LANSING, Mich - Michiganders are marking a grim anniversary this March 18. Five years ago, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer locked down the state in response to the COVID-19 emergency, shuttering most of the economy in a shock from which Michigan businesses have yet to recover.
Whitmer issued nearly 200 executive orders, many of them baffling. The governor deemed liquor stores, casinos, and cannabis dispensaries essential — allowing them to remain open — but ordered greenhouses to close.
Yet at the time, Whitmer was considered one of the most trusted sources of information about COVID-19.
“She has repeatedly emphasized that she is guided by science,”said Marianne Udow-Phillips, founding executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation, a nonprofit health policy center at the University of Michigan, as quoted by MLive.
A report from the center concluded, “People trust health care providers, public health officials, and Governor Whitmer more than many other sources when it comes to communicating important messages about COVID-19.” Click here to read more.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- Oklahoma State University “violated state law” with its “significant issues in allocation and management” of $41 million of state funding, according to a report from the school’s Office of Internal Audit, FOX23 reported.
The findings were revealed one month after university president Kayse Shrum abruptly resigned from her position. She made $2.5 million in salary during her four years as president, according to payroll records obtained by OpenTheBooks.com, including $720,000 last year.
Key facts: Oklahoma State was supposed to use the $41 million on education and research in its agricultural, medical and engineering departments. The money should have been allocated to specific “cooperative agreements” that would allow the state to approve and oversee the spending, the audit stated. Click here to read more.
HOOD COUNTY, TX- A 5-year-old boy died after he was struck while attempting to board the school bus Monday morning, authorities in Texas said.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the bus stopped to pick up students on Pecos River Drive in Granbury. As the bus began to pull away, the 5-year-old ran in front and was hit.
The boy was taken to a hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Granbury Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Courtney Morawski said in a release that the school was heartbroken by the loss.
“We all have the expectation that students will be safe on our buses and in our district,” Morawski said. “We are already working to fully understand the situation and will share more information after we have had the time to investigate the incident.” Click here to read more.
BAY CITY, Mich - Bay City Commissioner Andrea Burney-Obershaw doesn’t want local police deputized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because she believes they need to focus instead on “white crime.”
“We have a lot of crime lately and we do need you officers instead of worried about immigration, we need you guys for our city because we have a lot of crime,” Burney-Obershaw said at Monday’s commission meeting. “So I wanted to look up to see who’s doing the crime, because we don’t need officers for the government we need you within the city,” she said.
Bay City Commissioner Andrea Burney-Obershaw doesn’t want local police deputized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because she believes they need to focus instead on “white crime.”
“We have a lot of crime lately and we do need you officers instead of worried about immigration, we need you guys for our city because we have a lot of crime,” Burney-Obershaw said at Monday’s commission meeting. “So I wanted to look up to see who’s doing the crime, because we don’t need officers for the government we need you within the city,” she said.
“So I had to look up some crime statistics,” she added. “So on Feb. 22, um, these are all white crimes, there are no immigration crimes in the city in the past … month. On Feb. 22 we had a terroristic, a terrorist attack you could say, here in Bay City, Michigan, at the police station by a judge’s son.” Click here to read more.
WASHINGTON D.C. - The Biden administration buried a final draft of a study that undermined the reasoning behind its 2024 pause on approvals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, a new report has found.
Four sources within President Donald Trump’s Department of Energy (DOE) told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the Biden administration’s DOE finalized the draft of a study in September 2023 that found global emissions would see a reduction if the U.S. increased its LNG exports. But that information contradicted what the Biden administration wanted to do to appease environmentalists who argued against LNG, so the administration buried the study.
“The Energy Department has learned that former Secretary [Jennifer] Granholm and the Biden White House intentionally buried a lot of data and released a skewed study to discredit the benefits of American LNG,” one source told the Caller. “They were prioritizing their own political ambitions over the interests of the American people, and the administration intentionally deceived the American public to advance an agenda that harmed American energy security, the environment and American lives.” Click here to read more.
