https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/nurses-aide-convicted-1987-alpine-manor-nursing-home-murders-seeks-clemency-claims-innocence/69-52534ede-8663-41a0-8b48-8c1dd6fcd907

Nurses aide convicted in 1987 Alpine Manor nursing home murders seeks clemency, claims innocence
Convicted of 5 murders nearly 40 years ago, Gwen Graham is seeking clemency, arguing the murders never even happened and the trial was tainted by anti-LGBTQ+ bias.
By Brielle Meyer - May 18, 2026

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Gwen Graham, convicted of five first-degree murders in the deaths of elderly patients at Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker nearly 40 years ago, is asking Michigan's governor for clemency, arguing he never committed the crimes at all.

Graham is currently serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole. At the time of the crimes and trial, Graham identified as a woman and went by the name Gwendolyn. He now lives as a transgender man.

The Michigan Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School filed the 642-page petition on Graham's behalf in March 2025. WZZM 13 obtained the petition from Graham's attorney, who confirmed its filing.

Graham, now 62, has been incarcerated at Huron Valley Women's Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti since his 1989 conviction on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy.

In 1987, Graham and his then-girlfriend, Catherine Wood, were nurses' aides at Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker. Five elderly patients, Mae Mason, 79, Edith Cook, 98, Marguerite Chambers, 60, Myrtle Luce, 95, and Belle Burkhard, 74, died between January and April of that year. All were initially ruled to have died of natural causes.

The investigation began more than a year later, when Wood's estranged husband contacted Walker police after Wood told him she and Graham had been smothering patients. Wood eventually entered into a plea agreement, pleading to second-degree murder in exchange for her cooperation and testimony against Graham. She was sentenced to 20 to 40 years.

Graham was convicted largely on the basis of Wood's testimony. Wood testified that Graham suffocated the patients while she acted as a lookout. Graham has maintained his innocence since his arrest.

13 ON YOUR SIDE covered Wood's lengthy parole battle. After being denied parole eight times, Wood was granted parole in 2018. Following a legal challenge by victims' families and a ruling by Kent County Circuit Court Judge J. Joseph Rossi, Wood was released in January 2020 and relocated to South Carolina.

The clemency petition, submitted by the Michigan Innocence Clinic, makes several central allegations and arguments for why Graham's conviction should be overturned and clemency granted:

• No physical evidence. The clinic argues that no physical or forensic evidence has ever supported the conclusion that any murder took place at Alpine Manor. The five women were elderly, seriously ill, and their deaths were not considered suspicious at the time. According to the petition, the nursing home's own medical director testified at trial that there was no unusual uptick in deaths during the period in question.
• Wood's story was fabricated and inconsistent. The petition argues the entire case rests on Wood's account, an account that changed repeatedly during the investigation. At various points, Wood told investigators she alone killed patients, that they killed together, that Graham alone was responsible, and that the total number of victims ranged from five to eight. The petition also argues Wood had a documented pattern of manipulation and fabricating stories, and that coworkers who heard her early claims believed she was playing one of her typical "mind games."
• Dark humor was not a confession. A significant portion of the petition addresses the workplace jokes that became central to the prosecution's case. Graham, Wood and other Alpine Manor staff occasionally made dark, morbid jokes about patient deaths, including jokes inspired by a 1980 horror movie called Motel Hell. The petition argues this kind of gallows humor is well-documented and common in caregiving professions, and does not constitute evidence of criminal behavior.
• Anti-LGBTQ+ bias infected the trial. The petition argues that the 1989 trial took place against a backdrop of rampant homophobia in Michigan and that prosecutors exploited Graham and Wood's relationship to shock the jury in lieu of presenting substantive evidence. Witness after witness was questioned extensively about their sexual relationships with Graham, testimony the clinic argues was irrelevant to murder and served only to inflame prejudice. The petition also argues that media coverage of the case at the time repeatedly centered on Graham and Wood's identity as lesbians in headlines and story framing.
• Graham's record in prison. The petition notes that over 36 years of incarceration, Graham has fewer than one disciplinary write-up per year on average. He tutored fellow prisoners pursuing their GEDs, participated in substance abuse treatment programs and took part in the Prison Creative Arts Project as recently as 2023. The petition also alleges Graham was sexually assaulted by prison staff at Scott Correctional Facility and was a member of a class of plaintiffs in a 1996 lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections over sexual harassment and assault by officers.

