Morning Headlines - Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Vivek Ramaswamy Beats Ron DeSantis For Best Performance And Tops Donald Trump As The 'Real Winner' In Poll Of The Republican Debate

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy won the first Republican 2024 debate on Wednesday evening, according to an exclusive poll for DailyMail.com, beating out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by the narrowest of margins.

He put up a combative performance, trading blows with opponents such as former Vice President Mike Pence who seemed intent on cutting him down to size.

It made him the focal point for much of the debate.

That was enough for 28 percent of respondents to say that the 38-year-old rising star had the best night, pipping DeSantis who scored 27 percent.

Former Vice President Mike Pence came third, with 13 percent, followed by Sen. Tim Scott on eight percent, and former South Carolina Nikki Haley on seven percent.

First Republican Debate: The Biggest Loser And The Biggest Winner

The person who most enjoyed the first Republican debate was undoubtedly former President Donald Trump. By not participating in the forum, he stayed above the fray, and what a fray it was.

The night was full of acrimony and sloppiness; verbal punches were thrown but few landed. Humor and humility took the night off.

The eight candidates who gathered in Milwaukee have in common that they are massively trailing the former president; nothing that took place on the debate stage will turn that around. 

Five Takeaways From The First GOP Presidential Debate

Eight Republican presidential candidates took the stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday night for the party’s first primary debate of the 2024 cycle.

Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderated a raucous debate, struggling at times to rein the candidates in and keep them to time limits as they sparred over topics like Ukraine and abortion — and knocked each other over their credentials and stances.

Former President Trump, the front-runner of the GOP race, declined to join them after much suspense over whether he’d participate, leaving his fellow competitors to jostle in what many see as a race for second place and what Trump’s campaign has framed as a fight to be his future running mate.

Here are five takeaways from the first GOP presidential debate:

Trump Says He Will Surrender Thursday To Fulton County Authorities

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he will surrender to authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, on Thursday after he was indicted on charges related to alleged efforts to reverse the outcome of the state's 2020 presidential election.

"Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History," Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, criticizing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Prigozhin, Wagner Group Chief, Listed Among Those Killed In Plane Crash North Of Moscow

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the violent Wagner mercenary group who in June led his fighters on an aborted mutinous march to Moscow, likely died in a jet crash in Russia on Wednesday with nine others, Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport said.

While the agency listed Prigozhin as having been on the flight, NBC News has not confirmed that he was. But if it proves true, it is a sudden and shocking end for the onetime ally of President Vladimir Putin and global warlord, whose group fought on the front lines in Ukraine and has been linked to violence in Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic and other countries.

Wisconsin Headlines

Legislator Press Wisconsin DNR Board Appointees On Wolves, Sandhill Cranes, PFAS

Republican legislators pressed three of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the Department of Natural Resources board on Aug. 23 about wolf management, a sandhill crane hunt and PFAS pollution costs ahead of possible confirmation votes.

The state Senate’s GOP-controlled sporting heritage committee didn’t get a lot of hard answers from Sharon Adams, Dylan Jennings or Paul Buhr during a 90-minute hearing, however. The trio revealed little about their personal stances, keeping their answers vague.

Green Bay Woman Sentenced To 8 Years’ Imprisonment For Trafficking Fentanyl Disguised As Percocet

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on August 21, 2023, Senior United States District Court Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Marianna KJ Zimmer (age: 20) to a total sentence of 8 years’ imprisonment and 8 years of supervised release after Zimmer pled guilty to Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute and Possession of a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 922.

According to court filings, in August 2022, while Zimmer was on probation for a prior felony conviction, Wisconsin probation agents arrested Zimmer and learned that from jail she was directing a friend to hide and destroy evidence of Zimmer’s fentanyl trafficking. Probation agents, with assistance from the Brown County Drug Task Force, successfully recovered and seized over 8,400 fake Percocet® pills containing fentanyl, over $38,500 in US currency, and a stolen and loaded .45-caliber pistol. The fentanyl was in the form of blue pills imprinted with “M30” to mimic the legitimate prescription drug Percocet®. Counterfeit “M30” pills are commonly made by Mexican drug cartels and smuggled into the United States.

Congressman Tiffany’s Office To Co-Host Ceremony Renaming The New Richmond Post Office

Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07), alongside Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), announced that their offices will co-host a ceremony to rename the New Richmond Post Office located at 430 South Knowles Avenue to the "Captain Robert C. Harmon and Private John R. Peirson Post Office Building.”

The ceremony will be held on Friday, August 25th, at 11:00 a.m. in conjunction with the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Madison Man Sentenced To 7 Years For Robbing Two Madison Businesses

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Scott C. Tolliver, 43, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 7 years in federal prison for two counts of robbery. The prison term will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Tolliver pleaded guilty to these charges on May 23, 2023. 

On April 15, 2022, at around 5:25 pm, Tolliver robbed the McDonald’s Restaurant on Regent Street in Madison. During the robbery, Tolliver approached the cash register wearing all black, sunglasses, and a medical-style facemask, pointed a black handgun at the employee, and demanded all of the money in the register. After receiving cash from the employee, Tolliver fled the restaurant on a bicycle.

Wisconsin's Wood Turtles Are A Threatened Species. Biologists Are Trying To Protect Their Nesting Sites

For Lena Carlson, May and June were mostly dedicated to the care and maintenance of wood turtle nests.

Carlson is a conservation biologist with the Department of Natural Resources, and wood turtles are a threatened species. In response to population declines across North America, Wisconsin has taken steps to try to protect the turtles' nesting sites and is gathering data on the state's population for research purposes.

This year, the DNR completed a yearslong population survey and shared data with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They'll decide whether or not wood turtles, already protected in many states including Wisconsin, should be classified as a federally endangered species. That determination is expected next spring.