Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Apr. 23, 2024 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Prosecutors Say Trump Violated His Gag Order 10 Times. The Judge Is Finally Set To Weigh In

On Monday, Manhattan prosecutors began trying to persuade a jury that Donald Trump is guilty of 34 felonies in his hush money case. On Tuesday, they’ll try to persuade the judge that he deserves a more immediate penalty: They want him held in contempt.

The prosecutors say Trump has repeatedly violated a gag order that prohibits him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case. Justice Juan Merchan has scheduled a Tuesday morning hearing, outside the presence of the jury, to consider the prosecutors’ arguments.

Pro-Palestinian Protests Leave American College Campuses On Edge

Tension gripped college campuses across the United States Tuesday morning as Jewish students marked the Passover holiday amid disturbing allegations of antisemitism at pro-Palestinian protests. The demonstrations have ramped up in recent days as Israel's devastating war against Hamas grinds on in the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 34,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children.

In New York, Columbia University's president cancelled in-person classes Monday in response to the protests and said classes would be hybrid through the end of the semester.

Senate Set To Advance Ukraine Aid After Rollercoaster House Battle

The Senate on Tuesday is at last set to advance legislation providing aid to Ukraine, moving Congress toward the end of a months-long battle that raised questions about the survival of Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) Speakership and Kyiv’s defenses.

Senators will hold the first procedural vote on the $95 billion aid package on Tuesday afternoon, starting a 30-hour clock toward a vote on final passage. That would take place on Wednesday night absent a deal on amendments, with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) increasingly likely to let the clock wind down instead.

Luxury Handbag Designer Jailed For Wildlife Smuggling, Making Merchandise Out Of Protected Species

A luxury handbag designer has been jailed after pleading guilty to smuggling purses made of the skins of protected reptiles, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi, found of the luxury handbag company Gzuniga, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday for illegally importing merchandise from Colombia to the United States that was made from protected wildlife, authorities said.

NASA Finally Receives Status Update From The Most Distant Spacecraft From Earth

For the first time in five months, NASA engineers have received decipherable data from Voyager 1 after crafting a creative solution to fix a communication problem aboard humanity’s most distant spacecraft in the cosmos.

Voyager 1 is currently about 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away, and at 46 years old, the probe has shown multiple quirks and signs of aging in recent years.

Elijah Vue’s Mother Asks Court To Allow Her Release On Signature Bond

The mother of missing boy Elijah Vue is trying to get out of the Manitowoc County Jail after two months in custody.

Katrina Baur’s attorney filed a motion with Manitowoc County Circuit Court to allow her release on a personal recognizance bond, or signature bond.

Attorney Ann Larson says Baur hasn’t been able to post the $15,000 cash bond originally set following Baur’s arrest in February.

102-Year-Old Chippewa Falls Veteran Receives Awards For Wartime Service

Over 80 years ago, a Chippewa Falls man crossed the Atlantic to help liberate Europe, and Monday he finally received awards honoring his service.

102-year-old Neil Korn served in the 405th Artillery Battalion and fought in Normandy, other areas in France and Germany. On Monday, Representative Derrick Van Orden awarded five medals that Korn earned through his service in World War II at the VFW on Starr Avenue.

Federal Wildlife Officials Announce Lake Sturgeon Won't Be Listed As Endangered

Lake sturgeon don’t need Endangered Species Act protections, federal wildlife officials announced April 22, saying that stocking programs have helped the prehistoric fish return to areas where they had vanished.

The decision ends the Arizona-based Center of Biological Diversity’s petition filed in May 2018 asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list lake sturgeon as endangered or threatened. Such listings would make harvesting the fish illegal, but without them, popular sturgeon harvest seasons in states such as Wisconsin and Michigan can continue.

Harris Hits Trump On Abortion During Wisconsin Visit

Vice President Kamala Harris today urged Dem activists to remind voters that Donald Trump said he was proud of his role in the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, declaring it could make a difference in who wins this fall.

During a stop in western Wisconsin, Harris argued freedom and democracy are at stake this fall in the presidential election. She told activists there is a duality to freedom because it is both strong in the protections it provides people but also fragile.

“It is only as strong as our willingness to fight, and fight we must,” Harris said. “And here’s the thing. When we fight, we win.”

Waukesha County Prosecutor Won't Charge Brandtjen Over Campaign Finance Laws

A Wisconsin prosecutor said April 19 that she won’t bring charges against a Republican lawmaker accused of trying to evade state campaign finance laws in order to unseat the powerful speaker of the Assembly.

Waukesha County District Attorney Susan Opper said she would not be filing felony charges against Rep. Janel Brandtjen as was recommended by the bipartisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission.