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☆ Marijuana harms development in first trimester of pregnancy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Low birth weight is one of the strongest predictors of a child’s health and development long-term,” she said. “What we are telling women is that it’s not an absolute certainty that your baby’s growth will be impacted if you are using marijuana. “My advice to women is to avoid using marijuana at all during pregnancy and if possible stop using prior to becoming pregnant,” Bailey said. Marijuana use can harm fetal development in the first trimester, a time when many people may not know they are pregnant. Prior research has “pretty well established” that smoking cigarettes during pregnancy has a bigger impact on birth weight than exposure to marijuana,” Bailey said.

☆ American consumers are growing worried about a US debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“If policymakers fail to resolve the debt ceiling crisis, these dismal views over the economy will exacerbate the dire economic consequences of default.”The latest survey showed that the university’s consumer-sentiment index fell by 9% in May. Monthly household spending growth tumbled to 5.4% from a revised 7.1% in December, according to the New York Fed’s Household Spending Survey, which is fielded every four months. Michigan’s report showed US household spending was flat in March from the prior month, after limping just 0.1% in February. Stack on top of that the Federal Reserve’s punishing interest-rate increases and still-high inflation, and consumers might just tap out. The Conference Board’s sentiment survey showed that consumer confidence worsened in April as Americans became more worried about the jobs market.

☆ These states will be hit the hardest if the US debt ceiling standoff isn’t resolved
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

While most states would be “hit hard” by a debt limit breach, the economic pain would vary from state to state, according to projections released on Wednesday by Moody’s. Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania would also likely lose hundreds of thousands of jobs apiece if there is a breach of the debt ceiling lasting several months, Moody’s found. In the event of a prolonged breach of the debt ceiling, Moody’s estimates some large states would each lose hundreds of thousands of jobs. ‘A real threat’In its report, Moody’s assigns a 10% probability to a breach of the debt ceiling, up from 5% previously. “What once seemed unimaginable now seems a real threat,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi wrote in the report.

☆ Windfall tax seizure case in Michigan deepens appellate split on class standing issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The county auctioned Fox's property for about $25,000 — and kept the $22,000 difference between the sale price and Fox's tax obligation. But Fox’s class action did not name only Gratiot County as a defendant. Circuit Court disagreed. The 6th Circuit in the Fox case agreed with the 2nd Circuit's holding that trial courts must consider constitutional standing issues ahead of class certification. The Michigan counties that challenged class certification were represented at the 6th Circuit by Douglas Curlew of Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho.

☆ Americans are getting worried about the job market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington, DC CNN —US consumer confidence worsened in April as Americans become more pessimistic about the job market. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which measures attitudes toward the economy and the job market, fell to 101.3 in April, down from 104 in March and marking the lowest level since July 2022. “Compared to last month, fewer households expect business conditions to improve and more expect worsening of conditions in the next six months. They also expect fewer jobs to be available over the short term.”That matches government figures showing the labor market has begun to show some cracks. Employers added 236,000 jobs in March, the smallest gain in two years, and job openings fell below 10 million for the first time since May 2021.

☆ Accessing credit has become harder, Fed’s Beige Book shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The report captures the effects of last month’s banking turbulence on businesses and banks themselves. “Lending volumes and loan demand generally declined across consumer and business loan types,” the Fed said in its periodic compilation of business survey responses, known as the Beige Book. A tightening in credit conditions was perhaps the biggest change reflected in the latest Beige Book report. While those concerns have largely subsided, many economists feared it would make it harder to access credit. Other banks in the Richmond Fed’s district reported higher inflows of deposits following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the report said.

☆ US consumer confidence improved in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The business group’s Consumer Confidence Index increased to 104.2 in March from an upwardly revised reading of 103.4 the month before. The March headline index saw a boost from consumers’ improved levels of confidence for the six-month-ahead time frame. The Expectations Index increased to 73 from 70.4 in February, while the Present Situation Index dipped to 151.1 from 153. The Conference Board’s confidence index and the University of Michigan’s twice-a-month consumer sentiment index are two leading gauges of consumers’ attitudes toward the current and future strength of the economy. Although the two indexes typically track similarly over time, the consumer confidence index is more influenced by employment and labor market conditions, while the Michigan sentiment index has a greater emphasis on household finances and the impact of inflation.

☆ U.S. Military Shoots Down Fourth High-Altitude Object Over North America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Nancy A. Youssef | Paul Vieira | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pentagon said it began tracking the latest object over Montana. WASHINGTON—The U.S. shot down a fourth flying object Sunday afternoon at 20,000 feet above Michigan’s Lake Huron, the Pentagon said, underscoring its stepped-up defense of North American airspace following the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. An F-16 jet fighter shot down the object on orders of President Biden at 2:42 p.m., the Pentagon said, with the same kind of missile used in the previous three shootdowns, an AIM-9X Sidewinder.

