Dave Bondy
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News they don't want you to see
Tuesday November 19, 2024
November 19, 2024

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LANSING, Mich - Michigan taxpayers will pay $1 million to an undisclosed nonprofit to help young adults improve their golf game.

The Legislature approved $1.25 million in the 2025 state budget for a snowmobile track and golf-centered training in what it called “life skills.”

The grant comes as an earmark, language added so late in the budget process that it receives little or no vetting.

Lawmakers awarded the city of Sault Ste. Marie $250,000 for renovations to the International 500 Snowmobile TrackRacetrack, set to begin in the summer of 2025, according to the city’s website. The track hosts the annual International 500 snowmobile race.

The site has already received substantial funding from taxpayers. The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded it $2 million for renovations, with more coming from local sources.

“This $2 million investment in the Sault will create or retain 50 good-paying jobs and help us continue to grow our Pure Michigan economy,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a Sept. 6, 2022, press release announcing the federal grant. Click here to read more.

 

LAS VEGAS, NV - On Sunday, NFL players nationwide were seen performing the “Trump dance” to celebrate great plays on the field. Still, the CBS X account, NFL on CBS, opted to remove a video of the Raiders’ celebratory dancing from its social media posts, and fans were not pleased.

During the third quarter of the Las Vegas Raiders-Miami Dolphins game on Sunday, Brock Bowers performed his version of the Trump dance upon making a touchdown.

After scooting past Dolphins safety Jevon Holland, Bowers performed his little celebratory dance to the glee of his teammates.

Bowers makes his touchdown in the live video and performs his Trump dance. Then, the cameras shift to Raiders owner Mark Davis holding up his fists in celebration of the touchdown.

But when fans later saw the same segment on the NFL on CBS X account, the Trump dance was mysteriously absent, according to Outkick. Click here to read more.

 

ATHENS, GA - Laken Riley's accused killer was given a taxpayer-funded plane ticket to Georgia, where he brutally murdered the college student, jurors at the illegal immigrant's murder trial heard Monday.

Jose Ibarra's roommate took the stand in his murder trial on Monday and said she and the Venezuelan migrant moved together from New York City to Athens in September, 2023.

Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello told the court she met Ibarra in Queens and within a month decided to move to Georgia with him.

'[Ibarra] told me there was work possibilities in Athens,' Flores-Bello testified.

'His brother [Diego Ibarra] was always calling him saying there was work in Athens, so we came here.'

When asked how they obtained the plane tickets, Flores-Bello said they were provided by NYC officials.

'In Manhattan, at The Roosevelt Hotel, we asked for a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, on the 9th or 10th of October, 2023,' she testified.

As previously reported by DailyMail.com, New York City officials have offered plane tickets to migrants who ask for them in order to mitigate the migrant crisis in the Big Apple.  Click here to read more.

 

LAFAYETTE, CALIF - parental rights group requested a federal probe of a California school district after it hosted an event last year that explicitly excluded white faculty members, according to a letter first shared with The Daily Wire. 

Parents Defending Education sent a letter on Monday requesting that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigate the Acalanes Union High School District in Lafayette, California, for racial discrimination. The group said that the district was violating federal civil rights law by offering racially exclusionary programming for faculty members. The request comes after the district made headlines last year after a school employee held an event for staff that left out white people. 

“PDE and its members oppose racial discrimination and political indoctrination in America’s schools. Acalanes Union High School District is offering additional programming for employees of color that are not offered to all employees in the district,” Parents Defending Education wrote in a letter to the director and regional attorney of the Oakland field office for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON — San José State University (SJSU) women’s volleyball captain Brooke Slusser last week filed a lawsuit against her school and conference demanding one of her teammates be blocked from an upcoming tournament.

Several schools have forfeited matchups against the SJSU volleyball team this season. Though none have openly shared a reasoning for their decisions, some have speculated it could be related to an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA, in which Slusser disclosed feeling concerned for her safety after realizing one of her teammates was transgender.

Slusser, along with several other current and former college volleyball players, now argue in their complaint the Mountain West Conference is violating several equality laws by allowing the alleged transgender player to participate on the team. That document asks the conference to acknowledge it violated these laws and declare biologically male athletes ineligible for women’s athletics, as well prevent the athlete from playing in the upcoming Mountain West tournament beginning Nov. 27.

Also on the lawsuit is Melissa Batie-Smoose, who claims she was removed from her role as assistant coach on the SJSU team after "standing up for my players' rights."

When reached for comment, the Mountain West Conference said while it is "unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation," it "take[s] seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness." SJSU told The National News Desk (TNND) it is reviewing the complaint and will "respond appropriately." Click here to read more.