These announcements appear frequently in recent appropriation committee hearing agendas.

The process may soon become even more rigorous.

CapCon Weekly Editorial Dispatch email:

Scott McClallen    |    May 22, 2026

Big changes may be coming to Lansing’s earmark process. 

On May 12, the Michigan Court of Claims sided with the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, granting a preliminary injunction that blocks legislators from approving district spending requests unless they clear a constitutionally required two-thirds supermajority in each chamber.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in May 2025 against the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, targeting grants awarded to private organizations at the behest of individual lawmakers. Among the projects called out: a $1.5 million grant for Jimmy John's Field in Utica and $1 million for Jackson Field in Lansing.

The lawsuit might stop lawmakers from lobbing million-dollar softballs to politically connected and favored private entities, such as baseball stadiums whose owners could easily pay the bills. 

The Michigan Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority vote before taxpayer dollars flow to private entities. Critics say the earmark process has long bypassed that threshold — bankrolling everything from curling centers and cricket fields to ballet companies and auto shows.

The court carved out exemptions for grants with statewide benefit, such as highway funding and major cultural institutions, though it stopped short of defining those institutions clearly.

James Hohman, the Mackinac Center's fiscal policy director, has argued that if a grant serves the public interest, lawmakers should establish formal criteria and a competitive process — not simply hand money to projects of their own choosing.

Payments on the challenged grants are frozen while the case proceeds toward a final ruling on the merits.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/13/planned-parenthood-clinics-state-funding/90066532007/

Planned Parenthood: Michigan clinics will close if state doesn't provide $5M
Without a $5 million allocation from the state, Planned Parenthood says it will have to close further locations in Michigan.
By Arpan Lobo - May 13, 2026

Planned Parenthood of Michigan says it will have to close more abortion clinics in the state if it does not receive a one-time, $5 million allocation from the state. The organization is calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to take action, although budgetary process constraints could make the request difficult to fulfill.

During a media call Wednesday, May 13, the organization's leaders said cuts to federal funding for abortion services and reproductive health care under President Donald Trump's administration threaten clinics in Michigan. Without a one-time allocation of $5 million from the state, the organization will have to close additional locations in Michigan, Paula Thornton Greear, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said in a letter to Whitmer sent Wednesday.

It's not immediately clear what funding pool Whitmer could allocate funds to Planned Parenthood from. Typically, state dollars are earmarked for spending through the budget process, when the governor and each chamber of the Michigan Legislature hash out a spending plan. Any supplemental spending would also have to go through the Legislature, where Democrats control the Senate and Republicans control the House. It's not likely the House would support state funding for Planned Parenthood.

"Gov. Whitmer is one of the country's greatest champions for reproductive freedom. Under the Michigan Constitution, the Legislature has the responsibility to allocate state funds," Stacey LaRouche, Whitmer's press secretary, told the Detroit Free Press over email Wednesday. "We would encourage any organization or individual to work with the Legislature on their budget asks."

Thornton Greear said other governors have maneuvered one-time funding to their Planned Parenthood affiliates, noting a $4 million earmark for Planned Parenthood in Illinois authorized by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

"We urge the governor to pursue every pathway," Thornton Greear said, calling for "urgency and creativity."

"The specific mechanism matters less than the outcome at this point."

Currently, Planned Parenthood has 10 health centers in Michigan where patients can receive reproductive healthcare, including medication and in-clinic abortions. The group closed health centers in Jackson, Marquette and Petoskey and consolidated its two Ann Arbor locations last year, also citing cuts in federal funding.

Grant funding through the federal Title X program has undergone a shift since Trump returned to office for a second, non-consecutive term early last year. Title X provides federal funding for family planning for low-income and uninsured individuals, according to KFF, and hundreds of abortion providers throughout the country rely on the funding.

In March, Democrats in Congress warned U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in a letter that providers would face a funding cliff under changes to grant guidelines made by the department, NPR reported.

Thornton Greear said Wednesday a $5 million allocation from the state would cover services through October, when the next round of Title X funding is expected. But Planned Parenthood of Michigan cannot afford to hang on that long, and Michiganders would lose access to reproductive care without state relief, she said.

