Morning Headlines - Wednesday, Nov. 12, 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

What Today’s House Vote To End Historic Shutdown Means For Americans

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill Wednesday that would secure funding and reopen the federal government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Now on Day 43, the stalemate has furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers, stalled federal food assistance programs and crippled airport operations nationwide.

The proposal would fund military construction, Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through Sept. 30, 2026. It would keep the rest of the government funded at its current spending levels through Jan. 30.

House votes are expected Wednesday evening, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s calendar.

Jeffries, Democrats Will Offer 3-Year Extension Of ObamaCare Subsidies

House Democratic leaders on Tuesday will propose a three-year extension of the soon-to-expire ObamaCare subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.), the Democratic whip, will offer the legislation as an amendment to the Senate-passed spending agreement during a meeting of the Rules Committee on Tuesday night.

The amendment is all but guaranteed to fail, given the Republican majority on the Rules panel and the GOP’s long-standing opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which they’ve sought to repeal since its creation 15 years ago.

Space Forecasters Say Severe Solar Storms Could Hit Earth And Trigger Auroras

Space weather forecasters issued an alert on Tuesday for incoming severe solar storms that could produce colorful northern lights and temporarily disrupt communications.

In the past few days, the sun has burped out several bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections that could reach Earth Tuesday night and early Wednesday. The potential severe geomagnetic storms could disrupt radio and GPS communications, according to forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Google Sues Cybercriminal Group Behind E-Zpass, USPS Text Phishing Scams

Google filed a lawsuit against a cybercriminal group largely based in China that is behind a massive text message phishing operation, or “smishing.”

The organization uses a “Lighthouse,” a phishing-as-a-service kit, to steal sensitive financial information by sending fraudulent text messages.

“They were preying on users’ trust in reputable brands such as E-ZPass, the U.S. Postal Service, and even us as Google,” Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado said.

Mega Millions Jackpot On The Verge Of Hitting $1 Billion

The Mega Millions jackpot is on the verge of eclipsing $1 billion for the eighth time in the game’s history after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night.

The estimated jackpot for the next drawing on Friday, Nov. 14, now stands at $965 million.

The jackpot was last won on June 27.

Baldwin Refuses To “Go Along” With Deal To End Shutdown

Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Senator says she wants to continue the government shutdown.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who voted against the agreement to reopen the government Sunday night, said on the Senate floor that she cannot accept the agreement that her fellow Democrats made with Republicans.

“Addressing [healthcare] demands that we act now. Not in a week. Not next month, but now,” Baldwin said. “That's why a handshake deal with my Republican colleagues to reopen the government, and no guarantee to actually lower costs, is simply not good enough.”

Baldwin followed that up on X Monday.

Evers Knocks Trump On Attempt To Claw Back SNAP Funds

Gov. Tony Evers joined a coalition of states seeking to prevent the Trump administration from requiring states to claw back food stamp benefits.

Evers has rejected the Trump administration’s push for states to reverse a portion of the FoodShare payments. A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked the administration from forcing states to do just that.

Wisconsin GOP Introduces Series Of School District Consolidation Bills

Legislative Republicans want to offer financial incentivizes for Wisconsin school districts that agree to merge.

According to the state Department of Administration, Wisconsin’s population is expected to decline by 200,000 people over the next 25 years.

Schools are already seeing this decline. There are 53,000 fewer students enrolled in Wisconsin’s public schools since 2013-14, and nearly 70 percent of the state’s 421 districts have seen a decrease in student population.

Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy Visits Central Wisconsin Airport

As the government shutdown drags on, air traffic controllers will now be missing their second paycheck, raising concerns over flight operations and safety.

Today, Secretary of transportation Sean Duffy stopped by the central Wisconsin airport, addressing those concerns.

Duffy of course, previously served as a member of the house of representatives for northern Wisconsin.

Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy Wins NL Manager Of The Year For The Second Straight Year

Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy is the NL Manager of the Year for the second straight season.

Murphy received 27 of 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, beating out Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson and Cincinnati’s Terry Francona. The results were announced on Tuesday night.

The last NL manager to win the award in consecutive seasons was Bobby Cox for Atlanta in 2004 and 2005.