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Michigan health employee approved, denied benefits without interviews

A state of Michigan employee ghosted low-income residents, falsified documents multiple times, and approved and denied benefits without interviews. Still, it took the state years to fire him, according to a months-long investigation by Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Ashanta Butler worked for the state of Michigan’s health department for 23 years before he was fired for not doing his job, according to hundreds of pages of documents CapCon obtained through a records request.

For years, Michigan’s payment error rate for welfare benefits — how often it inaccurately awards them — has fluctuated. In fiscal year 2022, it was 13%. The next year, it dropped to 10%, and this year it’s 9.53%.

“After several complaints from clients were received, a review of Mr. Butler’s cases revealed that he was not completing scheduled interviews prior to approving or denying benefits,” the terminal letter read. “Of the 17 cases read, 7 cases were certified without completing and/or documenting an interview, 4 cases documented an interview but there were no calls to/from the client on the dates documented. In 11 cases, he failed to call the clients on their scheduled interview date/time resulting in them being marked ‘no show’ in Bridges. 3 cases were processed with no IG and 4 cases were processed with other errors.” Click here to read more.

Disclaimer— I work for the Mackinac Center.

 

Kristi Noem defends $170M purchase of Gulfstream jets for DHS leaders

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended a contract to spend more than $170 million on new jets for the U.S. Coast Guard, including one that will be used for the secretary’s travel.

The Department of Homeland Security has faced criticism from congressional Democrats for entering into a contract to build the jets amid the government shutdown.

Noem brushed that aside Monday, noting the funding was previously appropriated.

“These aircraft are Coast Guard aircraft to replace 25-year-old airplanes that are necessary for the mission of the Coast Guard. Congress appropriated the dollars and paid for them in the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ and we’re grateful that we’re able to move forward,” she said during a press conference.

The funding for the jets came from a last-minute line item inserted into congressional appropriations in May, sparking scrutiny from Democrats given that Noem already had a plane — one both Noem and the Coast Guard have said is part of an aging fleet.

House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) on Sunday requested additional information on the purchase. Click here to read more.

 

Recalled Burritos Linked to National School Lunch Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Michigan News Source) – Check your freezer, refrigerator, and your child’s breakfast and lunch program at school. A California-based company is recalling more than 91,000 pounds of ready-to-eat frozen breakfast burritos and wraps containing eggs due to a possible Listeria contamination.

M.C.I. Foods said it made the frozen breakfast burritos and wraps between Sept. 17 and Oct. 14, 2025.

They span across three labels: El Mas Fino, Los Cabos and Midamar. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said officials found the contamination during routine sampling of the “scrambled egg component. Some of these recalled burritos are included in the USDA’s National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

No illnesses have been reported in connection to the recall; health officials encourage anyone with symptoms to contact a healthcare provider. The bacteria can cause a serious infection that includes fever, muscle aches, headaches, stiff neck, confusion and loss of balance. Click here to read more.

 

Chicago teacher’s gestures at ‘No Kings’ protests mocks Charlie Kirk’s death

WASHINGTON — A Chicago elementary school shut down its website after one of its teachers was caught on camera at the No Kings protest in Chicago this weekend making violent gestures directed at a pickup truck driven by conservative counter protesters.

The less than ten-second video was taken by one of the passengers inside of the truck, which displayed a banner honoring Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last month. The video shows a woman, who was identified as Lucy Martinez, pointing her fingers in the shape of a gun at her neck and yelling at the truck. She reportedly made this gesture at least three times while surrounded by other No Kings protesters. The gestures made by Martinez, a teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary School, was widely interrupted to be mocking Kirk, who died of a gunshot wound to the neck.

The video has millions of views, garnering the criticisms of Congressional lawmakers and media personalities alike.

“These people have been polluting American children,” GOP Congressman Chip Roy posted on X, homing in on the fact that Martinez is a public school teacher. “School Choice is important - but it’s bailing water out of a sinking boat with a massive hole in it. We need to simultaneously clean out our schools of this garbage and it’s not just Chicago.” Click here to read more.

 

Supreme Court will consider whether people who regularly smoke pot can legally own guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the justices to revive a case against a Texas man charged with a felony because he allegedly had a gun in his home and acknowledged being a regular pot user. The Justice Department appealed after a lower court largely struck down a law that bars people who use any illegal drugs from having guns.

Last year, a jury convicted Hunter Biden of violating the law, among other charges. His father, then-President Joe Biden, later pardoned him.

