Bipartisan Group of 42 Attorneys General Demand Health Warning on Social Media

Kid on phone

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general sent Congress a letter Monday, urging lawmakers to pass a bill that requires a U.S. surgeon general on every algorithm-driven social media platform.

Forty-two state attorneys general, led by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, signed onto the letter. Rosenblum serves as the President of the National Association of Attorneys General.

The move comes as United States Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy called for this to happen in June.

Read More

House Votes to Ban Chinese-Based Company’s EV Batteries from Homeland Security

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would prohibit electric-vehicle batteries from Gotion and several other foreign companies from being used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Read More

Michigan Republicans Reveal Plan to Boost School Resources, Student Learning

Students in Class Learning

Following a Michigan Department of Education report showing drops in reading and math proficiency in some grades, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled a multi-step plan to boost student achievement and teacher support.

The plan would provide extra funding for school safety and mental health resources, waive state fees for teachers and modernize the standard curriculum, State Reps. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, and Nancy DeBoer, R-Holland, announced Monday.

Read More

ICE Incapable of Monitoring Unaccompanied Minors Released into U.S., Inspector General Says

Illegal migrants at border

The Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a management alert to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make it aware of an urgent issue: ICE is incapable of monitoring hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children (UACs) released into the country by the Biden-Harris administration.

“We found ICE cannot always monitor the location and status of unaccompanied migrant children who are released from DHS and HHS custody,” HHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said in a memo to the deputy director of ICE.

Read More

23 States Ask Supreme Court to Reverse Energy-Related Decision

LA AG

Twenty-three states are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision that the attorneys general say could be a threat to the energy industry.

A brief filed this week by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and 22 other attorneys general wants the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the decision, saying that it is as much about “federalism and state sovereignty as it is about environmental law.”

Read More

Deadline to Replace Stolen Food Stamp or SNAP Benefits Looms

The deadline to replace Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for recipients whose benefits were electronically stolen or skimmed is fast approaching.

A September 30, 2024, deadline looms for those who had their benefits stolen between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2024, to replace their lost benefits. This comes after Congress passed a law in December 2022, hoping to reduce SNAP benefit theft; the law set this deadline to replace benefits. People must file their claims within 30 days of the theft occurring to ensure they receive payment.

Read More

Feds: Radioactive Waste Shipment to Wayne County Poses No Environmental Threat

Niagara Falls Storage Site

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers addressed concerns voiced by Michigan lawmakers about the shipment of radioactive waste to Wayne Disposal, assuring the public all proper safety measures are in place and that environmental surveillance will continue throughout the transport process.

Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, had submitted a series of questions to the USACE, asking for details about its unexpected plan to ship 6,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and concrete and 4,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater from the Niagara Falls Storage Site to Wayne County.

Read More

Walz Subpoenaed for Oversight of $250 Million Fraud Scheme

Tim Walz

Reputation associated with his military record already shattered, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now faces a reckoning tied to a signature education accomplishment – feeding schoolchildren – from a congressional committee chaired by a North Carolina congresswoman.

Called the “largest COVID-19 fraud scheme in the nation,” U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., on Wednesday sent a letter and subpoena to Walz and his state administration associated with the federal child nutrition programs and Feeding Our Future, and to the Biden administration’s U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Office of Inspector General.

Read More

Florida Sues over Violent Foreign Nationals Being Released from Prison into U.S.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody

The state of Florida is suing the Biden-Harris administration to obtain information on how many illegal foreign nationals convicted of violent crimes who served time in prison were released into the U.S. instead of being deported.

“Historically, when illegal aliens were brought to the U.S. to be prosecuted for their crimes, it was well understood that the aliens would be deported once they have served their sentence,” Florida’s lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Ashley Moody, states. “That was until the Biden-Harris Administration implemented their shockingly irresponsible immigration policy, pushing unknown numbers of dangerous criminals straight from federal prison into our communities and causing chaos, anarchy, and crime.”

Read More

Michigan U.S. Senate Candidates Clash on Electric Vehicles in Labor Policy Visions

Electric Vehicle charging station

Michigan’s U.S. Senate candidates are running on their records regarding labor and economic policy, but they are opposed on the role of electric vehicles. 

Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s approach to labor policy focuses primarily on supporting domestic manufacturing. Her campaign page says she is focused on “creating jobs with dignity, bringing our supply chains back to America, and protecting the rights of workers.”

