Morning Headlines - Monday, Jan. 8, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

Democrats Question Whether Biden Should Agree To Debate Trump

Democratic lawmakers are leery about the prospect of President Biden debating former President Trump, fearing that putting the two on stage together would only elevate the likely GOP nominee.

Trump has skipped every Republican presidential primary debate thus far but says he’s eager to debate Biden.

He told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt before Christmas that he would “look forward” to facing Biden and suggested 10 debates.

Democratic lawmakers, however, are not relishing that scenario.

Barack Obama Wins His Fifth Emmy

Barack Obama scored an Emmy win – his fifth – on Sunday during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, taking home a statuette for outstanding narration for his Netflix documentary series “Working: What We Do All Day.”

The former US President is also a producer on the project alongside wife and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Obama previously won an Emmy for outstanding narration in 2022 for his work on “Our Great National Parks,” a documentary series that also streamed on Netflix.

Congressional Leaders Say They've Reached Agreement On Government Funding

Congressional leaders announced Sunday they have reached an agreement on the overall spending level for the remainder of 2024 as they seek to avoid a government shutdown later this month.

The $1.66 trillion deal includes $886 billion for defense and $772.7 billion for non-defense spending, Democratic leaders said.

The topline is slightly above the $1.59 trillion that was reached in a bipartisan deal last year and includes changes to discretionary spending that was part of a side agreement between President Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It cuts $6.1 billion in COVID-19 spending and accelerates cuts to IRS funding.

Biden Is Asking For Mexican Help To Stop The Record Surge Of Migrants. Here's What Mexico Wants In Return

The Biden administration is increasingly leaning on Mexico to curb the record flow of migrants crossing into the U.S., but Mexico has its own lists of ambitious asks for the U.S., say officials from both governments familiar with the discussions.

Previous measures taken by the Biden administration to stem the migrant surge have led to only temporary dips in the numbers, and in late December, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Mexico to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to ask for greater assistance. Those conversations were “preliminary,” the officials said, and did not result in hard promises from either side.

Vulcan Rocket Launches US Private Moon Mission

An US spacecraft has launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to try to perform a controlled landing on the Moon.

It's aiming to become the first American mission in 51 years to complete a soft touch-down, and the first ever by a private company.

Astrobotic's robotic lander, called Peregrine, has been contracted by Nasa to carry five scientific instruments.

These will study the Moon's surface environment ahead of human missions later this decade.

Peregrine is part of a stampede of spacecraft that will attempt to put themselves on the lunar surface in 2024 - possibly as many as eight different projects, including from Japan and China.

Wisconsin Headlines

Bill Watch: Wisconsin GOP At Odds Over Final Five And Ranked-Choice Voting

Legislative Republicans are at odds over bringing final five voting and ranked-choice voting to Wisconsin. On one side, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Sen. Jesse James, R-Altoona, wants to bring both practices to the state’s congressional and U.S. Senate races. On the other side, Rep. Ty Bodden, R-Hilbert, and Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, are pushing a constitutional amendment that would outlaw both systems in the state.

Here’s what you need to know:

Medical Marijuana Plan To Be Released By Republican Members Of Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin Republicans plan to unveil a proposal soon to legalize medical marijuana in the state and could vote on it sometime in 2024, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.

Republicans have been working behind closed doors for years on a medical marijuana bill. Along the way, they have rejected calls from Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats to legalize all uses of marijuana, including medical and recreational.

Top Workforce Official Pushes Wisconsin To Compete For Talent Amid Labor Shortage

Leadership for the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is pushing Wisconsin to compete against its neighbors for talent, even as it posts record employment numbers.

"2023 was an absolute record breaking year for the Department of Workforce Development and for Wisconsin's workforce system as a whole," DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek said.

Earthquake Felt In Northern Wisconsin

An earthquake hit northern Wisconsin Sunday morning.

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake hit southwest of Crandon shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The geological survey classified the earthquake's impact as "weak."

The Forest County Sheriff's Office reported they received calls about shaking and vibrating coming from the ground.

Love Comes Through As Packers Beat Bears 17-9 To Clinch A Playoff Berth

Jordan Love accomplished something in his first season as a starting quarterback that his four-time MVP predecessor failed to achieve last year.

He has the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.

Love threw for 316 yards and connected with Dontayvion Wicks on a pair of touchdowns as the Packers earned a wild-card berth with a 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The Packers bounced back from a 2-5 start by winning seven of their last 10 games, including three straight.