Arguments probably will take place early in 2026, with a decision likely by early summer.

he Republican administration favors Second Amendment rights, but government attorneys argued that this ban is a justifiable restriction.

They asked the court to reinstate a case against Ali Danial Hemani. His lawyers got the felony charge tossed out after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the blanket ban is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court’s expanded view of gun rights. The appellate judges found it could still be used against people accused of being high and armed at the same time, though.

Hemani’s attorneys argue the broadly written law puts millions of people at risk of technical violations since at least 20% of Americans have tried pot, according to government health data. About half of states legalized recreational marijuana, but it’s still illegal under federal law. Click here to read more.

Welcome to all the new subscribers!
You’ll get my newsletter every weekday with the news the media hides, plus my special reports on Sundays and Thursdays. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber, you can join for less than $1 a week. Paid subscriptions keep this work going and free for everyone.

Become a Supporter

 

 

Trump Puts Colombian President On Notice Over Drug Production: ‘Close Up These Killing Fields’

President Donald Trump put Colombian President Gustavo Petro on notice in an early Sunday morning announcement, calling on him to rein in drug production in his country and threatening to do it for him if he chose not do so on his own.

Trump lashed out at Petro via his Truth Social platform, saying that he planned to put a stop to all payments and subsidies that the United States gave to Colombia would be stopped if Petro — “a low-rated and unpopular leader” — didn’t comply with his wishes.

“President Gustavo Petro, of Colombia, is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia,” Trump posted. “It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America. AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA.” Click here to read more.

 

Detroit’s Schools Watch-Dog Group Uncovers Fraud, Theft Within the District

DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – For nearly eight years, a Detroit Public Schools Community District administrator approved nearly $1 million in school funds to a former vendor without purchase orders, contracts, invoices or evidence that the district received the services it paid for.

The alleged scheme.

The school district administrator’s alleged scheme went on from June 2017 to August 2024; the administrator was fired and a criminal investigation is underway. That was just one of the examples of fraud within the district cited by Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) Office of Inspector General in its annual report that was recently released for the 2024-25 school year.

That’s not all. Other issues investigated by the Office of Inspector General in 2024-25 included:

• A principal instructed clerical staff to misreport staff absences, including that of the principal, as regular hours that resulted in several staff receiving pay for 644 hours they did not work for an amount of $32,025. The investigation also found several students were falsely marked present resulting in improper attendance incentive payments totaling $1,800. The investigation is pending.

• A teacher “read passages, guided responses, and otherwise influenced student performance” during online math and reading lessons offered by the district.

• A former employee continued to receive pay from the district after resigning from the district. The employee received $38,895 in pay from the district after resigning. The district was able to recoup the funds. Click here to read more.

 

Trump administration works to lower grocery prices

President Donald Trump announced that his administration is actively working on a plan to lower the price of groceries, particularly the price of beef.

According to a survey from Axios, 47% of Americans believe groceries are becoming harder to afford. President Trumps announcement comes as the cost of beef continues to rise at a record high, with them now being up nearly 13% in the past year.

In January, ground beef was $7.11 per pound, and by August, the price had increased to nearly $8 per pound, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. President Trump hasn’t laid out exactly how he plans to lower grocery prices, but said he will “work his magic.”

Previous administrations, including Trump’s, have worked to lower gas prices by using strategic reserves to increase supply so demand could be met. However, there is no reserve for beef, ruling out the possibility of using that tool. When egg prices reached record highs earlier this year, the industry began importing eggs at a high rate.

 

Food bank braces for increased demand as SNAP aid faces disruption amidst shutdown

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina at Wilmington has already been experiencing months of increased demand.

“I’d say this comes very close to COVID or past major disasters,” said Director of Community Outreach Emily Kraft. “We have seen just an increase in need based on folks losing jobs, folks losing immigration status, and just losing access to a lot of the resources that were previously available to them that don’t exist anymore.”

Now, the federal government shutdown could make the situation worse.

Gov. Josh Stein’s office released a statement saying the state Department of Health and Human Services received a letter from the federal government indicating SNAP benefits could be disrupted in November if the government shutdown continues. Click here to read more.

 

LA skyscrapers for homeless could cost federal taxpayers over $1 billion

LOS ANGELES, CALIF - Federal taxpayers might be on the hook for more than $1 billion over the lifetime of three downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers designed to house the homeless, state records show.

State and city programs provide the funding and financial tools to construct the three towers. But federal Section 8 Housing vouchers will be used to repay the state and city and fund private developer fees and investor returns over the 55-year life of the buildings.

