Party on the Peninsulas

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This Week…

MDP Chair, Local Electeds Slam Rep. Huizenga’s Long History of Self-Dealing
Michigan Democratic Party

Republican enthusiasm problem hits even core voters
The Washington Post

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Canvassers OK signatures of campaign to ban corporate political spending | Detroit Free Press
• Two Groups With Consumers Energy Ties Target Carra In HD 36 | MIRS News
• Michigan Democratic Primary Survey Report | DocumentCloud
• Lee Chatfield, ex-House speaker, accused of ‘extravagant partying’ | Detroit News
• Michigan bars big investors from buying more homes. Will it work? | Bridge Michigan
• Opinion: Canadian wildfire smoke in Michigan has real causes, John James | Detroit Free Press

Attacking the Constitution & Elections

• Democrats Prepare for Possible Election Clashes With Federal Government | The New York Times
• Trump administration drive to seize election powers sparking ‘chaos’ despite pushback | The Guardian
• Appeals court rejects Trump bid to curb mail-in voting in 23 states | The Guardian
• The noncitizen voter mystery: New Trump numbers raise more questions than answers | Votebeat
• Bombshell Report Reveals Trump’s Sneaky Election Trick | Daily Beast
• Justice Department will drop New York Times subpoenas over Air Force One story | The Hill

The Economy

• The bill comes due on Trump’s campaign promises about slashing energy prices ‘by half’ | Maddow Blog
• Taxpayers spend about $2 billion annually on Medicaid for Amazon and Walmart employees

The Trump Administration

• Democrats say Social Security chief misled recipients about Trump law | AP News
• The Reality TV Administration – Susan J. Demas
• White House admits it scrapped grants to blue states because they didn’t vote for Trump | Maddow Blog
• Trump orders warning signs near Smithsonian, escalating fight over history – The Washington Post

Grifters and Thieves

• Donald Trump Jr.’s Investment Firm Posts Staggering Returns of 200 Percent | The New York Times
• How Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital Is Cashing In Without Apology | The New York Times
• BBC to access Trump’s financial records as his dubious lawsuit starts to backfire | Maddow Blog
• PAC paid Donald Trump ally with cash from business tied to fraud case | Detroit News

Across the Nation

• July 2026 National Poll: Democrats with 11-Point Generic Ballot Advantage | Emerson Polling
• Trump gutted the agency built to stop election interference | MS NOW
• Taylor Farms Spent Big on MAGA and Anti-Regulatory Lobbying Before Diarrhea Outbreak | WIRED
• Justice Department will drop New York Times subpoenas over Air Force One story | The Hill
• The Heritage Foundation Only Wanted to Protect Women’s Sports When It Was About Trans Athletes | Mother Jones

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This Week…

Trump Administration Cuts Make Elections More Vulnerable to Foreign Influence and Disinformation
Brennan Center for Justice

Trump says 278,000 noncitizens are on voting rolls.
Experts say that’s wrong
The Washington Post

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Gordie Howe bridge event canceled amid U.S.-Canadian trade tensions | Detroit News
• Trump imposes 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, cites ‘retaliation’ | Detroit News
• Opinion | U.S. and Canada need a bridge over troubled waters – The Washington Post
• America’s Top States for Business (Michigan #6) | CNBC
• Ohio is a poor state, so is Indiana | Michigan Future Inc.
• SpaceX Is John James’ Hot New Stock Pick | NOTUS — News of the United States
• Mike Cox drops out of Michigan governor race, endorses John James | Bridge Michigan
• Progressives test their momentum in mid-Michigan U.S. House primary | Detroit News
• Trump regulator orders Kalshi to defy Michigan court – escalating battle over prediction markets | CNN Politics
• Plan to ban utility political donations has enough signatures, bureau says | Detroit News
• Slotkin Introduces MERIT Act to Require National Security Experience for Intelligence Leadership | Senator Elissa Slotkin
• Power outage frustration in Michigan leads to utility investigation | Detroit Free Press
• Jocelyn Benson: ‘None of my family is profiting from data centers’ | Bridge Michigan
• Peters challenges Hegseth protests over Iran war, which he estimates cost $37.5B | AP News
• Consumers Energy-tied groups target state House, data center critic with $278-million assault | Detroit News
• AI Impact on Fossil Fuels and Water Resources in Indiana | Circle of Blue
• Detroit News/WDIV poll of Michigan Democratic primary voters

Attacking the Constitution & Elections

• DHS secretary doubles down on Trump’s baseless 2020 election claims | The Guardian
• Trump speech on election integrity revives claims about 2020 election fraud and Chinese interference | Votebeat
• Trump cites 2020 Muskegon county case involving fake voter applications during primetime address | FOX 2 Detroit
• Muskegon fake voter applications probed in 2020, referred to FBI, Nessel says | Bridge Michigan
• Live fact-check: President Donald Trump’s expected address on election security | PolitiFact

