The makeup of President-elect Donald Trump’s trade team suggests he wasn’t joking when he promised voters to shake things up.
January 5, 2017Government
Creative Highway Signs Get the Message Across to Rhode Island Drivers
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — New England motorists have become familiar with idiosyncratic highway safety messages ever since Massachusetts began urging them to "Use Yah Blinkah" two years ago. But the new Rhode Island billboards had some Rhode Islanders scratching their heads, in some cases as a matter of taste and others out of genuine confusion.
January 5, 2017Government
75 MPH Speed Limit OK'd for Some Rural Michigan Highways
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder jumped on the speed train Jan. 5 when he signed a bill boosting the state's speed limit to 75 miles per hour on about 600 miles of highways in rural areas of the state. The bills also raise the maximum speed limit for trucks from 60 to 65 mph.
January 5, 2017Government
Service Industries Expand at Faster Pace Than Forecast
America’s service providers expanded more than forecast last month, spurred by an upturn in orders that coincided with stepped-up demand at the nation’s factories.
January 5, 2017BusinessSafetyGovernmentTechnologyEquipment
Consumer Comfort Gauge in 2016 Was Strongest in Nine Years
American households were more upbeat last year on average than at any time since 2007, according to figures in the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released Jan. 5.
January 5, 2017Government
Trogdon Named to Run North Carolina’s DOT
Roy Cooper, who will be sworn in as North Carolina’s governor on Jan. 7, named Jim Trogdon as his secretary of transportation on Jan. 3.
January 4, 2017GovernmentBusiness
Truck Driver Was Nation’s Most Fatal Occupation in 2015
A Bureau of Labor Statistics study revealed that 745 truck drivers died on the job in the United States in 2015, the most of any profession. BLS defines a truck driver as someone who operates a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,000 pounds and has a commercial driver license. The 745 truck drivers who died was down from 761 in 2014.
January 4, 2017Government
Former Treasury Secretary Says Markets Underestimating Risks of Trump Presidency
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said investors are being far too sanguine about the risks associated with Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
January 4, 2017Government
Paul Ryan Re-Elected Speaker of the House
Paul Ryan was formally re-elected House speaker Jan. 3 as he intensifies his efforts to move past his differences with Donald Trump after a divisive campaign.
January 3, 2017Government
Feds Allege Wisconsin Chain Wrongly Classifies Drivers as Contractors
Wisconsin-based home improvement chain Menards has been slapped with a federal complaint alleging the company misclassified its delivery drivers as independent contractors and therefore deprived them of workplace protections afforded to employees, a charge the company calls "ridiculous" and vows to fight.
January 3, 2017