“Taxpayers are being forced to foot the bill for over $800,000 per unit for homeless housing,” said Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Vice President of Communications Susan Shelley in an interview with The Center Square. “There should be an audit to determine if this is genuinely the best option to provide housing or if this is just making a lot of people rich off the taxpayers’ dime.”

These towers are projects of the Weingart Center Association, a homeless services nonprofit and major recipient of taxpayer funding, which was created by the Weingart Foundation. The Weingart Foundation describes itself as a “private grantmaking foundation advancing racial, social and economic justice in Southern California.” Click here to read more.

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Michigan Caregivers sue state over ‘false’ public employee classification

The Service Employees International Union succeeded in its effort to unionize home health care providers early in October, but the Mackinac Center for Public Policy argues in an ongoing lawsuit that classifying home care providers as state employees in the first place is not legal.

This is the second time in this century the SEIU has installed its dues skim with a tiny fraction of votes among the total available labor force. There are 32,000 home health care providers in the state. There were only 5,527 valid ballots cast on the matter of unionization, with 4,205 votes in favor. Another 1,502 providers voted against the effort, according to the Michigan Employment Relations Commission.

Under a previous dues skim the SEIU ran from 2005 through 2012, home health care providers were forced to pay $34 million in union dues that bought them essentially nothing. Most home care providers are family members who receive a government stipend intended to defray the out-of-pocket costs of caring for their loved ones in the home. The SEIU’s claim was that receiving this public subsidy made home care providers public employees subject to unionization. Click here to read more.

 

10 Teams Have Forfeited to Volleyball Team with Transgender Player.

A total of 10 teams have now forfeited to the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball team in California due to the inclusion of a transgender athlete on its roster.

“Los Osos High School forfeited a tournament game against Jurupa Valley on Saturday, while Patriot High School forfeited its Monday varsity match, marking its second forfeit to JVHS this season. Patriot High School previously forfeited a Sept. 26 match to Jurupa Valley,” Fox News reported on Wednesday.

A California school board president familiar with the matter confirmed that only the Patriot High School varsity team forfeited to JVHS, while the JV and freshman teams did play.

No school has given an official reason for the forfeits. As many as two Jurupa Valley senior players, Alyssa McPherson and Hadeel Hazameh, quit the team this season in protest of sharing a court with a transgender athlete, which Jurupa Valley High School has continued to support. Click here to read more.

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College Textbook Labels Christianity a ‘White Supremacist Group’

A senior at the University of North Georgia is voicing her shock after buying a textbook that apparently labeled Christianity as a white supremacist group.

Kelbie Murphy paid about $100 for the book assigned for her International Public Relations course, but one line in chapter 8 unnerved her, Fox News reported Thursday.

The outlet cited the text as saying, “An internet search produces the following modifier for identity: corporate, sexual, digital, public, racial, national, brand, and even Christian (a U.S.-based white supremacist group).”

Moments after she discovered it, Murphy recorded a video of herself reading the passage and posted the clip on TikTok. Click here to read more.

 

Deputies arrest 17-year-old accused of faking kidnapping he blamed on Hispanic men

Deputies with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrested 17-year-old Caden Speight on Tuesday. He faces charges of presenting false evidence, shooting into a conveyance, making a false report of a crime and possession of a firearm by a minor.

Speight reportedly texted his mother Sept. 25, claiming he was shot while driving on Southwest Highway 484 in Dunnellon. He claimed to have been taken by four Hispanic men in a light-colored van.

“I need help. Being shot at. 4 Hispanics armed, white van, one driver. I’m hit,” the text message read.

Speight’s disappearance triggered an Amber Alert and a frantic search for the 17-year-old. Investigators later determined he had fabricated the incident, calling the whole thing a “hoax.” Click here to read more.

 

Federal investigation leads to arrest, charges in affordable housing funding fraud in LA

A federal investigation has led to an arrest and criminal charges, in separate cases, for fraudulently accessing and using public funds that were meant for homelessness and affordable housing, according to the Department of Justice.

In both of these cases, defendants took advantage of funds allocated to assist the homeless, some of the most vulnerable people in society and many of whom may be suffering from myriad conditions, including addiction,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office in a written statement.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she has “zero tolerance” for corruption in response to the charges.

“We’re working with the U.S. Attorney’s office to ensure that anyone who engages in fraud against the city will face the full force of the law and my administration’s unwavering commitment to accountability,” Bass said in a written statement. Click here to read more.