Morning Headlines - Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Start your day informed with today’s must-read headlines from around Wisconsin and the world. And don’t forget to check out our Meme of the Day at the end for a little humor to go with your news!

U.S. and World Headlines

Trump Freezes $2B In Harvard Funding After University Rejects Demands

The Trump administration has said it is freezing more than $2b in federal funds for Harvard University, hours after the elite college rejected a list of demands from the White House.

The White House sent a list of demands to Harvard last week which it said were designed to fight antisemitism on campus. They included changes to hiring, admissions and teaching.

Since Donald Trump was re-elected, his government has tried to reshape elite universities by threatening to withhold federal funds, mostly spent on research.

Buzz Builds Around Ocasio-Cortez’s Future

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is helping draw massive crowds across the country as part of a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), fueling speculation about her future political ambitions.

The two progressives have been crisscrossing the country and holding rallies in cities, most recently generating crowd sizes of tens of thousands in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles.

The excitement around the tour has led to questions about Ocasio-Cortez’s future amid signs of Democratic frustration with the party’s current leadership.

Meta Claims It Has 'No Monopoly' As Landmark Antitrust Trial Gets Underway

Lawyers for Meta told a federal judge on Monday that the social media company founded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is not a monopoly, countering a landmark lawsuit brought against it by the Federal Trade Commission accusing the tech giant of gobbling up its competitors to corner the market.

"Meta has no Monopoly,” Mark Hansen, an attorney for the company argued in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., as the trial got underway.

The case marks the first significant opportunity for President Donald Trump's administration to follow through on the president's campaign promise to take on Big Tech.

Do You Know What You Pay In Taxes? Here's Who Pays The Most And Least To The IRS.

Research consistently shows that many Americans misunderstand how their income is taxed, which experts say could help explain why many people are disgruntled with the U.S. tax system.

About 55% of taxpayers said they think their taxes are too high that they are paying more than their fair share, according to a new survey by libertarian think tank Cato Institute and YouGov.

At the same time, most taxpayers don't grasp how taxes work, with widespread confusion over how tax brackets work and who pay the most in taxes in the U.S., according to other research.

Hot Off Her NCAA Title, Paige Bueckers Is The 1st Pick In The WNBA Draft

Barely a week after cutting down the nets at the women's Final Four, Paige Bueckers has gotten another jewel in her crown.

At Monday night's WNBA Draft, the 23-year-old combo guard was the first overall pick selected by the Dallas Wings. The choice could transform the franchise, which hasn't won a title since 2008 when the team was in Detroit. The Wings only won nine games last year.

Wisconsin Headlines

Why Wisconsin Bans Auto Manufacturers From Selling Directly To The Public

Ever wondered why you can’t just go to a store and buy a new car? Why must you haggle at a dealership?

You can find the reason in state law. In Wisconsin, auto manufacturers are prohibited from selling directly to consumers. Instead, they must sell their vehicles to dealerships, which then sell them to the public.

The state’s nearly 35-year-old, explicit ban on direct sales has ignited an ongoing legal dispute between the state and Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla.

But Wisconsin isn’t an outlier.

Wisconsin Experiencing Increased Fire Danger April 14-16

Elevated fire danger resulted in 63 wildfires burning 135 acres this past weekend, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is continuing to suspend burn permits in 24 counties where the DNR has burn restriction authority as fire danger remains "high" and "very high" in many areas of the state.

The dry weather and very high winds forecasted through this Wednesday significantly increase fire risk across the state to start the week.

Chippewa Falls Native Help Engineer Blue Origin Rocket Launched Monday

Blue Origin's latest rocket launch Monday marks a historic moment for space travel. Onboard was a star-studded crew, but on the ground, a familiar face to the Chippewa Valley was watching.

Rob Belau, a native of Chippewa Falls, played a crucial role in the mission. "I can't believe it -- it was never on my horizon," Belau told 18 News Monday after the launch.

The Race To Replace Ben Wikler As Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Is Shaping Up

The race to replace Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler is shaping up less than a week after he announced plans to step down from the role. Three Democrats have already announced campaigns for the leadership position.

Wikler has been credited with transforming the Democratic Party of Wisconsin into a fundraising powerhouse, to the tune of around $200 million in the past five years. Since Wikler took the helm in 2019, Democrats have won 10 of the past 13 statewide races.

120,000 Acres Vanish From DNR's Stewardship Program Records

The DNR miscounted the amount of land in the stewardship program for decades, and it tried to quietly fixed its mistake hoping that no one would notice. In 2020, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) reported that there was 722,237 acres in the program. In its next report, four years later, the total had dropped to 604,516 without any explanation.

MacIver caught this 120,000-acre discrepancy during its budget analysis and asked the state for answers.

The DNR refused to acknowledge its requests.