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It’s Chippewa Valley Farm-City Day, and hundreds of schoolchildren are swarming the grounds of Denmark Dairy, which stretches for nearly a mile along County Road B in Dunn County, in western Wisconsin. They are laughing and chattering to one another and petting young calves. The dairy, one of the largest in the region, sustains a herd of twenty-four hundred cows on more than four thousand acres, each milked by machine three times a day. Some of that milk finds its way up the road to the Swiss Miss plant, in Menomonie, which makes more than fifty million boxes of hot-cocoa powder every year, among other sugary delights. Each kid receives a small container of Swiss Miss vanilla pudding while making the rounds. Dennis Kragness, who is seventy, has been farming here since 1973, expanding in hard times that have bankrupted other families. In the past fifteen years, nearly half of the state’s dairy farms have shut their doors. Farm bankruptcies in Wisconsin last year were higher … [Read more...] about How Trump’s Presidency Looks from Rural Wisconsin

Sens. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerBooker hits fundraising threshold for December debate after surge of post-debate donations Bicameral group of Democrats introduces bill to protect immigrant laborers The Hill's Morning Report - Sondland stuns; Dems pull punches in fifth debate MORE (N.J.) and Amy KlobucharAmy Jean KlobucharA free college tradeoff — what should the 2020 candidates promise? Booker hits fundraising threshold for December debate after surge of post-debate donations The Hill's Morning Report - Sondland stuns; Dems pull punches in fifth debate MORE (Minn.) are looking to capitalize on their Wednesday night debate performances. The two candidates both earned strong reviews and are hoping they can somehow turn that into momentum for campaigns that have been overlooked by many voters so far.Klobuchar is in fifth place in the RealClearPolitics polling average in Iowa, but with just 5.3 percent — well behind the race’s big four: former South Bend, Ind., … [Read more...] about Booker, Klobuchar look to turn debate performances into votes

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The number of e-cigarette and vaping-related lung injuries continues to climb with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 2,172 cases so far in 49 states, including Florida. Forty-two people have died. One Miami Beach teen almost became another statistic when he says his lung collapsed because of vaping. And he tells CBS 4 he hopes sharing his near-death experience will help others quit. For Chance Ammirata, getting behind the wheel, will forever remind him of the day his life almost changed forever. “I was driving on the highway on my way to the bowling alley,” he said. “I laughed and I knew something was so wrong. That laugh resulted in me losing control of the car on the highway.” “I felt like my chest was caving in on itself. And I literally thought to myself, you’re having a heart attack,” Chance explained. But at just 18 years old, an EKG showed Chance’s heart was fine. His lungs, however, … [Read more...] about Miami Beach Teen Says Vaping Landed Him In The Hospital With Collapsed Lung

ROME—It has been nearly six months since two American teens on a wild weekend in Rome allegedly killed a 35-year-old police officer, and a court date for their murder trial has finally been set. On Feb. 26, 2020, Finnegan Elder and Gabe Natale Hjorth will be joint defendants in a trial that, until this week, looked like it might swing their way on the basis of self-defense.  Elder, 19, is accused of plunging a 7-inch military grade knife he carried with him from the U.S. into officer Mario Cerciello Rega while Gabe Natale Hjorth, 18, battled with Rega’s partner Andrea Varriale. Both of the policemen were working undercover. Neither of them were carrying weapons or badges. They did not have backup protection, and they were acting on what seems like a favor to a man who set the Americans up with a local pusher.   The chief line of defense for Elder, who police say confessed to the crime, has always been that neither of the officers identified themselves as … [Read more...] about Will American Cop-Killing Kids in Italy Go Free?

At one point seated, facing the audience at Harlem Stage, Michael Brown Sr. rubbed his eyes and it looked like he was rubbing his eyes hard. He may have just been tired. But at that moment, facing us, speaking as part of a panel, he also seemed spent. Done. During the 60-plus minutes of Antigone In Ferguson, this critic marveled that he could bear to be there at all. But his life now is in campaigning service to the memory and legacy of his son, Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Brown Sr. was here to watch a performance of the Theater of War production, which is a distillation of Sophocles’ Antigone as recited by actors, accompanied by beautiful music (by Phil Woodmore) and singing by a choir made up of police, social workers, activists and concerned youth from Ferguson and New York City. Afterwards, there was a panel and audience discussion touching on all the issues Brown’s death and subsequent unrest raised: … [Read more...] about Michael Brown and the Raw Power of ‘Antigone in Ferguson’