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NEWS

Chief justice asks for investigation after leak of draft in Wisconsin abortion case

The chief justice of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court says she’s asking law enforcement to investigate following the leak of a draft order in a high-profile case over the status of abortion in Wisconsin.

That leaked document indicates the state Supreme Court will eventually hear a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a petition in February, about six months after the high court flipped to a 4-3 liberal majority, asking the court to take up its case directly. Planned Parenthood is asking the court find that Wisconsin’s Constitution protects a right to abortion.

In a statement Wednesday, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, a conservative, says the entire court was shocked by the leak of a confidential document.

“We are all united behind this investigation to identify the source of the apparent leak,” Ziegler said in a statement. “The seven of us condemn this breach.”

Clinics across Wisconsin stopped performing abortions, except those done to save a pregnant person’s life, in June of 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a national right to abortion.

MEANWHILE, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged Wednesday that it inadvertently posted online a document related to a pending abortion case, which Bloomberg Law obtained before it was removed from the website.

Supreme Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed that a document was “inadvertently and briefly uploaded” to the court website but added that the ruling “has not been released.”

The court appears set to allow emergency room doctors in Idaho to perform abortions in certain situations, according to a copy of the decision, Bloomberg reported. The court is likely to dismiss the appeal brought by Idaho officials, Bloomberg said.

—WI Public Radio and NBC News

The first Wisconsin Buc-ee’s delayed

Plans for a Buc-ee’s convenience store between Madison and Wisconsin Dells include a $15 million Interstate 39/90/94 interchange upgrade — with Buc-ee’s asking to split the project costs between the company and taxpayers — and the request has made the timeline for the start of construction uncertain.

Buc-ee’s is offering to spend up to $8.1 million to build a new Interstate 39/90/94 interchange in DeForest, in northern Dane County, according to a proposal to city officials. The new development is requested at the County V interchange, with the popular convenience store and other new development expected to dramatically increase traffic in the area.

DeForest Village Administrator Bill Chang said Wednesday that the funding proposal was a “challenging number” for the village, which is exploring funding through means like a tax improvement district.

Negotiations will delay a construction start date that was initially planned for this summer, Chang said.

Buc-ee’s announced the plans for its first Wisconsin location in early 2023, resulting in much excitement. Some of that is due to its sheer size and reputation — the 75,000-square-foot convenience store would have roughly 120 gas pumps, for instance, and it’s expected to be a major hub for travel commerce.

—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

New Marquette poll puts Biden and Trump in a dead heat but with ominous signs for Biden

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are in a dead heat with just about four months until Election Day, when Wisconsin voters could again be a tipping point for the nation.

According to the latest Marquette University Law School poll, the incumbent Democratic president is tied with his Republican predecessor among registered Wisconsin voters in the battleground state where statewide races are often decided by just a few thousand votes. Among likely voters, Biden leads Trump 51% to 49%.

Voter enthusiasm, however, is overwhelmingly on Trump’s side and that could be decisive in November, according to Marquette University Law School poll director Charles Franklin.

“Here’s a path for Joe Biden to lose this election pretty badly, is that he’s failed to inspire his supporters,” Franklin said Wednesday at an event on Marquette’s campus. “They’re unenthusiastic about him and his campaign, and they’re much less likely to vote than those who are very enthusiastic, who overwhelmingly are for Trump.”

Wednesday’s poll shows voters who think of themselves as very enthusiastic to vote are siding with Trump over Biden 61% to 39%, and voters who describe themselves as having lower levels of enthusiasm lean toward Biden by significant margins, Franklin said.

Democratic. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin holds a lead over Republican businessman Eric Hovde, according to the latest Marquette University Law School poll.

Among both registered and likely voters, 52% said they backed Baldwin while 47% supported Hovde. That’s including undecided voters who were asked to name the candidate they would support if they were forced to choose. Without those undecided voters, Baldwin led Hovde 45-38 among registered voters and 49-40 among likely voters.

—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Fewer Wisconsinites see college in their future

Wisconsin colleges have a well-documented demographics problem. Smaller and smaller graduating high school classes have left colleges scrambling to fill seats, squeezing budgets and making painful cuts.

New research on marriage trends and household sizes by the Marquette University Law School’s Lubar Center on Public Policy reinforces the demographic challenge facing universities, which aren’t only competing with each other for students. They’re also competing with businesses recruiting students right into the workforce, and families questioning the time and, especially, the cost of a college degree.

