WEATHER ALERT
Amid worries that Democrats' blue wall may be cracking, governors hit the road for Kamala Harris
Read full article: Amid worries that Democrats' blue wall may be cracking, governors hit the road for Kamala HarrisThe Democratic governors of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin this week have embarked on a bus tour through their states to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid.
Haunted by 2016, some Michigan Democrats worry that Harris remains ill-defined in swing state
Read full article: Haunted by 2016, some Michigan Democrats worry that Harris remains ill-defined in swing stateSome Michigan Democrats are raising concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid in a crucial swing state.
Push to map Great Lakes bottom gains momentum amid promises effort will help fishing and shipping
Read full article: Push to map Great Lakes bottom gains momentum amid promises effort will help fishing and shippingWhat lies beneath the Great Lakes' waves is largely unknown, but there's a new push to learn more about thousands of shipwrecks, underwater infrastructure and the impacts of climate change on the bottom of the world's largest freshwater system.
Biden signs 'common sense' order prioritizing federal grants for projects with higher worker wages
Read full article: Biden signs 'common sense' order prioritizing federal grants for projects with higher worker wagesPresident Joe Biden signed an executive order for federal grants that would prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs.
Biden meets with friendly autoworkers in Michigan, but avoids angry Gaza protesters
Read full article: Biden meets with friendly autoworkers in Michigan, but avoids angry Gaza protestersPresident Joe Biden has chatted cheerfully with a friendly union crowd inside a United Auto Workers hall in Michigan.
The protests outside DNC headquarters signal the divides in Biden's base over Israel-Hamas war
Read full article: The protests outside DNC headquarters signal the divides in Biden's base over Israel-Hamas warNational Democrats this year have insisted the party is united and ready to rally around President Joe Biden heading into next year’s election.
Biden and House Democrats hope to make curbing 'junk fees' a winning issue in 2024
Read full article: Biden and House Democrats hope to make curbing 'junk fees' a winning issue in 2024The White House is taking on “junk fees,” those extra charges tacked on to plane tickets, hotel rooms, hospital bills and more.
Cha-ching! Biden embraces his election-year fundraising role
Read full article: Cha-ching! Biden embraces his election-year fundraising rolePresident Joe Biden is picking up the pace of his high-dollar fundraisers for Democratic candidates and party committees in the closing weeks before Election Day in November.
In outcome of Whitmer case, some see freedom, others danger
Read full article: In outcome of Whitmer case, some see freedom, others dangerThat a jury didn't convict any of the four men charged with planning to kidnap Michigan Gov_ Gretchen Whitmer is further evidence of the political polarization in the U_S_ A defense lawyer for one of the men says it shows freedom still exists, and that the men's actions were nothing more than “rough talk.”.
Pandemic relief money spent on hotel, ballpark, ski slopes
Read full article: Pandemic relief money spent on hotel, ballpark, ski slopesAn Associated Press review finds that state and local governments have spent nearly $1 billion worth of federal coronavirus aid on projects that have little to do with combating the pandemic.
Michigan office of US Rep. Dingell broken into, vandalized
Read full article: Michigan office of US Rep. Dingell broken into, vandalizedA suburban Detroit office of U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell has been broken into and ransacked, with memorabilia belonging to her late husband and longtime Congressman John Dingell damaged.
Biden defends departure from ‘forever war,’ praises airlift
Read full article: Biden defends departure from ‘forever war,’ praises airliftArmy Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, say it’s “possible” that the U.S. will have to coordinate with the Taliban on any future counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan against Islamic State militants or others.
Study: Half of US cosmetics contain toxic chemicals
Read full article: Study: Half of US cosmetics contain toxic chemicalsMore than half the cosmetics sold in the U.S. and Canada likely contain high levels of a toxic industrial compound linked to serious health conditions, including cancer and reduced birth weight.
COVID-19 law sparks dialogue on nursing home alternatives
Read full article: COVID-19 law sparks dialogue on nursing home alternativesNow, the COVID-19 relief bill is offering states a generous funding boost for home- and community-based care as an alternative to institutionalizing disabled people. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)WASHINGTON – With the memory of the pandemic's toll in nursing homes still raw, the COVID-19 relief law is offering states a generous funding boost for home- and community-based care as an alternative to institutionalizing disabled people. As it has grown to cover about 1 in 5 Americans, it's also become the nation's default long-term care program, although qualifying is often an arduous process. While the federal government requires state Medicaid programs to cover nursing home care for low-income people, that's not the case for home- and community-based support services. For now, states and advocates for the disabled are awaiting guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on how the money in the COVID-19 law can be spent.
Cheney says she won't quit the House after Wyoming censure
Read full article: Cheney says she won't quit the House after Wyoming censureFILE - In this March 6, 2019, file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. On Saturday, the Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to censure Cheney. Ad“We need to honor President Trump. About two-thirds of House Republicans voted to back Trump’s effort to overturn his November election loss — just hours after his supporters’ deadly siege of the Capitol.
Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virus
Read full article: Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virusScott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – This time the fury enveloping the U.S. Capitol comes not from an insurgent mob but from within. The anger on display is searing — Democrat against Republican; Republican against Republican; legislators of both parties against the catastrophic security failure that left top leaders of the government vulnerable to last week's violence as well as to the coronavirus in their ranks. Shaken members, long accustomed to protective bubbles, inquired whether they can expense their own bulletproof vests to taxpayers (yes they can). McCarthy had joined most House Republicans in December in supporting a lawsuit to block Biden’s election, and again last week in two votes against certifying Biden’s win. In their oath of office, lawmakers vow to defend the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virus
Read full article: Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virusScott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – This time the fury enveloping the Capitol comes not from an insurgent mob but from within. The anger on display is searing — Democrat against Republican; Republican against Republican; legislators of both parties against the catastrophic security failure that left top leaders of the government vulnerable to last week's violence as well as to the coronavirus in their ranks. Shaken members, long accustomed to protective bubbles, inquired whether they can expense their own bulletproof vests to taxpayers (yes they can). McCarthy had joined most House Republicans in December in supporting a lawsuit to block Biden’s election, and again last week in two votes against certifying Biden’s win. In their oath of office, lawmakers vow to defend the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Trump signs massive measure funding government, COVID relief
Read full article: Trump signs massive measure funding government, COVID reliefThe bill was passed with what lawmakers had thought was Trump's blessing, and after months of negotiations with his administration. It was unclear what, if anything, Trump accomplished with his delay, beyond angering all sides and empowering Democrats to continue their push for higher relief checks, which his own party opposes. In his statement, Trump repeated his frustrations with the COVID-19 relief bill for providing only $600 checks to most Americans instead of the $2,000 that his fellow Republicans already rejected. Lawmakers now have breathing room to continue debating whether the relief checks should be as large as the president has demanded. Aside from unemployment benefits and relief payments to families, money for vaccine distribution, businesses and more was on the line.
Unemployment benefits for millions in limbo as Trump rages
Read full article: Unemployment benefits for millions in limbo as Trump ragesUnemployment benefits for millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet were set to lapse at midnight Saturday night unless Trump signed an end-of-year COVID relief and spending bill that had been considered a done deal before his sudden objections. Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, has calculated that 11 million people would lose aid from the programs immediately without additional relief; millions more would exhaust other unemployment benefits within weeks. He said he will be left with no income by the second week of January if Trump fails to sign the bill. McCarthy said he already burned through much of his savings as he waited five months to begin receiving his unemployment benefits. She is receiving about $125 a week under the pandemic unemployment program and says she will be unable to pay her bills in about a month.
GOP blocks $2,000 checks as Trump leaves COVID aid in chaos
Read full article: GOP blocks $2,000 checks as Trump leaves COVID aid in chaosThe congressional Republican leaders have been left almost speechless by Trump’s year-end scorching of their work. Instead, Washington is now hurtling toward a crisis with COVID aid about to collapse, as the president is at his Mar-a-Lago club. Many have opposed larger $2,000 checks as too costly and poorly targeted. Even if the House is able to approve Trump's $2,000 checks on Monday, that measure would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate, which is due back in session on Tuesday. The year-end package Trump railed against as a “disgrace” is the product of months of work.
Automakers prep for stronger mileage standards under Biden
Read full article: Automakers prep for stronger mileage standards under BidenBiden likely will make the standards stricter than Trump but not as strict as Obama and automakers will have to sell more battery-powered vehicles to meet those standards. At present, there are about 20 fully electric vehicles on sale in the U.S. with dozens more on the way. This year, the consulting firm LMC Automotive expects U.S. consumers to buy around 218,000 fully electric vehicles — about 1.5% of new vehicles sold. It's likely that negotiations between automakers, environmental groups, California and the Biden administration will produce some sort of compromise between Trump's rolled-back standards and Obama's stricter requirements. A spokesman for the Biden administration didn't return messages left seeking comment.
14 hours later, Trump says he is 'saddened' by Lewis' death
Read full article: 14 hours later, Trump says he is 'saddened' by Lewis' deathShortly after 2 p.m., as Trump was returning from his golf outing and more than 14 hours after Lewis' death was announced he offered his and the first ladys condolences in a two-sentence Twitter message. Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. In December of that year, Lewis refused to speak at the opening of Mississippi civil rights and history museums because Trump would be there. The White House also issued a proclamation from the president ordering the lowering of U.S. flags at federal buildings for Lewis' death. The administration lowered the American flag over the White House to half-staff, but then raised it again two days later.
Democrats warn against overconfidence in fight against Trump
Read full article: Democrats warn against overconfidence in fight against TrumpBiden and his leading supporters are stepping up warnings to Democrats to avoid becoming complacent. If the election were held today, I think Biden would win Michigan, said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. Four years ago, Hillary Clinton was leading by wide margins nationally and in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania -- the very states that ultimately put Trump over the top. Still, in Biden, Trump faces an opponent with a stronger standing among some groups of voters, especially independents, than Clinton had. While Trump animates the left, Dingell warned that Democrats havent closed the deal with alienated moderates and can unwittingly help Trump expand his white base.