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Veterans warn their health care could be cut amid debt ceiling fight
As the nation prepares to honor U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the armed forces, a looming debt default could mean millions of veterans, many with injuries suffered on the battlefield, could lose access to outpatient medical care. If the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt limit isn’t raised before June 5, just days […]
Indigenous leaders urge Biden to shut down Line 5 pipeline due to ‘imminent’ threat
Leaders from the Indigenous Women’s Treaty Alliance submitted a letter Thursday to the Biden administration with an emergency request to decommission the Line 5 pipeline due to imminent threats of oil spills impacting the Bad River Watershed and the Great Lakes. The controversial 70-year-old pipeline, operated by Canadian oil company Enbridge, flows crude oil from […]
Ottawa Co. panel passes ‘constitutional county’ resolution following hours of public debate
Just a day after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law another package of gun safety reforms, the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners declared itself a “constitutional county” and “strongly” encouraged its sheriff and prosecutor not to enforce laws “contrary to the rights protected by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Michigan.” […]
State canvassers approve upgrade to Dominion voting systems
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Friday approved certifying an upgrade to the voting machines used across most of the state. The board met in Lansing for its monthly session with only two items on the agenda. The first was the certification of an upgrade to the Dominion Voting System tabulators used by 65 […]
Grad worker union accuses U of M of ‘fabricating’ grades, school says claims are ‘false’
The University of Michigan has filed a formal petition with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission to appoint a “fact finder” in the ongoing strike by graduate workers. The university, which filed the petition Wednesday morning, earlier indicated it would move in that direction if there was not substantial progress toward a resolution with the union […]
Dem, GOP fields getting more crowded in race to replace Stabenow in the U.S. Senate
With this week’s announcement that former state Rep. Leslie Love (D-Detroit) was seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) next year, the odds of contested GOP and Democratic primaries are rising. “This election is about more than who raises the most money. This campaign is about giving people a choice. It’s […]
Michigan Senate passes $79.6 billion budget plan, spending less than the House version
The Democratic-led Michigan Senate on Thursday passed its version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget. The $79.6 billion Senate plan came in just under the $80.1 billion budget passed by the Democratic-led House Thursday, but above Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $79 billion proposal put forward in February. “As we have for the last five months, […]
Michigan House passes $80.1B budget for 2024 fiscal year
Democrats leading the Michigan House pushed through this week an $80.1 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget, topping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $79 billion proposal put forward in February. The House plan includes a $21.5 billion School Aid budget, which Democrats called “the largest investment in education in Michigan’s history,” as well as significant investments in […]
New: Former Republicans seek to create new centrist party and utilize fusion voting in Michigan
Calling the alliance of disaffected Republicans and moderate Democrats “short-term triage,” a former leader of Michigan Republicans says he and other pro-democracy conservatives plan to form a new party and then challenge the state’s ban on what’s known as fusion voting. Jeff Timmer, the one-time executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, told the Advance […]
As the anniversary of Enbridge’s refusal to shut down Line 5 approaches, groups press Biden admin
Updated, 6:16 p.m., 5/10/23 As the two-year anniversary approaches since Canadian oil company Enbridge began defying a state shutdown order, environmental groups this week are renewing their call for the Biden administration to take immediate action to protect the Great Lakes from a controversial 70-year-old crude oil pipeline. “There’s no place for old technology that […]
Michigan could join states in the national popular vote compact. So what would that mean?
Legislation has been reintroduced this session to change the way Michigan’s electoral votes are awarded, which supporters hope will eventually result in the presidency always being awarded to whichever candidate wins the most votes nationally. Now with Democrats in charge of both houses of the Legislature, advocates see an opening for the bills to finally […]
Poll finds majority of voters oppose efforts to ban books and attack libraries
Efforts by groups and organizations to ban books in Michigan are being made against an overwhelming majority of public opinion that opposes such actions. That’s the takeaway from a newly released poll of 800 Michigan voters by EPIC-MRA commissioned by the Michigan Library Association (MLA) which sought feedback regarding awareness of, and attitudes toward what […]