Morning Headlines - Thursday, Mar. 24, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

Dems Plow Toward Supreme Court Vote After Testy Hearing

Democrats are barreling forward with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation after she emerged from two days of high-profile questioning largely unscathed.

How far above 50 votes Jackson will ultimately get is unclear. Republicans are skeptical she’ll get more than one or two of their members, as GOP senators harden their lines of attack against her nomination.

But top Democrats say that nothing from the Judiciary Committee hearing could derail the nominee and prevent her from being confirmed by April 8, when the Senate is scheduled to leave for a two-week break.

North Korea Launches New ICBM In Biggest Weapons Test Since 2017

The dramatic move, which officials in the United States had warned might be coming, is the latest in a series of weapons tests that experts say are meant to force the international community to recognize Kim Jong Un's regime as a nuclear power and lift sanctions that have devastated the country's economy.

The launch ended a self-imposed moratorium on testing ICBMs and nuclear weapons that North Korea declared in 2018 ahead of diplomatic talks with former President Donald Trump that ultimately collapsed. The country is barred from such tests under United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Madeleine Albright, First Female Secretary Of State, Dies At 84

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as the U.S. secretary of state, died Wednesday, her family said in a statement. She was 84.

Albright died of cancer, her family said, adding that she was "surrounded by family and friends" at the time.

"We have lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend," the statement said, as well as a "tireless champion of democracy and human rights."

Zelenskyy Calls For Support As Biden Joins Emergency NATO Summit On Russia's War In Ukraine

Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy called on people worldwide to gather in public Thursday to show support for his embattled country as he prepared to address U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders gathered in Brussels on the one-month anniversary of the Russian invasion.

What If Nevada Voted First In The Democratic Presidential Primaries? Or New Jersey? Hawaii?

When it comes to the presidential primary calendar, it can feel like if you’re not first (or, at least, not living in one of the four states that get to vote early on), you’re last. For a long time now, that has meant that if you don’t hail from Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, candidates and political media could care less what you think.

But for Democrats that might finally change.

Wisconsin Headlines

SCOTUS Rejects Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision On Governor Evers’s State Legislative Maps

A ruling by the US Supreme Court means that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court will have to take another look at state legislative maps.

In a 7 to 2 decision on Wednesday, the US Justices rules that State Justices didn’t properly address the requirements of the Voting Rights Act when picking legislative maps drawn by Governor Tony Evers. UW-Madison Law School professor Robert Yoblon says that’s because maps from Evers created a new majority-black voting district in Milwaukee.

Remiker Named State Dem Party Executive Director After Serving On Interim Basis

Following a national search for a new DPW executive director, Chair Ben Wikler has decided to promote from within and elevate Devin Remiker to the position.

Remiker has been serving as interim executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin since shortly after Nellie Sires left the post last summer to take a job with a Washington, D.C.-based group.

Two Wisconsin Gas Stations Are Suing A Competitor For Its Low Fuel Prices

A Shell and BP gas station in Waukesha, Wis., have filed suit against a local grocery chain, Woodman’s, saying the company has illegally outpriced them, and violated the state’s Unfair Sales Act, which prohibits companies from selling goods below cost.

Wisconsin Resident Sentenced For Conspiracy To Distribute Cocaine And Illegally Possessing Firearms

Andre L. McClinton, 50, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 108 months in federal prison, followed by 8 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of firearms.

In addition, Judge Peterson entered a money judgment against McClinton in the amount of $313,100. McClinton also agreed to forfeit $116,890 in cash, property located in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, three vehicles, and two firearms. McClinton pleaded guilty to the charges on December 16, 2021.

How To See The Aurora Borealis From Wisconsin And The Midwest

Back in the late 1980s, David Eicher saw what looked like a Disney light show in the Milwaukee sky.

He considers that vivid of an aurora borealis sighting "a very rare one," but even more standard versions of the stunning aerial display are still awe-inspiring.

That’s because most sights in the sky are so far away that they appear static — "a single frame in a cosmic movie" — to viewers on Earth, he said. The aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights, change shape right in front of us over seconds and minutes.