Dave Bondy
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LANSING, Mich - n Wednesday, Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.

The AGs oppose the Trump Administration’s attempt to withhold congressionally appropriated funding for refugee processing and services.

Trump’s Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program executive order indefinitely suspends refugee admissions and application processing, which Nessel and the coalition argue contradicts federal law, according to a news release.

n Wednesday, Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.

The AGs oppose the Trump Administration’s attempt to withhold congressionally appropriated funding for refugee processing and services.

Trump’s Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program executive order indefinitely suspends refugee admissions and application processing, which Nessel and the coalition argue contradicts federal law, according to a news release. Click here to read more.

 

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - After President Donald Trump signed an order to ban transgender athletes from school sports, the NCAA claimed to have rewritten its rules to comply with the federal order. But now, women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines says that the league’s changes actually do not adhere to the president’s orders at all and would still allow transgender athletes to play in women’s sports.

Trump signed his order on February 5 to protect women’s sports from males who claim to be transgender females.

The very next day, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) claimed to have set a new policy to obey the new federal Title IX rules disallowing transgender athletes from playing as women.

However, Gaines, a former NCAA swimming champion turned women’s sports activist, says that the NCAA’s new rules are a sham. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - DOGE wants to see where our tax dollars go, and we should let them. No surprise that the “government industrial complex” will resist every effort to bring transparency and accountability to how those funds are spent when the system is ripe with problems.

I’ve had first-hand experience with USAID and other international aid organizations, such as the World Bank, UNESCO, and even the Red Cross, during my 40-plus trips to Haiti after being invited by then Haitian President René Préval to help rebuild the nation following the devastating 2010 earthquake.

And I’ve seen how USAID, along with other NGOs, delivered on very few of their promises, failed to coordinate relief activities, and even skimmed money off the top. Click here to read more.

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two Virginia Beach police officers were shot and killed during a traffic stop late Friday night, authorities said, plunging the coastal city into mourning as investigators work to piece together the circumstances of the deadly encounter.

The shooting occurred shortly before midnight in the 1000 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard, a busy corridor near the city’s Town Center, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department. Officials said the officers, whose names have not been released, were conducting a routine traffic stop when an occupant of the vehicle opened fire, striking both officers. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Click here to read more.

 

LAKE MARY, Fla. – The Lake Mary City Commission voted on Thursday to eliminate fluoride from the city’s water supply, joining a growing number of other Florida cities.

The city’s Public Works Director Danielle Koury confirmed with Florida’s Voice that the city commission voted to discontinue the addition of fluoride in its potable water supply.

Koury said the city has already began the removal process, and it will take approximately 60 days to complete the discontinuation and decommission the equipment.

Lake Mary follows a growing number of other Florida cities opting to remove fluoride from its drinking water, including Ormond Beach, Melbourne, Winter Haven, Palm Bay, Port St. Lucie, and Lee County.

Spectrum News 13 reported that Mayor David Mealor said the city will save about $100,000 in eventual repairs following the decision and pointed to recommendations from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo as a key motivator. Click here to read more.

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October 15, 2026
I may have to end my independent journalism

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September 28, 2026
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I’m with my daughter at a school event which is way Morse important.

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
News they don't want you to see
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.

 

Click here to learn more and get an extra 10% off.

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Cops Release Woman Who Plowed Through Soccer Field: No Charges, No Explanation

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
State auditors also identified problems with adoption approvals, oversight of children under state guardianship and security of confidential records.

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.

The institute serves as the legal guardian for children whose parental rights have been terminated.

Auditors concluded that the institute's selected guardianship activities were not sufficient, identifying problems with

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