Morning Headlines - Monday, Apr. 24, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

McCarthy Faces Moment Of Truth In Debt Limit Battle

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will face a moment of truth in the debt ceiling battle this week when he brings a bill to lift the borrowing limit to the floor — legislation that some Republicans have concerns with, threatening the measure’s chances of clearing the chamber.

The bill — which McCarthy unveiled last week — marks the GOP conference’s first legislative attempt at bringing President Biden to the negotiating table, after the two sides made no progress in the past three months. Republicans are looking to pair spending cuts with a debt ceiling increase, but the White House has said it wants a clean hike of the borrowing limit.

It is not clear, however, that the GOP bill has enough support to pass, leaving leaders in limbo heading into the high-stakes vote.

Joe Biden Set To Tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez As His 2024 Campaign Manager

President Joe Biden plans to tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez as his 2024 re-election campaign manager, two sources familiar with the decision confirmed Sunday.

Chavez Rodriguez, one of the most prominent Latinas in the administration and a granddaughter of the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, is a senior adviser to the president and the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. CBS News first reported that she would be named Biden’s campaign manager.

"It makes sense to bring someone with her bona fides to Biden’s campaign leadership team," said Maria Teresa Kumar, the president and CEO of Voto Latino, a nonprofit organization that seeks to boost Latino participation in elections.

How We All Became AI's Brain Donors

The AI boom is built on data, the data comes from the internet, and the internet came from us.

A Washington Post analysis of one public data set widely used for training AIs shows how broadly today's AI industry has sampled the 30-year treasury of web publishing to tutor their neural networks.

Ever written a blog? Built a web page? Participated in a Reddit thread? Chances are your words have contributed to the education of AI chatbots everywhere.

While this massive verbal repurposing is triggering an important legal brawl over whether it should be treated as fair use or theft, it's also inspiring a personal reckoning for many of the millions whose postings built today's online world.

We thought we were sharing our hearts and minds, and of course we were.

NBCUniversal CEO Stepping Down Over ‘Inappropriate Relationship’

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell is leaving the company after an outside investigation “into a complaint of inappropriate conduct,” its parent company Comcast announced Sunday.

Shell will depart effective immediately in the wake of an investigation led by an outside counsel.

“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret,” Shell said in a statement. “I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”

Fox's Settlement With Dominion Unlikely To Cost It $787.5M

Fox Corp.'s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges is eye-popping, but the ultimate cost to the media company is likely to be much lower.

On Tuesday, Fox settled with Dominion over charges that Fox News baselessly accused the company of rigging its voting machines against former President Donald Trump in 2020. It was the most-watched media libel case in decades.

Fox had about $4 billion of cash on hand as of December 2022, and MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman expects the company to pay the settlement during the current quarter.

How much the lawsuit will actually end up costing Fox is unclear because there are ways it can defray some of the expense, primarily through insurance and the use of tax deductions.

Wisconsin Headlines

When Should A Criminal Past Be Wiped From Public View? Revived Wisconsin Bill Would Change Criteria

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is reviving a proposal that would change Wisconsin's criteria for wiping a past criminal conviction from public view.

Currently, state law only allows someone to ask a judge for expungement if the crime was committed before they turned 25. That age requirement would be removed under a bill sponsored by Republican state Rep. David Steffen of Green Bay.

At a public hearing on the plan, Steffen said "arbitrary" limits shouldn't stop people with criminal histories from turning over a new leaf.

"An individual that is trying to get back into work, we want them to do that whether their crime was committed as a 17-year-old or a 27-year-old," he told the Senate's Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigation In Grand Rapids, WI

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer involved critical incident in the town of Grand Rapids, Wis. that occurred on the night of Friday, April 21, 2023.

At approximately 10:57 p.m., an officer from Grand Rapids Police Department made contact with an individual who was walking near the intersection of 32nd Street So. and Airport Avenue. Initial reports indicate that during the contact the subject displayed a firearm, and the officer discharged their firearm striking the individual. A firearm was recovered at the scene. Lifesaving measures were rendered but the individual died at the scene.

The involved officer was not injured in this incident and has been placed on administrative assignment.

Corrections Secretary Says Agency OK With Most Recommendations To Improve Parole

Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr told Joint Legislative Audit Committee members he largely agrees with findings from an audit of Wisconsin’s probation and parole program.

Carr during a hearing Thursday said he is working to implement 21 of the Legislative Audit Bureau’s 27 recommendations on improving the Division of Community Corrections. He added there are six findings his agency wants to discuss further, but he did not list exactly the recommendations he wants to talk about.

The report recommended various improvements to how DOC handles probation and parole violations, such as ensuring violation reports are completed within 10 days and ensuring violations are consistently investigated. The report also recommends DOC modify its policies to specify when probation and parole agents are allowed more time to review violations, complete initial needs and risk assessments, and look at program differences across the state.

DATCP, DOA Warn Wisconsin Dispatch Number ‘Spoofed’ By Scammers

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the Department of Administration (DOA) are alerting Wisconsinites to a potential “spoofing” scam through which scammers are using the Wisconsin State Capitol Police dispatch number and impersonating law enforcement officers. “Spoofing” is when a caller ID, email address, or other form of contact identification is falsified by a scammer to trick recipients into trusting a fraudulent message.

DOA has received several reports from consumers stating they received a call from the Wisconsin State Police dispatch number, (608) 266-7700, from a caller impersonating police officers. In these scam calls, the caller states that there is a warrant for the person’s arrest, they should not contact local authorities, and then the caller demands payment. In at least one instance, a scam victim sent money to the caller.

Packers, Jets Re-Engage In Rodgers Trade Talks

The Packers and Jets recently re-engaged in trade talks for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

The reporting saying the deal is not imminent, but the two sides are talking with the hopes of having the deal done this week. Coincidentally the NFL Draft starts this Thursday with the Jets holding the 13th pick, and the Packers soon after at number 15.

Much of the reporting around possible compensation for the four time MVP centers around draft picks, whether that’s in this year’s draft or later. Currently New York holds just six picks in this year’s draft with Green Bay set to select ten times.