Morning Headlines - Monday, Sept. 25, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Senate Democrats Put McCarthy In Shutdown Squeeze

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is ramping up the pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to avoid a government shutdown by moving first on a stopgap funding bill that will pass the Senate next week, a few days before the Sept. 30 deadline.

The Senate’s plan is to send the bill to the House and put pressure on McCarthy to bring it to the floor for a vote it would pass with bipartisan support if given the chance, said senators who are calculating how the endgame will play out.

But Republican and Democratic senators admit they don’t know what McCarthy will do, and some GOP senators are worried about “sticking our necks out” if the stopgap is doomed to fail in the House.

Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander Was Killed In Crimea Missile Strike, Ukraine Says

Ukraine said Monday it has killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile strike on the naval headquarters in occupied Crimea.

It comes days after an attack that left the building smoldering, the latest salvo in a mounting effort to target the Kremlin’s naval forces and isolate the annexed peninsula.

Kyiv did not provide evidence for the claim, which NBC News has not verified, but if confirmed it would be one of the most high-profile losses of the war so far.

Hollywood Writers, Studios Reach Tentative Deal To End Strike

More than four-and-a-half months after they first went on strike, Hollywood writers have reached a tentative deal with studios on a new labor contract.

The agreement between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — the group that represents all major Hollywood studios — was announced Sunday following several marathon bargaining sessions this week in Los Angeles.

Trump Dodges Threat: States Resist 14th Amendment Ballot Ban Push

Activists' push to block Donald Trump from being on the presidential ballot in several states hasn't gained traction, as state elections officials have been reluctant to act without courts weighing in first.

"We're not the eligibility police. We are responsible for ensuring that basic facts are met to get someone on the ballot," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) told Axios.

Free Speech For People also has sent letters to elections officials in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and New Mexico, asking them to use their authority to exclude Trump from state ballots.

Update Your iPhone Now: Apple Releases An Urgent iOS Update

Merely days after the release of its new operating system – iOS 17 – Apple has had to issue urgent updates.

iOS 17.0.1, now available globally, fixes three security flaws that left devices exposed to 'malware' – malicious computer software.

The update is for all iPhone models still supported by the tech giant – so those released in 2018 and later (including iPhone XS and the 2nd generation iPhone SE).

Wisconsin Farmer Groups Disappointed, Unsurprised By Lack Of Action On Farm Bill

The Sept. 30 expiration date is fast approaching for the farm bill, which funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and a wide range of agriculture and conservation programs.

But many federal lawmakers and Wisconsin farm groups say it's unlikely a new version of the legislation, which is passed about every five years, will be close to being finalized this month.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan recently told Wisconsin Public Radio's "The Morning Show" that a draft of the farm bill has not been introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. He said it's possible to still see something released before the end of the month, especially in the Senate. But he said he's less hopeful about its prospects in the House.

Wisconsin Lawmakers Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bill

A pair of Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin last week introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana for adults and establish a framework for regulated cannabis sales. If passed, Wisconsin would join the nearly two dozen states that have ended the criminal prohibition of marijuana.

The bill was unveiled in a Wisconsin hemp farm on Friday by Sen. Melissa Agard, the state Senate Democratic Leader, and Rep. Darrin B. Madison. If successful, the measure would legalize cannabis use and the possession of up to five ounces of marijuana by adults aged 21 and older.

Wisconsin’s Republicans Went To Extremes In Gerrymandering. Now They’re Scrambling To Protect That Power

In the northwest corner of Wisconsin, the 73rd Assembly District used to be shaped like a mostly rectangular blob. Then, last year, a new map drawn by Republican lawmakers took effect, and some locals joked that it looked a lot like a Tyrannosaurus rex.

The advent of the “T. rex” precipitated dark times and perhaps extinction for local Democrats.

The new map bit off and spit out a large chunk of Douglas County, which tended to vote Democratic, and added rural swaths of Burnett County, which leans conservative.

Flamingos In Wisconsin? Tropical Birds Visit Lake Michigan Beach In A First For The Northern State

Five flamingos that showed up in Wisconsin to wade along a Lake Michigan beach attracted a big crowd of onlookers eager to see the unusual visitors venturing far from their usual tropical setting.

The American flamingos spotted Friday in Port Washington, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Milwaukee, marked the first sighting of the species in Wisconsin state history, said Mark Korducki, a member of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Wisconsin DNR Explains Wolf Management Plan To State Senate Committee

Wisconsin wildlife officials defended their decision not to set a hard cap on the state’s wolf population in their new management plan in front of a Republican-controlled legislative committee on Sept. 21, saying a firm limit doesn’t reflect the complexities of wolf management.

Randy Johnson, the Department of Natural Resources’ large carnivore specialist, told the state Senate’s sporting heritage committee that a lack of a hard limit gives the agency more flexibility to manage the species, allows local packs to fluctuate and gives the population a better chance at maintaining wolf abundance for years to come.