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 NATHAN JAHN.

IN THE NEWS TODAY,

IN STATE NEWS,
26 locations around the state receive 14 million dollars in federal funding for electric vehicle charging. Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced Monday that the locations have been awarded the money to increase the number of EV charging stations. These stations are being supported by President Biden’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, part of his larger infrastructure program. Earlier this year, Gov. Evers announced that Wisconsin would be joining multiple other states in suing the Trump Administration from blocking more than $60 million in NEVI funds that were expected to support electric vehicle infrastructure across the state. Governor Evers said that he is focusing on electric vehicles because it promotes clean energy and boosts the economy. WisDOT said that the growth of charging stations is important and must continue. They showed that over 37,000 EVs are registered in Wisconsin.

ALSO IN STATE NEWS,
Over 282 million dollars have been put towards improving drinking water. Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources allocated this funding to 74 Wisconsin municipalities to improve the quality of drinking water. This funding is from the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, which works to improve public health through state infrastructure projects. Since the start of this project in 1998, over 1 billion dollars of assistance have been provided to Wisconsin municipalities. The project was able to be implemented through the bipartisan 2025 to 2027 Biennial Budget Evers signed earlier this year, with a focus on borrowing funding for the Environmental Improvement Fund. This fund holds 730 million dollars to aid in low-interest financing for clean and safe drinking water.
For WSUM News, I am Talula Hayes.

IN NATIONAL NEWS,
The US is in for a severe flu season. This would be the US’ second severe flu season in a row, with the impact coming from a new mutated strain called subclade K and a delay of general vaccinations. This variant is already impacting the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. Last year, the US had its highest rates of flu hospitalizations in nearly 15 years, with 280 children dying from influenza, the highest number recorded since 2004. A majority of Americans are skipping flu vaccinations this year, even though the flu shots are set to offer some protection against hospitalization, especially regarding children. According to the latest FluView report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu activity is low but rising quickly. The majority of the variants identified this season have been an A strain called H3N2 with half of those coming from subclade K, which had a prevalent impact on the Southern Hemisphere this summer. Unfortunately, scientists did not originally design the annual flu shots with that strain in mind, however UKHSA scientists still found that it was able to provide decent coverage, cutting the odds of an emergency hospitalization for children by almost 75%. Adults, even those over 65, were 30-40% less likely to visit the hospital or ER.
For WSUM News, I am Talula Hayes.

ALSO IN NATIONAL NEWS,
This evening, the House passed a bill relating to the Epstein files. The Bill, which calls for the release of the Epstein Files, has been approved by the House. The Bill would require the release of “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials”. In an overwhelming majority vote that only took a few hours, the result came to 427 to 1. The Senate agreed that the Bill would be pushed through after coming over from the House. This means the bill could make it to the President’s desk as early as this evening. While the Trump administration originally pushed back against the movement to bring these files to the public, on Monday, he reversed this. He has been urging Republicans to support the bill. This decision comes after the House Democrats released an email thread between Epstein and journalist Michael Wolff. In the emails, the men wrote about Trump’s presidential campaign and alluded to his involvement or knowledge of Epstein’s human trafficking.
For WSUM News, I’m Gray Goldberg

IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
United Nations Security Council passes a US-drafted plan for peace in Gaza. The 15 member council voted 13 to 0 to pass the measure. China and Russia abstained, but didn’t use their veto power to stop the bill. The plan is President Trump’s 20 step peace plan that he drafted up around a month ago. Both sides accepted the first step of the plan and a cease-fire was agreed to. Tensions remain high between the sides, as prisoners and remains slowly get exchanged. Although a few skirmishes have broken out, neither side has violated the ceasefire. The plan authorizes a Board of Peace, and a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. Western Diplomatic sources have not been aligned with the resolution, saying that it lacks the specificity needed to carry out lasting peace. The ISF and Board of Peace are now authorized until 2027.

IN ECONOMIC NEWS,
The head of the largest regional Federal Reserve Bank quietly met with Wall Street bank staff last week to get feedback on a crucial short-term lending facility. New York Fed President John Williams huddled with traders to discuss the Standing Repo Facility, which allows banks to sell securities to the Fed in exchange for cash and buy them back the next day. Banks rely on the facility to get funds overnight, but interest rates on these transactions are rising. More borrowers are facing repo rates above the rate paid on extra cash parked at the Fed than at any point after 2019. Fewer banks have used the facility in recent weeks, despite central bankers relying on it to lower rates in money markets. Williams supervises the New York Fed’s open market desk, which carries out the operations that adjust the federal funds rate, a key monetary policy tool. The Fed’s rate-setting committee meets again in early December. Observers say a rate cut is possible, but far from certain. For WSUM News, I’m Daniel Stein.

IN ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS,
The host of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Brazil, has created 10 new Indigenous Territories. Under Brazilian Law, these newly demarcated lands will permit cultural and environmental protection. Mr Tuxu, from Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, said quote “The traditional way of life of indigenous peoples protects the lands and automatically guarantees global warming will be tackled. Consequently, the entire humanity benefits from it” end quote. Although the new indigenous lands would be protected under law, the enforcement of the law is not always absolute. Some indigenous groups are attacked when trying to defend their land from cattle ranchers or land clearance groups. This past Sunday, an indigenous leader, Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva, was shot in the head when armed men surrounded the village. According to a study from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, and the Indigenous Climate Change Committee, expanding the total area considered Indigenous territory could prevent up to 20% of additional deforestation and reduce carbon emissions by 26% by 2030. The newly demarcated, protected, indigenous land will include parts of the Amazon rainforest, which is vital for mitigating the consequences of climate change.
For WSUM News, I’m Matt Catalani

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