Morning Headlines - Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 | 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 and the end for a little humor to go with your news!

U.S. and World Headlines

Congress Strikes Deal To Avert Government Shutdown

Congressional leaders have struck a bipartisan deal to keep the government funded beyond a looming Dec. 20 shutdown deadline.
Legislation rolled out by leadership on Tuesday would kick the Friday funding deadline to March 14 to buy more time for the next Congress and incoming president to hash out how the government should be funded for much of next year.
The newly unveiled 1,500-page package also features a host of add-ons, including a one-year farm bill extension, roughly $100 billion in disaster relief, about $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, and other authorizations.

The Federal Reserve is expected to announce another quarter-point cut to its key interest rate Wednesday, an effort to boost what appears to some to be a steady but cooling economy.
Yet there remains debate about the extent of that cooling — or even whether it is happening at all.
Some of the economic data closely watched by economists paints a rosy picture. Inflation remains far below its post-pandemic highs, though the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that the 12-month Consumer Price Index (the most-watched inflation indicator) had climbed 2.7% for the month of November — above the 2.6% pace seen the previous month.

Democrats have a plan to take back power in Washington back from Republicans in two years: work with them now.
Democrats, who are already planning their comeback after being swept out of power in Washington last month, have said they'll oppose President-elect Donald Trump and his allies when their values collide but are open to cooperation on a range of issues, including immigration, federal spending and entitlements.
The strategy marks a turnaround from 2017, when "resistance" to Trump was Democrats' rallying cry. But, some lawmakers and operatives said, it also marks a challenge to Republicans for bipartisanship at a time when narrow GOP congressional majorities will likely mandate some level of cooperation.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, entered Syrian territory Tuesday and said Israeli troops would remain in the area indefinitely, blurring the border with its northern neighbor.
Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has never had fully recognized borders. Throughout its history, the frontiers with its Arab neighbors have shifted as a result of wars, annexations, ceasefires and peace agreements.
Now, the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad has created a situation that could once again reshape Israel’s borders.

Nasa says that the astronauts stuck on the International Space Station will have to wait even longer to get home.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were due to be back after just a week when they blasted off in June.
Their stay was extended to February next year because of technical issues with the experimental spacecraft, Starliner, built by Boeing.

"Everyone Was Targeted" In Wisconsin School Shooting, Police Say

Police said a "combination of factors" appear to have led a 15-year-old student to carry out a school shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, but declined to share more information.
The shooting at Abundant Life Christian School left three dead, including the perpetrator, who police have identified as student Natalie Rupnow. Rupnow, who also went by Samantha, appears to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. The other two dead are a teacher and a teenage student, whom police have not identified. Six people — one teacher and five students — were injured. Four remain hospitalized.
In a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes said that he would not be sharing more details about Rupnow's motive to avoid jeopardizing the investigation. He asked that anyone with information about Rupnow's state of mind before the shooting contact the Madison CrimeStoppers.

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on December 17, 2024, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Arletta Allen (age 43) of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
The indictment charges Allen with arson of a commercial building in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(i) (Count One); wire fraud and attempted wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 1349 (Count Two); arson in connection with a federal felony in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(h)(Count Three); and making false statements to law enforcement, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(Count Four).
According to the indictment, on or about October 10, 2021, Allen maliciously damaged by fire a restaurant known as “A Family Affair Soulfood Kitchen” located at 417 S. Main Street in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The indictment further alleges that Allen executed a scheme to defraud Germantown Mutual Insurance Company by setting fire to the restaurant and signing a sworn proof of loss claim seeking insurance proceeds for losses caused by the fire, while falsely representing that she did not cause or procure the fire. The indictment also alleges that Allen lied to law enforcement officers on multiple occasions about her activities and location prior to the fire.

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that James Morgan, 31, Jefferson, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 2 years in federal prison for possessing destructive devices. He pled guilty to the charge on April 16, 2024.
The FBI received information indicating that Morgan made and possessed destructive devices. Acting on that information, on December 21, 2023, local and federal law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at Morgan’s travel trailer in Janesville, Wisconsin. Morgan was living in the trailer at the time. Inside a locked safe in the trailer, agents found six improvised explosive devices.
The devices were homemade and had several nails glued to the outside. The devices were rendered safe and sent to the FBI lab for formal testing. Experts from the FBI lab determined that the devices contained explosive powder and were in fact “destructive devices” under federal law.

David Braeger (age 57), of Fox Point, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 24 months’ incarceration for committing an investment fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of over $2,500,000 to investors.
According to court records, David Braeger was previously barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) from serving as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm. In 2017, Braeger incorporated an entity known as Blue Star Automotive Fund (“Blue Star”), in which he sold limited partnership shares to twenty-seven investors who gave him over $5.4 million for those shares. Braeger represented to those investors that those funds would primarily be used to fund an automobile dealership. Although Braeger provided approximately half of the money to the dealership, he misappropriated more than $2.5 million of investor funds in ways contrary to his representations. He spent his victims’ money on his own living expenses, including, but not limited to the purchase of several luxury vehicles and personal legal fees.
Braeger also used his victims’ money to purchase the Silver Spring House Restaurant in Glendale, sponsor a NASCAR driver, and buy cryptocurrency. In addition to the Blue Star Scheme, Braeger also stole $100,000 from an investor as part of a venture he called IEF, which Braeger claimed would be used to fund litigation related to a Ugandan Energy company. Instead, Braeger misappropriated most of that money for his own personal use.

Everyone has a lucky number in Las Vegas. For the Milwaukee Bucks, it was 3. And the NBA Cup was their prize.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points to go along with 19 rebounds and 10 assists, Damian Lillard added 23 points and the Bucks connected on 17 3-pointers on the way to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the NBA Cup title game Tuesday night.
Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 13 for the Bucks, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the only champions of the 2-year-old event. A 19-5 Milwaukee run in the second half turned what was a five-point game into a 19-point game early in the fourth, and the Bucks kept control the rest of the way.