WSUM Daily Newscast

INTRO GOOD (DAY) EVENING MADISON! YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE 5/6 O’CLOCK NEWS UPDATE ON WSUM 91.7 FM MADISON STUDENT RADIO. I’M NATHAN JAHN.

IN THE NEWS TODAY,

IN CAMPUS NEWS,
Microsoft partners with UW Madison to accelerate AI scientific discovery. Thursday, Microsoft announced it was partnering with Princeton and UW Madison. According to Microsoft, this partnership will combine the agility of a startup, the technology of a global company, and a university’s expertise. Researchers will analyze data, simulate experiments, and uncover new materials more efficiently. Microsoft hopes to use this tech as a possible solution to environmental challenges. This new partnership plans to use Microsoft Discovery platform, an advanced AI.

IN STATE NEWS,
Wisconsin moves ahead with prison system overhaul, despite some objections from Republican lawmakers. A bipartisan subcommittee approved Evers proposal to spend 15 million dollars on planning for a new prison system. Republicans oppose his plan because it reduces the overall prison capacity by 700 beds and could allow more early releases. The Republicans in the committee voted to pass his bill, saying that it was destined to fail so it didn’t matter. The plan will likely take 6 years to complete and will cost a total of around 1 billion dollars. The plan hinges on closing a prison in Green Bay that was built in the 1800s. Many lawmakers have said that our current state prisons are very out of date. The city of Madison is working to build a new prison as well.

IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet face to face for the first time in 6 years. Trump hailed the meeting as a 12 out of 10 success, but no formal trade deal was agreed upon. There is more hope now for a de-escalation between the two countries, as a trade war seemed to be brewing. China has agreed to suspend export control on its rare earth metals, something that would have caused the US a lot of problems. They also agreed to continue to purchase US soybeans, easing many US farmers' minds. Trump agreed for the US to drop some of the tariffs it has in place on China, in exchange for more concern over Fentanyl. According to President Trump, Jinping agreed to try his best to stop the flow of Fentanyl from China into the US. President Trump has used Fentanyl often as a big issue for his trade deals, previously seen in Mexico and Canadian deals. Most tariffs will remain in place, meaning Chinese goods arriving in the US are still being taxed at a rate of 40%.

ALSO IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
President Trump slashes the limit of refugee admissions, and prioritizes South Africans. President Trump lowered the limit of refugees in the US to 7,500, an all time low. President Biden generally kept his limit around 125,000. Trump also made sure that he preserved the slots open for only South Africans. He previously paused refugee admissions on his first day in office this term, and then created a specific section for South African refugees of Dutch and French descent. Trump claims that these Afrikaners face a lot of racial discrimination in their home country, something the South African government rejects. Trump had previously signed this new rule to limit the amount of refugees, but planned to wait until consulting congress. He decided that they would move ahead with this plan even amidst the government shutdown without consulting congress. He said that this move was due to humanitarian concerns and is in national interest.

OUTRO: THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN! FROM THE WSUM NEWS BOOTH, I’M NATHAN JAHN. HAVE A GREAT EVENING MADISON!