Morning Headlines - Tuesday, June 25, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

5 Things To Watch As Trump’s Supreme Court Immunity Decision Looms

The Supreme Court is poised to issue its decision on presidential immunity as soon as this week, with the potential to reshape the powers of the nation’s highest office and hurl the 2024 presidential election into unchartered territory.

At the heart of former President Trump’s challenge – stemming from federal charges he faces for efforts to subvert the 2020 election – is whether an ex-commander-in-chief has criminal immunity for official acts carried out while in the White House.

As the justices weigh the extent of that protection, here are five things to watch for when the imminent decision is handed down.

The Most Important Question The Biden-Trump Debate May Answer For Voters

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump differ on many important issues that will likely provoke intense arguments when they meet for their first debate Thursday, on CNN. Yet more lasting than the substance of any of these confrontations may be the conclusions voters draw from them about each man’s ability to lead the nation over the next four years.

Julian Assange, Wikileaks Founder, To Plead Guilty To Violating The Espionage Act

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act and is expected to appear in a U.S. courtroom on the Northern Mariana Islands in the coming days, court records revealed Monday.

The guilty plea, which is to be finalized Wednesday, will resolve Assange's outstanding legal matters with the U.S. government.

U.S. Warned Hezbollah It Can't Hold Israel Back If Escalation Continues

During his visit to Beirut, President Biden's envoy Amos Hochstein told Lebanese officials Hezbollah is wrong to think the U.S. would be able to stop Israel from invading Lebanon if the militia continues its attacks, according to a U.S. official, an Israeli official and a Western diplomat briefed on the issue.

The Biden administration is highly concerned that both Israel and Hezbollah are miscalculating as they escalate their rhetoric and fighting on the ground while thinking they can avoid an all-out war.

Top Cats: Panthers Win Their 1st Stanley Cup, Top Oilers 2-1 In Game 7

There was no collapse. The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions for the first time, and they took about the hardest path possible to the title.

Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was the third title-round appearance in Florida's 30-year history; it was swept in 1996 by Colorado and routed 4-1 by Vegas last season.

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Attorney General Argues Letting Disabled People Vote Electronically At Home Would Create Confusion

Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general pushed back Monday against a request to let people with disabilities vote electronically from home this fall.

Attorney General Josh Kaul’s attorneys told Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell during a hearing that the move would create confusion and security risks. They also argued state election officials don’t have time to teach hundreds of local clerks how to implement the change before the November presidential election.

Wisconsin Author’s New Book Explores The History Of Tension Between Media And Police

The city of Milwaukee is preparing for the upcoming Republican National Convention with a wide security perimeter as a buffer from expected protests. The American Civil Liberties Union found these security measures to be excessive — so much so that it is suing the city for violating the First Amendment.

The press will cover both the protests and the convention. Law enforcement, including the U.S. Secret Service, will secure the barrier. This arrangement aptly embodies how the press and police function within society — as a bridge between lawmakers and the public, said Scott Memmel, adjunct communications professor at Marquette University.

Wisconsin Taxpayers To Pay Half The Cost Of Redistricting Consultants Hired By Supreme Court

Wisconsin taxpayers will pay half of the $128,000 bill submitted by redistricting consultants hired by the state’s Supreme Court for the work they did reviewing proposed legislative maps, the liberal majority of the court ordered Monday.

Conservative justices dissented, sharply criticizing the majority for hiring the consultants and not divulging more information about the work they did and details of the charges. They called the court’s order a “brazen imposition of judicial will.”

Incidental Take Notice For Pierce County

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposes to issue a permit for the incidental taking of a rare plant, which may result from the Nugget Lake County Park Project in Pierce County.

Incidental take refers to the unintentional loss of individual endangered or threatened animals or plants that does not put the species' overall population at risk.

Pierce County proposes to dredge portions of Nugget Lake and transport the dredge material through wooded habitat to a nearby agricultural field.

The presence of the state-threatened snow trillium is confirmed in the vicinity of the project site. DNR staff determined that the proposed project may result in the incidental taking of some plants.

Wisconsin Judge Won’t Allow Boaters On Flooded Private Property

The public’s right to use flooded rivers, lakes and streams ends where the water normally stops, a Wisconsin judge ruled Monday.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Bennett Brantmeier’s decision limits the reach of the public trust doctrine, provisions in the state constitution that guarantee public access to navigable waters.