Read More

California City Bans Smoking at Many Homes

Smoking in Home

The City of Carlsbad near San Diego, banned smoking from multifamily buildings with three or more units to reduce risk of secondhand smoke. The one city councilmember to vote against the measure called it an overreach, saying landlords and property managers should be able to make their own choices about their properties.

The ordinance bans smoking and vaping of tobacco and cannabis products both inside and outside buildings, including common areas, with use only permissible in designated smoking zones. The bill does not generally apply to single-family homes, though it does apply to townhomes, which tend not to share air systems with neighboring units.

Read More

Grand Rapids, Other Cities Granted $275 Million for Development Projects

Workers laying concrete

As part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Make it in Michigan” plan, a state board has approved millions in subsidies for development projects in Grand Rapids, Northville and Greenville. 

The Michigan Strategic Fund board authorized a $252.3 million Transformational Brownfield Plan incentive package for mixed-use development projects in Grand Rapids that include construction of the 12,000-seat Acrisure Amphitheater, an 8,500-seat soccer stadium, a riverwalk, and a 21-story mixed-use building with 475 rental apartments, 3,660 square feet of retail and 475 parking garage spaces. 

Read More

Veteran: DOD Withholds Documents on Whether DEI Hiring Improves National Security

James Fitzpatrick

The U.S. Department of Defense is under scrutiny for refusing to release records about exactly how spending on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion helps with national security.

The Center to Advance Security in America in May filed with the DOD a Freedom of Information Act Request, the legal pathway to obtain government documents. The FOIA sought to find out what DOD officials estimate is the real impact on national security of DEI spending, for which Congress approved $86.5 million in fiscal year 2023.

Read More

Canada Officials Express Alarm About Terrorism Threats and Its Impact on U.S-Canada Border.

Illegal immigrants arrested at U.S.-Canada Border

In addition to members of Congress expressing alarm about national security threats at the U.S.-Canada border, members of the Conservative Party of Canada are blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government for being responsible for creating them.

A Canadian House of Commons hearing was held Wednesday to investigate how the Trudeau government granted citizenship to a member of ISIS who allegedly plotted a terrorist attack against Canadians.

Read More

Biden Admin Pushed Group to Cut Trans Surgery Age Requirements, Faces Probe

Transgender

A U.S. House Committee has launched a probe of the Biden-Harris administration after reports that the White House pressured the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, a leading professional nonprofit association, to remove the age limits for transgender surgeries and drugs for minors.

Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., chair of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, sent a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra opening the probe, which requests all documentation and communication around the alleged “political interference” and whether HHS has pressured other medical groups to alter its guidance.

Read More

Michigan Lawmakers Demand Oakland County End Water Pollution, Citing Community Health Risks

Cleaning dishes in kitchen sink

Michigan lawmakers continue to condemn Oakland County for polluting nearby waterways, demanding the county end its decades-old practice of dumping wastewater overflow through drains that empty into nearby waterways.

“Protecting our waterways and strengthening our infrastructure is one of the most important responsibilities that elected officials in Michigan have, whether we serve at the local or state level,” Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion, said Monday. “Oakland County officials can’t claim to care about the environment while they continue to put residents and wildlife at risk through this dangerous practice.”

Read More

Credit Card Debt Hits Record $1.14 Trillion

Credit Card

More Americans are struggling financially as savings are significantly down and debt and delinquencies are up compared to four years ago.

Savings and disposable income are significantly down when comparing federal data under the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations.

Read More

Report Challenges Harris’ Assertion That Higher Food Prices Equal Corporate Greed

Grocery Shopping

Rising grocery store prices over the last few years aren’t the fault of farmers or “greedy” corporations, a conservative North Carolina research organization concludes in a new documentary series and report.

Instead, higher energy prices and more regulations are the culprit, according to the John Locke Foundation documentary series Sowing Resilience.

Read More

Michigan Attorney General Admits Michigan’s Minimum Wage Increase Poses Difficulties

Dana Nessel

Republican lawmakers are not the only ones raising concerns about Michigan’s minimum wage changes. Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a motion with the state’s Supreme Court, asking for guidance on how to implement inflation adjustments.

Nessel specifically pointed out how the court’s broad language in its July ruling could lead to five possible options for when and how to adjust the minimum wage over time, with the state Department of Treasury’s approach and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s approach also at odds with each other.

