Morning Headlines - Monday, Oct. 31, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

What's At Stake As The Supreme Court Considers Banning Race In College Admissions: 'Basic Fairness'

The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on Monday in two cases that could determine whether colleges can consider race in their college admissions process, a decision that could drastically affect how colleges admit students, and impact racial diversity far beyond higher education. 

The cases deal with the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) sued both schools, alleging their policies, which consider race as a factor in admissions, discriminate against Asian American applicants.

SFFA first sued Harvard in 2014, and is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn its 2003 landmark decision Grutter v. Bollinger, which permitted race to be considered as one factor in college admissions because it believed student body diversity was "a compelling state interest."

Paul Pelosi Attack Unleashes Partisan Finger-Pointing And Sows Fresh Fears Of Political Violence

America’s toxic politics quickly turned the brutal attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband into the latest vicious partisan fight – even before the full facts are known.

Police have yet to ascribe a motive to the attack on Paul Pelosi, 82, after a man broke into the couple’s home in San Francisco. They have said the alleged assailant was intentional about going to the house, and he shouted out, “Where is Nancy?” CNN has reported.

Eight days before critical midterm elections, the intense political reaction has already outraced the investigation.

GOP Bracing For Trump Indictment Soon After Election Day

Republican aides and strategists privately expect Attorney General Merrick Garland to pursue an indictment of former President Trump within 60 to 90 days after Election Day, predicting the window for prosecuting Trump will close once the 2024 presidential campaign gains momentum.

Republican aides on Capitol Hill and veteran party strategists emphasize they don’t have any inside information on what Garland might do, but they say the attorney general is under heavy pressure from Democrats to act and the deadline for pursuing an indictment is fast approaching.

GOP aides also warn that an indictment of Trump by the Biden administration would further polarize the nation and likely strengthen Trump’s support from the Republican Party’s base as the former president and his allies would frame the Department of Justice’s prosecution as a political witch hunt.

Overturning Roe Has Meant At Least 10,000 Fewer Legal Abortions

The same day the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, Alabama’s law banning abortion took effect. The next morning, phones began ringing in Georgia.

“We got nearly 100 calls the day after the Dobbs decision from patients in Alabama,” said Kwajelyn Jackson, executive director of the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta. In states where abortion remains at least partially legal the phones haven’t stopped ringing.

Since June, thousands of Americans have crossed state lines seeking abortion, like a pressure wave spreading out from a blast zone. A data set shared exclusively with FiveThirtyEight shows that in the two months after the Supreme Court decision, there were 10,570 fewer abortions as compared to pre-Dobbs estimates. That figure is a net, counting both declines in some states and increases in others, and it shows how a few states are absorbing some — but not all — of the demand for abortions in states where it’s now banned.

Elon Musk's Twitter Is Planning To Charge $20 Per Month For Coveted Blue Check Marks

Just days after taking over Twitter, Elon Musk has issued an ultimatum to engineers over a new project.

According to a report from The Verge, Musk wants to launch a pay-for-play verification system in which verified users are charged $20 per month.

• On Sunday, Elon Musk informed Twitter engineers that they had little more than a week to roll out a $20 per month fee for users to remain verified
• According to a report, Musk said that if the new scheme is not up and running by November 7, the team charged with the project will be fired
• On the same day that the article was published, Musk tweeted: 'The whole verification process is being revamped right now'
• There are around 400,000 verified users on Twitter
• The news comes as Musk is roundly criticized for posting a falsified story regarding the recent assault on Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul 

Wisconsin Headlines

If Elected, Tim Michels Says He'd Consider Breaking Up The DNR. He Wouldn't Be The First Wisconsin Republican To Try

Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels’ proposal to break up the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is being welcomed by one former Republican lawmaker who floated a similar idea years ago. At the same time, a former DNR secretary argues splitting up the agency would cost more and provide less service.

Michels is running against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the race for Wisconsin’s governor. In their only debate on Oct. 14, Michels said the DNR was "close to being broken." Days later he expanded on those remarks at an event held by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, saying the DNR needed to be "recalibrated" about who they serve. He said hunters and businesses feel like the agency is "out to get them."

