Wisconsin Right Now

Newly released polling data on former President Donald Trump’s increased margins with Black and Hispanic voters mark a seismic shift in the electorate with just two weeks until Election Day. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released Monday found that nationally, Harris leads Trump by 1 point, well within the margin of error at 46% to 45%. However, Trump significantly leads Harris with Hispanic voters and has made unprecedented gains among Black voters The poll, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters between Oct. 14-18, shows that Trump leads Harris with Hispanics, 49% to 38%. Harris also has 72% support among Black voters, which is much higher than Trump’s 17% support but much lower than other recent Democrats. Previous Democrats like former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden received between 90-95% of Black voters’ support. Black voters hold particular sway in the urban ares of key swing states like Pittsburgh, Phila...

  Newly released federal inflation data shows that prices rose faster than expected last month, putting more pressure on Americans’ budgets. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed that CPI rose 0.2% in September. While inflation rose more than expected last month, the year-over-year inflation of 2.4% in this latest data is much lower than the major spike in inflation in recent years. The data comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut last month, a sign that the Fed believes inflation is under control enough to lower rates, and thereby boost the economy. “Disinflation continues, but anyone who thought the Fed was going to lower rates by another .50 basis points in November is dead wrong,” Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Richmond, said in a statement. “When interest rates aren’t high enough to lower growth, they aren’t high enough to stifle in...

  An Afghan citizen released into the U.S. less than 10 days after the Biden-Harris deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan was arrested for plotting an Election Day terrorist attack on American soil. The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced charges were brought against 27-year-old Afghan national Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for conspiring to conduct an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO). His co-conspirator, a juvenile and Tawhedi’s wife’s brother, was also charged. The brother, an Afghan national with legal permanent resident status, was residing in Moore, Oklahoma. The charges are “providing, attempting to provide, and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization; Knowingly receiving, conspiring to receive, and attempting to receive firearms and ammunition to be used...

  Newly released polling data shows President Joe Biden's approval rating has hit a new low on the eve of 2024, when the president will seek a second term in the White House. Monmouth University on Monday released the poll, which show's Biden's approval rating has dropped to 34% approval, the lowest rating Monmouth has collected since Biden became president. The same poll shows Biden has 61% disapproval rating, the highest since Biden took office. In particular, voters have a problem with the president's handling of five key issues. "Specifically, just over 2 in 3 disapprove of the president's performance on immigration (69%) and inflation (68%), while more than half feel the same about the way he has handled climate change (54%), jobs and unemployment (53%), and transportation and energy infrastructure (52%)," Monmouth University said. Other polling shows that inflation in particular, along with jobs and the economy, are the top concerns fo...

  A report released Monday by the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee says the influx of migrants across the country's southern border could cost taxpayers $451 billion. The fourth report released by the committee says that the tab includes housing, education, property damage done by migrants, law enforcement, and health care costs. A report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services showed that "emergency services for undocumented aliens" added up to $7 billion in fiscal 2021 and $5.4 billion in fiscal 2022, with migrants receiving at least $8 billion in improper Medicaid payouts (10% of the nation's total of $80 billion). Migrants are also putting a strain on the nation's criminal justice infrastructure, with the cost adding up to $8.95 billion in fiscal 2022. "It is unconscionable for Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden to force the American people to pick up the tab for the crisis their border policies created," Commit...

  Newly released federal inflation data shows consumer prices rose significantly in September, further undoing a trend of slowing inflation that had begun earlier this year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation that tracks the cost of a range of consumer goods and services. That index rose 0.4% in September alone, a notable increase that is higher than months earlier this year. "The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for over half of the increase," BLS said. "An increase in the gasoline index was also a major contributor to the all items monthly rise. While the major energy component indexes were mixed in September, the energy index rose 1.5 percent over the month." Food prices rose as well. "The food index increased 0.2 percent in September, as it did in the previous two months," BLS said. "The index for food a...

“Biden's current 41% approval rating puts him in the lower tier of all prior presidents' job approval ratings taken just before past midterm elections” Newly released polling data shows that several key markers don't look good for Democrats, even as the Biden administration works overtime to rebuff criticism over soaring inflation and record-high gas prices. Gallup released its survey  data Tuesday which reported that “the current Democratic congressional majority is facing an extremely unfavorable election environment.” The party of the incumbent president traditionally loses seats in Congress during the midterm elections, as former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump experienced. That momentum, combined with President Joe Biden’s low approval rating and several other data markers, “predict a greater-than-average loss of seats for the Democratic Party this fall,” according to Gallup. “Gallup's latest data, from a May 2-22 survey, finds 41% of Americans...

The poll found 61% disapproved of Biden’s work on crime, 62% disapproved on the economy, 63% disapproved on immigration and 70% disapproved on inflation. Newly released polling data shows President Joe Biden’s poll numbers remain low ahead of Tuesday night's state of the union address. Gallup released data Tuesday that showed nearly the lowest satisfaction rates for Americans since Biden took office in January 2021. Biden's Performance “When thinking about the state of the nation, just 21% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going, and 78% are dissatisfied,” Gallup said. “This reading, from a Feb. 1-17 Gallup poll, is slightly improved from the 17% recorded in January, but still among the lowest since President Joe Biden took office.” Biden is expected to tackle a range of issues during Tuesday night's speech, with the struggling economy and the invasion of Ukraine likely topping the list. CBS News released polling Tuesday that put Bide...

“It is important to note that this is not a story about African American students disrupting learning for students of other races. In many cases, other African American students are the ones most harmed by disruptive classroom environments” The agreement to suspend fewer Black students in Milwaukee Public Schools has led to more students feeling less safe in their schools. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty released a report on Wednesday that looks at the impact of the 2018 agreement between MPS and the Department of Education. WILL Research Director Will Flanders and Policy Intern Amelia Wedward authored the report. WILL found: Suspension rates declined in Milwaukee after the MPS agreement. Reduced suspension for African American students resulted in lower reports of safety. Suspension rates for other student groups change in a more “normal” manner. Black students suffer the most because of the changes. Approximately 80% of MPS's student bod...