Morning Headlines - Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

New York Times And Washington Post Both Run Op-Eds Branding Biden, 80, Too Old For Office

The New York Times and Washington Post both published opinion pieces Wednesday branding 80-year-old President Joe Biden as too old to run for re-election in 2024.

It comes as Biden faces an impeachment inquiry and recent polling numbers show most consider the president at too advanced an age to serve again.

Ross Douthat, a conservative op-ed writer for the liberal Times, penned a piece titled '2024's Field of Nightmares,' a reference to the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

Mitt Romney Not Seeking Reelection To The Senate: 'Time For A New Generation'

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney will not seek reelection in 2024, he announced Wednesday -- marking the potential end to a storied conservative career that had in recent years put him in conflict with his party's standard-bearer, Donald Trump.

In a video statement, Romney, 76, touted his role in major pieces of bipartisan legislation on issues including infrastructure, guns and COVID-19 relief but said it was time for a "new generation" to take the reins -- both on Capitol Hill and in the White House, accusing President Joe Biden, 80, and former President Trump, 77, of not doing enough to address America's challenges.

CEOs Tell Senators: Time To Regulate AI

Senators left Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's AI Insight Forum in D.C. Wednesday talking about an urgent need to pass legislation governing AI, while CEOs agreed that Washington must play a role.

After the closed-to-the-public meeting, Elon Musk said it was important for tech leaders to "have a referee" in Washington and suggested the meeting "may go down in history as very important to the future of civilization."

The event strengthened Washington's consensus that government must take a strong hand with the new technology — even as the likelihood of immediate action remained low.

Fentanyl Plus Stimulants Drives ‘Fourth Wave’ Of Overdose Epidemic In The U.S.

The U.S. is in the throes of what researchers have deemed a “fourth wave” of the opioid crisis, a phase characterized by overdose deaths caused by the combination of stimulants and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 100,000 for the first time in 2021, fueled by the rise of synthetic opioids, which accounted for 75% of those deaths. Once propelled by prescription opioids and then heroin, the decadeslong crisis was overwhelmed by synthetic opioids in the mid-2010s.

Now it has taken on a new challenge: so-called polysubstance overdoses, which include more than one drug.

Social Security COLA Increase For 2024 Could Be Higher Than Expected

Payments to Social Security recipients may increase a bit more than expected in 2024, but an advocacy group says they'll still fall short of what retirees need.

The Senior Citizens League said Wednesday that the Social Security cost of living adjustment, or COLA, will likely be 3.2% for 2024. That would add about $57 to monthly benefits, raising them to $1,790 for the average recipient, according to the group's estimates.

Vos Consulting Former Justices On Potential Protasiewicz Impeachment

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says former members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court are advising him on the potential impeachment of liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz.

During a Wednesday morning appearance on WISN's The Jay Weber Show State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he's formed a panel of former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices to "review and advise what the criteria are for impeachment" of Justice Protasiewicz if she refuses to recuse herself from lawsuits before the court seeking to overturn GOP drawn voting maps. He said he would not name the justices while their review was underway.

Vos and other Republicans claim Protasiewicz has prejudged the redistricting cases because she called GOP voting maps "rigged" on the campaign trail ahead of defeating conservative former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly by 11 points.

Moms For Liberty Grows In Wisconsin As It Looks To Shape Policy, Impact Elections

At July’s Wood County chapter meeting of Moms for Liberty — a growing, national conservative organization that has drawn scrutiny for its extreme rhetoric on hot-button issues — the discussion turned to a topic that had been decided 30 years ago: whether the local high school should have a valedictorian.

The Marshfield School District discontinued the practice in 1993 on a 4-3 vote partly due to concerns that it put too much pressure on students. Since 2010 the district has recognized the top 5% of graduating seniors, but has stopped publicly ranking students by GPA.

For some parents, it was a reminder that school policies didn’t reflect their values.

Wisconsin Ranks #1 For Fall Deaths

Wisconsin leads the nation in fall-related deaths.

These startling numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest report. It says over 1,600 people died from falling in 2021.

A good resource is the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) which has locations across Wisconsin. It says there are more ways than you might realize to reduce fall risks.

No. 1 Wisconsin Volleyball Drops Marquette 3-1 In Front Of Record-Breaking Crowd

With a record-breaking crowd of 17,032 fans in attendance for Wednesday night's in-state rivalry match at Fiserv Forum, No. 1 Wisconsin (8-0) dropped Marquette (2-6) in four sets: 28-26, 20-25, 26-24, and 25-18.

Wednesday night's crowd surpassed the NCAA regular-season indoor record (16,833), which was set by the Badgers on Sept. 16, 2022 at Kohl Center against the Florida Gators. It also is the most-attended women's sporting event in Wisconsin state history.

Archery And Crossbow Deer Hunting Seasons Open Sept. 16

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds hunters that their first chance this year to pursue deer begins Sept. 16 with the opening of archery and crossbow seasons. The two seasons run through Jan. 7, 2024, except in the 31 counties that have extended seasons open until Jan. 31, 2024.

The early archery and crossbow seasons are a great opportunity for hunters to harvest antlerless deer before they change their patterns and experience additional hunting pressure during the gun deer season. Bonus antlerless harvest authorizations remain available in many counties.