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Michigan taxpayers fund 31,388 repairs on employee vehicles in 2024

When a Michigan government employee hits a pothole and blows a tire, the taxpayer might foot the bill.

The state of Michigan owns or leases more than $14,000 vehicles that state employees use to drive millions of miles.

In fiscal year 2024, the state’s leased fleet used 6.9 million gallons of fuel and traveled more than 116 million miles.

State employees service their vehicles at the taxpayer-funded Vehicle and Travel Services Garage. The garage recorded more than 31,300 repairs in fiscal year 2024, according to the state’s 2025 fleet plan..

Taxpayers paid for vehicle wear-and-tear caused by Michigan’s rough roads. The garage recorded nearly 4,000 tire jobs, over 1,700 brake repairs, 1,600 body and glass repairs, 5,000 miscellaneous repairs and 275 towing services. Click here to read more.

 

Detroit Uses Pandemic Relief Money To Provide Medical Aid To Homeless

DETROIT, Mich. – The city of Detroit has given $562,868 to an organization that will conduct medical outreach for the homeless in what is known as “street medicine.”

The Detroit city council approved extending the contract through the end of 2025 at its Sept. 2 meeting. Click here to read more.

 

Parents say middle schooler was attacked by another student in cafeteria, had to have parts of skull removed

KILGORE, Texas – A middle school student in Texas is recovering from serious injuries after his family says he was attacked by another student at school and had his head slammed into a metal pole.

Lukas Hardeman, 14, was injured by another student in the cafeteria on Aug. 21 after Lukas’ parents said their son made a joke.

Michael Hardeman, Lukas’ father, said the other student slammed his son’s head against a metal pole attached to a stool.

Lukas suffered from brain injuries that required two parts of his skull to be removed, and according to his dad, he has over 60 staples holding his head together now. Click here to read more.

 

ChatGPT's safety fixes come amid scrutiny over teen use of AI chatbot companions

OpenAI announced steps it's taking over the coming months to address safety concerns for people, especially teenagers, who use the company's chatbots while experiencing mental and emotional distress.

The actions come on the heels of a lawsuit filed against the ChatGPT maker on behalf of a family who lost their 16-year-old son to suicide after the company’s chatbot allegedly encouraged his suicidal ideation.

OpenAI’s post on Tuesday announcing the new safety actions didn’t mention the teen, Adam Raine.

OpenAI said it’s enlisting the help of youth development and mental health experts in designing future safeguards for its chatbots.

The company said it will begin routing “sensitive conversations” to more advanced “reasoning models” that are capable of following safety guidelines more consistently.

And it’s giving parents the ability to link accounts with their teens, disable features and get notifications when ChatGPT detects acute distress in the interaction with the young user. Click here to read more.

 

First In The Nation: Florida To End All Vaccine Mandates

Florida’s surgeon general, alongside GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, announced on Wednesday that the Sunshine State will end all vaccination mandates, including requirements for schools.

“The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the government, is working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law — all of them,” Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo told a room of supporters. “Every last one of them.”

Ladapo went on to say that the government has no right to tell parents what to put in their children’s bodies, or their own bodies, sparking loud applause.

“Every last [mandate] is wrong and drips with disdain — and slavery,” he argued. “Who am I, or anyone else … to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body?” Click here to read more.

 

Gov. Whitmer donor gets $10M while hungry Michiganders get food benefits stolen

Two Michigan women each received money from state taxpayers. But their similarities ended there.

While Michigan resident Kaiysha Warner slept, a criminal stole $762 of her food stamp benefits, from more than 680 miles away in Massachusetts. She found out through a notice that appeared on her phone, which revealed a transaction she had no part of.

Michigan won’t reimburse those stolen benefits, offered through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, leaving her and her family hungry.

About 1.4 million Michiganders with low incomes spend public money using Bridge Cards at grocery stores, farmers markets and gas stations. The card-swipe technology on a standard Bridge card is vulnerable to data theft by criminals who can install skimmers on the card readers that process electronic payment cards. The dollar amount of reported food stamp fraud increased from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 by 387%, according to documents Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained through a records request. Click here to read more.

 

Selling every NBA team wouldn’t be enough to fill Illinois’ pension hole

Illinois’ public pension crisis is the worst in the nation and shows no sign of improving anytime soon.

A new report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability confirms that despite better than expected investment returns, the state’s unfunded pension liabilities rose another $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2024 to $143 Billion. This marks the third consecutive year of rising pension debt, but is part of a much longer trend that threatens taxpayers, retirees and state services.

The funding ratio – the measure of assets on hand to pay future obligations – ticked up slightly from 44.6% to 46.1%. However, until structural reform is enacted to lower the unfunded liabilities, this minor improvement in the funding ratio won’t offer real relief to the taxpayers trying to keep these pensions afloat. These remain some of the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. Click here to read more.

 

New animated movie aims to bring story of Jesus to life through eyes of John the disciple

A new 2D-animated movie, told through the eyes of Jesus’ beloved disciple John, will be released in theaters on Sept. 5, taking viewers from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to his passion, death, and resurrection. “Light of the World” is the first movie from the Salvation Poem Project, a nonprofit ministry and independent studio that crafts stories to share Jesus Christ with the world.

Brennan McPherson, producer of the film, told CNA in an interview that his team chose to tell the story from John’s perspective because he was likely the youngest disciple so they believe his perspective is the most relatable.

“Telling it from the perspective of a young teenager — young kids want to age up and they see themselves in that. Teenagers are going through those formative years, so they relate with it. And then adults know what that formative time in their life was like. So it made it more appealing to a full family,” he explained.

