Morning Headlines - Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Elon Musk’s Twitter Revolution Begins Tomorrow

Elon Musk's Twitter revamp is set to kick off tomorrow, with the billionaire expected to cut half of all Twitter jobs on Friday and introduce a controversial $8-a-month blue check-mark charge for verified users by Monday.

Musk, 51, wavered throughout his attempt to buy Twitter on how many positions he would eliminate, originally saying as many as 75 percent of the company's 7,500 workers (5,625) would be cut, before some reports suggested it would actually be 25 percent (which would amount to 1,875).

The 3,700 cuts now being touted would amount to about half the staff, and would see them follow out five high-level executives who have resigned in the past week.

Republicans Are Just A Normal Polling Error Away From A Landslide — Or Wiping Out

With just five days until Election Day, Republicans are in good shape in the FiveThirtyEight forecast. If each party were to win every race they are currently favored to win, Republicans would have 51 Senate seats and Democrats would have 49, according to our Deluxe forecast as of Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern. And if the same thing happened in the House, Republicans would win 225 seats and Democrats would win 210.

But those gains would be modest by the standards of midterm elections. In other words, according to the FiveThirtyEight forecast, this likely won’t be a “red-wave” election like 2010 (when Republicans picked up 63 House seats) or 2014 (when Republicans picked up nine Senate seats). Instead, it’s looking like more of a “red ripple.” But that doesn’t mean a red wave is impossible.

Our forecast emphasizes probabilities, not binary outcomes: Democrats and Republicans are only slightly favored to win many of those seats, and a seat with a 60-in-100 chance of going blue votes Republican 40 out of 100 times.

UN: Global Warming To Melt Major Glaciers By 2050, Including Yosemite's

Glaciers at some of the world's most famous World Heritage sites are set to vanish within 30 years due to climate change — including those at Yosemite National Park, a new UN report warns.

"Glaciers in a third of the 50 World Heritage sites are condemned to disappear by 2050, regardless of efforts to limit temperature increases," according to the UNESCO report, published Thursday.

Also at risk of disappearing are the ice patches at Yellowstone National Park, which was this year hit by historic flooding, and Africa's last glaciers — including Mount Kilimanjaro.

Researchers studied some 18,600 glaciers at 50 World Heritage sites, covering some 25,000 square miles and found they've "been retreating at an accelerated rate since 2000 due to CO2 emissions, which are warming temperatures," according to the report.

North Korea’s Missile Launches Demonstrate Growing Capabilities

North Korea has conducted a record number of missile launches this week, including an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), bringing the total number of missiles fired to more than 60 so far this year.

The nuclear-armed state launched 23 missiles of various types on Wednesday alone, the most in a single day.

On Thursday, it fired several ballistic missiles including what was believed to be an ICBM, which are North Korea’s longest-range weapons and are designed to carry a nuclear warhead to the other side of the planet.

GOP Majority’s To-Do List Includes Covid-19 Response, Origins — And Fauci

Congressional Republicans are floating sweeping investigations into the Biden administration’s COVID-19 spending and are looking to tighten the purse strings on agency funding should they hold majorities after next week’s midterms.

Republicans are frustrated with what they see as the administration’s unaccountable coronavirus spending and are looking to shine a spotlight onto where the trillions of dollars doled out by the White House has gone.

Polls show the House is more likely to flip than the Senate, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) is poised to take control of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has wide jurisdiction over issues like Medicare, Medicaid, food and drug safety and the federal health agencies.

McMorris Rodgers and other GOP lawmakers have said they want to prioritize an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, as well as the administration’s policies in response to the virus, like school closures.

Republicans Dial Down Rhetoric In Closing Messages As Democrats Attack In Wisconsin, Pennsylvania

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is raking leaves, asking if voters are “tired of the division and the anger.” Tim Michels, the GOP nominee for governor, is driving a red pickup truck, promising a “new direction for Wisconsin.”

As Election Day approaches, all four candidates in Wisconsin’s races for Senate and governor have launched new television advertisements to make their closing arguments for voters.

The contrast in their approaches is stark: The Democrats, Gov. Tony Evers and Senate nominee Mandela Barnes, are on the attack. Johnson and Michels don’t even mention their opponents’ names.

Republican Says Party ‘Will Never Lose Another Election’ In Wisconsin If He Wins

The Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin told supporters at a campaign event that if he is elected his party “will never lose another election” in the state.

Tim Michels’ opponent next Tuesday, the incumbent Democrat Tony Evers, said the comment, which was released by a left-leaning group, showed the Republican was “a danger to our democracy”.

Michels, a construction company owner, is endorsed by Donald Trump. He has repeated the former president’s lie that his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020 was the result of electoral fraud, and refused to say if he would certify results in a presidential election if he was governor and a Democrat won Wisconsin.

In a debate with Evers last month, Michels did not say he would accept the result of his own election. He later said he would.

Republican candidates in other swing states have cast doubt on whether they will accept results next week.

Wisconsin Confirmed Covid Cases Lowest In More Than 6 Months

Wisconsin's seven-day average of confirmed COVID-19 cases is at its lowest level in more than half a year.

The state Department of Health Services reported 827 cases per day in the week ending on Tuesday. That is the lowest level since April 19.

Wisconsin saw 938 new confirmed cases on Tuesday.

Seven-day average test positivity also hit a more than three-week low. The rate of 9.5% was the lowest since Oct. 10.

Final Pre-Election Poll Shows Wisconsin Governor, Senate Races Are Toss-Ups

The Marquette Law School has issued its last poll ahead of the Nov. 8th general election, and the results show two major races are considered toss-ups.

Both the Wisconsin governor's race and U.S. Senate race are even closer than before.

According to the latest poll, Republican incumbent Ron Johnson is supported by 50% of likely voters, while Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes is supported by 48%. In the last poll, Johnson had 52% and Barnes 46% of likely voters.

For registered voters in the Senate race, the gap is slightly more. The poll shows Johnson has support from 48% of registered voters and Barnes 45%.

Jury Finds Wood County Man Guilty Of 1984 Murder

The Wisconsin Department of Justice today announced that a jury in Wood County, Wis. found John A. Sarver, 59, of Port Edwards, Wis., guilty of First Degree Murder after an 8 day trial in connection to the November 26, 1984, murder of Eleanore Roberts, 73, of Saratoga, Wis.

The evidence presented at trial established that the defendant entered Mrs. Roberts’ home in Saratoga, Wis. on the night of November 26, 1984, and beat and stabbed Mrs. Roberts with scissors. Advances in DNA testing over the years showed the defendant’s DNA on evidence presented at trial.

The conviction was the result of 38 years of investigation by the Wood County Sheriff’s Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.

The case was tried by Wisconsin Department of Justice Assistant Attorneys General Adrienne Blais and Nathaniel Adamson. The prosecution team also included Wisconsin Department of Justice Paralegal Rochelle Ederer, as well as DCI Special Agents Andrew Simon and Shane Heiser. Victim/witness services were provided by Hannah Wrobel and Mary Ann Groth of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services.