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LANSING, Mich - Michigan’s employment numbers have dropped since spring 2024, while unemployment has risen.

The number of people employed in the state has dropped by 58,848 since May 2024, according to Mackinac Center for Public Policy research. The 1.2% loss puts the state in second-to-last place among the states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since May, Michigan’s unemployment rate increased more than every other state, except South Carolina. Michigan moved from 18th place in the nation for unemployment to sixth place, with an unemployment rate of 5%.

“The current unemployment rate is still pretty low for Michigan for the past generation,” said James Hohman, fiscal policy director at Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The state’s employment rate was above 5% from July 2001 to December 2015. Click here to read more.

 

DENVER, COL - Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “The Faulkner Focus” that he would “seek prosecution” of any mayor or governor that impeded their mass deportation operation.

Homan said, “I think the American people, they gave President Trump a mandate. It’s immigration, the border security, immigration enforcement’s number one, and we’re going to keep President Trump’s promise. I looked at the numbers this morning, ICE has already arrested just short of 12,000 people in this country, vast majority are criminals, public safety threats. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

He continued, “And for any mayor or governor who doesn’t want public safety threats removed from the communities, I find it hard to believe that. But we’re going to do it, with or without them. If they’re not going to help, get out of the way. But don’t cross that line. Do not impede our operations. Do not knowingly conceal or harbor an illegal aliens because we will seek prosecution. We’re going to do what the President promised the American people.” Click here to read more.

 

CHICAGO, IL - The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday sued the state of Illinois, the City of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois for allegedly enforcing multiple laws which interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law.

In its lawsuit, the DOJ accused the governments of enforcing Chicago’s Welcoming City Act, Cook County’s Ordinance 11-O-73 and Illinois’s Way Forward Act, which allegedly discriminate against the federal government.

Each of the laws include instructions on enforcing federal immigration law.

“The challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law reflect their intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe,” the lawsuit reads.

LANSING, Mich - Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," which prohibits transgender women and girls from participating in female sports at educational institutions across the United States.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association said they will not follow Trump’s order at this time.

“The MHSAA is awaiting further guidance as to potential conflicts between yesterday’s executive order and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act,” said MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly said in a statement to Dave Bondy Keeping it Real.

Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), first enacted in 1976, protects residents from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and public services. Originally covering categories such as race, religion, sex, and age, the law was significantly expanded in 2023 to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. This change modernized the law supporters say, ensuring that LGBTQ+ individuals in Michigan are now explicitly safeguarded against discrimination in workplaces, housing, and public spaces.

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Trump’s order mandates that federal agencies enforce Title IX based on gender assigned at birth and threatens to withdraw federal funding from schools and universities that allow transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. Additionally, it directs the Department of State to advocate for similar policies internationally and to press the International Olympic Committee to exclude transgender women from female sporting events.

I interviewed Monica Yatoom from the Great Education Initiative who discussed the possibility that Michigan schools may not comply with President Trump’s executive action.

Click here to watch interview.

NCAA President Charlie Baker responded to the executive order in a statement, saying it provided a "clear, national standard."

Baker said the NCAA Board of Governors would review it and take steps to align the organization’s policy in the coming days.

The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes," the statement said. "We strongly believe that clear, consistent and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today's student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump's order provides a clear, national standard.

"The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration. The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy."

I walked away from a high-paying media career to deliver honest, independent journalism—the kind you won’t find elsewhere.

For just $6 a month, you can help sustain this vital work and ensure these stories keep coming. You can cancel anytime, but I hope you’ll stand with me today. Click the red subscribe button to join!

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WASHINGTON D.C. - Newly-sworn in U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has gotten straight to work on her first day by directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “pause all federal funding for sanctuary cities,” according to a Wednesday report.

Bondi’s day one directives, obtained by Fox News, showed a heavy focus on countering illegal immigration and drug cartels, as she also ordered the DOJ to evaluate funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that support illegal migrants.

The former Florida attorney general, nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the DOJ immediately after he won the November election, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday and sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Wednesday morning, Breitbart News reported.

In her first-day directives, Bondi reportedly added that Joint Task Force Vulcan, a coordinated effort between government agencies to dismantle MS-13, and Joint Task Force Alpha, created to fight human trafficking, would be “further empowered and elevated” to the Office of the Attorney General. Click here to read more.

 

On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at protecting women’s sports from the incursion of transgender athletes.

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And it should have been done long ago.”

The president signed the order in the East Room of the White House, surrounded by dozens of excited girls and young women who were there to witness the signing.

The order contains several measures, the first of which is to re-write federal Title IX education rules to withhold federal funds from schools that allow transgender athletes to play as females.

Another aspect of the order would charge the Department of Homeland Security with the task of denying visas to foreign trans athletes who want to enter the U.S. to compete among women. Click here to read more.

 

LANSING, Mich - Michigan’s reading and math scores failed to return to pre-lockdown levels, according to the latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. With only six states trailing Michigan in fourth-grade grade reading, it’s time for lawmakers to consider bold solutions to this growing education crisis.

Michigan ranked 44th among the states in fourth-grade reading on the 2024 NAEP, also known as The Nation’s Report Card. Eighth graders didn’t fare much better; they landed at 33rd on the reading test and 31st on the math test, right behind Missouri and Hawaii, respectively. And students got lower scores on these tests than they did on the previous NAEP, administered in 2022.

The fourth-grade math results were slightly better. These improved by three points, leaving them two points below the national average. This score placed Michigan at 34th in the nation. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - The executive branch will stop spending money on Politico subscriptions after paying millions of dollars to the news outlet last year, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Wednesday.

• "I was made aware of the funding of USAID to media outlets, including Politico ... And I can confirm that the more than eight million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer's dime will no longer be happening," Leavitt said. "The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now."

• 'This is a whole of government effort to ensure that we are going line by line when it comes to the federal government's books."

Why it matters: It's an easy political lever for the Trump administration to pull to undermine media without facing legal or regulatory hurdles.

• Right-wing personalities are using USAspending.gov to dig up more payments from the government to media organizations — like The New York Times, AP and Reuters — for products and subscriptions. Look for those organizations to be in the hot seat next. Click here to learn more.

 

WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday released the unedited interview and transcript of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election at the centerpiece of a complaint brought by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s team says 60 Minutes deceptively spliced the interview to benefit the Harris campaign. Click here to watch the entire video