"Without state action, we will be forced to make decisions about our footprint that cannot be undone," Thornton Greear told reporters.

https://hoodline.com/2026/04/msu-shakes-up-med-schools-in-big-bet-on-detroit-grand-rapids/

MSU Shakes Up Med Schools in Big Bet on Detroit, Grand Rapids
By Marcus Taylor - April 3, 2026

Michigan State University is pulling its two medical schools under one leadership roof and doubling down on Grand Rapids and Detroit as its main research and clinical hubs. The overhaul is meant to better align the MD and DO degree tracks, centralize administration, and widen access to clinical rotations and translational research sites across Michigan. University leaders say the shift is about becoming a stronger partner to large health systems and a tougher contender for grants and private investment.

As reported by Crain's Detroit Business, the change folds the College of Human Medicine and the College of Osteopathic Medicine into a more coordinated structure that highlights MSU's footprint in the state's two biggest cities. Crain's describes the move as both an administrative consolidation and a strategic wager on Detroit and Grand Rapids as growth engines, with centralized back-office work paired with an expansion of clinical sites and research partnerships.

MSU is branding the shift under its "One Team, One Health" strategy, which explores a "One College of Medicine, Two degree pathways" model that keeps MD and DO identities intact while syncing curriculum oversight, research priorities, and institutional strategy, according to MSU. The planning materials outline task forces on accreditation, college structure, and research that will recommend a path forward, and MSU says town halls and community conversations will continue as the work moves along.

Anchors in Grand Rapids and Detroit

On the west side, Grand Rapids remains the key anchor. The College of Human Medicine is based at the Secchia Center on the Medical Mile, which MSU touts as a hub for preclinical education, simulation, and growing research activity, according to MSU College of Human Medicine. In Detroit, MSU's clinical integration has been speeding up through a multi-year partnership with Henry Ford Health that features shared services, an electronic health record migration, and plans for a Detroit research center, according to a Henry Ford Health press release. Together, the two hubs give MSU a stronger foothold in both of Michigan's largest health care markets.

Why Students, Hospital Partners and Patients Should Care

University officials say the unified approach could open up more clinical rotation slots for students and smooth out recruitment pipelines for hospitals, a core part of MSU's broader strategic pitch highlighted by MSUToday. Hospital systems could see tighter clinical networks and shared hiring pipelines, while researchers are eyeing a combined college as a way to boost MSU's odds for federal grants and philanthropic funding. At the same time, hospital leaders, faculty, and students are waiting to see how governance, budgets, and the split of clinical revenue and overhead are sorted out.

Accreditation and governance are still unresolved. The university has created an accreditation task force and promised more analysis before landing on a final structure, according to MSU. Any change to how the MD and DO programs are run will need careful review from accrediting bodies and campus stakeholders, and MSU has signaled there will be more community conversations in the months ahead.

For now, MSU is stressing that both degree pathways will remain in place and that the goal is to amplify its statewide presence, not close campuses. The finer points, including timelines, projected savings, and what all of this means for day-to-day clinical placements, are expected to surface as task forces report back and more town halls take place.

https://record.umich.edu/articles/four-projects-receive-nearly-4-5m-in-lsa-research-initiative/

Measuring, Modeling, and Mapping Microplastics in the Atmosphere of Michigan
The harmful effects of microplastics in water and on land have been the topic of many scholars’ research in recent years, but little is known about its impact in the air.

This team will research how microplastics pollution in the atmosphere has impacted residents in Michigan, and how racial, economic, and geographic disparities have played a role in exposure levels. The research will help inform how to better address this issue and promote environmental justice.

Project team: Anne McNeil, Andrew Ault, Ambuj Tewari, Paul Zimmerman, Allison Steiner and Mary Starr

Total award: $2 million

More at Michigan Advance:

https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/29/scientists-may-be-overestimating-microplastics-in-the-environment-and-the-culprit-is-lab-gloves/

Scientists may be overestimating microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves
By Anne McNeil, University of Michigan and Madeline Clough, University of Michigan - March 29, 2026

It seems like every day a new study finds tiny plastic particles called microplastics where they should not be: in our bodies and our food, water and air.