The percentage of Wisconsin high school graduates going directly to college is plummeting. In 2022-23, it was less than 52%. That’s down about 10 percentage points from six years ago, according to state Department of Public Instruction data.

Stafford Wade (attended a job fair) on Milwaukee’s northwest side.

“I’m just not interested,” Wade, 18, said. “Four more years of school? No, thanks. I want something hands-on.”

—-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Biden vs. Trump: The High-Stakes First Debate in Race to White House

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will square off in their first debate of 2024 on June 27, aiming to present different visions for the future of the United States.

The high-stakes debate will be a crucial platform for the two oldest candidates in U.S. history to demonstrate their energy, appearance, coherence, and responsiveness, making it a pivotal event that could shape the presidential race, according to political analysts.

CNN will host the debate at its Atlanta studios. The 81-year-old incumbent and his 78-year-old opponent will be standing throughout the debate, which will last 90 minutes. There will be two commercial breaks, according to the network.

This year’s debate is taking place earlier than usual. The debate is so early that neither candidate has received an official nomination yet. Presidential debates typically occur in September or early October.

“The first debate offers both candidates a chance to change the race’s momentum,” Democrat strategist Christy Setzer told The Epoch Times. “Currently, we believe President Biden has benefited, albeit in a small way, from Trump’s felony convictions, but it’s still a toss-up,” she said. “The debate offers him an opportunity to pull ahead for real, or to reignite voters’ worries about him.”

Regarding preparation, Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, indicated that the former president is ready.

“President Trump takes on numerous tough interviews every single week and delivers lengthy rally speeches while standing, demonstrating elite stamina,” he said in a statement.

The former president has reportedly opted to not use mock debates or role-playing in preparation for this debate.

—The Epoch Times

America Braces for a Car-Crash Debate

The vast majority of Americans will not be watching to be informed on policy or even to help them decide who will earn their vote. They just want to see the other guy fall.

“We keep using the word debate but it’s not really a debate anymore,” said Luke Nichter, a presidential historian at Chapman University. “It’s a competitive press conference, simultaneous rallies with a split screen.”

“Biden wins if he’s competent. Trump wins if he’s sane,” said Chris Edelson, a presidential scholar at American University who said he recently discussed the matter with his 10-year-old son.

The boy ridiculed the entire idea of the debate as “silly” and asked, “What’s the point?”

“I started to explain, then I realized he’s right,” Edelson admitted.

The professor fully expects “haters” merely to “watch what memes come out of it.”

Barbara A. Perry, who teaches the American presidency at the University of Virginia, evoked the nasty inability to look away from a car crash. She also noted that a sizable number of Americans are “double haters,” lamenting the choice between an uninspiring 81-year-old and a criminal 78-year-old.

“They’re curious. They want to see if there’s blood. They truly are looking to see who gets out of the car unscathed.”

—The Daily Beast

Lawmakers Should Spend More Time in Their Districts

Seventy percent (70%) of voters say it is better for members of Congress to spend more time in their districts. A Scott Rasmussen national survey conducted by RMG Research found that just 10% think it would be better for members of Congress to spend more time in Washington.

The survey also found that 79% would support allowing members of Congress to vote from their districts so they can spend more time with their constituents and are better able to understand what they want. Twelve percent (12%) oppose that proposal.

—Newsmax

A new measure of Americans’ deep distrust of the media

It is a grim time to be a member of the news media. Many people see this as karma, if not good news: They view the media as having failed at its basic task of informing the public.

Americans simply don’t trust the media, particularly when it comes to politics. Swing-state polling from The Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University found that only 3 in 10 residents of six of the most important states in this year’s presidential election trust that the media will fairly and accurately report political news. Seven in 10 indicated that they had not too much trust in that occurring — or that they had no trust at all

As bad as the numbers on media trust are, the numbers on exhaustion with political news are far worse. Seven in 10 swing-state (including WI) voters expressed at least some distrust in media coverage; three-quarters said they were worn out by it.

—The Washington Post

OPINION

There’s No Way to Read This Other Than Biden Is Losing the Election Right Now

From swing state surveys to who’s better at handling the critical issues in the 2024 election, it’s Donald Trump’s election to lose. After three years of economic misery, chaos abroad, and a rapidly deteriorating president, Americans are looking for change.

