Civil Rights
Hoadley to challenge Upton, would be 1st openly gay Michigan member of Congress
Updated 10:39 a.m., 4/9/19 State Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo) said he will announce today that he will seek the Democratic nomination to represent Michigan’s 6th Congressional District, challenging longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph). Hoadley confirmed this morning with WOOD-TV that he would enter the race, making him the first Democrat to announce […]
Michigan lawmakers lead bipartisan group protesting Iraqi deportations
Updated 4:18 p.m. A group of lawmakers led by Michigan’s U.S. Reps. Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Twp.) and John Moolenaar (R-Midland) called on the President Donald Trump administration this Friday to stop the scheduled deportation of almost 1,500 Iraqi citizens across the country. More than 100 of those Iraqis are Michigan residents, a disproportionate number reflected […]
House passes revamped Violence Against Women Act
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted to renew and expand legislation that aids victims of domestic violence, setting the stage for a battle in the Senate. House lawmakers voted 263-158 to reauthorize the 1994 legislation that funds programs like rape crisis centers, shelters and legal services to victims of domestic abuse. […]
Dingell takes on the NRA: ‘I was sure I was going to die that night’
WASHINGTON — For Debbie Dingell, keeping guns away from domestic violence perpetrators is personal. “This is something that I care very, very deeply about, because I lived in that household,” U.S. Rep. Dingell (D-Dearborn) told reporters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Dingell is among the lawmakers leading the charge for the House to […]
Upton: ‘It didn’t make sense’ to attend Trump rally
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) got a last-minute invite to President Trump’s rally in Grand Rapids last week, but he already had plans. The longtime Republican congressman declined the invitation to participate, he said, because it didn’t fit with his hectic schedule, he told the Michigan Advance in an interview Tuesday. “It […]
Nessel has received violent, anti-Semitic threats over Catholic Church investigation
Updated 11:15 a.m. Attorney General Dana Nessel has continued the investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church started by her predecessor, Republican Bill Schuette. However, the response to the Democrat has been markedly more hostile from conservatives than when Schuette began the probe. That includes state Rep. Beau LaFave* (R-Iron Mountain), who accused Nessel […]
GOP lawmaker accuses Nessel of ‘religious bigotry’ after retweet
State Rep. Beau LaFave (R-Iron Mountain) is accusing Attorney General Dana Nessel of “religious bigotry” after a recent retweet. The accusation stems from the Democratic attorney general retweeting a comment from a sexual assault survivor and campus sexual assault prevention coordinator for the state. The message was critical of Michigan State University’s decision to hire […]
Whitmer makes play for Georgia’s film industry, sans incentives
Updated 8:25 p.m. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is hoping to attract some of Georgia’s lucrative film industry as that state’s impending anti-abortion legislation has many in Hollywood threatening to take their work — and their money — elsewhere. That legislation, expected to be signed into law soon by Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, would outlaw […]
Gerrymandering doc featuring Voters Not Politicians founder debuting at Tribeca Film Festival
Katie Fahey, like many people in the immediate aftermath of now-President Donald Trump’s election, was not happy. “My disappointment makes me not trust the rest of the world,” she told the Associated Press after the results became clear, before stating her intent to “wear sweatpants and curl [herself] up in a corner.” Unlike most people, […]
Trump rallies in Grand Rapids today. Research shows counties with 2016 events had spikes in hate crimes.
President Donald Trump is gearing up for a 2020 campaign rally in Grand Rapids on Thursday. Michigan is the key to his re-election, as new state GOP Chair Laura Cox has said, so this likely will be the first of many events. Trump, who won Michigan in 2016, is expected to draw a large crowd […]
Nessel: Trump is a ‘huge factor’ in hate crimes rising in Michigan
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has earned blowback from some right-wing critics over her new hate crimes unit, so they’re really going to love this: She unabashedly says that President Donald Trump is a big reason why these crimes have spiked. “I think he is a huge factor,” she said last week at a small […]
AG, high court could still weigh minimum wage, sick leave laws
Attorney General Dana Nessel and the state’s highest court could still weigh whether Lame Duck laws that dramatically scaled back ballot proposals regarding paid sick leave and the minimum wage are constitutional. But Nessel won’t do so before Friday, when they are slated to take effect, according to spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney. Another request for the […]