LANSING, Mich. — A federal appeals court has ruled that Michigan’s practice of storing and using newborn blood samples for research without parental consent does not violate the U.S. Constitution. The decision reverses a lower court ruling that had previously sided with parents who said their rights were being ignored.

Become a Supporter

In Michigan, hospitals take a few drops of blood from nearly every newborn’s heel shortly after birth to test for dozens of rare but serious medical conditions. It’s a routine part of the state’s newborn screening program. After testing, the state keeps one blood spot in case a family wants it later and sends four or five anonymized spots to a nonprofit biobank for storage and possible research use. Parents are not asked for permission for this long-term storage or research.

Four families sued the state, arguing that their Fourteenth Amendment rights to direct the care of their children and their Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure were violated.

A lower court agreed and ordered the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to notify parents, obtain consent for further storage and research, and return or destroy previously collected samples and data. But the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision.

In a 29-page opinion, the court found that once the samples are anonymized and disconnected from identifying information, their storage and use in research do not trigger constitutional protections.

Become a Supporter

On the Fourteenth Amendment claim, the court said the plaintiffs failed to show that the state’s handling of the blood spots interfered with medical decisions or violated parental autonomy.

“This is not a case about medical care,” the court wrote. “It is about the storage and research use of anonymized biological material.”

On the Fourth Amendment claim, the court said that because the samples were de-identified and stored without any link to the children, there was no search. As for seizure, the judges found that the families could not prove they had a legal right to control the samples under Michigan law.

The court also rejected concerns about future use of the samples in criminal investigations, calling those claims speculative and not ready for review.

As of now, Michigan’s program stores blood spots at the Michigan Neonatal Biobank for up to 100 years. The samples can be used by researchers and government agencies, but only after approval by a state-appointed board. Since 2010, the state has asked for consent before using samples in research, but it does not ask for consent to store the samples or use them to improve screening technology.

The ruling allows the state to continue its current practices, but the decision may not sit well with some parents.

Although the court relied heavily on legal definitions of privacy, property, and consent, the facts of the case raise uncomfortable questions: Should the state store genetic material from babies without permission? Should parents have more say in what happens to their child’s blood after it leaves the hospital?

For now, those questions remain unanswered. What is clear is that, under federal law, Michigan can keep doing what it’s been doing for decades—whether parents know about it or not.

 

 

Gretchen Whitmer gave $8 million to Waymo for Michigan plant — then vehicle company left for Arizona

When state officials announced in 2019 they were giving away $8 million in taxpayer funded subsidies to the autonomous vehicle company Waymo, Michael LaFaive issued a warning.

“The evidence on corporate handout programs is very clear,” the senior director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy told Michigan Capitol Confidential. “They are almost always ineffective. We found that for every $500,000 in handouts to corporations, there was a corresponding decline of about 600 jobs in the county hosting Michigan Business Development Program projects.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer nonetheless predicted Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, would “fuel new economic activity across Michigan, strengthen communities, and create good-paying jobs for our residents.” Click here to read more.

 

Rubio, Hegseth Slam Media Over Iran Strike Leak: ‘Professional Stabbers’ Undermining U.S. Victory

WASHINGTON D.C. - After CNN, The New York Times, and other legacy media outlets tried to torpedo the success of President Donald Trump’s strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities, quoting a leak claiming the strike only set Iran’s nuclear program back by months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the leakers, calling them “professional stabbers” and revealing an investigation is already underway.

“The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on it,” CNN declared. “Intel Report on Iran Upends Victory Lap Trump Was Hoping for at NATO,” the Times trumpeted. Click here to read more.

 

US finds California in violation of Title IX over transgender athlete policies

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (FOX26) — The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has concluded that the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) are in violation of Title IX for policies allowing male athletes to compete in girls' sports.

This decision marks a significant victory for female athletes in California, who have faced challenges competing on an equal playing field.

Sophia Lorey, Outreach Director for the California Family Council (CFC), expressed gratitude for the decision.

"As a former CIF athlete and collegiate athlete in California, I am deeply grateful to see the U.S. Department of Education taking action," said Lorey.

“Although Governor Gavin Newsom admitted months ago it was ‘deeply unfair’ to allow men to compete in women’s sports, both the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation continued as recently as a few weeks ago to allow men to steal female athletes’ well-deserved accolades and to subject them to the indignity of unfair and unsafe competitions,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “The Trump Administration will relentlessly enforce Title IX protections for women and girls, and our findings today make clear that California has failed to adhere to its obligations under federal law." Click here to read more.

 

Chicago Teachers Union sets more traps to kill charter schools

The Chicago Board of Education recently voted to renew all 21 charter schools for just two to four years, creating instability that the Chicago Teachers Union will use to damage parents’ abilities to choose better schools for their children.

Of Chicago Public Schools’ 21 charter school campuses up for renewal, 11 in late May received just two-year renewals despite state law allowing charter schools to be renewed for up to 10-year terms. The longest renewals approved by the board were four-year terms at eight charter schools.

CTU has a history of denying access to charter schools for Chicago families and trying to limit them statewide. The union’s newest collective bargaining agreement with CPS advances that assault.

