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LANSING, Mich - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer posted on social media on Feb. 2 her concern that Michigan residents face higher costs. But many of her policies have imposed their own costs, experts say.

The governor wrote that Michiganders should be able to build a good life for themselves and their families. “That means keeping more of your hard-earned money, lowering costs on essentials, and ensuring opportunity isn't out of reach for anyone” the governor said.

“Perhaps she could be more concerned about what she can do about actual price increases that Michigan families are already facing,” said Theodore Bolema, senior editor at the Mercatus Center, in an email to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Michigan has the highest electricity in the region, according to Bolema, who is a member of the Board of Scholars at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Click here to read more.

 

LOS ANGELES, CALIF - An unexpected data wipe from the pet microchip company Save This Life has pet owners without a crucial safety net, making it impossible for lost pets to be identified by owner contact information if they go missing, CNN reports.

Despite the database disappearance, veterinarians said that the microchips themselves remain functional. However, without access to registration records, scanning a missing pet’s chip will no longer reveal the owner’s information.

"From my understanding, it was pretty abrupt," Dr. Mike Grace of Flying Cloud Animal Hospital told local station WCCO.

Pet owners who used Save This Life microchips are now urged to take action.

First, they should obtain their pet’s microchip number by contacting the clinic or veterinarian that implanted it. From there, they must re-register the chip with another service, such as FreePetChipRegistry.com, which offers free registration.

“That number's associated with your contact information so you just need to re-register that chip with another company," Grace told the news outlet. Click here to read more.

 

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WASHINGTON D.C. - Even a somewhat informed observer might wonder why President Donald Trump and the Republicans, who control all three branches of government and both houses of Congress, would need to rely on executive orders of questionable legality and constitutionality to finally accomplish the laudable goal of reducing the size of government as a percentage of GDP – which they have been rhetorically championing for decades but never seem to achieve.

For example, abolishing the Department of Education, which Republicans have long advocated, and at least trimming back the U.S. Agency for International Development need to be effectuated. However, in a republic, ends do not justify the means; following constitutional processes is paramount and should be easy given Republican control of all branches of government. Thus, that observer could and should conclude that the Trump administration is using questionable executive orders to realize these objectives, because its main goal, as was George W. Bush administration’s previously, is to dramatically expand executive power.

The most dramatic attempt to tip the balance of power among the branches of government is the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze government grants and contracts to make sure they complied with President Trump’s priorities. Click here to read more.

 

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE – U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed on Wednesday to prosecute any FBI agents, or other members of the government, who leak information on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.

White House Border Czar Tom Homan suggested on Monday that someone within the FBI may be leaking information on the raids, potentially putting officers’ lives at risk. The Daily Caller asked Bondi at her first press conference what the consequences would be for those within the FBI if they were ultimately caught leaking information about the raids.

“Has the DOJ gotten any closer to determining if these leaks are coming from within the FBI? And what will the consequences be if they can identify the leakers from the FBI?” the Daily Caller asked.

“The great men and women in law enforcement standing behind me today, they deserve, they must be protected, and anytime anyone leaks or tips off anything regarding a pending investigation that jeopardizes lives. You’re telling a bad guy what’s about to happen. It could jeopardize the lives of all the men and women in law enforcement,” Bondi began.

“We will not stand for it. We will find you. We’re going to investigate it, no matter what agency it came from. We don’t know for certain. We have an open investigation, so I can’t talk about it in detail, but we will do everything in our power to hold you accountable and it is a crime, and you will be prosecuted when we find you,” she finished. Click here to read more.

 

LANSING, Mich - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive budget proposal would cut funding for schools serving some of the state’s neediest students. It would also fund preschool for all the state’s four-year-olds even though many parents have no interest in enrolling their children. Worse still, the budget fails to fix the dire state of Michigan’s K-12 education system.

The governor’s $21.2 billion School Aid Fund proposal for fiscal year 2026 would give districts a 4.1% increase to the foundation allowance, which is the state’s per-pupil minimum funding guarantee for every public school. The 2025 budget maintains the $9,608 allocation from the previous year, while the 2026 proposal would raise it to $10,000 per student. This would help narrow the funding gap between districts at opposite ends of the funding spectrum.

At the same time, the 2026 proposal would increase some funding disparities between conventional district schools and charter schools. Last year, the Legislature lowered the amount districts are required to contribute to the state’s retirement system for school employees, a decision that boosted districts’ funding by about $374 per student, on average. Charter schools, most of which do not contribute to the retirement system, received a one-time appropriation of $375 per student to offer comparable treatment. Click here to read more.

EATON RAPIDS, Mich. – A Michigan school district quietly revised its kindergarten enrollment form after a parent raised concerns about being asked to classify their child as "male, female, or non-binary."

A parent in Eaton Rapids discovered the gender classification option while enrolling their child online and expressed shock at the inclusion of "non-binary." The parent, who chose to remain anonymous out of fear of backlash, believed the district was pushing an agenda.

