Morning Headlines - Thursday, May 4, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Conservation Groups Fight Back Against Biden Admin's 'Misguided' Regulation Efforts On Hunting, Fishing

New regulations from the Biden administration, in collaboration with environmentalists, would limit hunting and fishing in multiple states across the country.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to publish regulations that would limit the equipment allowed on public refuge properties and expand the area where cost-effective lead ammo and fishing tackle is banned.

International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR) Executive Director Luke Hilgemann, is spearheading the effort to get constitutional amendments on the ballot in several states in 2024 to secure the right to hunt and fish across the country.

What Is The Debt Ceiling, And Could Biden Avoid A Financial Crisis With The 14th Amendment?

The White House and congressional Democrats continue to look at their options to avoid a looming financial crisis as Republicans so far refuse a clean raising of the debt ceiling.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that her department would run out of funds by June 1 if the limit isn’t raised or suspended.

“We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States,” Yellen wrote in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. “If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.”

Republicans Subpoena FBI For Document Alleging Unspecified ‘Criminal Scheme’ Involving Biden

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) are demanding a document from the FBI they say outlines an unverified and unspecified “alleged criminal scheme” involving a foreign national and President Biden when he was vice president.

Comer on Wednesday subpoenaed the FBI for the document, marking an escalation in Republicans’ investigation of Biden himself after largely focusing on the foreign business activities of his son Hunter Biden and other family members and associates.

The subpoena was released publicly alongside a letter from the Oversight chairman and Grassley to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland that gave a broad overview of the claims.

Fed Raises Interest Rates 0.25%, Escalating Inflation Fight Amid Banking Woes

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its short-term borrowing rate another 0.25%, escalating the central bank's attack on inflation just two days after the forced sale of First Republic Bank.

The Fed’s 10th consecutive rate increase arrives less than a week after fresh government data showed that U.S. economic growth slowed over the first three months of this year.

Despite the economic turbulence, the central bank appears dedicated to tightening its grip on prices.

Inflation has fallen significantly from a summer peak though it remains more than double the Fed's target of 2%.

Mix Of Politics And COVID Crush Students' History Scores

New data out this week revealed dismal scores by eighth graders on a national U.S. history test. Experts are pointing to a devastating combination of polarization over school curriculums and pandemic disruptions.

The test results — showing an all-time low score in history and a first-ever decline in civics — paint a troubling picture of how much America's youth know about their own country.U.S. history scores among the nation's eighth graders fell last year to the lowest levels recorded since 1994, when the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) first conducted a history assessment.

The declines were largely expected as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hurt students' performance. But Sautner said the drops may also be tied to backlash and tension over certain topics.

Wisconsin Headlines

Republicans Say Final Details Of Shared Revenue Bill Still Being Negotiated

The two main architects of legislation to significantly boost shared revenue while allowing Milwaukee County and the city to add new sales taxes told WisPolitics talks on final details are ongoing.

That includes whether to require a referendum to approve the proposed sales tax increases — as opposed to allowing the Common Council and County Board to approve them — and a series of restrictions that Republicans want to put on the state’s largest city and county.

State Sen. Mary Felkowski, who has been the Senate GOP’s lead negotiator on the proposal, said the possible changes aren’t anything drastic.

Felzkowski said she agrees with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, that Republicans generally believe that if a local government is going to raise taxes, voters should have input. But she raised doubts the referendums would pass.

Fifth Graders In Amery, WI Fundraising For Tornado Relief In Sister City Amory, MS

1,000 miles away from Amery, Wisconsin is Amory, Mississippi. They've shared a special bond since they proclaimed each other sister cities in 2017.

But on March 24, disaster struck. Amory was hit by an EF4 tornado, destroying thousands of homes and facilities in the Amory School District.

That's why a fifth grade class in Amery, Wisconsin is stepping up.

"It's our sister city. We just have to help them out," said Koby Heyer, a fifth grader at Amery Intermediate School.

Rare Parasitic Plant Rediscovered In Dunes Over Lake Michigan

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that a population of a rare parasitic plant was rediscovered on the dunes overlooking Lake Michigan in Manitowoc County. A trained volunteer for the Rare Plant Monitoring Program spotted the clustered broomrape (Orobanche fasciculata), which has not been seen in over 44 years.

“These new discoveries are very exciting. They help increase our understanding of the number and locations of rare plant species in Wisconsin so we can better monitor and protect them,” said Kevin Doyle, DNR Natural Heritage Conservation Botanist and Rare Plant Monitoring Program Coordinator. “Volunteers also revisit known locations, another important part of the conservation process. If we don’t check on these populations, we won’t know when they are in trouble.”

Wisconsin's Rail Trails: Connecting Communities With The Outdoors

While bike riding on his local rail trail — an abandoned railroad converted into a walking and biking trail — Phil Kaznowski grew curious about other trails like this in Wisconsin.

And he wasn’t alone. John Hansen from Dane County also wanted to know about the history of rail-to-trail in Wisconsin and why these trail systems were built. They both reached out to Wisconsin Public Radio's WHYsconsin for answers.

But before we can jump into the history of these trails, we first have to start with the railroads themselves — a topic Patricia Meyer from Beaver Dam was curious about. She wrote to WHYsconsin asking about the history of railroads, specifically about early train transportation.

Former Wisconsin WR Marcus Randle El Sentenced To 2 Life Sentences For Murder

Marcus Randle El, who is a former Wisconsin wide receiver and the brother of former NFL wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, was convicted on two counts of first-degree homicide and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences Wednesday, per Madison Williams of Sports Illustrated.

Prosecutors said Randle El fatally shot Seairaha Winchester out of fear she would tell police he was dealing drugs and then fatally shot Brittany McAdory because she was a witness to the first killing.

The shootings happened in February 2020.