Morning Headlines - Friday, Jan. 19, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

Trump Takes On McConnell, Senate GOP On Border Package

Former President Trump is taking on Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his leadership team by calling on Republican lawmakers to reject a compromise on border security.

The runaway front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination is also setting up a crucial battle over both his party’s future and Ukraine, as precious aid to that country is tied to the border deal along with help for Israel and the Indo-Pacific.

Trump has said Republicans should say “no” to any deal that falls short of “everything needed” to stop the flow of migrants, a message that pointedly puts pressure on new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to walk the line. Johnson has been under pressure from the Senate GOP and the White House to agree to an emerging Senate deal.

Takeaways From CNN's New Hampshire Town Hall With Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley’s goal in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary Tuesday is to “be strong,” she said at a CNN town hall Thursday night.

But the onetime South Carolina governor stopped short of saying she needs to defeat former President Donald Trump in the Granite State primary.

“What I want to do is be strong. We won’t know what strong looks like until those numbers come in,” she said at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire.

Drugmakers Hiking Prices For More Than 700 Medications, Including Ozempic And Mounjaro

Pharmaceutical companies are hiking prices for more than 700 medications, including popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro, industry research shows.

The average price increase at year start was about about 4.5%, the analysis from 46 Brooklyn found. That represents a slightly slower pace compared with the five prior years, when drug prices rose about 5% each year on average, the data shows.

U.S., Mexican Officials To Resume Talks On Stemming Migrant Surge At D.C. Meeting

Officials from the U.S. and Mexico will meet in Washington on Friday to discuss ways to deter illegal migration as pressure increases on the Biden administration to address the issue heading into November’s presidential election.

But neither side expects dramatic progress from Friday’s discussions. The talks, to be attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, White House homeland security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena, are an extension of discussions that began in Mexico on Dec. 27, when U.S. officials flew to Mexico amid historic highs in illegal border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hunter Biden Agrees To Deposition With Lawmakers After Resisting Subpoena In Impeachment Probe

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden will sit for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Feb. 28, the committee chairmen said on Thursday, after weeks of back and forth with the younger Biden, who faced the threat of being held in contempt of Congress.

"[Hunter Biden's] deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates. We look forward to Hunter Biden’s testimony," James Comer, R-Ky., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the oversight and judiciary chairs, said in a statement.

Wisconsin Headlines

Fort Atkinson Home Improvement Contractor And His Wife Sentenced To Prison For Fraud And Money Laundering

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Tyler Hansen, 52, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 7 years in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering. His wife, Jennifer Hansen, 43, was sentenced by Judge Conley to 33 months in prison for money laundering. The Hansens pleaded guilty to these charges on October 4, 2023.

Between October 2020 and September 2022, Tyler Hansen operated a home improvement business based in Dane County and Jefferson County. The business operated under multiple names, including Weathersealed Wisconsin and EcoView Windows of South-Central Wisconsin. Hansen entered into contracts for home improvement projects with customers throughout Wisconsin, knowing that he did not intend to order supplies for the jobs or otherwise start the projects. The contracts were for various home improvement projects, including windows, sunrooms, bathrooms, roofs, and doors. When contracts for projects were signed, Hansen required that customers pay 50% of the total contract price as a down payment. Rather than use the money from customer down payments to pay project related expenses, Hansen used the money for personal expenses. In total, the Hansens stole over $800,000 from over 100 victims across Wisconsin during the fraud scheme.

Wisconsin Republican Leader Derides Idea To Impeach Top Elections Official

A Republican attempt to impeach Wisconsin’s nonpartisan top elections official is nothing more than “a big show for the cameras” and will be ignored, the Assembly’s GOP majority leader said Jan. 18.

Several Republican lawmakers, including the state Senate president, have called for Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe to be impeached over her handling of the 2020 election won by President Joe Biden. The Senate voted in October to fire Wolfe but later admitted that the vote was symbolic and had no legal effect.

Wisconsin Lawmakers Want Study Into Reviving Income Tax Deal With Minnesota

Wisconsin lawmakers hope a new study could be the first step toward reviving a deal that would simplify income tax filings for the tens of thousands of people who cross the Minnesota-Wisconsin border for work.

For more than 40 years, a reciprocity agreement allowed Wisconsinites who work in Minnesota and Minnesotans who work in Wisconsin to file one state income tax return instead of two.

But Minnesota ended that agreement in 2010 because of delayed payments from Wisconsin.

Assembly GOP Approves Bill Requiring Parents Be Notified When ‘Controversial’ Subjects Taught In Schools

The Assembly today approved 62-35 along party lines a bill to establish certain rights for parents and notify them when “controversial” subjects are taught in the classroom as Dems argued it would hurt LGBTQ+ students.

Meanwhile, Republicans said the bill would give parents more of a say in their kids’ education.

AB 510 would establish a variety of rights for parents. Those include the right to be notified of and decline health care services, such as vaccines; to determine the name and pronouns the child uses at school; and to opt their children out of certain instructional materials. It would also require parents to be notified when a “controversial” subject will be taught and school.

Rep. Tiffany’s Bill To Hold DOJ Bad Actors Accountable Passes House Judiciary Committee

Today, the Federal Accountability in Interviews Reform (FAIR) Act introduced by Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) passed the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support. H.R. 5736, the FAIR Act, would require all Department of Justice (DOJ) law enforcement officers, agents, and employees to record both custodial and non-custodial interviews of U.S. citizens who are suspected of having committed a criminal offense.

“The DOJ should serve every U.S. citizen with open, fair, and impartial justice; instead, they are weaponizing their power against the American people,” said Congressman Tiffany. “The FAIR Act will hold the DOJ accountable and ensure fairness for criminal defendants.”