He added that the filmmakers “wanted to show how the Gospel changed a young boy’s life and how it can still change our lives today.” Click here to read more.

 

Feds Threaten to Pull Millions Unless Michigan Strips “Gender Ideology” from Sex Ed

WASHINGTON, DC – The Trump administration is putting Michigan on notice: remove all references to “gender ideology” from federally funded sex education or risk losing millions in federal grants.

In an August 26 letter to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered the state to rewrite its Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) curriculum within 60 days. Michigan receives roughly $3.4 million annually in federal funding for the program, which serves students ages 12 to 18.

The letter flagged lessons that define gender as separate from biological sex, encourage students to share pronouns, and promote inclusivity for transgender and nonbinary youth. Federal officials said this content violates PREP’s statutory mission, which is to teach abstinence, contraception, and life skills – not gender identity concepts. Click here to read more.

 

President Trump demands COVID vaccine data following chaos at CDC

WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump is now re-litigating the record and response to one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

\On one hand, he praises his own effort to help create vaccines at a rapid rate, known as Operation Warp Speed, but also questions the outcome.

In a post on Truth Social, he called on drug companies to justify the success of their COVID-19 drugs, the debate over which, he says, is causing the CDC to be torn apart. Adding that he wants the answer and he wants it now, as his Secretary vows more changes.

During a news conference in Texas on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said.

The CDC is an agency that is very troubled for a very long time. And anybody who lived through the Covid pandemic and saw all of these bizarre recommendations that were not science-based, all the misinformation...understands that.

Secretary Kennedy also defended the firing of the CDC Director over vaccine policy, prompting the resignation of several others. Click here to read more.

 

Gov. Whitmer donor gets $10M while hungry Michiganders get food benefits stolen

Two Michigan women each received money from state taxpayers. But their similarities ended there.

While Michigan resident Kaiysha Warner slept, a criminal stole $762 of her food stamp benefits, from more than 680 miles away in Massachusetts. She found out through a notice that appeared on her phone, which revealed a transaction she had no part of.

Michigan won’t reimburse those stolen benefits, offered through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, leaving her and her family hungry.

About 1.4 million Michiganders with low incomes spend public money using Bridge Cards at grocery stores, farmers markets and gas stations. The card-swipe technology on a standard Bridge card is vulnerable to data theft by criminals who can install skimmers on the card readers that process electronic payment cards. The dollar amount of reported food stamp fraud increased from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 by 387%, according to documents Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained through a records request. Click here to read more.

 

Selling every NBA team wouldn’t be enough to fill Illinois’ pension hole

Illinois’ public pension crisis is the worst in the nation and shows no sign of improving anytime soon.

A new report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability confirms that despite better than expected investment returns, the state’s unfunded pension liabilities rose another $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2024 to $143 Billion. This marks the third consecutive year of rising pension debt, but is part of a much longer trend that threatens taxpayers, retirees and state services.

The funding ratio – the measure of assets on hand to pay future obligations – ticked up slightly from 44.6% to 46.1%. However, until structural reform is enacted to lower the unfunded liabilities, this minor improvement in the funding ratio won’t offer real relief to the taxpayers trying to keep these pensions afloat. These remain some of the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. Click here to read more.

 

New animated movie aims to bring story of Jesus to life through eyes of John the disciple

A new 2D-animated movie, told through the eyes of Jesus’ beloved disciple John, will be released in theaters on Sept. 5, taking viewers from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to his passion, death, and resurrection. “Light of the World” is the first movie from the Salvation Poem Project, a nonprofit ministry and independent studio that crafts stories to share Jesus Christ with the world.

Brennan McPherson, producer of the film, told CNA in an interview that his team chose to tell the story from John’s perspective because he was likely the youngest disciple so they believe his perspective is the most relatable.

“Telling it from the perspective of a young teenager — young kids want to age up and they see themselves in that. Teenagers are going through those formative years, so they relate with it. And then adults know what that formative time in their life was like. So it made it more appealing to a full family,” he explained.

He added that the filmmakers “wanted to show how the Gospel changed a young boy’s life and how it can still change our lives today.” Click here to read more.

 

Feds Threaten to Pull Millions Unless Michigan Strips “Gender Ideology” from Sex Ed

WASHINGTON, DC – The Trump administration is putting Michigan on notice: remove all references to “gender ideology” from federally funded sex education or risk losing millions in federal grants.

In an August 26 letter to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordered the state to rewrite its Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) curriculum within 60 days. Michigan receives roughly $3.4 million annually in federal funding for the program, which serves students ages 12 to 18.

The letter flagged lessons that define gender as separate from biological sex, encourage students to share pronouns, and promote inclusivity for transgender and nonbinary youth. Federal officials said this content violates PREP’s statutory mission, which is to teach abstinence, contraception, and life skills – not gender identity concepts. Click here to read more.

 

President Trump demands COVID vaccine data following chaos at CDC

WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump is now re-litigating the record and response to one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

\On one hand, he praises his own effort to help create vaccines at a rapid rate, known as Operation Warp Speed, but also questions the outcome.

In a post on Truth Social, he called on drug companies to justify the success of their COVID-19 drugs, the debate over which, he says, is causing the CDC to be torn apart. Adding that he wants the answer and he wants it now, as his Secretary vows more changes.

During a news conference in Texas on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said.

The CDC is an agency that is very troubled for a very long time. And anybody who lived through the Covid pandemic and saw all of these bizarre recommendations that were not science-based, all the misinformation...understands that.

Secretary Kennedy also defended the firing of the CDC Director over vaccine policy, prompting the resignation of several others. Click here to read more.