Read More

Walz Promises Harris Will Help Middle Class in DNC Speech

Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz leaned heavily into his Midwestern roots in his speech that wrapped up the third night of the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, painting the Harris-Walz ticket as pro-middle class, pro-freedom, and pro-neighborliness.

Read More

Feds Plan to Send Polluted Waste to Michigan

Niagara Falls Storage Site

Michigan lawmakers are expressing alarm at an unexpected federal decision to send thousands of tons of radioactive waste from New York to a disposal facility in Wayne County.

The Niagara Falls Storage Site, which holds World War II era radioactive byproducts and waste from uranium processing during the atomic bomb project, will send 6,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and concrete and 4,000 gallons of groundwater with elevated radiation levels to Wayne Disposal.

Read More

Michigan Line 5 Case to Remain in State Court and a Setback for Enbridge Energy

Enbridge Energy

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Enbridge Energy’s request for the Line 5 lawsuit Nessel v. Enbridge to receive a rehearing in federal court, returning the case to state court.

The court Enbridge had missed the 30-day deadline after Nessel filed the lawsuit in June 2019 to appeal moving the case to federal court, and that it relied on improper arguments when doing so.

Read More

Food Stamp Costs Are on the Way Down but Still Far Higher than Pre-Pandemic Days

Grocery Shopping

The cost of food assistance in the U.S. has dropped from its peak during the pandemic, but is still 23% higher than it was during pre-pandemic times, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, what used to be called food stamps, peaked in costs December 2022 at $11.07 billion that month. That monthly cost dropped to $7.51 billion as of April 2024. There were about 41.6 million people collecting SNAP benefits as of April 2024.

Read More

New Poll Shows Trump, Harris Tied in Wisconsin

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are tied in a new poll of Wisconsin voters.

In a head-to-head matchup between the Republican and Democratic nominees for president, the American Greatness/TIPP poll of likely and registered voters shows both Trump and Harris at 47% support.

Read More

Michigan Bill Would Protect Some First Responders from Employer Discrimination

Firefighters

A new bill introduced to the Michigan House would protect emergency responders from getting penalized for leaving work to address crises.

Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, introduced HB 5905 Tuesday, which would prohibit employers from discriminating against, disciplining or discharging an employee for being absent from work to deal with an emergency as an emergency responder.

Read More

Polls Say Majority of Americans Want Troops Sent to Border and Oppose Illegal Immigration

Illegal Immigrants

Polls are consistently showing two key indictments on the Biden-Harris administration border policy: Americans not only overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration but also want troops sent to the southern border and the border secure.

Two new recent polls support this trend, although polls have consistently shown that Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Vice President Kamala Harris’ job as “border czar.”

Read More

Illegal Border Crossings Surpass 12.5 Million Since Biden-Harris Took Office

Illegal Immigrants

U.S. Customs and Border Protection released monthly border apprehension data on Friday, saying, “statistics show lowest southwest border encounters in nearly four years.” CBP also claimed illegal border crossings were down by 34% from June to July and the drop is due to a presidential proclamation issued in June.

Troy Miller, a senior official performing the duties of the CBP Commissioner, said  recent Biden-Harris policies led “to the lowest number of encounters along the southwest border in more than three years.”

Read More

Critics Blast Harris’ New ‘Price Control’ Plan

Kamala Harris

Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is taking fire for her new “price-gouging” ban that critics say is little more than communism-style “price controls” where government heavily regulates industries.

Harris’ effort to address elevated consumer prices hits at a key pain point for Americans, but the details of how Harris plans to go about fixing that problem will be the subject of close scrutiny when she lays out the plan at a North Carolina rally Friday. Harris is expected to unveil a broader economic plan at the same rally, but so far there are few details on specifically how she will address inflation. Prices have risen more than 20% overall since she and President Joe Biden took office.

Read More

Michigan Teacher Shortages Alleviated but Student Performance Has Not Increased

Classroom

Michigan has made progress addressing teacher shortages in hard-to-fill subjects and specialties within the past five years, the State Board of Education announced.

Since the 2017-18 school year, the number of certified teachers teaching math jumped 60 percent, 31 percent for science, and 53 percent for English as a Second Language and bilingual education. The number of early childhood education teachers increased by 171 percent.

Read More

Consumer Prices Rise in Latest Federal Inflation Data

Consumer prices rose again last month after dipping in June, according to newly released federal inflation data.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed that consumer prices rose 0.2% in July, part of a 2.9% increase over the past 12 months.