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After reaching out to the school district for comment, no response was received. However, the next day, the form was altered to only include "male" and "female" as gender options. The sudden change has raised questions about whether it was prompted by public pressure, social media attention, or recent policy changes related to Title IX.

A state lawmaker also shared the issue online, further drawing attention to the district’s actions. With an upcoming school board meeting, officials may face scrutiny over the decision and the reasoning behind both the original form and its modification.

The incident highlights the power of parental advocacy, as a single complaint led to a district-wide change.

This email is free Monday through Friday! I also produce special investigations and shows on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.

I left a high-paying media job to go independent, and I can’t do it without your support.

Paid subscriptions are just $6/month and keep this work alive. Cancel anytime. Click the red subscribe button to join!

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LANSING, Mich - Republican lawmakers are pushing back against a new budget that is on track to increase state spending by 47% since 2018 and contains no plan to fix the state’s roads.

Whitmer’s $83.5 billion proposal for the 2026 state budget adds $1 billion in spending to the current year’s total. That total is 47% higher than the $56.8 billion budget in 2018, the year before Whitmer took office.

Whitmer made fixing the roads a key part of her 2018 election campaign. Her next budget proposal does not contain any mechanism for achieving that goal.

The governor’s budget calls for spending increases, Rep. Donni Steele said in a press release, but it fails to address the road problem.

“The governor’s proposal includes a billion dollar increase to the state budget over last year, which includes 800 new state employees and no additional funding to fix local roads,” the Orion Township Republican said. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C - Elon Musk, head of the new “Department of Government Efficiency,” didn’t mince words when he announced last week that the Trump administration was closing the U.S. Agency for International Development. He said his team was “feeding USAID into the wood chipper” and that it was “time for it to die.”

The crudeness might not have been necessary, but the proposal itself was warranted. Foreign aid has too many (often conflicting) goals, including promoting democracy, stability and geopolitical ties. It is long past time for the U.S. government to scrutinize the entire foreign assistance program and recognize that one of the central goals – promoting economic growth – has been a failure.

That’s why it’s a good idea to close down USAID, drop economic development as a goal of U.S. foreign policy and assign the State Department to manage vital emergency and humanitarian aid. It does, however, need to be done lawfully and in accordance with the Constitution. Unfortunately the Trump administration has not been following the law in its push to shut down the agency, which needs to be rectified. Click here to read more.

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ORLANDO, FLA - Executives at the Walt Disney Company are reportedly worried that soaring prices are alienating families from its theme parks, with internal surveys showing a decline in guests who are planning return visits to Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

The price of attending a Disney park has skyrocketed in recent years, with the typical price of a four-day stay inside the park rising by $1000 between 2019 and 2024, a new study conducted by The Wall Street Journal showed. The vast majority of that increase — nearly 80 percent — comes from new charges for services that were once free.

This has put a serious damper on fan enthusiasm. Internal surveys obtained by the Journal showed a decline in guests planning return visits to Walt Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim — a potentially disastrous trend for Disney whose theme parks have served as a reliable cash cow for decades.

Attendance at Disney’s U.S. parks rose a mere 1 percent in the last fiscal year, down from 6 percent from the year before. Click here to read more.

 

ORLANDO, FLA - A judge ruled in favor of a school district that prevented a mom in Florida from volunteering at her kids’ elementary school after learning that she has an OnlyFans page.

In 2023, Victoria Triece sued the Orange County Public School District for $1 million after they allegedly banned her from volunteering at the Sand Lake Elementary School in Orlando, where her 5-year-old and 10-year-old sons attend.

She said someone sent an anonymous email to the principal in 2021 voicing their concerns, WESH reported.

“If I’m not hurting anybody and I’m not affecting anybody’s day, then it’s somebody’s choice to do something that’s fully legal,” Triece said.

Triece said the principal shared the email with her boss, including images of her adult content.

In her original filing, Triece claims the district violated her right to free speech and also alleged “sexual cyber harassment” for sharing pictures from her OnlyFans account with media outlets. Click here to read more.

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal and Nashville officials announced the indictment Tuesday of eight people involved in a human trafficking operation in Middle Tennessee, connecting two of those individuals to a Venezuelan gang.

Those individuals were indicted in the U.S. District of Middle Tennessee on charges ranging from conspiracy to commit interstate transportation for the purposes of prostitution from sex trafficking conspiracy. The indictment said those indicted in the case entered through the United States illegally.

As outlined in the indictment, a mother and son team who are accused of orchestrating the human trafficking ring consisted of Yilibeth Del Carmen Rivero-De Caldera (nicknamed Rivero) and Klevier Daniel Mota Rivero (Mota). They had the primary connection to Tren de Aragua — or TdA — a violent gang out of Venezuela.

Authorities said the crimes happened July 2022 and July 2024. The indictment stated that Rivero, her other children and their spouses rounded out the operation. Court records show that targeted women from Central and South America to offer them a better life in the United States. However, that proposition came at a cost for the women, who wound up being commercially sex trafficked in Murfreesboro and Nashville. Click here to read more.