Morning Headlines - Monday, Aug. 14, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

A Stunning Possible Fourth Indictment Looms Over Trump And The 2024 Election

Yet another likely criminal indictment is looming over Donald Trump this week, which would deepen his already extreme legal quagmire and further divert an unparalleled election season from the campaign trail into multiple courtrooms.

Atlanta-area prosecutor Fani Willis, a Democrat, has called at least two key witnesses to appear before a grand jury on Tuesday in a sign that her probe into the ex-president’s bid to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, a vital swing state, is nearing its end game. Willis is expected to seek charges against more than a dozen people. Trump believes he will be among them and is already fundraising off of the possibility of more criminal charges, casting them as Democratic efforts to interfere in the 2024 election.

Hunter Biden’s Attorney Says DOJ Prosecutors ‘Changed Their Decision On The Fly’ On Plea Deal

Hunter Biden’s attorney on Sunday criticized Justice Department (DOJ) prosecutors for changing “their decision on the fly” regarding a plea agreement reached between federal prosecutors and the president’s son, a deal that was ultimately put on hold after a hearing last month.

Abbe Lowell, who represents Biden, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there were three possibilities for why both sides didn’t leave a July 26 hearing with a plea deal secured by a judge.

“One, they wrote something and weren’t clear what they meant. Two, they knew what they meant and misstated it to counsel. Or third, they change their view as they were standing in court in Delaware,” Lowell said, speaking of the DOJ prosecutors.

CBS News Chief Neeraj Khemlani Steps Down

CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani is stepping down from his position after a little more than two years on the job, according to a staff memo obtained by Axios.

The abrupt announcement Sunday evening did not include a succession plan.

In a separate note obtained by Axios, CBS president and CEO George Cheeks, who also serves as chief content officer of news and sports for Paramount+, said he would update staff "soon" with information about a new leadership and structure for the division.

Inside Canada’s Fight With Facebook: Trudeau Says: “Canadians Will Not Be Bullied By Billionaires In The U.S.”

Canada’s Liberal government picked a fight with two U.S. tech giants by passing legislation forcing Meta and Google to pay news publishers for content. But the battle hasn’t gone quite as expected.

Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says big Silicon Valley firms want to make an example out of his country as Meta, fronted by two of Ottawa’s brightest political minds hailing from opposing parties, blocks Canadian news from its platforms.

The company started permanently removing Canadian news from Facebook and Instagram this month, and Canadian media publishers fear the move could deal a massive blow to an industry already gutted by layoffs and closures, teetering on the edge with 60 outlets closing in the past two years alone and CTV, a major television news network, closing its foreign bureaus.

Specialist teams are searching through Maui's charred ruins for those who are still missing, with only 3% of the affected area having been searched as of Sunday.
The confirmed death toll rose to 96 early Monday and is expected to increase.
The number of deaths means the fire, which devastated the town of Lahaina, is the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history, surpassing the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed 85.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said the damage was estimated at close to $6 billion. He said the fires were likely to be the largest natural disaster in the state’s history.

Republicans Get Desperate For A Senate Candidate In Wisconsin

Wisconsin Republicans need someone to run against Sen. Tammy Baldwin: a two-term incumbent who’s up for re-election in the swing-state of Wisconsin next year.

But, for now, they’re getting crickets.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the top pick of Republican Senate recruiters and leadership, said no in June. He recently nabbed the chairman spot on a new Select Committee on China—one of his legislative priorities—and says he wants to stick with it.

Then, Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) weighed the option. Reporters earlier this year flocked in interest as newly created “Tom Tiffany for Senate” websites were flagged by web crawlers—a typical indicator that a candidate is reserving URLs because they are at least considering a bid.

Wisconsin Joins Call For DuPont To Pay More For Drinking Water PFAS Pollution

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has expressed concern to a federal judge over a proposed settlement in a lawsuit that would force a chemical company to pay over $1 billion for pollution caused by its products.

Many local water systems are suing DuPont and two subsidiaries because they manufactured a family of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Research has linked PFAS to some cancers, low birth weights, and many other health effects.

Wisconsin Families Face Back-To-School Shopping Sticker Shock

Vivianna Capozzi quickly slipped a $16 disco ball for her locker into her mom’s cart at Target in West Milwaukee.

“Please — I’ll buy it if you don’t want to,” she told her mother.

Vivianna is starting her freshman year at Wauwatosa East High School and wants to make sure she has the right accessories and spiral notebooks.

She said her mom normally lets her get what she wants, but sometimes the items cost too much.

“Of course, I’m a little disappointed, but I’ve learned to go with it,” Vivianna said.

Despite reports that inflation is cooling, there is sticker shock in the back-to-school aisles this year with Wisconsin families paying upwards of $10 for pencils and $45 for water bottles.

Absentee Envelopes Get An Upgrade

New absentee ballot envelopes the Wisconsin Elections Commission recently approved will provide voters with a more user-friendly way to vote absentee in upcoming elections.

The approval of the envelopes is the first step in the rollout. Next, WEC Commissioners will focus on approving uniform instructions that will accompany the certificate envelopes explaining how to use them. Staff will also develop public information materials to spread awareness of the new envelope designs. WEC Commissioners approved the new envelope designs on a 6-0 vote at an open meeting on Friday, Aug. 4. The approved envelopes are those in which voters receive and return their absentee ballots. The Commission’s action does not affect ballots themselves.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s Visit Green Bay Adjusted For The Weather

The Green Bay Packers, preparing to welcome NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to training camp on Monday, made some last-minute changes due to the cool, rainy weather.

The Packers moved an event with the commissioner indoors to the Johnsonville Tailgate Village in the east parking lot. It’s still open to the public, and Goodell is expected to address fans at 9:30 a.m.

Goodell is expected to recognize the community-wide effort to have Green Bay selected to host the 2025 NFL Draft.