Michigan Public Assistance Fraud Out Of Control.

Michigan mailed out roughly 738 Bridge cards every day in 2024 for a total of 269,644 cards, according to a document obtained through a records request.

Cards could be replaced for reasons such as theft, demagnetization of the card, or forgotten PINs. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services didn’t respond to a request for comment on how many cards were in each category.

More than 1.4 million Michiganders use those cards to buy groceries through the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is administered by the state. But criminals have infiltrated the program, cloning cards and then draining their funds.

Michigan Capitol Confidential exclusively reported that food stamp fraud jumped by nearly 400% from fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The dollar amount of reported fraud increased from $181,778 to $884,947. Click here to read more.

 

School Districts Spent More Than $9 Million To Make Grading Practices More ‘Equitable’

School districts across the country spent more than $9 million on equity consultants since 2014, with California as the biggest offender, according to a new report.

A total of 39 school districts across seven states spent $9,028,000 on consultants for equitable grading in the past 11 years, according to a new report from Defending Education.

Equitable grading is “a popular grading framework that seeks to address ‘inequities’ and ‘bias’ in education,” Defending Education said.

“It is rooted in the belief that all inequitable outcomes are the result of implicit and systemic bias (for example, white supremacy) and creates barriers to success for minority and low-income students,” the group said.

California was responsible for the bulk of the spending — the Golden State shelled out a total of $7,733,000 for consultants that included equitable grading guidance. Click here to read more.

 

Strong Florida Law Stops Los Angeles type protests.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis condemned attempts to target law enforcement officers involved in illegal immigration enforcement following recent riots in Los Angeles, affirming Florida’s zero-tolerance policy for such attacks.

“That isn’t going to fly in Florida. This is not Los Angeles. This is the Free State of Florida. So we respect the law. We respect the people that are executing the law,” the governor said during a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning.

“You have this movement around the country where these groups, I think they’re funded by people like [George] Soros, they want to dox people who are enforcing immigration law and basically try to incite attacks on them just for simply doing their job,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said he has directed law enforcement and state agencies to maintain a zero tolerance policy for such actions.

He said if people “don’t like” the laws, they can vote for leaders to change them, but they do not “have the right to just simply opt out of federal immigration law.”

“I think what’s happened in California is they are a sanctuary state you have. Now you have the law being applied, or the law they don’t have to cooperate. Well, now you have the law being applied,” he said. Click here to read more.

 

9-year-old Hamilton boy’s quick thinking helps save mom, unborn baby sister

HAMILTON, Ohio — A 9-year-old Hamilton boy's quick thinking saving the life of his pregnant mother and his unborn baby sister.

His family now calling him their hero.

"My mom could have died,” said Oliver Ware.

On May 2, 35 weeks into her pregnancy, Niki Ware passed out inside their Hamilton home.

Oliver had just gotten home from school and his dad, Jeff Ware, was still at work.

“I called 911,” Oliver said, thinking back to the day.

High blood pressure caused Niki to have multiple seizures. Doctors say that call helped to save her and baby Riley’s lives.

Complications from seizures can cut the oxygen flow to the baby, doctors said.

“He had to save his mama and his sister, and that's what he did. Like to me, that's the definition of a hero,” said Oliver’s dad.

Oliver is going into fourth grade at Fairwood Elementary and says he learned how to call 911 and what to do in an emergency during a lesson at school.

His parents are incredibly proud, saying they rest easy knowing that Riley has Oliver for a big brother.

"Good to know I've got this guy here. He's got all of our backs,” Jeff said. Click here to read more.

 

Ohio Passes Major Energy Reform Securing Free-Market Energy Future

States around the country are addressing longstanding challenges with access to reliable, affordable energy as more people and businesses consume power than ever before.

Ohio has become a hub for data centers, for example, as major tech companies invest billions in building large-scale data centers in the central region of the state. These require significant amounts of electricity and put a strain on the energy grid. In order to ensure the lights stay on, Ohio lawmakers needed to build a policy framework to protect the state’s energy future.

With the help of The Buckeye Institute, Ohio passed the most significant energy policy the state has seen in over 20 years. It represents a model of free-market energy policy that promotes competition, transparency, and removes barriers to affordable energy. In particular, the new law will lower the cost and speed up the process of new energy generation. Click here to read more.

