Morning Headlines - Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Republicans Fed Up With Dysfunction Are Hopeful Day 21 Will Result In A House Speaker

Republicans have burned through two speaker candidates since Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster. First, Majority Leader Steve Scalise won a conference vote before dropping out due to opposition then Jim Jordan tried to for the job and lost three floor votes.

In a step towards a more unified direction, every candidate in the running pledged to back whoever wins a conference vote on the House floor.

However, not every member has signed that pledge. 'I didn't sign the pledge thing, said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who supports Donalds. 'I think we need to focus on making sure someone's gonna lead this party in the right direction.'

Republicans are still far off from being united behind one candidate.

Whip Tom Emmer, the House's number three Republican, is the early favorite and already has a vote-whipping operation in place. Donalds, a Freedom Caucus member from Florida, has racked up support from the right wing of the conference.

Here’s How The Internal GOP Speaker Nomination Will Work

House Republicans are set to meet Tuesday morning as they aim to select a Speaker nominee — but eight declared candidates are still in the running, which means the decision-making process could take a while.

The conference gathers at 9 a.m. for its closed-door internal election.

House GOP conference rules dictate that all contested elections are decided by a secret ballot, and that no proxy voting is allowed.

Whoever The GOP Picks As Its Next Speaker Nominee May Never Get The Top Job

Winning a majority party’s nomination for speaker of the House of Representatives usually elevates a lawmaker into the pantheon of American political leaders.

But such is the toxicity of the GOP three weeks after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the nominee expected to emerge on Tuesday may never get the top job.

The nomination is an assignment to what may be an impossible political mission to unite a conference that might never be reconciled. And even if the nominee wins the gavel, the next speaker has a reasonable chance of a tenure even shorter than McCarthy, who lasted nine months.

Israel Willing To Delay Gaza Invasion To Discuss Large Release Of Hostages

Israel is willing to delay a ground invasion of Gaza for a few days to allow talks on releasing a large number of the hostages Hamas is holding there, two Israeli officials tell Axios.

"Both Israel and the Biden administration want to exhaust every effort to try and get hostages out of Gaza. If Hamas proposes a big package, of course we will be ready to do things in return," a senior Israeli official said.

Hamas has held more than 200 hostages in Gaza since its militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Israeli officials say that once their military launches a ground invasion, a deal for hostages will be nearly impossible.

New Deadly Bird Flu Cases Reported In Iowa, Joining 3 Other States As Disease Resurfaces

Two commercial turkey farms in Iowa have been hit by the reemerging highly pathogenic bird flu, causing about 100,000 birds to be killed to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture reported the infected commercial poultry flocks within weeks of a turkey farm in South Dakota and one in Utah reporting the first outbreaks in the U.S. since April, raising concerns that more would follow.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture shows 12 commercial flocks in South Dakota, Utah and Minnesota have been affected in October, totaling more than 500,000 birds.

Wisconsin Headlines

Registered Sex Offender Sentenced To Over 10 Years In Prison For Attempted Child Enticement

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on October 23, 2023, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Scott J. Meyer (age: 52), formerly of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to 130 months in federal prison for attempted child enticement. Following his prison sentence, Meyer will serve a lifetime of supervised release.

According to court documents, in June 2021, Meyer communicated with an undercover officer who he believed was a 15-year-old girl. Meyer requested sexually explicit photos from the girl and encouraged her to run away from home. On July 14, 2021, Meyer planned to pick the girl up and bring her back to his residence in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the purpose of having sexual intercourse. He expressed some concern about the possibility of getting caught and sent the undercover officer a message that stated, “If I show up to meet with you and you’re not who you say you are, I’m going straight to prison for 5-10 years!” Meyer was arrested that day.

Evers Administration Allocates $402 Million To Combat PFAS, Other Water Contaminants

Gov. Tony Evers is allocating more than $402 million to address polluted drinking water in Wisconsin, his office announced Oct. 23.

The money will be available to 106 Wisconsin municipalities to help them build water infrastructure projects, replace lead service lines and address emerging contaminants such as PFAS.

The money comes from a combination of the state Department of Natural Resources’ Safe Drinking Water Loan Program and a $1 trillion infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed into law in 2021.

Wisconsin Wants To Grow Its Elk Population. So Why Does The State Have A Hunting Season This Month?

Although Wisconsin is trying to build up its elk population, a state wildlife biologist says limited, regulated hunting this season can help the species in the long run by expanding genetic diversity.

Josh Spiegel, a Hayward-based wildlife biologist for the state Department of Natural Resources, recently joined Wisconsin Public Radio’s "The Morning Show" to discuss the recovery of elk after unregulated hunting wiped out the species about a century ago.

Wisconsin now has two herds of elk, Spiegel said. One herd roams parts of Ashland, Bayfield, Sawyer, Rusk and Price counties. The second herd stays in Jackson County east of Black River Falls. The two herds combined are about 515 elk, Spiegel said.

Wisconsin Designated As Regional Tech Hub In Biohealth By Economic Development Administration

On Monday, the Biden Administration designated Wisconsin as a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub as part of a program lawmakers on Capitol Hill introduced last year.

The Tech Hubs program was created from the CHIPS and Sciences Act signed into law by President Biden, targeting STEM research and manufacturing.

Senator Tammy Baldwin, one of the bill's supporters-- pressured the Biden Administration to consider Wisconsin as a tech hub designee for its innovations in biohealth and personalized medicine.

Officer Involved Critical Incident Investigation In Germantown, Wis.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating an officer involved critical incident in the Village of Germantown, Wis. that occurred on the evening of Monday, October 23, 2023.

At approximately 6:36 p.m., officers with Germantown Police Department responded to a report of a subject acting erratically in the parking lot of Kennedy Middle School. Upon arrival of law enforcement, the subject was able to climb onto the roof of the school and two officers pursued on foot. The subject discharged a firearm at the officers while on the roof, and they returned fire. A third officer also discharged their firearm. The subject sustained injuries, first aid was rendered, but the subject died on the scene.

No other members of the public or law enforcement were injured during the incident. This is believed to be an isolated incident and there no danger to the public. All interactions with the subject occurred outside of the building.