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Government transparency?

I went to the Bangor, Michigan School Board meeting and found they don’t livestream or record their meetings even though they have a camera in the room. Look at this—

Message me for more story ideas and I will investigate.

 

Michigan subsidy program offered $1.45B, produced few jobs

The Strategic Outreach Attraction Reserve Fund unequivocally was not a failure, Quentin Messer, chief executive and economic competitiveness officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, said in a Nov. 12 Gongwer News Service interview. But critics of the program at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy say otherwise.

Messer told Gongwer that the SOAR program did not fail but did instead what it was intended to do: “get us into the consideration set, improve the portfolio of development-ready sites across the state and secure investment from large, advanced manufacturers who have significant ’CapEx,’ capital and investment needs.”

But using taxpayer funds on businesses that might consider opening or keeping their doors open might not sit well with Michiganders, James Hohman, fiscal policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email. Click here to read more.

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US reduces number of recommended vaccines for children

WASHINGTON (TNND) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an unprecedented step on Monday to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children, effective immediately.

The CDC said it will recommend that children receive 11 vaccines, compared to the current list of 17, and will more closely resemble Denmark’s vaccine schedule.

“The assessment reviewed 20 peer-developed nations and found that the U.S. is a global outlier among developed nations in both the number of diseases addressed in its routine childhood vaccination schedule and the total number of recommended doses, but does not have higher vaccination rates than such countries,” the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in a news release. Click here to read more.

 

Major Hotel Accused of Refusing Service to ICE Amid Minneapolis Crackdown

One of the largest hotel chains in the United States is purportedly refusing service to immigration agents amid a growing crackdown in the Minneapolis region.

A hotel associated with Hilton Hotels & Resorts is explicitly refusing service to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempting to book reservations in Minneapolis, according to a company email released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The apparent anti-ICE policy follows increased federal law enforcement activity in the city, which is reeling from immigrant-related fraud.

“We have noticed an influx of GOV reservations made today that have been for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property,” a Hilton email stated to an unidentified DHS employee. “If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation.” Click here to read more.

 

Michigan’s skyrocketing electricity rates loom over 2026 governor race

Skyrocketing electricity rates, coupled with massive energy demands from proposed data centers, are driving discontent in Michigan, where the issue is expected to weigh heavily on the 2026 gubernatorial race.

A recent analysis by The Detroit News shows the increase in average electricity rates in the Great Lakes State over the last 20 years has outpaced all but three states, jumping from 9.8 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2006 to 21.2 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2025, or 117%.

During Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s tenure, which includes the first two years under renewable energy mandates adopted by a Democratic government trifecta, the Michigan Public Service Commission appointed by the governor has approved more than $1 billion in rate hikes for DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, the state’s monopoly utility providers.

Put another way, average rate data shows Michiganders paid about $850 more per year in 2025 than they did two decades ago. Click here to read more.

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Whitmer’s Michigan: LG delays EV battery production despite $120 million from taxpayers

An electric vehicle battery plant constructed near Lansing with $120 million from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration is again delaying production as EV sales slump.

South Korea-based LG Energy Solution on Friday delayed production at its EV battery plant in Delta Township, which was sold to taxpayers as a joint venture with General Motors to boost the EV industry, “industry sources” told Business Korea.

Despite the MEDC paying out $120 million in tax dollars to support the project, GM backed out of the agreement in May, and LG pushed its production start date back a year.

“The mass production timeline had already been delayed once from 2024 to 2025 due to slowing electric vehicle sales, and now the operation schedule has been postponed again as demand dropped sharply following the termination of U.S. electric vehicle subsidies,” according to Business Korea, which reports production is now expected to start in the second half of 2026. Click here to learn more.

 

Harvard President Admits University ‘Went Wrong’ Allowing Professor Activism in Classrooms

Harvard’s leader admitted the university allowing professors to express their personal views in the classroom was a bad idea that has “chilled free speech and debate on campus.”

Harvard University President Alan Garber made his remarks during an episode of the Identity/Crisis Podcast, the Harvard Crimson reported Saturday.

According to the article, Garber argued that “faculty activism had chilled free speech and debate on campus.”

He stated, “And we had a rule that the faculty could support different, on their own time basically, different political views, but in their teaching, they had to be completely objective. That’s what had shifted, and that’s where I think we went wrong.” Click here to read more.

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Trump administration delivers historic $50 billion boost to rural health care in all 50 states

WASHINGTON — In a major victory for rural Americans, the Trump administration on Monday announced the distribution of funds from the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, ensuring every state receives substantial support to modernize and strengthen health care in underserved communities.

The initiative, the largest federal investment in rural health care in U.S. history, was created through President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Legislation, a Republican-led effort that every Democrat in Congress opposed. Click here to learn more.

