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Gov. Whitmer signs $76B Michigan budget, vetoes anti-abortion items

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Gov. Whitmer signs $76B Michigan budget, vetoes anti-abortion items


LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the ultimate piece of a $76 billion state funds into regulation Wednesday, largely backing the plan legislators accepted however vetoing cash that Republicans funneled towards anti-abortion causes together with teams that run “being pregnant useful resource facilities” targeted on persuading pregnant girls to offer beginning.

Negotiators met behind the scenes for weeks to develop the funds proposal and introduced a deal in late June. However they could not agree on the way to decrease taxes, which is feasible because of a flood of federal cash and anticipated larger tax income.

Whitmer, a Democrat, has referred to as for focused cuts, whereas Republicans need broader ones together with decrease particular person and company revenue tax charges.

Officers estimate that $7 billion in further income is on the market to account for any tax deal that leaders can produce. However it’s unclear the place Michigan leaders’ talks on that stand.

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Whitmer on Wednesday repeated her desire for focused cuts and mentioned she hopes to make progress when lawmakers return to the Capitol this fall.

“We nonetheless have a chance in entrance of us to do extra, and I’m hopeful we can do this,” she mentioned.

The broader funds that Whitmer signed places $6 billion towards state and native roads, bridges and different transportation initiatives. It additionally places about $2.6 billion towards public pension methods.

Whitmer highlighted plans to carry the state’s “wet day fund” to $1.6 billion as a precaution in opposition to an financial downturn. She additionally pushed legislators to deal with infrastructure that can help innovation, well being care and youth wants across the state, together with a state psychiatric youth facility and a most cancers analysis facility at Wayne State College.

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The governor additionally touted the schooling funds she signed this month, which added $450 to the per pupil funding for Ok-12 colleges, which is roughly a 5.2% enhance. The state Division of Schooling has mentioned the $9,150 dedication per pupil marks the best whole in Michigan’s historical past.

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“This funds has one thing exceptional for each neighborhood throughout the state of Michigan,” Whitmer mentioned. “This funds is targeted on each a part of the state of Michigan and each particular person within the state of Michigan.”

The governor’s vetoes largely targeted on anti-abortion causes and totaled about $20 million in spending cuts. That is only a small slice of the funds however once more demonstrated the stark political divide over abortion rights in Michigan following the U.S. Supreme Court docket’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Abortion stays authorized within the state because of a decide’s injunction in a lawsuit filed by Deliberate Parenthood, which is difficult Michigan’s long-unenforced 1931 regulation banning abortion until it’s “essential to protect” life.

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Whitmer mentioned none of her selections ought to shock Republicans who management the each legislative chambers.

Her vetoes included $10 million for a advertising and marketing program selling adoption over abortion, $3 million for organizations that promote “childbirth and alternate options to abortion,” and $100,000 designated for authorized protection of a ban on gender reassignment surgical procedures or therapies whereas persons are in state prisons.

State Rep. Thomas Albert, a Republican from Lowell who chairs the Home Appropriations Committee, mentioned in an announcement this week that Whitmer’s vetoes “help just one choice for girls in a disaster being pregnant — the lethal selection of abortion.”

“It’s stunning that the governor, and her far left political base, are actually so excessive that serving to pregnant girls who would possibly take into account adoption as an alternative is now a bridge too far,” Albert mentioned.

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Foody reported from Chicago. Cappelletti is a corps member for the Related Press/Report for America Statehouse Information Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit nationwide service program that locations journalists in native newsrooms to report on undercovered points.

Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.



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Michigan

Michigan voters react to debate | CNN Politics

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Michigan voters react to debate | CNN Politics


Here’s how a panel of swing state voters thought Biden and Trump performed

CNN’s Laura Coates speaks with a panel of Michigan voters to get their reactions to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s performances during CNN’s presidential debate.



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Black bear sightings on the rise in mid-Michigan

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Black bear sightings on the rise in mid-Michigan


LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Experts say that the bear population has recently increased in Michigan’s lower peninsula, leading to a similar rise in close encounters—including those here in mid-Michigan.

Last Sunday, on Ruess Rd in Owosso, a road she drives on almost every day, Emalee Harmon saw something she never expected.

“We were absolutely shocked,” said Harmon. “We were just kinda speechless and couldn’t get over the fact that we just saw a bear.”

She was on her way back from getting ice cream with her family when she and her husband noticed a bear. They pulled over and took photos.

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(Emalee Harmon)

“We had never seen a bear in the wild, and we knew that it was not normal to see them this far in the south,” said Harmon.

Just a few days later, another bear was spotted in Bath Township. Ron Jackson posted a photo of the bear on Facebook

(Ron Jackson)

While it is unlikely, seeing a bear in mid-Michigan is not as rare as you might think. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, there are around 12,000 bears in the state: 10,000 in the Upper Peninsula and 2000 in the northern Lower Peninsula.

Black bears are the only bears in Michigan, and because they fear humans, they don’t pose a major safety risk. However, experts say there are things to keep in mind if you do run into one. The DNR created the acronym “SMART” to help people understand what to do in this situation.

  • Stand your ground. Do not run or play dead if you encounter a black bear.
  • Make loud noises and back away slowly.
  • Always provide an escape route for the bear
  • Rarely do black bears attack, but if they do- fight back
  • Treat bears with respect from a distance. Never intentionally feed a bear.

To learn more about black bears in Michigan, visit michigan.gov.



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Teen who drowned off Oak Creek in Lake Michigan is identified

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Teen who drowned off Oak Creek in Lake Michigan is identified


Mohamad Hassan, a 17-year-old Palestinian American, was found dead last night after drowning in Lake Michigan off of Bender Park in Oak Creek, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

Hassan was swimming with his family at Bender Park Beach when a riptide current swept him and two other teenagers, including his brother, under the water. Hassan’s brother, Abdulrahman, was hospitalized in critical condition but is awake and able to communicate today, according to Othman Atta, director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.

A third teen was not injured.

All three teenagers were swimming about 30 yards out from the shore in “somewhat shallow” water, according to the Medical Examiner’s report. The sheriff’s office said the call came in shortly before 8:30 p.m. from the park located at 4503 E. Ryan Road, and the Oak Creek Fire Department said the rescue effort was impacted by “high waves and challenging water conditions.” Hassan was pronounced dead shortly after 10 p.m.

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He is survived by his parents, Musaitif Hassan and Jumanah Hamed; his brothers, Najeh, Abdulrahman and Yusuf; and his three sisters, according to an announcement from the Islamic Society on Thursday. The family is originally from Betein, a city in the occupied West Bank.

The Islamic Society will host a Janazah, a Muslim funeral, today after its 1:15 p.m. prayer service at 4707 S. 13th Street. The funeral will be followed by a burial at Arlington Cemetary, located at 4141 S. 27th Street, and a condolence gathering tonight after evening prayer at 8:30 p.m.

Lake Michigan was under a moderate swim risk last night, according to the National Weather Service. Waves hovered around two feet high in the afternoon and reached three feet during the evening. As of June 19, there have been 10 drownings in Lake Michigan this year, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.



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