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Michigan's Latest Articles

Experts see economic problems for U.S. as struggle over debt limit, spending cuts extends

Experts told the U.S. House Budget Committee on Wednesday the country’s economic outlook is problematic, as a fierce debate over the nation’s budget remains front and center.

Infant formula crisis could recur, former FDA official tells Congress

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began. Frank Yiannas, former deputy commissioner of the FDA Office of Food Policy & Response from 2018 to 2023, said, "[...]The nation remains one outbreak, one tornado, one flood, or cyberattack away from finding itself in a similar place to that of February 17, 2022."

‘A very dark time’: SNAP cuts leave Michigan families, food banks struggling

Following the sunset of the federal government’s pandemic-related programs like extended unemployment and rental assistance, about 1.3 million Michiganders will receive at least $95 less in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning this month, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). 

As opioids overdose deaths keep rising, report urges lawmakers to develop new approaches

The 600-page volume — which the authors describe as “arguably the most comprehensive analysis of opioids in 21st century America” — encourages federal, state and local lawmakers to think “beyond traditional silos” and innovate ways to stem adverse effects of addiction and increasing drug overdose deaths among Americans.

In ‘history-making’ votes, Democratic-led State Senate passes gun reform legislation

Garnering uniform support among Democrats and largely condemnation from Republicans, Senate Bills 76–86 would mandate universal background checks for all firearm purchases in Michigan, require that gun owners safely store firearms that could be accessed by minors, and permit a court to order the temporary removal of guns from someone who may be a danger to themselves or others. 

With landmark LGBTQ+ rights bill on the brink of becoming law, Michigan advocates look ahead

With Thursday’s planned signing by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of an expansion of the 1973 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), LGBTQ+ advocates are savoring a hard-fought victory and looking ahead to where the fight for equal rights goes now.

Senate, House tee up bills to end juvenile life without parole

Nearly 300 incarcerated Michiganders, currently serving out life sentences for crimes they committed while juveniles without the possibility of parole, may finally be closer to having their sentences reconsidered — more than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled those sentences unconstitutional.

Michigan’s U.S. Senate race: Who’s in, who’s out and who’s weighing a run

With Monday morning’s announcement that U.S. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing) was officially in the running for U.S. Senate, the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) in 2024 is starting to take shape.

Rural hospitals brace for unwinding of pandemic Medicaid coverage

Rural hospitals were already closing at a rapid rate before the pandemic — more than 150 closed between 2005 and 2019, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Without the federal money to prop them up, the Center estimates that 200 rural hospitals across the country are at risk of closing within the next two to three years.

Federal lawsuits hold up student loan relief for more than 500K approved borrowers in Michigan

In Michigan, about 566,000 applications from student loan borrowers were fully approved and their applications were sent to loan servicers for discharge prior to federal lawsuits and an injunction on providing the debt relief. 

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