Yet finding and identifying microplastics is extremely challenging, especially given their small size. One microplastic can range from as large as a ladybug to as small as an eighth of a red blood cell.

In addition, it can be hard for researchers to avoid unintentionally contaminating their samples, because these plastics are practically everywhere. As a result, much of this research may be overestimating the number of microplastics.

In a new study published in March 2026, our team found that, even when following established protocols, using certain methods to measure environmental microplastics can potentially contaminate the results.

Microplastics are tiny plastics shed from plastic waste. They are found in the environment, waterways and even the human body.

The study

We are chemists at the University of Michigan working in a collaborative team. We set out to understand how many microplastics Michiganders were inhaling when outside, and whether that depended on where they lived.

When preparing our samples, we followed all the standard protocols while conducting our research – we avoided plastic use in the lab, wore nonplastic clothing and even used a specialized chamber to reduce potential contamination from the laboratory air.

Despite these precautions, we found plastic counts in the air that were over 1,000 times greater than previous reports. We knew these numbers didn’t seem right, so what happened?

The culprit: Lab gloves

After a long path to pinpointing the contamination source, we found that laboratory gloves, which the scientific community recommends using as a best practice, can transfer particles to the surface of our samples – in this case, small metal sheets used to collect material depositing from the air. Moreover, the particles led to an overestimation of microplastic abundance in our study.

Here’s how: The particles, which we identified as stearate salts, are used to help the gloves cleanly release from their mold during the manufacturing process. When gloves are used to handle laboratory equipment, the particles are transferred to anything they touch. Stearate salts are similar to soap molecules – if you eat a lot of them, they’re probably not good for you, but they’re not harmful in the environment in the same way that microplastics are.

While not microplastics themselves, stearate salts are structurally similar to polyethylene, the type of plastic most often found in the environment. This structural similarity makes it difficult to distinguish them using the most common tools scientists use to determine whether a particle is plastic.

Researchers use vibrational spectroscopy to identify microplastics, which entails measuring how the particle interacts with light to produce what scientists call a chemical fingerprint.

Because polyethylene and stearate salts have very similar structures, they also interact with light in a similar way.

As a result, at least some of the time, the particles from gloves are incorrectly identified as microplastics. As more researchers rely on automated methods to speed up their analyses, glove residue may be increasingly mistaken for microplastics, leading to higher reports of microplastics in the environment than in reality.

How widespread is this contamination?

To investigate how prevalent this contamination might be, we looked at different glove types. We mimicked the touch between seven types of gloves while handling laboratory equipment and counted the number of microplastics we would incorrectly attribute to the environment if we followed the most common approaches.

We found that gloves can contribute over 7,000 particles per square millimeter that are misidentified as microplastics. This finding means that researchers could be unknowingly overestimating microplastic abundance in the environment when handling their samples with gloves.

Even more concerning, we found that the particles were largely less than 5 um in size. Microplastics in this size range have larger impacts on human and ecosystem health because they can more easily enter cells. By inflating microplastic counts in this size range, using laboratory gloves may jeopardize the studies that inform future policies and regulations.

Moving forward

To avoid contamination, we suggest scientists avoid glove use while conducting microplastic research. If that is not possible – for example, with biological samples where the researchers must wear gloves to protect themselves – we recommend a glove made without stearates, such as those designed for electronics manufacturing. To recover older, potentially contaminated datasets, we have developed methods to help differentiate the chemical fingerprints.

Science is an iterative process. New areas of research, including environmental microplastics, introduce new challenges to the scientific community. In addressing these new challenges, we will encounter setbacks, such as unforeseen contamination.

While we had to discard our initial dataset, we expect the lessons we learned about glove contamination to reach other scientists. In addition, we plan to continue our research on Michigan’s atmospheric microplastic contamination – but this time without gloves.

It’s important to note that even if the microplastic abundance in the environment is lower than researchers originally thought, any amount of microplastics can be troublesome, given their negative effects on human health and ecosystems.

Anne McNeil is a Professor of Chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. Madeline Clough is a Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry at the University of Michigan.

