Vox Sentences - Michigan Dems are getting thing done

Michigan Democrats rapidly pass priority legislation; Slovakia and Poland send warplanes to aid Ukraine.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Michigan Democrats score legislative victories

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

• Michigan Democrats  are working to rapidly pass major legislation after winning control of the state legislature for the first time in almost 40 years. [NPR / Colin Jackson]
• This week, Democrats ended Michigan’s right-to-work law that allowed workers union benefits without paying union dues, and repealed the state’s archaic abortion ban. [Jacobin / Luke Savage]
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also signed an expansion to the state’s civil rights laws, banning discrimination against gender identity and sexual orientation. [Detroit Free Press / Clara Hendrickson]
• Meanwhile, state Senate Democrats passed sweeping gun safety legislation following the mass shooting at Michigan State University in February. The House could bring up the bill next week; Whitmer is expected to sign it. [Associated Press / Joey Cappelletti]
• Michigan is one of 17 states held completely by Democrats. Republicans, however, control more legislatures and hold more state government trifectas than Democrats nationwide. [MSNBC / Michael A. Cohen]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Nicole Narea explains Michigan Democrats’ legislative agenda after winning all three branches of state government. [Vox / Nicole Narea]

NATO allies send jets to Ukraine

• Slovakia and Poland will send Ukraine Soviet-era MIG-29 warplanes to help fend off Russia’s invasion. [AP / Karel Janciek]
• Slovakia will receive $213 million from the European Union for its fleet of 13 planes and $745 million in weapons from the US. Poland will send up to 12 planes and will monitor Slovakian airspace with the Czech Republic. [Guardian / Isobel Koshiw]
• Slovakia and Poland are the first NATO allies to send jets to Ukraine. It’s unclear if other countries would make similar moves over fears of escalating the conflict. [Deutsche Welles]
• Russia said the plans would not affect the war outcome and threatened to destroy the warplanes during military operations. [BBC / Jonathan Beale and Robert Greenall]

In January, the only supplier of the widely used abortion pill Mifeprex sent corporate clients a list of 31 states where it wouldn’t distribute the drug, placing pressure on pharmacies. [Vox / Rachel Cohen]

• Minnesota officials say the November leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear power plant poses no risk to the public. [AP / Steve Karnowski]
• Friday, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest, alleging Ukraine war crimes. He’s unlikely to comply. [NBC News / Henry Austin and Phil McCausland]
• The WHO found four key factors help explain why 70 percent of the world’s maternal deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa. [Vox / Rachel DuRose]

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“Voters exercised their power in terms of what they wanted us to do. They want us to be effective and I think we’ve shown that.”

[Michigan Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate on his party’s legislative agenda / NPR]

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