GOP questions delays at Evers' licensing agency
Republican lawmakers are raising questions about why the state Department of Safety and Professional Services is taking weeks to issue licenses.
Dunn County man will spend 12 years behind bars for trafficking meth
A 42-year-old man from Downing will spend the next 12 years in prison for trafficking meth to Wisconsin.
Republicans block Evers spending plan for opioid settlement
The Legislature's Republican-controlled budget committee objected Wednesday to Gov. Tony Evers' plans to spend $31 million Wisconsin is slated to receive in a multi-state settlement with drug manufacturers over their role in the opioid crisis.
Wisconsin governor candidate Tim Michels calls for GOP unity at Onalaska campaign event
Wisconsin governor GOP candidate Tim Michels stopped by the La Crosse County Republican Party headquarters Wednesday night for what they're calling a unity rally.
Bangor School District board puts facility referendum on November ballot
The Bangor School District's Board of Education voted Wednesday to put a facilities referendum on the November ballot.
Car hauler catches fire, closes West Salem I-90 exit ramp
An exit ramp on Interstate-90 was blocked off earlier Wednesday evening because of a fire on a car- hauler.
Delta reduces flights out of La Crosse Regional Airport
Delta Airlines is cutting flights out of La Crosse due to flight crew shortages.
Trump executive pleads guilty in tax case, agrees to testify
A top executive at former President Donald Trump’s family business has pleaded guilty to evading taxes. The deal could potentially make him a star witness against the company at a trial this fall. Longtime Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg admitted at a court hearing Thursday that he dodged taxes on lavish fringe benefits he got from the company. Weisselberg, who was removed from the CFO role after his arrest last year, is the only person to face criminal charges so far in the Manhattan district attorney’s long-running investigation of the company’s business practices. It is accused of helping some employees avoid income taxes by failing to report their full compensation. Trump is not charged in the case.
Probe of top secret docs at Trump estate in 'early stages'
A top Justice Department prosecutor says the investigation into whether former President Donald Trump illegally stored classified records at his Florida estate and potentially violated the Espionage Act is still “in its early stages.” The revelation by Jay Bratt, a top national security prosecutor, was the clearest indication yet that the Justice Department is directly scrutinizing Trump’s conduct and is forging forward in its criminal investigation after the FBI seized classified and top secret information during a search at Mar-a-Lago last week. A federal judge is weighing whether to make public the affidavit supporting the warrant that allowed FBI agents to carry out the search.
Starbucks must reinstate fired workers, federal judge rules
A federal judge is ordering Starbucks to reinstate seven employees in Memphis, Tennessee, who were fired earlier this year after leading an effort to unionize their store. In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman agreed with the National Labor Relations Board, which had asked the court to intervene in May. Lipman’s decision requires Starbucks to offer reinstatement to the employees within five days. The case has been among the most closely watched in the unionization effort at Starbucks. More than 220 U.S. Starbucks stores, including the Memphis store, have voted to unionize. Starbucks opposes the unionization effort.
Rock mag Creem attempts comeback after more than 30 years
Creem, which once billed itself as “America’s only rock ‘n’ roll magazine,” is attempting a comeback after more than 30 years. J.J. Kramer, the son of the original founder, is behind the effort. Kramer was 4 years old when his father died. The original Creem was a monthly publication and folded in 1999. The new version will be a glossy magazine that publishes quarterly and will be available only to people who pay $79 for a subscription. The comeback is happening at a time when both the magazine world and the music industry are far different than during Creem's heyday in the 1970s.
Kentucky Supreme Court denies request to block abortion ban
Kentucky’s Supreme Court is keeping the state’s near-total abortion ban in effect. The high court says the state's ban will remain in place while it reviews arguments by abortion clinics challenging the state law. It was the latest legal setback for the two remaining abortion clinics in Kentucky — both in Louisville. Abortion rights have been reinstated and then revoked again by judges in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The Supreme Court agreed to take the case and set a schedule for the submission of briefs and for arguments before the justices.
Mississippi changes legal team to handle welfare fraud case
The Mississippi Department of Human Services is hiring a different law firm to try to recover millions of dollars in welfare money that was misspent in the state’s largest public corruption case in decades. The state Personnel Board on Thursday approved a contract for the department to hire the Jones Walker firm, which has about 370 attorneys in multiple states. This comes weeks after Department of Human Services leaders chose not to renew a contract with Brad Pigott. He was the U.S. attorney for southern Mississippi when Democrat Bill Clinton was president. In May, Pigott sued former NFL quarterback Brett Favre and and others to try to recover misspent welfare money.
CNN cancels 'Reliable Sources,' host Stelter leaving network
CNN says it has canceled its weekly program on the media, ‘Reliable Sources,’ and host Brian Stelter will be leaving the network. The show, which predated Stelter's arrival from The New York Times, will have its last telecast on Sunday. Under new president Chris Licht, CNN has been looking to cut costs but also to put a less opinionated product on the air. Stelter has written a book on Fox News Channel and been critical of that network on the air. There's no immediate word on what will happen to the “Reliable Sources” newsletter that summed up each day's media news.
Vance's anti-drug charity enlisted doctor echoing Big Pharma
When bestselling author JD Vance founded “Our Ohio Renewal” a day after the 2016 presidential election, he promoted the charity as a vehicle for helping solve the scourge of opioid addiction he’d lamented in his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” But Vance shuttered the nonprofit last year and closed its foundation in May, shortly after he clinched the Republican nomination for Senate in Ohio. An Associated Press review finds that the charity’s most notable accomplishment — sending an addiction specialist to Ohio’s Appalachian region for a yearlong residency — was tainted by ties among the doctor, the institute that employed her and Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. Vance’s campaign says the nonprofit is on temporary hold during Vance’s Senate run.
