Midwest
Watchdog group sues Biden agency for records as lawmaker calls its voter work 'a slap in the face'
FIRST ON FOX: One week after Congress subpoenaed officials from the Small Business Administration regarding efforts to funnel resources to help register swing state voters, a top government watchdog group sued the agency for allegedly stonewalling its own public records requests on the matter.
On Friday, The Oversight Project executive director Mike Howell and the Heritage Foundation sued the SBA, claiming the agency failed to comply with legal public records requests regarding the same “Memorandum of Understanding” entered into by the SBA and the Michigan Department of State.
The Oversight Project, an initiative of the Heritage Foundation launched in 2022, seeks to engage in “aggressive oversight” of the federal government to investigate the implementation of so-called “radical leftist” policies and “destructive efforts” while ensuring accountability across the board.
KEY BIDEN AGENCY SLAPPED WITH HISTORIC SUBPOENAS OVER ‘IMPROPER’ SWING-STATE VOTER REGISTRATION PUSH
The lawsuit alleged the SBA did not provide documents sought under an April 23 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request relating to the memo, which included internal communications with the search terms “register,” “vote,” “voter” and “ballot.”
Small Business Administration at Federal Center SW in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
In the filing, Howell’s team called the request a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Oversight Project chief counsel Kyle Brosnan echoed Howell’s sentiment, saying there is public interest in analyzing in-person voter registration events the memo helped resource – as well as communications between Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office and the SBA.
In March, the SBA announced its “first-ever” voter registration agreement with the Michigan agency. On May 7, the House Committee on Small Business issued a rare subpoena for SBA aides after what the panel claimed was in part a failure to forward documents relating to a program “diverting [agency] resources away from assisting Main Street” toward partisan ends.
President Biden and House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (Getty Images)
President Biden’s executive order 14019, on “Promoting Access to Voting,” was the keystone of the coordination, which led to concerns the agency was being used to register voters in a partisan manner in a key swing state.
When asked if the lawsuit was a direct response to the subpoena brought by House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, R-Texas, Brosnan said there is overlap in their requests on both the FOIA front and an endeavor to conduct oversight of federal resources that may be being used in a controversial manner.
“Based on what I’ve seen in public reporting, the Small Business Administration has not complied with Congress’ document requests. And, the committee subpoenaed these two SBA officials for depositions later this month after they did not appear for voluntary transcribed interviews,” he said.
BIDEN ADMIN ACCUSED OF USING TAXPAYER FUNDS TO HELP HIS OWN CAMPAIGN WITH STUDENT VOTER REGISTRATION SCHEME
“It’s curious that the Small Business Administration has entered an agreement with the Michigan secretary of state in this context, with the election this year.”
When asked earlier this week about the lawsuit somewhat mirroring what he has sought, Williams told Fox News Digital his committee has “been working hard to hold the SBA accountable for improperly involving themselves in federal elections.”
“The SBA’s mission of helping Main Street grow and thrive is simple, yet extremely important to our country. Unfortunately, they seem to be dedicating energy to serve as President Biden’s campaign arm to register Democrat voters in Michigan.”
Williams called such behavior a “slap in the face” to struggling small business owners who rely on the SBA.
In a March announcement for the voter registration agreement between Michigan and the SBA, agency administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said “protecting and strengthening our democracy is critical to our economic success and a core goal of the Biden-Harris administration,” and that connecting Michiganders to voter registration information will help small business owners exercise their voting rights.
Brosnan referenced a similar September inter-agency agreement announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Michigan to designate two Detroit and one Saginaw VA property as voter registration sites, while alluding to the fact that Michigan’s largest city is heavily Democratic, and Saginaw sits in a nearly-even swing district represented by a Democrat in Congress.
When reached for comment on the lawsuit, the top Democrat on Williams’ panel, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., expressed dismay at the subpoenas her committee recently issued, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that her committee has otherwise “prided itself in bipartisan cooperation to help American entrepreneurs.”
“Unfortunately, with [these] subpoenas, Republicans have rejected these principles to pursue a partisan inquiry,” Velazquez said.
