Morning Headlines - Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Ranked By Risk: Trump’s Four Criminal Indictments

Former President Trump stands indicted in four separate cases, following this week’s indictment in Georgia. No other serving or former president has ever been indicted for an alleged crime.

The historic indictments pose grave legal risks to Trump and have unpredictable political consequences as he seeks to return to the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The indictments have not, so far, eroded his massive lead in the battle for the GOP nomination, but his poll ratings with the general public are mediocre.

Here is a guide to the level of peril each indictment poses to the former president.

Hunter Biden: What We Know Of His Overseas Business Dealings

Republicans sought to tar Joe Biden six weeks before the 2020 election by releasing new details about his son’s misbehavior, in a report showing that Hunter Biden “cashed in” on his father’s name and position as vice president under President Barack Obama.

That didn’t stop Joe Biden from being elected president. But since 2020, House Republicans have continued to dig into Hunter’s sordid past, alongside federal investigators from the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. And the president’s prodigal son is an even bigger headache for Democrats now, heading into the next presidential election.

Abortion Pill Ruling Sets Up Supreme Court Showdown

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, should be sharply curtailed, ramping up the legal threat to the most popular method of ending a pregnancy.

The decision — if allowed by the Supreme Court to take effect — would roll back actions the federal government has taken since 2016 to make the pills more accessible, including rules allowing online ordering, mail delivery, and pharmacy dispensing of the drugs. It also would roll back access from the current 10 weeks of pregnancy to seven and would reimpose a requirement that only physicians can prescribe the pills.

Anheuser-Busch Heir Commits To Buying Back His Family's Business If Offered: 'Make That Brand Great Again'

Anheuser-Busch heir Billy Busch offered to buy back the company that bears his family name if Anheuser-Busch InBev, the international beer conglomerate that owns the iconic brand, offered to sell it.

Speaking on OutKick with Tomi Lahren, Busch predicted that Anheuser-Busch InBev will experience a long road to recovery after facing a months-long boycott for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney — if the company can recover at all. And if the Belgium-based company wants to offload what may now be a liability, Busch said he would be happy to buy it back.

Mortgage Rates Jump Back To 2001 Levels

Why is housing affordability so bleak right now? This here chart tells the story.

The rate on the 30-year-mortgage ticked up to 7.16% this week — back to the high last reached in October last year. Before that you'd have to go back to 2001 to find mortgage rates this high.

A calculation from ING's Chief International Economist, James Knightley, illustrates the issue.

Ada Deer, Influential Native American Leader From Wisconsin, Dies At 88

Wisconsin and national Native American leader Ada Deer has died.

She was the first female head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and first woman to serve as chairperson of the Menominee Nation. Speaking on a UW-Alumni podcast in 2019, Deer said she didn’t set out to be the first of all these things.

“It just kind of works out that way because I’m willing to put in the work and it interests me and I have a passion for people and passion for life!” Deer said she spun a college scholarship from the Menominee nation into her success “Then the doors open up and then more things happen. And so I’m accustomed to succeeding not failing.”

Wisconsin DNR Issues Statewide Ozone Advisory

Smoke originating from wildfires in Canada will move into the state from the northwest Thursday morning, August 17, 2023, and travel south and southeast throughout the day.

The PM2.5 air quality index (AQI) is expected to range from the Unhealthy For Sensitive Groups (USG) level to the Unhealthy level.

The Unhealthy AQI level is unhealthy for everyone. People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should consider avoiding prolonged or heavy exertion and everyone else should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion.

Rural Manufacturers More Vulnerable To Disruption From EV Transition

Manufacturers in rural areas are more vulnerable to disruption from the transition to electric vehicles, according to a WEDC official.

Flannery Geoghegan, senior director of policy at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., yesterday discussed findings from a recent study focused on the state’s electric vehicle supply chain strategy. She spoke during a webinar hosted by Wisconsin Clean Cities, a nonprofit organization that works to advance sustainable technologies.

“Wisconsin has a tremendous opportunity here to develop a globally competitive industry cluster centered on manufacturing EVs and EV-related equipment, which in turn can help enhance Wisconsin’s automotive manufacturing industry and drive statewide economic development,” she said.

Pulitzer Finalist: Colonizing Wisconsin Was More About Plunder Than Removing Indigenous People

Michael Witgen’s deep research of Indigenous and early North American history is evident in his 2021 book "Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America."

A finalist for this year’s Pulitzer Prize in History, the book examines colonization of a region now known as the Midwest and was previously known by settlers as the Northwest Territories.

"I think the history of Wisconsin’s colonization is new to most people," said Witgen, a citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.

"In grade school, you tend to learn about Indians through the story of the Trail of Tears in the Southeast. You learn that there was a hunger for land, Indians were facing pressure and they were forcibly removed. But that’s not what happened in the Northwest Territories," he continued.

Republican Debate In Milwaukee: What To Know As GOP Presidential Contenders Clash In 1st Debate

The first debate for the Republican nomination for president will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Aug. 23, 2023. Eight candidates are allowed to attend the debate, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. A host of issues are at stake, including inflation and the economy, manufacturing and globalization, tensions with Russia and China, migration and the border to the south, mass shootings and gun purchasing laws, and more. There is also the issue of the former president, Trump, being under indictment in four cases in connection to his and others' alleged efforts to influence and undermine the presidential election process in 2020/2021.

So, with all that in mind, here are the big points you should know about the first Republican debate in Milwaukee: