Morning Headlines - Thursday, May 26, 2022

U.S. and World Headlines

Texas Shooting: Where Does US Gun Control Go From Here?

Today, only a handful of the 50 Republican senators today appear open to new gun legislation.

That hasn't stopped Democrats from considering new proposals and offering to work with Republicans to find any common ground.

Biden Signs Executive Order On Policing 2 Years After George Floyd's Death

President Biden signed an executive order aimed at reforming federal police practices and establishing a national database of police misconduct on Wednesday, two years to the day since George Floyd was murdered at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.

"This executive order is going to deliver the most significant police reform in decades. It applies directly, under law, to only 100,000 federal law enforcement officers, all the federal law enforcement officers. And through federal incentives and best practices that are attached to it, we expect the order to have significant impact on state and local law enforcement agencies as well," he said.

Oklahoma Gov. Signs Into Law Near-Total Abortion Ban Starting At Fertilization

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Wednesday signed into law a bill aimed at banning all abortions in the state beginning at fertilization that will be enforced by lawsuits from private citizens.

The near-total ban takes effect immediately upon being signed, making it the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. It encourages private citizens to sue anyone suspected of helping a person get an abortion.

Georgia Deals Critical Blow To Trump’s Kingmaker Status

Former President Donald Trump is facing a serious political setback after Georgia voters delivered a resounding rejection on Tuesday of his efforts to reshape some of the state’s highest offices in his own image.

In nearly every statewide GOP primary, Trump’s endorsed candidates fell to incumbents whom he vowed to seek revenge upon.

The Twisted Logic Behind The Right’s ‘Great Replacement’ Arguments

Days after a white gunman shot 13 people, killing 10, at a grocery store in a majority-Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired a segment about the “great replacement theory.”

“We’re still not sure exactly what it is,” Carlson claimed about the racist, white-supremacist conspiracy theory that the population of white Americans is being systematically and intentionally “replaced” by nonwhite immigrants and their children, something the suspected shooter espoused prior to the attack. Yet elements of the theory have been echoed by mainstream figures on the right, including Carlson, as well as GOP members of Congress like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House.

Wisconsin Headlines

Republican Quits Wisconsin Elections Panel, Says Trump Lost

A Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission is quitting the panel, saying the GOP has made it clear he's not wanted as its next chairman because he doesn't believe the election was stolen from Trump.

Some Wisconsin Lawmakers Call For Action On Gun Reform Following Deadly Uvalde School Shooting

The killing of nineteen children and two teachers at the hands of a single gunman in Texas has renewed calls for action on gun reform in the United States, including calls from some of Wisconsin's congressional delegation.

On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and barricaded himself inside a classroom, "shooting anyone that was in his way," according to authorities. All the victims were in the same fourth-grade room, which law enforcement officers eventually broke into and killed the shooter.

Janesville Man Sentenced To 16 Years For Producing Child Pornography

Noah Eisele, 36, Madison, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 16 years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for using minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of that conduct. Specifically, the defendant solicited young girls on Facebook for sexually explicit photos and videos. Eisele pleaded guilty to this charge on March 2, 2022.

In February 2021, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office uncovered Eisele’s activity after Facebook flagged an account for sharing child pornography. Law enforcement connected the account to the defendant, who admitted to creating the account in order to pose as a teenage boy. Eisele then used the account to message other users he believed to be minors, and instructed them to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves. In addition to requesting child pornography, Eisele sent minors sexually explicit pictures and videos of himself.

Grand Jury Returns Indictments

A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

2022 Elk Quota Set, Hunters Can Still Apply For Tag Till May 31

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds Wisconsin residents that the chance to draw a 2022 elk hunting license ends on May 31. Wisconsinites can enter for their chance at the state’s only once-in-a-lifetime hunt while contributing crucial funding for elk conservation.