The Daily Populous

Republicans to scrap primaries and caucuses as Trump challengers cry foul

| Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images 2020 Elections Republicans to scrap primaries and caucuses as Trump challengers cry foul The moves, which critics called undemocratic, are the latest illustration of the president's total takeover of the GOP apparatus.

Four states are poised to cancel their 2020 GOP presidential primaries and caucuses, a move that would cut off oxygen to Donald Trump’s long-shot primary challengers.

The moves are the latest illustration of Trump’s takeover of the entire Republican Party apparatus.

Trump advisers are quick to point out that parties of an incumbent president seeking reelection have a long history of canceling primaries and note it will save state parties money.

Aides have worked to ensure total control of the party machinery, installing staunch loyalists at state parties while eliminating potential detractors.

Officials in several states said in statements provided by the Trump campaign that they were driven by the cost savings.

Trump aides have long said they aren’t worried about a primary challenge and laughed off his Republican challengers. »

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's strongman ex-president, dies aged 95

Authored by bbc.com

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean independence icon turned authoritarian leader, has died aged 95.

Image copyright Fairfax / Getty Images Image caption Robert Mugabe in 1981 - just recently named prime minister of an independent Zimbabwe.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Robert Mugabe was known for his fiery speeches. »

Is Switzerland the world champion of recycling?

Authored by swissinfo.ch

Municipal waste disposal and recovery, 2013 or later The following content is sourced from external partners.

“It is also a fact that in the meantime Germany, Austria and the Nordic countries have reached similar rates (to Switzerland).”.

Put another way, changing the calculation method could lead Germany and others to fall behind Switzerland in future international charts. »

One of the world's largest retailers bans Brazilian leather after Amazon fires

Authored by abcnews.go.com

Hennes & Mauritz AB said its temporary ban on leather from Brazil will remain in place "until there are credible assurances ... that the leather does not contribute to environmental harm in the Amazon.".

In 2017, less than 1% of H&M's range of clothes was made of leather and it used synthetic leather products five times as much as real leather.

Last week, VF Corp., the owner of Timberland, Vans and several other shoe and clothing brands said it also stopped buying leather from Brazil because of the rainforest fires. »

Crops under solar panels can be a win-win

Authored by arstechnica.com

Prof. Barron-Gafford et al. focused on dry areas like the American Southwest, where water for crops is limiting and things are projected to get drier.

The air was also a little less dry under the solar panels, and the soil dried out more slowly between waterings.

Finally, the cherry tomatoes saw a 65% increase in CO 2 uptake and a 65% increase in water-use efficiency. »