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☆ Michigan passes 3 gun safety laws, and lawmakers say they're not done yet: 'We don't have to live like this'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Michigan governor has signed multiple gun safety laws this month, including more background checks. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to also sign a "red flag" law, allowing judges to confiscate guns from people they deem dangerous. Lawmakers say they hope to target gun manufacturers and domestic abusers next, per Bridge Michigan. The new background check law requires checks for all firearms purchased in Michigan and strengthens penalties for illegal sales. Next on their gun safety agenda, Michigan state Democratic lawmakers say they hope to keep domestic abusers from getting their hands on firearms, ban the sale of large-capacity magazines, and force gun manufacturers to be liable for gun deaths, the Bridge Michigan reported.

☆ Opinion: Gun control after Louisville shooting has a chance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Max Burns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Meanwhile, Democrats — once wary of mentioning gun control at all — have finally rediscovered their voice. See heated gun control discussion between lawmakers in the halls of Congress 01:19 - Source: CNNDemocrats’ rising confidence in fighting for gun reform comes against a backdrop of tireless coalition-building from gun safety activists and community organizers across the country. Everytown credits at least 51 pieces of state-level gun safety legislation passed in 2022 to their state-by-state strategy. Over the summer, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that 59% of American adults think it’s more important to control gun violence than to protect gun rights (35%) — “its highest point in nearly a decade.” These figures have surely factored into Democrats new assertiveness on gun control. “Republicans look completely unreasonable when they won’t even discuss background checks, gun safety measures like storage or red flag laws,” Del Percio warned.

☆ In victory for labor unions, Michigan governor repeals 'right-to-work' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Dan Whitcomb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer makes a campaign stop at the IBEW Local 58 union hall in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. November 5, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca CookMarch 24 (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Friday signed a package of bills repealing the state's so-called "right to work" law that allowed workers to opt out of unions, a long-sought victory for labor organizers facing an era of diminished power. "Michigan workers are the most talented and hard-working in the world and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect," Whitmer, a two-term Democrat, said in a statement. House Bill 4007 requires that contractors hired by the state pay a so-called prevailing wage, the amount used when hiring union workers. The Michigan state legislature, controlled at the time by Republicans, in 2012 passed a right-to-work law over the objections of union activists.

☆ Fox News producer alleges Tucker Carlson's team plastered photos around the office of Nancy Pelosi in a bathing suit 'revealing her cleavage'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Fox News producer alleges Tucker Carlson's team posted photos of Nancy Pelosi in a bathing suit around the office. The lawsuit alleges the photos revealed Pelosi's cleavage, with the "joke" being that she looked bad. Apparently, the 'joke' was that Speaker Pelosi looked terrible in a bathing suit," the lawsuit alleges. A producer for a different Fox News show, the lawsuit alleges, called Bartiromo "not as credible as male anchors" at the network. The spokesperson did not comment on the allegations regarding sexism in the workplace or the alleged images of Nancy Pelosi.

☆ Wisconsin man pleads guilty to role in plot to kidnap Michigan governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 15 (Reuters) - A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a reduced charge for his role in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, handing another victory to prosecutors who have viewed the scheme as domestic terrorism. Michigan prosecutors accused Brian Higgins, 54, of aiding the conspiracy by surveilling the Democratic governor's vacation home. As part of a plea deal, he admitted in Antrim County court that he attempted to provide material support for terrorism and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Two other men, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pleaded guilty and cooperated with federal prosecutors. This month, Attorney General Nessel said she herself was among potential targets of a man who federal prosecutors say threatened to kill employees of the state of Michigan who are Jewish.

☆ Michigan man arrested after alleged threats against governor, Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 10 (Reuters) - A Michigan man was arrested and charged with illegal ownership of firearms after he made death threats against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and President Joe Biden, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. Federal agents, after receiving an online tip this week from YouTube owner Google (GOOGL.O), uncovered threats posted on YouTube, which also included threats to members of the LGBTQ community and FBI agents, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Berka, 30, illegally possessed four firearms, three long guns and a pistol, the Justice Department said. The Justice Department said that among statements Berka posted were: "im going to kill these democrats biden deserves to die" and "im gonna kill lgbt freaks." At his initial court appearance on Friday, a federal judge ordered Berka to be detained pending another hearing on March 15, CNN reported.

☆ Michigan AG Dana Nessel Says She Was Targeted By Man Threatening Jewish Officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Joseph De Avila | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she was targeted by a man who threatened to kill Jewish government officials. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has accused Jack Carpenter III of making death and injury threats on social media against Jewish Michigan government officials, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Michigan on Feb. 18. He has been charged with transmitting an interstate threat.

