News
Legislative Black Caucus kicks off Black History Month
Wisconsin’s Legislative Black Caucus is celebrating Black History Month with a host of events aimed at educating people about and reflecting on the past accomplishments of Black people, while also uplifting Black Wisconsinites’ voices and current needs. The caucus started the month-long celebration Wednesday with a morning press conference, which included the singing of “Lift […]
Navy decompression experiments at UW-Madison come to an end
U.S. Navy experiments on animals have been canceled at UW-Madison following pressure from animal rights activists. The canceled experiments subjected sheep to conditions meant to induce decompression sickness. Two years before their scheduled completion, the experiments exposed test subjects to pressure in hyperbaric chambers, according to a letter sent by the animal rights group People […]
U.S. House Judiciary’s debut hearing on the border centers on blame for fentanyl crisis
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl drug smuggling at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday hearing. Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio also blamed U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the number of migrants at the border, and said there are already hundreds of […]
States criticized for spending federal relief funds on tax cuts, prisons
As states plan how they’ll spend the $25 billion remaining in federal COVID relief funds, some also are facing criticism and renewed scrutiny over how they allocated money already received from the American Rescue Plan Act. Of the $198 billion authorized by Congress in 2021, $173 billion already has been appropriated by states, the District […]
Billions in federal farm payments flow to a select group of producers, report shows
WASHINGTON — The top 10% of recipients of federal farm payments raked in more than 79% of total subsidies over the last 25 years — producing billions of dollars for a relatively small group of U.S. producers, according to a new analysis of federal data from an environmental group. In total, the federal government paid […]
U.S. House panel probes extent of fraud in federal COVID-19 relief programs
WASHINGTON — From 2020 to 2022, a group of Minnesotans pretended to be serving meals to low-income children, all the while filing for reimbursement under a federal COVID-19 relief program aimed to buoy child nutrition as schools and childcare centers closed. In all, the schemers defrauded the government of $250 million, the Minnesota Reformer reported. […]
Biden, McCarthy hold ‘productive’ and ‘frank’ debt limit talks as fiscal cliffs loom
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy huddled behind closed doors at the White House on Wednesday in the first of what will likely be several conversations as the country approaches two fiscal cliffs this year amid divided government. The top issue at the moment is when and how to address […]
Lawmakers looking to address PFAS pollution
A Republican-led committee appeared open to dedicating more resources this budget cycle towards addressing PFAS contamination in Wisconsin during a hearing on Tuesday. The informational hearing about PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — comes about a month after University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers determined there were PFAS in Green Bay and a week after […]
Opioid settlement funds come through as overdose numbers keep climbing
As the federal government begins to divvy up millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds and states face decisions on how to best use the one-time payouts, deaths from opioid drugs are continuing to increase, according to state and local authorities. More than 1,400 people died of an opioid overdose in 2021 across the state […]
Of more than 7,500 threats against members of Congress in 2022, just 22 prosecuted
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress receive thousands of threats a year, though just a fraction of the people who call, mail or email will ever be prosecuted — a situation that’s of great concern to the police who guard members. Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, the […]
Campaign watchdog: Money kept pouring in — and out — in 2022 race for governor
The 2022 race for Wisconsin governor broke all records when it came to election spending, the campaign finance watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported Tuesday. The money spent on the 2022 contest, $164.29 million, was 77% more than the $93.06 million spent on the 2018 governor’s race. It was more than double the $81.78 million […]
Health equity report calls for changes that extend beyond the health care system
A new report calls for Wisconsin to foster a corps of community health workers across the state, governed by a new set of professional standards and paid by the state’s Medicaid program. That is the lead proposal offered by the Governor’s Health Equity Council, which issued its final report Monday. The report includes a total […]