Morning Headlines - Monday, Feb. 2, 2026

Start your day informed with today’s must-read headlines from around Wisconsin and the world. And don’t forget to check out our Meme of the Day at the end for a little humor to go with your news!

U.S. and World Headlines

Immigration Reform Prolongs Shutdown Standstill

While Republican leadership appears confident in soon ending a partial government shutdown, some Democratic lawmakers have refused to sign off unless immigration enforcement conditions are met.

Senate lawmakers passed a bipartisan funding bill Friday, but the House had already recessed for the week. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would not approve the bill without changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol following two fatal shootings in Minnesota.

Heart Disease Remains The Top Threat Many Women Never See Coming

Many women may not realize their greatest health threat isn't cancer; it's heart disease.

In 2023, heart disease led to one in five female deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC. However, the.CDC also found that only 56% of women were aware of the risks.

"It is the leading killer of women at all ages so, starting at the age of 18, more women will die of heart disease than breast cancer," Dr. C. Noel Bairey-Merz, a professor of cardiology and director of the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai, told ABC News.

Venezuela's First Shipment Of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Has Left Venezuela Bound For The US

Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez announced on Sunday that the country’s first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas had been exported.

The announcement in a post on her Telegram channel on Sunday comes almost a month after President Donald Trump ordered a military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro, who now faces federal charges in the U.S.

Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, was sworn in as the interim president after his capture in January.

Building AI Brains For Blue-Collar Jobs

AI startups are raising billions of dollars to develop "brains" for robots that could work everywhere from oil rigs to construction sites.

Blue-collar workers may have as much to fear from AI job disruption as do white-collar workers.

The basic idea is that these software "brains" would understand physics and other real-world conditions — helping the robots adapt to changing environments.

8 New Windows 11 Features Expected To Arrive With The February 2026 Update

On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, Microsoft is scheduled to begin the rollout of a new Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 in the second month of the year, introducing several new features, improvements, and bug fixes.

In this update, the software giant will be rolling out the ability to resume Android apps on your computer. It pushes a major upgrade to Windows MIDI Services, expands Windows Hello enhanced security for external devices, and lets you manage the Smart App Control without reinstallation.

Wisconsin Headlines

Supreme Court Candidates Differ On State Courts’ Role In Federal Immigration Disputes

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court candidates have different opinions about the role state courts should play in disputes involving federal immigration agents.

During interviews with PBS Wisconsin’s “Here & Now,” both liberal state Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor and conservative state Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar voiced concern about Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents. The death came amid a surge of immigration agents in the city ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration.

But when it came to how state courts fit into the picture if a similar surge of federal immigration agents came to Wisconsin, Lazar, who sits on Wisconsin’s District 2 Court of Appeals in Waukesha, said “it’s a federal” issue.

The Legislature That Isn’t

It has been a week of revelation and consequence in the Wisconsin legislature.

First came long-overdue recognition by the GOP that the state’s Stewardship program is not so much an environmental initiative as a land-acquisition scheme whose incentives are misaligned with representative government. It is less conservation than conveyance to special interests.

Then came something that could prove even more significant. Rep. Brent Jacobson (R-Mosinee) and Republican colleagues introduced measures that do not merely seek to restore legislative oversight of bureaucratic rulemaking but would return lawmaking power itself to the branch where the Wisconsin constitution says it belongs.

Discussion Explores Competing Data Center Bills, Opportunities And Hurdles

As communities and companies navigate the path ahead for mega data centers in Wisconsin, some say the massive building projects could lead to expansion of renewable energy, a stronger grid and new energy technologies.

“The economic opportunities here are enormous, if we do it right,” Rep. Angela Stroud, D-Ashland, said this week during an online event organized by WisPolitics-WisBusiness-State Affairs and the Wisconsin Technology Council. “So using this moment, with some of the wealthiest companies in the history of the world, to help expand our renewable grid to the benefit of the public is something we should really be looking at.” 

Plans Move Forward To Bring New Nuclear Energy To Kewaunee County

Plans to bring new nuclear energy to the site of a shuttered nuclear plant in Kewaunee County are moving forward.

Utah-based EnergySolutions, the owner of the Kewaunee Power Station site, announced in January that it filed a notice with federal regulators confirming that it plans to apply for a major licensing action for new nuclear generation at the Kewaunee Power Station site.

In addition to a notice of intent, the company says it submitted filings to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission related to potential permits, which are still under review.

Wisconsin Hasn’t Raised Its Minimum Wage For 17 Years. What Does That Mean For Workers And The Economy?

Minimum-wage workers in 19 states saw their paychecks increase this year. But Wisconsin hasn’t changed its minimum wage — just $7.25 per hour — for 17 years, shrinking the buying power of the lowest-earning workers.

Wisconsin ties its minimum wage to the federal level, which hasn’t budged for its longest stretch in history. Had Congress indexed the wage to inflation in 2009, it would have risen to $10.88 in 2025. That’s a difference of $145.20 over a 40-hour workweek.

Elsewhere, 34 states, territories and districts have set minimum wages above $7.25.