Author: Syndicated

One of President Donald Trump’s top reelection advisers told influential Republicans in swing state Wisconsin that the party has “traditionally” relied on voter suppression to compete in battleground states, according to an audio recording of a private event. The adviser said later that his remarks referred to frequent and false accusations that Republicans employ such tactics. Justin Clark, a senior political adviser and senior counsel to Trump’s reelection campaign, made the remarks on Nov. 21 as part of a wide-ranging discussion about strategies in the 2020 campaign, including more aggressive use of Election Day monitoring of polling places. “Traditionally...

The world’s first Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) for commercial use was officially launched in Yibin, Sichuan Province on December 5, marking the introduction of a new urban rail transit system pioneered by China. Dubbed the “Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit,” the ART is essentially a driverless tram. Developed by CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute of China, the system runs on “virtual rails” mapped out by cameras and censors, so it can determine the dimensions of roads and plan its own route. The Yibin ART T1 line extends for 17.7 kilometers. It is expected to serve more than 10,000...

Governor Tony Evers said on December 18 that Wisconsin will continue welcoming refugees to the state, joining several other governors to make such an announcement since President Donald Trump gave states and counties the power to reject refugees. In a letter to the Department of State, Evers said Wisconsin has “a rich history of opening its doors” to people of all backgrounds and has done so for more than 16,000 refugees in the past two decades. Evers, a Democrat who defeated Republican Scott Walker last year, also criticized the Trump administration for creating “an overly cumbersome and inappropriate process”...

In letters released on December 13, a top aide for Governor Tony Evers warned Foxconn Technology Group last month that a scaled-down factory in Wisconsin would not qualify for tax credits unless the Taiwanese electronics giant renegotiates with the state. The letters underscore a deepening schism between Evers and the world’s largest electronics provider. Foxconn counts Apple, Google and Amazon among its customers. Foxconn originally proposed building a massive flat-screen plant in Mount Pleasant that would eventually employ 13,000 people. Enamored with the thought of a monumental economic boost going into the 2018 elections, then-Governor Scott Walker and Republican...

People don’t like to commute. It’s time consuming and can be frustrating. More importantly, commuting can be costly, both in terms of finances and well being. So we set out to calculate the true cost of the daily drive to work. People don’t seem to change the way they get to work despite the negative aspects of commuting. The distribution of people using different modes of transportation, like driving alone, carpooling, or walking to work has remained steady since 2010. Each year, nearly 80% of Americans commute by driving to work alone. The five best metros for commuting include...

According to the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE), since 1989 the United States has paid hundreds of millions to incarcerate 2,515 men and women who were later exonerated after proving their innocence. Among all known exonerees, Americans have shelled out a staggering $4.12 billion to incarcerate innocent men and women since 1989. That is largely money spent on trials, and the cost of housing inmates in prison. According to the Bureau of Prisons, in the fiscal year 2017, the average cost to house a prisoner was over $36,000 a year in federal facilities. But black men make up the...