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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Spot noted for its famous shawarma opening another Macomb County location
Mark your calendar and set an alarm. Macomb County shawarma lovers are in for a treat. Bucharest Grill, known for its tasty and popular shawarma wraps, is coming to Hall Road. Owner Bogdan Tarasov, in a text message to the Free Press, said he plans to open the newest Bucharest Grill at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 11, at 20730 Hall Road in Clinton Township. Bucharest Grill will offer its tasty and popular shawarmas, plus other Middle Eastern latest location marks the ninth location Tarasov has opened in metro Detroit. Like other Bucharest Grills, this location offers dine-in or carryout. There will be seating for about 35 inside the Clinton Township location. Tarasov started Bucharest Grill nearly two decades ago in downtown Detroit. Its menu offers various items ranging from Bucharest's popular shawarma sandwiches to salads and sides of creamy hummus and garlic sauce. Bucharest Grill's shawarmas include those made with chicken breast, beef, lamb, falafel and a vegetarian option. The shawarmas include tomato, lettuce, pickles, mayonnaise and garlic spread all wrapped in a pita. Its shawarma sandwiches, according to the online menu, are $9.95. There also is a catering menu. Bucharest Grill's latest opening was St. Clair Shores, which debuted earlier this year. Its other locations include Detroit (four locations), Royal Oak, Southfield and Grosse Pointe Woods. For information, go to or call 313-965-3111. Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@ Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Macomb County getting another Bucharest Grill location: Here's where
Yahoo
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Bob Costas Slams Trump's ‘Ongoing Assaults' on Free Press and Warns Against ‘MAGA Media': ‘Democracy As We Know It Is Under Attack'
Bob Costas has a chilling warning for the future of journalism. On Monday, while accepting a lifetime achievement Mirror Award at a ceremony at the Edison Ballroom in New York (via CNN), the storied sports caster warned the audience of 'ongoing assaults' on free press by the Trump administration, adding that 'democracy as we know it' is 'under attack.' More from Variety Trump Military Parade May Not Get Much Coverage on CBS, NBC, ABC Whoopi Goldberg Calls the Trump-Musk Feud 'Fake' and 'Strategic': 'This Is Another Distraction' and 'I'm Not Buying It Because They Lie' Gavin Newsom Demands Trump Administration Remove National Guard From L.A. Amid ICE Protests: 'Rescind the Order. Return Control to California' 'What's happening now are not matters of small degree,' Costas said. 'They're different in kind to anything certainly in my lifetime and maybe in the history of the American presidency.' Costas made it clear that the major news outlets are not 'without fault' and that 'legacy or mainstream media' have their fair share of 'blind spots' and 'misplaced narratives.' He added, however, '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.' He went on to say that during the height of his popularity, he would sometimes hear from fans, ''I used to love Bob Costas, but then he turned political.'' Costas said to those who share that sentiment, '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 spent 40 years at NBC Sports, exiting the network in 2019. He said that the industry 'tragically' misses the mark on connecting the world of sports with important social and political topics. Political issues in sports, he added, '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.' Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
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a day ago
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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.'
