Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Mar. 18, 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

Israel Launches Deadly New Strikes In Gaza As Ceasefire Falls Apart

Israel has launched new strikes in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 400 people, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas-run Health Ministry, and promising to wield "increasing military force" after talks on further hostage releases stalled, according to officials on both sides of the war. The resumption of Israel's war against Hamas on Monday came after almost two months of relative calm in Gaza under a ceasefire the U.S. helped to broker, but which Israel and Hamas could not agree on how to continue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement its military is "currently attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip, with the aim of achieving the war goals as determined by the political echelon, including the release of all our hostages — living and dead."

"From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing military force," the prime minister's office said.

Trump To Release 80,000 Pages Of JFK Files On Tuesday

President Trump announced he will release 80,000 pages of unredacted files Tuesday about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, after promising on the campaign trail to declassify the documents.

“While we’re here, I thought it would be appropriate — we are, tomorrow, announcing and giving all of the Kennedy files. So, people have been waiting for decades for this, and I’ve instructed my people … lots of different people, [Director of National Intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard, that they must be released tomorrow,” the president told reporters while touring the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Last Surviving Pilot From The Battle Of Britain, John Hemingway, Dies At Age 105

John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving pilot who flew during the Battle of Britain, has died at the age of 105.

He died Monday at his home in Dublin, the Royal Air Force said.

Hemingway was just 20 years old when he and his comrades in the Royal Air Force took to the skies to fight off wave after wave of Nazi aircraft that sought to pound Britain into submission during the the summer and autumn of 1940.

Oakland A’s Being Valued At $2 Billion In Sale Of New Shares Of Team

John Fisher, managing partner of the Oakland A’s, is offering new shares in his Major League Baseball team at a $2 billion valuation, according to two sources with knowledge of the offering.

The Fisher family, which owns more than 95% of the Athletics, also known as the A’s, is looking to raise $550 million to finance a $1.75 billion ballpark in Las Vegas, according to the sources.

NASA Starliner Astronauts Begin 17-hour Journey To Splashdown Off Florida Coast After Delays

The two NASA astronauts whose return to Earth was delayed for months are on their way home.

Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore left the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft early on Tuesday and began an about 17-hour journey toward a splashdown off the Florida coast.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were also onboard the craft as it undocked at about 1:05 a.m. ET.

2025 Spring Election Key Dates Reminder

A number of key deadlines are approaching for eligible Wisconsin voters seeking to participate in the April 1 Spring Election.

Starting on Tuesday, March 18 – two weeks before Election Day – clerks can begin to issue in-person absentee ballots at the clerk’s office or at other designated locations. The in-person absentee voting (IPAV) process involves a voter both requesting a ballot and completing that ballot on the same trip to the clerk’s office or designated location.

When a voter requests an absentee ballot in their municipal clerk's office, or another designated location, they will complete their ballot immediately, seal the ballot in the proper envelope, and return it to a member of the clerk's staff. No IPAV ballots may be taken out of the voting site.

Voters need to show an acceptable photo ID before voting an in-person absentee ballot. More information about acceptable photo IDs can be found on the WEC’s Photo ID page.

Trump Jr. Casts Wisconsin Supreme Court Race As Key To Advancing Trump’s Agenda

Donald Trump Jr. told Republicans at a Monday rally that a win in Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court race is imperative to protect his father’s agenda and maintain GOP momentum ahead of the 2026 midterms and the next presidential election.

President Donald Trump’s oldest son appeared with right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk at the event organized by Turning Point USA, a conservative youth group Kirk founded. Trump Jr. urged supporters of his father to vote in the lower-turnout Supreme Court election in two weeks.

School Resource Officers Return To 11 Milwaukee Schools Following Mandate

School resource officers returned to Milwaukee Public Schools on Monday, nearly 15 months after the requirement set in state law.

It took multiple court-ordered deadlines and, most recently, Judge David Borowski holding the city in contempt of court over its previous inaction.

Twenty-five officers and seven supervisors, having completed a 40-hour specialized training program, will oversee several schools and respond as needed.

Candidates For La Crosse Mayor Debate Ahead Of Historic Election

In-person absentee voting is now open in the race to decide who will become the next mayor of La Crosse. Voters can turn in absentee ballots in advance, or vote in person on Election Day, Tuesday, April 1. Regardless of the outcome, the results of the election will make history.

Chris Kahlow is the current president of the La Crosse Common Council and has been a business owner and real estate investor. If elected, she would become the first woman to be the city’s chief executive.

Shaundel Washington-Spivey is the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Black Leaders Acquiring Collective Knowledge (BLACK). He previously served on the La Crosse School Board. Should he ascend to the mayor’s office, he would be the first Black mayor and the first openly LGBTQ+ mayor in La Crosse.

Act 10 Savings Top $35 Billion In 2025

No one could have predicted the immense impact that Act 10 would eventually have on the State of Wisconsin’s financial destiny when the MacIver Institute first proposed the policy back in November 2010.

We believed then, as we do now, that Wisconsin had to eliminate collective bargaining for public employees if it ever hoped to achieve fiscal stability in its state and local governments’ budgets. The idea caught on immediately, and Gov. Scott Walker introduced MacIver’s recommendation as the budget repair bill on Feb. 11, 2011. After a brutal month-long political and cultural battle, Walker signed that bill into law as Act 10. Since then, the MacIver Institute conservatively estimates it has directly saved Wisconsin taxpayers $35.6 billion through lower taxes and higher service levels.