Morning Headlines - Friday, Jul. 7, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Republicans Sound Alarm Over DeSantis’s Sagging Campaign

Questions surrounding Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) presidential campaign strategy are multiplying as he continues to trail former President Trump in the polls nearly a month after his highly anticipated campaign launch.

In a sign of just how concerned some of the governor’s allies are, the spokesperson for the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down recently referred to Trump as the “runaway front-runner” in the primary and said that DeSantis faced an “uphill battle.”

Meanwhile, DeSantis’s campaign faced backlash this week after sharing a video attacking Trump over his past comments in support of the LGBTQ+ community, leading some Republicans to raise concerns.

First Alzheimer's Drug To Slow Disease, Leqembi, Gets Full FDA Approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted traditional approval to the Alzheimer's drug lecanemab, known by the brand name Leqembi, after an accelerated approval was issued earlier this year.

Leqembi, from drugmakers Eisai and Biogen, is the first medication that's been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, including declines in memory and thinking, by targeting the disease's underlying biology.

The US Labor Market Cooled Off In June, Adding Just 209,000 Jobs

June’s total was nearly 100,000 jobs below May’s unexpectedly strong showing of 306,000 and below economists’ expectations for a net gain of 225,000 jobs.

It’s the lowest monthly gain since a decline in December 2020, and — excluding the losses seen during the first year of the pandemic — June’s total is the smallest since December 2019.

Kamala Harris Is Ruthlessly Mocked For Latest 'Word Salad' As She Gets Tongue Twisted Trying To Explain 'Culture'

Kamala Harris has once again engaged in a 'word salad' - in which she tried to explain the meaning of 'culture'.

Harris's confusing comments came during the 2023 Essence Festival of Culture at the Caesars Superdome Friday, and serves as only the latest instance of the former San Francisco DA becoming tongue-tied during a public appearance.

Aside from falling flat with the New Orleans crowd, the statement sparked renewed criticism into Harris's history of verbal gaffes.

More Americans Believe They'd Get A Raise If They Asked

In this economy, everything's coming up wages: A rising share of employed adults say that if they ask for a raise at work, they're very likely to get one, per a new Morning Consult survey.

The survey is another sign of worker empowerment in what remains a tight labor market — and it's also an indicator of how important wages have become to the overall economic picture.

"With workers feeling that they have more leverage in a tight labor market, the Federal Reserve’s goal of bringing down nominal wage growth in a bid to cool inflation will be difficult," Morning Consult senior economist Jesse Wheeler wrote in a note.

Wisconsin Headlines

Vos Accuses Evers Of Lying To Voters, GOP Lawmakers With Veto To Annually Boost K-12 Spending Caps

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is accusing Dem Gov. Tony Evers of lying to voters and GOP lawmakers after he vetoed into state law a provision annually increasing caps on K-12 school spending for the next four centuries.

Vos claimed the guv lied to voters during the campaign last year when he said he was opposed to “massive” property tax increases and to GOP lawmakers during the negotiating process. The Rochester Republican added it “really calls into question his ability to try to find bipartisan compromise like we’ve been working on this entire year.”

DHS Seeks Input On $15 Million JUUL Labs Settlement

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is seeking input on how to allocate millions of dollars from a legal settlement involving vaping. The $15 million is from a multi state settlement with JUUL Labs, a leading maker of vaping devices.

DHS will hold three virtual listening sessions and offer an online survey to get ideas from the public and partners about how to use that money over the next five to nine years to reverse the harm caused by the devices also known as E-cigarettes.

Budget Provides Aid To Counties That Lost Revenue After A Court Ruling Took Tribal Lands Off The Tax Rolls

The next two-year state budget includes $3.6 million in aid for northern Wisconsin counties that lost revenue after a court ruling barred state taxation of tribal properties on some reservation lands.

While Democratic Gov. Tony Evers approved the payments, he also used his partial veto pen to remove Republican-authored restrictions on those funds. That’s prompted frustration from GOP state lawmakers who fear the move may drive some residents from their homes.

The Legislature’s GOP-controlled Joint Committee on Finance had approved a motion to set aside $3.6 million in tribal gaming revenues for Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Sawyer and Vilas counties. The counties could draw from those funds to offset the loss of property tax revenues after a federal appeals court ruling last summer. Those requests will be subject to approval by the finance committee.

Court Rules For 11-Year-Old Trans Girl In Lawsuit Against Mukwonago School's Bathroom Policy

A Wisconsin federal court judge ruled in favor of an 11-year-old transgender girl in a lawsuit against the Mukwonago Area School District's (MASD) bathroom policy.

According to court documents, Judge Lynn Adelman granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the school district from implementing its bathroom policy against the student.

The policy was unanimously approved by the school board on June 26.

Minocqua Man Who Tried to Conceal Replica "Dukes of Hazard" Car from Bankruptcy Trustee Convicted of Bankruptcy Fraud

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Bruce Polczynski, 57, Minocqua, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to three years of probation and a $1,000 fine for bankruptcy fraud. Polczynski pled guilty to this charge on March 31, 2023.

In pleading guilty, Polczynski admitted that he lied to the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee about assets so they would not be used to pay creditors, specifically, Polczynski lied to conceal a 1969 Dodge Charger replica of the General Lee vehicle from the Dukes of Hazard television show and a 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.