CNN elections analyst Harry Enten analyzed the top issues heading into Thursday’s debate, where Trump has the high ground. On the economy and inflation, voters trust Trump over Biden by double-digits: 13 and 18 points more, respectively. The only area where Biden has the edge is on the state of democracy, though it’s only by seven points. Will it matter? We don’t know since this question has never been asked before—2024 is the first time.

Since 1976, the candidate who was trusted more by voters to handle the economy has won eight times. In that same period, there have also been four instances where such a candidate lost. Trump was more trusted in 2020 but lost due to COVID shenanigans with voting, suspect mail-in ballots, and other election issues that were never fully investigated because the media provided cover.

Still, this isn’t solid political footing for an incumbent president, especially one who thinks his list of accomplishments will be looked upon with envy when history is written. The (CNN) segment shows that Biden failed in the economy, and Americans are not convinced that this administration has the remedies to right the ship. Biden might have an edge on a question that seems to resonate only with liberals and political class-swampy types, but 86 percent of Americans also think he’s too old to run. An insane share of 2020 Biden supporters think he’s too old to be effective now. The democracy question seems more like an academic exercise for the liberal echo chamber than anything that will have a significant impact on the campaign trail.

Also, with Biden and the Democrats’ inability to confront the rising antisemitism from their base in recent months, what if Jewish voters decide to withhold support this year? Teamsters president Sean O’Brien is speaking at the Republican Convention this summer. The cracks in the Obama coalition are glaring. I doubt some lecture about how Joe is great for our republic will alter the race.

—Matt Vespa, Townhall

Trump Is Now the Candidate of Normalcy

Joe Biden never used the phrase “return to normalcy” in 2020 as Warren G. Harding did a century earlier, but that was the basis of his presidential candidacy. Four years later, the tables are turned. Donald Trump is the candidate of normalcy.

Mr. Biden claimed in 2020 that Mr. Trump was “using the abuse of power and every element of the presidency to try to do something to smear me.” But Mr. Biden weaponized the government against Mr. Trump. The New York Times reported in 2022 that Mr. Biden told advisers he wanted to prosecute Mr. Trump, and Merrick Garland’s Justice Department did so. Never has a former president or major-party presidential candidate been charged criminally.

Mr. Biden has called Mr. Trump an aspiring dictator. Yet when the Supreme Court struck down Mr. Biden’s attempt to cancel student loans at taxpayer expense, Mr. Biden issued a similar order and proclaimed: “the Supreme Court blocked it. But that didn’t stop me.” He also refuses to follow our immigration laws and tried to impose an unlawful Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Mr. Biden has also caused chaos through sheer incompetence. In 2019 he called Mr. Trump “dangerously incompetent and incapable…of world leadership and leadership at home.”

Mr. Biden’s immediate dismantling of the Trump border policies, using 94 executive actions in his first 100 days, unleashed a record-shattering illegal-immigration crisis. Mr. Biden commanded a historically embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan. His blunders killed 13 American troops, left 9,000 Americans behind, and handed the country—and billions of dollars worth of American weapons—to the Taliban and ISIS.

Has any part of the world gotten better under his watch? Vladimir Putin took Mr. Biden’s weakness into account as he calculated whether to invade Ukraine. And last year Mr. Biden sat on his hands watching as the Chinese Communist Party flew a spy balloon across the U.S. Mr. Biden ended Mr. Trump’s maximum-pressure campaign against Iran, handing the ayatollahs an oil windfall of more than $100 billion that they used to fund Hamas. Mr. Biden is literally funding both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Under Mr. Trump, wars weren’t erupting in Europe and the Middle East. The Abraham Accords took hold, Mr. Putin was in check, and China was held to account.

Don’t forget the economy. When Mr. Biden took office, inflation was 1.4%. After his multi-trillion-dollar partisan spending sprees, it surged to 9%—the highest in four decades. Under his watch, prices are up 20%—22% for food and 41% for energy—and real wages are down 4%.

Mr. Biden has done an impressive job of imitating his four-year-old caricature of Mr. Trump. As we approach the first debate, Americans who actually want a return to normalcy should remember what we’ve learned the last four years as Mr. Biden tries to persuade Americans to give him four more.

—Bill Hagerty, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Tennessee

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY – In 2003 The first federal Do-Not-Call list went into effect with the US registering more than 735,000 phones for a list that blocks some of the unwelcome solicitations of telemarketers–except for charities and political groups.