Morning Headlines - Friday, Sept. 16, 2022 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden Says Republicans Are 'Playing Politics' After Transporting Migrants To Martha's Vineyard, VP's Home

President Biden called on Republican governors Thursday to stop sending migrants into Democratic cities and communities, calling such actions "political stunts" and "un-American."

During an address at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala, Biden accused Republicans of "playing politics" and using migrants as "props" after dozens of migrants were sent to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, D.C.

"Republicans are playing politics with human beings, using them as props. What they’re doing is simply wrong, it’s un-American, it’s reckless," Biden said Thursday.

Ex-Nevada Deputy Attorney General Arrested In 1972 Murder Of Teen Girl In Hawaii

A former Nevada deputy attorney general who was tied to the infamous Mustang Ranch brothel has been arrested in the brutal murder of a teenage girl 50 years ago in Hawaii.

Tudor Chirila Jr., 77, was arrested in Reno and has been charged with second-degree murder after DNA evidence linked him to the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Nancy Anderson in 1972.

Anderson — who had moved to the island state after graduating high school in Michigan a year earlier — was stabbed more than 60 times inside her Waikiki apartment on Jan. 7, 1972, police said.

Local police never gave up on finding her killer — even a half-a-century later.

Federal Judge Appoints Special Master To Review Documents Seized At Mar-A-Lago

A federal judge appointed a special master to review documents the FBI seized from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate while denying the Justice Department continued access to roughly 100 classified documents for use in its criminal investigation.

In an order Thursday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon named Raymond J. Dearie, a senior U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of New York, to review all of the materials seized on Aug. 8. The Trump team had proposed Dearie, and Justice officials had previously signaled its approval for him as a potential arbiter to determine if any of the documents are protected by attorney-client or executive privileges.

The Justice Department had asked for a stay of the judge's previous motion so it could continue to review the seized documents for use in a criminal investigation. Cannon denied that request, saying she isn’t prepared to accept all of the department's assertions at face value without the special master review process.

Texas Board Denies Posthumous Pardon For George Floyd

A Texas board on Thursday declined a request that George Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug arrest made by a now-indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in October 2021 had initially decided to unanimously recommend that Floyd become just the second person in Texas since 2010 to receive a posthumous pardon from the governor.

But before Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could make a final decision in the case, the board in December reversed its decision, saying that “procedural errors” were found in its initial recommendation in Floyd’s case and it needed to reconsider more than a third of a group of 67 clemency applications it had sent to Abbott.

Don't Hold Your Breath For Lower Mortgage Rates

Mortgage rates have breached 6%, the latest avatar of an inflation-throttled economy that, even with its mounting challenges, is squeezing homeowners and leaving potential buyers with few affordable options.

There's little relief in sight for renter or homeowner sticker-shock, as inflation puts the Federal Reserve squarely on the path toward higher interest rates, even as the economy loses momentum.

Rates are surging and home prices have fallen, but not enough for would-be homeowners to jump into a market that some experts think has more downside than up. Redfin CFO Chris Nielsen told Axios’ Hope King this week that home prices have “held up,” even as new buyers are scared off by spiking costs.

The Midterms Will Determine If Wisconsin’s Abortion Laws Stay In The 1800s

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, Wisconsin’s laws went back to the nineteenth century – literally. The state has an abortion ban that was passed in 1849 and updated several times over the years, until the decision in Roe v. Wade made it basically unenforceable.

Because it was never taken off the books, that pre-Civil War ban now makes it illegal to have an abortion in Wisconsin in almost every circumstance. Now, the long-term fate of Wisconsin’s abortion ban could hinge on who is elected governor and attorney general in November.

Shortly after Roe was overturned, Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, and attorney general Josh Kaul both said that they would do what they can to ensure that doctors face few consequences for performing abortions.

Tiffany Introduces Legislation To Combat The Rise In Violent Crime

Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07), joined by seven Republican colleagues, introduced the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act to clarify and strengthen violent crime laws related to homicide, bank robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, and other offenses. Specifically, the Combating Violent and Dangerous Crime Act resolves discrepancies brought on by conflicting court decisions and clarifies congressional intent regarding crimes of violence and their respective penalties. This bill is the House companion to S. 4628 introduced by Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (IA).

“As a result of the Democrats’ ‘defund the police’ movement, soft-on-crime policies, and reckless bail reform efforts, far too many Americans have become victims of the deadly crime wave plaguing our neighborhoods,” said Congressman Tom Tiffany. “The American people want something done to make their streets safe again, and this bill will help defuse this explosion of crime by strengthening criminal penalties, protecting our children from drug poisonings, and putting dangerous predators where they belong – behind bars.”

Wisconsin Receives Financing For Electric Vehicle Network

It will soon get a lot easier to charge an electric car in Wisconsin. This means buying electric vehicles will soon make a lot more sense.

We've been talking about this as a "Chicken and egg" scenario for the last couple of years. Do we need more electric cars to build more charging stations or do we need more places to plug in to sell more electric cars?

The answer to both appears to be yes. And now Wisconsin will share in nearly a billion dollars of federal money to get ready for the electric road ahead.

Evers Vows To Again Put Legal Marijuana In State Budget If Reelected

The office of Gov. Tony Evers confirmed Thursday that Evers would take another swing at legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin as part of the state budget.

To submit that budget, the Democratic governor must first win reelection. A poll released Wednesday by the Marquette Law School found Evers in a statistical tie with Republican challenger Tim Michels, whose family owns Wisconsin's biggest construction company.

Michels has said in previous interviews he opposes the idea of legalizing marijuana.

As Wisconsin’s Only Oil Refinery Comes Back Online, Superior Residents Will See A Decrease In Water Rates

Superior residents will pay less for water service next year as Wisconsin’s only oil refinery is set to come back online following an explosion in 2018.

Privately-owned Superior Water Light & Power is proposing to cut water rates by 9.6 percent for its roughly 10,000 water customers. While it’s moving to reduce rates, the Superior utility is also proposing to raise $3.3 million in revenue to pay for safety and reliability upgrades by increasing electric rates 3.1 percent while gas rates would go up by 8.7 percent.

"The requested rate adjustments reflect changes in operating revenue, operating expenses and customer base, including higher projected water sales in 2023 as the Superior Refinery is expected to return to operations," the utility wrote in a Public Servise Comission of Wisconsin filing. "The oil refinery has been offline since it was damaged in a fire in April 2018."

The utility’s regulatory compliance manager Joscelyn Skandel said the refinery made up 26 percent of all water sales.