Dave Bondy
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Monday February 10, 2025
February 10, 2025

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WASHINGTON D.C. - President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered all federal departments and agencies to provide lists of employees who are underperforming, as it seeks to shrink the workforce and awaits a court ruling related to its deferred resignation offers.

A memo sent by the Office of Personnel Management on Thursday directs the agencies to submit names of every employee who has received less than a “fully successful” performance rating in the past three years and to note whether the workers have been on performance plans.

The memo, which was viewed by The Associated Press, also emphasized that the agencies report any obstacles to making sure they have “the ability to swiftly terminate poor performing employees who cannot or will not improve.”

The memo seeks the employee’s name, job title, pay plan and other details, as well as whether that employee is “under or successfully completed a performance improvement plan within the last 12 months.”

The office also is asking if an agency has proposed or issued a decision in such cases, and whether any action is being appealed or challenged, as well as any outcome.

The data is due by March 7. Click here to read more.

 

The House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on December 18, 2019, after a White House whistleblower went public with evidence that Trump abused his powers by withholding military aid to Ukraine in order to dig up dirt on his rival, Joe Biden. In the complaint, the whistleblower claimed to have heard from White House staff that Trump had, on a phone call, directed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. The whistleblower who triggered the impeachment was a CIA analyst who was first brought into the White House by the Obama administration.

Reporting by Drop Site News last year revealed that the CIA analyst relied on reporting by a supposedly independent investigative news organization called the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which appears to have effectively operated as an arm of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which President Trump has just shut down. Click here to read more.

 

CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Teachers Union rejected recommendations from a neutral factfinder. The union will be free to strike after the report is public for 30 days and the union gives 10 days’ notice of striking.

The Chicago Teachers Union may soon be going on strike against the mayor it bankrolled into office.

The union announced it rejected recommendations from a neutral third-party “fact finder” in its latest phase of negotiations with Chicago Public Schools. That moves the teachers union one step closer to going on strike against CPS and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who gained control of City Hall after CTU funneled $2.3 million into his campaign coffers.

The union thought having Johnson in office would facilitate negotiations this time around. “This year’s CTU contract negotiations will be different than any other,” CTU wrote in an April 2024 bulletin. Click here to read more.

 

LANSING, Mich - Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall is cutting off taxpayer funds for municipalities that provide sanctuary to illegal immigrants.

The Richland Township Republican on Thursday introduced House Resolution 19 to block state appropriations for local governments that shield illegal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement.

“I would like to see us use funding as a way to punish these sanctuary jurisdictions,” Hall told reporters Thursday. “Let me say it differently: I think it should be an incentive – increased funding beyond what’s constitutionally required is an incentive for things like working to have safer communities through complying with ICE and working and partnering with ICE.” Click here to read more.

 

SAULT ST. MARIE, Mich- U.S. Customs and Border Protection this week arrested a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua in Sault Ste. Marie as he tried to cross into the U.S. from Canada.

“Violent criminal organizations and transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua are a plague upon our communities that rely on fear and violence to reign terror on hardworking and law-abiding residents,” Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Travis Pickard said in a statement cited by MLive.

“By coming together as a law enforcement community to successfully locate and arrest these fugitives across state lines, we have sent a resounding message that we are united in our efforts to dismantle these violent criminal networks and put an end to the lawlessness they spread.” Click here to read more. Click here to read more.

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September 30, 2026
News they don't want you to see
Wednesday September 30, 2026
 
 
 

DSA national co-chair Ashik Siddique privately praises Abdul El-Sayed as ‘viable candidate’ for U.S. Senate

While U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed insists he’s not a socialist, the Democratic Socialists of America are promoting the former health official as a “viable candidate.”

DSA National Co-Chair Ashik Siddique broke down the situation during a recent Socialism 2026 Conference in Chicago.

“I don’t think it’s any accident that in New York City, this Democratic Socialist politics is expressing with a large Muslim working-class population,” he said in an undercover video obtained exclusively by The Midwesterner. “In Michigan, where you have somebody like Abdul El-Sayed being a viable candidate for Senate, um Rashida Tlaib. Click here to read more.


 

Homeschoolers outperform public school students in new report

Homeschool students outscore their public school counterparts by double-digit percentages on standardized tests, according to a report published earlier this year in a peer-reviewed journal.

