Morning Headlines - Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

UVA Shooting: 3 Killed, 2 Wounded And Community Told To Shelter In Place With Suspect Still At Large

The University of Virginia was locked down and classes were canceled on Monday morning as police searched for a student in connection with a fatal shooting the previous night. The university's president confirmed in a letter to the community that three people were killed and two others wounded in the shooting on Sunday evening.

The suspect, identified as university student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. by UVA President Jim Ryan and the UVA police force, remained at large, and there was a "complete search" of the campus underway. Police released the photo of Jones below, from the university's athletics website, where he was listed as a member of the UVA football team in 2018, when he was a freshman.

House GOP Presses Toward Leadership Elections Despite Post-Midterm Disarray

Kevin McCarthy will take his first step toward the speakership this week. It’s looking increasingly like a leap straight into chaos.

As Republicans begin grappling with the reality of a much smaller majority next year than they’d hoped, the GOP leader’s once-clear ascent to the top House gavel is now under threat from the right — an echo of the circumstances that helped derail his 2015 bid for the spot. And a full picture of his problems could emerge as soon as Tuesday, when McCarthy is slated to be nominated as the GOP conference’s pick for speaker.

Congress Returns After The 2022 Midterm Election With A Hectic Year-End Agenda

With the 2022 election over, Congress will return to work Monday with a packed to-do list for the final weeks of the year.

The list includes reaching a government funding agreement, reauthorizing the Defense Department, passing a major election overhaul measure, codifying federal recognition of same-sex marriage and voting on nominations. And the House Jan. 6 committee is poised to wrap up its work before it dissolves.

Republicans underperformed expectations in the midterm elections and failed to deliver a red wave. NBC News has projected that Democrats will keep control of the Senate for two more years, while control of the House is yet to be determined.

A Blue Nevada Means Democrats Will Keep Control Of The Senate

For Democrats, the Silver State is gold: ABC News has reported that Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is projected to win reelection in Nevada. This projection confirms that Democrats will retain at least 50 seats in the U.S. Senate and, with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote, guarantees Democrats a slim majority in Congress’s upper chamber.

The Nevada news comes on the heels of a projection in Arizona’s Senate race on Friday night, when it became clear that Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly would win reelection in the Grand Canyon State. We now know the partisan makeup of the next Senate, with the lone exception of Georgia, which will go to a runoff on Dec. 6. (Alaska has yet to be projected, but one of the two GOP contenders will win it.)

The Human Race At 8 Billion

Eight billion humans are living on planet Earth — a huge milestone officially projected for and being recognized Tuesday by the U.N.

People are living longer, with generally better access to health care, food, clean water and sanitation than in past generations. A smaller share of humans live in extreme poverty.

• There are still challenges — ongoing ramifications from the pandemic, a record number of forcibly displaced people and worsening climate change.

“It is a momentous milestone for humanity," Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) told reporters last month.

• "Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated with far too many people and insufficient resources to sustain their lives. I am here to say clearly, that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear."

Earth's population has doubled since 1974.

Wisconsin Headlines

A Few Small Wisconsin Towns Are Rejecting Federal Coronavirus Relief Funding

Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief funding are being funneled to local governments across Wisconsin as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, a massive federal stimulus package.

But a few small Wisconsin communities have turned down the money.

Four Wisconsin communities — the town of Wood River, the town of Big Falls, the village of Conrath and the town of Piehl — rejected a total of $129,266. That's a miniscule fraction of the $410 million sent to more than 1,800 small communities across Wisconsin.

The state's Department of Revenue took responsibility for distributing the aid to those small communities, which are known as non-entitlement units and typically have populations under 50,000. Larger jurisdictions, including many cities and counties, received the federal funding directly.

LeMahieu, Vos List Tax Cuts, Universal School Choice Among GOP Priorities For Next Session

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos — both reelected to lead their caucuses Thursday — listed priorities including tax cuts and universal school choice for the next legislative session.

LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told WisPolitics.com he would like to work toward a flat income tax in the upcoming session, perhaps by cutting in half the current number of tax brackets.

LeMahieu said in an interview ahead of leadership elections that tax cuts will be a priority for his caucus with the state’s budget surplus heading into 2023-25 expected to top $5 billion. That includes eliminating the personal property tax that businesses pay.

LeMahieu said it was too early to say exactly what a tax package might look like from his caucus. Still, priorities would include lowering the top rates after back-to-back budgets that dropped the lowest rates.

Darrell Brooks Sentencing: Dozens To Make Victim Impact Statements, Brooks' Family Expected To Speak

Around 45 people will deliver verbal victim impact statements in-person to the court in Darrell Brooks' sentencing next week, according to a letter from District Attorney Sue Opper.

Opper said of those people "approximately" nine are children under the age of 18. The state has provided the court their names, which remain under seal at this time.

Sentencing will begin in Judge Jennifer Dorow's Waukesha County Courtroom on Tuesday morning. It's scheduled to last through Wednesday.

A jury found Brooks guilty last month on all counts, including six of intentional homicide for driving an SUV into the Waukesha Christmas Parade last November. Six people were killed and dozens injured.

Former Wisconsin Badger Brent Moss dies at 50

Brent Moss, who helped lead the Badgers to a Rose Bowl win in 1994, died over the weekend.

The former Wisconsin Badgers running back rushes for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 21-16 win in the Rose Bowl.

It was Wisconsin's first Rose Bowl berth since 1963.

"Damn. Brent Moss, who helped Racine Park to the WIAA Division 1 state title in 1988 and helped the #Badgers win the 1994 Rose Bowl, passed away today. He was 50," Jeff Potrykus wrote.

Packers Come Away With 31-28 Overtime Win In Mike Mccarthy's Return To Lambeau Field

Aaron Rodgers finally might have found a new big-play target.

And the Green Bay Packers still have a chance to rescue a season that seemed headed toward oblivion.

Rodgers threw three touchdown passes to rookie Christian Watson and led a 55-yard drive in overtime to set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning 28-yard field goal, and the Packers stopped a five-game skid with a 31-28 win over former coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

“We’ve seen what we can be, and we’ve seen it was only us getting in our own way,” said Watson, a second-round pick from North Dakota State. “All we had to do was believe.”

Green Bay (4-6) appeared well on its way to losing six straight games in the same season for the first time since 1988, trailing 28-14 in the fourth quarter before Rodgers led two long drives that ended with scoring passes to Watson.