Whitmer budget to increase K-12 foundation grant by 4.1%, to $10,000 per pupil
LANSING — Schools and local governments will all have about 4% more to spend in 2026 under a state budget to be presented to lawmakers Wednesday, Michigan Budget Director Jen Flood said Tuesday.
Flood said in an interview with the Free Press that keeping costs down for Michigan families is "the number one focus" of the budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. It continues initiatives introduced earlier under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, such as the sweetened Earned Income Tax Credit, reduced taxes on retirement income, pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds, and free school meals, while introducing new measures to help seniors, small businesses, and others, she said.
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CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Bob Costas: Trump's attacks on the media are unlike anything in my lifetime
'The free press is under attack,' Bob Costas said at an awards ceremony Monday evening. 'Democracy as we know it is under attack.' The famed sports broadcaster was at the Edison Ballroom podium in New York, accepting a lifetime achievement Mirror Award for his 'distinct, consistent and unique contributions to the public's understanding of the media.' What began as a speech reflecting upon a 50-year career in sports journalism quickly became a scorching sermon about the state of sports media and the threats to the free press coming from President Donald Trump. 'What's happening now are not matters of small degree,' Costas, 73, said of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism, including personal lawsuits, FCC investigations, and crackdowns on press access. 'They're different in kind to anything certainly in my lifetime and maybe in the history of the American presidency.' Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. The president 'intimidated ABC into reviewing George Stephanopoulos,' Costas said of the network settling Trump's 2024 defamation lawsuit brought against it after the star anchor repeatedly said on-air that Trump had been 'found liable for rape' in the E. Jean Carroll case when a jury had found him liable for sexual abuse. 'All they should have said was George misspoke,' the sportscaster said. 'They didn't have to pay a $15 million ransom.' Costas then turned his attention to CBS News. 'Did Shari Redstone — because she wants to effect a merger that Trump's FCC could stand in the way of — did she have to besmirch and undercut the gold standard in our lifetime of broadcast journalism, '60 Minutes?'' Redstone, 71, currently controls Paramount Global, the global media company that owns CBS News. She is seeking to sell her stake in the company as part of a merger with Skydance Media, but the deal needs approval from the Trump administration. As a result, Redstone has reportedly sought to settle the president's lawsuit against CBS over a '60 Minutes' segment — a lawsuit that legal experts have repeatedly deemed bogus — sparking outcry from the network's journalists. 'Paying $20 million in ransom to Trump is just the cost of doing business when there's billions of dollars at stake,' Costas remarked. (ABC and CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.) 'These are ongoing assaults on the basic idea of a free press,' he said. 'It does not mean that we are without fault,' Costas said. 'It does not mean that the legacy or mainstream media doesn't screw up from time to time or have blind spots or misplaced narratives.' However, he added, 'if the answer to that is MAGA media, if the answer to that is Donald Trump's view of the world, which is only through a prism of what benefits him… I'll stay where we are.' 'I used to love Bob Costas, but then he turned political,' Costas said he's often heard from sports fans. 'You know what, if that's what you think and that's how you think and you think it in defense of that guy, I wear that as a badge of honor.' Costas has often drawn criticism from fellow sports broadcasters for using his perch to bring attention to political issues. In one particularly famous instance in December 2012, he devoted his 'Sunday Night Football' segment to make a plea for gun control after a Kansas City Chiefs linebacker shot and killed his girlfriend and then himself outside the team's practice facility. Costas, who left NBC Sports in 2019 after 40 years there, also lamented the current state of sports broadcasting, which he said 'tragically' lacks in-depth coverage of the political and social issues intimately connected to the games themselves. Such issues, he said, 'need to be covered, not during the game, not in between pitches, or in between free throws, but at some point need to be covered.' Costas suggested that broadcasters have become deferential to the sports leagues, avoiding interrogative questions or controversial topics altogether. 'With all the hundreds and hundreds of hours of coverage, let's say, of the NFL, can't there be a 'Meet the Press'-style interview of [commissioner] Roger Goodell somewhere?' He quipped: 'Sports isn't brain surgery, but it doesn't have to be brain dead either.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Nebraska congressman's bill would prioritize filling Weather Service vacancies after DOGE cuts
Flood's legislation was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Florida, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Nebraska Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood introduced legislation this month that would make it harder for National Weather Service employees to be fired. The bipartisan-backed bill, named the Weather Workforce Improvement Act, would reclassify Weather Service employees as public safety personnel — essentially protecting them from most future administrative hiring freezes and buyouts. Flood's legislation was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Florida, California, Oklahoma, and Illinois. No other members of the Nebraska delegation have yet signed on as cosponsors. The bill also would allow the agency director a two-year authority to hire meteorologists and other positions deemed critical for the Weather Service, to fill positions that can't be filled now due to a broader freeze on government hiring. 'It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent,' Flood said. 'Everybody wants accurate weather forecasting.' The proposal comes after a Weather Service office in the Omaha area and other Great Plains offices announced pausing the deployment of weather balloons in April. Omaha-based NWS office will deploy weather balloons again after DOGE cuts Flood and others in the federal delegation reversed that decision after pushing back against the then-Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency cuts — though Flood said last week that the vacancies had started during former President Joe Biden. The station is launching two weather balloons a day, Flood has said, but the Omaha-area Weather Service office has said it still faces staffing issues. Flood told the Examiner in April that if his legislation had been in place, 'it would never have gotten to the point it is.' The Weather Service has faced staffing issues long before Trump's second term, but recent cuts required 'urgent action,' according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Trump Administration fired a total of roughly 600 workers from both agencies in March as it tried to reshape the federal bureaucracy. DOGE cuts to the Weather Service affecting Nebraska contributed to two forecasting offices that cover some rural parts of western and southwestern Nebraska to no longer monitor local weather around-the-clock. Weather Service offices covering parts of rural Nebraska no longer monitor weather 24/7 One office in Wyoming that covers eight counties in the Nebraska Panhandle, and the other in Kansas that forecasts for three counties in the southwestern corner of Nebraska had to find backup during uncovered shifts. Other nearby forecasting offices — dealing with their own staffing problems — have to handle the load. The Weather Service said last week it had been granted an exemption to Trump's government-wide hiring freeze to hire 126 people to 'stabilize' the department. That is less than a quarter of the cuts made to the agency this year. Nebraska and local rural weather experts say NWS staffing shortages threaten public safety. Flood said he hopes to get his proposal amended into a 'more comprehensive weather-related bill' for a vote on the House floor. He says it is more challenging to pass a law at the federal level than his time as a state lawmaker, where he served as speaker. 'Passing the law in Congress is like a Rubik's Cube with 536 squares on it and a lot of different colors,' Flood said during a press call last week. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
Goldman Sachs Says the Magnificent 7 Are Set to Rebound This Summer
After leading the market for two straight years, the Magnificent 7 – Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), Nvidia (NVDA), and Tesla (TSLA) – are underperforming in 2025. Some investors are even wondering if these tech giants are in bubble territory, despite the recent month-long rally. Confident Investing Starts Here: John Flood of Goldman Sachs sees it differently. In a June 3 commentary titled Revenge of the Magnificent 7, he argues that the recent sell-off might be a buying opportunity. The group just beat earnings expectations by 13%, yet stock prices are down. This disconnect means their valuations are now more reasonable compared to past years. Flood Points to Key Catalysts Flood points out that the valuation premium these companies enjoyed has dropped sharply. Despite their size, these firms are showing strong profit growth, with forward profit margins at record levels. They also tend to be less dependent on economic cycles, giving them a more defensive profile when the outlook turns uncertain. Positioning is another factor. Many mutual and hedge funds are still underweight these names. If sentiment improves, there's plenty of room for institutional buying. Flood sees this 'dry powder' as a potential tailwind. He also brings in seasonality. July is historically strong for corporate buybacks, and many of the Magnificent 7 are known for their large repurchase programs. That should provide additional support for stock prices in the weeks ahead. All these signals point to better earnings, lower valuations, defensive business models, underweight institutional exposure, and seasonal buyback strength, leading Flood to expect the Mag 7 to outperform the broader market this summer. In short, if Flood is right, this summer could mark a return to form for the market's most-watched stocks. Using Tipranks' Comparison Tool, we've assembled the Magnificent 7 and compared notable performance factors to gain a broader perspective on each of the stocks.