☆ Biden admin offers $1.2 billion for distressed, shut nuclear plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - The Biden administration said on Thursday it is offering a fresh round of $1.2 billion in aid to extend the life of distressed nuclear power plants which, for the first time, could offer funding to a plant that has recently closed. President Joe Biden's climate team believes nuclear power is a crucial source of virtually carbon-free electricity needed to be maintained and expanded to reach his pledge of what it calls 100% clean electricity by 2035. The funding comes from the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program, created by the 2021 infrastructure law, and will be distributed by the Department of Energy (DOE). Holtec International, the current owner, had applied for the first round of funding, but the DOE rejected it. Last year, the DOE provided $1.1 billion in conditional CNC funding to Pacific Gas & Electric's Diablo Canyon nuclear plant that had been set to fully shut in 2025.

☆ Michigan Attorney General Nessel says she and other Jewish officials were targeted for murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 16: U.S. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a campaign rally held by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) designed to get Michigan State University students, faculty and staff out to the polls on October 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. The race between Congresswoman Slotkin and Michigan State Senator Tom Barrett for Michigan's newly configured 7th Congressional District is one of the two most expensive U.S. House campaigns in the country. In her tweet, Nessel wrote: "The FBI has confirmed I was a target of the heavily armed defendant in this matter." "Probable cause exists that [Carpenter] made threats to cause injury and death to Jewish members of the Michigan government," an FBI agent wrote in a complaint against Carpenter. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday that the FBI told her that she was among the group of Jewish state elected officials targeted for murder by a "heavily armed defendant" who has been arrested.

Governors gathered in the nation’s capital in recent days for the National Governors Association winter meeting. And while they were focused on their jobs at hand, questions about the 2024 presidential race were unavoidable. Asked on Saturday if she would like to see Biden run again, Michigan Gov. At a Democratic Governors Association press conference on Thursday, a group of 11 governors echoed support for Biden’s potential re-election campaign. Spencer Cox also joined “Meet” and weighed in on the presidential race, saying he would like to see his party nominate a governor.

☆ Ford to move forward with $3.5 billion EV battery plant with Chinese company
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

DETROIT – Ford Motor said Monday it will collaborate with a Chinese supplier on a new $3.5 billion battery plant for electric vehicles in Michigan, despite tensions between the U.S. and China. Glenn Youngkin saying he was withdrawing the state from a competitive process to attract the planned Ford plant over its connection to the Chinese company. The new batteries are expected to offer different benefits at a lower cost, assisting Ford in increasing EV production and profit margins. With this $3.5 billion investment, Ford says it and its battery partners have announced $17.6 billion in investments in electric vehicle and battery production in the United States since 2019. Gretchen Whitmer called the investment a "big win" for the state, which has moved to attract more battery production after missing out on previous multibillion investments.

“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.

☆ Delaware Man Is Sentenced in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Another of the men convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced Wednesday to 235 months, or nearly 20 years in prison. Barry Croft, 47 years old, of Bear, Del., was described by federal prosecutors as the ideas man in the foiled 2020 plan to kidnap Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat. The scheme was stopped by the Federal Bureau of Investigation before the men could harm the governor. The group of plotters was saturated with informants, and defense attorneys claimed the men were encouraged and entrapped.

Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison Wednesday, more than what was meted out to a co-defendant. “I do think of Mr. Croft as the more seriously culpable … more so than even Mr. Fox," Jonker said. “I think he was the person who gave Mr. Fox something to grab on to." Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said Croft needs to go away for an extended period of time to protect the public. I say all of this to say that Mr. Croft needed some intervention."

☆ Another militia member in Michigan governor kidnapping plot faces sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Another right-wing militia member convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer faces several years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday in a U.S. District Court. Barry Croft Jr., 47, a member of the far-right Three Percenters militia group, was convicted in August by a federal court jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan, of plotting to abduct the Democratic governor. Croft and Fox were among 13 men arrested in October 2020 in the kidnapping conspiracy. Prosecutors had accused the two of conspiring to trigger "a second American Revolution" by kidnapping Whitmer. Whitmer, co-chairman of Joe Biden's presidential election campaign that year, had clashed publicly with then-President Donald Trump over her COVID-19 policies.

☆ Michigan Man Sentenced in Plot to Kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adam Fox , one of the men convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer , was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge to 16 years in prison. Mr. Fox was described by prosecutors as the ringleader of a 2020 plot to kidnap Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat, a scheme that was foiled by the FBI before any harm could come to the governor. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker said Mr. Fox was the ringleader of the plan, though he wasn’t a natural leader.