A Nationwide Study on the Academic Achievement of Home-Educated Students, conducted and written by Brian Ray and Braden Hoelzle, appeared May 21 in the “Peabody Journal of Education.” It is the first study of its kind in 15 years, the authors say.

“The aim of this study was to offer an updated snapshot of the academic achievement of homeschool students and identify predictors of their achievement, a new, albeit limited, comparison of homeschoolers’ academic performance to that of institutional school students, and ascertain parents’ reasons for homeschooling,” the authors wrote. Click here to read more.

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When these licenses can’t cross state lines, consumers suffer

Anne Davis is a psychotherapist who spent two decades counseling homeless people and patients with mental illness in Colorado. But when she moved home to Michigan — which has a severe shortage of counselors, social workers and therapists — it took more than a year for the state to allow her to get back to work.

The state desperately needs therapists like Davis. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 3 million Michiganders live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals. The state is facing a shortage of therapists and psychiatrists. But Michigan’s licensing laws have made it difficult to fill these gaps. Click here to read more.

 

Detroit Fire dispatcher accused of lying to the FBI and tipping off her brother to a raid

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A former dispatcher with the Detroit Fire Department in trouble with the feds is accused of tipping off her brother about an impending raid, then lying about it to the FBI.

Big picture view:

The criminal complaint says in March 2025, Stephanie Steen, a dispatcher, was working when law enforcement was cleared to conduct an early morning raid at her brother’s home on Turner on the city’s west side.

He was wanted for defrauding unemployment.

It is alleged that Steen called and texted her mother, who also lives there, to tip them off, something former Assistant Detroit Police Chief Steve Dolunt says could have been very dangerous. Click here to read more.

 

Will Democrats Reject ‘Free Money’ for Schools?

A potentially sweeping reform to K-12 education beginning in January is forcing Democratic governors to weigh the political risks of joining or rejecting the new federal school choice program designed by conservatives.

The little-known program, called the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, creates a new and possibly large funding stream for education based on private donations to nonprofit scholarship granting organizations. The uncapped initiative is expected to generate billions of dollars in scholarships that could affect the educational paths and performance of millions of students in both public and private schools. Click here to read more.

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September 29, 2026
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Tuesday September 29, 2026

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State awards $6.3 million study on mileage tax

A company hired by the state of Michigan to study the feasibility of a mileage tax has come under fire for a conflict of interest from a legislator who says it could also benefit from the new tax.

The Michigan Department of Transportation awarded a $6.3 million contract to CDM Smith to conduct a feasibility study of a road usage charge, or RUC, to replace taxes at the pump with a per-mile tax. The company will also conduct a pilot version of the tax.

Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, is concerned that CDM Smith could later benefit from the report’s findings. He told Michigan Capitol Confidential that the state awarded the contract to a company that already sells the pay-per-mile tax systems.

“A $6.3 million ‘feasibility’ contract to a company that already sells these systems is not independent analysis,” Maddock said in an email to CapCon. Click here to read more.


 

Chicago Public Schools loses 11,500 students in largest decline since pandemic

Chicago Public Schools has lost more than 11,500 students since the start of last school year, marking the district’s largest enrollment decline since the COVID-19 pandemic.

CPS enrollment fell to 304,687 students for the 2026-27 school year, according to a preliminary 20th-day enrollment report from the district.

The latest drop continues an enrollment decline that has left CPS with 76,000 fewer students than a decade ago.

This year’s enrollment decline also exacerbates Chicago’s empty-schools problem. More than half of CPS’ buildings were already underutilized in the 2025-2026 school year.

CPS lost more students this year than in any year since fall 2020, when enrollment dropped by nearly 14,500 students after pandemic-era school closures. Click here to read more.


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Detroit car crash sparks tensions between Black and Arab communities as Abdul El-Sayed straddles divide

Tensions between Detroit’s Black and Arab communities are on edge after a mob of Arab men harassed a Black woman following a car crash earlier this month.

The incident occurred near the intersection of Paul Street and the Southfield Freeway, where an Arab woman reportedly ran a red light and hit a vehicle driven by a Black woman on Sept. 15, WJBK reported.

Following the collision, a mob of Muslim men descended on the scene, where they pushed the Arab woman’s vehicle away and looted the Black woman’s totaled vehicle, allegedly stealing her purse and yelling racial slurs as a Black man attempted to intervene, according to video posted online. Click here to read more.

