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Michigan spends $37.5M to lower SNAP payment error rate

The state of Michigan is spending $37.5 million in an effort to reduce its payment error rate for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Michigan’s payment error rate for fiscal year 2024 is about 9.53%, which could trigger a $300 million fine from the federal government in fiscal year 2028. That error rate increased to 9.89% in fiscal year 2025, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on June 24.

The federal government wants states to target a six percent payment error rate to avoid absorbing a larger share of the costs. The Department of Agriculture wants the state to pay the mistake costs because the state administers the program. Click here to read more.

 

Mars to introduce M&M’s with natural dyes in August, minus blue and brown until 2028

WASHINGTON — Mars will introduce M&M’s with natural dyes in August, but without the blue and brown colors until 2028.

The company will mark M&M’s 85th anniversary this summer by introducing a version of the candies without artificial dyes, according to reports.

Mars told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that the blue and brown colors could not be recreated with natural ingredients at a reasonable cost.

A company spokesperson told news outlets that blue and brown M&M’s are expected to be available in the natural dye option by 2028.

“It was a daunting situation,” Anton Vincent, president of Mars Snacking, North America and Global Ice Cream, told the Journal. “You’re messing with an 85-year-old icon.” Click here to read more.

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July 4: Illinois 1 of only 3 states that bans fireworks

Passed in 1942, the Illinois Pyrotechnic Act bans the use, transportation and sale of fireworks, allowing only small novelties such as sparklers. Violating the Illinois law is a Class A misdemeanor, with possible fines up to $2,500 and jail time.

The Illinois sales ban directly benefits neighboring states. Indiana brings in an estimated $2.5 million a year in tax revenue from fireworks.

The Illinois ban seeks to protect people from injury, but as firework sales have increased, the injury rate has significantly decreased.

In 2000, when 152.6 million pounds of fireworks were sold, there were 7.2 injuries for every 100,000 pounds sold, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. In 2025, sales were more than double, at 322.4 million pounds, while the injury rate was sharply lower, at 3.8 per 100,000 pounds. Click here to read more.

 

GLP-1 drugs linked to low blood pressure risk, Northwestern study finds

A study presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting links GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, to an increased risk of low blood pressure events.

The Northwestern University study analyzed data from 42,000 adults already taking at least two types of blood pressure medication, according to a release from the school. Researchers tracked patients for six, 12 and 24 months after they began taking GLP-1s and found the drugs were associated with higher rates of low blood pressure events, including dizziness and fainting.

The rate of such events increased from 8.7% to 10.2% within six months and remained elevated after 12, according to the release. Adults aged 65 and over and people with diabetes were the most at risk.

A secondary analysis found that “weight loss alone did not explain the increased risk,” the release said, “suggesting other mechanisms of action may be at play.” Click here to read more.

 

Springfield, Ohio, Citizens Celebrate Trump’s Haitian Policy: ‘America Is a Nation of Laws’

Fairness and the law won once the federal government decided to end Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Haitian migrants, says the citizens’ group that led the opposition to the Haitian influx into Springfield, Ohio.

The message was posted at the group’s Facebook site, “Stop the influx into Springfield, Ohio” by one of the group’s leaders, Tammie Poe:

Nearly 5,000 members share one common belief: America is a nation of laws, and those laws matter.

We welcome the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] decision to end Temporary Protected Status because we believe it is a step toward restoring respect for our immigration laws after years of policies that many felt ignored or bypassed them. Click here to read more.

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Whitmer’s Subsidy Deals Deliver Just 3% of Promised Jobs

MIDLAND, Mich. — A new report from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy finds that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s most prominent business subsidy deals have fallen far short of expectations, producing only a small share of the jobs promised while costing taxpayers billions.

In total, Whitmer has authorized approximately $6.9 billion in subsidies to select businesses since 2019. Of that, $2.7 billion was committed to eight major projects that received widespread media attention and were promoted as “generational” investments capable of transforming Michigan’s economy. To date, the state has actually transferred to companies or local economic development agencies $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds. Click here to read more.

 

Record 25 million adults under 35 live with parents amid housing crisis: 2025 analysis

WASHINGTON — A record 25.2 million adults under age 35 are living with their parents amid the ongoing housing crisis, according to a 2025 analysis.

Nearly 1 in 3 young adults were living at home last year, which is higher than the pandemic-era count, Realtor.com research found last Thursday.

“Roughly 70% of 25- to 34-year-olds living with parents are employed,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com and author of the report. “That share held steady even as the overall co-residence rate has climbed—meaning the growth is coming from working adults, not people waiting to find jobs.”

According to the data, 52% of 18- to 24-year-olds living at home are employed, as well as 68% of 30- to 34-year-olds, according to the report.