A message left for Benson’s office was not returned by press time. Reached by phone, the SBA said it does not comment on ongoing legal matters.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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MILWAUKEE — There’s a push to get more teenagers working over the summer, but it comes at a tough time.
The number of jobs secured by teens fell 25% last summer compared to the summer of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That trend seems to be continuing, as many services that help place people in jobs report that there are even fewer opportunities for teens this summer.
Milwaukee County, city and school district leaders are working to change that by offering paid internships to high school students.
Spectrum News met up with some of them at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) where they take some job-related classes before starting their internships.
Milwaukee Public School student, Keira Cruz, got into the hospitality and tourism internship.
“I wanted to learn more from it and maybe in the future, become an event planner,” said Cruz, who’s going into her senior year at South Division High School.
Across campus, another group of MPS students is learning how to make their own professional pages and search for jobs on LinkedIn.
“There’s so much stuff out here that you could do to end up where you want to be,” said Mahogonie Wright, who attends James Madison Academic Campus and wants to pursue a career in healthcare. “It’s a pleasure to be able to do anything that, you know, enhances my possible career choices.”
After some classroom preparation, students are paired with a local company, small business, nonprofit or city/county office for seven weeks.
The goal is to match them in the field they’re interested in. This is tied to Employ Milwaukee’s Earn and Learn program.
Teens work 20 hours per week and earn a wage of about $12 an hour.
“It creates a better sense of self for that student,” said Emily Brown, internship coordinator for MPS. “A better sense of purpose, so that hopefully one day they will find their passion.”
Brown said students must demonstrate a commitment before being accepted into the program.
“If we can’t see that you’re coming to school every day, how are we going to know that you’re going to go to that internship or opportunity every day?” she asked.
Paid summer internships for teenagers are in high demand, as fewer employers are hiring seasonal workers.
Brown doesn’t want to turn interested students away, but growth of the internship program is reliant on public and private grants, donations and businesses willing to participate.
“We’re always looking for additional partnerships so that students can extend what they learn in the classroom into the real world,” Brown said.
Both Kiera and Mohagonie acknowledged that these opportunities give them something productive to do while they’re out of school. They’d like to see all Milwaukee high schoolers get this chance.
A stretch of Interstate 94 in Minneapolis has reopened after a fatal crash closed it for hours Wednesday morning.
The Minnesota State Patrol said the crash occurred on westbound I-94 near Interstate 35W around 2:30 a.m. The patrol said the crash was fatal, but did not say how many people or vehicles were involved.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation said the road was cleared just before 6:15 a.m., and a WCCO crew at the scene saw traffic moving through.
This story will be updated.
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Checkout time came early Tuesday night for Drake Edwards at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Edwards drove from the fourth starting spot to the lead on lap 7 and never trailed thereafter to win the 30-lap Stoops Star Spangled Showdown feature in his No. 40D Chase McDermand Racing/GR8 Company – Rexroad Racing/Spike/Speedway Toyota machine.
It was the second career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory for Edwards, from Peoria, Arizona.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Edwards said. “Very cool to be standing here. I knew there was a shot coming to the smaller tracks, but I felt pretty solid all night long. So, I think it’s really cool.”
Kevin Thomas Jr. finished a distant second in the No. 14 4 Kings Racing car on the 1/5-mile dirt oval, followed by pole sitter Gavin Miller in the No. 97 Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports entry. Zach Wigal was fourth in the No. 1 Pat O’Dell car, with BC39 rookie Jake Swanson rounding out the top five in the No. 14K 4 Kings Racing entry.
The 30-lap feature was the climax of the opening night of the two-night BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors, which will culminate in a 39-lap feature paying $20,039 to win Wednesday night on the track inside turn three of the storied IMS asphalt oval.
There were only two suspenseful moments for Edwards, 23, the 2024 USAC Western States Midget Rookie of the Year.
The first came on lap six when Edwards, charging toward the front, drove into the rear of teammate Briggs Danner in the No. 40x Chase McDermand Racing car in a duel for second place behind Miller. Edwards continued, but Danner spun and triggered a caution period.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to Briggs,” Edwards said.
