Michigan Unemployment in June Falls 6.5 Percent Since May, Still Above ‘Great Recession’ Levels

Michigan unemployment climbed by 24,000 new claims last week, bringing the state’s total number of unemployment claims to 555,162.

However, the week-over-week tally fell by 9,705 new claims from 34,602 new claims in the week ending July 4 to 24,897 new claims in the week ending July 11, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. Those numbers are still above unemployment levels recorded at the height of the Great Recession of 2009.

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Commentary: School Board Elections May Be Your Most Important Decision This Year

Our late friend Phyllis Schlafly, the First Lady of the Conservative Movement, was fond of saying that the most important election wasn’t President, it was Republican Precinct Committeeman, because that was the gateway to the Republican Party organization, and through it the ability to endorse candidates and set the GOP Platform.

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Commentary: Where Did ‘Cancel Culture’ Begin?

Bari Weiss was not the first victim of “cancel culture,” and certainly she will not be the last, but her exit from the opinion pages of the New York Times has finally focused national attention on the steadily increasing toll of intellectual intolerance among the soi-disant progressive elite. Ms. Weiss’s public resignation letter, which described “constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views,” with her superiors at the newspaper evidently condoning this harassment, exposed a cult-like climate of ideological conformity at the Times. Because she is rather young — she was born in 1984, the year Ronald Reagan was reelected — Ms. Weiss is not old enough to remember when liberals posed as champions of free speech and open debate. Some of us are old enough to remember, however, and have a duty to teach young people how it was that liberalism slowly succumbed to totalitarianism.

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Health Professionals Advocate for School Reopening Despite Coronavirus Pandemic

Health professionals nationwide released statements in a Tea Party Patriots Action Second Opinion Project email on Thursday that they believe schools should reopen and that it is the safest option for kids.

The consensus among the physicians, that kids would benefit academically, socially, and health-wise from schools reopening this fall, echoes a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released on July 10 addressing the issue of schools reopening in the fall.

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List of National Retail Chains Requiring Masks Is Growing

Target, CVS Health and Publix Super Markets on Thursday joined the growing list of national chains that will require customers to wear face masks regardless of where cities or states stand on the issue.

Target’s mandatory face mask policy will go into effect Aug. 1, and all CVS stores will begin requiring them on Monday. Publix Super Markets Inc., based in Lakeland, Florida, said that its rule will kick in on Tuesday at all 1,200 stores.

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Hawley Seeks Civil Rights Probe in Case of St. Louis Couple

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday urged Attorney General William Barr to launch a federal civil rights investigation of St. Louis’ elected prosecutor, accusing her of abuse of power in her investigation of a white couple who wielded guns while defending their home during a protest.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey are under Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s scrutiny for the June 28 confrontation when several hundred protesters marched by their $1.15 million mansion. The couple accused protesters of knocking down an iron gate marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs.

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Ilhan Omar Has Paid Her Husband’s Firm Over $1.1 Million, New Records Show

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s total campaign payments to her husband’s consulting firm now exceed seven figures after reporting additional funds paid to the company in the second quarter of 2020.

Omar’s campaign reported payments totaling $228,000 to E Street Group, the consulting firm run by her husband, Tim Mynett, in a filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released Tuesday, bringing her total payments to the company to more than $1.1 million since August 2018.

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Democratic Challengers in 10 Key Senate Races Outraise Republicans by $34 Million

Democrats hoping to unseat Republicans in 10 key U.S. Senate races outraised their opponents by $34 million over the three month quarter ending June 30, Federal Election Commission filings show.

The 10 Democrats raised a total of $86 million compared to the $52 million that Republicans raised, Reuters reported. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky were outraised by approximately $5.6 million and $5.2 million respectively, FEC filings show.

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GOP Caps Attendance for Convention Over Coronavirus Concerns

The Republican National Committee announced Thursday morning that it would restrict attendance for the party’s convention next month in Jacksonville, Florida.

The announcement comes a day after the RNC announced that they would move the convention outdoors due to growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, The Hill reported. The decision comes as positive cases are skyrocketing across the state, according to a Johns Hopkins University database.

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MS-13 Members Charged with Crimes Ranging from Terrorism to Murder

One suspected MS-13 member has been charged with terrorism, another faces the death penalty and other reported gang leaders face charges of kidnapping, murder and racketeering, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

The investigation and indictments targeted leaders of the MS-13, and represent the first time a member of the organization has been charged with terrorism, according to a DOJ press release.

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Michigan Investigates Alleged Shakedown By Unemployment Agency Workers Accused of Stealing Benefits

The State of Michigan is investigating whether new employees of the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) are stealing funds from jobless residents, multiple media outlets report.

The workers are accused of stealing and charging clients to receive their benefits more quickly, WDIV reported. This is happening even as Michigan is among several states experiencing fraudulent claims being submitted, and they temporarily stopped payments.

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