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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson accused of not complying with subpoena

LANSING, MIch - The Michigan House Oversight Committee’s rare decision to issue two subpoenas against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has intensified, with House Speaker Matt Hall claiming today that Benson has explicitly refused to comply. The subpoenas, authorized on April 15 in a 9-6 party-line vote, demand election training materials that Republicans say Benson has withheld, escalating a months-long clash over transparency and election security.

The dispute began in November 2024, when Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-Martin), then minority vice chair of the House Elections Committee, requested training materials provided to local election clerks to ensure compliance with new laws, including a 2022 constitutional amendment expanding early voting. Benson’s office provided hundreds of documents but withheld others, citing sensitive election security information that required redaction. The standoff prompted Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Township), chair of the Oversight Committee, to issue subpoenas—one targeting Benson personally and another the Michigan Department of State—demanding unredacted materials by May 14 at the House Office Building.

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On April 24, Hall, a Republican from Richland Township, told reporters that Benson had informed the committee she would not comply, a claim echoed in posts on X. “The days of the Secretary of State doing whatever they want without oversight are over,” Hall said, warning that non-compliance could lead to court action. “If she won’t comply, she’ll be dragged into court.”

Benson’s office, through spokesperson Angela Benander, disputed Hall’s characterization, calling the subpoenas “unnecessary.” Benander told Michigan Public Radio that the withheld materials, including “active screens” of the qualified voter file and secure communication protocols, could jeopardize election security if released unredacted. “We’ve provided hundreds of documents and offered to brief the committee privately, but they refused,” she said, adding that the office is prepared to challenge the subpoenas in court to protect election integrity.

Democrats slammed the subpoenas as partisan overreach. House Minority Leader Joe Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) called them a “gross overstep,” accusing Hall of using the committee’s new subpoena powers—granted under rules adopted in January—to target political opponents like Benson, who is running for governor in 2026. “This is about political persecution, not transparency,” Hertel told CBS Detroit.

Republicans, however, insisted the materials are essential for legislative oversight. Smit told MLive the documents are “basic training materials” routinely shared with clerks, not sensitive secrets. DeBoyer, speaking on the It’s Just Politics podcast, said, “Only the guilty need to feel guilty,” implying Benson’s resistance raises suspicions.

The subpoenas follow a history of tension between Benson and Hall, who, as Oversight Committee chair in 2020, invited her to testify on election integrity, only for Benson to decline, citing concerns over amplifying disinformation. Legal experts suggest Benson’s potential court challenge could hinge on proving the materials’ release risks election security, a stance courts may uphold, according to the Detroit News.

As the May 14 deadline nears, the dispute has polarized Lansing. On X, some users accused Benson of hiding misconduct, while others praised her for safeguarding elections. With Hall’s latest remarks signaling no retreat, Michigan’s political divide deepens, and the courts may soon decide the fate of this high-stakes showdown.

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Thursday April 9, 2026

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Minneapolis Might Bring Back Bathhouses As Spaces for Sex and Queer Community

The Minneapolis City Council is considering a proposal to bring back bathhouses where people can have sex. And it’s provoking a wider conversation around stigma, criminalization, and community.

The proposal involves four related measures, introduced on March 26. They include plans to amend regulations for places “where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated” and to update “provisions pertaining to indecent conduct and disorderly houses, adding exceptions for licensed establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated.”

“The council is expected to take up the ordinance discussion again on Thursday,” part KSTP TV, a local ABC affiliate. Click here to read more.


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Government-Funded Censor Told State Dept. Its Testing Wouldn’t Focus On U.S. Audiences — It Then Targeted The Blaze

Staff with the Global Engagement Center (“GEC”) told a State Department official that its testbed platform “will NOT focus on US audiences,” but then proceeded to fund a trial targeting The Blaze — a Texas-based media outlet. The Federalist uncovered this detail during discovery in its lawsuit against the State Department and the GEC, which the plaintiffs settled last week after the Defendants agreed to detailed prophylactic measures to prevent similar violations of Americans’ First Amendment rights.

The Federalist, along with The Daily Wire, sued the State Department and GEC in December of 2023, after learning that the defendants had funded the testing, development, and promotion of censorship technologies that demonetized, denigrated, and limited the reach of the media plaintiffs’ speech. The complaint alleged both a First Amendment claim and a claim that the defendants exceeded their statutory authority, which was limited to managing foreign affairs.

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Mamdani’s plan for free buses in NYC hits pothole, told by Albany ‘just not financially feasible’

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is not pushing for free buses in the city this year.

Mamdani’s three campaign promises were freeze the rent, universal daycare, and fast, free buses. As city and state budgets are tight, and disagreement among Democrats blocks Mamdani’s plan, he does not appear to be pushing for free buses to be implemented this year, Politico reported.

Mamdani told the news outlet on Tuesday that he is “absolutely committed to making buses fast and free.”

He has touted a universal daycare pilot as a win.

Meanwhile, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul support an expansion of a discount program for low-income subway and bus riders called Fair Fares.