The Economy

• Iran war has already cost households in Michigan $502 in higher gas prices | The Michigan Independent
• Americans Have Now Paid $56.4 Billion More for Gas Since Start of Iran War | United States Joint Economic Committee
• Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate hits a near-year high, squeezing homebuyers | AP News

Climate Change

• Clean energy still beats fossil fuels on cost,… | Canary Media
• The Pentagon is blocking more than 150 wind projects over drone fears | Grist
• Majority of US voters link extreme weather to climate crisis, study finds | The Guardian

The Trump Administration

• How Donald Trump Created the Worst Diarrhea Outbreak This Century | The American Prospect
• Can We Lose the Same War Twice? With Trump, Anything’s Possible | The New Republic
• Intel Officials Predict the Pentagon’s Bill for the Iran War Will Exceed $100 Billion | WIRED
• The Justice Department Is Pulling Back on Prosecuting Corporate Crime | Wall Street Journal
• Reflecting Pool peeling probably caused by application flaws, experts say | Washington Post
• FBI Evidence Team Visits Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool | The New York Times
• A Deloitte-Run System Denied Medicaid Benefits for Michigan’s Disabled. Now Trump’s Law Piles On | KFF Health News
• The Crisis of Care Work | The American Prospect

Grifters and Thieves

• Paying for early access to Trump’s Truth Social could raise big money and major ethical issues | AP News

Across the Nation

• New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons ruled unconstitutional by appeals court | AP News
• Elon Musk donates $5M to Super PAC backing Vivek Ramaswamy | Cincinnati Enquirer

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This Week…

What Michigan’s 2026 candidates revealed during a week of debates | Detroit Free Press

Bipartisan Housing Bill Becomes Law Even Though Trump Refuses to Sign It | The New York Times

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Whitmer vetoes 9 bills at center of Michigan Legislature spat | Detroit Free Press
• Michigan lawmakers propose crackdown on loud cars, modified exhaust | Detroit Free Press
• How to spoil an absentee ballot in Michigan | Detroit Free Press
• Pete Hoekstra says it’s a ‘myth’ Canada paid for Gordie Howe bridge | Detroit Free Press
• DOJ to Jocelyn Benson: Officials could be prosecuted over noncitizen voters | Bridge Michigan
• DOJ Monitors Appear to Be Latest Attempt to Undermine MI Elections | Promote the Vote
• John James, Perry Johnson, Mike Cox debate for Michigan governor nod | Detroit Free Press
• Mike Cox calls John James ‘hypocrite’ for business dealings with China | Detroit News
• Fact check: GOP rivals attack John James in gubernatorial debate | Bridge Michigan
• Michigan Dem Senate Poll July 6-7
• El-Sayed, Stevens trade pointed barbs in Democratic U.S. Senate debate | Detroit Free Press
• Fact-checking Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens in MI Democratic Senate primary debate | Politifact
• Key Michigan lawmaker calls for hearings on DTE power outages | Detroit News
• The Democratic Party Elizabeth Warren Wanted Doesn’t Exist | Lincoln Square
• Slotkin, Ossoff Demand Answers After Hegseth Denied Military Officers’ Promotions for Political Reasons | Senator Slotkin

The Economy

• Half of Americans struggle to afford groceries and gas, exclusive poll finds | The Guardian
• New 50-state data shows steep drops in Affordable Care Act enrollment | AP News
• New Medicaid Work Rule Means More Opportunities To Lose Coverage | KFF Health News
• Sturgis closure may be ‘first of more’ for Michigan rural hospitals | Bridge Michigan
• Here’s why the new Trump accounts won’t make your children rich | The Washington Post
• How Trump and His Congressional Allies Drove Up Gas Prices and Cost Families At Least $2,000 | Center for American Progress Action
• Trump promised to cut electric bills in half. His energy policy is doing the opposite, new analysis finds | CNN

Climate Change

• ‘Why take those jobs away?’: the unionized workers decrying Trump’s war on wind | The Guardian
• ‘Super’ El Niño could cause global food price shock lasting into 2028, analysts say | The Guardian
• The Pacific Ocean is running a fever. Why that’s an ominous sign. | The Washington Post
• Renewable energy supporters want clean energy to power data sources | AP News
• ‘He’s forcing higher bills’: Trump spends billions to kill clean energy and keep coal alive | The Guardian
• The Heat Is On: the cost of climate change is getting serious| Paul Krugman
• A ballooning problem: Weather warnings face rising risks from budget cuts – POLITICO