In protests that followed the killing and the police sweeps, six people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. In December, the same charges were filed against five people after law enforcement moved in to clear barricades and confront protesters. But in a number of states, including Georgia, domestic terrorism laws include a wide range of offenses outside those motivated by hate. The Atlanta Solidarity Fund said that the state of Georgia was trying to “set an alarming precedent” with the charges. “If they are successful, protesters across the country could be facing similar speech-chilling ‘domestic terrorism’ charges,'” it said in a statement this week.

☆ Consumers say they’re feeling better about the economy. But they’re still planning for a recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Minneapolis CNN —For the second month in a row, consumers said they are feeling better about the economy. The University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index measured 64.9 for January, according to data released Friday. A separate report released earlier on Friday showed that consumers cut back on their spending in December and started stashing more in their savings as they prepare for a potential recession. Long-run inflation expectations held at 2.9%, according to the report. “Consumers continued to exhibit considerable uncertainty over both long- and short-term inflation expectations, indicating the tentative nature of any declines,” Hsu said in comments accompanying the report.

“We spoke with a clear voice in November,” Whitmer said in her annual State of the State speech, which she delivered in person for the first time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Whitmer, who was on President Joe Biden’s shortlist for vice president, is seen as a rising national star. “I know we might have different perspectives here, but I sure hope we can all get around supporting 4-year-olds across Michigan,” she said. “But the truth is that she set a record during her first term for vetoing bills, many which Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass.”In several policy areas, Whitmer spoke more defiantly or struck more partisan tones. I’m looking at you, Ohio and Indiana.”Those remarks drew a rebuke on social media from the Michigan Republican Party, which during the speech tweeted: “No.

☆ How to Eat Very, Very Well in the Woods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Matthew Kronsberg | Photographs Kevin J. Miyazaki For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GETTING TO the Milkweed Inn, run by chef Iliana Regan and her sommelier wife, Anna Hamlin, is not easy. The drive from Chicago to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula takes six hours, ultimately on rutted dirt roads deep inside the Hiawatha National Forest. And that’s if you’re able to get a room in the first place. The 2023 season and much of 2024’s are already sold out. There is some consolation, however, for fans who have followed Ms. Regan’s career from her Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant, Elizabeth, now closed, through her 2019 memoir, “Burn the Place,” an unflinching account of her farmhouse upbringing, her grappling with addiction and gender identity, and her emergence as a chef: Her new book, “Fieldwork” (Agate Midway), comes out Jan. 24.

☆ Consumer sentiment has perked back up to its highest level since April
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Minneapolis CNN —As inflation continues its slow and steady descent, consumer sentiment is climbing back out of a trough hit last year. The University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index rose to 64.6 in the preliminary January survey, according to data released Friday. The survey also showed consumers’ inflation expectations for this year and five years out were 4% and 3%, respectively. The year-ahead inflation expectations reading is at its lowest since April 2021. Inflation expectations are crucial data points for the Federal Reserve.

☆ Luck, Tesla design likely saved family that plunged off cliff, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Four people were rescued after a Tesla plunged over a cliff in Calif., on Monday. Patel, a 41-year-old woman and two children ages 4 and 7 — both of whom were in car seats — were also in the SUV, California Highway Patrol spokesman Mark Andrews said. Nor is it clear what driving mode Patel was using before the SUV careened off the cliff, the California Highway Patrol said. “In my 35 years of working on vehicle safety, I’ve never had an automaker say, 'Look at this crash test we’re doing for extra credit,'” he said. Helicopters were dispatched, and the family was hoisted from the vehicle using rescue baskets, he said.

☆ The Retro Makeover That Took Michigan Back to the Top of College Football
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Laine Higgins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jim Harbaugh found himself on the hot seat following Michigan’s miserable 2-4 pandemic season, a year so bad he saw his salary cut nearly in half. So the Wolverines coach gave his team a makeover—but not the kind of glitzy revamp that focuses on explosive quarterbacks, dazzling receivers and high-scoring passing attacks. Harbaugh instead focused on building a powerful ground game in the image of the teams he had quarterbacked at Michigan in the 1980s under Bo Schembechler. To do that, he focused on methodically building an elite corps in some of football’s least glamorous jobs—the offensive line.

☆ Michigan’s Gender Studies Secret
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Freedom of Information Act is a popular tool for taxpayers and journalists to hold government to account. But what if the FOIA law doesn’t apply to documents or communications among many government employees? That’s the theory endorsed by Michigan state Judge Jacob James Cunningham , who ruled on Dec. 15 that the state’s Freedom of Information Act doesn’t apply to public-school teachers.

