I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
With the U.S. House of Representatives already passing a $2 billion boost in the cash for clunkers program, the Senate now looks like it will follow suit after a few key senators who were skeptical of the program were convinced by data from the Obama administration confirming the environmental benefit of the program. The Detroit Free Press reports:
Three key senators who had sought changes in the popular cash-for-clunkers program said today they now supported spending $2 billion more on the plan, citing the gains in fuel economy driven by the trades.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and Susan Collins, R-Maine, also said there were likely 60 votes to approve the extra money, but that Senate leaders had not yet agreed on how or when the bill could come to the floor for a vote.
The three had said last week that they would not support boosting the money for the program unless the Obama administration answered several questions about its effect on the environment. The administration said today that the program had triggered a sizable boost in fuel economy, with new vehicles improving on the mileage of traded-in clunkers by 9.6 m.p.g. on average.
A group of Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain, have vowed to filibuster any extension of the program, but if there are 60 votes for the program that should end any chance of blocking the transfer of funds. The bill is not likely to come up on the Senate floor until Wednesday because the chamber is set to vote on the Sonia Sotomayor nomination to the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The White House said Monday that if the Senate does not approve the $2 billion boost, the cash for clunkers program will likely be out of money by Friday.
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