Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Nov. 4, 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

5 Things To Watch In Tuesday’s Biggest Election Day Contests

Election Day dawns on Tuesday with four contests commanding the most national attention.

Here are the big things to watch on Tuesday.

SNAP Update: Trump Admin Will Pay 50% Of Food Stamp Benefits In November Amid Shutdown

The Trump administration told a judge that it would use contingency funds to pay at least some SNAP benefits during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

SNAP provides food stamps to about 42 million Americans.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney Dead At 84

Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States, died on Monday evening, his family confirmed in a statement.

Cheney died due to complications of pneumonia, cardiac and vascular disease, the statement confirmed. He was 84 years old.

Beaver Moon: The Closest Supermoon Of 2025 Brightens The Skies This Week

If you step outside this week and look toward the eastern horizon after sunset, you might notice the moon shining a little brighter than usual.

This is not your eyes playing tricks on you – it’s one of the closest supermoons we have seen in years.

Counting Race: How The Census Measures Identity And What Americans Think About It

Americans are divided on whether race should even be counted.

Nearly half (46%) say the federal government should ask about it in its surveys, but one-third say it should not. Meanwhile, the Census Bureau is preparing to revise the questions again in 2030. The new format will combine race and Hispanic origin questions into a single item, and it will add a new category for Middle Eastern or North African identity. So far, the public is largely unaware that these changes are coming.

Wisconsin Republicans Introduce Anti-Grooming Legislation

A pair of Wisconsin lawmakers want to make it a crime for teachers to prey on their students.

Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, and Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, on Monday introduced legislation to make grooming a crime.

“Right now, many predators are able to evade accountability because Wisconsin does not have criminal penalties for grooming a child. Our bill changes that,” Nedweski said in a statement.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers Vetoes In-Person Work Mandate For State Employees

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has quashed a GOP-backed bill that would have ordered tens of thousands of state employees to work in-person most of the time.

The original bill would have mandated in-person work for affected employees 100 percent of the time. Republican lawmakers later amended it to require in-office attendance during at least 80 percent of someone’s working hours in a given month.

For many employees, that would have amounted to four days of in-person work each week.

Waukesha County Judge Puts On Hold Ruling That Would Require Checking Citizenship Of All Wisconsin Voters

A Wisconsin judge on Oct. 31 put on hold his order that requires elections officials to verify the citizenship of all 3.6 million registered voters in the battleground state before the next statewide election in February.

It now appears unlikely that the case will be resolved before elections in February and April and it may remain in limbo beyond the 2026 midterm election. A state Supreme Court race is on the April ballot and an open contest for governor tops the ballot in November.

Evers Signs Bill That Would Allow Certain Candidates To Remove Their Names From Ballots In Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor on Oct. 31 signed a bipartisan bill that will allow candidates to remove their names from the ballot, addressing an issue that arose in 2024 when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to get himself removed from the presidential ballot.

At the time, the only way a certified candidate’s name could be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin was if they died.

The Unintended Consequences Of The Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 with hopes of bringing down health care costs for Americans. These hopes never materialized, though. The years following the enactment of the ACA were plagued by rapidly rising health insurance premiums and market consolidation.

Health insurance plans are divided up into three categories: small-group market, individual market, and large-group market. ACA Marketplace premiums are based on premiums in the individual market, while the large-group market refers to employer-sponsored health insurance plans.