 

 

Michigan Public Assistance Fraud Out Of Control.

Michigan mailed out roughly 738 Bridge cards every day in 2024 for a total of 269,644 cards, according to a document obtained through a records request.

Cards could be replaced for reasons such as theft, demagnetization of the card, or forgotten PINs. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services didn’t respond to a request for comment on how many cards were in each category.

More than 1.4 million Michiganders use those cards to buy groceries through the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is administered by the state. But criminals have infiltrated the program, cloning cards and then draining their funds.

Michigan Capitol Confidential exclusively reported that food stamp fraud jumped by nearly 400% from fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The dollar amount of reported fraud increased from $181,778 to $884,947. Click here to read more.

 

School Districts Spent More Than $9 Million To Make Grading Practices More ‘Equitable’

School districts across the country spent more than $9 million on equity consultants since 2014, with California as the biggest offender, according to a new report.

A total of 39 school districts across seven states spent $9,028,000 on consultants for equitable grading in the past 11 years, according to a new report from Defending Education.

Equitable grading is “a popular grading framework that seeks to address ‘inequities’ and ‘bias’ in education,” Defending Education said.

“It is rooted in the belief that all inequitable outcomes are the result of implicit and systemic bias (for example, white supremacy) and creates barriers to success for minority and low-income students,” the group said.

California was responsible for the bulk of the spending — the Golden State shelled out a total of $7,733,000 for consultants that included equitable grading guidance. Click here to read more.

 

Strong Florida Law Stops Los Angeles type protests.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis condemned attempts to target law enforcement officers involved in illegal immigration enforcement following recent riots in Los Angeles, affirming Florida’s zero-tolerance policy for such attacks.

“That isn’t going to fly in Florida. This is not Los Angeles. This is the Free State of Florida. So we respect the law. We respect the people that are executing the law,” the governor said during a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning.

“You have this movement around the country where these groups, I think they’re funded by people like [George] Soros, they want to dox people who are enforcing immigration law and basically try to incite attacks on them just for simply doing their job,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said he has directed law enforcement and state agencies to maintain a zero tolerance policy for such actions.

He said if people “don’t like” the laws, they can vote for leaders to change them, but they do not “have the right to just simply opt out of federal immigration law.”

“I think what’s happened in California is they are a sanctuary state you have. Now you have the law being applied, or the law they don’t have to cooperate. Well, now you have the law being applied,” he said. Click here to read more.

 

9-year-old Hamilton boy’s quick thinking helps save mom, unborn baby sister

HAMILTON, Ohio — A 9-year-old Hamilton boy's quick thinking saving the life of his pregnant mother and his unborn baby sister.

His family now calling him their hero.

"My mom could have died,” said Oliver Ware.

On May 2, 35 weeks into her pregnancy, Niki Ware passed out inside their Hamilton home.

Oliver had just gotten home from school and his dad, Jeff Ware, was still at work.

“I called 911,” Oliver said, thinking back to the day.

High blood pressure caused Niki to have multiple seizures. Doctors say that call helped to save her and baby Riley’s lives.

Complications from seizures can cut the oxygen flow to the baby, doctors said.

“He had to save his mama and his sister, and that's what he did. Like to me, that's the definition of a hero,” said Oliver’s dad.

Oliver is going into fourth grade at Fairwood Elementary and says he learned how to call 911 and what to do in an emergency during a lesson at school.

His parents are incredibly proud, saying they rest easy knowing that Riley has Oliver for a big brother.

"Good to know I've got this guy here. He's got all of our backs,” Jeff said. Click here to read more.

 

Ohio Passes Major Energy Reform Securing Free-Market Energy Future

States around the country are addressing longstanding challenges with access to reliable, affordable energy as more people and businesses consume power than ever before.

Ohio has become a hub for data centers, for example, as major tech companies invest billions in building large-scale data centers in the central region of the state. These require significant amounts of electricity and put a strain on the energy grid. In order to ensure the lights stay on, Ohio lawmakers needed to build a policy framework to protect the state’s energy future.

With the help of The Buckeye Institute, Ohio passed the most significant energy policy the state has seen in over 20 years. It represents a model of free-market energy policy that promotes competition, transparency, and removes barriers to affordable energy. In particular, the new law will lower the cost and speed up the process of new energy generation. Click here to read more.