The Trump Administration

• SATIRE: Communism According to Republicans | Carlos Greaves/The Borowitz Report
• Trump approval rates fall among rural, White working-class voters | USA Today
• Opinion: Trump is trying to start a new Red Scare | Michael Steele/MS NOW
• Trump’s red-baiting won’t work. He’s campaigning on an even dumber version of McCarthyism.. | Public Notice Substack
• Democrat reveals whistleblower allegations of Kennedy Center construction woes | AP News
• Crews are again draining Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool | AP News
• Smithsonian head disputes White House report in memo to staff | The Washington Post
• Officials say Trump switched out new Air Force One over security concerns | MS NOW
• Trump Media and Technology Group Loses $3.8B Washington Post Defamation Battle With Blunt Ruling | Daily Beast
• Scientists warn Trump’s OMB rule could upend how science is funded | The Washington Post

Grifters and Thieves

• Democrats Are Seizing on Trump’s Soaring Wealth as a Campaign Opportunity | Wall Street Journal
• Ken Paxton’s Voter Registration May Violate Texas Election Law, Experts Say | ProPublica
• Ty Cobb warns of election interference after Donald Trump fires Dems on election board | The Hill
• Trump rips Maggie Haberman, says she’ll ‘pay the price’ over health reporting | The Hill
• Investigators Find Corey Lewandowski May Have Been Involved in Improper DHS Contracts | Wall Street Journal
• Despite his alleged ‘war on fraud,’ Trump keeps pardoning convicted fraudsters | Maddow Blog
• Pump and Dump and Trump | Paul Krugman Substack
• Crews are again draining Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool | AP News

Attacking the Constitution & Elections

• Trump election task force to begin releasing classified intel documents | MS NOW
• White House Directed Patel to Oversee Investigation Involving Times Reporting | The New York Times
• U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s campaign has barred certain outlets from covering his events, myself included for @TheAssemblyNC | via X
• Trump Targets Not Just Georgia’s Vote, but Also Trust in Elections | The New York Times
• Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media | The New York Times
• Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’ | The Guardian
• Indiana Lt. Gov. wants Indiana to ban Muslim call to prayer | IndyStar.com

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This Week…

Kleptocracy Is Trump’s Most Lucrative Business Venture
The New Republic

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Michigan lawmakers pass $84B budget, 67 bills in marathon session | Bridge Michigan
• There Are Very Few Socialists in America | Paul Krugman Substack
• How the Tide Turned Against Transgender Athletes—and the Movement | Wall Street Journal
• Voters Support a Data Center Moratorium | Data for Progress

The Economy

• June Jobs Report: Hiring Misses Expectations, Just 57,000 Jobs Added | Business Insider
• How Trump Helped China Make America’s Cheapest EV | WIRED

The Trump Administration

• Trump hijacked US’s 250 anniversary to serve ‘political ideology and pet projects’, congressional report says | The Guardian
• How Trump Lied to People Trying to Donate to America250 | The New Republic
• FBI directing hundreds of analysts to dig into Georgia election probe subjects, sources say | MS NOW
• Trump wants 47 trees to mark his 47th presidency in White House park | The Washington Post

Grifters and Thieves

• Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit. | The New York Times
• Trump is rearming America. His sons are invested in the companies selling it weapons. | MS NOW
• Trump ballroom built under a secret $500M no-bid contract | The Washington Post
• Nearly a Million Investors Lost a Total of $3.8 Billion on Trump Crypto Coin | The New York Times
• Crypto Brought Trump a Huge Windfall, Even as Many Investors Lost Big | The New York Times
• “Pump and dump”: How Trump made $636 million — and left his supporters holding the bag | Judd Legum/Popular Information Substack
• How Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Sparked a Movement to Overthrow the Government of Albania \ Mother Jones
• A Trump-linked firm is lobbying for pardons. Its first client already paid $500,000 | CBS News

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This Week…

Michigan lawmakers propose data center guardrails
Detroit Free Press

Voters Support a Data Center Moratorium
Data for Progress

Data Center Database
The ‘Gander

New Independent Analysis Outlines Roadmap for Responsible Data Center Development in Michigan
Detroit Regional Chamber

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Mike Rogers tries to rewrite Michigan’s autoworker history with false claim | Detroit Metro Times
• 65 Michigan School Districts to Receive Solar Power as MISEC Genesee Solar Goes Live | NorthStar Clean Energy
• AG Nessel Secures Order Temporarily Halting Unlawful Kalshi Michigan Operations | Attorney General Nessel
• AG Nessel Secures More Than $3.4 Billion for Michiganders Against Unlawful Federal Actions | Attorney General Nessel
• Supreme Court transgender athlete ruling ‘doesn’t change anything’ for Michigan high school sports rules | mlive.com
• Ad targeting U.S. House hopeful prompts debate over reach of Michigan AI law | Detroit News
• Trump Administration sues Michigan requesting state turn over SNAP applicant data | wzzm13.com
• Michigan can keep a lid on personal voter information, court says | AP News
• Statement on U.S. Supreme Court decision on mail-in ballots | Sec. of State Benson
• Michigan Court of Appeals reverses absentee ballot stub ruling | Detroit Free Press
• Opinion: In Michigan, the Most Moderate Candidate May Not Be the Most Electable | The New York Times
• Michigan agency rejects Republican lawmaker’s daycare fraud claims as ‘false’ | FOX 2 Detroit
• Michigan retailers, Southwest MI chamber join growing coalition to warn of Con-Con risks | Protect MI Constitution from Special Interests
• After Rx Kids started in Flint, newborn deaths fell 50%, study finds | Detroit Free Press
• Lobbyist out of a job after criticizing Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall | Detroit News