Read More

Inflation Ticks Up in New Federal Data

Corn Farm

Newly released federal inflation data shows that the Producer Price Index, a leading marker of inflation, rose last month.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the data, which showed a 0.1 percent increase in July, part of a 2.2 percent increase in the previous 12 months.

Read More

Michigan Senate Candidates Bash Each Other for Alleged Deals with Chinese Companies

Both Michigan candidates for the U.S. Senate hold “tough on China” stances, but in the wake of the Aug. 6 primaries, Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers have escalated accusations that their opponent supports Chinese businesses. 

“Want to know the truth about Slotkin? All it takes is a quick Google search,” Rogers posted to social media recently. 

Read More

Federal Government Borrowed $5 Billion a Day in Fiscal Year 2024

Congress Spending

So far in the fiscal year 2024, the federal government has had to borrow about $5 billion every day.

The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday the federal budget deficit was $1.5 trillion for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2024, which covers October through July.

Read More

Proposal Suggests Fully Funding Veterans Affairs to Avoid Missing October Distributions

Veterans

With a looming deadline to fund benefits to about 7 million veterans in October, and Congress out until Sept. 9, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and six colleagues have filed legislation to get full funding.

A Republican and independent are among the six. Veterans Affairs is facing a deficit of about $15 billion the remainder of this year and next – a deficit larger than the annual budget of the Environmental Protection Agency, says one senator.

Read More

Majority Says First Amendment ‘Goes Too Far,’ According to Poll

Peaceful Protest

Free speech suppression on college campuses and social media censorship often spur debates over how far the First Amendment should go to protect Americans’ rights to express their opinions – and who should be entrusted with those decisions. 

About 53% of Americans believe the First Amendment goes too far in the rights it protects, according to a new poll by the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE.

Read More

Newsom Strengthens Chinese Relations as Scrutiny Grows over Walz’ China Ties

Gavin Newsom and Xi Jinping

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared “California Panda Day” to highlight Sino-Californian cooperation as scrutiny grows over Minnesota governor and now Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s close relationship with China.

“Building on our strong foundation of partnership and deep cultural and economic ties, I traveled to China last year to advance priority issues including climate action and economic development,” said Newsom in his proclamation making August 8 “California Panda Day.”

Read More

National Kroger Settlement Brings Funding to Michigan Communities Damaged by Opioid Addiction

Kroger Store

Michigan’s local governments have until Aug. 12 to request funds from the $1.2 billion National Kroger Settlement on opioid abuse.

The Great Lakes state is expected to receive $42 million over the course of 11 years. Eligible communities, at the city or county level, can apply for the funding to be used toward drug abuse treatment. Agreements are expected to be effective by early fall.

Read More

Commentary: Kamala’s Abuse of Staff Exemplifies Leftist Culture

Kamala Harris

Long before fate made Kamala Harris the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for U.S. President, the Washington Post published an article critical of how she treats staff. The article, published in December of 2021, reported high staff turnover and claimed it “opens up questions about her management style.”

What were they thinking? Very recent top search results on the Washington Post’s coverage of Harris only pull up glowing tributes. In the past two weeks, here are just a few: “Kamala Harris is making politics fun again — for Democrats,” “Democrats make a change and find their hope,” “Kamala Harris and the coconut tree of hope,” “Kamala Harris’s life, career and firsts from AG to the vice presidency,” “Kamala Harris’s powerful laughter in the face of weirdness,” “Kamala Harris walks into the storm — and keeps her footing,” “How Kamala Harris’s early career prepared her for this moment.”

Read More

Detroit Students Finished Online Credit Recovery Courses 20 Times Faster than Recommended

Online Class

Students at a Detroit combined virtual school took their online credit recovery courses 20 times faster than the courseware provider suggests in the 2023-24 school year.

According to a public records request filed with Detroit Public Community School District, students took their 11th and 12th-grade English language arts classes in about four hours, while the courseware provider Edgenuity recommends students spend 80 hours on such courses.

Read More

Harris, New VP Face Criticism for Handling of Crime

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in front of a BLM riot (composite image)

Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has reportedly chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate. Both candidates have faced criticism for their handling of police issues.

After replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, Harris immediately took fire for resurfaced videos where she praised the “defund the police” movement.

Read More