"If we have to, maybe we break the DNR up into two parts, one that services the business side (and) one that services the hunter side, the sportsmen side," Michels said. "I don't have the answers on that today, but I will sit down with the smart people. We'll figure that out."

A spokesperson for the Michels campaign did not respond to Wisconsin Public Radio's request for more details on his remarks. Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the governor will oppose efforts to dismantle the DNR if reelected.

Obama Says Stark Choice On Ballot Nov. 8

Former President Barack Obama today said voters will choose next month between Dems who share their values and Republicans who are only hungry for power.

Inside a packed North Division High School gymnasium, Obama told voters they have a choice between those who will do anything and say anything to gain power and those who share their values. Dem candidates want to improve the economy, public safety and public schools, he said.

He added that Republicans care about “owning the libs and getting the approval of Donald Trump.”

“That’s their agenda,” he said as the crowd erupted in ‘boos.’ “No, no, no. Don’t boo, vote. Nobody can hear your boos outside of this auditorium. But they can hear your vote.”

The rally came a little more than a week away from the Nov. 8 election as Dems work to drum up support in the final days. Obama is the latest in a string of high-profile surrogates to visit the state, from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Obama last visited Division High School in 2018 as he rallied for then-state Superintendent Tony Evers as he sought the guv’s office and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, as she sought reelection.

Republican National Committee spokesperson Rachel Reisner dismissed Obama’s visit.

“After a third failed term of the Obama-Biden agenda, Barack Obama isn’t the golden ticket Wisconsin Democrats think he is,” she said. “All Wisconsin families will see is more crime, more economic uncertainty, and more financial pain if they elect rubber stamps like Tony Evers and Mandela Barnes.”

Barnes' Senate Bid May Ride On Milwaukee's Black Turnout

Standing beside the pulpit at King Solomon Missionary Baptist Church on a crisp fall Sunday morning, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes was preaching to the choir – they were assembled behind him, clad in blue and gold robes.

“This community is always top of mind for me,” he reassured the mostly older congregants filling the pews, as he hit on issues he knew they care about: crime, jobs, inflation.

It's a typical strategy for any Democrat who wants to win in battleground Wisconsin – go to Milwaukee, speak in Black churches, pose for pictures with the churchgoers. And it's a share of the electorate that should be especially fertile ground for Barnes, who grew up on Milwaukee's mostly Black north side and first dipped his toe in politics as an organizer and later state representative there.

Tech Ed Enrollment Increases To 320 Students At Menomonie High School With Help Of Wisconsin Fast Forward Grants

Thanks to Wisconsin Fast Forward Technical Education Equipment Grants from the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Menomonie School District's student enrollment in technical education classes has expanded for a third straight year to over 320 students.

Grant funds totaling $14,250 were used to purchase a Haas CNC Milling Machine, a standard piece of advanced manufacturing equipment found on many manufacturing floors. This technology has increased course offerings in the district, and expanded youth apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities with local manufacturing employers.

DWD Deputy Secretary Pam McGillivray visited Menomonie High School to see the new technology provided through a DWD-funded Wisconsin Fast Forward Technical Education Equipment Grant.

"Manufacturing is the backbone of Wisconsin's economy, employing approximately 475,000 Wisconsinites earning an average annual wage of $64,000 in 2021. DWD is focused on continued growth by preparing the workforce employers need through partnerships with educational institutions. Through innovative programming and collaborations, we are laying the groundwork for skills that put individuals on the path to family-supporting jobs in high-demand industries," McGillivray said.

Packers Fall To Bills 27-17, 4th Straight Loss

Bills receiver Stefon Diggs says he’s not the one who started the verbal exchange he and Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander had in the tunnel before and after pre-game warmups.

Whatever the case might be, Diggs and the AFC-leading Bills sure got in the last word on Sunday night.

Diggs had a game-high six catches for 108 yards and ran a perfect route in making a 26-yard touchdown catch in a 27-17 win over the Packers, who are off to their worst start eight games into a season under Aaron Rodgers.

“I don’t give a (hoot) who started it. I’ll finish it, you know what I’m saying. I got the win” Diggs said, without going into detail over what sparked the verbal exchange.