The Economy

• As health care costs rise, could Michigan offer its own insurance? | Bridge Michigan
• Millions of Americans Drop Obamacare Plans After Withdrawal of Subsidies | Wall Street Journal

The Trump Administration

Trump’s Empty ‘Great State Fair’ Exposed in Damning Photos | Daily Beast

• Trump’s anti-voting bill is far more radical than just a ‘voter ID’ proposal | Maddow Blog
• OPINION: Trump’s Senate Hostages Bite Back | Rick Wilson/Lincoln Square
• There’s One Big Problem With Trump’s Victory Lap on the Drop in Crime | The New Republic
• With time running out, Trump digs in on changing midterm election rules | The Washington Post
• Trump wants 47 trees to mark his 47th presidency in White House park | The Washington Post
• Supreme Court rejects Trump push to toss $5M E. Jean Carroll verdict | AP News
• White House Secretly Swayed Board Meant to Protect Federal Workers From Unfair Firings | The New York Times
• DHS chief acknowledges missteps in $1 billion warehouse purchases | The Washington Post
• Vance dismisses Watergate scandal, says ‘deep state’ went after Nixon | The Washington Post

Grifters and Thieves

• Trump earned over $1 billion on cryptocurrency and coin ventures last year | The Washington Post
• Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit. | The New York Times
• A Trump-linked firm is lobbying for pardons. Its first client already paid $500,000 | CBS News
• Trump adds White House helipad to resolve Marine One helicopter issue | The Washington Post
• Trump ballroom built under a secret $500M no-bid contract | The Washington Post
• ‘Rush Project at Request of POTUS’: Trump Is Draining the National Parks to Pay for His Projects | The Atlantic

• Greenwater Services, the Company Cleaning Up the Reflecting Pool, Says It Has ‘Nothing to Hide’ | Wall Street Journal
• How the Reflecting Pool Turned Green: Missing ‘Bubblers’ and a Rush Job – The New York Times
• What to Know About Problems at the Reflecting Pool and Trump’s Claims of Vandalism – The New York Times
• How Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Sparked a Movement to Overthrow the Government of Albania \ Mother Jones

Across the Nation

• Obama Says He Occupies a ‘Suite’ in Trump’s Head | The New York Times
• Bible stories are approved as required reading in Texas public schools | AP News
• Supreme Court Lifts Spending Limits on Political Parties and Candidates | The New York Times
• Supreme Court blocks Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook’s firing | The Hill
• Supreme Court rejects Trump’s challenge to counting late mail-in ballots | POLITICO
• Opinion: The anti-abortion movement’s growing support for throwing women in jail | MS NOW
• KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Update on Common Vaccine Myths | KFF
• The Extremely Online Senate Race Testing Democrats’ Midterm Strategy – POLITICO
• Rokita orders Indiana town to stop its ‘sabotage’ of ICE deals | IndyStar.com

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This Week…

Senate Democrats Take Steps to Protect Michigan Voters, Pass Michigan Voting Rights Act

Senate Democrats Continue Affordability Push With Bills to
Crack Down on Price Gouging

Star-studded opening for Obama library in Chicago delivers implied rebuke to Trump
The Guardian

Obama opens his center with a warning about America’s future
POLITICO

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Slotkin Leads Purple State Senators on Bill to Stop Trump from Using Military or Federal Law Enforcement to Interfere with Elections | Senator Slotkin
• Michigan election critics push for investigations ahead of 2026 voted | Detroit News
• Michigan Democrats Allege ‘Dark Money’ Group Violated TV Ad Rules | NOTUS — News of the United States
• Dana Nessel: ICE to offload Romulus warehouse eyed as future detention center | Bridge Michigan
• Ex-House Speaker’s Wife Admits To Embezzling From Political Fund | MIRS News
• House Speaker Matt Hall, ex-Gov. Rick Snyder at odds over Gordie Howe bridge | Detroit News
• Michigan Senate Democrats push for stricter data center energy, worker rules | Bridge Michigan
• DeSana Calls Fellow House Republicans ‘Scumbags,’ ‘Swamp Rats’ In Leaked Recording | MIRS News
• Mike Rogers’ cyber fortune could haunt his Senate campaign | Detroit Metro Times
• Mike Rogers falls for AI hoax after mocking tech fears | Heartland Signal
• Don’t have a retirement plan? Michigan Senate bills could change that | Bridge Michigan
• ‘No’ to a Constitutional Convention keeps special interests from taking our freedoms, rights | Mark Fisk @ Michigan Advance

