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Gretchen Whitmer’s job approval crashes — 55% disapprove of performance

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s legacy is circling the drain.

An EPIC-MRA poll of 600 Michiganders conducted last week found a total of 55% disapprove of her performance as the state’s 49^th governor wraps up her second term.

Just 41% of those polled gave her a positive rating, and a mere 10% rated her job performance “excellent.”

The governor’s job approval rating is now the lowest it’s been since March 2019, just three months into her first term, WKZO reported.

It’s also down more than 10 percentage points from May, when the Glengariff Group found Whitmer’s job approval at 52.2% among 600 general election voters.

While it’s not entirely clear what is driving the drastic decline, there’s plenty of clues. Click here to read more.

 

Trump admin orders 270 trucking schools to shutter in crackdown on licensing of illiterate, illegal immigrant drivers

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shut down 270 commercial driver’s licensing (CDL) schools Monday for offenses including graduating illegal immigrant truck drivers who can’t speak English or offering subpar training facilities.

“If you’re here illegally and you can’t speak the language and you’re not well-trained, you don’t deserve to be in a big rig, driving American roads, endangering American citizens,” Duffy said at a press conference in Detroit alongside Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and federal prosecutors.

Duffy announced that his department was removing 110 CDL schools from the federal Training Provider Registry, forcing them to “immediately cease all operations.” The schools had been found to have trained 5,000 enrollees later found to be unable to speak English. Click here to read more.

 

As California Burns Billions To Fail At High-Speed Rail, China Laid Enough Track To Circle America Three Times

Nearly two decades after California and China started their high-speed rail race, China has laid enough high-speed rail to circle the globe — while California’s bullet train has yet to carry a single passenger.

The stark contrast comes as Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday another $2.7 billion for more than 150 transportation projects across the state while touting progress on California’s high-speed rail system. None of the $2.7 billion announced Friday was identified as funding for the bullet train, which separately secured a $1 billion annual commitment through 2045 from the state’s Cap-and-Invest program.

The Newsom administration did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Click here to read more.

 

‘We’re not getting a tablet’: A veteran teacher’s warning about screens in the classroom

WALKER COUNTY, Ala. - Misty Gossett did not have a computer in her classroom when she first started teaching in Walker County Schools in 1998.

“I had a chalkboard in my first classroom.”

The next year, “two very big computers” were added. By year 12, there were enough iPads for each student to have their own.

“I remember being so excited because it was new,” said Gossett, who began her 29th year teaching in August.

Now, Gossett keeps the classroom set of iPads on a shelf. She didn’t even charge them last year.

“The handwriting was slipping, and the attention, he was slipping,” said Gossett. Click here to read more.

 

‘A well-earned life’: How a Florida program cares for retired K-9s

MIAMI — Police canine handlers bet their lives on their dogs, yet the majority of American law-enforcement agencies don’t financially support their K9s once they retire, according to the Retired Police Canine Foundation.

Canine medical needs are pricey, foundation spokesman Lt. John Pappas said. An annual check-up can cost more than $1,000 in some cities. Chemotherapy or emergency procedures might have a price tag of more than $10,000. The cost typically falls on the law-enforcement agency while the K9 is on active duty, but in retirement, the handler often takes on the financial burden.

In a bid to fully cover or offset these costs, Florida offers handlers of eligible canines up to $5,000 per canine per year for veterinary expenses, according to Pappas. The Retired Police Canine Foundation was selected as the recipient of these funds and is in charge of dispersing them to handlers across the state. Click here to read mo

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Bill aims to cage Michigan’s growing surveillance flock

A bill introduced to the Michigan Legislature aims to ensure that local governments aren’t abusing data obtained by Flock cameras.

Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake Township, introduced Senate Bill 1131 in late July. The bill would more closely regulate how governments use data collected by networks of automatic license plate readers.

“Passively collecting information 24/7 as people go about their daily lives is a drastic overreach and goes well beyond public safety needs,” Runestad said in a news release. “This legislation acknowledges that certain emergency situations can be greatly assisted by this technology, but sensible safeguards need to be put in place.”

The bill comes amid a national uproar over potential misuse of the vast surveillance networks being created by license readers from Atlanta-based Flock Safety and other providers. Click here to read more.

 

Trump Announces ‘Historic’ Deal With Venezuela That ‘MORE THAN DOUBLES’ U.S. Oil Reserves

President Donald Trump announced an historic energy deal with Venezuela in a Truth Social post Friday night.

The president called the deal “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.” Trump wrote that the United States secured “majority U.S. control” of over 65 million barrels’ worth of Venezuelan oil reserves.

Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and “a partnership with private business.” Click here to read more.

 

Hillary Clinton’s Search for Intern with ‘High Level’ of ‘Discretion’ Draws Mockery: ‘Who the Hell Would Sign Up for That Job?’

Failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s search for an intern has drawn criticism because she wants someone who can keep their mouth shut. The intern, who will not be paid, will work for Clinton’s office in New York City, the New York Post reported Sunday.

The Daybook posting said, “The Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking Fall Interns from September 9, 2026 — November 13, 2026.”

