Michigan medical school suggests using tickborne disease to curb meat eating
A recent study from a medical school affiliated with Western Michigan University promotes spreading a tickborne disease to curb meat eating, a stance that has prompted calls for an end to taxpayer funding for the school.
The WMU Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine received $600,000 in state grants in 2020 and 2025, according to a Michigan Strategic Fund report. The school also received more than $10 million in federal grants from fiscal year 2020 through 2026, according to USA Spending.
But the school is under fire over the 2025 study in the journal “Bioethics” encouraging proliferation of ticks that carry Alpha-gal syndrome, which has the potential to make people allergic to red meat. Click here to read more.
Michigan taxpayers are funding the push for higher taxes
When you paid your taxes last month, perhaps you grumbled about the amount. Did you know your tax dollars are used to call for higher taxes?
Local governments use public funds to argue for tax hikes. School districts blanket communities with information about the benefits of millages and other tax measures. Taxpayer-funded bureaucracies hold public town halls and plaster social media with demands for more of your money. Superintendents warn about the dire consequences if the measure fails.
Strictly speaking, Michigan law prohibits using public funds or property for electioneering. Public bodies are free, however, to share factual information. School districts can explain how much money a bond proposal would raise and what projects it would fund. If they stop short of telling people to vote “yes,” they avoid violating the law. Click here to read more.
Mamdani’s thermostat moment draws conservative backlash, flashbacks of Carter’s ‘sweater speech’
ew York democratic-socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdi’s suggestion that city residents turn up their thermostats to 78 degrees during the heatwave this July 4 holiday weekend to help conserve energy has drawn sharp criticism from essentially every corner of the conservative movement – with some members even going so far as to compare the mayor’s comment to Democrat President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 “sweater speech.”
“New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool,” Mamdani wrote Wednesday on the social platform X. “Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can.”
He also wrote: “A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let’s ease demand – and get through the heat – together.” Click here to read more.
Bee-wildering scene: Millions of honeybees swarm Texas neighborhood after crash
ORANGE COUNTY, Texas (TNND) — Millions of honeybees got loose in a Texas neighborhood Sunday morning after an 18-wheeler carrying hundreds of beehives overturned, according to officials.
Orange County Emergency Services urged residents to stay indoors because of a “heavy presence of bees in the area.” By Sunday afternoon, crews were still working to safely transfer the hives onto transport trucks before moving them to a local honey farm.
Local beekeepers and volunteers also pitched in to help recover the bees. Christie Ray, owner of Queen Bee Supply, shared photos and videos of the effort on Facebook.
“Not something you ever want to see, but so nice to see beekeepers helping beekeepers,” Ray wrote. “From commercial outfits to backyard beekeepers, grateful for everyone that came out and helped!” Click here to read more.
Michigan House passes $75B state budget overnight with no new tax increases
LANSING, Mich. Lawmakers in Lansing have passed a $75 billion state budget with no new tax increases for the fiscal year after an overnight session.
The newly passed budget, estimated to be $10 billion less than last year’s, expands investments in places like education, roads and infrastructure, Medicaid, mental health and public safety, while reducing unnecessary spending, according to House Republicans.
“We didn’t come to Lansing to rubber stamp another spending binge,” said State Rep. Matt Maddock. “We came here to protect taxpayers, expose waste, and hold government accountable. This budget reflects that fight from beginning to end.”
Lawmakers say the budget prevents around $800 million in tax increases while also protecting the state’s ‘Rainy Day’ fund. Click here to read more.