The Economy

• Prices for gas, groceries and flights likely won’t drop quickly even when the Iran war ends | AP News
• Sturgis Hospital Closure | Sturgis Hospital
• More Than 770,000 Children Are No Longer Receiving SNAP Benefits | ProPublica
• Donald Trump, “Champion” of Renewable Energy | Paul Krugman substack

The Trump Administration

• Staggering amounts of fentanyl hit streets as the DEA watched and took no action, records show | AP News
• Team Trump keeps using tax dollars to scuttle renewable energy projects | Maddow Blog
• Trump Is Defying Congress on Foreign Aid | ProPublica
• ‘A Literal Coverup’: What Is the Kennedy Center Hiding Behind Those Tarps? | The New York Times
• Trump reviews slowed screwworm response, former officials say | POLITICO
• Mullin’s new controversy adds to the list of troubles for the White House Cabinet | MS NOW

Grifters and Thieves

• Trump Declares There Are “No Limits” to His Power | The New Republic
• Trump’s Crony Canadian Bridgegate | Wall Street Journal
• Trump EPA Methane Rule Rollback to Benefit Billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand | ProPublica
• How Kratom, an Addictive Gas Station Drug, Found Allies in Trump’s Cabinet | The New York Times
• Trump budget office shifted $352M to White House security amid ballroom construction | The Washington Post
• Senators Warn Trump Is Redirecting Millions to White House Ballroom | The New Republic
• Tracking Trump’s White House ballroom promises on taxpayer costs and more | Washington Post
• The White House Cage Fight Was Spectacular—And Spectacularly Corrupt | Mother Jones
• Even Kash Patel Seems to Have His Own Secret Personal Slush Fund | The New Republic
• Trump promised clear water. The reflecting pool went green. | POLITICO
• Trump’s Family Crypto Firm Is Expected to Get Federal Banking Privileges | NOTUS — News of the United States
• Olympic organizers working with White House on Trump golf tournament | POLITICO
• Is Trump Selling Himself Back His D.C. Hotel? | The New Republic

Across the Nation

• Michigan researchers, boaters count on NOAA data. Trump wants to cut $1.3B | Bridge Michigan
• Experts alarmed as Trump launches broad-front attack on US voting rights | The Guardian
• Georgia Republican leaders nix redistricting plans amid pushback | Atlanta Journal Constitution
• Illegal immigration did not cause a spike in car insurance premiums | AP News
• Americans see key freedoms under threat, new poll finds | AP News
• Private school choice vouchers leave behind many kids in public school | AP News
• Trump is fighting the green energy revolution. He’ll lose. | Public Notice substack
• AI Deepfakes Are Getting Weirder and Harder to Spot in the Midterms | Wall Street Journal

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This Week…

Consumers Energy to seek $456M electric rate hike
Detroit Free Press

Michigan House Democrats new legislation aimed at
utility affordability and ratepayer protection

• Price Hike Mike website turns Rogers’ own words against him
  Detroit Metro Times

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Comment Ascribed To Whitmer In Viral Data Center Video Disputed | MIRS News
• PriceHikeMike | Michigan Democratic Party
• As energy prices rise, Senate candidates clash over clean power future | Bridge Michigan
• Canada Built a New Bridge From Ontario to Detroit. Trump Refuses to Open It. | The American Prospect
• House Speaker Matt Hall threatens budget stall over impasse with Senate Dems | Bridge Michigan
• Republicans Block Slotkin Amendments to Protect Elections from Illegal Military Interference – Senator Elissa Slotkin
• Michigan lawmakers seek to stop plan to turn warehouse into ICE detention center | mlive.com
• Michigan suspends Antrim County clerk’s voter roll privileges | Votebeat
• Peters for (at least) interim MSU president makes sense  | Kyle Melinn – Lansing City Pulse
• Gary Peters for president of Michigan State? Here’s what he’s saying | Detroit News
• Sen. Sam Singh proposes new plan for overhauling university boards | Detroit News
• Rx Kids fact check: No tax money for undocumented moms, no spending limits | Bridge Michigan

The Economy

• Risk alert: Costs of delaying opening of Gordie Howe Bridge; Auto Industry effects | Anderson Economic Group, LLC
• Federal Pause Of Renewable Energy Grants Could ‘Financially Ruin’ MI Farmers | MIRS News
• Inflation Heated Up to 4.2% in May, as Energy Costs Continued to Bite | Wall Street Journal
• Global economic implications of the 2026 Middle East war | Peterson Institution for International Economics
• Opinion | Trump’s coal initiative smacks of central planning | The Washington Post
• Michigan Medicaid rolls drop 5%, prompting fears of surge in uninsured | Bridge Michigan

