Morning Headlines - Friday, May 6, 2022 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Pro-Abortion Groups Target Churches For Mother's Day Protests

Pro-abortion activists are targeting Catholic churches for protests on Mother's Day, with some citing the Roman Catholic faith of multiple justices who reportedly at one point supported the leaked draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade.

The protests follow days of organizing in front of the Supreme Court building following the leak Monday night – protests that led the Washington, D.C., police to erect a fence ostensibly to protect the building and justices within. Fox News has also learned that there has been a strong police presence at the justices' homes following the leak.

Legislative Odds Still Favor GOP In Abortion Battles: The Note

The political earthquake didn't quite shake everything up.

The fallout of this week's jaw-dropping Supreme Court leak has Democrats enraged and newly motivated. It also has them confronting the same stubborn legislative and mathematical realities that have defined their last year-plus in control of Washington.

Abortion opponents have largely taken the expected good news from the high court as a call for further action.

Lawmaker 'Won't Back Down' After Naked Tape Leak

The United States' youngest congressman has said he won't "back down" after a naked video of him in bed was leaked. Madison Cawthorn, 26, said the video showed him "being crass with a friend, trying to be funny".

"We were acting foolish, and joking. That's it," he said. "I'm NOT backing down...blackmail won't win."

The Republican, who is up for re-election in North Carolina, was first elected aged 25 - the minimum age for US Congress.

The Athletic Reportedly Lost $55 Million In 2021, Continues To Be A Money-Burning Machine

While The Athletic found a life raft in the New York Times, the subscription-based sports website spent 2021 much like it did the previous two years. It bled millions upon millions upon millions in cash.

How much? Well, according to the Times, the figure was a whopping $55 million. That surpassed even the $54 million The Athletic lost in 2019. It reportedly lost $41 million in 2020, and with the way things have gone for The Athletic, losing less than $50 million in a year can probably be considered a win.

Where Americans Stand On Abortion, In 5 Charts

Abortion is a thorny issue in American life. It’s not something people like to talk about, and it’s not something people know that much about. Because of that, it’s hard to understand how Americans really think about abortion and how many Americans would react if Roe were overturned.

There is one point, though, in this debate that is clear: The majority of Americans don’t want to overturn Roe. How polls ask about support varies, but the vast majority of respondents — somewhere between 85 and 90 percent, according to most polls — think abortion should be legal in at least some circumstances.

New Court Date Set For Teen Charged In Lily Peters Murder

A teen charged with killing 10-year-old Lily Peters in Chippewa Falls had a brief court appearance Thursday.

The 14-year-old boy, identified only by his initials, C.P-B., appeared via video conference with his new attorney, Michael Cohen. Chippewa County Judge Benjamin Lane said the criminal complaint in the case will be made public in the coming days, possibly Friday or Monday. The complaint will have redactions to remove the names and ages of the suspect and the victim, even though the victim’s information was made public during a search when she was missing.

The defense had objected to Judge Lane making the criminal complaint public.

Democratic Group Focuses $44 Million Spending In Wisconsin, Michigan

A Democratic group is focusing its television advertising spending in the upper Midwest states of Michigan and Wisconsin where Democratic incumbent governors face tough reelection bids.

The Democratic Governors Association’s announced Wednesday that it is spending $75 million on ads in seven states, with $23 million going to help Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and $21 million for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

In Wisconsin, An 1849 Abortion Ban Could Make For A Chaotic Post-Roe Landscape

More than two dozen states are poised to ban abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Then there’s Wisconsin, where a politically divided government, a hotly contested election season, and a 173-year-old law that criminalizes nearly all abortions are making for a potentially chaotic post-Roe landscape.

The prospect of a restoration of the 1849 statute has upended the midwestern swing state. Wisconsin’s attorney general, a Democrat, has vowed not to enforce it but can’t stop local officials from doing so. And while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers supports repealing the law, Republicans control the state legislature, where such efforts will go nowhere. On the flip side, GOP lawmakers are unable to further restrict abortions in the state because of Evers’ veto power.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Identified In Sauk, Pierce Counties

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has identified cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in backyard flocks in Pierce and Sauk counties. Birds on both sites will be depopulated to prevent spread of the disease.

Eleven counties in Wisconsin have been confirmed with HPAI in domestic flocks. Flock owners are encouraged to continue practicing strong biosecurity measures to protect their birds from the virus. This includes washing hands, disinfecting equipment, restricting access to birds, and separating new birds from existing flocks for at least 30 days. Poultry owners are asked, when possible, to keep their birds indoors.

Wisconsin Groups Shift Legal Focus To New Legislative District Maps

A coalition of groups that have worked with Democrats on redistricting issues in Wisconsin have asked a federal court to dismiss their case against the state’s now-defunct legislative district maps.

The step represents an important shift in the legal battle over redistricting in the state, as groups turn their attention from the state’s last set of maps, which were signed into law in 2011 and are no longer in effect, to a new set approved by the state Supreme Court last month.