Health Care
Michigan NICU nurse Julia Pulver’s tweets on Trump’s abortion lie go viral
At a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday, President Donald Trump unleashed what CNN called an “incendiary falsehood” about mothers and doctors conspiring to kill babies after they’re born. Trump and other Republicans have been falsely accusing abortion rights supporters of backing “infanticide.” The president took the argument to the extreme at his campaign event. “The […]
Oscoda residents vent to Air Force brass about PFAS worries
Beneath the natural beauty of Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda lurks some of the highest concentrations of toxic chemicals from firefighting foam in the state. The Huron National Forest destination north of Michigan’s Thumb was once popular for hunting and fishing. Now it’s covered with metal signs riddled with bullet holes and messages warning locals not […]
EPA issues weaker cleanup rules for toxic PFAS chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued weaker draft standards for toxic cleanup at hazardous waste sites following pressure from the Department of Defense, the New York Times reported Thursday. The federal agency released a set of proposed standards Thursday that would do away with a section on how to respond to “immediate threats […]
‘We’ll scream loud’: Flint residents protest 5 years of water crisis
Updated 8:38 p.m. Thursday might have technically marked the five-year anniversary of the official start of Flint’s water crisis — but don’t call it that around Bishop Bernadel Jefferson. “This is a commemoration,” said Bishop Jefferson of the city’s Faith Deliverance Center. “Anniversaries are celebrations, and we aren’t celebrating [having] five years with this water.” […]
McMorrow: LGBTQ conversion therapy is ‘unethical,’ must be banned
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) and Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) introduced legislation this week banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth in Michigan. Senate Bill 284 and House Bill 4515 prohibit treatments that seek to force changes to sexual orientation or gender identity for those younger than 18. McMorrow rose on the Senate floor […]
Alicia Guevara Warren: Time for action and change in our child welfare system
At a recent seminar, I was challenged to think differently about strategies we use to get results for kids and families. Earlier this year, I was selected to be a Class 11 fellow with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Family Fellowship program. Over the course of a week, we had time to reflect […]
Measles outbreak has cost Oakland County at least $200K
The response to this year’s measles outbreak, Michigan’s worst since 1991, has cost Oakland County at least $200,000 according to health officials. Speaking before the state House Health Policy Committee Thursday morning, Oakland County Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said that “conservative estimate” included the cost of around-the-clock staff response to potential cases or exposures, […]
Dingell joins Dems in announcing first Medicare for All hearing
The U.S. House Rules Committee next week will hold the first-ever hearing on Medicare for All. Committee Chair James McGovern (D-Mass.), U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) announced a 10 a.m. hearing on April 30 at the U.S. Capitol on the Medicare for All Act of 2019. The bill would […]
New report shows state’s pre-K efforts failing to move the needle
More than half of the state’s 3- or 4-year-olds were not in preschool for most of the last decade, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP). And that’s a rate that has only increased as the decade has worn on, despite tens of millions of dollars directed toward […]
Whitmer, Greig, Stevens net national attention as Dems contend with 2020 politics
Democrats made big moves in Michigan in the 2018 election and national publications this week took notice of three female leaders: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, state House Minority Leader Christine Greig (D-Farmington Hills) and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Rochester). The stories also noted Greig’s and Stevens’ struggles ahead of the 2020 election and Whitmer’s battles with […]
Dingell delivers Dems’ weekly address, stresses kitchen-table issues, not Mueller report
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) delivered the Democrats’ official weekly address and stressed the party’s “For the People” agenda over the redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Russian election interference. The congresswoman noted the report’s release and said, “Congress’ oversight responsibilities matter.” She also appeared on CNN on Friday, where she said, “I […]
Retired teacher faces eviction from ‘hot area’ in Detroit
Eloise Halliburton is in a fight to save her Detroit home. She says that Michigan First Credit Union (MFCU) wants to evict her from her condominium near Woodward Avenue in the trendy New Center section of Detroit. The 73-year-old retired public school biology teacher believes that gentrification could be the reason. “In my opinion, it’s […]