Morning Headlines - Monday, Apr. 17, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Democratic Senators Favor Forcing House Vote On Debt Limit Increase

Democratic senators are getting antsy over the lack of progress on legislation to avoid a national default and want House Democrats to begin working on a plan to force Republicans to vote on a bill to raise the debt limit.

Democratic senators want to avoid a summer standoff on extending the nation’s borrowing authority, which would rattle financial markets and the broader economy that may be heading toward a mild recession in the second half of the year.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has shelved the idea of circulating a discharge petition to force a vote on a clean debt limit increase, opting instead to put pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to schedule such a vote himself.

Alabama Investigators Piecing Together Details Of Sweet 16 Birthday Party Shooting That Left 4 Dead And Dozens Injured

After a Sweet 16 birthday celebration was shattered by a shooting over the weekend that left four people dead and at least 28 others injured, investigators in Dadeville, Alabama, are still working to determine what caused the chaos.

Authorities have yet to release details on a suspect or possible motive and have not revealed what led up to the shooting, which began to ring out around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.

Among those killed was the birthday girl’s brother, Philstavious Dowdell, a talented football player beloved by the community, according to Ben Hayes, chaplain of Dadeville High School’s football team, and Keenan Cooper, who was DJing at the party when the gunfire broke out.

The AI Revolution: Google's Artificial Intelligence Developers On What's Next In The Field

Artificial intelligence solved an impossible problem in biology and robots powered by AI taught themselves to play soccer.

The machines never get tired. They never get hungry. They learn, and grow, developing superhuman abilities in narrow ways. Most AI systems today do one or maybe two things well. The soccer robots, for example, can't write up a grocery list or book your travel or drive your car. The ultimate goal is what's called artificial general intelligence: a learning machine that can score on a wide range of talents.

Some of those talents can seem shockingly human, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley learned during a visit to Google's new campus in Mountain View, California. Bard, Google's AI chatbot, appears to possess the sum of human knowledge. With microchips more than 100 times faster than the human brain, Bard took 5 seconds to create a deeply human tale when given the prompt: For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

Bard's story featured a man whose wife could not conceive and a stranger, grieving after a miscarriage and longing for closure.

QR-style "2D Barcodes" Will Revolutionize Retail As We Know It

The humble and familiar barcode — a staple on consumer packaging for nearly 50 years — will soon be replaced with a more robust and muscular successor that offers far more information about the product inside.

• The new "2D" barcodes will unlock reams of online extras (for consumers) and revolutionize inventory management (for retailers).
• Scanning them may tell us the field where something was grown, the factory where a garment was sewn, the sustainability practices of the company that made it — or the washing instructions.

The technology promises to improve product safety, give us greater transparency into the origins of the items we buy, and enhance our lives with handy suggestions about how to use or prepare our purchases.

Biden And Congress Want To Ban TikTok. At This Point It May Be Impossible

As the federal government escalates its efforts against TikTok, it’s coming up against a stark reality: Even a politically united Washington may not have the regulatory and legal powers to wipe TikTok off American phones.

A few weeks ago it looked like the company’s days in America were numbered. President Joe Biden’s administration had just demanded that the Chinese-owned video app be sold or face an outright ban in the United States. That effort quickly drew support from Capitol Hill, and gained momentum after the remarkably bipartisan grilling of the company’s CEO last month — with lawmakers accusing TikTok of serving as a Trojan horse for Beijing to “manipulate America” and suck up reams of sensitive data on U.S. citizens.

Wisconsin Headlines

As Conservatives Reel From Supreme Court Loss, GOP Congressman Calls For Abortion Ban Exceptions

As conservatives reel from a state Supreme Court loss, a Republican member of the state's congressional delegation is calling for exceptions to Wisconsin's ban on most abortions. 

During an interview with conservative talk radio show on WSAU-AM this week, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Prairie du Chien said that, while he strongly opposes abortion, compromise is needed to fend off "radical" Democrats.

He called for carve-outs in state law for cases of rape and incest. The freshman representative also said allowing abortions up to the 15th week of pregnancy should at least be discussed.

"It's deeply troubling to me as a Christian to even bring those things up. But, you know what? We have to understand where we're at," Van Orden said. "Every single time we can save a single human baby's life, it's the right thing to do. And with the Supreme Court getting flipped, we can very reasonably have or conceivably have Minnesota-style abortion laws here in Wisconsin."

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Charged With 4th Degree Sexual Assault Following Report To Clergy And Faith Leader Abuse Initiative

Attorney General Josh Kaul and Walworth County District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld today announced that defrocked former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, age 92, has been charged with one count of Fourth-Degree Sexual Assault for an incident that occurred in April of 1977.

The charge in this case stems from a report made to the Attorney General’s Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse initiative. The complaint alleges that McCarrick engaged in repeated sexual abuse of the victim over time, including the charged incident that involved the alleged fondling of the victim’s genitals while staying as a guest at a Geneva Lake residence.

“Thank you to the brave survivors who have made reports through the clergy and faith leader abuse initiative,” said Attorney General Kaul. “I encourage other survivors who have not yet reported to consider speaking to the victim services specialist at DOJ who is dedicated to this initiative and to make a report.”

Fort McCoy Fire Extinguished, Officials Say

A 3,000-acre wildfire has been extinguished in Fort McCoy, Wis., officials announced Saturday.

The fire had been burning since April 12, when it started on the north border of the Fort McCoy military base. According to the base, the fire is 100% contained and crews are now working to identify and extinguish hot spots.

'This Is Dessert': Filmmakers Proud To Be Featured In Wisconsin Film Festival

People from all over the world came to the Wisconsin Film Festival this weekend to admire one another’s work.

The festival aims to educate, inspire and enrich guests through showcasing art captured on film.

Kelly Conway, Director of the Wisconsin Film Festival, said it brings 150 films to Madison that range from fiction films to global and documentary films.

“Each year, our three programmers look at about 500 films, they go to Sundance, they go to Toronto, and they really keep their eyes open for films that are not available elsewhere. We want to give our viewers an extraordinary experience,” Conway said.

Bucks' Antetokounmpo Exits Game With Lower Back Bruise

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's 130-117 Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat with a lower back contusion, the team announced.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said after the first-round matchup that Antetokounmpo had an X-ray that came back "clear."

"We'll monitor him and see how he wakes up [Monday]," Budenholzer said.

Antetokounmpo fell hard to the floor and landed on his back after picking up a charging foul taken by Heat forward Kevin Love with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter. Antetokounmpo checked out of the game following his second foul in the first quarter but immediately headed toward the locker room. He emerged with tape around his lower back to begin the second quarter and returned to the game with 9:56 left in the frame.