Morning Headlines - Friday, Nov. 15, 2024

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 and the end for a little humor to go with your news!

U.S. and World Headlines

Trump Cabinet Picks: Here’s Who’s On The List To Carry Out His Agenda

President-elect Trump is assembling his Cabinet and senior staff for his second term in the White House before taking office in January.

Trump must nominate leaders for 15 government agencies and other top administration jobs that require Senate confirmation, along with appointing senior staff.

Here’s a look at who has been tapped to serve so far.

Trump's Pledge To Axe The Department Of Education Explained

One of the key promises President-elect Donald Trump made while campaigning for the White House was to abolish the US Department of Education.

The federal agency, established in 1979, oversees funding for public schools, administers student loans and runs programmes to help low-income students.

Trump has accused the agency of "indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material".

But in order to scrap the department, the incoming Republican president would need congressional approval - an uphill battle.

Vaccine Maker Stocks Fall As Trump Chooses RFK Jr. To Lead HHS

Shares of vaccine makers fell as President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Health policy experts have said a second Trump term could allow Kennedy to elevate anti-vaccine rhetoric.

Shares of Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer, BioNTech and GSK closed lower on Thursday.

Pentagon's UFO Report Finds Over 700 New Cases, With 21 The Agency Could Not Explain

The Pentagon and the Director of National Intelligence have released the annual report on UFO sightings and while they still haven't found any extraterrestrial origin for the more than 700 new reports that came in last year, there are about two dozen that have them really curious.

UAP is the term the Pentagon and the intelligence community use to describe UFOs, which stands for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. The agency that reviews all of the new incidents being reported by military personnel and now additional federal agencies is the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

U.S. Military Suicides Rose In 2023, Persisting Despite Prevention Efforts

Suicides among military service members rose in 2023 continuing a gradual rise in suicides among active-duty forces, persisting despite prevention efforts.

The Defense Department's annual report on suicides in the military released Thursday said suicides among active-duty military rose from 331 in 2022 to 363 in 2023.

"Admittedly yes, that long-term trend is gradually increasing," Dr. Timothy Hoyt, Deputy Director of the Office of Force Resiliency at the Defense Department told reporters on a call.

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin School Board Wants To Bring Back Legislation Banning Transgender Athletes From School Sports

At least one Wisconsin School Board wants to bring back legislation to ban transgender athletes in school sports.

The Arrowhead Union High School board’s policy committee met Tuesday and unanimously said they would support a resolution directing the Wisconsin Association of School Boards to advocate for “no biological males in female sports.”

It’s the second time a school district has promoted the legislation.

WEC Attorneys Ask Judge To Dismiss Lawsuit Regarding Wisconsin’s MyVote Portal

On Thursday, state attorneys for the Wisconsin Elections Commission asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that sought to block the use of Wisconsin’s “MyVote” online voter portal just days before the November election.

Dawn McCole, a voter in Brown County, and Jeanette Merten, an election clerk for the town of Oshkosh, filed the civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of Wisconsin on October 24th.

Small Business Political Group Scores Wins In Wisconsin Legislative Elections

Main Street Action PAC, the political arm of the small business advocacy group Main Street Alliance, won five of the six Wisconsin legislative races it entered with advertising and voter engagement efforts.

One such race was the contest for the 14th Senate District. The contest between incumbent Republican Sen. Joan Ballweg and Democratic challenger Sarah Keyeski drew a lot of attention in the lead up to Nov. 5.

Wisconsin Woman Sentenced To Prison For Straw Purchasing Firearm Used In Murder Suicide

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Shawna Tantillo, 34, Middleton, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 18 months in federal prison for straw purchasing a firearm.

The prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Tantillo pled guilty to this charge on August 13, 2024.

Wisconsin Voters Approve A Record Number Of School Referendums And New Funding Levels In 2024

Wisconsin voters saw a record number of school referenda on their ballots in 2024 and approved a record number of the funding requests, according to a report released on Nov. 14.

The Wisconsin Policy Forum study found that school districts asked voters to sign off on a record 241 referenda, eclipsing the old record of 240 set in 1998. The referenda sought a total of $5.9 billion, a new record ask. The old records was $3.3 billion set in 2022.