The U.S. Senate passed a defense appropriations bill on Sunday morning that includes an extension of unemployment benefits and other provision that will help many in Michigan during these tough economic times. The House had voted for the same bill earlier last week.

The bill includes an extension of the time the federal government will subsidize COBRA payments to allow unemployed workers to keep their health insurance from nine months to 15 months. It also fixed a glitch in an earlier unemployment extension bill that should help about 70,000 Michigan workers become eligible for an extension of their benefits.

An associate professor at Missouri State University has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the college after she and three other members were reassigned to non-teaching duties, allegedly without cause. According to the lawsuit, Mary Ann Jennings, a social work professor, was removed from the School of Social Work in May 2008 in the midst of a program overhaul. The lawsuit claims she was not given a hearing as required by the faculty handbook, and that the only faculty that were reassigned were 50 years old and older. She is seeking actual damages plus $1 million in punitive damages. Didi Tang, News-Leader 12/21/2009