Morning Headlines - Monday, Mar. 25, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

ISIS Claimed Responsibility For Moscow Massacre, But Putin Points The Finger At Ukraine

As emergency workers waded through the rubble of Moscow’s Crocus City Hall on Sunday, also being picked over was the extent to which the attack might damage Russian President Vladimir Putin — or be used as a pretext to bolster his war in Ukraine.

The terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility after camouflaged men stormed the concert hall Friday night and killed at least 137 people with guns, knives and bombs.

Supreme Court Grapples With Online First Amendment Rights As Social Media Teems With Misinformation

As big tech firms wrestle with how to keep false and harmful information off their social networks, the Supreme Court is wrestling with whether platforms like Facebook and Twitter, now called X, have the right to decide what users can say on their sites. 

The dispute centers on a pair of laws passed in the red states of Florida and Texas over the question of First Amendment rights on the internet. The Supreme Court is considering whether the platforms are like newspapers, which have free speech rights to make their own editorial decisions, or if they're more like telephone companies, that merely transmit everyone's speech.

Ecuador's Youngest Mayor, Brigitte Garcia, And Her Adviser Are Found Shot To Death Inside Car

Ecuador's youngest mayor was found shot to death Sunday, police said, as the South American country approaches its third month of a state of emergency decreed by the government to crack down on soaring gang violence.

Brigitte Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of coastal San Vicente, was found dead along with her adviser, the municipality's communications director, Jairo Loor.

Trump Spirals As Bond Deadline In Fraud Case Nears

The eye-popping judgment against former President Trump in his New York fraud case has laid bare his precarious financial status, a matter that has sent the notoriously incensed real estate mogul off the rails.

In Truth Social posts, Trump has laid out mini diatribes lambasting the judge and attorney general in the case, claiming they want to swindle him out of precisely the amount of cash he has on hand to the tune of half a billion dollars.

Trump is known for his online rants and raucous rallies that frequently whip up his base, but the $454 million bond he must pay — or face the possibility of his assets being seized — appears to have sent the former president over the edge.

TikTok Bill Faces Uncertain Fate In The Senate As Legislation To Regulate Tech Industry Has Stalled

The young voices in the messages left for North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis were laughing, but the words were ominous.

“OK, listen, if you ban TikTok I will find you and shoot you,” one said, giggling and talking over other young voices in the background. “I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces.” Another threatened to kill Tillis, and then take their own life.

Wisconsin Headlines

Protest Group, ACLU Consider Lawsuit Targeting RNC Protest Rules

A group planning to protest outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee is considering legal action against the city for its newly adopted rules for demonstrations during the event.

The Milwaukee Common Council passed an ordinance last week with new rules for protests during the convention. It requires people protesting within the convention’s general security zone to march along a predetermined parade route and use a city-owned speaker’s platform.

It’s still unclear where the platform will be, but Pere Marquette Park was used by the city as the protest site for the Democratic National Convention in 2020. The park is about a quarter-mile away from where the RNC is being held at Fiserv Forum.

Gallagher Resigning House Seat April 19

GOP U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher abruptly announced today he will resign from Congress next month, further narrowing a tenuous Republican majority.

The Allouez Republican, who announced earlier this year, he wouldn’t seek reelection to the House, didn’t give a reason for his early departure, saying only in a statement it came after conversations with his family.

Wisconsin Women's Hockey Falls To Ohio State 1-0 In NCAA National Championship

The Wisconsin women's hockey team fell to Ohio State 1-0 in the NCAA Frozen Four Championship on Sunday afternoon. The Badgers finish the season 35-6 overall.

It was the sixth meeting this season between the two teams. Wisconsin had won two games in a row against the Buckeyes coming in to the national championship game.

Wisconsin Eclipse Chasers Plan To Drive A Thousand Miles For Total Solar Eclipse

John Rummel wanted to stop time on an August day in 2017 as he watched a total solar eclipse. The gray-blue color of the moon as it slid in front of the sun is what amazed him the most. He looked at his daughter and both of their eyes welled up with tears.

“What you see is jaw-droppingly, earth-shatteringly gorgeous and terrifying and dramatic,” Rummel said.

He traveled to Oregon with other members of the Madison Astronomical Society in 2017. He said that moving experience is why he is driving 1,100 miles to a campsite in Texas to catch the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8.

No. 2 Seed Marquette Holds Off No. 10 Colorado 81-77 In March Madness To Reach Sweet 16

 Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 11 assists, and David Joplin made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to help Marquette finally put away Colorado 81-77 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In their third season under coach Shaka Smart, the second-seeded Golden Eagles (27-9) reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013 by outlasting the 10th-seeded Buffaloes (26-11) and their dynamic offense.