While Mamdani has supported expanding the program, in 2024, he singled out Fair Fares as a “means-tested program [that] will never reach everyone they’re meant to.” Click here to read more.

 

USC Bans Men from Parts of Gyms to Make Women, Non-Binary Students Feel Comfortable

A California college has banned men from using certain areas in its gyms to make non-binary students and women more comfortable.

The University of Southern California has adopted a policy suggested by a radical LGBTQ+ activist group to institute the ban, according to the New York Post.

The activist group Student Assembly for Gender Empowerment (SAGE) demanded the new rule for the school’s Lyon Center. SAGE describes itself as a “programming assembly and intersectional feminist organization under the student government, committed to uplifting all voices oppressed by the patriarchy.”

Student Mengze Wu praised the move to ban men from certain workout areas on Mondays and Wednesdays as a way to stop the facility from being too “male-dominated.” Click here to read more.

 

Suspect attacks, repeatedly stabs Calif. sheriff’s office K-9 after slow pursuit

SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. — A high-risk pursuit along Interstate 80 from Dixon to Fairfield early Tuesday escalated into a violent confrontation that left a Solano County Sheriff’s K-9 seriously wounded and a suspect in custody, authorities said.

According to the Solano County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when deputies spotted a vehicle moving at an unusually slow speed on the freeway in Dixon, which they said was creating a dangerous situation for surrounding drivers during the morning commute. When a K-9 sheriff’s deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the driver failed to yield, triggering a pursuit that stretched along the busy corridor.

The chase continued until officers, working alongside the California Highway Patrol, brought it to a controlled end. A spike strip was deployed, disabling the vehicle near Interstate 80 and Travis Boulevard in Fairfield. Even after the vehicle came to a stop, though, officials said the situation remained tense and unpredictable. Click here to read more.

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Wednesday April 8, 2026
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Michigan school, streets might change names after New York Times report on Cesar E. Chavez

The names of some Michigan streets and a school might change after a recent New York Times story alleged that Cesar E. Chavez abused young girls.

Five streets and a school in Michigan are named after the American labor union and political activist who co-founded United Farm Workers in 1962. Chavez died in 1993, but a March 18 news article named two women and alluded to several others who have come forward to allege he sexually abused them.

The city of Lansing is having conversations about renaming its street in Old Town, Scott Bean, director of communications and senior advisor to Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email that outlined Lansing’s street-naming policy. Click here to read more.


 

14-year-old girl with ‘lengthy’ criminal history strikes police vehicle in stolen vehicle

BALTIMORE — A stolen car slammed into a Baltimore police patrol vehicle during a chase in West Baltimore around 1 a.m. on April Fool’s Day, then crashed again at a dead end as officers tried to stop it.

Audio from the scene captured an officer describing the initial impact: “That vehicle did sideswipe the front of my vehicle when I saw it.”

Police said the stolen car didn’t get far before ending at a dead end and hitting the patrol vehicle again. One suspect got away, with an officer reporting, “The passenger ran on foot going northbound on Ashburton.” Click here to read more.

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Michigan Attorney General calls for action as Consumers Energy seeks another rate increase

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is continuing to question Michigan’s energy companies, as Consumers Energy, one of the largest utilities in the state, seeks yet another increase to its electrical rates.

The Department of Attorney General released a statement on Monday, reaffirming Nessel’s commitment to intervening in all major rate cases before state energy regulators, slamming Consumers Energy for filing a new rate case within seven days of the Michigan Public Service Commission approving its last increase.

“The rate hike just approved by the MPSC hasn’t even taken effect yet, and Consumers Energy is already gearing up to reach back into the pockets of Michigan families,” Nessel said. “Ratepayers don’t have a choice in who they buy their energy from, yet our utility companies still choose to make these relentless and unsustainable rate hike demands year after year. Announcing plans to file what we expect to be a new multi-hundred-million-dollar request just seven days after securing a nearly $280 million hike proves how truly broken this system has become.” Click here to read more.

 

Services Demand Surges to Three-Year High Despite Rising Energy Costs

New orders for services rose to their highest level in more than three years in March, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday, as strong demand across the economy proved resilient to the spike in energy prices driven by the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran.

The ISM index for the services sector registered 54 percent, down from 56.1 percent in February but still comfortably in expansion territory for the 21st consecutive month. The slight pullback in the headline number masked what was arguably the most important signal in the report: the barometer of new order surged to its highest reading since February 2023. Click here to read more.

 

Mom accused of faking 3-year-old’s illnesses, leading to unnecessary medical treatments

GLEN ROSE, Texas - A Texas mother accused of child medical abuse is facing multiple charges.

In an 18-page arrest affidavit, Tarrant County investigators said 31-year-old Kaitlyn Laura subjected her 3-year-old son to severe and ongoing medical abuse.

Detectives said for months, Laura claimed her son had serious conditions, such as stomach issues, trouble walking and even cerebral palsy.

For years, he was fed through a tube and kept in a wheelchair, but doctors never diagnosed any of it.

Investigators said, at one point, the child was on 17 different medications, eating less than 1,000 calories a day and consuming dog food. Click here to read more.

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