with protesters in Portland, Oregon, will begin a “phased withdrawal” from the city, Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement the plan negotiated with Brown over the last 24 hours includes a “robust presence” of Oregon State Police in the downtown of the state’s largest city.

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Biden Says He’ll Announce Vice President Pick in August

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Tuesday that he will announce his vice presidential running mate in the first week of August, the Washington Post reported.

Biden did not say precisely what day he will announce his vice presidential choice, CNN reported. The former Vice president made the announcement during a news conference after a speech in Delaware.

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Attorney General Barr Tells House Judiciary Committee There Is a Separate Investigation Into Unmaskings

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) asked Attorney General William Barr about “unmaskings” in a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.

The committee grilled Barr on a number of other topics as well, including police reform.

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Trump Administration to Send Federal Agents to Cleveland

Federal agents will be sent to Cleveland as part of “Operation Legend.” The operation, named after four-year-old Legend Taliferro who was killed in Kansas City, was created to help combat the uptick in violence in the wake of the George Floyd Protests. Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams stressed that there will not be “Federal Troops” in the city.

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Detroit Police Chief James Craig Cites Unified City, Not Backing Down for Peaceful City Among Protests

Detroit Police Chief James Craig credited the city’s success in remaining peaceful during nationwide protests and riots with having a city that has stood together and a police force that refuses to give up “the ground to the radicals.”

In an appearance on Fox News’s Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday, Craig told Carlson that “we don’t retreat here in Detroit.”

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Mysterious Seeds Arriving Across the U.S. and U.K.

Unidentified seeds, seemingly from China, have arrived unsolicited across the country. Agricultural officials are asking residents not to plant these seeds. Stating that they may be from invasive, destructive, or otherwise dangerous plants. Officials in at least 27 states have reported unsolicited packages of seeds delivered to residents. Similar packages have begun arriving throughout the U.K.

Jane Rupp, a Better Business Bureau representative, believes that these shipments could be part of a brushing scam, where online sellers ship large quantities of cheap merchandise to increase their overall ratings and visibility by creating fake reviews in the recipients name, reports Fox. Similar cases were reported in late 2019 with Americans receiving unordered, low cost, and even empty packages.

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Commentary: Joe Biden Is a Clear and Present Danger to the American Way of Life

A Biden presidency would be a disaster for everyday Americans. If given the chance, Joe Biden will endanger your family’s security, infringe upon your rights, increase your cost of living, lower your home’s value, and hurt your 401(k) – all while killing countless jobs.

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Barr Says Unrest Not Linked to Floyd, Defends Feds’ Response

Attorney General William Barr defended the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying on Tuesday “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Barr told members of the House Judiciary Committee at a much-anticipated election year hearing the violence taking place in Portland, Oregon, and other cities is disconnected from Floyd’s killing, which he called a “horrible” event that prompted a necessary national reckoning on the relationship between the Black community and law enforcement.

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Spotlight on Four Big Tech CEOs Testifying in Competition Probe

They command corporations with gold-plated brands, millions or even billions of customers, and a combined value greater than the entire German economy. One of them is the world’s richest individual; another is the fourth-ranked billionaire. Their industry has transformed society, linked people around the globe, mined and commercialized users’ personal data, and infuriated critics on both the left and right over speech.

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Biden’s Notes: ‘Do Not Hold Grudges’ Against Kamala Harris

Joe Biden was uncharacteristically tight-lipped on Tuesday about the final stretch of his search for a vice president. But the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee seemed prepared to talk about at least one leading contender: California Sen. Kamala Harris.

As he took questions from reporters on Tuesday, Biden held notes that were captured by an Associated Press photographer. Harris’ name was scrawled across the top, followed by five talking points.

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Air Travel Not Expected to Recover Until 2024

Global air travel is recovering more slowly than expected and it will take until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels, the trade association for the airline industry said Tuesday.

The International Air Transport Association pushed back its prediction by one year due to the slow containment of the outbreak in the U.S. and in developing countries.

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‘Egregious’: Democratic Mayors Ask Congress to Restrict to Restrict Deployment of Federal Officers to Quell Riots

Democratic mayors wrote to Congress Monday, asking for limitations on the Trump administration deployment of “unidentified federal officers” to their cities to calm protests, according to a letter posted on Twitter.

The mayors requested that federal agents be required to present identification except “on an undercover mission authorized by the local U.S. Attorney,” according to the letter Wheeler posted on Twitter. Six Democratic mayors, including Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago signed the letter.