The Trump Administration

• Inside Trump’s White House, the Epstein Files Caused a Freakout | The New York Times
• Trump Lie: “I didn’t guarantee no war.” | The Bulwark
• Trump Wins Fight to Blow $125 Million on ‘Dumbest Thing Ever’ | Daily Beast
• Trump library says no Twitter DMs can be found, despite evidence he sent them | The Washington Post

Grifters and Thieves

• Republicans keep making it easier for Democrats to run against corruption | Maddow Blog

Donald Trump Slaps a UFC Makeover on
His Latest Grift | Daily Beast

• Rubio Signs New Deal With UFC Ensuring Trump Gets Even Richer | The New Republic
• Trump’s White House UFC fight requires $60M and 7 federal agencies | AP News
• Trump Is Plundering National Parks to Pay for His Vanity Projects | The New Republic
• Trump Bought Tobacco Stocks and Raked In Industry Donations as FDA Eased Standards – KFF Health News
• Progressive Champions PAC is a GOP front | Judd Legum/Popular Information Substack
• Pro-Trump lawyers face misconduct proceedings in Michigan | Detroit News
• Ambani Family Secured Trump Policy Wins While Backing Firm Linked to Donald Trump Jr. | ProPublica
• Trump pardons former congressman convicted of insider trading | AP News
• Spike in border wall spending goes mostly to 2 firms with GOP, White House ties | The Washington Post
• Trump’s Ballroom Donors Are Already Cashing In | The New Republic
• Bessent won’t say if Trump remains exempt from IRS audits | AP News
• Kushner’s Albanian resort faces corruption probe, mass protests | Judd Legum/Popular Information Substack

Attacking Fair & Free Elections

• Republicans Block Slotkin Amendments to Protect Elections from Illegal Military Interference – Senator Elissa Slotkin
• USPS eyes new rule that would block ballots in states that balk at Trump’s demands | Maddow Blog
• U.S. attorney’s office in California announces probe into elections | The Washington Post
• Experts warn Trump ‘inventing fraud’ in California as president ramps up baseless claims | The Guardian
• Opinion: Trump’s claim of election fraud in California doesn’t even make sense – MS NOW
• Trump administration’s investigations into 2020 voter fraud may be more about the 2026 election | Votebeat
• Trump’s moves to erect voting hurdles face race against the clock | Votebeat
• USPS eyes new rule that would block ballots in states that balk at Trump’s demands | Maddow Blog
• Republican Senators Are Helping Trump Steal Elections | The New Republic
• FBI raids, questions employees of Ohio Organizing Collaborative voting | cleveland.com

Across the Nation

• Solar generates more energy in US than coal for first time | The Guardian
• U.S. Poised to Lose Measles Elimination Status as Utah Outbreak Nears One-Year Mark | Wall Street Journal

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This Week…

Trump Announces $700 Million Taxpayer Dollars for
Coal Slush Fund | Public Citizen

Opinion: Trump’s coal initiative smacks of central planning The Washington Post

Federal Pause Of Renewable Energy Grants Could ‘Financially Ruin’ MI Farmers
MIRS News

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• Attorney General Memorandum: Election Statutes, Enforcement
• Trump administration investigating potential noncitizen voters in Macomb County | Votebeat
• Rx Kids fact check: No tax money for undocumented moms, no spending limits | Bridge Michigan
• Consumers Energy to seek $456M electric rate hike | Detroit Free Press
• Sen. Sam Singh proposes new plan for overhauling university boards | Detroit News
• Debbie Stabenow not interested in being MSU’s interim president | Detroit News
• Could Whitmer Change Her Mind On MSU Prez Job? | MIRS News
• You can’t handle a little critique? You’re not the leader MSU needs | Kyle Melinn/Lansing City Pulse
• State legislators push back against sanctions on MSU trustees | Lansing State Journal
• Rx Kids faces scrutiny from GOP lawmakers as study shows health gains | Detroit Free Press
• As energy prices rise, Senate candidates clash over clean power future | Bridge Michigan
• Michigan Senate Poll | Lake Research Partners
• Abdul El-Sayed nabs UAW endorsement in U.S. Senate race | Detroit Free Press
• Mallory McMorrow backs Supreme Court age limits, corporate PAC spending ban | Bridge Michigan

The Economy

• Michigan Medicaid rolls drop 5%, prompting fears of surge in uninsured | Bridge Michigan
• WMU offers voluntary separation program to senior faculty amid budget concerns | WWMT News Channel 3

