Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Jul. 25, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Florida And DeSantis Dig In As Criticism Of Black History Curriculum Mounts

Florida officials are digging in and defending the state’s new standards for teaching Black history amid continued widespread criticism on Monday, including threats of possible legal action from a group of civil and religious leaders.

Black leaders and Democrats — and some Republicans — are using the issue to hammer Gov. Ron DeSantis and his White House ambitions, specifically targeting the new standards that require middle schoolers to be instructed that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

McCarthy: Biden Probes ‘Rising To The Level Of Impeachment Inquiry’

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that he expects the House GOP’s investigations into the foreign business activities of President Biden’s family to rise to the level of an impeachment inquiry.

“When Biden was running for office, he told the public he has never talked about business. He said his family has never received a dollar from China, which we prove is not true,” McCarthy told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night, referencing Biden’s previous statements that he did not talk to his son Hunter Biden about his foreign business activities.

Scorching Current Heat Waves "Virtually Impossible" Without Climate Change, Researchers Say

The fingerprints of climate change are all over the intense heat waves gripping the globe this month, a new study finds. Researchers say the deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe couldn't have happened without the continuing buildup of warming gases in the air.

These unusually strong heat waves are becoming more common, Tuesday's study said. The same research found the increase in heat-trapping gases, largely from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas has made another heat wave - the one in China - 50 times more likely and with the potential to occur every five years or so.

Six Republican Candidates Appear To Have Qualified For The August Debate

And they’re off! Six Republican presidential candidates appear to have qualified for their party’s first primary debate on Aug. 23, thanks to a pair of polls from Beacon Research/Shaw & Company/Fox Business released on Sunday that measured the preferences of likely GOP voters in Iowa and South Carolina.

Based on FiveThirtyEight’s analysis, the two surveys increased the number of total polls that can, according to the Republican National Committee’s guidelines, qualify a candidate for the stage to five.

Bing Chat Powered By OpenAI Tech Is Rolling Out To Chrome And Safari

Microsoft's Bing Chat is no longer exclusive to the Edge browser, as it's now rolling out to Chrome and Safari, The Verge reported. "We are flighting access to Bing Chat in Safari and Chrome to select users as part of our testing on other browsers," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge. "We are excited to expand access to even more users once our standard testing procedures are complete."

It seems to be more than a small test, as a number of users (including myself on Chrome but not Safari) have gained access. There are a few limitations, though. You have to be logged into your Microsoft account, and prompts are limited to 2,000 characters compared to 4,000 on Edge. Conversations reset after five queries rather than 30, and it constantly prompts you to download Edge (never change, Microsoft).

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Man Sentenced For Making Racially-Charged Threats Toward Black Residents

William McDonald, 45, of West Allis was sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for intimidating and interfering with Black residents because of their race and because they were exercising their right to fair housing.

According to court documents, McDonald vandalized a Black woman’s vehicle parked outside her apartment by slashing her tires and smashing her windshield in March 2021. McDonald then left on her car a note filled with racial slurs, threatening to slash her throat, and demanding that she move out of West Allis. A week later, McDonald slashed two of her car tires and left another note filled with racial slurs and giving her an ultimatum – move out of the neighborhood or suffer violence. In April 2022, another Black woman and her two minor children moved into McDonald’s apartment complex. Shortly after they moved in, McDonald vandalized her front door with racial graffiti and left her a note, calling her family a racial slur and demanding that she get out of the building.

'This Is Our Super Bowl': Half A Million Visitors Expected In Wisconsin For EAA AirVenture

This week, the control tower at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh will be the busiest in the world, as it's set to welcome 10,000 flyers for the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture.

The event is billed as the world's largest air show and fly-in convention, and is expected to draw over half a million visitors to the Fox Valley. The week-long festivities include daily air shows, pyrotechnics, feature films at a fly-in theater, forums, workshops, demonstrations and more.

Beyond celebrating aviation, AirVenture has grown to become a major economic development tool for Oshkosh and surrounding communities. A 2017 study found the event’s economic impact was $170 million spread across Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Outagamie, Brown and Calumet counties. Adjusted for inflation, that number is now north of $200 million.

Wisconsin Restaurant Fails To Pay Workers, Violates Child Labor Laws

Federal officials say the owner of four restaurants in southern Wisconsin shortchanged more than 100 employees more than $270,000 in wages.

The restaurant is Casa Tequila. It has four locations in the Milwaukee area: Hartford, Pewaukee, Waukesha and West Bend.

The U.S. Department of Labor reviewed the restaurant's operations. The agency says the restaurant didn't pay overtime rates and operated an invalid tip pool.

Wait, Barbie Is From ... Wisconsin?

As the highly-anticipated "Barbie" movie breaks box office records, here's a little-known fact: Barbie is from Wisconsin.

"Mattel originally in the '60s put out a series of books about Barbie, and in those books, she was identified as having graduated from high school in Willows, Wisconsin," Wisconsin Historical Society state archivist Abbie Norderhaug said.

Yes, even according to Barbie's website, she's from Willows, Wisconsin, although how long she lived in the fictional town has changed throughout the years.

"In the 2000s, 2010s, she got her story changed just a little bit. She moved from Willows when she was 8," Norderhaug added.

Green Bay Packers Acquire Cheesehead Hat-Maker Foamation

The Green Bay Packers have acquired Foamation Inc., the company that created the original Cheesehead hat, the team announced Monday.

Foamation was founded in Milwaukee in 1987 by Ralph Bruno. As the legend goes, Bruno first wore a cheesehead to a Brewers game. He came up with the idea while reupholstering his mother's couch - burning holes in the foam and painting it yellow to look like cheese.