LANSING, Mich - Michigan taxpayers have dumped billions of dollars into the automotive industry for nearly 30 years but the state has lost 287,300 manufacturing jobs over that time.
Michigan’s manufacturing workforce dropped from 881,900 jobs in December 1999 to 594,600 jobs as of January 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
The Michiganders who lost manufacturing jobs over those 25 years could fill the University of Michigan’s Big House (107,601) twice over, with a Ford Field (65,000) to spare, according to John Mozena, who has worked at two of the Big Three automakers as well as at auto suppliers.
“The auto industry is highly cyclical and subject to giant macroeconomic factors that play a role in how balance sheets look at the end of any given year,” Mozena told Michigan Capitol Confidential in a phone interview. Now, he’s the president of the Center for Economic Accountability, a nonprofit organization that promotes the reform of economic development programs. Click here to read more.
WASHINGTON D.C. - There’s been a rash of headlines as if measles were a horribly fatal disease that’s sweeping the nation, putting millions of children at serious risk (and, by the way, it’s the fault of MAHA architect Robert F. Kennedy Jr., many articles will imply).
The reality is far less dramatic.
As of March 25 updates, the CDC and states reports counting 381 people with measles across 18 states this year. Almost all of the cases are in Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) on March 21. There are also several dozen cases in New Mexico—few to none sprinkled about in 48 other states.
Two deaths of children are reported in the Texas-New Mexico measles cluster. So far they come with scant confirmatory details. Some reports state that at least one of the deaths was not actually due to measles. And while nobody wants their child to get a case of measles— it’s rarely fatal.
Furthermore, although the CDC touts measles are “extremely contagious,” the agency fails to add that it’s not “extremely contagious” at all—among today’s current well-vaccinated population. Click here to read more.
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. - Authorities say a Colorado woman was arrested after the death of her 76-year-old mother, who had dementia, was attributed to a dog attack.
Deputies with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office responded Feb. 3 to a home in Colorado City on a report of an unconscious woman. When they arrived, they found 76-year-old LaVonne Hoff dead at the scene and several dogs running loose in the home. Deputies also found two dozen more dogs and seven birds in cages.
Autopsy results later attributed LaVonne Hoff’s death to a dog attack, deputies said. The 76-year-old reportedly had dementia and required 24-hour care.
Detectives learned the victim’s daughter, 47-year-old Jessica Hoff, had allegedly left her mother at home alone with her dogs that day while she ran errands in Pueblo. That was when the dogs who were loose in the home attacked the victim. Click here to read more.
NEW YORK - New York's Attorney General has issued a consumer alert urging customers of 23andMe, a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company, to delete their genetic data and destroy DNA samples.
AG Letitia James' warning comes in light of 23andMe's recent bankruptcy filing and plans to sell its assets, raising concerns about the security and privacy of sensitive consumer information.
The backstory:
23andMe, known for its saliva-based DNA testing kits, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced intentions to sell "substantially all of its assets" through a court-approved reorganization plan. Click here to read more.
The Trump administration will freeze approximately $20 million in funding for Planned Parenthood, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the Journal, the administration will put on hold about $120 million in grant funding for “family planning” as it reviews whether recipients are in violation of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives by federal contractors. The cuts reportedly include around $20 million for Planned Parenthood facilities in about 12 states.
However, the Trump administration says the funding pause on the abortion giant is not final. A White House official told The Daily Signal no final decision has been made. Click here to read more.
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