Morning Headlines - Tuesday, May 9, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Debt Limit Battle: How We Got Here

President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will sit down for the first time in months on Tuesday to discuss the nation’s debt limit.

Bipartisan negotiations on the matter have stalled since February — when they last met — as Democrats and Republicans remain divided over how to keep the nation from defaulting on its debt.

The Treasury warns the U.S. risks default as early as June 1 without congressional action, an outcome experts warn could have devastating economic effects here and around the world.

Here’s how we got to this point.

Texas House Panel Advances Bill To Raise Age To Buy Semi-Automatic Rifles

A House committee in Texas advanced a measure Monday that would raise the minimum age to buy semi-automatic rifles in an unexpected shift after nine people died in a shooting at a Dallas-area outlet mall over the weekend.

The Select Committee on Community Safety approved the measure on an 8-5 vote, with two Republicans backing the Democratic bill. The measure is sponsored by Rep. Tracy King, who represents Uvalde, where an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school last May.

Under the bill’s provisions, the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine and with a caliber greater than .22 would be raised from 18 to 21.

Israel Gaza Strikes Kill Top Militants And 10 Civilians

At least 13 Palestinians, including three commanders of the militant group Islamic Jihad, have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian health officials said eight women and children were among the dead. Another 20 people were injured. Israel said it had launched an operation targeting militants who posed an imminent threat to its citizens.

Islamic Jihad has vowed revenge and Gaza-based militants are expected to respond with rocket fire into Israel.

Israel officials are said to be preparing for days of fighting. The strikes were the deadliest since three days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad last August.

What Goes Away When The Covid Health Emergency Ends This Week

The Covid-19 public health emergency ends Thursday and with it a host of pandemic-era rules and waivers that many Americans have come to take for granted.

While Covid-19 no longer dominates the headlines, ending the state of emergency will affect everything from free vaccines and tests to food assistance programs, and could come as a shock to Americans as subsidized programs they’ve grown accustomed to expire.

Bill Gates On The Future Of Nuclear Energy, AI

TerraPower, founded by billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2008, is opening a new nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The plant will be the first of its kind, with the company hoping to revolutionize the nuclear energy industry in the U.S. to help fight climate change and support American energy independence.

"Nuclear energy, if we do it right, will help us solve our climate goals," Gates told ABC News. "That is, get rid of the greenhouse gas emissions without making the electricity system far more expensive or less reliable."

Gates met with ABC News' chief business, economics and technology correspondent Rebecca Jarvis in Kemmerer to talk about the project.

Wisconsin Headlines

18 Victims Possible In Hidden Camera Arrest Of Janesville Craig High School Coach

The Janesville Police Department on Monday explained the events that led up to the arrest of a Janesville Craig High School athletics coach and where the investigation has gone since.

Brian Kitzman, 38, of Janesville was arrested Friday after school officials found a recording device in the girls' locker room. He was charged Monday with capturing an intimate representation without consent and invasion of privacy.

Kitzman has held head and assistant coaching positions since 2004 for track and field and swimming.

Judge: Wisconsin Fake Electors Complaint Must Be Reheard

A Wisconsin judge said Monday he will order that the state elections commission reconsider a complaint filed against fake Republican electors who attempted in 2020 to cast the state’s electoral ballots for former President Donald Trump.

But this time, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington said, the commission must consider the complaint without the participation of one of its six commissioners who was also one of the fake electors.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission, Republican commissioner Robert Spindell and those who brought the lawsuit ultimately all agreed that the complaint should be heard again without Spindell’s participation.

Wisconsin Judge Upholds Key State Approval Of Giant Power Line

A Wisconsin circuit court judge on Monday ruled in favor of a state regulator in a lawsuit challenging its issuance of an important certificate for the construction of a massive multistate power line opponents have been fighting tooth and nail for years.

Environmentalists and others opposing construction of the Cardinal Hickory-Creek transmission line – a high-voltage 345 kilovolt, 17-story-high, 102-mile-long power line being built in Iowa and Wisconsin – started suing in state and federal courts in late 2019 when the ball started rolling on the project, including with initial approvals from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, a public utilities regulator that approves major projects like the power line.

2023 Is The Deadliest Year For Wisconsin Police In Over Two Decades

After a motorist shot and killed a St. Croix sheriff’s deputy Saturday night, law enforcement leaders reflected on her death.

“It’s just a feeling of despair, sadness, and disappointment that again we're seeing this happen in such a short amount of time,” George Papachristou said.

A former Milwaukee Police officer, he is a chaplain with the Wisconsin State Patrol, providing moral support to officers across the state.

The shooting of deputy Katie Lessing, 29, makes 2023 the deadliest year for law enforcement in Wisconsin since 2000. She is the fourth law enforcement officer to be killed this year.

Attorney General Kaul Announces Distribution Of $141 Million Settlement To Millions Of Low-Income Americans Deceived By TurboTax Owner Intuit

Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced that consumers who were tricked by TurboTax’s owner Intuit into paying for free tax services will begin receiving checks from a $141 million multistate settlement announced in May 2022. Approximately 4.4 million consumers nationwide will receive checks in the mail from the multistate settlement. Wisconsin will receive more than $2,450,000 for more than 81,000 people who were tricked into paying to file their federal tax return. Eligible consumers will be contacted by email about the settlement. Checks will be mailed throughout May 2023.

“Deceiving consumers for profit is wrong,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “This is just one example of how we are working to protect people’s pocketbooks.”

In 2022, a $141 million multistate agreement with Intuit was announced for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the agreement.