Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Victims Of Deadly Mass Shooting At Colorado LGBTQ Club Identified; Suspect Faces Murder And Hate Crime Charges

Authorities on Monday identified the victims of the deadly shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado, over the weekend. The man suspected of killing 5 people and wounding 17 others is facing murder and hate crime charges, according to online court records obtained Monday.

The five people killed were identified as: Kelly Loving, Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh and Raymond Green Vance.

"Too often, society loses track of the victims of these sad and tragic events," said Colorado Springs police chief Adrian Vasquez during a Monday afternoon press conference, before leading the room in a moment of silence.

Both Rump and Aston, 28, worked as bartenders at the club, CBS News confirmed.

Vasquez also identified the two "heroes" who subdued the suspect as Richard Fierro and Thomas James. According to a Facebook post by Club Q, the "quick reactions" of the two customers "subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack."

As He Begins 2024 Run, Trump Faces Legal Challenges In 4 Courtrooms In 1 Day

Cases involving former President Donald Trump are playing out in four different courtrooms Tuesday, underscoring the legal challenges he faces as he mounts a third run for the White House.

Four days after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to oversee the entirety of the Justice Department's criminal investigation into Trump's handling of classified materials after leaving office, the Justice Department was expected Tuesday to ask a federal appeals court in Atlanta to remove the special master -- the independent arbiter appointed to review the materials -- from the case.

The special master had been appointed by a federal judge in Florida to review materials seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate to determine which, if any, were protected by executive privilege or attorney-client privilege.

Seven Republicans Most Likely To Challenge Trump In 2024

All eyes are turning to a number of Republicans to see which rising stars and notable voices might decide to take on former President Trump in 2024.

Though Trump formally announced a third run for the White House earlier this month, the disappointing midterm results for the GOP, which included Trump endorsees who struggled to cross the finish line in their respective races, has only encouraged other Republicans to make their own presidential bids.

Here’s a look at seven Republicans most likely to challenge the former president in the next election cycle:

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Pardons 45K For Marijuana Convictions

About 45,000 people previously convicted of marijuana possession in Oregon will be pardoned and $14 million in fines forgiven, the Governor's Office announced Monday.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is pardoning the 47,144 convictions for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana going back several decades. Criminal convictions, even for possessing small amounts of marijuana that would be legal now, can be barriers to employment, housing and education.

“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana — a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” Brown said in a statement Monday. “Oregonians should never face housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles as a result of doing something that is now completely legal, and has been for years. My pardon will remove these hardships."

She noted that while all Oregonians use marijuana at similar rates, Black and Latino people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted of marijuana possession at disproportionate rates.

Twitter Takes On WhatsApp

You could soon be having your morning video call on Twitter, if new CEO Elon Musk has his way.

At a meeting with staff at Twitter's San Francisco HQ on Monday, Musk presented several features that he wants to introduce to Twitter going forward.

These include end-to-end encryption to direct messages (DMs) – a feature that's already on chat apps WhatsApp and Signal – as well as voice and video calling.

End-to-end encryption ensures only the two participants of a chat can read messages, and no one in between – not even the company that owns the service.

What's more, code in the Twitter app suggests Twitter is already working on encrypted messages.

Brett Favre Helped An Experimental Drug Maker Get $2M In Welfare Money. Experts Doubt The Drug Can Work

Four years ago, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre joined forces with a Florida neuroscientist to promote an experimental drug — a nasal spray designed to quickly treat brain injuries from a concussion.

Favre, a major investor in the company, touted the substance on podcasts, radio interviews and national television, including on NBC. And he did more than evangelize, court records show — he successfully lobbied Mississippi state officials who granted the company $2.1 million in federal welfare money that was intended to help poor families.

The payment was illegal, state officials allege in a lawsuit — part of a huge Mississippi welfare misspending scandal that has tarnished Favre’s reputation.

But beyond that, experts say, it was a bad investment by the nation’s poorest state. Concussions are a huge problem in youth, college and professional sports, but as of today there is no evidence the experimental drug Favre promoted does anything to treat them in humans, according to a review of claims by the company.

All 72 Wisconsin County Canvasses Complete

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has received verified canvass statements from all 72 Wisconsin counties for the November 8 General Election, concluding an important stage of verification in the process and starting the clock for statewide candidates to petition for a recount.

The clock already expired to request a recount in all State Senate and State Assembly contests that are within the recount range because the counties within those districts completed their canvass last week. The WEC did not receive any petitions for recount in a State Assembly or State Senate seat.

Statewide candidates (meaning state and federal candidates appearing on General Election ballots in all 72 Wisconsin counties) have until Friday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. to request a recount according to the procedures required by state statute. There is no automatic recount, even if the unofficial results are close.

Request To Play Muslim Call To Prayer In Barron Met With Strong Opposition

Somali residents in the rural northern Wisconsin city of Barron are withdrawing a request to play an amplified Muslim call to prayer from two mosques after the idea drew stiff opposition from non-Muslim residents at a recent city council meeting.

Barron is home to a community of around 470 Somali refugees and their families, according to 2020 data from the U.S. Census. That population has grown since the 1990s when refugees living in the Twin Cities moved to Barron for work at a turkey processing plant owned by Jennie-O.

Isaak Mohamed was born in Somalia and fled the country in 2006 due to civil war. He moved to Barron in 2013, became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and was elected to the city's common council this spring.

He told Wisconsin Public Radio that residents within Barron's Somali-born population asked him if it would be possible for the two mosques in the city to play an amplified call to prayer, as is common in countries with Muslim majorities.

Attorney General Josh Kaul Says Lawsuit Challenging Wisconsin's Abortion Ban Could Take Time

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said Monday it's hard to say when the court system will resolve his lawsuit challenging the state's 1849 ban on abortion.

Kaul also declined to speculate on whether the case would reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court before or after voters elect a new justice, which could swing the ideological balance of the court.

"The litigation process is not a fast one," Kaul said during an interview from his state Capitol office. "But we're going to keep moving expeditiously."

The lawsuit challenging the state's near-total ban on abortion was pivotal in Kaul's successful reelection campaign against Republican challenger Eric Toney. It was also a concrete example of where the election made a difference in the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Had Toney won, he said he would have ended the case.

Kaul filed the lawsuit last year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, a decision that reinstated Wisconsin's long-dormant ban on abortions.

Wisconsin's Projected 2023 Budget Surplus Grows To $6.6 Billion

Wisconsin's projected state budget surplus is now forecast to hit nearly $6.6 billion by July, up from earlier $5 billion estimates, according to a report released Nov. 21 by Gov. Tony Evers' administration.

That means Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature will have an even larger pot of money to fight over in 2023.

Evers, a Democrat reelected to a second term on Nov. 8, will be focused over the next several months on what to do with the money. He has already called for increases in education funding and middle class tax cuts.

"This unprecedented surplus presents an unprecedented opportunity to make critical investments in Wisconsinites and the future of our state," Evers said in a statement.