This lawsuit, Case 1:26-cv-00390, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on February 6th.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids.  An update from Michigan Advance:

https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/deadline-to-respond-extended-in-right-to-life-of-michigan-lawsuit-challenging-state-employment-law/

Deadline to respond extended in Right to Life of Michigan lawsuit challenging state employment law
By Katherine Dailey - March 11, 2026

A lawsuit filed by Right to Life of Michigan and the Pregnancy Resource Center in Grand Rapids against Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and members of the Civil Rights Commission, continues to develop in court as the deadline for Nessel and the other defendants to respond has been extended to the end of March.

The lawsuit, which alleges that Michigan’s employment law violates the First Amendment protections of the two plaintiff organizations by requiring them to recruit and hire candidates with beliefs on abortion that do not align with the groups, as well as requiring them to cover abortion care in employee pregnancy benefits plans, was filed on Feb. 6 in federal district court.

Right to Life of Michigan and the Pregnancy Resource Center, or PRC, argue that, by continuing to require that their employees agree with their respective anti-abortion messages, they are currently in violation of Michigan’s employment law, putting them at risk of losing licenses or paying fines that they should not be at risk for.

“The First Amendment protects Right to Life’s and PRC’s First Amendment freedoms to join with others to further a common cause and to refrain from participating in activities that contradict their beliefs. Michigan’s law infringes on these bedrock freedoms,” the court filing reads.

The groups filed for a preliminary injunction to prevent any enforcement of those employment laws against the two groups “from adopting and following a policy, pattern, or practice of only recruiting, hiring, employing, and retaining employees who agree with, abide by, and live consistent with its position on abortion,” according to the motion.

The defendants had initially faced a March 4 deadline to respond to the complaint. However, on Feb. 26, Judge Robert J. Jonker, who is handling the case in the Western District of Michigan, granted an order to extend that deadline until March 27. The plaintiffs will then have another four weeks to respond themselves.

This is not the only lawsuit filed by Right to Life of Michigan against the current administration — the group is currently appealing the decision from a judge to dismiss a suit filed in 2023 seeking to overturn the state’s Proposal 3, a ballot initiative in 2022 that enshrined reproductive freedoms, including the right to an abortion, in the Michigan Constitution.

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/03/06/ag-nessel-defends-access-to-birth-control-and-other-contraceptive-care

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/FILED%2025-2575%2025-2662%20Mass%20et%20al%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

AG Nessel Defends Access to Birth Control and Other Contraceptive Care
By Danny Wimmer - March 06, 2026

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief (PDF) challenging the first Trump Administration’s 2017 and 2018 regulations undermining the Affordable Care Act’s guarantee of no-cost contraception coverage by employer healthcare plans. The regulations expand religious and moral exemptions to allow employers to strip workers of guaranteed, no-cost coverage for birth control and other contraceptive care and services.

In their brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition urge the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to affirm the District Court’s ruling that the regulations are unlawful. Attorney General Nessel joined a parallel challenge to the first Trump Administration’s rollback of the contraceptive mandate and that case remains pending before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Birth control is a critical part of healthcare for women across the country,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Unlawful regulations that eliminate no-cost contraception coverage for thousands make it harder for women to protect their health and plan their futures while worsening healthcare deserts. I stand with my colleagues in defending the health and safety of women in our state.”

In the brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition argue that the regulations threaten contraceptive coverage for hundreds of thousands of women, putting at risk their health and the economic and public health of the states generally. Today, more than 80% of women ages 18 to 49 report having used some form of contraception in the past 12 months. With contraception costing an average of $584 per user per year, these unlawful regulations could shift an estimated $73.8 million in costs to individuals who rely on contraceptive care, creating significant barriers to accessing safe, effective healthcare. The coalition also argues that states will face significant financial strain if they are forced to expend millions of dollars for replacement contraceptive care and services through state-funded programs.

Access to birth control and contraceptive care has been substantially reduced in the years since these regulations were first implemented, and this harm will be exacerbated if the regulations remain in place because of changes in the landscape for reproductive healthcare. Many clinics that provide reproductive healthcare services – which would have helped fill the gap these regulations create – have since had their funding decimated by the Trump Administration. Moreover, a wave of cruel abortion restrictions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade has further constrained the options available to women experiencing unintended pregnancies.