 

Mortgage rates hold steady after Fed rate cut

Mortgage rates this week fell to their lowest level in 15 months, easing borrowing costs for homebuyers eager for a thaw in the housing market in 2026.

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.15%, plummeting from a level of 6.89% in May, data from financial services company Freddie Mac showed. Last January, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate exceeded 7%.

Each percentage point decrease in a mortgage rate can save thousands or tens of thousands in additional cost each year, depending on the price of the house, according to lender Rocket Mortgage

Sam Khater, the chief economist at Freddie Mac, called the drop in mortgage rates an “encouraging sign for potential homebuyers heading into the new year.” Click here to read more.

 

‘Y’all left my baby for dead’: 11-year-old shot, killed near playground on New Year’s Day

CINCINNATI, OH- A family is mourning the loss of an 11-year-old girl after a shooting happened near a playground on New Year’s Day.

According to Cincinnati police, the shooting happened near Laurel Playground at around 6:45 p.m. in the West End.

District 1 officers said they were flagged down about someone being shot that night.

When police arrived, they found a little girl, later identified as QueenEr’Re Reed, suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Cincinnati officials are calling it a senseless act of violence.

Former Cincinnati mayoral candidate Cory Bowman, who is the pastor at the Reed family church, said QueenEr’Re was playing with her cousins when the gunshots were fired. Click here to read more.

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NYC Schools Are Losing Students and Burning Cash. Mamdani Could Make the Situation Worse.

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is inheriting a public school system that has made some progress in student learning but is completely dysfunctional in terms of financial stability and operations. And his campaign promises are likely to worsen the system’s flaws.

New York City’s public schools once educated more than a million students, but the system’s enrollment has been steadily declining. Since 2020, it has lost 10 percent of its K-12 students. Even with the expansion of pre-K and 3-K programs for young children, the schools are serving 115,000 fewer students than they did seven years ago. Click here to read more.

 

Dearborn’s Support Of Terrorist Organizations Keeps Popping Up

In 1997, the United States government designated both Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.

Nearly 30 years later, the consistent support of those organizations by people within the city of Dearborn has been a constant source of controversy.

Amer Zahr is a Muslim comedian who serves on the board of education for Dearborn’s public school district. He made news recently when he said he was detained by Israel police while in Nazareth performing a show.

Pro-Israel websites have been tracking a series of controversial comments Zahr has made in the last few years, specifically that he supports Hamas and Hezbollah.

“We say very proudly, that we stand with every resistance against Israel and every resistance against the occupation, whether … it’s called Hamas, whether it’s called Hezbollah, we stand with everybody who stands against Israel …” Zahr said in one video. Click here to read more.

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Waste watch: Illinois’ porky budget gives $7M to move pigs

Despite state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, claiming “there is no pork” in the 2026 Illinois budget, there is at least one piece: $7 million to move the University of Illinois’ pigs.

The $7 million grant is to move the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign’s swine research center to a new location. Administrators want the pigs to vacate so they can redevelop the land.

The Swine Research Center is around 10 acres and hosts “a surgery suite, storage facility, a small feed manufacturing facility, animal housing, and animal support space.” Its research primarily focuses on “nutrition, metabolism, reproduction, and behavior.” The relocation appears to refer to the Imported Swine Research Labratory, which focuses on “biomedical sciences that use pigs as a model for human health and medicine.” Click here to read more.

 

Trump administration to resume wage garnishments for student loan defaulters in January

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Trump administration has announced plans to send approximately 1,000 notices to borrowers the week of Jan. 7, signaling the resumption of wage garnishments for those who have not made a student loan payment in nine months or more. This marks a significant shift, as no federal student loans have been referred to collections since the onset of the pandemic.

Emmett Pepper, a bankruptcy attorney in Charleston, explained the process:

“Unlike other wage garnishments people may be familiar with, if somebody, just a regular company sues you, they have to go through the court system, they have to wait for time to lapse for appeals and all that stuff. They don’t have to do this.”

Pepper emphasized that money will start being deducted from paychecks, but everyone will receive a notice prior to the garnishment. Click here to read more.

 

Innocent Man Sues for Over $60,000 After Police Blew Up His Business. A Court Says He’s Entitled to Nothing.

The Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment “was designed to bar Government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens,” the Supreme Court said in Arnstrong vs United States, “which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole.” That was just over 65 years ago.

It is, unfortunately, not living up to that promise.

For the latest example, we can look to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which ruled last month that an innocent man whose business was destroyed by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in pursuit of a fugitive is not entitled to compensation for damages under the Takings Clause. This is despite the law’s pledge that the government provide “just compensation” when it usurps private property for a public use. Click here to read more.