Morning Headlines - Monday, Jul. 31, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

99-Year Old Trucking Company Yellow Shuts Down, Putting 30,000 Out Of Work

Yellow Corp., a 99-year old trucking company that was once a dominant player in its field, halted operations Sunday and will lay off all 30,000 of its workers.

The unionized company has been in a battle with the Teamsters union, which represents about 22,000 drivers and dock workers at the company. Just a week ago the union canceled a threatened strike that had been prompted by the company failing to contribute to its pension and health insurance plans. The union granted the company an extra month to make the required payments.

Even Republicans Who Think Trump Is A Criminal Back Him Over DeSantis, New Poll Shows

Even though nearly a quarter of Republican voters think Donald Trump committed 'serious federal crimes,' they still much prefer him over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or any other GOP candidate, a shocking new poll reveals.

Additionally, these Republican primary voters believe DeSantis is more 'moral' and 'likable' than Trump, but they still want to put the former president forward as the 2024 candidate.

It's likely because Republicans are more confident that Trump could beat President Joe Biden in a general election over DeSantis.

The Potential Downsides Of New Blockbuster Obesity Drugs

Even as encouraging data fuels hype around a new class of obesity drugs, regulators and experts are racing to better understand possible health risks that are still emerging in a market projected to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have quickly become a cultural phenomenon and a source of hope for people with obesity and related health conditions. But recent reports of potential side effects, including suicidal thoughts, have raised concerns.

Eli Lilly said last week that its weight-loss drug candidate, tirzepatide, helped people lose, on average, up to about 26% of their body weight over two late-stage clinical trials.

High School Boys Are Trending Conservative

A popular narrative suggests young people are liberal and getting more liberal. Thus, social media buzzed when a chart surfaced in spring that seemed to suggest 12th-grade boys had become overwhelmingly conservative.

As with many Reddit posts and viral tweets, the truth was more complicated. But the numbers do say this: Twelfth-grade boys are nearly twice as likely to identify as conservative versus liberal, according to a respected federal survey of American youth.

In annual surveys over the last three years, roughly one-quarter of high school seniors self-identified as conservative or “very conservative” on the Monitoring the Future survey, a scholarly endeavor that dates to the 1970s. Only 13 percent of boys identified as liberal or very liberal in those years.

Several House Republicans Urge Lawmakers Return To DC After DOJ Requests Devon Archer's Surrender

At least five House Republicans have called on lawmakers — who are currently enjoying a legislative recess — to return to Capitol Hill after the Department of Justice asked Hunter Biden's business partner Devon Archer to surrender to prison. The request came over the weekend before Archer was scheduled to testify to the committee Monday on the Biden family, Hunter's business dealings and the alleged role of his father, President Biden, in securing these deals.

Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Mike Johnson, R-La.; Chip Roy, R-Texas; Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo.; and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., each said on social media Sunday that lawmakers should return to Washington, D.C. for an emergency hearing to discuss potential DOJ interference in the committee's investigation into President Biden and Hunter Biden.

"The DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation," Gaetz wrote. "If Devon Archer isn't in the witness chair Monday, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this."

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Woman Set On Fire, Manhunt For Boyfriend Is Under Way

A manhunt is on for a man suspected of setting his girlfriend on fire Sunday morning and leaving the scene, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department said.

The sheriff’s department said it received a call from a Salem Lakes woman at about 4:45 a.m.

The victim told them she and Myron Faith Bowie had an argument where Bowie said he would kill her, her children, and her entire family before setting her on fire and driving away.

Vice President Kamala Harris To Visit Wisconsin On Aug. 3

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit Milwaukee and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin on Thursday, Aug. 3, according to the White House.

The VP is set to first arrive in Pleasant Prairie just north of the state's border with Illinois in Kenosha County. There, the VP will meet with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to "deliver remarks highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s investment in broadband and affordable connectivity," the White House said.

DNR Releases Annual Drinking Water Report

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently published its 2022 Annual Drinking Water Report. 

The report shows that most public water systems met all the Safe Drinking Water Act regulations last year. This was accomplished while facing challenges from emerging contaminants, aging infrastructure and nitrate contamination in some wells.

The report also shows that more than 99% of Wisconsin's public water systems met all health-based contaminant standards.

Superior Refinery Still Hasn't Resumed Full Operations

Wisconsin’s only oil refinery has not yet resumed full operations this summer as previously anticipated following a $1.2 billion effort to rebuild the facility after an explosion five years ago.

The 2018 explosion and series of fires injured three dozen workers at the refinery then-owned by Calgary-based Husky Energy. The explosion prompted fears of a hydrofluoric acid leak, causing around 2,500 people in the city to evacuate.

No such release occurred but a tank containing hot asphalt was punctured by debris from the explosion, spilling 17,000 barrels into the refinery that caught fire and burned for hours. The explosion caused roughly $550 million in damage to the plant, which has since been acquired by Calgary-based Cenovus Energy.

Man Unlawfully In The United States Sentenced To Federal Prison For Meth Distribution

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on July 28, 2023, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Moises Perez-Ochoa (Age: 40) to a total sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Perez-Ochoa distributed more than five pounds of methamphetamine in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, from December 2022 through February 2023. After Perez-Ochoa was arrested, agents with the Manitowoc Metro Drug Unit learned that Perez-Ochoa also distributed approximately four pounds of methamphetamine in Pierce County, Wisconsin, from October 2022 through November 2022. As a result, Perez-Ochoa was charged and convicted of distribution of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.