The coalition argues that by limiting access to necessary contraceptive care, the unlawful regulations deepen already prevalent racial, gender, and income disparities. People of color and people with low incomes are disproportionately likely to live in “contraceptive deserts,” or areas that lack reasonable access to the full range of contraceptive care. An estimated 19 million American women live in these deserts and face additional challenges to accessing birth control. The regulations threaten to exacerbate these already significant health disparities and make accessing birth control even more challenging for marginalized communities.

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition urge the Court to affirm the District Court’s judgment striking down the Trump Administration’s regulations and protecting access to birth control and contraceptive care for hundreds of thousands of women across the country.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing this brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-state-of-the-state-address-full-transcript-gretchen-whitmer/

<snip>The third thing we should focus on this year is health care.

We all need quality, affordable health care, but for too many, it's synonymous with lengthy paperwork, long phone calls, and confusing processes.

• It shouldn't be so hard.
• It shouldn't be so maddening.
• And it really shouldn't be so damn expensive.

• Insurers can't charge more for preexisting conditions.
• Young people can stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26.
• Prior authorizations are faster, digitized, and more transparent.
• There are no more surprise medical bills and no caps on annual or lifetime care.
• And mental health is finally covered equally to physical health by law, making Michigan the first state to get that done.

Now let's talk about two more things we can do this year to lower costs and protect access to health care.

First, medical debt. Over half a million Michiganders got sick and couldn't afford to pay the bill. It's crushing. Last year, we wiped out medical debt for 210,000 people. That's a huge weight off their backs. I'm grateful to county governments statewide who have taken similar actions. I also want to thank Senators Anthony and Lindsey for their leadership on this issue.

But with more economic uncertainty and deeper cuts to health care on the horizon, we know that thousands more Michiganders will rack up medical debt this year.

We must do more. Here's what I'm thinking:

1) Let's cap interest rates on medical debt.
2) Let's prevent medical debt from showing up on your credit report.
3) Let's require hospitals to set up financial assistance programs for patients.
4) And let's ban liens or foreclosures on homes because of medical debt.

In Michigan, we believe that being sick or getting hurt shouldn't also mean going broke. In 2026, we can help more Michiganders reduce medical debt.

Moving on… let's talk about Medicaid. Last year, we recognized that federal cuts would put 2.5 million Michiganders at risk of losing their coverage and threaten hospitals in rural and underserved areas. We agreed that wasn't right, so, we took action.

Our budget protected billions in funding for core Medicaid services. I want to thank Representatives Dr. Longjohn and VanWoerkom for their efforts here. But the work is not finished. In our budget this year, we must do more.

In my executive recommendation, I proposed a significant investment to stabilize Medicaid funding. If we include this throughout the budget process, we can protect benefits and maintain coverage for eligible Michiganders.

No matter what happens in DC, let's work together in Lansing to help Michiganders pay less for the care they need.

It's what we've done for years. In 2014, as the Minority Leader in the Michigan Senate, I worked with Governor Snyder to expand Medicaid under the ACA. It took a lot of compromise, but we got it done and created Healthy Michigan.

When we collaborate, we can do extraordinary things. This year, let's erase more medical debt and protect our health care system for us all. Let's get it done.

<snip>

It is not clear why AG Nessel and her secret cabal of anti-Trump Democratic Attorneys General are suing the federal government over vaccine schedules.  States, not the federal government, have the exclusive authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren.

Emily G. Hilliard, the press secretary for HHS, blasted AG Nessel's lawsuit as a “publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit.”

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/02/24/ag-nessel-joins-multistate-lawsuit-challenging-the-kennedy-vaccine-schedule

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Filed%20Complaint_0.pdf

AG Nessel Joins Multistate Lawsuit Challenging the Kennedy Vaccine Schedule and Unlawful Overhaul of Federal Childhood
By Danny Wimmer - February 24, 2026

LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today will join a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's radical overhaul of the nation's childhood immunization schedule. The complaint, which will be filed later today, names Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya, and the CDC and HHS as defendants.

The lawsuit challenges a January 5, 2026, CDC “Decision Memo” that stripped seven childhood vaccines—those protecting against rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)—of their universally recommended status. The complaint also challenges the unlawful replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the expert federal panel that has guided U.S. vaccine policy for decades.

