Energy Company gets $15 million loan, pays back only $3.3 million

When Michigan lawmakers announced taxpayer handouts to Our Next Energy, the firm promised to bring a $1.6 billion investment and 2,112 new jobs to Van Buren Township.

It hasn’t so far.

After garnering front-page headlines and much fanfare, the company has laid off much of its staff and is vacating part of its facility. It has repaid about $3.3 million on a $15 million loan from the Jobs for Michigan Investment Fund Loan, which it received in 2023.

Our Next Energy promised to develop battery packs for electric vehicles. But few people drive EVs; they represent approximately 180,000 of the 9 million vehicles registered in Michigan, according to a lawsuit the state of Michigan filed against oil companies. This year, President Donald Trump’s administration repealed the 2009 Endangerment Finding that fueled the so-called EV mandate. Click here to read more.

 

Parents arrested after daughter overdoses on dad’s fentanyl at middle school, deputies say

SARASOTA, Fla. - A couple is in jail after their teenage daughter overdosed on fentanyl at her middle school.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to LA Ainger Middle School Tuesday morning after the teenager was found unresponsive on the floor of a classroom.

A school nurse performed CPR and a deputy administered a dose of Narcan. The teen was then taken to the hospital for treatment.

A deputy reported that the teen later said she had seen her father use drugs and was curious. She found a bottle labeled “FENT” in her bathroom and took it to school.

The girl said she took the bottle into a bathroom, put some on her finger and then on her tongue. She told a deputy that she did not remember anything afterward until she woke inside the ambulance, according to authorities.

The teen’s mother, Courtney Marie Delaney, was notified and told deputies that she had an argument with the girl’s father, Joshua Sanders, about his fentanyl use. Click here to read more.

 

TSA warns airports could shut down as unpaid officers reach breaking point

WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration is warning that airports could be forced to shut down if a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security continues and unpaid officers stop reporting to work.

In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said the agency is already stretched to its limit as tens of thousands of officers continue working without pay.

“We’re doing absolutely everything we can,” Stahl said. “At this point we’re fully stretched, and there’s not much else we can do as the weeks continue.” Click here to read more.

 

11 Urgent Issues Politicians Pretend Don’t Exist

In a world bombarded by headlines of geopolitical tensions, economic fluctuations, and cultural debates, it’s easy for some of the most insidious and systemic problems to slip under the radar.

These are the issues that impact millions of people and the nation’s future in profound ways. Yet they rarely policy discussions or command the attention of those in power.

While decision makers chase short-term wins or partisan battles, foundational challenges continue to fester.

Here are 11 such critical concerns that I think deserve urgent scrutiny that they aren’t getting commiserate with their importance. They aren’t just abstract complaints; they’re tangible barriers to opportunity, efficiency, and fairness.

If someone in authority addressed them head-on, could we unlock significant improvements in our quality of life, economic productivity, and society at large? Click here to read more.

 

The Collapse of the Gold Backed System

Between the American Civil War and 1913, the U.S. tariffed their imports. America was so prosperous from this that they didn’t know what to do with their excess money. This is a big reason why America expanded west. But this unbridled prosperity abruptly came to an end in 1913. Followed by the Great Depression less than two decades later.

Since Trump has come back into office, he has been implementing many of the same policies that made those prosperous times possible. I believe Trump is leading us to a golden age of America. While the vast majority of Americans will greatly benefit from this transition, a select few elites are being jettisoned off the gravy train, and those select few will do anything to remain onboard. Click here to read more.

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Debate over Confederate Railroad performing in Bay City continues during commission meeting

BAY CITY, Mich. — A dispute over a scheduled performance by the country band Confederate Railroad is drawing sharp reactions in Bay City ahead of the community’s annual Fourth of July celebration.

4th Ward Commissioner Ben Tenney is urging sponsors to withdraw support from the Bay City Fireworks Festival after organizers announced the band as a headliner for the 2026 event. In a letter to festival president Earl Bovia, Tenney called for the group to be removed from the lineup, arguing that the band’s name and imagery — which have included Confederate symbols — are widely associated with racism, slavery and white supremacy.

Festival organizers have declined to make changes. Click here to read more.

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Michigan Ed Department wants to disregard parents’ rights, board member says

A member of the Michigan State Board of Education claims that the Michigan Department of Education wants to hide a plan for schools to teach students about gender identity and sexual orientation, contrary to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mandates parental consent.

The nation’s high court issued an interim ruling that left in place a district court injunction of a California law that parents said required schoolteachers not to tell parents if their children pursued a different gender identity while at school.

The interim ruling in the lawsuit Mirabelli v. Bonta, issued March 2, said California’s ”policies likely violate parents’ rights to direct the upbringing and education of their children.” Click here to read more.

 

Media Is in a Tizzy Because We Give Troops Good Food Sometimes

In World War II, the U.S. Navy operated “ice cream barges" behind ships to make sure our sailors had a few comforts in the most terrible war in human history.

That we were able to operate such a fleet is a testament to American logistical magnificence, but if it were in operation today under President Donald Trump, the corporate media would have accused the War Department of engaging in “extravagant” spending.

There have been plenty of pernicious, media-concocted scandals associated with Trump’s presidential tenure in the last decade, but I contend that “lobstergate” may be the dumbest.

Several prominent publications ran with headlines in the last week about how War Secretary Pete Hegseth created an apparently lavish budget for steak and lobster. Click here to read more.

 

Waste of the Day: City Manager Caused “Severe Financial Distress”

Almost 80% of the City of Rocky Mount’s cash and investments are gone following the disastrous tenure of City Manager Keith Rogers, according to a North Carolina state audit released on March 9.

Rogers’ annual salary of $225,000 made him the highest-paid employee in Rocky Mount history at the time of his resignation, according to records obtained from the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer.

Key facts: Rogers took office in March 2023 and resigned in September 2024 with no official explanation.

His resignation settlement included a payment of $169,875, per the Rocky Mountain Telegram. That included six months of salary and money to remain on call as a consultant for three months. Click here to read more.

 

Judge blocks government from changing vaccine recommendations

WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Monday blocked health officials from changing the number of vaccines recommended for every child. The new vaccine policy slimmed down immunization requirements.

The judge said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely broke federal procedures when he reshuffled the panel that made the recommendations. The panel ended recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV.

On top of temporarily blocking the Kennedy-appointed board’s recommendations, the judge’s decision stopped a meeting of the advisory committee, which was set to convene this week in Atlanta. Click here to read more.