“Interns will provide support to our staff, assisting on a wide range of projects,” it continued. Most notably, the posting said the office is looking for someone who has a “high level of professionalism and discretion.” Click here to read more.

 

The Republican Party’s Midterm Nightmare Is Taking Shape

LEAWOOD, Kansas — The Senate map is less complicated than it appears. As with every modern presidential campaign, it runs through the Midwest.

If Democrats flip Republican-held seats in Ohio and Iowa while retaining Michigan, they will almost certainly net the four seats total needed to take control of the Senate for President Donald Trump’s final two years.

As the traditional start of the campaign season draws near, though, Republicans are increasingly worried they may be consumed by a worsening prairie fire.

“He’s in serious trouble in farm country,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told me. “He being Trump — and Trump is us. I’m not very optimistic.”

The triple-whammy of tariffs, expensive diesel and fertilizer and now imported beef has created a crisis for agriculture-state Republicans. Click here to read more.

 

FBI clears 1.8 million DNA sample backlog amid nationwide arrests, Patel says

WASHINGTON — The FBI Laboratory has cleared a 2024 backlog of 1.8 million DNA samples, Director Kash Patel announced Friday, as field offices reported a string of arrests targeting fugitives, online child predators, drug traffickers, a former intelligence employee and a Puerto Rico-based transnational criminal organization.

Patel credited the Criminal Justice Information Services Division and the FBI’s Forensic and Financial Division, along with technology and equipment upgrades, for eliminating the backlog. The samples are now being used in violent crime cases nationwide, he said in a weekly video message.

“Huge congratulations to Lab’s Federal DNA Database Unit,” Patel said. Click here to read more.

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Michigan ranks No. 6 among states for worst record in chronic absenteeism

Michigan had the sixth-worst rate among 44 states for the number of students who were chronically absent from school in 2025, according to the new report. Last year, 29% of students in the Great Lakes State were chronically absent.

The American Enterprise Institute report, “From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition?,” defines a chronically absent student as one who misses at least 10% of the days in a school year. Officials at the Michigan Department of Education use the same definition.

The report from the Washington, D.C.-based think tank evaluates school systems and states by the percentage of their students who are chronically absent, which amounts to 15 to 20 times per school year. Click here to read more.

 

University Student Sues County for Flock Camera Records

FLINT, Mich - Kettering University student Josh Tewolde has filed a lawsuit against Genesee County after the county refused to release key public records concerning its use of Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras.

Represented by the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, Tewolde is asking the Genesee County Circuit Court to require the county to disclose records requested under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, including a map of Flock camera locations, audit logs showing who accessed the camera data and when, and records of scans involving Tewolde’s own vehicle.

Flock cameras capture images of every passing vehicle, including license plates and visible details such as make, model and color. The information is stored in a searchable database and can later be used in criminal investigations. Click here to read more.

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A Call to Power: Islamic Leaders See Ballot Box as Path to Paradise

The call to prayer is sounding across America. From Hamtramck, Michigan, to Paterson, New Jersey, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, rooftop amplifiers remind growing numbers of Muslim faithful five times a day of their duties with the Arabic message that “Allah is the Greatest! There is no god but Allah!”

The so-called “adhan” is just one sign of how Islam is transforming pockets of the nation. As more Muslims participate in the country’s political life, running for office, influencing, and in some cases, even controlling local governments, they are putting their own stamps on their communities: renaming city streets after Arab homelands and mandating Islamic holidays and halal-only lunches in public schools, while even changing noise ordinances to the consternation of many non-Muslim neighbors.

Like Polish, German, Irish, and Italian immigrants before them, American Muslims now control several small cities. These include Hamtramck, which has an all-Muslim city council, as well as midsize cities like neighboring Dearborn. Click here to read more.

 

Obamacare Improper Enrollment Cost US Taxpayers $65,000,000,000 In Just One Year, New Report Reveals

Improper enrollment across Affordable Care Act exchanges cost American taxpayers billions of dollars in 2024, according to a Paragon Health Institute analysis released Wednesday.

Combining Paragon’s previous estimates of improper exchange enrollment and Medicaid expansion enrollment suggests that 14.3 million individuals enrolled in these programs in 2024, or 34% of total ACA enrollees, were actually ineligible, according to the report. The analysis also projects that improper enrollment across the two ACA programs cost the federal government approximately $65 billion in 2024. Click here to read more.

 

FBI raids three Metro Detroit addiction treatment centers, owner’s home

Three addiction treatment centers were raided by the FBI. Quality Behavioral Health treats people recovering from addiction, but Tuesday morning, three of its locations were the target of an FBI raid.

Video captured at the scene shows investigators banging down the door at the Quality Behavioral Health on East Grand Boulevard near Mack on Detroit’s east side. They also raided the Eastpointe location, and SkyFOX flew over the raid on their facility in Troy on Tuesday morning.

However, FOX 2 also learned the feds raided the home of the owner, Naveed Syed. His attorney spoke with us Wednesday.

“Literally a year ago, August 2025, my client was told by some patients that on the way in or out of one of the facilities, they were stopped by someone who identified themselves as a federal agent,” said Arthur Weiss. Click here to read more.