Author: Alex Trent

Transit officials in New York have approved a $15 toll for drivers moving through the busiest part of Manhattan. This plan is the first “congestion toll” approved in a major US city. The cost of the new toll will change depending on the time of day and type of vehicle one enters Manhattan south of 60th Street with. Board Approval Source: Robert Bye/Unsplash Sitting members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board had a vote on Wednesday to greenlight this congestion toll proposal. It had previously been presented to the public months before. The vote on Wednesday passed and the plan…

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill called HB 621 on Wednesday. This legislation takes aim at a seemingly growing problem of squatters in the country taking over the homes of Americans through what Desantis calls a “squatting scam.” DeSantis hopes that this bill, which empowers homeowners in Florida with an additional avenue to remove squatters from their property, can end the problem. HB 621 Source: Daniel Lee/Unsplash House Bill 621 was drafted to combat so-called squatting scams seen in viral online videos where squatters would take over a person’s home, and the police would be powerless to stop them.…

A Biden Administration wind energy project is under attack from conservative activist groups in a federal lawsuit filed to block its construction. One of the primary motivations for the lawsuit comes from a dispute around the impact the project will have on North Atlantic Whales. The lawsuit asserts that the windmills the Biden Administration wants to build will have a negative environmental impact on this already endangered species. Federal Lawsuit The White House/Wikimedia Commons The lawsuit is 61 pages long and was filed in the U.S. District Court of Columbia. The plaintiffs of the complaint were the activist groups Constructive…

How much do you know about the United States? This test contains civics questions based on the actual ones those who want to take a naturalization test must answer. An applicant on a real naturalization test must answer an average of six out of 10 questions correctly. Test your knowledge on these questions to determine just how well you would do on such a test if you ever had to take one. 1. How many amendments of the Constitution have been ratified? Source: National Archives and Records Administration/Wikimedia A.) 10 B.) 30 C.) 19 D.) 27 Answer: Source: Geert Pieters/Unsplash…

Former President Donald Trump seems to have no shortage of money-generating ideas. He has already turned his image into money-making NFTs, sneakers, and a social media platform called Truth Social in the past. Now, Trump is turning his iconic phrase into a religious sales opportunity. He is utilizing a tweaked catchphrase of “Make America Pray Again” to encourage Americans to purchase Bibles, just in time for Easter.  Truth Social Post Source: @realDonald Trump/Truth Social On Tuesday, Trump made a post on Truth Social advertising the sales of this “God Bless The USA Bible.” “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray…

A newly released Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll shows that President Joe Biden is gaining ground against his Republican opponent Donald Trump ahead of the November elections. The poll found that in six of seven swing states, Biden has narrowed Trump’s lead or overtaken him. These latest results for Biden are the strongest yet for this particular poll. The Poll Source: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia The poll, published on Morning Consult, aimed to examine voter opinions on key issues ahead of the election, focusing on the state level. It was the sixth wave of this study, with previous versions going back to October…

Baltimore officials have confirmed that traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore has been halted after a devastating cargo ship crash that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge to collapse. Early Tuesday morning, a transport container ship crashed right into a bridge support column sending cars falling into the Patapsco River. Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing for missing people. State of Emergency Source: RCraig09/Wikimedia Wes Moore, the Governor of Maryland where Baltimore is located, issued a state of emergency as rescuers are desperate to pull people out of the water. The bridge is 1.6 miles long…

California is currently in a spending crisis with a projected budget deficit of at least $38 billion. The state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has taken flack from critics for failing to keep spending under control.  A new Politico report casts doubt on Newsom’s project to fix the budget. It documents that some of the lawmakers in charge of it are first-year members who have never led state budget negotiations. New Lawmakers Source: Alex Wild/Wikimedia Politico reports that the members of the state Assembly and Senate helping Gavin Newsom have “have never even led state budget negotiations in good times, let alone…

Newly published data from California’s Employment Development Department shows that the state just hit 5.3% unemployment in the month of February. This puts the state’s unemployment rate in first place among all states in America. Experts were hoping that job growth numbers would be better, however, fewer job gains continue to push the California unemployment numbers higher. Unemployment Uptick Brad Neathery/Unsplash California’s unemployment continues to defy financial analysts’ hopes as it continues to gradually tick up month after month. In February 2023, the unemployment rate was 4.5%, with it reaching 5.2% in January 2024. California has been competing neck and…

The state of California’s insurance commissioner gave an interview to KABC News on Friday that spelled out the trouble on the horizon from a March 20, State Farm announcement. State Farm, a leading US insurance company and the largest in the state, said it would suddenly be cutting tens of thousands of policies. Property owners in California were already struggling under excessive premium costs and difficulty acquiring coverage. Crisis Situation Source: Paul Sableman/Wikimedia State Farm announced that it intends to slash more than 70,000 insurance policies including home and apartment policies over the course of 2024. State Farm is another…