Morning Headlines - Friday, Apr. 22, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

Obama Tackles Disinformation: 'Our Prejudices Aren't Challenged, They're Reinforced'

Former President Barack Obama took the stage at Stanford University on Thursday to deliver a keynote addressing disinformation and the dangers it poses to democracy.

Obama, whose campaign successfully used social media to raise awareness of his agenda, touched on everything from social networks and their algorithms to the First Amendment and the war in Ukraine.

MSNBC Airs Audio Of McCarthy Saying He Considered Asking Trump To Resign

MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” aired audio on Thursday, which was shared by reporters from The New York Times, confirming that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he was considering asking former President Trump to resign in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

In the audio clip, which is also now included in the Times’s report on the matter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) asks the House GOP leader if he was hearing that Trump might resign or had any reason to believe it could happen.

Americans Are Moving On From Jan. 6 — Even If Congress Hasn't

Many Americans want to move on from investigating the events of Jan. 6. A recent Navigator Research poll found, for instance, that 39 percent of registered voters thought the House committee investigating the attack was too focused on the past, compared to 49 percent who said the committee was doing important work.

CNN+ Is Shutting Down

CNN's parent company said Thursday it will shut down CNN+, a streaming service launched less than one month ago.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. announced the streaming service's operations would end April 30. The service — which carried live news, original series and interactive features — launched March 29.

How The U.S. Climate Has Warmed Since The First Earth Day

Since the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, the U.S. national average temperature has climbed by 2.6°F, and the states have warmed — many significantly.

Earth Day is supposed to be a symbol of the environmental movement, originally born out of air and water pollution. But now it's a reminder of human-caused climate change — which is leading to more frequent and severe heat waves and wildfires, stronger hurricanes and heavier precipitation events.

Wisconsin Headlines

Manydeeds Won’t Seek Reelection As Regents President, Backs Walsh To Succeed Him

Edmund Manydeeds informed his fellow UW System regents that he won’t seek another one-year term as board president this summer and threw his support behind Vice President Karen Walsh to succeed him.

Manydeeds wrote in the message that he needs to spend more time with his 1-year-old law firm in Eau Claire and mentoring his nephew, who is a partner at Manydeeds Law.

Judge Orders Gableman's Office To Stop Deleting Records In Election Investigation

A Dane County judge has ordered former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to stop deleting records related to a Republican investigation of the 2020 election.

Judge Frank Remington's order Thursday followed a request by the liberal watchdog group American Oversight. Last month, Remington ruled Gableman must turn over documents sought by American Oversight in an open records dispute.

The latest court filing from the group showed that Gableman's Office of Special Counsel, or OSC, was deleting certain documents or text messages. American Oversight told Remington this was in violation of Wisconsin's open records law.

Mexican Citizen Sentenced To 60 Months For Trempealeau County Cocaine Conspiracy

Karlett Salazar Zagal, 23, a citizen of Mexico living in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

In August 2020, law enforcement received information that several people sold cocaine at a barbershop and taverns in Arcadia, Wisconsin. As their investigation continued, law enforcement learned that three people in Wisconsin received cocaine from someone in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican source-of-supply shipped ½ kilogram quantities of cocaine at a time, via U.S. Mail, and hid the drugs inside radios, printers, or bedsheets. In exchange for the cocaine, the Wisconsin-based cocaine traffickers sent money and guns to Puerto Rico.

Tiffany Returns To Chaotic U.S.-Mexico Border

This week, Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) traveled to Yuma, Arizona and Pinal County to witness the firsthand impact of the humanitarian and national security crisis occurring at our southern border.

His visit to Arizona comes a little under a year after Tiffany traveled to the Darién Gap in Panama, the “front end” of an overloaded migrant pipeline that runs through dangerous and hostile terrain. Congressman Tiffany also made trips to the southern border during the Trump administration. Since his initial visits in 2020, the situation has spiraled further out of control. Last month was the worst month of migrant encounters at the border since Bill Clinton was president, and after the Trump-era pandemic measure allowing for the rapid removal of some migrants known as “Title 42” is rolled back, it will likely get even worse. Estimated daily illegal crossings are estimated to triple to some 18,000 per day once Title 42 is swept away.

AG Kaul Announces $225,000 Penalty Against Kewaunee County Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Owner

Attorney General Josh Kaul announces today that his office has obtained a civil judgment against Johannes Wakker requiring him to pay a $225,000 monetary penalty for alleged violations of the State’s manure management laws that occurred at Wakker’s Kewaunee County concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO).

“Mismanagement of manure can lead to water contamination and endanger public health,” said AG Kaul. “To protect safe and clean water, Wisconsin’s manure management laws must be followed.”