Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

WHIP LIST: How Republicans Fall On Vote To Oust McCarthy

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday moved to force a vote to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his post, setting into motion a process that propels Republicans into a tough decision: Support McCarthy or vote to boot him?

At least four Republicans are joining Gaetz in backing McCarthy’s ouster — potentially enough to remove McCarthy from office, depending on technicalities like absences and present votes, if all Democrats also support removing the Speaker.

A handful of other Republicans who previously opposed the Speaker, meanwhile, are running to his corner.

And a large number of GOP lawmakers — including those who previously opposed him — remain undecided or declined to reveal their position.

Here is how Republicans fall on the vote to oust McCarthy.

Trump Calls Civil Fraud Case A "Witch Hunt" As Trial Begins In New York

Former President Donald Trump appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday as the trial in his civil fraud case got underway, with attorneys from the New York Attorney General's Office and Trump's legal team presenting their opening arguments before the judge who will decide the case.

Trump, the Trump Organization, several executives and two of his children — Donald Jr. and Eric — are the defendants in the civil trial in New York Superior Court. They're accused of fraud, falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements and conspiracy.

The Supreme Court Starts Its New Term With Dismal Approval Ratings

Today kicks off the first day of the Supreme Court’s new term, and to mark the occasion, we decided to take a look at where public opinion of the institution stands and how it might be shaped by future cases on the docket.

Numbers from a new average we built to track approval of the Supreme Court over time show that the court remains extremely unpopular with the American public: At the time of publication, an average of 38 percent of Americans approved of the job the Supreme Court is doing while 54 percent disapproved, for an average net approval rating of -16 percentage points.

Microsoft CEO Decries "Vicious Cycle" Of Google Search Dominance

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in federal court Monday that Google has unfairly hobbled his company's effort to compete in search — and that advancements in artificial intelligence likely won't change the landscape enough for Microsoft to catch up.

Arguments are underway in the third week of the trial of the Justice Department's lawsuit against Google for alleged monopolistic behavior in maintaining its dominance of the internet search market.

Nadella's testimony is one of a handful of high-profile appearances from technology CEOs expected during the trial, which is likely to last about ten weeks.

Powerball Jackpot Rises To $1.2 Billion After No One Wins, Again

The Powerball jackpot rose to an estimated $1.2 billion after no one won the top prize in Monday’s drawing, game officials said. The jackpot cleared the $1 billion mark Saturday.

The last time someone won the jackpot in the multistate lottery game was in July, and jackpots roll over every time there is a drawing with no winner.

The current jackpot is the third-largest in the 35-year history of the game.

Gray Wolf Management In Wisconsin Remains A Legislature Debacle

Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is set to present their newly revised wolf population management plan to the Natural Resources Board during their October meeting — a plan that still faces opposition from the Republican-backed Senate Committee of Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage.

The DNR’s updated plan continues to advise an adaptive approach toward wolf population management rather than setting a firm numerical quota. The plan “turns its attention from wolf recovery to long-term stewardship and sustainable management of wolves in the state,” the DNR said in an August press release.

The plan outlines six central objectives.

National Democrats Sue To Block Wisconsin’s Absentee Voting Witness Requirements

A national Democratic law firm on Monday challenged Wisconsin’s witness requirements for absentee voting, arguing that the state is violating the federal Voting Rights Act by demanding a witness signature on ballot envelopes.

Elias Law Group, representing four Wisconsin voters, called the requirement a “burden” to voters in the lawsuit, which they filed in federal court against the Wisconsin Elections Commission and other elections officials.

Wisconsin's Congressional Maps Are Not At Issue In 2023 Gerrymandering Lawsuits

With a new left-wing majority on the state Supreme Court, Wisconsin Democrats are salivating at the thought of ending a Republican gerrymander that has all but closed them out of power for the last 12 years.

Two lawsuits from allies of the Democratic Party have challenged the political districts of the Wisconsin Legislature. Republicans appear so worried about the outcome that they first floated the idea of impeaching new liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, a maneuver many experts view as legally dubious.

Now the GOP appears to have retreated to a hastily drawn bill they say would enact a nonpartisan redistricting commission to draw the political lines. Gov. Tony Evers and fellow Democrats have rejected the bill.

Yet even with the wind at their backs, Wisconsin’s political left is declining to challenge the map of the state’s eight congressional districts.

Proposed Wisconsin Bill To Address Artificially Made ‘Deep Fake’ Pornography

There’s a new and disturbing form of ‘cyber-abuse’ that a local senator would like fellow legislators to address right now.

It’s a concern we first told you about a few weeks ago when Brown County Sergent Matthew Wilson told us about the difficult nature of prosecuting so-called ‘victimless crimes’.

Predators use artificial intelligence to manipulate and turn people’s Facebook photos-including children-into pornographic ones. Imagine someone took your photo from Facebook and altered it into a ‘deep face’ pornographic photo using artificial intelligence then sold it; that is legal in Wisconsin.

UW-Madison Enrollment Exceeds 50K Students For First Time In 175-Year History

As most state universities in Wisconsin continue to deal with declining enrollment, the University of Wisconsin-Madison received a record 63,537 applications for just 7,996 open slots in the fall 2023 freshman class.

The number of freshman applications sent to the state's flagship university has grown by 114 percent over the past decade. The number of new students admitted this year is down slightly from last year's record of 8,635. A statement from the university noted the decrease was due to "the university purposely reducing the overall size of its freshman class by hundreds."