Morning Headlines - Friday, Oct 7, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden Warns The World Is Facing The Prospect Of Armageddon For The First Time Since The Cuban Missile Crisis

President Joe Biden said on Thursday evening that Vladimir Putin was not joking about using nuclear weapons in Ukraine - and said the risk of Armageddon is the highest it has been since the Cuban missile crisis.

He delivered his doomsday warning at a fundraising event for Democrats at the New York home of James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert.

It comes amid growing fears that Putin is backed into a corner and could use tactical nuclear weapons to push back advancing Ukrainian forces.

Las Vegas Strip Deadly Stabbing Suspect Identified, Booked For Murder

The suspect believed to have carried out a deadly stabbing rampage in Las Vegas was arrested Thursday night hours after the attack, according to the Las Vegas Police Department.

Yoni Barrios, 32, was taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon after police said he stabbed eight people on Las Vegas Boulevard Thursday morning.

He was also charged with six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon.

FBI Sends Hunter Biden Tax, Gun Purchase Evidence To U.S. Attorney

The FBI months ago gathered what agents believed was sufficient evidence to charge Hunter Biden, the president's son, with crimes related to taxes and making a false statement when purchasing a gun, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Evidence gathered by FBI and IRS investigators was sent to the U.S. Attorney's office in Delaware, according to the sources.

Chris Clark, an attorney for Biden, criticized the FBI in a statement to CBS News, accusing someone within the agency of leaking information from grand jury proceedings, which would be a felony he expects "the Department of Justice will diligently investigate and prosecute."

Hurricane Ian Is Florida's Deadliest In Nearly A Century

The death toll from Hurricane Ian surpassed 100 on Thursday, as Floridians continued to return home to the devastation left behind.

The storm-related death count reached at least 101, eight days after Ian pummeled Florida's western coast before barreling through the Carolinas.

• Of those killed, 98 were in Florida, five were in North Carolina, three in Cuba and one in Virginia.
• Most of those who died in Florida drowned due to the storm surge that Ian triggered, according to the state's Medical Examiners Commission.

The Role Of Alternative Social Media In The News And Information Environment

In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – especially by opposing free speech restrictions they say are rife at those sites.

These newer sites have created a small but satisfied community of news consumers, many of whom say one of the major reasons they are there is to stay informed about current events, according to a new Pew Research Center study. The study included a survey of U.S. adults along with an audit of seven alternative social media sites – BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – and a detailed analysis of prominent accounts and content across them.

Although fewer than one-in-ten Americans say they use any of these sites for news, most who do say they have found a community of like-minded people there.

Wisconsin Headlines

How Wisconsin's Voter Registrations Stood Five Weeks Out From The 2022 Election

A review of state records five weeks from Election Day showed the number of Wisconsin's registered voters in 2022 is higher for any previous election other than 2020.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission regularly publishes voter registration statistics, releasing reports primarily on a monthly basis for at least the past decade. Its October 2022 report shows 3,519,659 Wisconsinites are registered to vote — a 50,000 person increase from the number of registered voters as of Aug. 1, which was a week before the primary election.

This uptick in registered voters comes as interest in the 2022 midterms continues to grow, while also following National Voter Registration Day on Sept. 19.

Gov. Evers Announces Additional $10M To Help Wisconsin Veterans

An additional $10 million is being invested into a variety programs of to support veterans, according to a release from the Office of the Governor.

These programs will support veteran employment, housing assistance and mental health services.

In the release, Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) notes that veterans have faced many challenges in the last few years in addition to the challenges they face "returning to civilian life," saying this investment is an important one for the state's 300,000 vets.

La Crosse Man Sentenced To 46 Months For Illegal Firearm Possession

Lee D. Strawder, 40, La Crosse, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 46 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. This prison term will be followed by 36 months of supervised release. Strawder pleaded guilty to this charge on June 21, 2022.

On August 11, 2021, La Crosse Police Department officers purchased fentanyl and crack cocaine from Strawder in La Crosse using a confidential informant.

On September 8, 2021, La Crosse Police officers pulled over a car driven by Curtis Ross because officers knew that probable cause existed to arrest the passenger, Strawder, for violations of his state bond. Officers smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and searched the vehicle. Under the front passenger seat where Strawder was seated, officers found a loaded Canik 9mm handgun, a loaded Beretta 9mm handgun, and a bag containing over an ounce of marijuana. Strawder’s DNA was found on the Canik handgun. Ross’s DNA was found on the Beretta handgun. Both Strawder and Ross were prohibited from legally possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions.

At all relevant times, Strawder was out on bond for four different state cases. Since the events in the federal case, Strawder engaged in criminal conduct resulting in three additional state cases, all seven of which remain open. Strawder’s criminal history includes prior convictions for illegal firearm possession and drug dealing.

At sentencing, Judge Peterson noted that Strawder is a repeat firearm offender and said that a prison sentence was important to protect the community.

DOJ Details Vacancy Rates As Toney Slams Kaul For Open Jobs

Ten percent of DOJ’s special agent positions are currently vacant, along with 13 percent of the slots for criminal prosecutors, according to numbers the agency released to WisPolitics.com.

The Department of Justice released the figures Wednesday as GOP AG candidate Eric Toney has been knocking the agency for not sharing the vacancy rates with him.

During a news conference outside the Risser Justice Center, Toney knocked Kaul for what he said was a reduction in DOJ prosecutorial resources. Toney also accused Kaul of leaving vacant up to 30 percent of positions authorized for DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation and criminal prosecutors.

“And if he is serious about public safety and not just lip service, he will release this information to the public so we can see the resources that have not been available to our local law enforcement and our prosecutors across Wisconsin,” he said.

Packers Play 1st International Game, Facing Giants In London

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has done the London trip twice before as an offensive coordinator and ''didn't leave the hotel either time.''

Safe to say he'd prefer star quarterback Aaron Rodgers - a Manchester City fan - not try to venture north for the Premier League champion's home game Saturday (though Rodgers could satisfy his soccer fix Friday night when the U.S. women's team faces European champion England in a friendly at Wembley Stadium).

The Packers' schedule for their first-ever international regular-season game doesn't leave much time for sightseeing. Same goes for the New York Giants (3-1). Both teams are scheduled to arrive in the British capital Friday morning ahead of Sunday's game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.