☆ Stocks Edge Higher After Consumer Spending Data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Matt Grossman | Caitlin Ostroff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wall Street traders left for Christmas in sedate spirits after a day of modest gains failed to arrest the S&P 500’s skid to a third straight week of losses colored by fears of inflation and recession. Indexes started Friday lower after Commerce Department figures showed that prices for services continued to climb faster than hoped last month. But stocks edged into positive territory after the midmorning release of the University of Michigan’s consumer survey painted households as optimistic about the economy.

☆ The Michigan lawyer pushing Trump’s voter-fraud fictions in U.S. court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Lambert started in her home state of Michigan, joining four lawsuits on behalf of Trump supporters. As Trump zeroed in on vote-rigging allegations in Michigan, Lambert emailed the White House, according to her July 2021 video interview with two right-wing websites. Cotton and Penrose also were involved in examining breached voting machines in Michigan for DePerno and Lambert, according to the Michigan attorney general investigation. In the process, the commissioners were accused of flouting a court order by allowing a forensics company to inspect county voting equipment. In August 2021, a federal judge reprimanded Lambert, Powell and seven other lawyers who joined the failed lawsuit seeking to overturn Michigan’s vote after Trump’s 2020 defeat.

☆ Consumer confidence improves in December, a hopeful sign for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —American consumers’ confidence in the US economy grew in December as high inflation continued to ease, according to data released Wednesday by the Conference Board. The business think tank’s latest consumer confidence index registered 108.3 this month, a significant jump from the upwardly revised measure of 101.4 in November. Economists were expecting the index to come in at 101, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. Consumer confidence, as measured by this and other surveys like the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, has mostly been on a downward trajectory for much of 2022 as the country grappled with the highest rates of inflation seen in four decades. During 2019, the headline consumer confidence index had an average reading of 128.5.

☆ Three of the men involved in the plot to kidnap Michigan governor sentenced to prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison, followed by his son-in-law Morrison at 10 years and Bellar at seven. Judge Thomas Wilson presided over the first batch of convictions in state court, following the high-profile conspiracy convictions of four others in federal court. Bellar is clueless about any plot to kidnap the governor,” attorney Andrew Kirkpatrick said again in a court filing last week. Separately, in federal court in Grand Rapids, Fox and Croft face possible life sentences in two weeks. Two men who pleaded guilty received substantial breaks: Ty Garbin is free after a 2 1/2-year prison term while Kaleb Franks was given a four-year sentence.

☆ In car crashes, women are more likely to die than men. This new crash test dummy could help save lives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rochelle Beighton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

According to Verity Now, a US-based campaign group striving to achieve equity in vehicle safety, women are 73% more likely to be injured – and 17% more likely to die – in a vehicle crash. CNN: You’ve developed the first ever female crash test dummy. Swedish engineer Dr Astrid Linder has created a "female" crash test dummy. Courtesy VTICNN: How has the female crash test dummy been designed, and how is technology used to test safety? Linder: We took data for the average male and the average female, including weight and height, for the crash test dummy.

LANSING — State officials in Michigan announced changes this week to address administrative failures that have made it difficult for some of the state’s most vulnerable foster youth to earn a high school diploma. The actions came after NBC News reported on foster youth in Michigan who were denied credit for classes they took while living in state-funded, state-licensed residential facilities. He was one of five foster youth who addressed the board or had their statements read into the record on Tuesday. “The first thing we need to do is to get into the Legislature and make certain that there’s no such thing as noncredit-bearing courses in Michigan public education. The foster youth and their advocates said they’re hopeful that real change is coming.

☆ Demand for hospital-grade cribs on the rise as viral illnesses continue to surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Carma Hassan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Pediatric hospital beds have been more full than usual for months. Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital has brought out both specialized and non-specialized cribs from storage to meet the demand of pediatric patients. Demand at Hard Manufacturing, which makes cribs, bassinets and youth beds for hospitals, has shot up, President Marjorie Bryen said. “At Nemours Children’s Health, these supply challenges are magnified due to pediatric populations needing more specialized equipment to accommodate different stages of growth. “The Administration has exercised regulatory flexibilities to help health care providers and suppliers continue to respond to COVID-19.

But Wray said the FBI continues to be concerned about Chinese government “talent programs” that sometimes pay American professors through secret relationships. “At the same time, you also stated, as you’ve just done, that this effort isn’t about the Chinese people or Chinese Americans. But of course, Chinese Americans are part of the U.S. society that you believe needs to be mobilized against China. He also returned to talking about Chinese government operations that have targeted Chinese Americans. “We view Chinese Americans here as being with us.

☆ Who’s That Meditating Under the Goal Post? Michigan’s Quarterback
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Rachel Bachman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

His position requires a keen eye and snap decisions to dodge brutal collisions. But as part of his preparation for it, J.J. McCarthy swears by sitting motionless, breathing slowly, his eyes closed. McCarthy, Michigan’s 19-year-old quarterback, has meditated daily for years. He does it in private, and he does it cross-legged before kickoff on game day, when he said meditation helps him become “completely there, completely present.”

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