Morning Headlines - Monday, Aug. 28, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Drama Unfolds On Two Fronts Monday As Trump Cases Enter New Phase

Americans are about to learn significant new details on the timing and the substance of the trials of Donald Trump, even as the former president and Republican front-runner steps up his effort to alchemize his unprecedented legal peril to boost his White House bid.

Two key hearings on Monday – one in Georgia and one in Washington – will take the drama over Trump’s quadruple criminal indictments into a new phase, following the extraordinary scenes and political maneuvering that culminated in the release of Trump’s booking mug shot last week.

Republicans Seize On Gasoline Prices, But The U.S. Is Pumping Oil Faster Than Ever

The late-summer surge in gasoline prices is heightening the risks that inflation poses for President Joe Biden, and offering Republicans a new chance to pin the blame on his green agenda.

The GOP narrative has a major hole: U.S. oil production — already the highest in the world — is on track to set a new record this year, and will probably rise even more in 2024. But the ever-increasing flow of U.S. crude has failed to keep a lid on gasoline prices, showing once again that a global market drives the fuel prices that shape presidents’ political futures.

Alan Dershowitz Claims Donald Trump's Criminal Trials Will Not Begin Before The 2024 Election

Legal experts have warned there is very little possibility Donald Trump will stand trial in any of his four criminal cases before the general election.

The assertion was aired by three separate lawyers Sunday, hours before an Atlanta DA is set to provided the first details of her sprawling anti-racketeering case against former president, as well as 18 other codefendants including his ex-chief of staff.

Among those to discuss the slim chance of Trump standing trial in that case - or others in New York, Florida, and Washington, DC, for that matter - was Harvard Law's Alan Dershowitz, one of the foremost voices on US constitutional law.

GOP Tensions Between Senate, House Raise Shutdown Odds

Senate Republicans are signaling that they’re in no mood to back conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus who are demanding major concessions from Democrats in the annual spending bills, raising the odds of a government shutdown this fall.

Senate Republicans stood firmly behind Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year when he demanded spending cuts and other reforms in exchange for raising the nation’s debt limit.

But with the battle for future control of the Senate heating up, Senate sources say House Republicans shouldn’t expect the same support for their efforts to lower the top-line annual discretionary spending number from the level agreed to by McCarthy and President Biden in late May.

Simone Biles Wins Record 8th U.S. Gymnastics Title, A Decade After Her First

Simone Biles flew through another historic routine on Sunday to win a record eighth all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, a full decade after her first national title.

The victory in San Jose, California., cemented a dominant comeback to the top of the sport just weeks after Biles returned from a two-year break to focus on her mental health.

“It feels really special,” Biles told NBC after her victory. “I’ve been doing it for so long, I feel like I don’t think about numbers, I think about my performance. And I think, overall, I hit eight for eight. I guess it’s a lucky number this year.”

Wisconsin Headlines

Open Drinking On ATVs Would Be Banned In Wisconsin Under Bipartisan Bill

Open containers of alcohol on all-terrain vehicles would be banned on highways, trails and any other ATV passage open to the public under a bipartisan bill that came before a Senate committee on Tuesday.

The bill, SB 262, comes as advocates and some Wisconsin lawmakers seek to confront the high levels of drinking and alcohol-related crashes in Wisconsin.

Under current law, all-terrain and utility terrain vehicle drivers are prohibited from driving if they have a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or greater. But unlike in cars, open drinking is not explicitly prohibited on or in ATVs and UTVs.

UTV Crash Kills One In Rural Grant County

The Grant County Sheriff's Office responded to a fatal UTV crash in Paris Township around 5 p.m. Friday.

47 year-old Jarvis Eastlick was driving on Oak Road when he lost control around a curve and was thrown off of the UTV.

According to a report by the Grant County Sheriff's Office, Eastlick went into the wrong lane while navigating the curve and overcorrected, nearly hitting a road sign before sending the UTV across the original lane and into a ditch.

Missing Elderly Man Found In Fond Du Lac County Cornfield

An elderly man is safe with his family again after several first responders found him in a cornfield in Fond du Lac County.

He was reported missing around 6:30 Sunday night in the town of Eldorado. The caller said he walked away from his home into a cornfield.

Two county K9 officers and a Fond du Lac police drone joined in the search. An hour later, the drone found the 72-year-old man, lying face down, about 600 yards from his home.

Ron Johnson Joins Republicans In Calling For Justice Protasiewicz To Step Down From Certain Cases

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is joining a chorus of Wisconsin Republicans in urging a state Supreme Court justice to recuse herself from certain cases.

Earlier this week, state Republican lawmakers filed motions in the state's highest court asking to exclude liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz from a pair of lawsuits over Wisconsin's electoral districts.

They cited nearly $10 million to donations from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to her election bid. They also argue she pre-judged the issue when, during her campaign, she repeatedly referred to Wisconsin's legislative maps as "rigged."

Wisconsin Officer Hit By Car, 2 Civilians Shot In Hotel Confrontation Near Milwaukee

A police officer and two other people were injured Friday in an incident outside a hotel in suburban Milwaukee, authorities said.

North Shore Fire/Rescue said it responded to a report from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office of two civilians who had suffered gunshot wounds and a law enforcement officer who had been struck by a vehicle in the northern suburb of Glendale.