Study for unarmed responder program cost Ann Arbor $100k

Ann Arbor officials paid more than $100,000 for a 49-page study considering the city’s new program for unarmed responders.

The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously approved a plan on July 20 for an unarmed response team, but Tree City officials have been considering such a program for five years.

In 2021, the council adopted a resolution to develop an unarmed public safety response program, saying it would ease the burden on police and firefighters.

The city has spent $104,918 in federal stimulus funds on the program, according to a document that Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained through a records request. That money paid for a report prepared by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants. Click here to read more.

 

Senate kids’ safety probe targets Roblox gaming platform

Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) launched an investigation Wednesday into Roblox’s handling of child safety on its online gaming platform.

“Roblox appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of our children, and the alleged criminal activity on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny,” Hawley and Durbin, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, wrote in a letter obtained by POLITICO.

“Roblox is built on the foundation of safety. We do not compromise on that commitment,” Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s chief safety officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing the facts about how we protect children on the platform.” Click here to read more.

 

El-Sayed Proclaimed ‘Obligation’ To Follow Sharia Law Until the Day He Dies

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once declared his sacred “obligation” to follow Sharia law in every aspect of his life until he meets his maker on the day he dies, according to unearthed comments he made to the New York Times in 2009 as a young man buying his first home.

“Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way. Not because of fear but because of obligation,” said El-Sayed, who the Times identified at the time as a 24-year-old medical student and Rhodes scholar who had just taken out a “Sharia-compliant” mortgage to purchase a $123,000 condominium in Ann Arbor. Click here to read more.

 

Doctors profit from gender care: Assistant Secretary for Health talks next steps

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report released on Thursday alleged that doctors and hospitals pushed and profited from what it calls the fraud of gender medicine, focusing on the growth of medical interventions for gender dysphoria in minors.

The report, titled “Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of Gender Medicine,” examines the expansion of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries for minors. The report alleged that financial incentives and institutional pressures encouraged providers and hospitals to promote those interventions and that billing practices and clinical guidelines contributed to systemic fraud and harm. Click here to read more.

 

Flock will add privacy guardrails to camera systems amid backlash

Flock Safety will implement new privacy and data retention policies as pressure grows on the automated license plate operator to prevent its technology from being abused or used to conduct mass surveillance.

The company announced Thursday it will shorten the recommended default data retention window from 30 to seven days to cut the amount of time data will sit in Flock’s systems. Agencies can still set their own retention period in coordination with state or local policy.

It will also introduce an option for cities to control which types of offenses call for other agencies’ access to the Flock cameras, in an effort to give “communities more control over data sharing” while still permitting collaborations when needed. Click here to read more.

 

 

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.

But, he said, Seamus identified it right away. Click here to look at pictures.

 

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]

Click here to read more.

 

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.

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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.