LANSING, Mich - The Detroit Right To Counsel Coalition is getting $2.5 million in funding from Michigan taxpayers in the 2024 state budget. The grant is one of many earmarks in the state budget that bypassed the usual appropriations process.
“Housing is a human right,” the organization’s website reads. The coalition calls for using public funds to defend that right. “We fight for the right to free legal representation when facing eviction.” As the “about” section of the website states, “A right to counsel would require city government to fund legal representation for tenants facing eviction.”
Detroit’s ordinance, enacted in 2022, establishes a program to give legal aid to tenants. It also limited the city to using using state or federal fund until 2027, at which point it may use its own funds. Click here for link to story.
WASHINGTON D.C. - National security journalist Catherine Herridge discusses what happened to her when she refused to disclose the identity of her sources and said she supports the "PRESS Act" to provide protections for reporters and their sources, Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
"When you go to major life events as I have in recent weeks, losing a job, losing your company health insurance, having your reporting files seized by a former employer, and being held in contempt of court gives you clarity," she said. "When I was laid off in February, an incident reinforced in my mind the importance of protecting confidential sources. CBS News locked me out of the building and seized hundreds of pages of my reporting files, including confidential source information. " Click here to read more.
KANSAS CITY, MO - As the investigation continues into the disappearance of two Kansas women who vanished along an Oklahoma highway last month, police keep looking for clues into possible foul play.
Police have announced that Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley of Hugoton, Kansas, disappeared after their car was found 1,000 feet off of Oklahoma State Highway 95 along a dirt path March 30.
Butler, 27, is5 feet, 4 inches tall, with red hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt, denim shorts, and HEYDUDE shoes. Police said Butler has a butterfly tattoo on her left forearm.
Kelley, 39, has brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a long-sleeved shirt, white-washed blue jeans and either tan or beige shoes. Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Kelley has several tattoos, including a Chinese symbol on her left forearm and a sunflower on her left shoulder.
WASHINGTON D.C. - Congress is feeling the heat after approving the $1.2 trillion budget in March that included billions in pet projects like biking trails and walking paths for Congress members in their home states. Critics are now blasting the earmarks, arguing that lawmakers still have not addressed the crisis to protect America’s veterans and the help they need.
Veteran’s Village, a nonprofit organization committed to providing safe and affordable housing for America’s veterans, has seen the struggle firsthand and is working on helping our veterans have housing.
Veterans Villages Director Lisa Pflaumer joined The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat to discuss the issue.
“Well, we've been incredibly impactful in Philadelphia. We opened our flagship Veterans Village, the Bernard Spain campus, in the Frankford section of Philadelphia,” she said.” We have all of our studio, and one-bedroom apartments filled with a waiting list, and we do have a few two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments available for our military veterans and their families.”
MARYSVILLE, Calif. - A family party was interrupted when police say a suspect in the parking lot fired multiple shots into the air and pointed his gun at people. One of the partygoers tackled the man, and luckily, no one was hurt.
Amandeep Singh, 32, and his family were celebrating a cousin’s engagement around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday inside the Lakeside Indian Cuisine restaurant in Marysville. Police say 26-year-old Roy Kirk Jr. fired a gun into the air multiple times while in the parking lot.
Several partygoers heard the shots and walked outside to see what all the commotion was about. Kirk pointed his semi-automatic handgun directly at the men, according to Marysville Police Chief Christian Sachs.
Singh, his wife and their young daughter were leaving the party at the time and watched the whole thing happen. Worried about his relatives, Singh says he felt he had to do something and ran right towards the armed man, tackling him. Click here to read more.