☆ Convicted ringleader in Michigan governor kidnapping plot faces sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Steve Gorman | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 27 (Reuters) - The convicted leader of a foiled plot by members of right-wing militia groups to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer faces a possible life term in prison when he is sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Co-defendant Barry Croft Jr., another member of the Three Percenters militia group, was convicted of the same charges at the same trial and was scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday. Fox and Croft were among 13 men arrested in October 2020 on state or federal crimes in the kidnapping conspiracy. The same jury failed to reach a verdict for Fox and Croft, resulting in a mistrial for them. Two other men who pleaded guilty to kidnapping conspiracy charges testified for the prosecution at the first federal trial and during the retrial of Fox and Croft about four months later.

☆ Ringleader in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. sentenced to 16 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsRingleader in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. sentenced to 16 yearsPostedThe leader of a foiled plot by members of right-wing militia groups to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday in a U.S. District Court, prosecutors said. This report produced by Freddie Joyner.

☆ A Capitol riot defendant has been hit with new criminal charges — and this time he's accused of plotting to kill the law enforcement officials who investigated him
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new court filing alleges Kelley obtained a list of over 35 law enforcement personnel who investigated him. Kelley then discussed plans to kill the officials with an acquaintance, the filing alleges. Tennessee resident Edward Kelley, 33, allegedly obtained a list of law enforcement officials and discussed plans, starting December 3, to kill these officials with Austin Carter, 26, and a witness who eventually reported their activities to authorities, the complaint says. The witness then met with Kelley and Carter on December 3 at a park in Maryville, Tennessee, where Kelley discussed plans with both Carter and the witness. On Thursday, three men received prison sentences — one for 12 years — after being found guilty for plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov.

☆ 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.

☆ Three Sentenced in Foiled Plot to Kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Michigan judge on Thursday sentenced three men who had been convicted of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer . Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico were sentenced to prison terms as long as 20 years by Judge Thomas Wilson. They were convicted in October of aiding in the plot that was foiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2020. The charges against them included gang membership, supporting terrorist acts and firearms charges.

[1/2] Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a vaccine mobilization event at TCF center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca CookDec 15 (Reuters) - Three men convicted of playing supporting roles in a foiled plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan in 2020 were sentenced to multiple years in prison on Thursday, as two of the conspiracy's ringleaders await sentencing before the end of the month. During the two-hour hearing, the men - dressed in orange prison jumpsuits - sat with their attorneys with their hands shackled to their waists. The group planned to break into Whitmer's vacation home, kidnap her and take her at gunpoint to stand "trial" on treason charges, prosecutors said. In August, two alleged militia members accused of conspiring to trigger a "second American revolution" in the kidnapping plot were found guilty of kidnapping conspiracy charges.

☆ U.S. finalizes $2.5 billion loan to GM, LG battery joint venture
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters first reported in July the planned loan to Ultium Cells LLC from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. Last week, workers at the $2.3 billion Ultium plant in Ohio voted to join the UAW, a win for the union, which is seeking to organize the growing EV supply chain. GM and LG Energy are considering an Indiana site for a fourth U.S. battery plant. The Energy Department said the $3 billion would provide an estimated $40 billion in additional loan authority for a total estimated available authority under ATVM of about $55.1 billion before the Ultium loan. The ATVM loan program in July closed on a $102.1 million loan to Syrah Technologies LLC (SYR.AX) for expansion of a facility producing a key component for batteries.

☆ Flint water crisis charges dismissed against ex-Michigan Gov. Snyder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Rick Snyder in the Flint water crisis, months after the state Supreme Court said indictments returned by a one-person grand jury were invalid. Snyder also is the eighth person to have a Flint water case thrown out after the Supreme Court’s unanimous June opinion. “The charges against (Snyder) were not properly brought and must be dismissed at this time,” Behm wrote. Snyder acknowledged that state government had botched the water switch, especially regulators who didn’t require certain treatments. State prosecutors, however, chose that path in the Flint water saga to hear evidence in secret and get indictments against Snyder and others.

☆ Biden leans into manufacturing in campaign-style Michigan speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“We’re building a better America,” Biden said at a plant that makes components for electric vehicles. Two years ago, anyone betting against Biden’s political prospects would have lost. Biden has said more than 700,000 manufacturing jobs have been added since he took office. Democrats would like to flip the county in 2024, when Michigan will, as ever, loom as a crucial battleground state. “We’re hoping that President Biden’s visit might entice people to come back to the fold and recognize what his administration is doing for us economically.”

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