Briefs
Gilbert pledged support on road funding before hospitalization
According to Crain’s Detroit, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert pledged his support to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in obtaining funding for her signature campaign promise of repairing Michigan’s roads, just a day before suffering a stroke that left him hospitalized.The report says that both Whitmer and Gilbert aides confirmed that he told the governor he was […]
Kasich on Obama, Trump: ‘Meet the new boss; same as the old boss’
John Kasich wants people to take a chill pill when it comes to the 2020 election. Kasich is the Republican former governor of Ohio and 2016 presidential candidate who’s frequently critical of Donald Trump, the man who ultimately got that job. Speaking at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday, Kasich argued that real change comes […]
Anti-abortion group with state contract protested at Mackinac
Updated 5/30/2019, 4:55 p.m. A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit is blanketing this week’s Mackinac Policy Conference with accusations that a family planning group opposed to abortion is misusing state taxpayer dollars. The nonprofit Equity Forward is accusing that group, Harrisburg, Pa.-based Real Alternatives, of waste and misattribution of funds in its partnership with Michigan, which began […]
Inman pleads ‘not guilty’ to bribery charges
Indicted state Rep. Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) entered a plea of “not guilty” on Tuesday in a Grand Rapids federal court, in response to charges that he attempted to solicit a bribe in exchange for a “no” vote on last summer’s repeal of Michigan’s prevailing wage. The Detroit News reported that the third-term northern Michigan lawmaker, […]
Tlaib renews Trump impeachment call, praises Amash on ‘Meet the Press’
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) appeared on “Meet the Press” this weekend, reiterating her call for President Donald Trump’s impeachment and reaching across the aisle to praise U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Cascade Twp.) for his own. “I think we need to stop separating the fact that we’re trying to change people’s lives for the better, […]
MSU taps Stanley as president
Michigan State University has selected Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. to lead the school after a period of turmoil and intense scrutiny of how the college handles sexual abuse cases in the wake of the Dr. Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. Stanley is currently president of Stony Brook University in New York. He takes the […]
Warren announces Detroit, Lansing presidential campaign stops
Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced Tuesday morning that she will make her first campaign stops in Michigan in early June as her campaign continues to steadily climb national polls. Warren will appear in Detroit and Lansing on June 4 and June 5, respectively. The progressive nonprofit Focus HOPE will host Warren in […]
Whitmer calls for state’s removal from literacy suit
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and top state education officials argued in a brief filed on Friday that they should no longer be parties to a lawsuit that alleges it has denied Detroit Public Schools (DPS) students access to literacy. The claim at the basis of the lawsuit — that Detroit Public Schools students’ constitutional rights have […]
Michigan AFL-CIO re-elects president, treasurer in Detroit
The Michigan American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) announced Friday that its members re-elected its president and treasurer at the group’s convention this month in Detroit. President Ron Bieber and Treasurer Daryl Newman were elected to their second and third terms, respectively, at a convention that featured remarks from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and […]
Peters grills acting DHS secretary over child deaths at border
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) pointedly questioned acting U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan Thursday morning over the state of medical care for minors apprehended at the southern U.S. border. The senator’s cross-examination transformed a routine committee hearing into a referendum over the Trump administration’s controversial border policies. When asked by Peters […]
Stabenow says Trump has difficulties with ‘strong, smart women’
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said in a press conference in the Rose Garden that he told top Democrats he wouldn’t strike an infrastructure deal while Congress was investigating his administration. That prompted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to write her caucus a letter, which was released to the media, in which she said […]
Nessel sues Trump admin. over religious exemptions, says America becoming a ‘virtual theocracy’
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced today that Michigan is joining a coalition of 22 other state and local governments suing the U.Ss. Department of Health and Human Services over a rule allowing health providers to refuse certain forms of care on religious or moral grounds. The rule from the President Trump administration, published this week […]