Morning Headlines - Friday, Apr. 21, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Russian Jet Accidentally Drops Bomb On Russian City Of Belgorod, State Media Says

A Russian warplane dropped a bomb on a Russian city of more than 400,000 people late Thursday, leaving a crater 40 meters (130 feet) across, blowing a car onto a roof and damaging buildings in what state media called an “emergency release of an air ordnance.”

A Russian Su-34 aircraft, a twin-engine fighter-bomber, released the munition over the city of Belgorod, 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) north of the border with Ukraine, according to reports from state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS.

“At around 22:15 Moscow time on April 20, when a Su-34 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces was performing a flight above the city of Belgorod, an emergency release of an air ordnance occurred,” TASS quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.

House GOP Setting Up Election-Year Debt Limit Fight

House Republicans could be setting up another fight over the debt limit — this time, just months before the 2024 presidential election.

A sweeping, 320-page bill they unveiled this week would raise the debt ceiling, which caps how much money the Treasury can borrow to pay the country’s bills, through the end of next March or by $1.5 trillion, whichever happens first.

The move has already prompted fierce blowback from Democrats, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dismissing the proposal as a non-starter and accusing Republicans of punting the issue.

Pentagon Moving To Ensure Human Control So AI Doesn't ‘Make The Decision For Us’

The U.S. military is embracing artificial intelligence as a tool for quickly digesting data and helping leaders make the right decision – and not to make those decisions for the humans in charge, according to two top AI advisors in U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM, which is tasked with safeguarding U.S. national security in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, just hired Dr. Andrew Moore as its first AI advisor. Moore is the former director of Google Cloud AI and former dean of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science, and he’ll be working with Schuyler Moore, CENTCOM’s chief technology officer.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, they both agreed that while some are imagining AI-driven weapons, the U.S. military aims to keep humans in the decision-making seat, and using AI to assess massive amounts of data that helps the people sitting in those seats.

China Is Concerned About Much More Than India Outgrowing Its Population

Size isn't everything — it's what you do with it that counts.

That was Beijing's indignant reaction after news that India, its neighbor and fierce rival, will soon overtake China as the world's most populous country.

Facing a demographic crisis that could undermine the government's bid to rival the United States, Chinese officials and state media balked at Western coverage of new data projecting India edging ahead of mainland China by the middle of this year, if it hasn't already.

Both will have almost 1.43 billion people, according to the United Nations World Population Dashboard — well over a third of the planet's 8 billion-plus people between them.

Biden Could Announce 2024 Reelection Run As Soon As Next Week, Aides Say

President Joe Biden’s aides have told allies they could be ready to announce a run for reelection as soon as next week.

Next Tuesday is seen as a likely target as it would be the four year anniversary of his 2020 announcement.

Democratic donors are being invited to Washington, D.C., with strategy sessions planned for later next week. The White House declined to comment.

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Flooding Along Mississippi River Expected To Rise To 'Major' Flood Category

Wisconsin communities along the Mississippi River are preparing for what could be "major" flooding as soon as this weekend as the river swells to its highest flood level in decades.

Andy Boxell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Milwaukee-Sullivan station, said communities along the river and its tributaries are already at moderate flood stages as of Thursday due to heavy rains and melting snow. But the flood levels are expected to crest over the next few days.

"We're seeing really a number of locations along the Mississippi expected to reach major flood stage here over the next week," Boxell said.

Elsewhere in northern and central parts of the state, communities are seeing minor flooding, he said.

Former Wisconsin Parole Board Chair Charged With Felony

The former chair of the Wisconsin Parole Commission who until this week was also an alderman in Racine has been charged with a felony, accused of using his capacity as a public official for private interests.

John Tate II was charged Tuesday with one count of “private interest in a public contract while working in a public capacity” in Racine County, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

According to the complaint, Tate unlawfully negotiated terms of his employment for Racine’s new violence interruption coordinator position, after approving the creation of the job as president of the Common Council.

Parents Sue Wisconsin School District Over Gender Pronoun Decision

A court fight is currently happening over a Waukesha County school district's decision to allow students to change their name and preferred pronouns without parental consent.

The court battle stems from a 2021 incident when a student at Kettle Moraine Middle School wanted to transition from female to male and use new pronouns at school.

Their parents asked the school not to. Ultimately, the district decided to refer to the child by their chosen pronouns.

Microsoft Agrees To Buy $50 Million Foxconn Parcel In Southeastern Wisconsin

Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world’s largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.

Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion data center on the 315-acre (127-hectare) parcel in Mount Pleasant, a village of about 27,000 people in Racine County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Milwaukee. It’s unclear how many people the center might employ. Paul Englis, Microsoft’s director of global community research and engagement, told the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that such centers typically employ 300 to 400 people.

Rep. Tiffany’s Parole Reform Legislation Passes Out Of Judiciary Committee

Yesterday, Congressman Tom Tiffany’s (WI-07) bill, the Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2023, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee as part of H.R. 2640, the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023.

The Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2023, which Tiffany introduced in March, will end the executive branch’s gross abuse of immigration parole power. Specifically, it prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security from granting parole “according to eligibility criteria describing an entire class of potential parole recipients,” otherwise known as categorical parole.