Morning Headlines - Monday, Jan. 30, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Pakistan Mosque Blast: At Least 32 Killed After Attack In Peshawar

At least 32 people have been killed and 150 injured in a bombing at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

A section of the building was destroyed and officials say people are buried under the rubble.

Most of those who died were part of the police force, and it is believed they were the target of the attack.

Early reports said a bomber sitting in the front row had blown himself up, but this has not been confirmed and no group has admitted the bombing.

Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told local media that between 300 and 400 police officials were present in the area at the time of the blast.

McCarthy And Biden To Meet On Spending And Debt Ceiling; McCarthy Says There Will Be No Default

Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he is set to meet with President Joe Biden on Wednesday to discuss the Republican House majority's views on federal government spending and raising the country's borrowing limit in order to avoid a debt default.

"I know the president said he didn't want to have any discussions, but I think it's very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise," McCarthy said during an appearance on Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling but take control of this runway spending," McCarthy said, later adding, "I don't think there's anyone in America who doesn't agree that there's some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate."

U.S. Arms Left In Afghanistan Are Turning Up In A Different Conflict

Weapons left behind by U.S. forces during the withdrawal from Afghanistan are surfacing in another conflict, further arming militants in the disputed South Asian region of Kashmir in what experts say could be just the start of the weapons’ global journey.

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir tell NBC News that militants trying to annex the region for Pakistan are carrying M4s, M16s and other U.S.-made arms and ammunition that have rarely been seen in the 30-year conflict. A major reason, they say, is a regional flood of U.S.-funded weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban when U.S.-led NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.

What Three Hard-Line Conservatives Plan To Do With Their Seats On The Rules Committee

The addition of Republican Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (S.C.), and Thomas Massie (Ky.) to the House Rules Committee — one of the concessions from Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that helped him secure the gavel — means that the frequent antagonists of leadership have the opportunity to create significant barriers to getting legislation to the House floor.

But the three say that if they use their leverage, it will be to enforce the kind of open-process demands that fueled resistance to McCarthy in the drawn-out Speakership battle.

“We just need to make sure that we’re applying the rules, the germaneness rules, the, you know, single-subject rules, and then figure out how that’s all gonna get down to the floor under the right rules. Is it going to be a structured rule, an open rule?” Roy said.

Chicago Mayor Filmed Dancing In Streets, As Crime Soars 61% And Iconic Magnificent Mile Sits 30% Vacant

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been blasted over a video of her dancing on the streets, amid continued violent crime and the loss of more flagship stores on the city's 'Magnificent Mile' shopping district that now sits one third empty.

Lightfoot, who is four weeks shy of what polls have shown is an uphill Democratic primary battle with several opponents, was seen dancing along to a drumline at the city's Lunar New Year parade Sunday.

It caused one Twitter user to say: 'Since [Lightfoot]'s term began, Chicago has suffered 2,278 homicides and over 9,000 shot. Since January 1, the city has endured 41 homicides and 194 shot. Yet here Lightfoot is blissfully dancing and asking voters to return her to office. Lightfoot is detached from reality.'

In addition to rising crime - overall crime is up a shocking 61 percent in the first four weeks of 2023 from the same period last year - Lightfoot has overseen vacancy rates of nearly 30 percent after flagship stores on the Magnificent Mile bailed.

Wisconsin Headlines

Higher Costs Are Impacting Wisconsin Breweries. Some Industry Leaders Don't Expect That To Change In 2023

n recent months, Henry Schwartz from MobCraft Beer said it feels like brewery customers have hit a "hard reset" on their pre-pandemic habits.

"We've seen a lot of new customers that have shown up, maybe because their old watering hole went out of business or they just thought, 'Well, let's try something new.' So we've definitely seen a big shift in consumer habits," Schwartz said.

He said they've seen a strong turnout at their taproom in Milwaukee, but they're still selling more packaged beer at grocery stores than at bars. It's a trend that started during the height of the pandemic and has continued nationally.

But Schwartz said the success has been dampened some by increased prices for everything from packaging to barley and hops.

"We have seen cost increases kind of across the board on all of our raw materials," he said.

Growing Number Of Wisconsinites Say Health Care Is Not Affordable

A new survey, polling 1,196 Wisconsinites, on the affordability of health care shows a majority label the cost of care as a burden.

59% of people surveyed said they'd had at least one financial burden related to health care in the past year. 39% reported that they'd drained savings, were contacted by a collection agency, went without necessities like food, took out a loan or maxed out a credit card to pay a health care bill.

More than half of the respondents, 52%, said there were times they delayed getting medical care or skipped it all together — because of cost.

DHS Seeks Public Input On Opioid Settlement Spending

The Department of Health Services will be getting another 8 million dollars in funding from a series of settlements from opioid drug manufacturers.

Director of Opioid Initiatives Paul Krupski says they’re asking for public input on how best to spend that funding.

“We are really at the process right now of that data gathering, and making sure that we have everything we need to really look and determine what the best ways of using this funding would be or the best ways to propose that to the legislature for their consideration and approval.”

Twin Ports See Latest Cargo Shipment In Nearly 50 Years As Great Lakes Ice Cover Nears Record Low

With ice cover on the Great Lakes at a near-record low, the port of Duluth-Superior recently saw the latest departure of a cargo-carrying freighter in nearly 50 years.

As of Thursday, ice covered only about 5 percent of the Great Lakes. This year is the fifth-lowest year for average ice cover on the lakes since the start of the season, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab. Through Jan. 25, the five years with the lowest ice at the start of the season have all taken place within the last two decades. The lowest average ice cover on the lakes for the start of the season was in 2021 at 1.4 percent.

With open water across the lakes, the lake freighter Saginaw left Superior at 4:20 p.m. on Jan. 21, with a load of iron ore cargo bound for the Algoma Steel facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The Duluth Seaway Port Authority said records indicate the shipment is the latest departure since Jan. 25, 1975.

UW System To Ban TikTok On Its Devices

University of Wisconsin System officials said Jan. 24 that they will ban the use of TikTok on system devices.

System spokesman Mark Pitsch told The Associated Press about the move in email statements.

Nearly half of the states nationwide have blocked the popular social media app owned by a Chinese company. Earlier in January, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers banned the use of TikTok on Wisconsin state phones and other devices, citing potential risks to privacy, safety and security.

The order didn't apply to the UW System, which employs 40,000 faculty and staff, because it isn't an executive branch agency.