On the lap-seven restart, Edwards drove under Miller in turns three and four to take a lead he never surrendered despite multiple caution periods.
Edwards stretched the lead to 4.2 seconds over Thomas – a huge gap on a short track – by lap 22 as he could place his car on any spot of the dirt oval and find speed almost at will.
“I was just watching him up there,” Thomas said of Edwards. “Honestly, I was enjoying the show. I know he’s pretty talented, but I was like, ‘There ain’t no way he makes 30 laps without a crash.’ It’s pretty remarkable, and they had a great race car. He did a phenomenal job.”
Leading by approximately four seconds, Edwards rocketed around thick lapped traffic on the high line of the oval in the last 10 laps. But Thomas’ prediction of possible calamity for Edwards almost came true with three laps to go in the second dramatic moment on his drive to victory lane.
Edwards approached a lapped car that changed lines in turn three and four, and he had to slow quickly to avoid a collision. But Edwards safely avoided that near-miss and cruised to the victory in a car owned by McDermand, who picked up his only career USAC National Midget win during a 2024 BC39 preliminary feature, but cruelly lost a BC39 championship night victory with less than two laps remaining that same weekend when his car got hung up in ruts in turn four while leading.
“I didn’t know where to go half the time,” Edwards said. “But luckily, we made it through there pretty good, and I felt like I got through them all right.”
Edwards took over the lead from Miller with a turn three slider on lap seven, and it was all Edwards from there as he led the final 24 circuits of the 30-lap feature to earn the K & N Filters Clean Air award.
It’s been quite some time since you could last call Jake Swanson a Rookie. But tonight, in his first career BC39 appearance, he raced to a superb fifth-place result.
USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship, The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana, June 30, 2026
K1 RACEGEAR FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (#14 4 Kings) (3), 2. Drake Edwards (#40D McDermand) (6), 3. Ethan Mitchell (#19m Bundy Built) (1), 4. Kaylee Bryson (#11 Abacus) (5), 5. Alex Midkiff (#05 Midkiff) (4), 6. Joel Myers Jr. (#19H Hayward) (7), 7. Adam Taylor (#7T ATM) (2). NT
TJ FORGED SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Jacob Denney (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (1), 2. Justin Grant (#87 CBI) (6), 3. Hayden Reinbold (#19AZ Reinbold-Underwood) (7), 4. Logan Julien (#3N O’Dell) (4), 5. Alex Sewell (#32A Tessier) (5), 6. Jake Robinson (#5u Trifecta) (2), 7. Devon Dobie (#23 Dobie) (3), 8. Austin Wood (#27 Horn) (8).
K & N FILTERS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kale Drake (#4 RMS) (2), 2. Gavin Miller (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (8), 3. Brecken Reese (#20Q Reese) (1), 4. Drew Sherman (#19 Reinbold-Underwood) (3), 5. Frank Flud (#81F Rosenboom) (5), 6. Jeffrey Abbey (#8B Miller) (6), 7. Cameron Hagin (#33 RayPro) (4), 8. Jason Tessier (#32J Tessier) (7). 1:42.351
INDY POWERSPORTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bradley Cox (#45 Mason) (3), 2. Briggs Danner (#40x McDermand) (7), 3. Wesley Smith (#5p Rossi-Petty) (1), 4. Adyn Schmidt (#19x Cox) (5), 5. Gunnar Setser (#43 Arnold) (8), 6. Karter Sarff (#7u Trifecta) (4), 7. Brandon Carr (#98K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (6), 8. Matt Lux (#5L Lunsford-Lux) (2). 1:43.029
K1 RACEGEAR FIFTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Steven Snyder Jr. (#89 CBI) (2), 2. Jake Swanson (#14K 4 Kings) (5), 3. J.J. Yeley (#3J Rossi-Petty) (3), 4. Colton Robinson (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (6), 5. Jonathan Beason (#36 Rosenboom) (8), 6. Josh Hodge (#35 Hodge) (7), 7. Tyler Watkins (#7w Watkins) (1), 8. Mack Leopard (#40L McDermand) (4). 1:44.058
TJ FORGED SIXTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cannon McIntosh (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian) (1), 2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (#1R Rossi-Petty) (8), 3. Kade Taylor (#T21 Mounce-Stout) (2), 4. Daison Pursley (#86 CBI) (6), 5. Cody Weisensel (#20w Burrington) (7), 6. Eric Heydenreich (#32 OMR-Rase) (5), 7. Christian Miller (#8XL Miller) (4), 8. Robert Carson (#99K Carson) (3).
