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,
The three finalists for university provost wrap up their presentations to faculty and students, addressing the question, “What are the most pressing issues and opportunities facing a large research university like UW-Madison, and how would you deal with them as provost?” The search for a new provost began following the departure of Charles Isbell Jr. last June, as he shifted to become the Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Additionally, with the recent announcement of Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s exit, further pressure will be expected on the future Provost during the transitional period. The three candidates included Anna Stenport, dean of the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, John Zumbrunnen, the current interim Provost at Madison, and Charles Martinez Jr., dean of Education at the University of Texas-Austin. The decision now lies in Chancellor Mnookin’s hands, which is expected to be announced sometime in March.
For WSUM News, I’m Elise Hendrickson

IN LOCAL NEWS,
Crime drops across Madison in all categories according to MPD’s 2025 yearly report. Police Officials credited community cooperation and data strategies for the decrease. Homicides dropped from seven to five last year. Burglaries, stolen vehicles and thefts from cars all dropped over 15%. Police Chief John Patterson, who was sworn in to lead the department in October, emphasized the importance of building relationships within different neighborhoods across the city. The data-driven approach that he uses represents a shift toward the future of policing. It allows police to respond based on future trends rather than the past. He said, "We'll stay committed to data informed decision making, and that will maintain and be maintained as our business model. We're really challenging ourselves to be accountable to the data and to be willing to make adjustments and adaptations as trends change,"
For WSUM News, I’m Nathan Jahn

IN STATE NEWS,
Governor Tony Evers calls a special session to end gerrymandering on Tuesday. The governor called legislators in to pass an amendment which is a very complicated and difficult process. The Supreme Court threw out the state's legislative maps in 2023 finding them illegally gerrymandered. He promised to address gerrymandering in his state of the state address last month, and this is him trying to follow through. It remains if any action will be taken, given an amendment would have to pass in two consecutive sessions then be sent to voters. The last special session he called was in 2023 to address childcare and republicans walked out of it. Others were in 2022 and were done in less than 30 seconds. Evers cited that there are no guarantees for Wisconsin voters to have fair maps in the next census and he would like to change that before he leaves office.
For WSUM News, I’m Nathan Jahn

IN NATIONAL NEWS,
President Trump said he will attend his first White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Monday. Previously, Trump was the first president that did not attend the dinner while in office. He has boycotted the gathering during his first term and the first year of his second term due to his relationship with the press. Trump claimed he would attend in a Truth Social post, adding that this dinner is also in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday. The dinner is set for April 25 at the Washington Hilton and is known to be more lighthearted. Historically, he has criticized the event publicly and the news media overall. He has labeled journalists the enemy of the American people, which he acknowledged in the post. He mentioned the rocky relationship he has with the press and added he's looking forward to being with everyone this year. Trump’s administration has changed press access arrangements, the management of the White House press pool, and restricted press secretaries.

ALSO IN NATIONAL NEWS,
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem faced an icy reception from Senators of both parties at a Judiciary Committee hearing today. Two Republicans, Thom Tillis and John Kennedy, sharply criticized Noem’s handling of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. Tillis said the Department of Homeland Security was arresting and deporting people indiscriminately and blocking internal investigations:

TILLIS: That is a failure of leadership, and that is why I’ve called for your resignation.

Tillis, who is retiring in January, threatened to block business in Senate committees if DHS didn’t change course:

TILLIS: If I don’t get an answer to these questions [...] I’m gonna deny quorum and markup in as many committees as I can until I get a response.

Democrats asked Noem to apologize for her comments calling Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were killed by Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis, domestic terrorists. Noem called their deaths a “tragic situation,” but did not retract her remarks. For WSUM News, I’m Daniel Stein.

IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
Israel increases airstrikes as Iran continues to retaliate against military action on Tuesday. Israel is targeting Iranian missile launchers and factories. Iran is pushing back by hitting the Gulf Region, which has disrupted energy supplies and travel. Israel has been striking Hezbollah militants in Tehran and Lebanon. The American embassy in Saudi Arabia recently came under drone attack. President Trump has suggested this war would last several weeks and perhaps longer. The Iranian Red Crescent Society has reported that 787 Iranians have been killed so far. Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, however attacks appear to be slowing and Israel has intercepted most. Unfortunately, some did land, which killed 11 people. It is unclear when this war will end. On Monday, Trump told the New York Post that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground. Leaders that Trump had in mind to take over power (once the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes stopped) are dead. Iran is currently searching for a new leader to replace Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday.

IN ECONOMIC NEWS,
The president of the Minneapolis Fed said uncertainty around the conflict in Iran could justify waiting to cut interest rates. Neal Kashkari said one or two rate cuts later this year could still be appropriate. Kashkari said the Federal Reserve’s current interest rate target is close to the neutral rate, the setting that doesn’t speed up or slow down economic growth. He predicted that the situation in Iran could create two conflicting effects: energy costs would rise, pushing inflation up, but spending and consumer confidence would take a hit, creating downward pressure. Kashkari said it was too early to say which of these effects would prevail, making him want to “sit tight.” Kashkari is one of five regional Fed presidents with voting power on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year. The FOMC meets again in two weeks. For WSUM News, I’m Daniel Stein.

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