Morning Headlines - Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023

U.S. and World Headlines

Biden Unveils Toughest-Ever Car Emissions Rules In Bid To Force Electric Vehicle Purchases

The Biden administration unveiled the most aggressive tailpipe emissions ever crafted as part of its sweeping climate agenda and efforts to push Americans to buy electric vehicles (EV).

The vehicle pollution standards, proposed Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and announced by the White House, will impact car model years 2027 through 2032. The White House said the regulations would "protect public health" by achieving carbon emission reductions of nearly 10 billion tons by 2055 and would save consumers an average of $12,000 over the lifetime of vehicles.

"Cars and truck manufacturers have made clear that the future of transportation is electric," the White House stated in a fact sheet. "The market is moving."

Two Million People Fled America’s Big Cities From 2020 To 2022

Two million people fled America’s largest cities from 2020 to 2022, new research shows, signaling that a retreat from urban centers to suburbs, exurbs and smaller cities in the early months of the pandemic has hardened into an enduring and potentially worrisome trend.

More than 1.2 million people left the nation’s large urban counties between July 2020 and July 2021, according to a report published this month by the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan public policy organization. Another 860,000 people departed between July 2021 and July 2022.

Only a fresh influx of immigrants saved big cities from dramatic population declines. Even with the immigrants, 17 of the nation’s 25 largest counties suffered population losses between April 2020 and July 2022, according to census data tabulated by The Hill.

FBI Leads Leak Investigation As Pentagon Narrows Access To Classified Documents

The FBI is working to track down who leaked sensitive and secret defense and intelligence documents and shared them on social media, and at the same time, the Pentagon is reducing the number of people who have access to the kind of classified information that has been leaked.

The number of people on government-wide distribution lists who receive classified updates has been culled significantly since Friday, U.S. officials said. Before the leak was revealed, about 1,000 people usually had access to these types of documents. CBS News has reviewed a number of the leaked documents, all of which are color printouts with text, graphics or maps that appear to have been folded, unfolded and then photographed and shared on social media sites including 4Chan and Discord.

Biden's Drug Czar Declares Fentanyl Laced With Animal Tranquilizer An 'Emerging Threat' Facing U.S.

President Joe Biden’s drug czar on Wednesday declared that fentanyl mixed with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer known as “tranq” that has been linked to a rising number of overdose deaths across the U.S., represents an “emerging threat” facing the nation.

The declaration from Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, requires the Biden administration to develop a federal plan to address the crisis. The government must now publish a response plan within 90 days and send implementation guidance to agencies within 120 days, among other steps.

“As the president’s drug policy adviser, I am deeply concerned about what this threat means for the nation,” Gupta told reporters during a briefing call on Tuesday, later adding: “We must act and act now.”

Elon Musk Tells BBC That Owning Twitter Has Been Quite Painful

Running Twitter has been "quite painful" and "a rollercoaster", Elon Musk has said, in a hastily arranged live interview with the BBC.

The multi-billionaire entrepreneur also said he would sell the company if the right person came along.

Mr Musk, who also runs car maker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October.

The interview from the firm's HQ in San Francisco covered the mass lay-offs, misinformation and his work habits. But he admitted he only went through with the takeover because a judge was about to force him to make the purchase. And he confirmed Twitter will change its newly added label for the BBC's account from "government funded media" to say it is "publicly funded" instead.

Wisconsin Headlines

Tammy Baldwin Announces Campaign For Third Term In U.S. Senate

2024 is here - politically speaking, that is.

As expected, Democrat Tammy Baldwin is seeking re-election for a third term in the U.S. Senate.

“I'm committed to making sure that working people, not just the big corporations and ultra-wealthy, have a fighter on their side," said Senator Baldwin. “With so much at stake, from families struggling with rising costs to a ban on reproductive freedom, Wisconsinites need someone who can fight and win.”

Abortion is likely to be a dominant issue in the 2024 campaign, with the state's 1849 abortion ban law making its way through the courts.

Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Propose Bill Addressing School Safety

On Monday Wisconsin Republicans proposed a bill that would allow each school board to voluntarily choose to create their own concealed carry policy to protect students.

State Representative Scott Allen and State Senator Cory Tomczyk are the lead sponsors of the bill. They want to take the decision out of the state’s hands and let the locally elected school board members vote on if they want to have this in their districts.

“Every minute matters when there is an active shooter on site and while I think it’s best for authorities, the police, and law enforcement officers to engage a suspect or an active shooter, that is the best-case scenario, it takes minutes for them to arrive at an active shooter site,” Allen said.

Wisconsin Has Regained Almost All The Population It Lost Since 2020, But Rebounds Have Been Uneven

Wisconsin has regained almost all the population it lost since 2020, despite the fact that deaths are outnumbering births in the state.

But even as more people move to Wisconsin, the state's post-pandemic population gains have been uneven. Milwaukee County continues to shrink, while the Madison area in Dane County is surging. And several rural counties in northern Wisconsin are seeing relatively high population growth rates, recently released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show.

Attorney General Kaul Joins Multistate Coalition To Fight Back Against Decision To Block Medication Abortion Access

Attorney General Josh Kaul today announces he has joined a multistate coalition to challenge the decision issued by a district court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that could restrict medication abortion access nationwide. The amicus brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, urges the court to stay pending appeal the district court’s ruling, which if allowed to take effect would halt the over two-decade old approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the medication abortion drug, mifepristone. Attorney General Kaul and the coalition of 24 attorneys general warn that revoking federal approval for mifepristone will drastically reduce access to safe abortion care and miscarriage management for millions of people across the country, endangering lives and trampling states’ authority to protect and promote access to abortion.

“The months following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade have made it clearer than ever how vital it is for women to have access to the full array of life-saving reproductive health care services—without interference from politicians,” said Attorney General Kaul. “Mifepristone has been used safely for years, and the misguided district court order that would prevent the use of mifepristone must be blocked.”

Wikler, Walker On ‘UpFront’ Look Ahead To 2024 Following Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler says he wants President Biden to seek reelection coming off last Tuesday’s win for Janet Protasiewicz in the state Supreme Court race.

“Absolutely, yes,” Wikler said on WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. “I think President Biden and Vice President Harris stack up so well against any of the Republican alternatives. I’m very, very excited about the possibility of their reelection campaign, and I hope an announcement comes soon.”

The party spent millions backing Protasiewicz in what became the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.