The Trump Administration

• How Trump has used the presidency to benefit himself and allies | AP News
• Grading Trump’s cognitive test claim | Politifact

• Trump Is Plundering National Parks to Pay for His Vanity Projects | The New Republic
• Trump’s Disastrous Freedom 250 Concert Organizers Get Mystery Millions | Daily Beast
• America’s Bipartisan Birthday Commission Is Losing to Trump | NOTUS — News of the United States
• Kushner’s Albanian resort faces corruption probe, mass protests | Judd Legum/Popular Information Substack
• Trump Wins Fight to Blow $125 Million on ‘Dumbest Thing Ever’ | Daily Beast
• U.S. attorney’s office in California announces probe into elections | The Washington Post
• Park Service orders removal of ‘woke’ quotes at Boston’s Bunker Hill monument | The Washington Post
• Trump library says no Twitter DMs can be found, despite evidence he sent them | The Washington Post

Grifters and Thieves

• Bessent won’t say if Trump remains exempt from IRS audits | AP News
• Trump’s Ballroom Donors Are Already Cashing In | The New Republic
• Spike in border wall spending goes mostly to 2 firms with GOP, White House ties | The Washington Post
• Trump pardons former congressman convicted of insider trading | AP News

Across the Nation

• The Supreme Court Is Showing Its Boundless Contempt for Black Voters | The New Republic

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This Week…

Gov. Whitmer Delivers Final Keynote Address at
Mackinac Policy Conference on Collaboration and Choosing Michigan
Executive Office of the Governor

Mackinac Policy Conference updates: Michigan universities, Chinese cars
Detroit News

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• No Duggan = Gov. Benson in partisan repeat | Kyle Melinn/Lansing City Pulse
• Mike Rogers Said He Loved DOGE After Michigan Families Were Hurt By Funding Cuts | MeidasTouch
• Matt Hall Wants to Tax Your Weekend | Michigan Democratic Party
• Judge orders former GOP legislative aide to stand trial in Michigan earmark embezzlement case | Bridge Michigan
• Rep. Barrett claimed enough campaign driving to circle Earth once — and then some | Detroit Metro Times
• Bid to reshape how cash flows in Michigan politics submits petitions | Detroit News
• Michigan regional unemployment rates decrease during April | Michigan Dept. of Technology, Management and Budget
• Opinion: Rick Snyder’s Flint water crisis legacy isn’t a ‘witch hunt’ | Nancy Kaffer/Detroit Free Press
• Michigan lawmakers propose letting voters decide on AG, SOS candidates | Detroit Free Press
• Kevin Guskiewicz’s exit a blow to MSU, which loses momentum and more | Lansing State Journal
• MSU sanctions 2 trustees who refused to sign controversial board rules
• Why Michigan is emerging as one of America’s worst-hit climate states | The Guardian
• Money Out of Politics group ‘confident’ proposal will make Michigan ballot | Bridge Michigan

The Economy

• Inflation breakdown for April 2026 — in one chart | CNBC
• The Midwestern Exodus Is Finally Ending – | Wall Street Journal
• Why Michigan Cherry Farms Are Up for Sale | Realtor.com
• SNAP Cuts Threaten to Cut Young Adults Off at the Knees | The New Republic
• Eroding ACA Enrollment Portends Higher Insurance Rates – KFF Health News

The Trump Administration

• Trump’s “Deal” Looks a Lot Like … the One Obama Struck 11 Years Ago | The New Republic
• Humiliating Reality of Trump’s Giant Peace Grift Exposed | The Daily Beast
• USPS mail ballot proposal could add new hurdles for voters and election officials | Votebeat
• Judge refuses to block Trump executive order that limits mail voting | AP News
• Trump’s Boat Strikes Have Failed to Curb Cocaine Flow to U.S., Experts Say | The New York Times
• ICE Agents Pepper-Spray Democratic Senator at Protest | The New Republic
• Human cages and overflowing toilets at $1m a day: the brutal legacy of Ron DeSantis’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ jail | The Guardian
• Trump’s immigration crackdown could cost up to $479bn in lost taxes over 10 years | The Guardian

Grifters and Thieves

• The Looting of America | Paul Krugman
• House Democrats launch new anti-corruption caucus targeting Trump-era ethics concerns | MS NOW
• Trump Triggers ‘Alarm Bells’ With Jaw-Dropping $9.7B Dell Deal | Daily Beast

Trump’s $1.8 Billion Settlement Fund Sparks Alarm Inside White House | Wall Street Journal

