A jury found James Crumbley, the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley who killed four students in 2021, guilty of manslaughter.
The jury decided Crumbley was negligent when he bought a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol four days before the shooting for the 15-year-old with mental health problems who claimed he was seeing “demons.”
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Wisconsin’s Department of Economic Development has awarded $3 million in tax credits to investors in 14 startups in the state so far in 2024.
The tax credits are part of the state’s Qualified New Business Venture program, which began in 2005. It gives 25% transferrable tax credits for investors in qualified new businesses capped at $3 million for a $12 million cash equity investment.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP-AMO) agents and U.S. Coast Guard crews are seizing large quantities of cocaine attempting to be smuggled to the U.S. by boat.
In five recent operations, they seized nearly $290 million worth of cocaine totaling over 15,700 pounds. or nearly 8 tons – enough lethal doses to potentially kill more than 82 million people.
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Producer prices spiked last month, another sign of rising inflation in the U.S., according to new federal data.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its monthly Producer Price Index, a leading marker of inflation, which showed an increase of 0.6% in February, more than expected.
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The Right on Transparency coalition is asking five states to stop restricting public records requests based on residency.
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Tennessee and Virginia all are known to restrict records requests based upon residency. The coalition has published model policy to change those laws.
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Tennessee’s nonfarm monthly employment went down 56,800 in January, according to the Tennessee Labor Market Report.
The report notes employment is up 3,300 year-over-year.
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President Joe Biden’s budget proposal seeks to set aside billions of dollars to push progressive gender, sexuality and race ideology at home and around the globe.
Released this week, the $7.3 trillion budget also proposes spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to train school teachers in diversity, equity, and inclusion dogma.
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The border crisis has taken on many forms in Texas, from crime to fentanyl poisonings to farmers and ranchers losing their livelihoods.
Another casualty of the border crisis is the U.S. State Department’s failure to hold accountable Mexican government authorities to a 1944 Treaty of Utilization of Waters, resulting in Texas’ last sugar mill shut down, the industry contends. The Rio Grande Valley is bracing for an expected initial $100 million in economic losses as a result.
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South Carolina lawmakers are debating a roughly $40 billion fiscal 2024-25 state budget that anticipates more than $12 billion in state general funds and billions more in federal money.
Last month, the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors voted to keep the fiscal 2023-24 revenue forecast estimate at nearly $12.9 billion and the fiscal 2024-25 revenue forecast estimate at more than $13.2 billion.
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House Republican Leader Matt Hall urged House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to pass reform to records requests during Sunshine Week, which celebrates government transparency.
Sunshine Week, observed this year from March 10-16, highlights the need for transparency and accountability at all levels of government.
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Wisconsin’s push to help children in the state’s schools read better took its next step forward Monday.
The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee approved four new reading programs for the state’s public schools.
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Though not all data is publicly available, Pennsylvania is one of the most union-dense states in America for government workers.
A recent analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation found that Pennsylvania has 34% of its public workers paying union dues. Of all the public workers represented by a union, 74% of them pay union dues.
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Consumer prices jumped again in February, in part driven by a significant rise in gasoline prices, according to newly released federal inflation data.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index Tuesday, a leading marker of inflation, which showed prices rose 0.4 percent in February and 3.2 percent over the past year.
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FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday confirmed that a smuggling organization working with the terrorist organization ISIS is funneling criminals through the U.S. border. He also said the FBI is currently investigating its operations that ‘we’re very concerned about.’
In a U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing held on Monday on worldwide threats to the United States, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, asked Wray about threats coming through the U.S. border.
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The Tennessee Senate is expected to take on legislation allowing public schools to serve whole milk again in Tennessee.
The U.S. House passed a similar measure – called the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act – in December before it was blocked in the Senate waiting for updated U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal standards.
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U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., now has the backing on Gov. Katie Hobbs and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly in his bid for U.S. Senate.
The endorsements come after Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced last week she’s retiring at the end of the year and not seeking re-election. If she decided to run, it would have set up an unusual three-way race between two major parties and an incumbent. Sinema left the Democratic Party in December 2022.
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John Mozena hopes that one day he can stop saying “I told you so” about corporate welfare in America.
However, Mozena, president of The Center for Economic Accountability, won’t be able to make such a declaration after Rivian Automotive paused its $5 billion plant in Georgia.
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In December 2021, the Phoenix City Council approved a pilot guaranteed income program for 1,000 low-income families that would provide $1,000 a month from taxpayers.
Like many guaranteed income programs, it was funded by federal emergency money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
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When President Joe Biden signed a package of bills over the weekend to avoid a government shutdown, he also made law Sen. J.D. Vance’s legislation to stop federal mask mandates from the Department of Transportation.
