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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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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.
