After Data Center Boom, Lawmakers Rethink Michigan’s Tax Breaks

LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — What started as an economic development gamble is quickly becoming a political rethink in Michigan.

After lawmakers approved tax exemptions last year to entice massive data centers, the results came quickly: at least 15 hyperscale proposals have emerged across Michigan, stretching from the Grand Rapids region to metro Detroit.

Now, two lawmakers from opposite parties—Reps. Jim DeSana (R-Carleton) and Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City)—are trying to undo those incentives, sponsoring a three-bill package that would repeal the data-center tax exemptions altogether.

They argue the scale of the developments has raised red flags. Click here to read more.

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Illinois Education Association spends little on teachers

The Illinois Education Association is the largest teachers union in Illinois, but teachers are not the union’s priority.

The union’s recent 2025 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor reveals trends that should concern members:

• Less than 17% of IEA’s spending was on representing members – what should be the union’s focus.

• IEA spent a record-breaking amount on politics, with little transparency.

• More than one-third of IEA officers and staff received six-figure salaries, while the average Illinois teacher salary was less than $79,000.

IEA membership is lagging. This recent report shows membership is down 6% from its peak in 2018.

Maybe it’s time the union started focusing more on teachers. Click here to read more.

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Reps. Scholten, Stevens, McDonald Rivet vote against bill outlawing child sex changes

Michigan’s U.S. Congressional Democrats on Wednesday voted against outlawing sex changes for kids, including surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy.

The 216-211 vote on the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., included four Republicans opposed to and three Democrats in support of moving the measure to the Senate.

Those who crossed party lines include Reps. Gabe Evans, R-Colo.; Brian Fitzpatrick, Pa.; Mike Kennedy, R-Utah; Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.; Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; Don Davis, D-N.C.; and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas.

“Protecting children is not optional, it’s our duty,” Greene posted on X. “Children are not old enough to vote, drive, or get a tattoo and they are certainly not old enough to be chemically castrated or permanently mutilated!!!” Click here to read more.

 

Record 2026 Refunds Projected Under Trump Tax Cuts

Americans overall can expect the largest tax refunds ever in 2026, thanks to President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

That’s the prediction being promoted by the Trump administration, congressional Republicans, and tax experts as the bill’s cuts begin showing up in household finances, first through refunds, then through bigger take-home pay once federal withholding is adjusted.

The Hill reported that administration officials are projecting “the largest tax refund ever” in 2026 because many workers kept having taxes withheld at higher levels even after the bill was signed into law.

House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., pointed to a December memo citing a Piper Sandler analysis suggesting 2026 is shaping up to be "the largest tax refund season," The Hill said. Click here to read more.

 

Turning Point USA honors Target employee confronted by customer for wearing Charlie Kirk shirt

Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and widow of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, publicly recognized Jeannie Beeman at the AmericaFest 2025 conference on Saturday, praising her response to a widely shared confrontation at work earlier this month.

Beeman, 72, a Target employee from Chico, California, went viral after a video showed a customer challenging her for wearing a red “Freedom” T-shirt, a design associated with Charlie Kirk, who was wearing a similar one when he was assassinated.

The customer accosted Beeman and said she supports racism. During the encounter, Beeman chose not to engage in an argument and ended the exchange, drawing widespread attention online. Click here to read more.

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Budget Ax Falls on Farmers’ Mental Health—Now Lawmakers Say That Was a Mistake

LANSING, Mich. — After Michigan cut funding for a farmer suicide prevention program this fall, lawmakers from both parties are asking whether the savings were worth the risk.

Reps. Matt Beirlein (R-Vassar) and Jasper Martus (D-Flushing) sent a letter to House and Senate appropriations chairs asking for the program’s return in a future supplemental budget. The request follows reporting showing that farming ranks among Michigan’s deadliest professions when it comes to suicide. Click here to read more.

 

Lawmakers Seek Bipartisan Reform for MI Economic Development Programs

LANSING, Mich. —  A bipartisan group of legislators in the Michigan House has joined forces to introduce an eight-bill package aimed at improving accountability and transparency in the state’s economic development programs. The legislation seeks to ensure taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether job-creation promises are fulfilled.

The proposed legislation would bring greater oversight to economic development deals by:

• Requiring transparency in project data before and after approval.

• Mandating “failure notices” when job creation targets are not met.

• Ensuring proportional reductions in subsidies if goals fall short.

• Strengthening reporting and accountability for the Michigan Strategic Fund and Brownfield Redevelopment Fund. Click here to read more.

 

Fact Check Team: Who killed Charlie Kirk? What we know and -- what we still don't

WASHINGTON (TNND) — There has been no shortage of noise, speculation, and competing theories online following the killing of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. But when emotions run high, the facts matter more, and so do the gaps in the official narrative released by federal authorities.

What has been confirmed so far

A man named Tyler Robinson has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting. As of now, he is the only person charged, and no co-conspirators have been publicly named by federal or state authorities.

Investigators have also confirmed the recovery of a rifle near the scene, found in a wooded area where the suspect allegedly fled. Click here to read more.

 

HHS takes sweeping action to reverse Biden-era policies on gender affirming care

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a multi-pronged regulatory effort Thursday to curtail gender-affirming care for minors, including gender transition procedures at hospitals.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has drafted a rule that would prohibit pharmaceutical or surgical gender reassignment procedures from receiving federal Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program funding. It’s also proposing a rule that would allow it to withdraw Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals that perform such surgeries on minors. HHS is also working to “reverse the Biden administration’s attempt” to classify gender dysphoria as a type of disability. If gender dysphoria were to be defined as a disability, then health care providers who don’t want to perform what the department has dubbed “sex-rejecting” procedures could be in danger of violating anti-discrimination laws. Click here to read more.

 

Court blocks Michigan conversion therapy ban on free speech grounds

DETROIT — A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy for minors who are LGBTQ+, declaring it violates the First Amendment rights of therapists and counselors.

In a 2-1 opinion, the court said the law illegally restricts speech that reflects the moral beliefs of therapists. It set aside a lower court’s ruling and granted a preliminary injunction sought by Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties.

“The Michigan law discriminates based on viewpoint — meaning the law permits speech on a particular topic only if the speech expresses a viewpoint that the government itself approves,” Judge Raymond Kethledge wrote, joined by Judge Joan Larsen. Click here to read more.