Marine archaeologists in Wisconsin find ship after single day of searching, in 50ft-deep waters off Algoma
Shipwreck hunters with the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association have discovered the wreckage of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan 131 years ago.
A team of marine archaeologists located the Margaret A Muir – a 130ft, three-masted schooner built in 1872 – in 50ft-deep waters off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin, on 12 May.
Continue reading...Strategists view Republican convention address as time to ‘pivot’ ex-president’s image, while critics remain skeptical
With political winds at his back, Donald Trump on Thursday is expected to use his first speech since surviving an assassination attempt to plead for national unity.
Strategists view the Republican national convention address, likely to be watched by tens of millions of Americans on primetime television, as a unique opportunity to redefine the former US president as more palatable to moderate voters.
Continue reading...David Axelrod, former top Obama adviser, says the question of whether Biden can survive is ‘entirely in his hands’
Today’s theme at the Republican national convention will be “Make America Strong Once Again,” and many of the speeches are expected to focus on foreign policy.
“Each one of these has a theme, like last night was ‘bend the knee and grovel’ apparently,” Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, said at a Democratic press conference in Milwaukee. “And today is ‘celebrate Russia day,’ I guess.”
Continue reading...Kari Lake attacks media as ‘fake news’ as Elise Stefanik calls Biden ‘feckless and failed’ and says he’s caused ‘chaos’
Speakers at the Republican national convention ramped up their rhetorical attacks on Democrats on Tuesday night despite Donald Trump’s presidential campaign signalling that the party would adopt a serious tone and message of unity in the face of political violence.
Kari Lake, a Trump ally and Republican candidate for senate in Arizona, used her speech time to launch an attack on the media, which she called “fake news”, and said more Americans were no longer tuning in to mainstream media.
Continue reading...Ex-president blames Democrats and offers conciliatory remarks to city hosting Republican national convention
Donald Trump made a brazen bid for support in the vital swing state of Wisconsin on Tuesday by declaring his affection for its biggest population centre, Milwaukee, just days after denigrating it as “a horrible city”.
Needing to explain his own words to a city that will host the Republican national convention next month, the former president predictably chose to tackle the problem head on at a campaign rally in neighbouring Racine, about 30 miles from Milwaukee along the shore of Lake Michigan.
Continue reading...GOP-controlled committee thwarting distribution of $125m budgeted by legislature until polluter immunity approved
Wisconsin Republicans are withholding $125m designated for cleanup of widespread PFAS contamination in drinking water and have said they will only release the funds in exchange for immunity for polluters.
The move is part of a broader effort by Republicans in the state to steal power from the Democratic governor, Tony Evers, the funding’s supporters say, alleging such “political games” are putting residents’ health at risk.
Continue reading...Wisconsin city will host Republican national convention next month, a key swing state Biden won in 2020
US Democrats have seized on Donald Trump’s dismissal of Milwaukee as “a horrible city” by trumpeting the unflattering description on advertising hoardings – a month before the city in the swing state of Wisconsin hosts the Republican national convention, where the former president is set to be the party’s presidential nominee this November.
Trump reportedly made the comment in a meeting with congressional Republicans in Washington on Thursday, his first return to Capitol Hill since extremist supporters broke into Congress on 6 January 2021, to try to stop Joe Biden’s victory over him.
Continue reading...Violent incident in Madison adds to more than 200 mass shootings in the US so far this year
A shooting at a rooftop party in Wisconsin early on Sunday left at least 10 people injured, including teenagers, police said.
Nine people were injured by gunfire and another was injured by broken glass at the party at a high-rise apartment in downtown Madison.
Continue reading...PFAS chemicals present in air, rain, atmosphere and water in basin, which holds nearly 95% of US freshwater
Toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” are ubiquitous in the Great Lakes basin’s air, rain, atmosphere and water, new peer-reviewed research shows.
The first-of-its-kind, comprehensive picture of PFAS levels for the basin, which holds nearly 95% of the nation’s freshwater, also reveals that precipitation is probably a major contributor to the lakes’ contamination.
This story was amended on 18 May 2024 to clarify that Buffalo does not border Lake Ontario.
Continue reading...Police arrest more than 200 students at UCLA as law enforcement clears camp at Dartmouth, arresting more than 90 students
More than 2,000 people have now been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests across dozens of US college campuses in recent weeks.
Police arrested more than 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators on college campuses on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, pushing the total past 2,000, according to an Associated Press tally.
