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Wisconsin Amtrak Service at Risk in Trump Budget

There are two Amtrak routes that run through Wisconsin - the Hiawatha, which carries passengers between Milwaukee and Chicago; and the Empire Builder, which transects the state as it makes its way from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. President Trump's proposed budget would eliminate the Empire Builder, and that - say rail advocates - would put the Hiawatha at risk, as well.

'Testimony' Fictionalizes Real-Life Oppression of Roma in Yugoslav Wars

By Mitch Teich • 1 hour ago

The war in the former Yugoslav republics in the Balkans took place a quarter century ago. And while some of the atrocities perpetrated in those conflicts are known today, much about what transpired in Bosnia, Serbia and elsewhere is still shrouded in mystery.

Brendan Dassey Of 'Making A Murderer' Wins Federal Appeals Court Case

By Merrit Kennedy • 20 hours ago

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that the confession of Brendan Dassey, whose case was part of the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer, was involuntary. Dassey was found guilty of helping his uncle kill a young woman in 2005, and has been held in a Wisconsin prison.

Goodbye Orion, Hello Big Dipper: As Seasons Change New Constellations Come Out to Play

By Bonnie North & Joy Powers • 20 hours ago

This summer, the northern hemisphere sees some pretty spectacular astronomical events. The Perseid meteor showers will peak in mid August and about a week after that, parts of the United States will witness the first total solar eclipse since 1979. It’s also the first one visible from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic since 1918.

Senate Health Care Bill Hangs In The Balance As 4 Lawmakers Waver

By Jessica Taylor • 23 hours ago

Updated at 10:40 a.m. ET, June 23

Four lawmakers announced their opposition to the Senate health care bill just hours after the GOP's latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was released.

"Currently, for a variety of reasons, we are not ready to vote for this bill, but we are open to negotiation and obtaining more information before it is brought to the floor," Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Mike Lee, R-Utah; and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Black Youth in Wisconsin Make Up a Disproportionate Percentage of Incarcerated Young People

By LaToya Dennis • 23 hours ago

Across the country and in Wisconsin, the number of youth being held in state run detention facilities is on the decline, according to a study released by Youth First and Urban Institute.

Between 2005 and 2014, the average daily population at Wisconsin run juvenile correction facilities fell by 52 percent. While the numbers are improving, African American youth are disproportionately impacted, making up 70 percent of the population in Wisconsin’s juvenile detention centers.

'Preservation': The Art and Craft of Putting Food By

By Bonnie North & Edyn Herbert • Jun 22, 2017

From canning to fermenting to dehydrating, Christina Ward is an expert in teaching Milwaukeeans how to preserve food. She says that among the many professional hats she wears, this is the one she’s particularly proud of.

“I’m the master food preserver, which means I’m a volunteer in my community charged with giving people the latest and greatest science,” says Ward.

Trump: 'I Did Not Make, And Do Not Have' Recordings Of Comey

By Tamara Keith • Jun 22, 2017

Updated at 1:59 p.m. ET

President Trump gave a straight answer on Thursday about whether he has recordings of his private conversations with fired FBI Director James Comey — No.

The question of the existence of tapes arose on May 12, when shortly after firing Comey, Trump tweeted that the former FBI director "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations."

Senate Republicans Reveal Long-Awaited Affordable Care Act Repeal Bill

By Danielle Kurtzleben • Jun 22, 2017

Updated at 2:32 p.m. ET

Senate Republicans unveiled their long-awaited health care overhaul proposal on Thursday. The Senate bill, called the "Better Care Reconciliation Act," would repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The broad outlines of it look a lot like the House bill, the American Health Care Act, which was passed in May.

Emotional Responses to Heaggan-Brown Not Guilty Verdict

By Marti Mikkelson • Jun 21, 2017

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Dominque Heaggan-Brown heard the words “not guilty” in court on Wednesday as did the family of Sylville Smith. A jury decided the former officer should not be criminally responsible for fatally shooting of Smith last summer, a killing that sparked two nights of violence in the Sherman Park neighborhood. The jury deliberated for ten hours over two days, and after Judge Jeffrey Conen announced the verdict, Smith's family members sobbed.

Jury Finds Former Milwaukee Police Officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown Not Guilty

By Marge Pitrof • Jun 21, 2017

Michael Sears/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/pool photo

Cries of disapproval filled the courtroom on Wednesday afternoon, after a Milwaukee jury found former police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown not guilty of reckless homicide. He shot and killed 23-year-old Sylville Smith following a foot chase last summer, igniting two days of violence in the city's Sherman Park neighborhood.

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