Morning Headlines - Tuesday, June 4, 2024

U.S. and World Headlines

5 Takeaways From Fauci’s Heated House Hearing

During his first congressional hearing in nearly two years, former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci picked up where he left off: trading barbs with Republicans over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fauci’s public testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic was long anticipated and preceded by two days of closed-door interviews in January.

Here are some takeaways from the hearing.

A $120,000 Jury Bribe Disrupts US Charity Fraud Trial

A trial over one of America's largest pandemic-fraud schemes has taken a mysterious turn following an alleged attempt to bribe one of the jurors.

The juror was dismissed after she claimed that a woman dressed in black visited her home and offered her a bag filled with $120,000 (£93,770) in cash. In return, she was to vote to acquit the seven defendants.

The juror was part of a trial that centres on the alleged theft of more than $40m from a taxpayer-supported food aid program for children.

Many Americans Still Shying Away From EVs Despite Biden Push

Many Americans still aren’t sold on going electric for their next car purchase. High prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations are major sticking points, a new poll shows.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they would be at least somewhat likely to buy an EV the next time they buy a car, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, while 46% say they are not too likely or not at all likely to purchase one.

Veterans Gather For Their Last Big D-Day Anniversary Under The Cloud Of A New War In Europe

For almost 80 years, the United States and Europe told themselves that a lasting postwar peace had been won here, in the bloody shallows and sands along 6 miles of Normandy beach.

On Thursday — the 80th anniversary of D-Day, perhaps the last major milestone for many of the invasion’s dwindling heroes — that peace in Europe finds itself shattered.

Replacing it are fears of another world war that until recently seemed outlandish, uncertainty about Washington’s European allyship that the Normandy landings cemented, and questions about the future of the Western alliance itself.

The Fight To Keep Documentaries Real

AI will wreck the documentary tradition unless filmmakers track and disclose their use of generative AI, according to a group of award-winning archival producers who are fighting for new standards.

With no laws in place or professional codes governing how documentarians use AI, public trust in the visual record of history will erode, the three women who co-founded the Archival Producer's Alliance (APA) argue.

Wisconsin Headlines

Wisconsin Pension Plan Likely To Invest Much More In Bitcoin ETF, Marquette Professor Says

David Krause, a professor of finance at Marquette University, said the initial investment by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board is just "a toe in the water" to test the public’s reaction.

Wisconsin Dell Is Now Home To Nation’s Largest Water Slide

The water park capital of the world, Wisconsin Dells, is now home to the tallest water slide in America.

“The Rise of Icarus” is Mount Olympus’s newest addition to their water park. Towering at 145 feet tall with five additional slides coming from the body of the tower. Coining the tallest point as “The Fall.”

Wisconsin's 2025 Recruiting Class Rises To 15th In The Nation

The Badgers had zero four-star prospects in the 2025 football recruiting class until two committed over the weekend. Offensive lineman Logan Powell and cornerback Rukeem Stroud committing over the weekend helped boost Wisconsin's recruiting class to No. 15 in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Appleton Woman Sentenced To 20 Years In Federal Prison For Production Of Child Pornography

Charlotta A. Belgum (age: 38) of Appleton, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach.

According to court records, Belgum created child pornography using a minor child and distributed the child pornography via the internet to an individual in Texas whom she had met in an online fetish forum.

Atwell Resigns From UW Board Of Regents

Bob Atwell, the GOP regent who had previously planned to stay on the UW board beyond the expiration of his term, tells WisPolitics that he has resigned, effective immediately.

WisPolitics first reported last month that Atwell had sent an email to UW officials indicating he planned to remain on the board for the foreseeable future after GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos advised him he can serve until his successor is appointed and confirmed.