Morning Headlines - Friday, Feb. 9, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden's Own DOJ Said He Has 'Diminished Faculties And A Faulty Memory'

The Department of Justice released its long-awaited investigation into Joe Biden's mishandling of classified documents Thursday, delivering a damning assessment of the president's 'diminished faculties' and limited memory.

Although the report did not recommend bringing charges against the 81-year-old, it provides a cascade of damaging findings about files found in Biden's garage as well as the president's fitness for office.

In interviews with investigators, Biden became muddled about the dates he was vice president and could not even remember the year in which his son Beau died. 

And it said his cavalier attitude to classified documents, such as his habit of reading sensitive files to a ghostwriter, posed a significant national security risk.

One of the reasons they decided not to press charges was because 'at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory'.

Biden Tries To Lay To Rest Age Concerns, But May Have Exacerbated Them

A probe that spared President Joe Biden from criminal charges paradoxically dealt him a threatening political blow.

Special counsel Robert Hur’s report released Thursday on Biden’s handling of classified documents effectively ended the matter. But his assertions that Biden was elderly and forgetful ignited a political firestorm that cut directly to the heart of the president’s chief vulnerability in the 2024 election.

The White House knew it had a huge political problem on its hands.

After hours of Republican claims that the report showed he wasn’t capable of serving as president, Biden appeared at a hastily scheduled news conference Thursday evening, apparently seeking to turn the page on what turned into a disastrous day.

Tucker Carlson: Putin Takes Charge As TV Host Gives Free Rein To Kremlin

Vladimir Putin lectured, joked and occasionally snarled - but not at his host.

Tucker Carlson laughed, listened - and then listened some more.

During the American's much-hyped encounter with the Russian president, his fixed, fascinated expression slipped a few times.

Especially when Putin's promise of a 30-second history lesson became a 30-something minute rant.

Trump Wins The Nevada Republican Caucuses, Continuing His March To The Nomination

Former President Donald Trump easily won the Nevada caucuses on Thursday, the fourth contest he has captured on his march to the GOP nomination.

It was a glide path for Trump, who faced no major competition in the caucuses after most of his opponents dropped out of the race and the last one standing, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, chose to compete in Nevada’s state-sponsored primary Tuesday. In an embarrassing defeat, Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, lost decisively to “none of these candidates,” by at least 30 points, according to the most recent vote tally.

Key Takeaways From Supreme Court Hearing On Trump's Eligibility

The U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar former President Donald Trump from appearing on state primary ballots.

The high court heard arguments Thursday as to whether Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits Trump from again holding office after the Colorado court decided in December that Trump violated a so-called insurrection clause of the Constitution for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, however, has not been explicitly charged with insurrection or rebellion in any of the four criminal cases in which he has been indicted.

Attorney Jonathan Mitchell represented Trump on Thursday, while attorney Jason Murray represented six Colorado voters, arguing against Trump’s eligibility to appear on the ballot.

Wisconsin Headlines

New State Program Aims To Give Rural Communities Resources To Thrive Economically

A new state program will give 10 rural communities across Wisconsin access funding and resources to help meet their economic development goals.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. this week announced that the communities participating in the Thrive Rural program will have access to up to $25,000 in grants, as well as two years of technical assistance in planning and grant writing.

Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC, said the program aims to help level the playing field for rural communities seeking state and federal grants. She said small communities often face disadvantages competing for grants due to lack of staffing at the local government level.

Multiple Structures Damaged After Historic Tornado In February

Several homes and other buildings were damaged after a tornado tore through southern Wisconsin Thursday evening. This was the first ever tornado in Wisconsin in February, according to 27 Storm Track meteorologists and The National Weather Service.

The Green County Sheriff's Office says it received several 911 calls reporting damage in the Town of Decatur around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Trempealeau Man Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Stealing Firearms From Rockland Gun Store

Nehemiah Sample, 27, Trempealeau, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 2 years in federal prison for stealing firearms from a federal firearms licensee. Sample pleaded guilty to this charge on October 31, 2023.

On April 25, 2023, Sample and two other individuals broke into a gun store in Rockland, Wisconsin, and stole 41 firearms. Officers conducting surveillance later that day saw Sample driving a pickup truck and, when they tried to stop him, he fled. Officers later found the truck abandoned in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with three of the stolen handguns in a bag on the backseat. Sample fled to Arkansas, where he was found in Lake Village trying to sell firearms out of his car. When Lake Village officers attempted to arrest Sample, he fled into a scrap yard. He was eventually taken into custody and officers found a handgun on him, one abandoned in the scrap yard, and five other firearms in his vehicle. All the firearms had been stolen from the Rockland gun store.

Marquette Poll Finds Tight Biden-Trump Race In Wisconsin, Haley Up Big Over Incumbent President

Joe Biden and Donald Trump were locked in a close race for president in the first Marquette University Law School Poll of Wisconsin voters in 2024, while Nikki Haley had a 16-point lead on the Dem president.

Poll Director Charles Franklin said during a presentation on the poll that the difference in the results reflects how some voters are willing to overlook their unhappiness with Biden’s job performance due to Trump’s personal baggage.

Haley’s 57-41 lead almost mirrors the 58 percent who disapprove of the job Biden is doing and the 41% who approve.

Meanwhile, 40% view Trump favorably and 58% have a negative view of him, and 53% of voters think he’s done something illegal.

Forty-two percent said they believed Biden had done something illegal.

Local Officials, Advocates Seek Help For Whitewater Migrants

An influx of immigrants to a small southern Wisconsin city over the past two years is straining resources, motivating community members to pursue more public funding and provide direct assistance.

“It’s another generation of families coming here, trying to get jobs, feed their children, get their children through school,” said Kristine Zaballos, a resident of Whitewater in southern Wisconsin.

Conservative estimates assume about 800-1,000 migrants from Central and South America have come to Whitewater since 2022, straining local resources. Some of the most vulnerable in that population are children.