Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

House, Senate GOP Set For Internal Fight Over Ukraine

Senate and House Republicans are girding themselves for an internal battle over President Biden’s request for another $24 billion to continue funding the war and humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

The GOP’s divisions over the war were on full display at last week’s presidential debate.

Republicans with traditional national security views — former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — battled with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, who espoused an America-first view that is gaining traction among Trump-aligned Republicans .

Hurricane Idalia Path And Timeline: When And Where Meteorologists Project The Storm Will Hit Florida

Idalia strengthened into a hurricane early Tuesday and is forecast to intensify quickly into an extremely dangerous major hurricane before making landfall over Florida's Gulf Coast Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center says.

It's likely to move close to the Carolina coastline on Thursday, the center added.

Idalia was over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Its path is expected to impact a wide central portion of the state, including cities such as Tampa and Orlando.

Federal Judge Sets March Trial Date In Trump's Election Interference Case

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in federal court set a trial date for March 4, a schedule that could have a crucial impact on the 2024 race for the White House.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision sets the trial in the middle of the Republican presidential primaries and the day before Super Tuesday.

Poll: Age Haunts Biden Vs. “Crooked” Trump

A quarter of adults associate Biden with words related to his age, while words like "corrupt, criminal," and "crooked" come to mind first for former President Trump, the poll found.

This foreshadows a potential rematch that could boil down to two main sticking points among voters: Biden's age and Trump's legal peril.

77% of adults think Biden, 80, is too old to effectively serve for four more years, with 89% of Republicans holding that view and 69% of Democrats, the AP-NORC poll found.

Native Americans Leading Redskins Petition Outraged That A Washington Commanders Rep Called Them 'Fake Group'

The Native Americans who are leading a viral petition demanding the Washington Commanders reclaim their historic Redskins name bristled with anger and resolve after a team representative called their organization "a fake group."

"We’re not a fake group. We’re tribal-enrolled members from tribes across the United States," Eunice Davidson, co-founder and president of the nonprofit Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), headquartered in North Dakota, told Fox News Digital during an interview.

Davidson calls herself "full-blooded Dakota Sioux."

Wisconsin Headlines

What Are The Prospects Of Wisconsin Republicans Impeaching Protasiewicz?

Could language in the state’s Constitution allow Republicans to sideline the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s new left-wing majority?

The left-leaning Janet Protasiewicz overwhelmingly won a seat to the court in the spring, giving liberals a majority there for the first time in years. The court could decide on some major issues soon, like redistricting and abortion.

How far would Republicans go to protect the political districts they drew that give them maximum political advantage in the state legislature? They have controlled that body almost exclusively since 2011. The Constitution contains a wrinkle that might help them do that, but more importantly, might not let them get there in the first place.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Accuses Liberal Majority Of Staging A 'Coup'

The conservative chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday told the new liberal majority in a scathing email that they had staged a “coup” and conducted an “illegal experiment” when they voted to weaken her powers and fire the director of state courts.

Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, in two emails obtained by The Associated Press, said that firing and hiring a new state court director was illegal and ordered interim state court director Audrey Skwierawski to stop signing orders without her knowledge or approval.

The Number Of Older People Behind Bars Is Skyrocketing In Wisconsin And Across The Country

Oakhill Correctional, a minimum security facility, is surrounded by cornfields just outside Madison.

Most of the inmates there sleep in bunk beds. But, at a new unit within Oakhill, all the beds are low to the ground.

That's so men who use wheelchairs or walkers can still access them.

Wisconsin's Department of Corrections opened the assisted needs unit earlier this year. Oakhill's Nursing Supervisor Rachel Snow says it's a response to changing demographics within the prison system.

"As our incarcerated population ages, we will see a greater need," she said.

Conway, Priebus, Walker On Discuss Whether GOP Presidential Primary Debate Will Move Voters

Kellyanne Conway, a former adviser to President Trump, and Reince Priebus, his former chief of staff, say they’re both skeptical the eight Republican primary candidates will see a big enough boost after the Milwaukee debate to take on Trump at this early point in the primary.

“Obviously, they didn’t want to engage President Trump too much because they know they can’t alienate his voters, but we’ll see if the needle moves,” Conway said on WISN’s “UpFRONT,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “He’s way ahead. He’s leading them all in every poll in every state. I think some people had some strong moments. The donors are probably going to give a second look to a few of them.”

Priebus, a Wisconsin native, is also former chair of the Republican National Committee, which is in charge of the GOP primary debates.

Reedsburg Man Charged With Homicide By Negligent Operation Of A Vehicle

The Wisconsin Department of Justice today filed charges against Kevin Green, 18, of Reedsburg, for driving the vehicle that struck and killed a 13-year-old child as she boarded a school bus on May 12, 2023.

As alleged in the complaint, the defendant was driving a Ford F-150 truck behind a school bus just before 7:30 am when he failed to notice it had stopped in front of him to pick up children. According to the complaint he was traveling at about 63 miles per hour when he swerved toward the ditch, striking the rear right side of the school bus before hitting the child, who was standing in her driveway. The child died as a result of her injuries.