“Something about their income level, debt load, or the cost of housing in their market is keeping them home despite steady employment,” Jones said. Click here to read more.

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Nearly 30% of federal employees owe $6.3 billion in unpaid taxes, investigation finds

A tax fraud investigation headed by the House Oversight Committee has found that 571,000 federal employees — out of the approximately two million currently working for the government — are not paying their share of income taxes.

The half a million number is continuing to surge, and tax debt among federal workers has grown 32% since 2021. The number of government employees who aren’t paying taxes has increased by 43% in three years, according to House Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who serves as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The committee announced its investigation launch on Wednesday. Click here to read more.

 

FBI adds 2 new suspects to ‘Most Wanted Health Care Fraud’ list

Michigan is seeing a spike in the popularity of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that allows some people on food stamps to use their Bridge cards at fast food restaurants.

The state’s reimbursements from the federal government for the Restaurant Meals Program increased geometrically between 2022 and 2025. Payments from Washington rose from $26,656 in 2022 to $37,255 in 2023. The figure jumped to $580,568 in 2024 and last year spiked to $2.4 million.

From 2024 to 2025, the increase in reimbursement increased by 313%, according to the data from a Freedom of Information Act request that was filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The number of restaurants participating in the program rose from 50 in 2022 to 292 in 2025. Click here to read more.

 

5 takeaways from Supreme Court’s big rulings on immigration, guns

The Supreme Court left President Trump and gun rights advocates celebrating Thursday.

In a series of 6-3 decisions, the high court ticked off some of its anticipated remaining cases as the justices move closer to their summer recess.

But their rulings didn’t come without friction on the bench.

Here are five takeaways.

Leading the day were a pair of big immigration decisions that both favored Trump.

Each came down along the court’s familiar ideological lines, with the president’s own appointees providing some of the crucial votes.

The first allows Trump to proceed with a key plank of his second-term deportation crackdown by cutting off legal protections for Haitians and Syrians.

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Michigan charges dentist with 43 counts of Medicaid fraud

A Northville dentist has been charged with 43 felony counts of Medicaid fraud for allegedly billing the state for dental procedures she never performed, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Demetra C. Kazanis, 55, was arraigned May 27 before Judge Molly E. Hennessey Greenwalt of the 54B District Court in East Lansing. The 43 felony counts relate to an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme.

Kazanis has been charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000. She is charged with 42 counts of Medicaid fraud, each punishable by up to four years of incarceration and/or a fine of up to $50,000. Click here to read more.

 

Eight immigration protesters with alleged ties to Antifa sentenced to decades in federal prison

Eight protesters whom the Justice Department accuses of having ties to Antifa were sentenced Tuesday to decades in federal prison in connection to a shooting last year outside a federal immigration detention center in Texas.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who was one of two judges overseeing the trial, said the demonstration wasn’t a protest but “an assault on democracy.” He said the need to deter the type of behavior seen at the protest is high.

One of the eight protesters, Benjamin Song, who was a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, was convicted of firing a gun during the July 4, 2025, demonstration and wounding a police officer. He was sentenced to 100 years in prison. Click here to read more.

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Florida hits CVS with antitrust subpoenas over predatory drug pricing allegations

MIAMI — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that the state has launched an antitrust investigation into healthcare giant CVS Corporation, issuing civil investigative subpoenas to probe allegations of unfair drug pricing and predatory practices against independent pharmacies.

The investigation targets CVS Caremark, the company’s pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, which Uthmeier described as a vertically integrated “monopoly” that controls market power to manipulate prescription costs at the expense of Florida patients and retirees. Click here to read more.

 

FBI adds 2 new suspects to ‘Most Wanted Health Care Fraud’ list

WASHINGTON — Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said the agency added two new suspects to its "Most Wanted Health Care Fraud" list after the recent arrests of two fugitives who had previously appeared on the roster.

“This should be a message to the world that the FBI, along with our interagency partners, are not tolerating fraud anymore,” Patel said during a news conference on Tuesday.

“And we will chase them down -- just like we will chase terrorists, narcotrafficers, gang bangers, and those that wish to do harm to our communities,” he added.”

Patel identified the suspects as Khalid Ahmed Satary and Emylee Thai. He said both have been on the run since 2022. Click here to read more.

 

U.S. Manufacturing Production Rises At Fastest Pace in Nearly 5 Years

Growth in business activity in the U.S. accelerated for the third consecutive month in June, boosted by strong growth in demand and output in the manufacturing sector.

S&P Global said its flash composite purchasing managers index rose to a five-month high of 52.2 from 51.5 in May. That was a larger increase than economists had anticipated.

The PMIs are derived from surveys of supply chain managers and corporate executives. The preliminary readings are labeled “flash” because they include only a portion of the responses. The composite PMI includes responses from executives in both the services and manufacturing sectors. Click here to read more.