Michigan politicos react to GOP tax, spending bill

July 7, 2025

LANSING — Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday mustered a mostly party-line 218-214 vote to approve President Donald Trump’s signature federal tax and spending bill. The bill’s passage marked a major victory for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) after weeks of dissension and some initial defections. The bill includes a wide swath of tax and spending cuts that some have warned would kick millions off Medicaid and force states to take up the bulk of costs on key social programs. While ...

Second Democrat announces campaign to unseat GOP congressman in competitive Michigan district

July 2, 2025

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A second Democrat is seeking to flip one of Michigan's most competitive U.S. House districts as the party seeks to reclaim a majority in the 2026 midterms. Maat Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL, announced his campaign Tuesday to unseat Tom Barrett, a former Army helicopter ...

Flint’s still-unfinished lead pipe replacement serves as cautionary tale to other cities

July 1, 2025

FLINT — Jeffrey Bell watched as crews dug up and replaced neighbors' lead water pipes, hoping his mother's house would be next. Workers told him it wasn't on their list but probably assigned to another contractor. With Flint's lead pipe replacement program winding down this year, Bell and ...

Flint’s still-unfinished lead pipe replacement serves as cautionary tale to other cities

June 30, 2025

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Jeffrey Bell watched as crews dug up and replaced neighbors’ lead water pipes, hoping his mother’s house would be next. Workers told him it wasn’t on their list but probably assigned to another contractor. With Flint's lead pipe replacement program winding down ...

Michigan wins appeal in legal challenge to how it handles extra blood samples from newborns

June 28, 2025

DETROIT (AP) — A yearslong effort to challenge Michigan’s practice of storing millions of dried blood samples from newborn babies has been turned upside down by a federal appeals court, which threw out key decisions in favor of parents who said the policy violated their rights. In a 3-0 ...

75 years after the then-worst crash in US history, search ends for a plane in Lake Michigan

June 27, 2025

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A group is ending a 20-year search for a plane that crashed into Lake Michigan in 1950, killing all 58 people on board, after sweeping the vast body of water using sonar technology and even getting support from an acclaimed adventure writer. When Northwest Orient ...