WSUM Daily Newscast

INTRO GOOD (DAY) EVENING MADISON! YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE 5/6 O’CLOCK NEWS UPDATE ON WSUM 91.7 FM MADISON STUDENT RADIO. I’M TALULA HAYES.

IN THE NEWS TODAY,

IN CAMPUS NEWS,
UW-Madison students host an anti-ICE protest and vigil Tuesday evening. On Library Mall, students gathered to demand the campus be declared a sanctuary to protect immigrant students, spreading awareness about the recent deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti due to ICE agents. This movement was organized by the UW club, Students for a Democratic Society, who are looking to prohibit all ICE officers from entering campus without a warrant. The act of a declaration could have the ability to prevent the enforcement of immigration law and ban the university from sharing student’s immigration status with federal authorities. The Madison community came together in order to provide information on the immigration practices’ and their history as well as claim a strong stance against ICE. There has been less ICE activity throughout the Madison area compared to other cities across the nation, however many students bolster the importance of showing up regardless; UW student Beatrice Holterhaus claimed “I think it’s really important for people to still be talking about it and being informed on what’s happening, even if it’s not happening right in front of you,”.

IN STATE NEWS,
Wisconsin superintendents sent an urgent letter to the state legislature for immediate funding relief. The five largest school districts of Madison, Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine, and Green Bay contacted state lawmakers as inflation has drastically increased school maintenance costs. These include food costs, electricity costs for schools, and the coverage for employee healthcare. Madison districts receive only 10% of funding from state aid, whereas districts in Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee receive 70% of their costs from the state. Districts which have received this disparity of insufficient general state aid have asked local communities for support through property tax referendums. The funding, $607 million from property owners, was approved, spiking local taxes in the process. These systems are designed to aid school districts for up to 4 years, meaning schools must search for a longer-term solution. Gov. Tony Evers proposed a $1.3 billion plan to aid in property tax relief and increase K-12 funding under the state surplus. Wisconsin Republicans are looking to overturn a 400-year-veto which allowed school districts to increase their per-student spending limit by $325 each per year. Currently, the approved reimbursement for the special education budget provides a fixed amount of 42% for the first year and 45% for the second year, which citizens claim does not offset rising costs. Reduced services with larger class sizes are alleged to occur if previously fixed budgets do not change.

IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
President Trump warns Iran that time is running out to agree on a nuclear deal as he continues to send military forces in the Gulf on Wednesday. The US president said a massive Armada was moving quickly, with great power and purpose towards Iran, referring to a large US naval fleet. In response, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country's armed forces were ready Quote, "with their fingers on the trigger" to respond to any aggression by land or sea. Iran insists that their nuclear program is peaceful and continues to deny that they are developing nuclear weapons. Trump’s warning follows up on his promise that the US will intervene on the continued killing of protesters in Iran. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has confirmed the killing of more than 5,900 protesters, since the unrest began at the end of December.
For WSUM News, I’m Nathan Jahn

IN ECONOMIC NEWS,
Fed officials held interest rates steady for the first time since July as the central bank balances risks to both inflation and unemployment. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-to-2 to keep the Fed Funds target range between 3½ and 3¾ percent. Joining recent Trump appointee Stephen Miran in opposition was Chris Waller, a finalist to replace Chair Jay Powell. Analysts say Waller needed to dissent from the committee’s decision to keep his longshot bid for the position alive. Both Waller and Miran favored a 25 basis point rate cut. FOMC members made only minor adjustments to their policy statement, signaling that they were open to delivering another rate reduction later this year but were in no hurry to do so. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Powell said the economy was starting the year on a “firm footing,” and policymakers had no intention of “articulating a test” for when to resume cuts. Powell also forcefully defended the Fed’s independence from political control as President Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on the central bank. Federal prosecutors served the Fed with subpoenas as part of an unprecedented criminal investigation. Powell has said the administration is using the threat of criminal charges to pressure rate-setters to adopt an easy money policy. The Fed has not yet complied with the subpoenas, and it’s not clear if officials have a deadline to turn over documents. For WSUM News, I’m Daniel Stein.

IN ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS,
A group of unions, scientific groups, and local governments sue the Federal Emergency Management Agency over staff cuts on Wednesday. The complaint, filed in US District Court in San Francisco, hopes to block over 1,000 FEMA employees from being fired this month. The lawsuit also asks the judge to block FEMA’s future plans of cutting its work force in half which would mean over 10,000 layoffs. The agency has remained in limbo since President Trump took office, when he asked DHS secretary Kristi Noem to head a task force that could eliminate FEMA entirely. FEMA’s currently dramatically shifted their goals as an agency. They continue to respond to winter storms but state disaster aid is more often being denied. Over 17 billion dollars in state aid is currently stuck going through an extra round of review causing delays. Wisconsin was recently denied FEMA aid over a storm in August that caused tens of millions of dollars of flood damage, something the states and municipalities have been tasked to fix instead. This leaves many roads and bridges still under repair, as not all governments have the extra money and count on FEMA assistance.
For WSUM News, I’m Nathan Jahn

OUTRO: THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN! FROM THE WSUM NEWS BOOTH, I’M TALULA HAYES. HAVE A GREAT EVENING MADISON!