Morning Headlines - Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 | Recent News

Start your day informed with today’s must-read headlines from around Wisconsin and the world. And don’t forget to check out our Meme of the Day at the end for a little humor to go with your news!

U.S. and World Headlines

Lawmakers Expect Shutdown To Drag On For At Least A Week

Senators have said they expect the government shutdown to drag out until at least the middle of next week, with some fearing it could go even longer.

The Senate rejected votes to reopen the government on Wednesday, and the chamber will be out of session on Thursday in observance of Yom Kippur.

The Senate will return Friday, but few expect the vote that day on the House GOP measure to fund the government to have a different result.

Hegseth Reignites Battle Over Women’s Role In Military

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s assertion Tuesday that newly proposed military fitness standards may exclude women from certain combat roles has reignited fears about his approach to women in the armed forces.

In a highly unusual address to hundreds of the military’s top leaders in Quantico, Va., Hegseth declared new directives to ensure every combat position “returns to the highest male standard” of their service’s physical fitness test.

“If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” he said, though he stressed that the military will continue to welcome women into its ranks.

Wikipedia Co-Founder Says Online Encyclopedia Has Been Completely Corrupted By Woke Ideology

Wikipedia’s co-founder warned that the site has been corrupted by 'woke ideology' in a blistering tirade against censorship.

Larry Sanger, 57, said the site’s original mission to deliver balanced information has been hijacked by a powerful, politically driven agenda.

Sanger co-founded the free, online encyclopedia with Jimmy Wales in 2001 with the goal of building a global platform that offered diverse political, religious, and cultural perspectives.

He left the project the following year, and in the two decades since, Wikipedia has grown into the largest written collection of knowledge in human history.

But Sanger warned that the platform has now been completely corrupted and is censoring right-wing and conservative voices.

Jane Goodall, Renowned Chimpanzee Researcher And Animal Advocate, Dies At 91

Jane Goodall, a renowned researcher who documented the behavior and social lives of chimpanzees and later became a leader of the animal conservation movement, died Wednesday.

Goodall was 91. She died of natural causes while she was in California as part of a speaking tour, the Jane Goodall Institute announced in a statement.

"Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world," the statement said.

Taiwan Rejects U.S. Proposal For ’50-50′ Chip Production, Says Trade Talks Focused On Tariffs

Taiwan will not accept Washington’s proposal to locally manufacture half the chips it currently supplies to the U.S., the island’s top trade negotiator said.

Speaking to reporters, Cheng Li-chiun, also the country’s vice premier, said on Wednesday that the proposal for a “50-50” split in semiconductor production was not even discussed, as she returned from trade talks in the U.S.

Sides Clash In Permit Challenge Hearing On Enbridge’s Line 5 Reroute

An administrative law judge may decide whether the roughly $450 million plan to reroute an oil and gas pipeline around the Bad River tribe’s reservation can move forward after a lengthy hearing wraps up on Friday.

The judge is hearing a challenge to key state permits granted to Canadian energy firm Enbridge, which is working to secure federal approval for the Line 5 relocation project. Enbridge first proposed building a 41-mile segment of the oil and gas pipeline around the Bad River reservation after the tribe in 2019 sued to shut down Line 5 on its lands.

Wisconsin Legislators Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Track Parkinson’s Diagnoses

Stephanie Johnson was married to Rick Johnson for 34 years. After a 13-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Rick Johnson passed away.

“I will love him forever,” Stephanie Johnson, director of the Parkinson’s Disease Alliance of Wisconsin said.

Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. On Wednesday, in a bipartisan effort, Wisconsin legislators introduced a bill to create a database to better track the disease.

Just three months after Rick Johnson death, Stephanie Johnson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s herself.

Wisconsin Democrats Introduce Abortion Legislation Amid Planned Parenthood Pause

Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers introduced new legislation in response to the pause of Planned Parenthood abortion services.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin paused its abortion services on Wednesday. This is a result of Medicaid cuts in President Trump’s recently enacted tax and spending bill.

State Senator Kelda Roys and Representative Lisa Subeck discussed the Abortion Accessibility Act at the capitol on Wednesday morning. The two said the act would remove “politically motivated restrictions” for abortions in the state.

Wisconsin Locks In 115% Medicaid Reimbursement Rate For Hospitals

It was a race to the finish line to pass the state budget before President Trump could sign the Big Beautiful Bill into law this summer.

The BBB limits Medicaid reimbursements to 110% for states like Wisconsin, which rejected the Obamacare Medicaid expansion deal. For all other states the limit is 100%. Those limits, however, don’t go into effect until 2028.

The State of Wisconsin had worked out a scheme in its new budget to reimburse hospitals’ Medicaid costs by 115%. It would be grandfathered in as long as the budget got signed into law before the BBB. Wisconsin’s budget law was signed on July 3rd, and the BBB was signed into law on July 4th. That’s great for hospitals, but not so much for their non-Medicaid patients.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin Urges The President And House Speaker To Negotiate As Government Shutdown Continues

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin says it’s up to Republicans to negotiate a way out of a government shutdown after senators failed to reach an agreement on a short-term funding bill earlier this week.

Baldwin is among the majority of Democrats who voted against a Republican funding plan. At the center of current gridlock is the imminent expiration of Affordable Care Act, or ACA, enhanced premium tax credits. If these tax credits do expire, monthly health insurance premium payments will “more than double,” according to a report by KFF.