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LANSING — The release of radio transmissions between the Lansing police officers and the dispatch center on March 16 are raising questions about why Lansing Police Chief Teresa Szymanski ordered officers to leave the Capitol during a protest that resulted in more than a dozen arrests. Szymanski has defended her decision, claiming that she determined, after consulting with Michigan State Police, the mayor and officers on scene that MSP did not require assistance in arrests. However, the radio transmissions show that officers were dispatched to the Capitol in order to transport protesters who had already been arrested for being in the building after it was closed.

State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad is having surgery for a brain tumor on Wednesday, he wrote on his Facebook page Monday evening

Former New York Gov. George Pataki issued a statement Friday afternoon indicating that he would concentrate on his nonprofit, No American Debt, instead of launching a 2012 bid for the White House.

The $106 billion emergency spending bill -- primarily targeting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- also included $10.4 billion in foreign aid, nearly $8

As the U.S. State Dept. considers a proposal to build a nearly 2,000-mile long pipeline to transport Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast, key

Republicans hope to hold out on health care until the fall, staving off a public plan.

Today, the Obama administration announced it will spend $3 billion more to help jobless homeowners. First, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is

Hadi Ghaemi of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said he has a hard time taking a strong stance one way or the other about the Berman-Pence

A new anti-abortion rights billboard campaign set to appear in Los Angeles soon is targeting Latinas. The billboard says in both English and Spanish that “the most dangerous place for a Latino is in the womb.” # The group behind the billboard is the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles

Echoing the recent message from Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters today that the middle of an employment

A Rasmussen poll released today shows that in theory, at least, voters should support the DREAM Act: Most voters in the poll said children brought to the U.S.

No real surprise that progressive Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) would be appalled by the inspectors general report on warrantless surveillance, but this is news

Michigan’s largest teachers union is formally supporting efforts to recall the governor and members of the state House following last week’s passage of bills that reduce job security and limit collective bargaining rights. In a message to members on Friday the Michigan Education Association said that it will support existing recall efforts and will also consider backing some efforts to recall state senators. “Our elected leaders need to know that we will not sit idly by as they try to dismantle public education, destroy the middle class, and defeat MEA and other public sector unions!” the group said as it urged teachers to use their summer break to become politically active.

Blogger Lowell Feld notices that Michael Schwartz -- the longtime conservative activist-turned-Hill staffer whom I heard wax poetic about the gay-making powers

If Howard Dean were still the head of the Democratic National Committee, he would be “quietly rooting” for a government shutdown, he said while speaking on

A roundup of the top immigration stories of the week: - The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that would make the state’s immigration

The foreclosure crisis has taken a turn in California’s wealthy Marin County, according to Miriam Alex-Lute at Rooflines. Marin residents waged a legal fight a

It’s really the last sentence of the two-paragraph joint statement emerging from national security adviser Jim Jones and CIA Director Leon Panetta’s visit to

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami (Pic via Facebook) Add the Christian Family Coalition to the list of organizations attacking Miami GOP Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for her decision to support the Respect for Marriage Act. In a release, the Christian Family Coalition writes that “Florida Rep.

No, really. Via Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that more and more people are being picked up and tossed in jail to satisfy