Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025

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

Trump Says Palestinians Won't Have The Right To Return To Gaza Under His Plan: "I Would Own This"

President Trump said Saturday that Palestinians won't have the right to return to Gaza, and "I would own this," expanding on his statements last week that the U.S. would "take over" and "own" the Gaza Strip, and that Palestinians should not return.

The president made the comment during an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier that was recorded Saturday, but the latest portion was released Monday.

With Trump's Tariffs Looming - Will Countries Scramble To Cut Deals?

A decision by US President Donald Trump to place a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports has left some of the US's major trade partners scrambling to make a deal.

The US is a major steel importer, importing nearly a quarter of the steel it uses, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute, which adds that its dependence on aluminium is even greater.

Its neighbours Canada and Mexico, as well as some allies in Asia are among its main suppliers.

Trump has said his latest tariffs will take effect on 12 March "without exceptions or exemptions".

With just over a month to go before the tax kicks in, here is how some countries have responded.

6 Hidden Messages In Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Performance

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance is growing in viewership hours after the big game, gaining more 11 million views since it aired Sunday night.

Lamar, who has won a Pulitzer Prize, is known for his storytelling, and his performance at Caesars Superdome sought to tell a story of Black Americans and their place within U.S. history.

While fans gathered in New Orleans rapped along to hits including “Humble” and the Grammy-winning diss-track “Not Like Us,” Lamar’s all-Black performance was filled with political references and Black history.

Here are six hidden meanings in Lamar’s performance.

Google Calendar No Longer Includes Start Of Black History Month, Pride Month

Google’s calendar product no longer displays some observances that were shown in previous years.

References that were removed include the start of Black History Month on Feb. 1, and Women’s History Month on March 1.

A Google spokesperson said the company began making the changes in mid-2024.

A Deep Dive On U.S. Reading And Math Scores, And What To Do About Them

U.S. students were still nearly half a grade-level behind in both math and reading in the spring of 2024, compared with achievement levels before the pandemic. That's according to the latest release of the Education Recovery Scorecard, a data-rich deep-dive into student learning.

Today's news arrives on the heels of The Nation's Report Card, released at the end of January, which also found students still trying to make up for learning they missed during the pandemic.

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Joins Lawsuit Challenging Medical Research Funding Cuts

Wisconsin is joining nearly two dozen states in a lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge cuts to public health research funding nationwide, Attorney General Josh Kaul’s Office announced Monday.

The coalition of 22 states is suing the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health. The group of states is arguing against the attempted cut to “indirect cost” reimbursements at research institutions and universities, which cover costs for biomedical research. This could include costs for infrastructure, labs, faculty and utilities.

Total Number Of Police Officers In Wisconsin Ticks Up In 2024

Reversing a slide of more than a decade, the total number of law enforcement officers in Wisconsin climbed by more than 4% in 2024, according to figures from the state Department of Justice.

The department counted 13,354 officers at the end of 2024 compared to 12,788 at the end of 2023. That number excludes those who primarily work in a jail.

Former Keshena Resident Pleads Guilty To Fentanyl Distribution And Involuntary Manslaughter Related To Overdose Deaths In Tribal Jail

Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach accepted the guilty pleas of Warren J. Grignon to one count of distribution of fentanyl and one count of involuntary manslaughter.

According to the indictment and plea agreement, Grignon was an inmate at the Menominee Tribal Detention Center in Keshena on the Menominee Indian Reservation. On December 23, 2024, Grignon distributed fentanyl he smuggled into the jail to three other inmates. All three inmates overdosed. Two inmates were revived through the efforts of additional inmates, corrections staff, and responding officers from the Menominee Tribal Police Department. One inmate could not be revived and was pronounced dead. A later autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a fentanyl overdose.

Schimel, Crawford Discuss Their Supreme Court Bids On ‘UpFront’

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel says he’s running “an entirely different campaign” compared to fellow conservative Daniel Kelly, who lost by 11 points to Justice Janet Protasiewicz two years ago.

“You have to face the reality,” Schimel said on WISN’s “UPFRONT,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “You know, to a large degree, the conservative candidate in ’23 was running a race from 30 years ago. It is different now. You still can’t break the rules.”

Schimel, the Waukesha County judge and former Republican attorney general, is campaigning to return a conservative majority to the court.

Judge Temporarily Blocks DOGE Data Access Suit Brought By Wisconsin, 18 Other States

A federal judge has issued an emergency order to prevent Elon Musk’s government efficiency office from accessing personal data, following a multistate lawsuit joined by Wisconsin and 18 other states.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, argued Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cannot legally access Treasury Department records, including Social Security numbers and bank account details, and that to do so would expose such information to “huge cybersecurity risks.”

Wisconsin signed onto the suit late Friday. In a written statement, Gov. Tony Evers said it’s illegal to give political appointees access to Wisconsinites’ personal and financial data.