Morning Headlines - Thursday, Jun. 15, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Trump Stubbornly Rejected Lawyers' Attempts To Settle Classified Documents Case

Donald Trump was repeatedly advised by his lawyers over the course of over two years to return the classified documents to the authorities - but stubbornly refused, according to a new report.

His attorney Christopher Kise, who represented him in court on Tuesday when he was arraigned on 37 federal charges related to his retention of classified documents, tried to persuade Trump to settle in the fall of 2022, The Washington Post reported.

Kise told others he wanted to 'take the temperature down' and speak directly to the attorney general, Merrick Garland - promising him a professional and swift return of the files.

Shutdown Odds Grow Amid GOP Infighting

The decision by House Republicans to write spending bills below the caps established in this month’s bipartisan debt ceiling deal sets the stage for a clash with Democrats in the Senate and White House — and heightens the odds of a government shutdown later in the year.

The debt limit legislation, negotiated between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), featured an agreement to set new top lines on discretionary spending over the next two fiscal years.

Yet McCarthy, under heavy pressure from his right flank, has since balked at those figures, arguing they’re not the target levels but merely represent a spending ceiling Congress cannot surpass.

Scientists Report Creation Of First Human Synthetic Model Embryos

A team of researchers in the United States and United Kingdom say they have created the world’s first synthetic human embryo-like structures from stem cells, bypassing the need for eggs and sperm.

These embryo-like structures are at the very earliest stages of human development: They don’t have a beating heart or a brain, for example. But scientists say they could one day help advance the understanding of genetic diseases or the causes of miscarriages.

The research raises critical legal and ethical questions, and many countries, including the US, don’t have laws governing the creation or treatment of synthetic embryos.

Bill Cosby Sued In Nevada By 9 Women Who Accuse Him Of Sexual Assault

Nine women filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Bill Cosby in Nevada on Wednesday, just weeks after the state passed a law eliminating the statute of limitations for civil cases.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Nevada, accuses Cosby of using his “enormous power, fame and prestige” to isolate and sexually assault each of the nine women named in the lawsuit.

They are Janice Dickinson, Lise-Lotte Lublin, Janice Baker Kinney, Lili Bernard, Heidi Thomas, Linda Kirkpatrick, Rebecca Cooper, Pam Joy Abeyta and Angela Leslie.

Biden Admin Hit With Lawsuit For Stonewalling Pete Buttigieg's Government Jet Records

A government watchdog group is filing a federal lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), arguing the agency has stonewalled records detailing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's use of private government jets.

The group, Americans for Public Trust (APT), said it has repeatedly requested FAA records detailing how often Buttigieg has used the agency's small fleet of jets and the taxpayer costs associated with those flights. But, according to its lawsuit first seen by Fox News Digital, the FAA has improperly delayed producing the records on three separate information requests filed by APT.

Wisconsin Headlines

Milwaukee Bankruptcy Avoidance Plan Clears Wisconsin Legislature

The Wisconsin Legislature on Wednesday passed a bipartisan plan to prevent Milwaukee from going bankrupt that also sends more state aid to every community in the state, a long-sought-after funding increase agreed to by Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The measure is part of a larger deal struck by Evers and Republican legislative leaders after months of talks that also increases K-12 education funding by more than $1 billion. It was the highest profile deal reached between Evers, in the first year of his second term, and Republicans, who have found little common ground on most issues.

Wisconsin Governor Vows To Veto State Budget If GOP Cuts Diversity Dollars From University System

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said June 14 in a newspaper report that he won’t sign the state budget if Republican lawmakers follow through on their plan to cut funding for the state university system’s diversity officers, escalating a bitter fight over dollars for the state campuses.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told The Associated Press on June 13 that he wants to cut $32 million from the UW System in the state’s 2023-25 budget, an amount he said is equal to what the system spends on diversity officers. He said during a news conference that diversity efforts have become liberals’ “new religion” and tax dollars shouldn’t be used to help them.

Top Wisconsin Election Official Facing Replacement Calls For Stability, Defends Record

Wisconsin’s top elections official, who has faced GOP criticism for how she ran the battleground state’s last presidential election, pushed June 14 for officials to vote to keep her for another term or pick a successor who will support stability.

Meagan Wolfe, the nonpartisan administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, touted her experience but vowed to support a decision to appoint someone else to oversee the agency and guide the roughly 1,800 local clerks who run elections.

Wisconsin Needs Housing. Activists, Legislators Say It Should Be Easier To Build

Wisconsin’s housing shortage has made finding a place to live feel for many like a high-stakes game of musical chairs. That’s especially true in Madison, said Ian Jamison, a local renter who is part of the pro-housing group Madison is for People.

"The winners of the chairs get so much great stuff — they get amenities, they get health care, they get tons of jobs," he said. "But the issue is there are not enough chairs, or in this case houses, to go around, so it gets more and more complicated and competitive."

He’s not the only one in Wisconsin who feels that way, and the issue isn't limited to Dane County.

Wisconsin Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Coercing 13-Year-Old To Engage In Sexual Conduct

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Wang Lo, 23, of Appleton, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 15 years in federal prison for enticing and coercing a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct. This term of imprisonment is to be followed by 15 years of supervised release. Lo pleaded guilty to this charge on March 16, 2023.

In May 2022, a then-14-year-old girl, reported she had been sexually assaulted by someone she met online when she was 13. She reported that he coerced her to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him, that he recorded that conduct, and then threatened to distribute the video if she did not engage in additional sexual conduct with him.