Morning Headlines - Friday, Aug. 8, 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's First 200 Days Make Him 'Most Important President' In A Century. In The Next 100 He Faces A Reckoning Even He Can't Stop

It has been a first 200 days that experts say is the most consequential start to a presidential term for 92 years.

That was when Franklin D, Roosevelt set out to save America from the Great Depression and get the country back to work.

When President Donald Trump entered the White House on January 20, 2025 he faced a struggling economy, an immigration disaster, and brewing trouble in Europe and the Middle East.

Trump dealt with it all by throwing the political rulebook out the window - he abandoned free trade, upended relations with America's allies, eviscerated his own government bureaucracy, and bombed Iran.

Israel's Security Cabinet Approves Plan For Israeli Military To Take Control Of Gaza City

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced early Friday morning local time that Israel's Security Cabinet had approved a plan for the Israeli military to take over Gaza City.

In a statement, Netanyahu's office said the Israel Defense Forces would prepare to take over Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside of combat zones.

Trump Is Nominating Stephen Miran To Temporarily Fill Vacancy At The Fed

President Donald Trump said Thursday he is nominating Stephen Miran, a key voice in the push for the administration’s tariff policy, to fill a vacancy at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors on a temporary basis.

Miran is currently the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. He’s widely credited with creating the intellectual backbone of Trump’s expansive tariff policy and has been a critical voice in support of Trump’s economic agenda since assuming his role.

Trump Ups Aggressive Redistricting War With Call For New Census

President Trump is going all in on the national redistricting war with his call for the Commerce Department to conduct a new census ahead of the next scheduled one in 2030.

Trump said in his Truth Social post on Thursday that the census would not count those who are in the country illegally and use the “results and information gained” from the 2024 presidential election. The plan would likely face significant legal hurdles, as the Constitution’s 14th Amendment states that the census should be conducted on the basis of the total number of people in each state.

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Down A Bit, But Still More Than 50% Of U.S. Diet

The consumption of ultra-processed foods is on a slow decline, though most Americans — and especially children — are getting most of their calories from unhealthy, manufactured foods, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The mean percentage of total calories consumed from ultra-processed foods (UPFs) eaten by everyone age 1 and older was 55%, during August 2021 and 2023, when the National Center for Health Statistics conducted its survey. The survey underscored a persistent difference by age; among those between the ages of 1 and 18, the mean consumption of UPFs was higher, 61.9% of calories. Those 19 and older consumed less, at 53%.

Wisconsin Headlines

Judge Sides With Homeowners, Town In Lac Du Flambeau Road Barricades Dispute

A federal judge has ruled in favor of more than 50 homeowners and the town of Lac du Flambeau in a longstanding dispute with the Lac du Flambeau tribe about access to roads crossing tribal lands.

In an 47-page order filed Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William M. Conley said homeowners have a legal right to use and access four roads at the center of the ongoing feud. The roads include Annie Sunn Lane, Center Sugarbush Lane, East Ross Allen Lake Lane and Elsie Lake Lane.

In January 2023, tribal officials placed barricades on the four roads after failed negotiations between the tribe, the town of Lac du Flambeau and title companies over expired easements on the four roads that were never renewed. Some of the easements had been expired for more than a decade.

PSC Chair Says Tiffany’s Concerns About Agency Closing Coal-fired Plants Misplaced

The chair of Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission is suggesting GOP U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany’s call for the agency to “resist pressure to close any coal-fired plants prematurely” is misplaced and he should be directing his comments to utilities.

Chair Summer Strand wrote that’s because the PSC doesn’t have the power to approve power plant retirement decisions, which she wrote are made by the operating utility after consultation with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.

“The Commission does not dictate the type of generation resource power providers seek approval of, and the standards for approval do not vary by project type, they are the same regardless of generation source,” she wrote in yesterday’s letter.

WILL Plead With Dpi To Not Dumb-Down Report Card Standards

As Wisconsin’s public school managers get ready to rewrite the state’s report cards, there’s a new request not to lower them too much.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Wednesday wrote the state Department of Public Instruction’s Report Card Standard Setting Group with a plea to "strengthen the state’s accountability framework" rather than lower the bar.

"Wisconsin has languished in mediocrity, falling behind states like Florida and Mississippi in reading proficiency—even though those states contend with far more difficult student demographic challenges. This standard setting process offers an opportunity for DPI to reset their course," WILL wrote in its letter. "We are hopeful that this standard setting process adopts a more rigorous approach than previous efforts."

Chippewa Falls To Receive New National Guard Readiness Center After State Agency Land Swap

An empty portion of land in Chippewa Falls now belongs to the Wisconsin National Guard after a state agency land swap.

On Wednesday, Governor Tony Evers' Office announced the State Building Commission had approved more than $110 million in projects across the state. Part of that funding included a land swap of nearly 80 acres from the state Department of Human Services and the Department of Military Affairs.

Colonel G. David Brown is the Wisconsin National Guard director of construction and facilities maintenance office, and he shared the value of the land received.

Mexican Accountant Sentenced To 5 Years For Role In International Money Laundering Scheme

Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced Angelica Mendoza Rubio, 49, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Williams M. Conley to 5 years in federal prison for conspiring to commit concealment money laundering. Mendoza Rubio pleaded guilty to this charge on May 9, 2025.

Mendoza Rubio was a certified accountant in Mexico. From December of 2020 to April 2021, operating in Mexico, Mendoza Rubio used a complex network of money launderers in the United States to help criminal clients launder funds out of the United States by converting bulk cash in the United States to Bitcoin. The scheme utilized shell companies, nominee account holders, funnel accounts, and layered financial transactions to help conceal the true source, owner, and location of the funds. In December of 2020, Mendoza Rubio and others in the network laundered approximately $240,000 in proceeds generated from a wire fraud scheme targeting a business in the Western District of Wisconsin.