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Commentary: Reckoning with the Riots

The showdown is coming over urban violence in America. The continuing rioting and destruction erupting in new cities every few days is almost certain to provide yet another profound demarcation of opinion over how to govern the United States and address the problems that have so stirred the country since the killing of African American George Floyd by a white Minneapolis policeman on May 25. America’s toleration of a completely unjustifiable level of general violence compared to anything in its past demonstrates considerable progress in civility and restraint in the past 50 years.

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Without ‘Sea Changes,’ Democratic Platform Alliance with Black Lives Matter Is ‘Naught,’ Co-Founder Says

The Democratic platform needs to strongly address police brutality and racial justice, a Black Lives Matter co-founder told the Democratic National Committee Monday, Axios reported.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors wants the party to be a political force to match the current movement and are focused on policy change, Axios reported.

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White House Petition to Investigate Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for Unfounded Conspiracy Theory Reaches 600,000 Signatures

Over half a million people have signed a White House petition calling for an investigation into a conspiracy theory involving Bill and Melinda Gates.

Created by “C.S.” on April 10, the petition demands that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation be investigated for medical malpractice and crimes against humanity. There is no evidence to support these claims. The petition has 621,609 signatures as of Monday evening.

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Sen. Peters Asks FEMA to Help Fund Michigan Coronavirus School Response

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday asking the agency to help fund schools in Michigan as they prepare to open during the coronavirus.

In the letter, Peters pushed FEMA to allow schools in Michigan and nationwide to access to funding from the Disaster Relief Fund to help pay for public safety trainings, adapting classrooms and acquiring personal protective equipment for students and staff.

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City of Detroit Seeking Photos of Coronavirus Victims for Memorial

The City of Detroit is seeking photos of those who lost their lives to the coronavirus to display as part of a city memorial event.

Detroit will host Detroit Memorial Day on August 31 to honor city residents who died because of COVID-19, Mayor Mike Duggan announced earlier this month. The city plans to install large photo boards with the submitted pictures along a route on Belle Isle.

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Commentary: Time to Grab Some Popcorn as Attorney Lin Wood Agrees to Take on Carter Page’s Case

Lin Wood, the attorney representing a Kentucky teenager in a number of defamation lawsuits against major media outlets, announced a settlement Friday with the Washington Post. The terms of the agreement between the family of Nicholas Sandmann – the Covington Catholic High School student accused of disrespecting a “native elder” while wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat during the January 2019 March for Life – remain secret. 

Wood and Sandmann settled a similar lawsuit against CNN earlier this year. Cases still are pending against NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Gannett.

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After Talk of Collaboration, College Football Conferences Go Their Own Way

Plans for the 2020 college football season — if it is played — should start coming into focus this week.

They will trickle down from the top of major college football, with Power Five conferences putting in place revised schedules they hope will make it easier to manage potential disruptions brought on by COVID-19.

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Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler Says Antifa Violence in Portland is ‘a Myth’

Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York said antifa violence in Portland is a myth in a YouTube video published Monday.

Nadler made the comment during an interview with Austen Fletcher. Fletcher hosts Fleccas Talks, a political channel, according to the Dartmouth Review.

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Senate Republicans Propose New $1 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package

Senate Republicans’ latest COVID-19 stimulus package proposes another round of direct payments to Americans and more enhanced federal unemployment benefits for workers who lose their jobs during coronavirus restrictions.

The $1 trillion package, called the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act was released Monday.

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Wealthy Donors Pour Millions into Fight over Mail-In Voting

Deep-pocketed and often anonymous donors are pouring over $100 million into an intensifying dispute about whether it should be easier to vote by mail, a fight that could determine President Donald Trump’s fate in the November election.

In the battleground of Wisconsin, cash-strapped cities have received $6.3 million from an organization with ties to left-wing philanthropy to help expand vote by mail. Meanwhile, a well-funded conservative group best known for its focus on judicial appointments is spending heavily to fight cases related to mail-in balloting procedures in court.

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NASA’s Next Mars Rover Sports Brawn, Brains, and Even a Helicopter

With eight successful Mars landings, NASA is upping the ante with its newest rover.

The spacecraft Perseverance — set for liftoff this week — is NASA’s biggest and brainiest Martian rover yet.

It sports the latest landing tech, plus the most cameras and microphones ever assembled to capture the sights and sounds of Mars. Its super-sanitized sample return tubes — for rocks that could hold evidence of past Martian life — are the cleanest items ever bound for space. A helicopter is even tagging along for an otherworldly test flight.

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Commentary: LARPers Lament as Real Life-and-Death Consequences Come to Austin

There’s a term, and an acronym, that every American interested in following the rank stupidity of this summer’s occurrences in America’s blue cities ought to be familiar with.

The term is Live-Action Role Playing, and the acronym is LARPing. What you’re seeing on the streets of Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, and other cities are textbook examples of this phenomenon playing out.

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