While the GOP-led Senate passed the measures in a partisan 19-15 vote, the bills will very likely be vetoed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. Whitmer has previously shot down a number of laws aimed at banning the wearing of masks and vaccine requirements. Despite Whitmer hesitating to enforce a statewide mandate on masks and vaccines, she has made her position on the matter clear, issuing a statement in August supporting any school’s decision to require masks....

The Daily Beast reported that the Republican legislator joined a group of fellow GOP lawmakers at a demonstration in Augusta, Maine. A crowd of around 400 people were gathered at the State House to protest Democratic Governor Janet Mills’ recent mandate that all health-care workers in Maine get vaccinated against COVID-19. Johansen has long been a vocal critic of public health measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. The Bangor Daily News reported neither he nor his late wife Cindy had been vaccinated against COVID....

“The White House counter-proposed the Republican counter-proposal by saying it would come down to $1.7 trillion for infrastructure,” Roberts said on his show Monday. “So there’s still a tremendous amount of real estate between the Republicans and the White House. And in the White House counterproposal, they take away almost $40 billion from the traditional infrastructure of roads, bridges and the like. Is there ever going to get a deal done here?...

Just 28 percent of the adults surveyed nationwide favored a Trump run. However, the survey found that a majority of Republicans favored the former president making a run for a second term. Sixty percent of Republicans surveyed said they felt he should run while 40 percent of Republicans surveyed said they did not want to see him on the ballot. In turn, 73 percent of independents who responded to the survey said they felt he should not run, and 26 percent said they wanted to see Trump on the ticket....

Dan Patrick, who turned 70 this month, faced a social media backlash in March for telling Fox News that many of his generation were willing to “take a chance” and return to work because an economy that was shut down by the coronavirus would harm future generations. As parts of Texas started to reopen this week following weeks of restrictions, Patrick defended his comments on Monday, telling anchor Tucker Carlson again that the recent economic hardship had left him “vindicated....

Voters in the state will settle two runoffs on January 5 that will determine control of the U.S. Senate. Pro-Trump Republicans took to Parler, the self-styled “free speech” social media network, to discourage members of their own party from voting. Some referenced a conspiracy theory about “rigged” ballot machines as reason not to take part. Bookmakers said incumbent Republican candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have pulled away from their Democratic challengers, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock....

“I think it’s harmful. It’s certainly not helpful,” Cox said during a KUED news conference. The governor, who said he didn’t have hard data on vaccine hesitancy, expressed frustration with a recent push from right-wing media outlets like Fox News and Newsmax to malign COVID-19 vaccination. Rob Schmitt, a prime-time host for Newsmax recently said vaccines go “against nature,” that some diseases are “supposed to wipe out a certain number of people” and that “vaccines kind of stand in the way of that....

The former Celtics forward sustained the problem in Monday’s 112-109 preseason loss to the Raptors, his second appearance for Charlotte. Hayward only joined Michael Jordan’s Hornets on a four-year, $120 million deal on Nov. 29. The Hornets are hopeful Hayward can avoid surgery and are listing the 2017 NBA All-Star as day-to-day going forward, though he will not face the Magic on Thursday. “Forward Gordon Hayward sustained an avulsion fracture of his fifth metacarpal on his right hand during the team’s preseason game against the Toronto Raptors on December 14,” read a statement from the Hornets on Wednesday....

The Wisconsin third-year sophomore will enter the 2014 season as a Heisman candidate after announcing Friday that he will return for another season. “After talking it over with my family and my coaches, I have decided to come back next year,” Gordon said. “I love the University of Wisconsin and feel that there is still a lot of room for growth. Academically, another year in school will help me get closer to completing my degree and on the field I hope to help my team get back to the Big Ten championship....

Gore has a hard act to follow: his own. A superstar on the campaign trail, he helped transform a troubled ticket into a New Age dynamo. After the election he became a fixture around Little Rock with his early-morning jogs and high-profile huddling with Bill and Hillary over cabinet appointments. Aides burbled about how Gore had “bonded” with Clinton. But he has groused to friends that he was underemployed during the transition....

That eight-point advantage is statistically unchanged from last week’s NEWSWEEK poll, in which the Vice President held a 10-point lead (the polls have a margin of error of plus or minus four points). The critical post-Labor Day national polls now paint a picture of a race that ranges from a dead heat to a significant Gore lead. Gore has a slight edge in the Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll, the Fox/Opinion Dynamics poll and a significant lead in the Zogby poll....

At 12:30 a.m. on the Friday after Election Day, the phone rang in the Tallahassee hotel room of Ron Klain, a top Gore aide. It was Al Gore, calling from Washington, D.C. Gore had not only been thinking about the problem, but he’d done something about it. He’d called Erin Brockovich. Not Julia Roberts, who played Erin Brockovich in the movie about a town’s legal fight with a polluter–but the real Erin Brockovich....

Here we look at some great DIY plant stand ideas for interiors and the garden, with tips from gardening experts. DIY Outdoor Plant Stand Ideas Shelves and Shoe Racks Michael Perry, a horticulture expert from the Mr Plant Geek website, told Newsweek that simply changing the height of your displays can showcase your plants better. “Elevating your plants allows you to see them from more optimum angles, especially with some plants where flowers hang down such as the houseplant Medinilla....

You may have heard Jet’s single “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” in the new iPod commercial and figured it was by some brilliant ’60s band that never got its due. Unabashedly derivative, Jet’s debut CD, “Get Born,” not only borrows from the Stones, Beatles, Kinks, T-Rex and AC/DC, but lifts licks from their equally sticky-fingered predecessors Oasis. They funnel the stolen goods into tight song structures, add Nic Cester’s sweetly raspy vocals and deliver the most compelling rock performances this year....

GQ Magazine noticed McDavid’s presence in the hockey world and has dubbed him, along with other nine other athletes, a part of its “The Anointed Ones: The 10 Greatest Athletes of the Future” list. GQ defines the group as ‘10 [athletes] who are well on their way of joining the next wave." The next wave being the top 50 athletes in the world. McDavid is at the forefront of the NHL’s youth movement after he was named the youngest captain in league history....

Hosted by the Recording Academy, the nominees’ announcement will begin at approximately 8:20 a.m. ET, according to the official website. CEO Deborah Dugan and Recording Academy board chair Harvey Mason Jr. will reveal the nominees in select categories. It is being broadcast from Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center, New York City. Previous winners of the Grammy Awards include musicians such as conductor Georg Solti, Quincy Jones, country singer Alison Krauss, conductor Pierre Boulez, Stevie Wonder, composer John Williams and Beyonce....

In a joint statement received by Newsweek, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO, Harvey Mason, Jr., CBS Executive Vice President, Specials, Music, Live Events and Alternative Programming Jack Sussman, and Grammys Executive Producer Ben Winston announced the change. The full statement can be found below: Rolling Stone and Variety first reported that she show would be postponed. We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors and especially this year’s nominees for their understanding, patience and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times....

According to a release issued by the Allegheny County Police Department, Robbie Boyer, 47, was arrested and charged on Thursday with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, possession of controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Officials used naloxone to reverse the effects of the overdose that occurred on July 31 and brought the infant to the hospital in critical condition. Two other children in Boyer’s care also reportedly tested positive for controlled substances....

An official statement from the Office of the Mercer County Prosecutor stated that around 3:40 a.m. on Friday, a fire broke out in a house on Woodlawn Avenue in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. The fire caused a partial roof collapse, and the statement declared that the circumstances around the deaths are unknown at this time. The grandmother was in her 40s, and her granddaughter was only nine months old....