 

 

Ann Arbor mulls green energy mandates as housing costs soar

Ann Arbor's City Council is considering a green-energy housing ordinance that would increase red tape and expenses for rental housing owners at a time when the council is also concerned about a lack of affordable housing in the city.

The proposed Green Rental Housing Ordinance aims to enforce new energy standards on rental housing. The plan, which had its first reading at the June 2 council meeting, imposes additional red tape and financial burdens that experts say would reduce Tree City’s rental stock, particularly for low-income residents, and raise rents.

Landlords would have to meet a qualifying “Asset Rating” through either a prescriptive checklist or a third-party energy rating system before each routine rental inspection. A landlord who fails to comply could be prohibited from obtaining or renewing a rental license.

Violations could result in civil fines of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent offenses, plus the cost of prosecution, according to the draft language. Click here to read more.

 

The Real Agenda Behind The Chaos In Los Angeles

What is the real reason we are seeing chaos in the streets of Los Angeles?

One protester explained why exactly this is happening. If you want to know what drives the mindset of the rioters, then you really should take the time to listen to the people who are rioting, who are attempting to attack police officers and ICE agents.

This protester was, of course, masked and wearing sunglasses. He said, “Everybody has the same enemy. From L.A. to Africa to Palestine to Vietnam. We all have the same enemy. There’s one enemy. And it is not me, and it is not you, and it is not them. We are not the enemies of each other.”

He pointed to the police, declaring, “They are the enemy. There’s only one enemy. And we all have to work together in unison to fight this one enemy.”

Another protester interjected, “That’s right. Capitalism, imperialism, and Zionism.”

“The faster we grow, the more we grow as a people, the quicker we can get to this revolution and overturn this motherf***er and have real people leading this country,” the first protester continued. Click here to read more.

 

Locked Out of the Dream: Regulation Making Homes Unaffordable Around the World

Next to inflation, Americans ranked housing as their top financial worry in a Gallup survey last May. It’s only gotten worse. January home sales were down 5% from last year’s dismal numbers. Record numbers of first-time buyers are stuck on the sidelines as housing affordability stands at the lowest level ever recorded, while one in three Americans now spend over 30% of their income on mortgage or rent.

The housing crisis is not just an American problem, but a global phenomenon that hits the middle and working classes the hardest. Studies of the Canadian, British, European, and East Asian markets have also found that housing prices have risen far faster than household incomes and inflation. A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development concluded that “housing has been the main driver of rising middle-class expenditure.” In prosperous and communitarian Switzerland, Zurich studios sell for well over $1 million, and small houses even more, making downpayments unaffordable to affluent people despite the overwhelming financial advantages to homeowners. Click here to read more.

 

10-year-old misses school to care for 3 younger siblings, parents charged

ANTLER, N.D. - A couple is facing child neglect charges after reportedly leaving their 10-year-old son at home to watch their 4-year-old, 1-year-old and a 6-month-old.

According to court documents, the Bottineau County Sheriff’s Office was called for a welfare check on March 27 after a school principal reported that the boy was missing from school to babysit his three younger siblings.

While deputies were on their way to the home, they called the child’s parents, Jared and Haley Jones, but the calls went straight to voicemail.

The 10-year-old told another officer that he was left to watch his siblings and could not call his mother because her phone was “out of minutes.” The child said the only way they could contact Haley Jones was through Facebook Messenger. Click here to read more.

 

Family moves from their home after it was targeted 18 times by strangers doing TikTok trend

Chandler police urged parents to talk to their children about how the pranks aren’t harmless and can actually result in criminal charges.

“They’re just getting weird TikTok challenges and they’re daring each other,” Angelica Proffer said.

Proffer says she experienced similar pranks in Mesa. Her neighbors were also victims.

“Their garage door was dented pretty bad,” Proffer described.

Authorities say groups of younger individuals participate in these crimes as part of a national TikTok challenge.

Proffer, a teacher, identified the teens who targeted her home by sending a video of the incident to the local high school.

“The boys that did it at our house, they didn’t even know each other. Just some kids walking by them dared them to do it,” Proffer added. “Their parents were mortified. ‘We’ll pay for the damages. We’ll help you out. Whatever you need. If you decide to press charges, we understand.’ But they were very willing to work with us and we were grateful for that.” Click here to read more.