Morning Headlines - Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2026 | 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

U.S. Launches Fresh Wave Of Strikes On Iran, As Analysts Warn Conflict Risks Becoming ‘Forever War’

U.S. forces launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning.

President Donald Trump warned the U.S. military will hit Iran “hard” over the coming days.

Experts said the conflict risks becoming a drawn-out war.

House Passes Bill To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

The House on Tuesday passed with broad bipartisan support legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.

The lower chamber voted 308-117 for the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, which would make daylight saving time the permanent standard time. Twenty-two Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against the measure.

The legislation now heads to the Senate.

DDHQ Forecasts Democratic House, 50-50 Senate In November

Democrats are in position to win the House this fall while the Senate is on track to hold a 50-50 partisan split, according to a new forecast from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) that paints a highly competitive picture of the midterm fight for control of Congress.

Just over 100 days out from the election, DDHQ forecasts Democrats clinching a 227-208 advantage in the House, while Republicans narrowly retain power with Vice President Vance as the tiebreaker vote in a 50-50 Senate.

Bipartisan Senators Introduce Legislation To Avert Looming Social Security Shortfall

With Social Security's looming insolvency date roughly six years away, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a proposal Tuesday to grapple with one of the most consequential financial challenges facing the federal government.

The Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone, or PROMISE Act, comes on the heels of the latest Social Security Board of Trustees’ annual report, which found that Social Security’s retirement trust fund is projected to face a funding shortfall in 2032, a year earlier than last year’s projections.

IBM's Historic Crash Exposes A Deeper Tech Divide: Chart Of The Day

Rising memory prices have been feeding chip profits for months. IBM just showed who may be paying the bill.

IBM (IBM) plunged 25% Tuesday, its worst day since at least 1968 after customers rushed to secure hardware before expected price increases — a sign the AI build-out is reshuffling technology budgets and pulling chip stocks away from software.

Wisconsin DNR Issues Statewide Air Quality Advisory As Wildfire Smoke Moves In From Minnesota, Ontario

Wisconsin residents, especially those in sensitive groups, are being warned about dangerous air quality conditions as wildfire smoke moves into the state.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued a statewide Air Quality Advisory alert, in effect from noon Tuesday until noon Thursday, July 16. The alert comes as smoke from wildfires in Minnesota and Ontario is expected to enter northern Wisconsin between 8 p.m. and midnight Tuesday.

Elon Musk Likely Broke The Law By Promising Voters $1 Million Payouts, Wisconsin Board Says

Billionaire Elon Musk likely broke Wisconsin law when he promised to hand out $1 million checks to voters in the 2025 state Supreme Court election, a bipartisan panel has found.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission last week referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney's office, which can choose to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery. Prosecutors have 40 days to report back to the commission.

Wisconsin To Receive Money In Multi-State Settlement Against 23andMe

Wisconsin will get more than $275,000 from a multi-state settlement over a data breach at the genetic testing company 23andMe.

The 2023 hack exposed personal and, in some cases, genetic ancestry data for 6.9 million customers worldwide, including more than 78,000 people in Wisconsin.

Northwoods Democrats Promise To Stand Up To Trump In Primary Debate

The three Democratic candidates for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in a primary debate Tuesday all stressed the need to hold the Trump administration accountable — while two of the three stressed the need to work with Republicans on national issues.

During a candidate forum hosted by television station WJFW in Rhinelander, Chris Armstrong, Ginger Murray and Fred Clark discussed national issues such as the war in Iran, affordability, immigration enforcement and the role of Congress.

Each candidate tried to explain how he or she could flip the solidly conservative district, and how they’d work with Republicans on national issues.

Kelda Roys Slams Rodriguez For Pattern of Apologies

The newest criticism of Sara Rodriguez has only a little to do with her unfolding campaign finance scandal.

Fellow Democrat Kelda Roys, who is also running for governor, on Monday slammed Rodriguez for apologizing again.

“The public is getting far too familiar with hearing Sara Rodriguez apologize,” Roys said in a statement. “One year ago, Rodriguez launched her campaign claiming Gov. Evers gave her a special heads-up that he was not running for re-election. We soon learned from Gov. Evers that her claim was false.”