Morning Headlines - Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

5 Challenges Facing New Speaker Mike Johnson

There is, finally, a Speaker.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) ascended to the role Wednesday, three weeks and one day after eight GOP House members ignited chaos by ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Johnson got the unanimous support of his colleagues on the House floor, an achievement that proved impossible for Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

Johnson is a staunch social conservative, as well as a strong ally of former President Trump. Johnson aided Trump’s quest to overturn the 2020 election result.

Johnson has his hands on the gavel, but there are plenty of challenges ahead.

At Least 22 Killed In Maine Mass Shootings As Police Hunt For Gunman

A 'highly-skilled' gunman opened fire on a children's bowling league in a rampage that killed at least 22 people and wounded 60 in the Maine city of Lewiston - and is still on the run as a shelter in place advisory has expanded into the next town.

Residents of Bowdoin have been advised to not go outside on Thursday morning as the 'person of interest' remains on the run. Police believe the gunman is previously sectioned Army reserve firearms instructor Robert Card, 40.

Survivors have described how they escaped by fleeing down bowling lanes and hiding behind pins as the gunman used an AR-15-style rifle to open fire while children were playing - with teenagers among the injured.

Trump Is Forced To Play By The Rules In Court And Doesn’t Like It

A judge hearing Donald Trump’s New York fraud trial spent Wednesday wrestling with a quandary the political world long ago failed to answer: how to constrain the ex-president’s fury, tantrums and impulse to break all the rules.

And on an extraordinary day in court in which he was ordered to take the stand to explain his conduct, Trump may have gotten a glimpse of the future ahead of four criminal trials that will add a divisive twist to the election year.

The judge in New York dressed down once the world’s most powerful man and told him he was not “credible” – a reversal of typical power dynamics with Trump and a reminder that no one is above the law.

Biden's Post-War Plan: New Talks On Israel-Palestine Two-State Solution

President Biden is signaling for the first time what his plan would be for the day after the war in Gaza — a new generation of peace talks in the Middle East on a "two-state solution" in which Israel would co-exist with a Palestinian state.

Biden's call for a "concentrated effort" to begin talking about a two-state solution represents a pivot for the president.

• So far he's focused largely on trying to avoid conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank — and securing a big peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
• But after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, there's no going back to the "status quo" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as it stood on Oct. 6, Biden said Wednesday during a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
• "Hamas can't continue to terrorize Israeli citizens .... When this crisis is over there has to be a vision of what comes next, and in our view it has to be a two-state solution," Biden said.
• "It means a concentrated effort to put us on a path towards peace."

UAW Reaches Tentative Labor Agreement With Ford, Potentially Ending Partial Strike

The United Auto Workers reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford Wednesday evening, a move that could be critical to ending the union's six-week-old strikes against Detroit's Big Three automakers.

"Today we reached a tentative agreement with Ford," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video posted to social media, while Ford also confirmed the deal in its own statement.

"We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the UAW covering our U.S. operations," Ford CEO and President Jim Farley said.

The deal still needs to be approved by Ford's approximately 57,000 UAW workers.

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Republicans Float Changes To Win Approval For Funding Milwaukee Brewers Stadium Repairs

Wisconsin Republicans floated changes to a funding proposal for Milwaukee Brewers stadium repairs including a new tax on non-Brewers events, seeking to win over skeptics of the current plan intended to keep the team at American Family Field until at least 2050.

A Brewers official testified at a state Senate hearing on Oct. 25 that the team didn’t want to leave the city, saying it didn’t make sense to build a new stadium and that the priority was making urgent repairs extend the life of the 22-year-old ballpark.

Wisconsin Man Sentenced To 9 Months For Failing To Register As A Sex Offender

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jesse A. McCarty, 55, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 9 months in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). McCarty pleaded guilty to this charge on July 18, 2023.

SORNA provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States. It aims to close potential gaps and loopholes that existed under prior law and generally strengthens the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. In particular, SORNA requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school.

Wisconsin State Superintendent Hopes To Increase Civic Engagement Through Scope And Sequence

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has recently unveiled a new nonpartisan civics and social studies scope and sequence with suggested curriculum, aimed at students of all ages.

The goal of this curriculum is to provide students with a deeper understanding of their role in a democracy.

“Making sure that people understand their right to vote and that they understand how government works is certainly something that we need to be teaching from an early age,” said State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly.

Investigation Finds Inappropriate Sexual Comments By Everest Metro Police Chief, But No Harassment

A central Wisconsin police chief was the subject of a sexual harassment complaint after he allegedly made comments about an employee's breasts while at a bar, asking one woman to flash him and asking an employee to change shirts with another woman who was wearing a more form-fitting top.

An investigation found no "legally actionable claim." This month, the Everest Metro Police Joint Police Commission declined to bring any charges against Chief Clay Schulz, who remains on the job. Outside investigators with the von Briesen & Roper law firm found concerns "regarding Schulz's performance and the Department's culture that should be monitored and addressed."

Schulz has been chief of the Everest Metro Police Department, which covers Weston and Schofield in the Wausau metropolitan area, since 2017.

Evers Vows Quick Replacement For Payne After DNR Secretary Abruptly Announces Resignation

Gov. Tony Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback tells WisPolitics the guv will work “expeditiously” to find a replacement for DNR Secretary Adam Payne, who will step down Nov. 1.

Payne in a resignation letter to Gov. Tony Evers on Friday said he would leave his position next week after less than a year on the job, saying he wants to spend more time with his aging parents and grandchildren.

The decision comes after the state Senate rejected four of Evers’ appointees to the Natural Resources Board. Evers replaced the members with new appointees almost immediately afterward.