 

Wisconsin Dem Silent As High School Brawl Puts Transgender Issues Front And Center In Governor Race

MILWAUKEE — A violent altercation at a Wisconsin school could throw a last-minute wrench in the state’s gubernatorial race.

On September 17, a biological male student at Oregon High School, who identifies as a woman, clashed with female classmates after he was allowed into the girls’ locker room. Parents say the male student, about whom they and their daughters had previously raised concerns, instigated the incident. Police were dispatched to control the scene.

The Oregon High brawl has put parental rights and radical transgender policies front and center in the race for the Wisconsin governor’s mansion. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democrats’ gubernatorial nominee, has a long history of supporting policies protecting transgender individuals — something his Republican opponent is keen to highlight. Click here to read more.

 

Trump Announces Plans to Build America’s Largest-Ever Steel Plant in Iowa

President Donald Trump on Monday announced plans to build the largest steel plant in U.S. history in Iowa.

Leadership from India-based Essar Group, which owns Mesabi Metallics, joined Trump in the Oval Office, along with a number of Iowa officials, for the announcement.

“Today we’re thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa. It’s the largest plant — one of the largest plants in the world — but it’s the largest plant in America by far,” Trump said.

Trump said that once operational, the plant will source iron ore from a Minnesota mine and produce a whopping 10 million tons of steel annually. Click here to read more.

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September 28, 2026
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Monday September 28, 2026

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Michigan spends record amount on schools, gets worse reading scores

Michigan is spending more money than ever on public schools, but test scores haven’t improved, according to new standardized test scores released earlier this month.

About 61.8% of third graders weren’t proficient at reading, according to the 2025-26 M-STEP, the state’s set of standardized tests. That’s a slight increase from the previous school year, when 61.2% of third graders weren’t proficient.

When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took office in 2019, she vowed to fix the literacy crisis in Michigan.

As her second and final term comes to an end in four months, test scores are worse, despite increased state funding. Click here to read more.


 

GOP senators in tight races break with Trump, urge ICE to coordinate with local police

Republicans in some of the country’s most competitive midterm races are breaking with President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, publicly raising concerns about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement is carrying out operations in their states and districts.

In Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall called for ICE to coordinate with local law enforcement during operations in southwest Kansas, arguing that local agencies know their communities and can help keep people safe.

Local officials in Dodge City, Garden City, and Liberal said they were not notified beforehand about increased ICE activity. They said they learned of operations only after agents appeared in their communities. Click here to read more.


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Majority of Michigan House Democrats vote against resolution condemning socialism

The Michigan House passed a resolution Wednesday condemning socialism and socialist political organizations and policies, with Republicans arguing the measure serves as a warning about the historical consequences of socialist and communist governments.

House Resolution 373 passed 58-34, mostly along party lines with 18 Democrat members not voting and one Democrat voting in favor of the resolution. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Jay DeBoyer, R-Clay Twp., Rep. Joseph Fox, R-Fremont, Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw Twp., and Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia.

The resolution condemns socialism, the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, and politicians who espouse socialist views. It also opposes the implementation of socialist policies in Michigan and the United States. Click here to read more.

 

MSU Police Investigate Three New Reports Against Former Physician Charged With Sexual Assault

Authorities are investigating three additional reports involving a former Michigan State University resident physician charged with criminal sexual conduct.

The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety said Friday that Arpit Saxena, 39, was arraigned in 54B District Court in East Lansing. He is being held at the Ingham County Jail on a $2 million bond, with a bond hearing scheduled for Monday, Sept. 28.

The court ordered Saxena to surrender his driver’s license and passport and barred him from contacting the victims. He faces three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Police said the three additional reports are being evaluated and investigated. The department has not said whether they involve additional alleged victims. Click here to read more.

 

Trans Nurse Accused of Abusing Premature Baby Is Out on Bond

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A premature baby girl who survived being born at just 23 weeks was nearly ready to go home. Instead, she suffered broken bones and bruises, and a transgender nurse is now facing four child abuse charges.

And despite the allegations involving one of the hospital’s most vulnerable patients, the accused nurse is out on bond, wearing an electronic tether while awaiting further court proceedings.

According to a report from WOOD-TV, Kieran Ansley, 43, a biological woman who identifies as a transgender man and formerly worked at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, faces two felony counts of second-degree child abuse and two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree child abuse. Click here to read more.

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