Morning Headlines - Monday, Mar. 18, 2024 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Putin Gets 5th Term In Election That Was Never In Doubt

Election commission results on Monday showed that President Vladimir Putin has secured a fifth term with an overwhelming number of votes, in an election that held little suspense after the harshest crackdown on the opposition and free speech since Soviet times.

After facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices, Putin was set to extend his nearly quarter-century rule for six more years. Even with little margin for protest, Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon on Sunday, the last day of the election, apparently heeding an opposition call to express their displeasure with the president.

8 In 10 Americans Say Religion Is Losing Influence In Public Life

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 80% of U.S. adults say religion’s role in American life is shrinking – a percentage that’s as high as it’s ever been in our surveys.

Most Americans who say religion’s influence is shrinking are not happy about it. Overall, 49% of U.S. adults say both that religion is losing influence that this is a bad thing. An additional 8% of U.S. adults think religion’s influence is growing and that this is a good thing.

Together, a combined 57% of U.S adults – a clear majority – express a positive view of religion’s influence on American life.

Supreme Court Hears Free Speech Case On Government's Ability To Press For Removal Of Online Content

The Supreme Court on Monday is hearing arguments in a case that tests how far the federal government can go in pressuring social media companies to remove content it believes spreads misinformation before it crosses a constitutional line.

The case, known as Murthy v. Missouri, arose out of efforts during the early months of the Biden administration to push social media platforms to take down posts that officials said spread falsehoods about the pandemic and the 2020 presidential election.

7 Battlegrounds That Will Decide Who Wins The Presidency

It’s a rematch.

President Biden and former President Trump each hit a key marker last week, clinching enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee of their respective party.
The outcome of the general election will come down to a handful of states, as usual.
The map maintained by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ lists seven contests as toss-ups.
Those key states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Trump leads in all seven in current polls.

Here’s the state-by-state breakdown.

Which NCAA Basketball Teams Are In March Madness 2024? See The Full List By Conference

The teams for the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament have been selected, as 68 schools will square off in March Madness.

The tournament bracket consists of the 32 Division I conference tournament winners, along with 36 teams that received at-large bids from the selection committee.

Below is a list of every 2024 March Madness team broken down by conference.

Wisconsin Is Lagging Behind Other Swing States In Shoring Up Election Policies Following 2020 Chaos

Four years ago, Wisconsin arguably was the state where Donald Trump came the closest to overturning the election results.

A barrage of lawsuits aimed at invalidating hundreds of thousands of mostly Democratic votes in the crucial battleground sought to take advantage of certain election policies in the state related to absentee ballots that were cast early and by confined or disabled voters, as well as those where election workers completed certain missing information on the envelopes.

The effort made its way all the way to the state Supreme Court, then controlled by conservatives, which ruled by one vote against Trump’s bid to overturn the results.

Weight Restrictions End Monday For Majority Of Wisconsin Highways

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is ending Spring Thaw and Class II road restrictions for the majority of Wisconsin, including Zone 2 through Zone 5, on Monday, March 18 at 12:01 a.m. The restrictions remain in place for far northern Wisconsin (Zone 1) until meltwater drains sufficiently.

Class II roads include about 1,400 miles of state highways susceptible to damage from heavy trucks during the spring thaw period as frost leaves the ground. More information regarding frozen road declarations, Class II roadways, and roadway postings can be found on WisDOT's website.

Wisconsin Voters To Decide On Banning Private Money To Help Fund Elections

Wisconsin voters are set to decide next month whether to make it unconstitutional to accept private grant money to help administer state elections, one of two Republican-backed ballot measures that Democrats say are meant to make it harder to conduct elections in the presidential battleground state.

The constitutional amendments on the state’s April 2 ballot also include a change to allow only election officials designated by law to administer elections. If a majority of voters approve, the amendments would be added to the state’s constitution.

Officer Involved Death In Rock County, Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer involved death in Beloit, Wis. that occurred the morning of Saturday, March 16, 2024.

At approximately 9:27 a.m., an alleged carjacking suspect fled Illinois law enforcement traveling north into the City of Beloit, Wis. Police officers from the City of Beloit assisted in the vehicle pursuit. Officers from the Village of Roscoe, Ill. and City of Beloit attempted a vehicle containment maneuver to stop the vehicle. The subject rammed their vehicle into a Roscoe police officer’s squad car. A Roscoe police officer fired their weapon striking the subject. Life saving measures were performed. The subject was transported to a local hospital where they were later pronounced deceased.

A Roscoe police officer was transported to an Illinois hospital where they were treated for minor injuries and released. No other officers were injured.

Marquette Gets A 2 Seed In NCAA Tournament, Badgers Are Seeded Fifth

The Marquette Golden Eagles received a 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament while the Wisconsin Badgers are in the tourney as a 5 seed.

Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina, are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out Sunday.

Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.