Morning Headlines - Friday, Nov. 10, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden Administration Privately Warned By American Diplomats Of Growing Fury Against US In Arab World

The Biden administration has received stark warnings from American diplomats in the Arab world that its strong support for Israel’s destructive and deadly military campaign in Gaza “is losing us Arab publics for a generation,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by CNN.

The cable underscores profound concern among American officials about the growing anger against the United States that erupted soon after Israel launched its operations against Hamas, following the militant group’s attacks in Israel on October 7 that left over 1,400 Israelis dead.

“We are losing badly on the messaging battlespace,” reads a Wednesday cable from the US Embassy in Oman, citing conversations with “a wide range of trusted and sober-minded contacts.”

Why Manchin's Retirement Is Democrats' Worst Nightmare

A Democratic fairy tale is coming to an end in West Virginia, where Sen. Joe Manchin's decision not to seek re-election threatens to blow up the party's chances of holding the Senate — and potentially the White House — in 2024.

Without Manchin — widely viewed as the only Democrat who could run competitively in deep-red West Virginia — Republicans likely will need to flip just one or two Senate seats to take control of Congress' upper chamber, depending on the outcome of the presidential race.

The conservative Democrat, who's been in the Senate since 2010, will leave behind a complicated legacy.

Suspicious Packages, Some Containing Fentanyl, Sent To Elections Offices

Four county elections offices in Washington state were evacuated Wednesday after they received envelopes containing suspicious powders — including two that field-tested positive for fentanyl — while workers were processing ballots from Tuesday's election.

The elections offices were located in King County — home of Seattle — as well as Skagit, Spokane and Pierce counties, the Secretary of State's Office said in an emailed news release. Local, state and federal agents were investigating, and no one was injured, officials said.

A senior U.S. official familiar with the investigation told CBS News on Thursday that roughly a dozen letters were sent to addresses in California, Georgia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. This official was unaware of letters being found anywhere else.

Judge Rules In Prince Harry, Elton John's Lawsuit Against Daily Mail Publisher

A judge in the United Kingdom issued a ruling Friday in Prince Harry's lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd., the publisher of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline.

The judge ruled that the lawsuit filed by the Duke of Sussex, as well as several other high-profile figures can move forward, according to the United Kingdom's Courts and Tribunals Judiciary.

Harry and singer Elton John, along with John's husband David Furnish, actress Elizabeth Hurley, actress Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon OBE, alleged in the lawsuit, which was filed last year, that they are "the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy," according to Hamlins, the London-based law firm representing Harry as well as Frost in the lawsuit.

Christian Student Wins $150K After Public School Allegedly Tried To Force Her Into Idol Worship

A former Christian student at a Chicago public school reacted to winning $150K after she alleged in a lawsuit that while on campus she was forced into participating in Hindu rituals, according to the original complaint.

"I'm a very strong Christian," Mariyah Green said in an interview. She said a woman who was teaching her meditation in mandated "Quiet Time" asked her to bow to an image of a foreign deity she did not recognize. The woman teaching the meditation said it would help her internalize the mantras and bring her to "Zen."

Green believes that she was nearly forced into idol worship. "Like, I'm in school right now, why is we learning how to meditate in this way? I just knew it wasn't right. So that's what made me take the initiative and go home to tell my parent and my auntie, who was my pastor at the time, that I didn't feel comfortable with what they was enforcing on me at school."

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Republicans Pursue Agenda Through State Constitutional Amendments

Facing political opposition in both the governor’s office and Wisconsin Supreme Court, legislative Republicans are seeking to lock in existing conservative policies — and in some instances, create new ones — with the direct help of voters.

Using Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment process, Republicans are seeking to codify a wide-ranging set of policies in the document that underpins the state’s legal and governance systems — changes that could only be removed or modified using the same process or via a court order.

Lawmakers are considering in the 2023-24 legislative session almost as many amendments as have been passed over the last 20 years.

Assembly Passes Series Of Election-Related Bills

The Assembly today passed a series of election-related measures, including a pair of omnibus bills that would give clerks more whistleblower and privacy protections and allow them to start processing absentee ballots before election night.

Lawmakers passed AB 567 by voice vote, which bans the use of central count locations for municipalities, makes it a Class I felony to work toward getting election result info before polls close, and requires clerks to send absentee ballots no later than 21 days before an election for non-military and non-overseas voters, or no later than 45 days to military or overseas voters.

The measure, which is now headed to the Senate, also adds municipal clerks to the list of those provided whistleblower protections.

In Wisconsin, Old Fashioneds Come With Brandy. Lawmakers Make It Somewhat Official

In Wisconsin, the old fashioned cocktail comes with brandy, not bourbon.

Now, state lawmakers are making it somewhat official.

A bipartisan resolution declaring the brandy old fashioned as the official Wisconsin state cocktail won approval Thursday in the state Assembly.

It's a resolution, not a bill, so even if passed by the Senate the brandy old fashioned won't make it onto the list of other official state symbols that include milk as the official beverage, kringle as the official pastry and corn as the official grain. Getting that level of recognition, enshrined in the state's “Blue Book,” requires introduction of a bill, a public hearing and then the signature of the governor.

Wisconsin Man Sentenced To 11 Years For Sex Trafficking A Minor

Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Adrian Edwards 40, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 11 years in federal prison for sex trafficking a minor. Edwards pleaded guilty to this charge on June 15, 2023.

Edwards encountered the 16-year-old victim in Utah in January 2021, when the two were at a mutual friend’s house. The victim confided to the defendant that she had a difficult home life and he offered to help her with a place to stay if she needed it. A few days later, the victim called Edwards to take him up on his offer He bought her a train ticket to Iowa, where he picked her up and brought her to Wisconsin.  He immediately took pictures of her and posted ads on websites offering various sexual services in exchange for money. Edwards set the prices, arranged the meetings, arranged for hotels, and kept the bulk of the money gained from the trafficking activity.

Wisconsin Man Receives 20 Years In Federal Prison For Sex Trafficking Minors And For Transporting Child Pornography

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 9, 2023, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Jaron Jay Jackson (age: 36) to a total sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, followed by ten years’ supervised release, and 25 years of sex-offender registration. Jackson previously pled guilty to commercially sex trafficking two 15-year-old victims, and transporting child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591 and 2252A.

According to court documents, Jackson, who lived in the Milwaukee area, was released from the Wisconsin prison system on extended supervision and subsequently absconded to Illinois, where he began sex trafficking females. Jackson enticed two 15-year-old runaways from Oshkosh and Green Bay to join him in Chicago-area hotels. Soon after they arrived, Jackson posted sexually provocative pictures of the minor victims as advertisements on sex-trafficking websites. Jackson then directed the minor victims and an adult female victim to engage in commercial sexual acts with clients in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota. Jackson repeatedly engaged in sexual activity with one minor victim and attempted to do so with the second minor victim, who contacted family members to return home to Wisconsin. Jackson also recorded videos of a minor engaging in sexual activity with him, which officers recovered from his cell phone when they arrested him after he arrived in Wisconsin via Amtrak from Illinois.