Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

Top Trump Targets Cheney, Murkowski, Face Voters In Tuesday’s Primaries In Wyoming, Alaska

Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska sit high atop former President Trump’s Republican hit list.

As Alaska and Wyoming hold primary elections on Tuesday, both federal lawmakers face voters for the first time since moving early last year to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.

While Cheney faces what public opinion polls suggest is near-certain defeat in her bid for a fourth two-year term representing Wyoming’s at-large House seat, Murkowski is all but certain to pass her first hurdle and advance to November’s general election.

Minneapolis Teachers' Union Negotiates Clause Requiring White Educators To Be Laid Off First Regardless Of Seniority To Make Up For 'Past Discriminations'

A new contract between public schools and the teachers' union in the city of Minneapolis is causing outrage because it may see white teachers laid off at the expense of teachers of color.

The stipulation is part of a new agreement starting in spring 2023 between the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Minneapolis Public Schools ending a two-week long teachers' strike. 

Part of the agreement was an attempt to re-format how the school district hires and keeps teachers of color. 

Why Rents Are Soaring Pretty Much Everywhere In The U.S.

Until recently, soaring rent prices were mainly a Big City problem. Now, rents are an everywhere problem.

Skyrocketing rents, coming at the same time housing prices are at historic highs, make it hard for people to afford to live. At the lower end of the income spectrum, higher rents put more people at risk for homelessness.

Asking rents in the second quarter were 23% higher nationwide compared to the same period in 2019, according to Census data released earlier this month.

Monkeypox Misinformation Spreading Faster Than The Virus, Experts Say

Misinformation about the monkeypox outbreak is spawning an epidemic of largely unfounded anxiety, experts say.

Nearly 1 in 5 people in the U.S. are worried they will contract monkeypox. Almost one-quarter of women in the survey said they were worried about contracting monkeypox, even though almost all of the 11,177 cases in the U.S. are in men.

“You don’t want to send a message that this will only affect gay men,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who is now president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, a global public health initiative. Nevertheless, the virus is “primarily, overwhelmingly a disease of men who have sex with men, spread through sexual contact.”

“I’m startled at the number of people who I know in the U.S. and globally who, when I mention this, are shocked as if they’d never heard that before,” he said.

Buying A New iPhone Now? You Couldn't Pick A Worse Time

September is right around the corner, which likely means so is Apple's rumored iPhone 14 line.

In most cases, Apple typically announces its new wave of iPhone models in September and releases them shortly thereafter. But even if you don't care about having the newest iPhone, there are good reasons to be patient before splurging on an iPhone 13 or 13 Pro.

Wisconsin Headlines

Vos On ‘UpFront’ Says GOP Caucus Lost Confidence In Gableman

The Assembly GOP caucus will meet tomorrow after Speaker Robin Vos fired Michael Gableman.

“I really don’t think there’s any need to have a discussion,” Vos said on WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. “He did a good job last year, kind of got off the rails this year. Now we’re going to end the investigation.”

Vos hired Gableman to investigate the 2020 election, at one point paying him $11,000 a month in a taxpayer-funded salary.

Gableman publicly turned on Vos in recent weeks, siding with former President Trump in endorsing and campaigning for Vos’ primary opponent Adam Steen.

A Landmark Lighthouse Was Vandalized In Wisconsin

In their prime, Wisconsin’s lighthouses were a beacon to sailors on the busy shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, and though new technologies have relegated them to the sidelines, some say they remain essential.

Last week, a century-old lighthouse in northern Wisconsin was vandalized.

On the morning of Aug. 9, the Coast Guard received notice that the Superior Entry Lighthouse’s navigation light was out.

"Upon arriving, they realized that one of the doors had been kicked in and that the lighthouse had been vandalized," said U.S. Coast Guard Officer William Peebles, who leads a unit in Duluth. "Windows had been broken out, glass portal holes had been broken out."

As Universal Free School Meals End, Are Wisconsin Families Ready For It?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced students to pack up their bags and switch from whiteboards to laptops.

Empty schools meant empty cafeterias.

Until the pandemic, Jana Goodman, a mother of three and longtime resident of Waukesha, never used free school lunches. Even though she said her family was always "one broken down car away from a disaster," her only school-age child at the time, Jacob, did not qualify for free and reduced meals.

Then the pandemic sent the Goodmans' finances into a tailspin. After 15 years in the medical field as an administrative employee, she was furloughed for most of the summer in 2020. Her husband, who works three jobs, saw income from his most profitable gig as a DJ plummet as people stayed home. To hold onto their house and to build a strong financial base for their children's future, the Goodmans used any assistance they could to stay afloat.

Former Dane County Sheriff's Deputy Charged After Investigation Into Festge Park Incident

A former Dane County Sheriff's Office deputy is facing a misdemeanor charge following an investigation into a reported stabbing at Festge Park in October.

According to Dane County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Elise Schaffer, Sarah Bortz-Rodriguez has been charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting and obstructing an officer. Online court records show Bortz-Rodriguez was charged on Friday.

In Dane County Circuit Court Monday, Bortz-Rodriguez was given a $500 signature bond. 

Steven Avery’s Attorney To File New Motion In Appeal Tuesday

The attorney for Steven Avery is expected to file a third motion for post-conviction relief Tuesday.

Avery is serving a life sentence for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County. Avery is appealing his conviction of 1st Degree Intentional Homicide. The case gained international attention with the Netflix documentary series “Making A Murderer.”

Zellner says her team has new evidence to introduce, which will likely be the focus of Tuesday’s motion.