I worked in the mainstream media for 25 years. The media sets a certain narrative as to what the big news of the day will be.
There are so many more stories happening in the United States and the world that you need to know about that you will never see on CNN, MSNBC, or even your network news.
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New tuition-free classical charter school to open in Midland this September
MIDLAND, Mich. — Families in the Midland area will soon have another public school option when Founders Grove Classical Academy opens Sept. 8, offering a tuition-free classical education for students beginning in kindergarten through sixth grade.
The public charter school, located on Wheeler Street, will add one grade level each year until it becomes a K-12 school.
“There is no other school in the greater Tri-City area right now that really offers a tuition-free classical education,” said Sara Ladwein, board president of Founders Grove Classical Academy.
LANSING, Mich. — Thousands of Michigan taxpayers are still waiting for state income tax refunds months after filing, and state officials say a new tax processing system is a major reason why.
The Michigan Department of Treasury recently acknowledged that roughly 5% of tax returns remain unresolved, affecting an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 taxpayers. Officials told lawmakers that the delays stem from the state’s transition from a 40-year-old mainframe system to a new platform known as GenTax.
State Rep. Brad Paquette criticized Treasury officials following recent legislative testimony, arguing that taxpayers deserve better accountability and communication.
“The Michigan Department of Treasury says approximately 200,000 Michiganders still have problems with their tax returns,” Paquette wrote on social media. He questioned whether Treasury leadership has been adequately prepared to manage the new technology while implementing what officials have described as a culture of tax compliance.
Grosse Pointe parent wins federal injunction over trespass ban
A Michigan parent won a federal injunction in July that rescinds a no-trespass order from Grosse Pointe Public Schools.
Shane Pruitt was slapped with the order after he posted a video of rainbow/transgender pride flags that were on display at Parcells Middle School in September 2024.
The school district sent police to his home Oct. 21, 2024, and blocked him from entering school grounds or attending extracurricular activities. A picture of Pruitt’s face was posted at the entry to the school, and the district threatened him with criminal prosecution if he violated the order. He sued in federal district court in Detroit. Click here to read more.
‘Crazy’: 8-year-old boy reels in piranha while fishing at lake in Pennsylvania, dad says
An 8-year-old boy expecting to reel in a bass while fishing with his father caught a piranha from a lake in Pennsylvania.
Michael Coffey said he was fishing with his son, Seamus, when the boy hooked an unfamiliar fish.
At first, Coffey said he wasn’t sure what kind of fish it was and took a few guesses. He said it appeared to be a bluegill or something similar -- but bigger.
FBI Decided Biden-Ukraine Scandal Was ‘Russian Disinformation’ Without Even Running An Investigation
he Federal Bureau of Investigation ran a counterintelligence operation appearing to run cover for Biden family Ukraine business dealings and other Democrats, labeling them victims of Russian disinformation, while labeling many prominent Republicans as “conduit(s)” of such disinformation.
Democrat figures like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, George Soros, John Kerry, and Paul Pelosi were all labeled “target(s).” Republicans like Then-Attorney General Bill Barr, Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Then-Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Then-Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Then-acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney were considered “conduit(s).” Click here to read more.
ICE Deports Illegal Alien Gang Members Convicted of Manslaughter, Attempted Murder, Rape
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported illegal alien gang members convicted of crimes like manslaughter, attempted murder, and rape, among other offenses.
“In the last week, ICE has deported criminal illegal alien gang members, including killers, sexual assailants, drunk drivers, and drug traffickers,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said:
America is now a safer place with these criminals out of our country. DHS is delivering on President Trump’s mandate from the American people to deport illegal aliens and make America safe again. Deporting illegal aliens saves lives. [Emphasis added]
Metro Detroit Flock camera vandalism continues; surveillance complaints persist
The latest development in the backlash against license plate reader cameras is reports of vandalism across Metro Detroit.
Dig deeper:
Police say the cameras help solve crimes and find missing people. License plate reader cameras or LPRs, include the most popular brand, Flock, are being used in numerous cities and counties in Michigan.
Discussion over recent months has been a hot topic at public meetings, raising questions over privacy, government surveillance, transparency, and oversight.
Some critics of Flock cameras have gone further, illegally vandalizing them by breaking the readers or in some cases cutting them down. Click here to read more.
Ann Arbor fields 40 complaints on gas leaf blowers
The city of Ann Arbor has fielded about 40 complaints to its hotline reporting gas-powered leaf blowers since 2024, according to records obtained by Michigan Capitol Confidential.
The city banned gas-powered leaf blowers in the summer of 2024 from from Jun. 1 to Sept. 30. It allowed them from Oct. 1 to May 30 through 2027.
The city received 12 complaints in 2024, 16 in 2025, and 12 in 2026.
Starting Jan. 1, 2028, the use of gas-powered leaf blowers will be prohibited at all times in the Tree City.
The stated purpose of the ordinance is “to protect the peace, health, safety, and welfare of persons in the City of Ann Arbor and to promote the city’s sustainability goals by reducing noise, pollution, and other negative effects from leaf blowers.” Click here to read more.
Newly released Fauci texts reveal private concerns during early COVID vaccine rollout
WASHINGTON (TNND) — Newly released text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued phone are offering a glimpse into private discussions among top health officials about COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy during the early weeks of the vaccine rollout.
Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky released a cluster of messages dating to late January 2021, just weeks after the first COVID vaccines became available to the public.
