Morning Headlines - Friday, Jun. 16, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

U.S. Cyberattack Impacts Federal Agencies, NATO Allies

Senior government officials are racing to limit the impact of what's believed to be a global cyberattack affecting U.S. federal agencies and allies, including NATO member countries.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed in a statement Thursday that it was providing support to several federal agencies "that have experienced intrusions affecting their [file transfer] applications."

"We are working urgently to understand impacts and ensure timely remediation," the statement continued.

The Financial Toll Of Right-Wing Backlash: At Least $28B In Market Value

Social issues are creating a market downdraft for America's mainstay brands — just ask Target, Anheuser Busch, Kohl's and their collective $28.7 billion loss in market value since the beginning of April.

Fiercely contested cultural issues have always aroused political passions, and held sway over electoral politics.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is still feeling the reverberations of its April decision to engage transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Boycotts have come at a cost to both its stock and beer sales.

GOP Unrest: Conservatives Threaten To Tank Party’s 2024 Spending Bills

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is seeking to appease his conservative agitators by targeting next year’s federal spending at last year’s levels.

It’s not going well.

A long list of conservatives left Washington this week accusing McCarthy and other GOP leaders of using budgetary “gimmicks” to create the false impression that they’re cutting 2024 outlays back to 2022 levels, rather than adopting the fundamental budget changes to realize those reductions and rein in deficit spending over the long haul.

The hard-liners are already threatening to oppose their own party’s spending bills when they hit the House floor later this year, undermining the Republicans’ leverage in the looming budget fight while heightening the chances of a government shutdown.

Westchester County DA Ends Probe Of Trump Golf Course Without Filing Charges

The district attorney in Westchester County, New York, has closed a two-year investigation into former President Donald Trump without filing criminal charges, her office confirmed Thursday.

District Attorney Miriam Rocah had been investigating whether Trump National Golf Club Westchester had tried to inappropriately lower its tax burden in the Town of Ossining.

"The Westchester County District Attorney's Office conducted an investigation regarding certain properties owned by Donald J. Trump and/or the Trump Organization located in Westchester County, New York," read a statement from the office. "Our investigation is now closed. We approached this investigation as we do all of our investigations, objectively, and independent of politics, party affiliation and personal or political beliefs."

Harry And Meghan: Spotify Ends Podcast Deal With Couple

Spotify has ended its lucrative deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for the couple to produce podcasts.

A joint statement from Harry and Meghan's company and the streaming giant said they had "mutually agreed to part ways".

Spotify confirmed it was not renewing Meghan's podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, for a second series.

The contract was estimated to be worth $25M in late 2020.

The podcast deal was one of the major commercial agreements the couple entered into after quitting royal duties and relocating to the US in 2020.

Republican Lawmakers To Include $6 Million For Driver's Ed Program In State Budget

State-funded driver’s ed could be coming back for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Republican lawmakers are putting an initiative in their state budget that would include $6 million to pay for driver’s ed for students on free or reduced lunch.

For soon-to-be high school senior Abby Wallace, summer comes with several responsibilities.

Madison Felon Sentenced to 27 Months for Illegal Gun Possession

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Anthony Bailey, 33, Madison, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 27 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. This prison term will be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. Bailey pleaded guilty to this charge on March 20, 2023.

On February 6, 2022, an officer with the Fitchburg Police Department responded to a noise complaint in a residential neighborhood. When the officer arrived, he saw Bailey involved in a physical fight with his girlfriend in the street. After the two stopped fighting, Bailey admitted to having a loaded Glock gun in his pants. He is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition as a result of two felony convictions from 2008 and 2010.

DNR Recommends Wisconsinites Limit Time Outside Due To Canadian Wildfire Smoke

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is recommending Wisconsinites to reduce their time outdoors due to ongoing air quality alerts resulting from Canadian wildfire smoke.

Health impacts are expected across most of Wisconsin today, where the air quality index is expected to range from the UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS to the UNHEALTHY level.

Planned Parenthood Of Illinois Sees Influx Of Wisconsin Patients Since End Of Roe V. Wade

Illinois has seen an influx of patients seeking abortion care from states like Wisconsin, where the practice was largely banned after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois reported seeing a 54 percent jump in the number of patients seeking abortions over the last year. And those in need of financial and travel support have more than doubled.

Kristen Schultz, the group's chief strategy and operations officer, said out-of-state patients now make up a quarter of those seeking care. Patients from 34 states across the country have traveled to Illinois, with the majority coming from Wisconsin.

Wedding Barn Regulations, Liquor Law Overhaul Win Bipartisan Support In Wisconsin Legislature

A proposal to regulate wedding barns in Wisconsin as part of an overhaul of the state's liquor laws won bipartisan support Thursday, advancing as the Republican-controlled Legislature moves swiftly to enact the sweeping bill.

An Assembly committee voted 12-2 to pass the measure just two days after a public hearing at which owners of wedding barns across the state said the proposed changes would put them out of business. The bill, which has been years in the making, was brought by Republican legislative leaders and agreed to by stakeholders with a wide array of interests. It affects every level of the state’s alcohol industry — governing the licensing, producing, selling and distribution of beer, wine and liquor.