Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2026 | 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

Oil Prices Set For Steep Monthly Drop As Trump, Iran Issue Mixed Messages On Talks In Qatar

Oil prices were slightly higher as traders focused on the prospect of fresh talks between the U.S. and Iran in Doha.

Trump has said talks will take place in Qatar’s capital on Tuesday, although a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied this.

The mixed messaging reaffirms the fragility of an interim peace deal struck by the U.S. and Iran earlier this month.

Millions Of Borrowers Face New Student Loan Rules Starting July 1

Beginning Wednesday, millions of federal student loan borrowers will face major repayment changes.

The changes are part of a series of overhauls under President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to restructure federal repayment options. It now streamlines the federal loan system by reducing the number of repayment plan options. There are also new borrowing restrictions that limit how much students and families can borrow under federal student loans.

The changes dismantled the Biden-era SAVE Plan, which aimed to provide student debt relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, borrowers were offered terms with payments as little as $0.

Colorado Primary Tests Reach, Staying Power Of Democrats’ Socialist Surge

There have been four Democratic House incumbents defeated in primaries so far in 2026. We’re barely past the halfway point in the primary calendar, so it’s a notable number — already twice as many as in 2018, when “the squad” was born.

Whether or not there’s a fifth member who joins the ranks of the vanquished after today’s Colorado primaries will tell us something important about the nature of the populist revolt currently convulsing the Democratic Party.

First, some level setting.

5 Takeaways On Divided Day For Trump At Supreme Court

It was a mixed bag for President Trump at the Supreme Court on Monday.

The justices tightened the president's grip on executive power in ruling independent agency leaders may be fired, while rejecting a key pillar of Trump's political agenda aimed at restricting mail-in voting. They ruled he must give a Federal Reserve governor due process before she may be fired, and they rebuffed the president's appeal in a civil lawsuit.

Here are five takeaways from the court's penultimate opinion day:

Mike Golic, Mike Golic Jr. Returning To ESPN Radio With New Morning Show

Mike Golic Sr. and Mike Golic Jr. are going back to ESPN.

The network announced Monday that the father-son duo will host The Golics, a new morning show on ESPN Radio airing weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET, debuting Aug. 3 as part of a new multi-year agreement. The show will simulcast on the ESPN App and be available on major podcast platforms following each live broadcast.

Wisconsin Democratic Primary For Governor Turns Negative

The first hints that a change might be coming to the Democratic governor’s race were at the state party’s convention earlier this month. They were — as political attacks go — polite.

One candidate, Madison state Sen. Kelda Roys, issued veiled criticisms of some of her fellow candidates, warning against political newcomers and wishy-washy moderates. Another candidate, Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong, said without naming names that voters can “smell bulls—.”

Two weeks later, the hints and suggestions are gone, replaced by full-on attacks as Democrats look to establish themselves with the primary election fast approaching.

New York Lawmaker On ‘UpFront’ Cautions Wisconsin Officials On Changes To IRIS

New York state Sen. James Skoufis is warning Wisconsin officials to “proceed with caution” with changes to IRIS, the state’s Medicaid-funded long-term care program.

“These are people’s lives who depend on these types of programs that we’re talking about, and so it’s important that any state move judiciously, cautiously, intelligently, with integrity,” Skoufis said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics-State Affairs. “And I sure hope that Wisconsin learns from some of the mistakes that occurred here in New York.”

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has announced its notice of intent to select Public Partnerships LLC as its new vendor to handle finances and paperwork for IRIS, consolidating the program from multiple vendors to one.

Wisconsin Childcare Bridge Payments To Expire, Leaving Providers Facing Closures And Rate Hikes

A pandemic-era program that has provided $110 million to Wisconsin childcare providers expires June 30, and a quarter of the state’s childcare centers say they may not survive without it.

The Wisconsin Bridge Payment Program was created to cover the gap between what childcare facilities cost to run and what parents can afford to pay.

Green Bay Clerk Once Again Mails Duplicate Ballots

Green Bay’s election manager is once again facing questions after mailing two ballots to some voters.

The city clerk’s office said over the weekend that someone mailed duplicate ballots to voters in eight city wards.

“Our voters deserve clear, accurate and reliable election administration—these are the standards the city sets and that I set for my office," City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys said in a statement.

Jeffreys is blaming a "certificate label printing error" for the duplicate mailings.

How Wisconsin Became "The Beer State"

From neighborhood taverns to craft breweries, beer has long been woven into Wisconsin’s identity. But, the state’s reputation as “The Beer State” stems more than 175 years ago, when waves of German immigrants brought their brewing traditions to a young state.

While some of Wisconsin’s earliest breweries were founded by Welsh settlers in the 1830s and 1840s, Shepard said, German immigrants transformed the industry as they arrived in large numbers beginning in the late 1840s.