Morning Headlines - Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Leaked Chinese Hacking Docs May Confirm Experts' Warnings About Threat To U.S.

A trove of leaked Chinese hacking documents might have given the world a glimpse of how widespread and effective China's hacking operations could be.

Over 570 files and documents were posted to the developer platform GitHub last week, per The Washington Post. The documents, which track hacking activity across multiple countries, belong to iSoon, a private security contractor with ties to China's Ministry of Public Security, according to the Post's report on Wednesday.

Biden Weighs Invoking Executive Authority To Stage Border Crackdown

President Biden is debating whether to invoke a sweeping presidential authority that gained infamy during the Trump administration to stage a crackdown on migrants coming to the U.S. southern border, three people familiar with the plans told CBS News.

Mr. Biden is weighing citing a law dating back to 1952 to severely restrict access to the U.S. asylum system, which has buckled under the weight of record levels of migrant arrivals along the border with Mexico, the sources said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal government deliberations.

Trump Attorneys Request Delay On Enforcement Of $355 Million Judgment Payment

Former President Trump’s attorneys requested a 30-day extension Wednesday on the time frame to pay a $355 million business fraud verdict levied against him last week.

The attorneys argued that New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is in an “unseemly rush” to enforce the verdict, “particularly given the magnitude of Judgment.”

AI Boom Drove Nvidia Profits Up 580% Last Year

Last year was a breakout year for artificial intelligence, and no company benefited from the trend quite like chipmaker Nvidia.

Earnings released on Wednesday show Nvidia’s profits grew to nearly $12.3 billion in the three months ended January 28 — up from $1.4 billion in the year-ago quarter, a gain of 769% year-over-year and even stronger growth than Wall Street analysts had expected. That result helped bring the company’s full-year profits up more than 580% from the year earlier.

Whale Song Mystery Solved By Scientists

Scientists have worked out how some of the largest whales in the ocean produce their haunting and complex songs. Humpbacks and other baleen whales have evolved a specialised "voice box" that enables them to sing underwater.

The discovery, published in the journal Nature, has also revealed why the noise we make in the ocean is so disruptive for these ocean giants. Whale song is restricted to a narrow frequency that overlaps with the noise produced by ships.

Evers Signals He Won't Sign Bill To Fight PFAS As Legislative Session Nears End

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signaled Wednesday that he has no intention of signing a Republican bill that would spend tens of millions of dollars to address pollution from the so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS because it dramatically scales back regulators' enforcement authority.

The Senate passed the bill in November and the Assembly was expected to follow suit on Thursday and send the legislation to the governor. Time is running out for any sort of compromise. Thursday is the Assembly's last scheduled floor period of the two-year legislative session.

Wisconsin School District Releases Tape Of Black Superintendent's Comments That Led To Resignation

The Green Bay school district on Wednesday released the recording of its first Black superintendent's appearance on an Atlanta radio show in which he made blunt comments about race relations, criticized the community and derided one of the district's principals.

Claude Tiller Jr. resigned on Saturday after a closed-door meeting with school board members.

What Do Wisconsin’s New Maps Mean For The Legislature’s Balance Of Power?

For the first time in more than 50 years, the state Legislature and governor reached a bipartisan agreement on new legislative maps, one that could substantially shift the balance of political power in Wisconsin.

The new maps were drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and passed by Republican lawmakers, who said they’d have a better shot at maintaining their majorities with the governor’s district lines than under other options that were being considered by the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority.

Assembly Approves Bill To Hold Back Students Who Miss More Than 30 Days Of School

Students who miss more than 30 full days during the school year would be held back, under a bill the Assembly approved by voice vote today.

Dems on the floor argued AB 1026 would punish students while failing to address the underlying causes of chronic absenteeism, including access to school meals and transportation.

Senate Passes Republican Tax Cut Package – Ready For Evers Action

A $2.1 billion Republican tax cut package that draws down the state surplus is now ready for Governor Tony Evers to act on. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) said it will help Wisconsin compete with neighboring states.

“All of our neighbors except the crazy neighbor to the west have more friendly tax income tax codes than we have. Illinois has a 4.95% flat tax, Michigan has a 4.05 flat tax.”