Morning Headlines - Monday, Feb. 3, 2025 | Recent News

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

Elon Musk Says He And Trump Are Shutting Down USAID

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Monday that he and President Donald Trump were in the process of shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, escalating their war on the federal bureaucracy and defying the constitutional power of Congress to determine how money is spent.

Musk, the head of Trump’s government efficiency initiative, announced the shutdown in the middle of the night in an audio-only appearance on his social media site X.

Markets Slide As Trump's Tariff War Escalates

Shares in Europe and Asia have fallen after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and said tariffs on the EU would "definitely happen".

The German and French stock markets were down about 2%, with shares in carmakers among the worst hit, while London's FTSE 100 dropped more 1%.

The US dollar also strengthened on the currency markets, rising to a record high against China's yuan, while the Canadian dollar plunged to its lowest level since 2003.

Investors are bracing for a turbulent period that could hit the earnings of major companies and dent global growth.

Democrats Fume Over Weak Early Response To Trump

Democrats are fuming about their party leadership’s early response to President Trump.

Strategists say the reaction to Trump is inconsistent and not aggressive enough to combat Trump, who has taken a series of actions to remake the government.

In a whirlwind first two weeks in office, Trump has issued a string of executive orders, removed agency watchdogs and eliminated government diversity programs.

The 2025 Just 100 Rankings

Just Capital’s annual list of America’s “most just” companies ranks the Russell 1000 universe using a methodology based on public polling that since 2015 has taken the pulse of nearly 200,000 Americans, asking them to identify and prioritize the issues that they think contribute the most to just business behavior.

To produce the 2025 JUST 100, the research spanned 17 core issues, 88 underlying data points, and five stakeholder groups: workers, communities, shareholders & governance, customers, and the environment.

Who Won Grammys For 2025? See The List Of Winners Here

Here is the list of major award winners:

Man Declared AWOL From Dane County Jail Diversion Program

Officials are looking for a Madison man they say is AWOL from the Dane County Sheriff's Office Jail Diversion program.

Shawn Garel, 27, was declared AWOL Sunday afternoon. He was last seen in the Madison area Friday night.

DMV Offers Information On Obtaining An ID For Voting

Ahead of the Wisconsin Spring Primary Election on February 18, 2025, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reminds citizens how to obtain identification, free of charge, that is valid for voting.

Valid identification for voting purposes includes a driver license, identification card, military or student ID card, etc. There is no separate “voter ID.”

In-person Absentee Voting (IPAV) For Spring Primary Begins On Tuesday, Feb. 4

Key deadlines are rapidly approaching for eligible Wisconsin voters seeking to cast an absentee ballot before the Feb. 18 Spring Primary, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Starting on Tuesday, Feb. 4 – two weeks before Election Day – clerks can begin to issue in-person absentee ballots at the clerk’s office or another designated location.

Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus Doubles In Size

The Wisconsin Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus has more than doubled in size, the group of lawmakers announced in a statement this week.

Lawmakers who are members of the LGBTQ+ community and do “not vote for, or support, or co-sponsor legislation that would harm the LGBTQ+ community” can join the caucus, said Rep. Christian Phelps, D-Eau Claire, its new vice chair.

The seven new members were elected in November at the same time as President Donald Trump — who, according to Phelps, made the transgender community a “scapegoat.” To Phelps, who’s 31, that’s not a contradiction.

Martin Tops Wikler In Vote For National Dem Party Chair

Minnesota Dem Party Chair Ken Martin topped Wisconsin’s Ben Wikler to become the next head of the national party, winning a majority on the first ballot.

Martin received 246.5 votes, while Wikler received 134.5 votes. With 428 members voting, 214.5 were needed for a majority.

Going into the vote, Wikler had posted on X that he had the support of 183 DNC members.