Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025 | 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

Republicans Push Obamacare Tax Credit Alternatives As Enrollment Deadline Looms

Republicans are proposing direct Health Savings Account payments to ACA enrollees rather than extending enhanced premium tax credits.

Congress faces a short window to extend the subsidies before year-end.

The majority of ACA enrollees must sign up by Dec. 15 for 2026 coverage or risk being shut out of the market.

For middle-class enrollees without enhanced tax credits, even high-deductible Bronze level plans could be out of reach in some markets.

Trump’s ‘Hot Mess’: 5 Takeaways On The Ukraine Thanksgiving Peace Deal

Ukraine and its allies are scrambling to address President Trump’s renewed push for a settlement with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is under pressure to quickly formulate a deal that protects Ukraine without antagonizing Trump.

Over a weekend of furious diplomacy, Ukrainian and European officials succeeded in pairing down an initial U.S. 28-point peace plan to reportedly 19 points. The original draft was earlier criticized as heavily favoring Moscow’s maximalist demands.

Here are five things to know about Trump’s latest push for peace:

U.S. Ready To Cut Support To Scouts, Accusing Them Of Attacking 'Boy-Friendly Spaces'

The century-old partnership between the U.S. military and Scouting could be coming to an end.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning for the military to sever all ties with Scouting America, saying the group once known as the Boy Scouts is no longer a meritocracy and has become an organization designed to "attack boy-friendly spaces," according to documents reviewed by NPR.

Ozone Hole Ranked As 5th Smallest In More Than 30 Years, According To New Research

The ozone hole over the Antarctic is significantly smaller in 2025 than in previous years, ranking as the fifth-smallest it's been since 1992, according to a new report by NOAA and NASA scientists.

The ozone hole reached its greatest one-day extent for 2025 in early September, measuring 8.83 million square miles, about 30% smaller than the largest hole on record in 2006.

The so-called “ozone hole” is not an actual hole in the planet’s ozone layer, but rather a large region of Earth’s stratosphere with extremely low ozone concentrations.

AI Christian ‘Singer’ Solomon Ray Tops The Charts, Stirs Ethical Debate

Solomon Ray became the top artist on the iTunes Top 100 Christian and gospel albums chart last week. But there’s something that may bother you about the Christian artist. He is not human.

According to Christianity Today, Ray was entirely created by artificial intelligence. That includes his voice, performance style, lyrics and persona.

His most recent album is called “A Soulful Christmas,” and it features tracks with titles like “Soul to the World” and “Jingle Bell Soul.”

Non-Profits Collect Millions From The State Of Wisconsin To Run State Programs

You might have applauded when the state passed a law requiring able-bodied, childless adults on welfare to attend job training. What you probably didn’t know is that the government doesn’t provide that training. It outsources that program, and many others like it, to non-profit organizations, who act as quasi-government agencies and make big bucks in the process.

Wisconsin awarded over $58 million in taxpayer funding to Wisconsin Works programs in just 2024 alone, a report from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows. Wisconsin Works (W-2), the state's welfare-to-work program, seeks to help low-income families who are on government assistance find long-term and self-sufficient employment.

Despite the astronomical dollar amount being given to these programs, there is little to no record on what they are doing with the money and what goals they are achieving.

Schimel Tells ‘UpFront’ Dugan Prosecutors Have Acted Ethically, Followed The Law

Interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel says federal prosecutors have acted “ethically” and “followed the law” ahead of the trial of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an immigrant lacking permanent legal status evade federal agents.

“This prosecution has survived the appropriate levels of getting an indictment, survived a motion to dismiss, it has so far survived those things,” Schimel said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “Prosecutors have done this ethically. They have followed the law. Ultimately, whether she’s violated the law is going to be up to a jury.”

Schimel said federal prosecutors have a “serious responsibility” ahead of the high-profile trial of Dugan.

'Not Acceptable': Wisconsin Lawmakers Question 11-Hour Delay In Morgan Geyser Missing Person Alert To Police

Wisconsin state lawmakers are demanding answers after it took 11 hours for police to learn that Morgan Geyser had cut off her GPS tracking device and gone missing from a Madison group home.

Geyser, who was found not guilty by mental defect in the 2014 attempted homicide of a friend, disappeared from her supervised living facility Saturday night. The Department of Corrections received an alert at 9:30 p.m. that her GPS was malfunctioning, but Madison police weren't notified until the group home called 911 the following day.

"Really? This shouldn't happen," said Jerry O'Connor, a Republican state lawmaker from Fond du Lac who serves on the Legislature's Department of Corrections Committee. "How did we miss that? And what are we going to do to correct it?"

Wisconsin Water Quality Rule Finalized Amid Feud Between Evers, GOP Leaders

A newly published rule aimed at protecting the state’s waterways is the latest outcome of an ongoing power struggle between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature over the authority of state agencies.

The rule, which aims to protect high-quality lakes and rivers from significant pollution, will bring state regulations in line with requirements under the federal Clean Water Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015 updated its antidegradation regulations. State regulators say the changes provide a clearer process for reviewing whether new or increased wastewater and stormwater discharges would have a significant effect on water quality.

Former Omro Alderman Enters Guilty Plea To Charge of Receiving Child Pornography

Brad D. Schimel, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 21, 2025, Jason A. Reeves (age: 44) of Omro, Wisconsin, pled guilty to a charge of receipt of child pornography stemming from his online conduct in April of 2025.

Reeves faces a mandatory 5 years’ imprisonment and up to 20 years of incarceration. He may also be fined up to $250,000 and would be required to register as a sexual offender under state and federal law. He will be sentenced before federal District Court Judge Byron B. Conway on February 20, 2026.

According to documents filed with the court, a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) was sent to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. That tip was then forwarded to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office based on the IP address associated with the CyberTip. The tip alleged the distribution of child pornography on October 16, 2024. Law enforcement continued its investigation and on April 29, 2025, they executed a search warrant at Reeves’ residence, which resulted in the recovery of child pornography.