Morning Headlines - Friday, Sept. 22, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Alarm Bells Ring As Lawmakers Prep For Possible Shutdown

Alarm bells are ringing in Washington as some lawmakers begin to make preparations for a government in shutdown.

House Republicans left town Thursday without a deal for a short-term funding patch, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), scrapping expected weekend votes. Congress has little over a week until the looming deadline to prevent a shutdown, or lapse in government spending, and no clear path forward.

Trump Is Weaker Among Independents Than Republicans In Primary Polls

Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the Republican presidential primary, and is the clear favorite to win his party’s nomination. He’s polling in the mid-50s in 538’s national polling average, and holds substantial leads in most polls of early voting states.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Trump doesn’t have potential vulnerabilities. Primary polling suggests that Trump is not performing as well among Republican-leaning independents and unaffiliated voters who plan to vote in the GOP nomination race as he is among self-identified Republicans. And past Republican presidential primaries have demonstrated that independent voters can make up a significant chunk of the electorate in early voting states and, if their preferences differ markedly from Republicans, can influence outcomes.

Saudi Crown Prince Unbothered By 'Sportswashing' Label: 'Call It Whatever You Want'

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he does not care how the world views his country's heavy investment in sports. For him, the resulting increase in the gross domestic product is all that matters.

"If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we will continue doing sportswashing," bin Salman said in an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox News. “I don’t care. I have 1% growth in GDP from sport, and I am aiming for another 1.5%. Call it whatever you want.”

Amazon Prime Video Will Soon Come With Ads, Or A $2.99 Monthly Charge To Dodge Them

Amazon Prime Video will include advertising during shows and movies starting early next year, joining other streaming services that have added different tiers of subscriptions.

Members of Amazon Prime can pay $2.99 per month in the U.S. to keep their service ad-free, the company said Friday.

Streaming services are in a heated tug-of-war over viewers and users are growing more adept at jumping in and out of those services, often depending on price. The platforms risk losing customers with price hikes, but they could lose them if they don't generate new content that wins over users.

More Than 35,000 People Register To Vote After Taylor Swift Post

Taylor Swift called out to fans to register on National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday and Swifties answered in droves.

Swift posted an Instagram story directing her 272 million followers to Vote.org, a nonprofit organization that offers voter registration services.

"Are you registered to vote yet?" Swift wrote. "I've been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently. I've heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you're ready to use them in our elections this year!"

Wisconsin Lawmakers Propose Nonpartisan Blanket Primaries And Ranked-Choice Voting

A bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers on Sept. 20 revived a push to implement ranked-choice voting and nonpartisan blanket primaries in the battleground state.

Under the new bill, candidates for the U.S. House and Senate would compete in a single statewide primary regardless of their political party, with the top five finishers advancing to the general election. Voters in the general election would then rank candidates in order of preference, a system that ensures winners are chosen by a majority.

Wisconsin Republicans Propose Impeaching Top Elections Official Meagan Wolfe

A group of Republican Wisconsin lawmakers on Thursday proposed impeaching the battleground state's top elections official as Democrats wage a legal battle to keep the nonpartisan administrator in office.

Democrats say the GOP-controlled state Senate acted illegitimately when it voted along party lines last week to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe. In a lawsuit challenging the vote, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul accused Republicans of attacking the state's elections.

GOP Bill Would Set Aside Money For Communities Impacted By UW Campus Closures

It's been two months since classes ceased at a University of Wisconsin System campus in Richland Center. Now, two state lawmakers from the area are hoping to provide financial assistance to that community and others facing similar fates.

In-person classes at UW-Platteville Richland ended July 1, after enrollment had reached just 60 students. The campus isn't technically closed, but Richland County Board Chair Marty Brewer says the county-owned buildings and 135-acre campus are mostly vacant.

Money Laundering Complaint Filed Against Justice Protasiewicz By Convicted Felon, Election Denier, Alleged Stalker

The same election denier and convicted felon who allegedly stalked Elections Commission chair Meagan Wolfe has filed a complaint against Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate Janet Protasiewicz.

Peter Bernegger filed a money laundering and fraud complaint against the new Supreme Court justice, Sam Roecker, a campaign spokesperson for Protasiewicz, told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Wednesday.

Wisconsin Dnr Defends Lack Of Population Goal In Wolf Management Plan

Wisconsin wildlife officials defended their decision not to set a hard cap on the state's wolf population in their new management plan in front of a Republican-controlled legislative committee Thursday, saying a firm limit doesn't reflect the complexities of wolf management.

Randy Johnson, the Department of Natural Resources' large carnivore specialist, told the state Senate's sporting heritage committee that a lack of a hard limit gives the agency more flexibility to manage the species, allows local packs to fluctuate and gives the population a better chance at maintaining wolf abundance for years to come.