The law stops the Transportation Department from using federal funds to enforce mask mandates on passenger airlines, commuter rail, rapid transit buses and any other transportation program funded through fiscal year 2024.
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A bill intending to cap increases on the cost of personal seat licenses at the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville would now put a 20% cap on those price increases for 10-year seat license holders at the Tennessee Titans’ current stadium.
The bill initially was written to block any increase in those prices but Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, said he was planning to amend the bill to be more reasonable to the Titans.
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Two more Texas counties declared an invasion at the southern border, bringing the total to 55.
Denton and Williamson counties declared an invasion on March 5, passing short, one-page resolutions.
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Ninety-three of the 95 counties in Tennessee had unemployment rates rise in January.
The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said the increase comes due to the end of some holiday employment.
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Remote and hybrid workers will impact more than office vacancy rates, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
The report, “Hybrid Work May Pose Challenge To Bars and Restaurants in Parts of the Tenth Federal Reserve District,” stated hybrid work arrangements and a preference for remote work are here to stay. It quoted research suggesting approximately 30% of working days in 2023 took place at home and office occupancy is down at least 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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Selling alcohol at bars starting at 8 a.m. on Sundays, the same as other days of the week, is under consideration in the Tennessee Legislature and being pushed by the NFL Titans.
The bill would require a city that has approved liquor-by-the-drink sales by referendum to pass an ordinance to allow alcohol sales earlier than the current 10 a.m. on Sundays.
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Ohio plans to spread more than $120 million of taxpayer money over 13 counties for road projects, with $15 million spent to expand bus rapid transit in Columbus.
The new construction funding list from the Transportation Review Advisory Council includes $21 million for new construction, $35.5 million in additional construction, $33.4 million in new money for preliminary engineering, and another $28.4 million for more funding for development projects.
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Political contributions to municipal elected officials in Connecticut would be more accessible to the public under a proposal being considered by state lawmakers.
The legislation, which is pending before the Legislature’s Committee on Government Administration and Elections, would require candidates running for local elected office to file their required campaign disclosures with the state’s Electronic Campaign Reporting Information System, known as eCRIS, which supporters say will increase transparency in local elections.
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An undercover human trafficking operation in Florida found that 21 illegal foreign nationals were using papers given to them by the Department of Homeland Security to fly to major cities in the United States for free to engage in sex trafficking, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
“Federal policy drives illegal immigrant crime and victimization,” Judd said when announcing the results of a multi-agency undercover operation that led to the arrest of 228 people. Among them, 21 people arrested were in the country illegally, citizens of Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.
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There’s going to be a building boom on some University of Wisconsin campuses across the state.
Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a new law that clears the way for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, as well as classroom renovations in both Madison and Whitewater. The new law also includes nearly $200 million for central plant renovations and demolition projects.
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For an aging state that’s seen depopulation in the majority of its counties, Pennsylvania’s health care system struggles to meet the needs of its residents.
“Access to care is a crisis here in the commonwealth,” said Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Scranton during a joint meeting of the Health and Professional Licensure Committees on Thursday. “We have lots of need and not enough providers.”
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Despite Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s best efforts to promote the $2 billion entertainment district deal he announced in December, the General Assembly isn’t buying it.
The House of Delegates and state Senate released their negotiated proposed budget on Thursday, and it didn’t include funding for the “Glenn Dome.”
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The Saudi Arabian-backed company Fondomonte Arizona is officially no longer using the state’s water resources.
According to the governor’s office, the State Land Department inspected the company’s land leases in western Arizona’s Butler Valley on Feb. 15, which determined that it was no longer irrigating. The company was estimated to have pumped over 5.3 billion gallons of groundwater in 2022, according to Arizona’s Family.
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South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has signed a Constitutional Carry measure, making the Palmetto State the 29th state in the nation with a law allowing residents to carry a concealed firearm without a government-issued license.
House Bill 3594, the South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act, also bars anyone convicted of a “crime punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of more than one year to possess a firearm or ammunition within” South Carolina. However, there are some exceptions, including anyone convicted of a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to five years or expunged convictions.
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An Ohio lawmaker calls an employer hiring someone living in or having entered the country illegally human trafficking and wants it to stop.
Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, recently testified on behalf of House Bill 327, which would require certain employees to verify the legal status of employees by using the federal I-9 form and getting confirmation of employment eligibility.
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Despite more spending on public education, test scores remain flat in Michigan, according to a recently released report.
The free market-focused Reason Foundation released its Public Education at a Crossroads study, analyzing the lack of correlation between increased spending and improved test scores in American schools between 2002 and 2020.