The most recent contract mandates a moratorium restricting the number of charter schools in the city and their enrollment. The agreement also includes a union neutrality clause for contract renewals, requiring charter operators to in effect support a union’s attempt to organize its staff and making it easier for CTU to unionize all charter schools in the district. Click here to read more.

 

Twisting the Truth: Extreme Weather and the Climate Narrative

WASHINGTON D.C. - As America braces for another storm season, only the media storms are more predictable than upcoming hurricanes and tornadoes. Even before the dust settles after natural disasters, headlines often warn that gusts of wind and funnel clouds are proof the Earth is boiling.

Politicians rush to blame carbon emissions while their supporters flood social media warning of the inevitable doomsday caused by climate change. It all becomes one message: If we do not pass sweeping climate legislation now, more devastation is on the horizon.

But there is one inconvenient truth for these protests: the data do not support the narrative.

As the Heritage Foundation chief statistician, Kevin Dayaratna, points out in his new book, “Cooling the Climate Hysteria,” the claim that climate change is causing more and stronger tornadoes and hurricanes in the U.S. “is unsupported by the relevant trend data.” Click here to read more.

Rapid Radios are nationwide walkie-talkies. There’s no monthly fees and are great for family and business. I love mine. Click here to learn more.

 

 

 

Gretchen Whitmer warns state hospitals to provide abortions for ‘pregnant patients’

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is taking action to protect “pregnant patients” from a change in federal guidance she alleges “will put thousands of lives at risk.”

Whitmer’s Bureau of Community and Health Systems issued a notice to all of the state’s hospitals on Tuesday “reiterating their responsibility to continue providing adequate and appropriate reproductive care to patients.”

“This letter comes after the recent revocation of guidance on how (the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) applies to pregnant patients, meaning that hospitals may be deterred or discouraged from providing life- or health-saving care, including abortions,” according to a release from the governor’s office. Click here to read more.

 

Massachusetts Schools May Risk Top Ranking to Lift Struggling Students

A high-stakes battle over the future of education is playing out in the state that has long had the best public schools in the nation – Massachusetts.

The likely overhaul of high school education and graduation requirements in Massachusetts is mostly aimed at lifting the academic performance of low-income black and Latino students who have been left behind in the state’s rise to the top. Leading the charge are progressive teachers’ unions and school administrations that want to broaden the scope of high school to include soft skills like teamwork and cultural awareness, as well as career training. The goal is to motivate students by aligning instruction with the workplace needs of a high-tech global economy.

But the architects of the sweeping 1990s reforms in Massachusetts that introduced high academic standards and accountability through testing are trying to hold the line. They fear that the focus on the fundamental subjects of English, math, and science – as well as the state’s top ranking – will be sacrificed along the way, hurting disadvantaged students most of all. Click here to read more.

 

After Raking In $800M In Taxpayer Dollars, Planned Parenthood Now Offers Trans Service

WASHINGTON D.C. - Planned Parenthood has long been synonymous with abortion, profiting from the violent destruction of preborn children. But now, the nation’s largest abortion chain has added another sinister revenue stream — mutilating young people in the name of “gender-affirming care.” It is past time for Congress to cut off the more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding that Planned Parenthood receives annually. Americans should not be forced to subsidize an organization that ends the life of preborn babies and irreversibly harms confused young people.

Planned Parenthood’s total revenue for 2023-24 was $2.03B, nearly the same as the previous fiscal year of 2022-23 at $2.05B. They took in a staggering $498 million just in donations in 2022 — and instead of improving the horrific conditions inside its clinics, it funneled much of it into advancing its radical political and legal agenda. In 2024 alone, the abortion giant spent $69.5 million to defeat pro-life Republican candidates and policies. Click here to read more.

 

Woman facing homelessness after refusing to give up beloved dog: ‘She’s my everything’

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – A woman in North Carolina found herself facing homelessness, but she said she’d rather sleep on the street than go to a homeless shelter.

Why? Because she refuses to abandon her 15-year-old dog, Sissy.

“I can’t get rid of her,” Velvet Berlin said. “She’ll die of a broken heart and abandonment.”

Berlin moved to the Kannapolis area several months ago after a family member’s death. That trauma led to her losing the place she was living at.

The only thing she has left is a shopping cart full of her last worldly possessions, and her 15-year-old dog Sissy, who she raised since she was a puppy.

Berlin has been outdoors for four months, and the blazing summer heat is taking its toll on her and her beloved dog.

“It’s hard on her, and it’s hard on me as well,” she said. Click here to read more.

 

NC Board of Elections approves three-part plan to collect missing ID numbers

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously approved a plan to collect missing identification numbers for local voter rolls on June 24.

Driver’s license numbers and the last four numbers of Social Security numbers for state voters will be obtained for voters who lack either identification number in their records.

The plan was drafted after an NC Court of Appeals order to resolve outstanding lawsuits around voter registrations.

“I’ve said from day one that I am committed to bringing North Carolina into compliance with the law. I believe this three-part plan is the best way to ensure this happens,” said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “We are making this process as simple and straightforward as possible for the affected voters.” Click here to read more.