Continue reading...Peter Bernegger has brought at least 18 lawsuits against election clerks and offices over alleged fraud – now he faces criminal charges
Peter Bernegger has spent the last three and a half years bombarding local election offices in Wisconsin with litigation and accusations of fraud. He’s brought at least 18 lawsuits against election clerks and offices in state court, and on social media, he has relentlessly promoted his litigation and circulated false claims about election fraud in the swing state.
His campaign has recently landed him in legal trouble – Bernegger now faces criminal charges for allegedly falsifying a subpoena in connection with a lawsuit against the state’s top election office.
Continue reading...Thousands show up in Green Bay where ex-president attacks ‘fake media’ and ‘tyrants’ in state where he lost to Biden four years ago
On Wisconsin’s presidential primary election day, Donald Trump made his first campaign stop in the state, where he railed against so-called “migrant crime” and doubled down on false election claims.
“We won in 2016 – we did much better in 2020, hate to say it, we did a hell of a lot better,” the former president told the roaring crowd, nodding to the disproven and unfounded “rigging” numerous times during his speech.
Continue reading...Both candidates have clinched nominations, but Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin turnout may hint at 2024 results
Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump won primary elections in four states, including the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin.
Hundreds of delegates were up for grabs in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin on Tuesday, and Biden and Trump have already amassed enough delegates to win their respective nominations. But the turnout could provide more clues about the general election in November.
Continue reading...Voters cast ballots in four states including key battleground for Trump and Biden. Get up to speed with the results as they come in
Voters in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin cast ballots in the presidential primaries on Tuesday. Much attention will be paid to Wisconsin, where voters will signal strength and weaknesses in the critical swing state for Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
There are also options in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Wisconsin for voters to choose “uncommitted” in a show of protest against Biden’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
Continue reading...Voters will also potentially enshrine two state amendments that some say could have a negative impact on elections administration
Voters in Wisconsin cast their ballots today in an election that will test voter enthusiasm for Joe Biden and Donald Trump – and potentially enshrine two amendments in the state constitution impacting election administration across the state.
The president and former president are already the presumptive nominees and will almost certainly face off in the general election in November, and it seems that the threat of prosecution, general unpopularity and advanced age can’t stop them.
Continue reading...Richard Bong downed 40 aircraft in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning before it crashed while being flown by another pilot
A Wisconsin museum is partnering with a historical preservation group in a search for the wreckage of the second world war ace fighter pilot Richard Bong’s plane in the South Pacific.
The Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, and the non-profit second world war historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks announced the search on Friday, Minnesota Public Radio reported.
Continue reading...Supreme court rejects Democratic lawsuit challenging new maps drawn by Democratic governor Tony Evers
The liberal-controlled Wisconsin supreme court on Friday rejected a Democratic lawsuit that sought to throw out the battleground state’s congressional maps, marking a victory for Republicans who argued against the court taking up the case.
The decision not to hear the congressional challenge comes after the court in December ordered new legislative maps, saying the Republican-drawn ones were unconstitutional. The GOP-controlled state legislature, out of fear that the court would order maps even more unfavorable to Republicans, passed maps drawn by the Democratic governor, Tony Evers. Evers signed those into law on 19 February and urged the court to take up the congressional map challenge.
Continue reading...Commission says Save America Joint Fundraising Committee evaded campaign finance laws in effort to oust Trump foe
Donald Trump’s legal woes continue in Wisconsin, where the state’s ethics commission has recommended felony charges against Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee for its alleged role in a plot to bypass campaign finance limits.
Trump is already facing 91 felony charges in criminal cases across multiple states related to his political and business dealings. The newest allegations in Wisconsin were first reported on Friday by the news site WisPolitics.
Continue reading...Governor’s signature marks end of long fight over legislative lines and greatly reduces the Republican bias baked into current maps
The Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, has signed into law a pair of new state legislative maps, undoing a Republican gerrymander that has shaped Wisconsin politics for more than a decade and giving Democrats a chance at winning control of the state in future elections.
“It’s a new day for Wisconsin,” said Evers at a press conference on Monday to cheers from a room of anti-gerrymandering activists.
Continue reading...Votes by Republican-dominated state assembly and state senate signal that the years-long battle may be finally drawing to a close
Wisconsin lawmakers voted on Tuesday to adopt legislative maps drawn by the Democratic governor, Tony Evers – inching the state closer to undoing the extreme gerrymander that has ensured Republican control of the state for more than a decade.
The pair of votes in the Republican-dominated state assembly and state senate are a sign that the years-long battle over Wisconsin’s legislative maps may be finally drawing to a close, giving Democrats a chance to win control of the state legislature in upcoming elections for the first time since 2012.
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