Morning Headlines - Friday, Apr. 28, 2023 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Fox News Ratings Slump Below MSNBC's In Timeslot Tucker Carlson Dominated

MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes won the 8pm time slot on Wednesday night, outperforming Fox News Tonight and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360.

It comes after Tucker Carlson's departure from Fox News whose show had consistently dominated the time period and was most viewed cable news show.

Although Fox News still topped primetime in total viewers, MSNBC won demo averaging 153,000 compared to Fox News with 146,000 and CNN with 125,000.

The Award For Thirstiest Member Of Congress Goes To...

Hollywood has the Oscars. Broadway has the Tonys. Washington hasn’t had its own awards — until now.

Introducing the Thirsties, a celebration of the quality that defines this place.

You know what we’re talking about: the thirst. That unquenchable drive for publicity, attention, buzz. Call it what you want, This Town is full of it. The thirst can be found in staffers, lobbyists — even journalists, who are supposed to be covering the story, not angling for a starring role in it. To paraphrase a hoary old Washington line on something almost as obscene: You know thirst when you see it.

But nowhere is the thirst more unslakable than among the 535 members of Congress, who every day lunge for the microphone, news camera or tweet button to find a way — any way — to insert themselves into a news cycle — any news cycle — and make it all about them. Even in this crowd, though, a few stand out for going above and beyond.

Key Takeaways From E. Jean Carroll's Civil Rape Trial Against Trump

E. Jean Carroll's testimony continued Thursday in the writer's civil trial over her sexual assault and defamation lawsuits against former President Trump, whom she alleged raped her in the 1990s.

At least 26 women, including Carroll, have made public allegations of sexual misconduct or assault against Trump over the years, but only a few resulted in litigation and none have gone to trial. Trump has denied the allegations against him.

During the third day of the trial Thursday, Trump's defense lawyer Joe Tacopina pressed Carroll on why she couldn't provide a more precise date in 1995 to 1996 for when she alleges the rape occurred — as he cast doubt on her account during a cross examination that drew rebukes from the judge, according to the New York Times.

Senate GOP Blocks Equal Rights Amendment

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a measure that would have allowed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to be added to the Constitution.

Senators voted 51 to 47 to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed, falling short of the 60 votes it needed.

The ERA passed Congress in 1972, having been first proposed in 1923. Constitutional amendments, under U.S. law, must be ratified by three-quarters of all state legislatures, meaning 38 states.

Disney Fans Are Fighting Online In Response To The Company's Lawsuit Against DeSantis

On Disney World vacation-planning blogs and forums, daily discussion usually revolves around ride wait times, crowd density and annual pass rates. But when Disney World sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, conversation turned to the culture wars.

One moderator of the Disney World subreddit wrote, “I’ve removed at least 40 comments from people being very rude/ hateful towards Desantis and more importantly his children and spouse.”

A separate commenter responded to the lawsuit by writing, “Please boycott [Walt Disney World] from June 3rd to June 11th. Thank you in advance.”

Wisconsin Assembly Proposes Historic Shared Revenue Reforms

Local officials are responding to an historic shared revenue plan from Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly. “Just to put into perspective, we’ve lost almost 38% of our state shared funding over the last 23 years,” said Beaver Dam Mayor Becky Glewen during a press conference at the Capitol on Thursday. “I have been with the city for 10 years and we’ve been through some difficult budgets,” said Watertown Mayor Emily McFarland. “And one that I will never forget as the year that we’ve considered shutting off every other streetlight in the city of Watertown to save $250,000.”

Details are still being finalized but every community would see at least a 10% increase in state aid. Going forward 20% of all state sales tax revenue would go to local governments.

Open Records Bill Would Undo Supreme Court Ruling That Made It Harder To Recover Legal Fees

A bipartisan bill making its way through the state Legislature would make it easier for people to recover legal fees if they sued a government body to access public records.

The bill has received bipartisan support and united government transparency and free press advocacy groups with conservative activist groups, including the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

It is a response to a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling from last summer that tightened the state's public records law. That ruling found that legal fees may only be recovered if the lawsuit resulted in a court judgment, but not if the records were released voluntarily along the way. The proposed legislation would allow fees to be recovered without a final court order.

WisDOT Secretary Thompson On Site Of Train Derailment Near De Soto

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary Craig Thompson is at the site of a train derailment today (April 27) near De Soto that sent part of a freight train into the Mississippi River along WIS 35.

“The immediate concern is the safety of all those involved and surrounding this incident," WisDOT Secretary Thompson said. “WisDOT is working diligently to ensure that traffic is diverted to safe roads and bridges while we thoroughly evaluate this event."

Packers Pick Iowa Defensive End Lukas Van Ness In First Round

The Packers picked defensive end Lukas Van Ness from Iowa with their first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Instead of picking an offensive player to build around quarterback Jordan Love, Brian Gutekunst instead electing to solidify his defensive front. Green Bay lost Dean Lowry to free agency, and will be without pass rusher Rashan Gary early in the season while he recovers from a torn ACL.

DNR Shooting Range Grant Applications Now Open

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced it is accepting applications for the Shooting Range Grant Program through July 15, 2023.

The grant program provides financial assistance for creating safe and accessible firearm and archery shooting opportunities for the public. Managers of public or private shooting ranges or members of the public interested in building a new range are encouraged to apply, especially if located near highly populated areas where similar services are not currently available. Ranges operating as a business-for-profit are not eligible for funding.