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The amount of fentanyl seized in Montana last year was over double the amount in 2022, according to Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office.
In 2023, the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces seized a total of 398,552 dosage units of fentanyl, up from 188,823 dosage units compared in 2022 and 60,557 in 2021. Since 2019, fentanyl seizures by state anti-drug forces are up over 20,000%, the office said in a statement.
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Two northeast Ohio residents are lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed Wednesday against the city of Cleveland, saying the city owes taxpayers interest for not issuing tax refunds within 90 days.
The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based policy group, filed on behalf of Kate Wos of Strongsville and David Steffes of North Royalton, as well as all nonresidents of Cleveland who filed a city income tax return and received their refund more than 90 days after filing.
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Some lawmakers are once again calling on their colleagues to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
Ahead of the switch to Daylight Saving Time this weekend, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., highlighted the importance of the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
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New legislation at the Wisconsin Capitol would put local communities in charge of local wind and solar projects.
State Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Stockbridge, has introduced a plan that would require local leaders to sign off on wind and solar farms before regulators at Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission could move forward.
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Michigan Democratic lawmakers want mass transit between Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor but don’t know how to pay for it.
State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, majority caucus chair & Education Committee chair, posted on social media that mass transit would prevent young people from leaving the state.
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Florida is serving criminals notice: Don’t come to spring break to cause trouble.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in Miami Beach that law enforcement will be taking a hard line with people who plan on coming to Florida during spring break to commit crimes.
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The Shapiro administration said Monday it supports giving non-citizens driver’s licenses, following a trend across the Mid-Atlantic that posits the policy change as a safety measure.
“There are reports of over a dozen states that already allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to obtain driver’s licenses,” Rep. Mike Cabell, R-Dallas, said. “Meanwhile, federal DHS policy stipulates that states could offer those with TPS (Temporary Protected Status) a Real ID.”
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs launched a program on Monday aimed at “buying back” medical debt with taxpayer dollars distributed by the federal government.
The program is called “Affordable Arizona: Tackling Medical Debt for Working Families” and it is a public-private partnership between the state of Arizona and RIP Medical Debt, a national nonprofit.
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The Tennessee Legislature’s debate on education savings accounts will continue Wednesday when competing versions of the bill are heard by the Senate Education Committee and House Education Administration.
Both versions involve a significant number of the ESAs, which will start at $7,075 and can be spent by students and families on school-related expenses such as private school tuition.
Both proposals involve 20,000 ESAs statewide starting in the fall with eligibility determined on some level by income.
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A credit card rule that has been on hold for more than a year that would track gun and ammunition buys could legally be banned in Ohio.
Following passage in its originating chamber, Senate Bill 148 now heads to the House of Representatives. Bill sponsor Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, says the rule is an invasion of privacy and an attack on Second Amendment rights.
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More public-school districts are being sued for allegedly using taxpayer resources to instruct staff to vote against school choice candidates in the Republican primary election regardless if they are Republicans.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Huffman and Aledo independent school districts on Friday alleging they used state resources to influence political races through illegal electioneering.
This is after Paxton first sued Denton, Frisco, Denison and Castleberry ISDs within one week “for illegal electioneering by using taxpayer-funded resources” to “stump for specific candidates during an election” and/or “promote certain political candidates and policies” related to school choice.
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The Tennessee House voted Thursday to allow the Tennessee Department of Tourism to keep contracts hidden for up to 10 years for events such as a Super Bowl.
House Bill 1692 expands the number of records that can be kept concealed and the length of time.
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Tennessee schools saw an 18.4% increase in inflation-adjusted per student funding between 2002 and 2020, according to a new report.
Spending on employee benefits increased by 56.5% over the same period, according to Reason Foundation’s Education Spending Across 50 States report.
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Ohio plans to give a 15-year tax credit to a company planning a new manufacturing facility to build parts for electric vehicles.
Schaeffler, owner of two plants in the state, plans a third in Dover that is expected to employ 650 people after a $230 million investment. The tax credits are tied to job creation.
The new jobs are expected to be split between the company’s plant in Wooster and the new Dover plant. The company employs more than 1,600 people.
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Former President Donald Trump made a campaign stop in Richmond ahead of Virginia’s presidential primary, taking his aim at the November election and President Joe Biden.
The rally marked Trump’s second stop after speaking in North Carolina earlier in the day. The former president vowed to “make a big play for Virginia” come November.
Despite the Super Tuesday matchup only days away, Trump appeared to have moved past the primaries, failing to mention former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley by name.
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Car insurance rates surged 26% nationwide in the past year and are expected to remain elevated until 2025.
That’s according to the “True Cost of Auto Insurance” report from Bankrate, an independent comparison service company.
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