Morning Headlines - Friday, Mar. 14, 2025

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

Judge Orders Trump Administration To Reinstate Thousands Of Fired Employees At VA, Defense Department And Other Agencies

A federal judge has ordered half a dozen federal agencies to “immediately” reinstate probationary employees fired last month as part of the Trump administration’s effort to rapidly shrink the federal workforce, calling the effort a “sham.”

The preliminary injunction issued from the bench Thursday by US District Judge William Alsup requires the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury to rehire the employees. The judge said that he might extend the order to cover other federal agencies at a later time.

Schumer Announces He'll Vote To Keep Government Open, Likely Avoiding Shutdown

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday night that he plans to vote to keep the government open, signaling that there will almost certainly be enough Democratic votes to advance a House GOP funding bill before a shutdown deadline at the end of the day Friday.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Schumer conceded a government shutdown is the worse outcome.

Dramatic Evacuations After American Airlines Plane Catches Fire At Denver Airport

An American Airlines plane carrying 178 people caught fire on the tarmac after making an emergency landing at Denver International Airport Thursday evening, forcing many passengers to evacuate by climbing out onto a wing and with emergency slides. Airport officials said 12 passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

The fire started just before 6 p.m. Mountain Time after the plane, a Boeing 737-800, diverted to the airport due to what appeared to be an engine issue.

Newsmax Paid $40 Million To Settle Defamation Suit Over 2020 Election Claims

Cable outlet Newsmax Media has paid $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 U.S. election for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, according to a regulatory filing.

The companies settled privately last year, but the amount was disclosed in a Newsmax investor document dated March 7.

A Smartmatic representative said in a statement the company could not discuss details of the deal but that it is looking forward to taking Fox News to trial over similar claims about its election coverage.

Tech Stocks Tumble As AI Boom Fizzles Out

The world’s biggest technology companies have seen their stock prices tumble over the past month as wider tumult in the market hits the tech sector hard after years of steep gains driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

Since major advancements in AI exploded onto the scene a little more than two years ago, tech stocks have been on a tear, driving much of the market’s gains. However, this success has come back to bite the industry, combined with the uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s tariffs and questions about the future of AI.

Wisconsin Headlines

Two Billionaires That Are Villains Of The Left And Right Take The Spotlight In A Key Wisconsin Race

When Republicans are looking for a political bogeyman, they point to liberal megadonor George Soros. Democrats recently have been answering with a villain of their own: the world’s wealthiest man and close adviser to President Donald Trump, Elon Musk.

Now, the billionaires’ influence on politics is colliding in a spring election that will decide whether conservatives or liberals control the supreme court in an important presidential battleground state. Both Musk and Soros have spent large sums on the race for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, making them easy targets in a debate between the two candidates Wednesday.

Wisconsin Boasts Record Nonfarm Job Numbers, Outpacing National Employment Rates

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) reported a record 3,053,300 total nonfarm jobs in January 2025, based on preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to a news release from DWD, Wisconsin's unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.2%. That rate is still 0.8 percentage points below the national unemployment rate, which is 4.0%. The state's labor force participation rate remained steady at 65.9%, which is also better than the national rate of 62.6%.

Wisconsin Assembly Passes Public Safety Bills

The Wisconsin Assembly overwhelmingly passed multiple bills focused on crime and safety on Thursday.

A bipartisan bill requiring schools to promptly alert parents if their students are the victims of sexual misconduct at school unanimously passed.

“It’s appalling as a parent and a legislator that there’s nothing in state statute right now of when a parent must be notified if sexual misconduct occurs,” State Rep. Benjamin Franklin, R-DePere, ahead of the bill’s passage.

Assembly Passes Bill To Cut State Funding If Police Aren’t Placed In Milwaukee Schools

Rep. Ryan Spaude, D-Ashwaubenon, today argued that a bill requiring Milwaukee Public Schools to place police officers in schools or risk losing state funding was “rotten” and unnecessary.

Meanwhile the bill’s author, Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield, argued there is “no excuse” for MPS not having school resource officers already.

The Assembly today passed 53-44 along party lines AB 91, which would impose a penalty on Milwaukee Public Schools and the city if 25 school resource officers are not in schools within 30 days of the bill becoming law. If the city and schools do not comply, the city of Milwaukee would lose 10% of its shared revenue, and MPS would lose 20% of its per-pupil aid.

EPA Targets Rules That Could Affect Pollution From Power Plants, Vehicles In Wisconsin

The Trump administration announced more than two dozen rollbacks of environmental regulations Wednesday that may affect efforts to limit pollution in Wisconsin from fossil fuel plants, vehicles and neighboring states.

In the announcement, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said agency officials are “driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion” to make it more affordable for people to buy cars, heat their homes and run businesses.