K & N FILTERS SEVENTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cale Coons (#63 Dooling/Curb-Agajanian) (2), 2. Jakeb Boxell (#54 4 Kings) (3), 3. Kyle Cummins (#3G Styres) (6), 4. Logan Seavey (#57 Abacus) (8), 5. Rylan Gray (#22H Gray) (7), 6. Riley Kreisel (#19K Cox) (5), 7. Cooper Miller (#8L Miller) (4), 8. Kyle Jones (#7TX Engler) (1). 1:44.150
INDY POWERSPORTS EIGHTH HEAT: (8 laps, passing points, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Peck (#3p Rossi-Petty) (2), 2. Zach Wigal (#1 O’Dell) (6), 3. Zach Daum (#5D Taylor) (5), 4. Wout Hoffmans (#14J Rosenboom) (3), 5. Dodge Carlbert (#1m Montgomery) (4), 6. Cord Kisthardt (#21K Kisthardt) (7), 7. Chris Hartman (#35s Hodge) (1). 1:46.835
C MAIN: (10 laps, top 4 transfer to the semis, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Brandon Carr (1), 2. Cooper Miller (4), 3. Mack Leopard (9), 4. Kyle Jones (11), 5. Adam Taylor (5), 6. Cameron Hagin (2), 7. Christian Miller (3), 8. Tyler Watkins (7), 9. Jason Tessier (6), 10. Chris Hartman (8), 11. Matt Lux (10), 12 Austin Wood (12). 2:10.762
FIRST FIVE STAR BODIES SEMI: (12 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (5), 2. Kyle Cummins (1), 3. Gunnar Setser (4), 4. Kaylee Bryson (6), 5. Drew Sherman (10), 6. Colton Robinson (3), 7. Karter Sarff (16), 8. Brandon Carr (17), 9. Wesley Smith (8), 10. Alex Sewell (11), 11. Joel Myers Jr. (13), 12. Alex Midkiff (12), 13. Mack Leopard (18), 14. Rylan Gray (9), 15. Ethan Mitchell (7), 16. Eric Heydenreich (15), 17. Cord Kisthardt (14), 18. Jakeb Boxell (2).
SECOND FIVE STAR BODIES SEMI: (12 laps, top 4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Daum (2), 2. Jonathan Beason (4), 3. Logan Seavey (1), 4. Brecken Reese (7), 5. Daison Pursley (3), 6. Wout Hoffmans (10), 7. Adyn Schmidt (6), 8. Frank Flud (11), 9. Riley Kreisel (15), 10. Kyle Jones (18), 11. Cody Weisensel (8), 12. Logan Julien (9), 13. Dodge Carlbert (12), 14. Kade Taylor (5), 15. Cooper Miller (17), 16. Jeffrey Abbey (14), 17. Josh Hodge (13), 18. Jake Robinson (16).
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Drake Edwards (4), 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 3. Gavin Miller (1), 4. Zach Wigal (6), 5. Jake Swanson (9), 6. Justin Peck (14), 7. Hayden Reinbold (10), 8. Cannon McIntosh (16), 9. Zach Daum (18), 10. Jacob Denney (15), 11. Gunnar Setser (21), 12. Justin Grant (5), 13. Kale Drake (11), 14. Briggs Danner (3), 15. Jonathan Beason (20), 16. Steven Snyder Jr. (12), 17. Kaylee Bryson (23), 18. Colton Robinson (26-P), 19. J.J. Yeley (17), 20. Brecken Reese (24), 21. Cale Coons (13), 22. Jakeb Boxell (25-P), 23. Bradley Cox (8), 24. Ricky Thornton Jr. (2), 25. Logan Seavey (22), 26. Kyle Cummins (19).
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