Morning Headlines - Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

Supreme Court To Weigh Whether Trump Should Stay On Colorado Ballot For 2024 Election

The Supreme Court is set to consider if Donald Trump should be banned from running for president and whether his name can be left off the 2024 ballot in Colorado.

Trump was declared ineligible to appear on the Colorado ballot on December 19 and his appeal against the state's Supreme Court's decision will be heard on Thursday.

The decision marked the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. The Civil War-era rule states that people who participate in an insurrection are ineligible for office.

Republicans In Congress Face Internal Backlash Over Dueling Floor Disasters

Chaos has been a common theme for the 118th Congress.

But this week, lawmakers took the drama to new heights, as Republicans in both chambers sank two top GOP priorities – impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and securing the southern border – serving up a double dose of dysfunction in the nation’s capital.

“I had many people reach out to me via text message and say, ‘What the hell are you guys doing up there?’ I think our base is a little frustrated,” GOP Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas told CNN. “We may have the gavel, but we’re not acting like we’re in the majority.”

How The Federal Government Created The Immigration Crisis That Now Bedevils It

With immigrant crossings at their highest levels in decades, Republicans are running on the issue of a border in “crisis” — once-hardline language increasingly adopted by President Biden himself.

Now, with many voters citing immigration as their top concern heading into November, Congress has wrangled with — and scrapped — a sweeping border policy deal that would have drastically reduced the ability of migrants to claim asylum.

The mounting concerns and clamor for reform that engulfed the Senate for months didn’t come out of nowhere: They stem from past legislative rushes that built the current immigration system and the situation at the border.

Californian Accused Of Stealing Secret U.S.-Made Missile Tech To Assist China

The Department of Justice announced charges in two separate cases Wednesday over allegedly "sophisticated schemes to transfer sensitive technology, goods, and information" to benefit the governments of China and Iran.

In one case in California, Chenguang Gong, a 57-year-old U.S. citizen who was born in China, is accused of stealing trade secrets developed for use by the U.S. government to detect nuclear missile launches and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

Joe Biden Reaches Out To Michigan's Arab-American, Muslim Community As He Faces Criticism Over Gaza

The White House is sending a group of senior advisers to meet with leaders in Michigan's Arab-American and Muslim community on Thursday amid criticism that President Joe Biden isn't doing enough to demand an Israeli ceasefire in Gaza, an administration source told the Free Press.

CNN first reported that an unnamed White House official said the group, which includes Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Tom Perez, would head to Michigan to meet with local leaders, including those in Dearborn's large Arab American community.

Wisconsin Headlines

In Fight Over Voter Rolls, Wisconsin Appeals Judges Disagree On Access To Sensitive Data

Conservative activists who challenged Wisconsin’s 2020 election results could gain access to sensitive health information about people judged mentally incapable of voting after one appellate court took the unusual step of contradicting a related ruling from another branch of the same court.

The rulings highlight the increasing partisanship in the state’s judiciary and could create complications for lower court judges, legal experts told Wisconsin Watch. On Jan. 31, an obscure judicial committee rejected the ruling favoring conservative activists as precedent. The committee endorsed the opposing ruling in December, something that happens in roughly one in 10 cases.

Tiffany Requests Bureau Of Refugee Programs To Hold Public Forums

Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) sent a follow-up letter to Bojana Zoric Martinez, the Director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs, demanding transparency and public input for residents in the Chippewa Valley on refugee resettlement plans.

This letter comes after Rep. Tiffany did not receive a response to the first letter he sent in January to Director Zoric Martinez requesting public dialogue on this important issue.

La Crosse County Man Sentenced To 5 Years For Trafficking Methamphetamine

Alfredo Almanza, 43, La Crosse, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 5 years in federal prison for possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine for distribution and maintaining a drug trafficking place. Almanza pleaded guilty to these charges on October 31, 2023.

Law enforcement began investigating Almanza for drug trafficking after receiving complaints from citizens that he was selling methamphetamine out of his home in La Crosse County. On March 15, 2023, law enforcement officers followed a known drug trafficker as he drove to the alley behind Almanza’s home, then exit his vehicle and return a short time later. Law enforcement stopped and searched the vehicle as it left Almanza’s house and found 95 grams of methamphetamine. GPS records indicated that this drug trafficker had been at Almanza’s residence four other times in the month of March.

Federal Court Hears Arguments From Bad River, Enbridge In Appeal Of Pipeline Shutdown Order

A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments Thursday in a case that has a Canadian energy firm and a Lake Superior tribe fighting over the fate of an oil and gas pipeline running across northern Wisconsin.

The 70-year-old Line 5 operated by Enbridge, Inc. can carry up to 23 million gallons per day of light crude oil and natural gas liquids from Superior across northern Wisconsin and Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario.

Last year, a federal judge ordered Enbridge to pay $5.1 million for trespassing on lands owned by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. U.S. District Court Judge William Conley ruled the company must remove its Line 5 pipeline from those lands within three years.

Green Bay Packers Announce Process For CEO Search

The Green Bay Packers have announced details of the search process for the organization’s next leader, who will succeed Mark Murphy, the Packers President and CEO since 2007.

Murphy will formally retire in July 2025 when he turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for the position as required by organizational by-laws.