Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden Tries To Stay Focused On Mexico City Summit After Revelation That Classified Documents Were Found In His Private Office

President Joe Biden is facing sharp new questions about his handling of classified documents as he prepares for a summit with the leaders of the US’ neighboring nations.

The news that several classified documents from Biden’s time as vice president were discovered last fall at his private office in Washington, DC, broke moments after the president’s motorcade had rolled into the National Palace in Mexico City, in a visit that marks a US president’s first visit to Mexico since 2014.

Biden’s lawyers say they found the government materials in November while closing out a Washington, DC-based office that Biden used as part of his relationship with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an honorary professor from 2017 to 2019.

Mutually Assured Obstruction: House GOP Aims 'Weaponization' Panel At DOJ

House Republicans are declaring what amounts to an investigative war on the Biden administration, pledging to probe “ongoing criminal investigations” at the Justice Department.

Veterans of some of Congress’ recent major probes, and the department itself, predict that they’ll be told to pound sand.

GOP lawmakers are dramatically escalating their standoff with the administration by launching a wide-ranging investigative panel to probe what they call the “weaponization of government.” It’s a broad mandate that will allow the party to look into any government agency or program that it views as suspect, including the FBI, IRS and the intelligence community — making good on a key demand of a band of hardline conservatives who opposed Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the gavel.

Rents Are Still Higher Than Before The Pandemic — And Assistance Programs Are Drying Up

Cleveland is one of the poorest cities in the country. It’s far from the expensive coastal cities like New York City and San Francisco, where astronomically high rents are common. Cleveland doesn’t fit the stereotype of a city people want to move to; in fact, it has been losing population since the 1950s. But since 2020, there have been some wild fluctuations in the rental market.

Even in many cities that had previously been affordable, rents keep getting higher, stretching more families’ budgets and spreading a largely coastal problem to nearly every part of the country.

Lawyers For Dr. Dre Tell Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene To Stop Using His Music

Lawyers for rap legend Dr. Dre are demanding that Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stop his using his music, after the controversial politician used the hit “Still D.R.E.”

“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” Dre, who was born Andre Young, said in a statement.

Greene, who represents a district in northeast Georgia, has promoted the far-right and baseless conspiracy theory QAnon, and in February 2022 she spoke at a white nationalist event.

Prince Harry filmed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday night
But the host has taken the opportunity to lampoon Harry, the book and family
He drank tequila and answered The Colbert Questionert - the host's '15 questions to cover the full spectrum of human experience'
The Duke was accompanied to the studios by a Glock-carrying bodyguard
The interview will be broadcast on Tuesday night in the US

Protasiewicz, Mitchell Bash SCOWIS Remap Ruling, Kelly Questions If Rivals Impartial

Liberal Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz drew criticism from conservative rival Daniel Kelly at a WisPolitics.com forum in Madison after she said the state’s legislative maps are “absolutely, positively rigged.”

Among the four Supreme Court candidates who participated in Monday’s forum, Protasiewicz offered the most forceful answer on the court’s ruling.

The state Supreme Court in separate 4-3 rulings ordered the parties submitting proposed boundaries for the legislative and congressional districts to take a “least-change” approach to what Republicans approved in 2011. The court then later selected the legislative map drawn by GOP lawmakers for following that guideline and being race neutral.

Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, said the current maps are gerrymandered to take power away from densely populated areas.

Out-Of-State Enrollments Surge At UW System Schools While Resident Enrollments Fall

As most University of Wisconsin System campuses grapple with consistent enrollment declines, some have increasingly relied on out-of-state students to fill the gap. That's brought in more tuition revenue along with some concerns about limited access for state residents.

Over the past decade, after the university system lifted caps on out-of-state enrollment, the number of freshmen from outside Wisconsin enrolling at state universities has grown by more than 63 percent. At the same time, the number of freshmen from the Dairy State has declined by 20 percent. That shift came as Wisconsin's state universities were operating under a tuition freeze for in-state students, a freeze that does not exist for those from outside Wisconsin.

In a statement to Wisconsin Public Radio, UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said the growth of out-of-state students is good for universities and the state.

Wisconsin Man Sentenced To More Than 10 Years For Drug Trafficking

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Daniel Gibbs, 37, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, was sentenced on Friday, January 6, by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 121 months in federal prison for distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Gibbs pleaded guilty to this charge on September 14, 2022.

Gibbs sold one pound of methamphetamine to a confidential source on three separate occasions at a residence in Sun Prairie in August and September of 2021. On November 10, 2021, agents executed a search warrant at the residence where Gibbs had previously sold methamphetamine to the confidential source. During the search, agents found approximately four pounds of heroin, a kilogram press, and a loaded firearm.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Peterson stated that Gibbs had committed “a very serious drug trafficking crime” by distributing significant quantities of methamphetamine and heroin. Judge Peterson also noted that Gibbs had previously served substantial time in federal prison for a violent crime involving kidnapping and extortion.

Wisconsin Republicans Seek To Skirt Vetoes With Constitutional Amendments

Republican lawmakers are moving quickly in the opening days of the legislative session to work around Wisconsin's Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who vetoed a record number of bills from the GOP-controlled Legislature in his first term.

Four constitutional amendments primarily supported by Republicans could be put before voters as soon as April. Republican backers of the measures are pushing for a final vote on at least two proposed amendments in the Legislature in the opening weeks of the session so they could make it onto the April 4 ballot, which will also have a pivotal state Supreme Court race that will determine majority control of the panel.

Why Having Your Car Windows Tinted Too Dark Is Illegal In Wisconsin

While tinted windows might look cool, it's important to know Wisconsin state law. If you're not careful, you could get a ticket.

"In Wisconsin, we can tint however the customer wants," said Joe Paulson, the owner at Expert Electronics - a Milwaukee auto shop where window tinting is a popular service. "What's kind of weird about Milwaukee is that a lot of people want the whole windshield tinted, which is very surprising because it's very hard to see where you're going when the whole windshield's tinted."

Paulson said he makes customers who want to tint their windows darker than what is legally allowed to sign a waiver, releasing his business from liability.