Kansas Gov. Brownback: Repaying student loans as rural re…

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback explains the state's program to entice people to move to rural areas by offering student loan repayment.

Kansas Gov. Brownback on Trump's comment: We need to know…

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback discusses taking a job on promoting religious freedom within the Trump administration in the fallout of President Trump's alleged comment on immigration.

Trump goes for 1st medical checkup since becoming president

President Donald Trump arrived for his first medical checkup as president at Walter Reed military hospital on Friday, undergoing a physical examination amid suggestions in a recent book and by his detractors ...

The world's richest man, Jeff Bezos, just donated $33 million to educate Dreamers in honor of his immigrant father

Jeff Bezos has donated $33 million to provide college scholarships to a group of immigrants who were brought to the US as children and temporarily protected from deportation under a program the Trump administration is phasing out. Bezos has been vocal in pressuring the Trump administration and Congress to bring back protections for these immigrants, known as Dreamers. As members of Congress debate the future of a program that temporarily protects from deportation nearly 800,000 immigrants who were brought to the US as children, the world's richest man has delivered a strong message.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website with December Results

Screenshot of the FMCSA's Safety Measurement System website.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has updated its CSA Safety Measurement System website with the Dec. 29, 2017 results.

Carries that participate in the FMCSA's Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the agency's final determinations on SMS for crashes that were reviewed through the program.

Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated both with and without those crashes.

In 2017, the FMCSA launched a demonstration program to enable motor carriers to dispute the determination of certain truck crashes as “preventable.”

Carriers can also review statistics on Requests for Data Reviews submitted during the first quarter of the program on FMCSA's website. A list of Final Not Preventable Determinations is also available, which will be updated monthly.

If at any time during the program, a party can refute a determination with documentation, they are instructed to send it to [email protected]. FMCSA said it may revise final determinations after consideration of additional information received.

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Penske Logistics Joins Blockchain in Transport Alliance

The Blockchain in Transport Alliance is dedicated to setting standards for blockchain applications developed for transportation.

Penske Logistics has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance, a group dedicated to setting standards for blockchain technology applications developed for transportation, as a corporate member.

BiTA was formed last year and is aimed at promoting and educating the transportation industry on the use and development of blockchain applications. Penske Logistics sees potential blockchain benefits for its customers operating in the manufacturing, food, beverage sectors as well as other industries.

Penske Logistics said that the industry could benefit from further digitizing and securing supply chain and logistics processes, improving order accuracy, as well as tracking physical assets, and securing freight bill pay and audit transactions across Penske's freight brokerage and dedicated carriage operations.

“We've joined BiTA to take part in better understanding the benefits of blockchain for our customers and to be a part of crafting the standard framework in the development and implementation of blockchain technology,” said Andy Moses, Penske Logistics senior vice president of global products.

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FCA Relocating Ram Heavy Duty Truck Production to U.S.

Photo of the Ram 3500 Laramie courtesy of FCA.

FCA is relocating production of its next-generation Ram Heavy Duty truck from a production location in Mexico to an assembly plant in Michigan, a facility that the automaker is investing more than $1 billion in to modernize as well as add 2,500 new jobs.

Production of the heavy duty trucks will be relocated to the Warren Truck Assembly plant in 2020, which was made possible in part by the passage of U.S. tax reform legislation late last year, according to the automaker. A portion of the investment will also be to expand the Jeep product line at the assembly plant with the addition of the all-new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.

The plant in Saltillo, Mexico will be repurposed to produce commercial vehicles for global distribution, FCA announced.

The automaker is also making a special bonus payment of $2,000to roughly 60,000 hourly and salaried employees. This excludes senior leadership, the automaker announced. The payment will be made in the second quarter of this year.

Recent investments in U.S. manufacturing operations has totaled at $3.5 billion, according to the automaker, with the addition of 3,700 new jobs to strengthen its U.S. manufacturing base, and align U.S. capacity to extend the Jeep and Ram product lines.

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