Morning Headlines - Friday, Feb. 10, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

US Officials Disclosed New Details About The Balloon’s Capabilities. Here’s What We Know

Biden administration officials disclosed new information Thursday about the capabilities of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the United States last week and what they are learning as the FBI begins analyzing the parts recovered after the balloon was shot down Saturday.

US officials also detailed what they’ve discovered about the broader spying operation they say the Chinese government has undertaken using a fleet of high-altitude surveillance balloons across the globe.

But senior Biden officials faced pointed questions on Capitol Hill from lawmakers in public hearings and classified briefings as Congress is demanding more information about why the balloon wasn’t shot down sooner.

Pence Subpoenaed By Special Counsel Investigating Trump's Role In Jan. 6

Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Donald Trump's effort to stay in office after the 2020 election and his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Special counsel Jack Smith was appointed in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead the Justice Department's inquiries into Trump's role in the riot as well as the former president’s handling of classified documents after he left office. The subpoena is related to the Jan. 6 investigation, the source said.

GOP Senators Sympathetic To Romney’s Call For Santos To Resign

Senate Republicans, who are battling to win back the majority in 2024, worry the controversy surrounding Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has become a liability for their party as a whole, and several are expressing quiet support for Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-Utah) call for Santos to step down.

GOP senators are reluctant to tell their House Republican counterparts what to do, but they privately hope Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won’t let the situation fester for much longer.

Senate Republicans feel like they have a good chance of winning back control of the upper chamber and don’t want Santos — or other high-profile conservative House members who made a splash at President Biden’s State of the Union address — to become emblematic of their party, which could turn off independent and swing voters.

Yahoo Plans To Cut 20% Of Its Workers As Tech Layoffs Pile Up

Yahoo plans to cut about 20% of its workforce, or roughly 1,700 jobs, over the next year, as the technology industry continues to shed employees ahead of a potential economic slump later this year.

Of that number, the internet company will cut 1,000 jobs starting this week, Yahoo confirmed with CBS MoneyWatch.

Nearly half of the layoffs at Yahoo, which has been owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management since 2021, will be in its unprofitable business ad tech unit. That business has not delivered as the company expected.

Change In Babysitting Rates, 2021 To 2022

Babysitting rates rose 9.7% nationally in 2022 — a bit less than the 11% hike seen in 2021, but still outpacing inflation for the second year in a row.

A shortage of babysitters and other child care workers — and higher pay those remaining are able to command — is creating seismic ripples in the labor market, keeping some parents at home or in precarious care arrangements.

It's also attracting teachers, nurses and other trained professionals into the career — which in turn drives up rates, because of their experience.
In the other direction, day care workers are quitting for higher pay elsewhere — including at custodial jobs.

Rates are up across all categories of care, from casual babysitting to full-time nannies to day care (where it can be hard to even get on a waitlist).

Milwaukee Landmarks Shining In Blue In Honor Of Officer Peter Jerving

More than 20 of Milwaukee's historic landmarks and venues are illuminated in blue in honor of fallen Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving.

Jerving and the suspect died during a struggle in Milwaukee last Tuesday, according to police. The lighting starts Thursday at dawn and runs through Monday, Feb. 13.

"We here at the Downtown BID work daily with our community liaisons in District 1. Knowing our close relationships and partnerships with our first responders at the Milwaukee Fire Department and the Milwaukee Police Department, the loss of their friend and colleague is incredibly hard and sad news," said BID #21 Director of Public Space Initiatives Gave Yeager. "It's a symbol of hope. And we hope that this is a unified front for Milwaukee. And that the family specifically feels the support of the community."

State Republicans Propose Bill Requiring Felons To Pay Restitution Before Voting, Democrats Call It Disenfranchisement

Wisconsin Republicans are proposing a new bill that they say will put the rights of victims before the rights of criminals. But Democrats say the bill would only further disenfranchises people.

Under current Wisconsin law, a person convicted of a felony does not have the right to vote unless it's restored through a pardon or through the completion of a prison sentence, parole, extended supervision or probation.

But Republicans argue there is still more debt to be paid.

Lac Du Flambeau Man Charged With Domestic Abuse In Three Wisconsin Counties

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) today announced that Frank R. Schuman, age 29, of Lac Du Flambeau, Wis., has been charged with fifteen counts related to domestic abuse and battery, in three Wisconsin counties, over the past nine months. Mr. Schuman is facing charges in Oneida County, Wis., Vilas County, Wis., and Outagamie County, Wis., for abuse against three different people.

According to the criminal complaints, Mr. Schuman allegedly broke one person’s jaw and sexually assaulted them, repeatedly assaulted and choked another person, and physically assaulted a third person leaving bruises on their face, torso, and legs. The assaults happened between January 1, 2022, and May 1, 2022.

Prosecutors Won’t Charge Wisconsin Ex-Senator In Fatal Crash

Prosecutors have decided not to charge a former Wisconsin state senator who was involved in a car crash that left a Pennsylvania woman and her 5-year-old daughter dead.

Ashland County District Attorney David Meany told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday that there isn’t enough evidence to show former Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley acted in a criminally negligent or reckless way. He added that police and Wisconsin State Patrol investigators haven’t referred charges to his office, either.

Brett Favre Sues Auditor, Sportscasters In Defamation Case

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed lawsuits Thursday in Mississippi, accusing the state auditor and two national sportscasters of defaming him in public discussions about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in one of the poorest states in the nation.

The lawsuit against Auditor Shad White says the Republican “has carried out an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations against Brett Favre — the Hall of Fame quarterback and native son of Mississippi — in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre’s celebrity to further his own political career.”