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October 22, 2026
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Who Is Lady Budgetdown? The Mystery Account Raising Eyebrows and Uncovering School Finances
The anonymous figure behind a growing school transparency website says the project is run by one person, has faced threats of legal action and is expanding its reach across Michigan.

MICHIGAN — Who is Lady Budgetdown?

It’s a question that has circulated among Michigan educators, school administrators, taxpayers and social media users as a mysterious online watchdog continues digging into school district finances, superintendent salaries, bond proposals and public spending.

Now, the person behind the increasingly visible project is revealing new details about its origins, operations and future — while refusing to disclose their identity.

In an exclusive written interview, Lady Budgetdown confirmed the operation is run by a single individual, not a larger organization or political group.

 

“It started with just me, and it currently is only me,” Lady Budgetdown said.

The anonymous researcher said the project receives technical assistance with website development but independently oversees the research, reviews public records, creates content and determines what information gets published.

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October 22, 2026
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Thursday October 22, 2026

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Michigan school funding tops inflation since before the pandemic

Funding for public schools in Michigan has grown faster than inflation since before the pandemic.

Yet some school teachers, like Amanda Walker of Bay City Schools, have said that schools are being defunded. Walker is vice president of her district’s chapter of the Michigan Education Association.

“I do think there’s been a concerted effort to dismantle public education by defunding, by diverting funds to private schools, by tearing down teachers and accusing them of all sorts of nonsense. People see it, and they feel it, and they don’t like it,” Walker told an MEA news publication recently.

It can feel that way at school districts such as Bay City, where the student count dropped 16% between 2018-19 and 2025-26, according to MiSchoolData.org. Fewer students means less in per-pupil funding. Click here to read more.


 

Data centers become midterm minefield as candidates scramble to answer voter backlash

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his support for building new data centers across the country, but candidates in both parties are trying to show voters they are listening to growing concerns about the technology. With the midterms two weeks away, the issue could help decide who voters ultimately choose.

The debate is playing out in city halls nationwide. In Memphis, Tennessee, the city council voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have halted new data center development for a year, following a heated meeting. “We demand a healthy environment, clean air, clean water, which we have a human right to. We also demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment,” said KeShaun Pearson, who attended the meeting. Click here to read more.

Stay in contact with family with push to talk nationwide waterproof walkie talkies. Click here to learn more and get an extra 10% off.

 

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The debate is playing out in city halls nationwide. In Memphis, Tennessee, the city council voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have halted new data center development for a year, following a heated meeting. “We demand a healthy environment, clean air, clean water, which we have a human right to. We also demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment,” said KeShaun Pearson, who attended the meeting.

In Hermantown, Minnesota, a rural community of about 10,000 people in the northeastern part of the state, the city council moved closer to approving a new Google data center. Some residents said officials haven’t pushed hard enough. Click here to read more.

 

Consumers Energy’s rate hike request comes days after $139M increase approved

Consumers Energy is looking for a rate hike on natural gas prices less than a week after the public service commission approved a $139 million increase.

The utility provider filed its notice of intent with regulators on Monday, which is required before it can submit its rate request.

The previous rate hike came out to about a 4.3% bump in monthly payments for natural gas.

Big picture view:

Consumers Energy has not said how much more it is asking for it its latest failing, but did say the new rate would last 12 months, ending Oct. 31, 2028.

Utility companies cannot set rates themselves. Instead, they submit a request to increase rates for either natural gas or electricity with the Michigan Public Service Commission.

After making the request, both parties and any other stakeholders weigh in on the case.

The Michigan Attorney General frequently intervenes in these cases. Click here to read more.

 

Trump and Vance announce $25M whistleblower program to encourage public to report alleged fraud

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday announced a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the U.S. government as they ramp up efforts to end the abuse of federal programs and dollars.

The White House said that under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, and that the Justice Department will administer the program.

During the announcement, Trump said payments will amount to a 1% commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover. Trump also said he will decide who gets reward money in cases where more than one person claims to have provided the tip.

“I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,” Trump in the Oval Office with Vance and other administration officials standing behind him. “It’ll be a binding arbitration.”

Trump said journalists could participate in the program. Click here to read more.

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October 20, 2026
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Michigan Audit Raises Questions About Medical Procedures Performed on Children in State Care
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LANSING, Mich. — Children under Michigan's guardianship underwent medical procedures without required consent or documentation, while thousands of others were not being consistently tracked by the state agency responsible for them, according to a new audit.

The Michigan Office of the Auditor General released a 40-page report Oct. 15 identifying significant deficiencies within the Michigan Children's Institute, which operates under the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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