Morning Headlines - Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Grilled In Hearing

Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson refuses to define the word 'woman' because she's 'not a biologist' as she is grilled on day two of her confirmation hearing.

Biden Heads To Europe Amid Pressure To Ramp Up Support For Ukraine

President Joe Biden heads to Europe Wednesday under increasing pressure at home and abroad to do more to aid Ukraine, as he tries to walk a fine line between providing support and deterring Russia while avoiding further escalation.

Biden was scheduled to travel to Brussels to attend a last-minute emergency meeting of NATO country leaders to discuss the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While in Brussels, he also planned to attend a meeting of G7 leaders and a European Council gathering. He was then set to travel to Poland, which has found itself on the front lines of the military and refugee crisis, to meet with that country’s president.

U.S. Image Soars Across NATO Countries

With President Biden flying to Brussels Wednesday for a NATO summit, his diplomacy in his first year produced big gains in overseas approval of U.S. leadership, Gallup found.

Why it matters: U.S. ratings in many countries matched or surpassed levels during the Obama years, including in Germany.

Democrats Press Biden To Extend Freeze On Student Loan Payments

Democrats in Congress are pressing the Biden administration to extend the suspension of student loan payments before it’s set to expire May 1 as they seek to avoid cutting off a pandemic-induced benefit in the middle of an election year.

The federal student loan payments suspension has already been extended five times throughout the COVID-19 pandemic since it began under former President Trump in March 2020.

Microsoft Confirms It Was Hacked By LAPSUS$

Following the dumping of files by the hacking group LAPSUS$ it allegedly gathered from hacking Microsoft, Microsoft has now confirmed it was compromised through a single account.

As part of a security blog post published late yesterday, Microsoft included a section titled "Actor actions targeting Microsoft" which explains what happened.

Wisconsin Headlines

Dem Lawmakers Reintroduce Economic Justice Bill Of Rights

Dem lawmakers have reintroduced their Economic Justice Bill of Rights they say will help address the state’s workforce shortage and improve Wisconsinites’ quality of life.

Rep. Kristina Shelton, D-Green Bay, said the measure would create an equitable living income, union collective bargaining rights, environmentally friendly transportation and affordable, accessible and high quality health care. The plan also calls for affordable and accessible public education, child care and other things. Shelton said Dems will continue fighting “like hell” to accomplish those goals despite the current legislative recess.

Pressure For Changes In Kohl's Corporate Operation Intensifies

Kohl's Corp. said it's still working with would-be buyers of the company, as tensions continue to mount over the future of the department store chain.

Kohl's said in a statement the financial advisor group Goldman Sachs is coordinating with certain bidders "to assist with further due diligence so that they have the opportunity to refine and improve their proposals." Last month, the company outright rebuffed the offers it had received up to that point, saying those offers didn't properly reflect the value of the chain.

DHS Releases Findings From Statewide Listening Sessions About Opioid Settlement Funds

Following a review of public feedback from listening sessions and an online survey in January on the best uses of funding received through national settlements with opioid distributors and manufacturers, the Department of Health Services (DHS) will begin finalizing its plan to invest the funds to save lives and address Wisconsin’s opioid epidemic.

DHS held 12 regional listening sessions in early 2022. Nearly 600 people living with an opioid use disorder, their families and friends, and providers of opioid prevention, treatment, and recovery support services participated in these virtual events and nearly 900 comments were submitted through the online survey.

Tiffany Joins Lawmakers In Proposing Legislation To Revoke China’s Preferential Trade Status

Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) joined Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Tom Suozzi (NY-03) in introducing bipartisan legislation that would restore congressional oversight to bilateral U.S. trade with Communist China by stripping them of their Permanent Normal Trade Relations status. H.R. 7193 brings back checks and balances that existed prior to 2001 when the United States granted the communist dictatorship so-called “Most Favored Nation” trade status. 

Wisconsin Musician “Feels The Love” On New NBC Show

A Wisconsin man is strutting his stuff on national TV on NBC’s new show “American Song Contest”. Jake’0 (pronounced Jake-OH) performed for a national TV audience Monday night, and he did not disappoint.