The messages show Fauci communicating with then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky about vaccination during pregnancy, when data involving pregnant women remained limited.
Fauci initially indicated he was not concerned about pregnant women receiving the vaccine but later raised a theoretical concern about vaccination during the first trimester. Click here to read more.
Universities’ double failure on antisemitism and free speech
Universities don’t have to choose between protecting Jewish students and championing freedom of speech. In fact, federal law requires them to do both. Yet when my alma mater, Brown University, resolved a federal civil rights investigation during the Biden administration in July 2024, the line between protected speech and unprotected conduct was unnecessarily blurred.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights had been investigating Brown’s handling of alleged antisemitism on campus after the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023. Brown maintained it had complied with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Had OCR found Brown in violation, it could have pulled federal funding from the university. The voluntary resolution agreement let Brown end the investigation while claiming to uphold its commitments to academic freedom. Click here to read more.
High taxes vs. low taxes: Which states are winning the population war?
At a time when Illinoisans call high taxes a top concern, competing states are providing relief.
The Tax Foundation ranked Illinois 38th-worst in the country when looking at taxes including those on sales, property and business.
Despite its high tax burden, Illinois maintains a constitutionally protected flat income tax, which provides taxpayers stability and predictability. Illinois’ flat tax kept the state’s ranking from sinking lower in its ranking, the Tax Foundation said.
However, of the 15 states with a flat income tax, Illinois was not among the seven that reduced their rates from 2025 to 2026.
That leaves Illinois with one of the highest flat income tax rates in the nation at 4.95%. Six of the seven flat-tax states that did not cut rates already have lower rates than Illinois’. Georgia’s 4.99% is scheduled to decrease every year until it reaches 3.99% and next year will drop below Illinois’ rate. Click here to read more.
Socialism Is So Hot Right Now. But One Candidate Seems Too Toxic For Even Them
The left is all in on Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates in deep-blue strongholds, but the movement’s biggest names are silent in a genuine battleground state.
Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong sits on the verge of a historic nomination, and one election away from becoming the first Democratic socialist governor in American history, in the state President Donald Trump carried in 2024. Still, despite being one of the most talked about gubernatorial candidates of the 2026 cycle, the most prominent elected members on her side want nothing to do with her. Their indifference or calculated move could reveal the limits of the socialist boom in the U.S.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s victory sent far-left organizers into overdrive, ushering in similar surges in other liberal cities and districts. Click here to read more.
New report shows Democratic-led states have substantially higher gas prices
States governed by a Democratic Party trifecta — in which members of that party control the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature — have gas prices that are on average 55 cents per gallon higher than those of states with a Republican Party trifecta, according to a new report published by the Institute for Energy Research.
Michigan has the second-highest gas taxes in the nation after California, according to Alex Stevens, manager of policy and communications at the institute.
The explanation lies in Michigan’s combination of the excise tax, fees, and surcharges required on gasoline and diesel sales, Stevens told Michigan Capitol Confidential in a phone interview. Click here to read more.
In corporate welfare, Michigan bets big, loses bigger
Voters get a raw deal when legislators take taxpayer money and give it to select businesses. Corporate subsidies are ineffective at creating jobs, unfair to taxpayers and other businesses, and expensive to the state budget. Every state legislator has a record on the subject, and voters should pay close attention.
Lawmakers tend to like giving special favors to select businesses because it generates good headlines. The companies get money for their new buildings and locations, and writing checks from the treasury to those businesses shows that the candidate is doing something about jobs.
Yet the favors do not deliver on their promise. Economists have used sophisticated methods to tease out the effects of selective business favors. Sometimes they find positive effects, but most of the time they find negative effects. Click here to read more.
Ted Cruz demands Fauci face jail time, labels him America’s ‘most damaging bureaucrat’
SPOKANE, Wash. — Hazy skies are already settling in over western Washington - with more to come later this week - as Gov. Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency that includes an outdoor burn ban
Wildfires from Canada and central Washington are already pushing smoke into western Washington and Seattle. And now, with several fires burning in Spokane and a shift in winds, it means more wildfire smoke coming our way.
The wildfires in Spokane have burned 700 structures, many of those being homes. Officials warn that number is expected to grow. Click here to read more.
Meet The Assistant AG Leading Trump’s Crackdown On Fraud
What started as a single video from an independent YouTuber has snowballed into a full-fledged administration effort to root out fraud — and leading the charge is Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.
Trump appointed McDonald to the newly created post, and he was sworn in April 1. He reports to Vice President JD Vance, who also heads the White House’s new Anti-Fraud Task Force. Since then, “protecting taxpayer dollars” has become a rallying cry for the administration, with McDonald crisscrossing the country to roll out initiatives and partnerships aimed at the cause. Click here to read more.
Trump signs executive order establishing Military Spouse Commission opening direct line with military families
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office Monday, establishing the Military Spouse Commission to advise the president on policies affecting military spouses and families.
What we know:
The commission will provide annual recommendations to improve military families’ quality of life while strengthening military readiness offering advice on childcare, employment, housing and healthcare for military families.
The commission is designed to give the White House a direct line to the challenges facing military spouses, including childcare, employment, housing, healthcare, education and the demands of multiple deployments.
What they’re saying:
“America cannot have the strongest military in the world without the love and devotion of our remarkable military spouses, who make the extraordinary sacrifices for our country,” said Trump. Click here to read more.
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