Among U.S. children born in the past 30 years, childhood vaccines have prevented an estimated 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations and 1.1 million deaths. This remarkable achievement has been made possible in large part by leading medical scholars and public health experts who have served on ACIP and established the science-based childhood vaccination schedule that federal agencies, states, and parents have confidently relied on for decades.

In December 2025, the reconstituted ACIP reversed nearly thirty years of CDC policy by eliminating the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose—a vaccine that is up to 90 percent effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth. Shortly thereafter, the CDC expanded its ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines. On January 5, 2026, then-Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill—who has no medical or scientific background—signed off on a “Decision Memo” that changed the recommendations for seven vaccines from the routinely recommended childhood vaccination schedule to a status that invites confusion and uncertainty. These vaccines remain available through shared clinical decision-making and are recommended for all children by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and leading medical organizations.

The Decision Memo was not based on any new scientific evidence, any recommendation by a lawfully constituted ACIP, or any systematic review of the available data. Instead, it relied primarily on superficial comparisons to purported “peer countries”—particularly Denmark—while ignoring the fundamental differences between those nations and the United States, as well as the overwhelming evidence supporting the effectiveness of the CDC’s pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule.

Lower vaccination rates will lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease. For Michigan and other states, this means a greater strain on their Medicaid programs, more money spent combatting misinformation, and wasted resources decoupling state laws, regulations, and public guidance from ACIP’s and CDC’s now-untrustworthy recommendations. Contrary to Secretary Kennedy’s misinformation and insinuation, vaccines previously recommended on the CDC’s pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting America’s children and public health at large.

To ensure clear guidance in Michigan, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive, has issued a Standing Recommendation (PDF) advising health care providers and families to follow the child and adolescent immunization schedule produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics (PDF) and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Bagdasarian highlights those recommendations in a video that can be found here.

“Childhood vaccines are proven to save lives, and the overhaul of the nation's immunization schedule has only sown unnecessary confusion and anxiety for parents who are simply trying to make the best, most informed decision for their children,” said Attorney General Nessel. “While physicians like Michigan’s very own Dr. Bagdasarian are standing up for kids and following evidence-based recommendations, the CDC cannot be permitted to let politics and unlawful appointments interfere with longstanding public health policy. Our children deserve recommendations that are guided by science, and I will continue working to protect Michigan families and ensure that health decisions remain rooted in facts and in the best interests of our communities.”

“For decades, vaccines have played a critical role in the prevention and control of infectious diseases and significant reductions in childhood illnesses and fatalities,” said Bagdasarian. “Recommendations were backed by science and guidance to families and clinicians was clear. The recent changes announced by the federal government are causing confusion for families and have contributed to recent declines in vaccination rates. This is hitting some of our communities disproportionately and we have already experienced outbreaks of measles and pertussis in our state. Unless we can increase immunization rates, we will continue to experience outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases, and potentially devastating health impacts.”

The plaintiff states are asking the court to declare the Kennedy Schedule and the Kennedy ACIP appointments unlawful, and to enjoin, vacate, and set aside both the new immunization schedule and the unlawful appointments.

In filing this lawsuit, Attorney General Nessel is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.

A copy of the lawsuit will be available on michigan.gov/agnews once available.

The second hyperlink above is the lawsuit, which AG Nessel evidently signed Michigan on to without reading.

https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/2026-02-14/purer-meth-less-pure-opioids-more-cocaine-hit-michigan-testing-reveals

https://harmreductionmi.org/

https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/forensic-science

Purer meth, less pure opioids, more cocaine hit Michigan, testing reveals
By Maxwell Howard of Interlochen Public Radio | February 14, 2026

Mexican drug cartels are shipping purer forms of meth into rural Michigan, replacing the drugs that were once made in home labs and full of impurities, police and lab testing data shows.

Meanwhile, opioids have been cut with more impurities that can render overdose treatment ineffective and cocaine use is on the rise, the data shows.

The lab results show rural parts of the state are rife with methamphetamine, cities have more cocaine, and opioids are everywhere in lesser amounts.

While Michigan’s drug overdose deaths have fallen from a high of 3,000 in 2021 to just more than 1,900 in 2024, the most recent state data shows, drug use remains high. Some 269,000 Michiganders 12 and older reported using illicit drugs other than marijuana in 2023 and 2024, the most recent federal data shows.