• Blue states want to tax Trump’s ‘weaponization’ fund payouts — at 100 percent | The Washington Post
• Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. Got a Deal After White House Intervened | ProPublica
• Probably nothing: Don Jr.-linked companies keep scoring federal contracts | Daily Kos
• Trump Vows to Protect the Family Businesses: Crypto and Prediction Markets | Mother Jones
• Team Trump’s latest no-bid contract: $5 million to coat horse statues in gold | Maddow Blog
• Exclusive: Justice Department launches a criminal investigation into Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll | CNN Politics
• Reflecting Pool Contract Has ‘Inflated’ Profit Margin, Government Analysis Finds | The New York Times
• ‘SCUM’: Trump enters prediction market fight with swing at regulator’s critics – POLITICO
• Samuel Alito Has a Corruption Problem | The New Republic
• Japanese megacorp SoftBank donates $50M to Trump’s presidential library – POLITICO

Across the Nation

• The anti-gerrymanderers’ future – POLITICO
• Federal judge orders New Hampshire to make it easier for voters to prove citizenship | AP News
• Republican-Appointed Judges Just Gave the Roberts Court a Stunning Rebuke – Mother Jones
• Louisiana Republicans pass new electoral map that guts majority-Black district | The Guardian
• These Ebola Researchers Are Stuck in US Due to Trump’s Funding Cuts | WIRED
• May 2026 National Poll: Rubio Rises as 2028 Contender, Buttigieg, Newsom Top Democratic List | Emerson Polling
• World almost certain to endure record hot year by 2030, UN warns | Climate crisis | The Guardian
• (6) Hawaii’s Power Play: HawaiiTakes on Citizens United | Katie Phang/Meidas+

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This Week…

Tsernoglou Removed From Committees, In Hot Water With GOP
MIRS News

Tsernoglou ‘Done Asking’ Hall For Vote On Epstein-Interlochen Committee
MIRS News

In the News

Michigan Politics and Policy

• OPINION: Mike Duggan’s Michigan independent governor bid was a non-starter | Nancy Kaffer/Detroit Free Press
• OPINION: The GOP owns Trump’s inflation, debt and war machine | Former Michigan GOP Chair Rusty Hills via Detroit Free Press
• Mike Rogers Said He Loved DOGE After Michigan Families Were Hurt By Funding Cuts | MeidasTouch
• Rep. Barrett claimed enough campaign driving to circle Earth once — and then some | Detroit Metro Times
• Michigan Battles Trump Over His Order to Keep an Old Coal Plant Running | The New York Times
• Michigan lawmakers propose letting voters decide on AG, SOS candidates | Detroit Free Press
• Michigan House OKs $5B property tax cut without replacement revenue | Detroit Free Press
• Michigan childcare program could be in danger in current budget season | Detroit Free Press
• Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases postelection autopsy | AP News
• Weekend Rebrand Rush: John James Campaign Scrambles to Swap “Governor” for “Michigan” After Perry Johnson Court Win | Michigan News Source
• Michigan governor hopeful got $800k Bitcoin gift. Won’t say from whom | Bridge Michigan
• Fain, UAW issue trade ‘demands’ ahead of U.S.-Mexico talks | Detroit News

The Economy

• Inflation breakdown for April 2026 — in one chart | CNBC
• University of Michigan Monthly Consumer Survey Hits All-Time Low – University of Michigan
• Higher Energy Costs Forecasted For Summer 2026 | MIRS News
• The Average Marketplace Deductible Grew by About $1,000 Per Person in 2026 | KFF.org
• Trump’s immigration crackdown could cost up to $479bn in lost taxes over 10 years | The Guardian

The Trump Administration

• Judge Grants Emergency Order to Block Trump From Destroying Records | The New Republic
• A lot of peanuts | Popular Information Substack
• More Republicans approve of Trump on immigration than economy: poll | AP News

Grifters and Thieves

• Americans witness the most corrupt week of Donald Trump’s political career | Maddow Blog
• The Looting of America | Paul Krugman
• Trump’s allies are already lining up to apply to his $1.8 billion fund | The Washington Post
• Trump’s Government Moves to Spare an Unhappy Taxpayer Named Trump | The New York Times
• Experts question Trump immunity from IRS audits | AP News
• Leaked IRS Memo Proves How Blatant Trump’s Slush Fund Theft Really Is | The New Republic
• Trump says he may release his tax returns after IRS deal | AP News
• Vance confronted with Popular Information report on Trump stock purchases | Judd Legum/Popular Information Substack
• Why Eric Trump joining his father’s trip to China is so tough to defend | Maddow Blog
• Trump officials plan to build arch without congressional authorization – The Washington Post
• Trump Meme Coin Contest: Win Exclusive Access to “World Football 2026 Final Game”! | Mother Jones
• Samuel Alito Has a Corruption Problem | The New Republic
• ‘It would be 100 percent illegal’: Top Democrats blast Duffy over road trip | POLITICO

Across the Nation

• Democrats Lead the Generic Ballot by 8 Points as Midterms Approach | Data for Progress
• Maryland Democrats Plan to Eliminate State’s Lone Republican Seat in Time for 2028 | The New York Times