Local production of meth has grinded to a halt within the last five years, said Elaine Dougherty, lab manager at the Michigan State Police Bridgeport crime lab.

“Now, we get the crystal meth from the drug cartels,” said Doughterty. “It's not made from Sudafed anymore. It's not made in pop bottles anymore. It's literally made in factories in Mexico.”

In Grayling, about 60% of the drugs tested at that crime lab are meth, while Marquette comes in over 80%. Opioids and cocaine each make up roughly 10% to 15% in those labs.

While cocaine is a smaller percentage of the drugs tested across the state, Dougherty said the drug is more popular than it’s been in years, driven in part by increased production in South and Central America.

The number of tests run for cocaine at State Police crime labs statewide has almost doubled within the last three years — from 15% to 28%. That follows global trends showing the number of global cocaine users has grown to 25 million people in 2023, up from 17 million a decade earlier, according to the United Nation’s 2025 World Health Report.

That report says an estimated 3,708 tons of cocaine were manufactured in 2023, increasing by almost 1,000 tons from the year before. The increased supply has increased access and purity of the drug for users.

Opioids, Dougherty said, are the most heavily adulterated drugs on Michigan’s market, with around 20% of synthetic fentanyl samples containing xylazine, a sedative often paired with opioids for its similar effects.

Xylazine does not act on the same opioid receptors pathway, so opioid overdose reversal medication such as Naloxone does not work.

“We were rarely seeing large amounts of xylazine in a sample,” said Doughtery. “I know on the East Coast, they were seeing samples with five times as much xylazine as fentanyl.”

Xylazine levels peaked in Michigan in early 2025, according to MSP lab data, being found in 34% of fentanyl samples. That gradually declined at the end of the year.

Another non-opioid veterinary sedative, medetomidine, has increased from being non-existent in the last year to being found in over 12% of fentanyl samples. That drug behaves much in the same way as xylazine, but is 100 times more potent.

In 2024, three overdoses in Michigan were linked to medetomidine, leading state health officials to raise the alarm.

Damage by xylazine can result in deep skin wounds by restricting blood flow and damaging tissue.

Staff at Traverse City’s Harm Reduction MI office report treating xylazine wounds occasionally — usually with groups and in small timeframes.

“If fentanyl with xylazine makes it to Traverse City, it's likely several people are ingesting it. Especially if you always get your drugs from the same source,” said Dougherty.

One reason for that risk, she said, is that local dealers often don’t know what’s in the drugs.

“The dealers don't know when their stuff has xylazine in it,” said Dougherty. “In an odd way, (dealers) take pride in what they sell. So if they are saying they're selling cocaine, they want those customers to come back. So they want it to be cocaine that they're selling.”

Harm Reduction also tests drugs across the state, but at a different entry point than the State Police. While the state labs test drugs after they are confiscated, Harm Reduction MI tests drugs while they are on the street.

Director Pamela Lynch said most people usually find the nonprofit through word of mouth and come to test their drugs after a bad reaction. Harm Reduction’s testing data often includes more minute data than the state lab, which reports drug mixtures and cocktails.

Lynch’s lab data also reports different cocktails, but also reveals smaller adulterants — substances which appear in drugs incidentally or for little known purposes.

Around two months back, Lynch said, a woman brought in a substance to be tested after her boyfriend had an especially bad reaction and had trouble communicating. The sample later came back with results of PVC plastic.

“A lot of times, people know there's a lot of stuff in there that doesn't belong in there,” said Lynch.

Common adulterants include caffeine, acetaminophen, lidocaine, antidepressants and sugars. Sometimes, the substances are unexpected.

“We even had a sample recently with flower dye,” said Lynch. “The flower dye actually ends up making little spots on their skin.”

Whether knowing what’s in illegal drugs changes behavior — for dealers or people in active addiction — is unclear. But for Lynch, the purpose of her lab is to keep people as healthy as they can until a person is ready for recovery.

“They may think that they have a safe supply. They may trust their dealer,” said Lynch. “They all know they're buying fentanyl. They don't know that they're buying xylazine until they test it.”

This reporting is made possible by the Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative, led by Bridge Michigan and Interlochen Public Radio, and funded by Press Forward Northern Michigan.