What you need to know: Wednesday
It’s Wednesday, April 29 and here is your day ahead:
In local news…
WEATHER: Today will be partly sunny and continued mild with high temperatures in the middle 60s. There is a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm in the afternoon as a weak cold front passes through the area. Full forecast
1. SHELTON KINGCADE
On the run: Madison police are still looking for Shelton Kingcade. The West High School girls basketball coach was suspended in February after allegations he sexually assaulted more than one teenage girl while coaching the Madison Spartans youth basketball program. Police believe he may be driving a gold Nissan Maxima. They have also spoken with Kingcade’s attorney about turning himself in. More on this story
2. UBER SEXUAL ASSAULTS
Driver fired: An Uber driver is out of a job after reportedly inappropriately touching a rider over the weekend, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said. Madison police said two incidents were reported over the weekend by two different victims. Nearly a dozen Wisconsin lawmakers have called on Gov. Scott Walker to veto a ride-sharing bill after the two incidents were reported Monday. A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would issue regulations statewide on rideshare companies like Uber or Lyft. Eleven lawmakers want a veto, and ask that the bill leave it to municipalities to govern the licensing of drivers. More on this story
3. TERANCE DODDY
Guilty plea: A man captured in Beloit and accused of two murders in Illinois is expected to plead guilty today to one of the deaths. Terence Doddy was caught in July of last year. He’s accused of strangling Tonya Bargman at a rest stop in Paw Paw, Ill. Doddy is also facing a separate murder charge accused of killing his former friend and co-worker Todd Hansmeier in Rockford. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. More on this story
4. WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT
Chief justice decision: Wisconsin Supreme Court justices disagree about whether there will be a chief justice on the court shortly after 9 a.m. this morning. That’s when the state elections board is scheduled to certify results of the April 7 election. Voters approved a constitutional amendment giving justices the power to select who is chief justice, rather than have it go automatically to the most senior member. Longtime Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson argues in a federal lawsuit she filed that the change shouldn’t be applied until after her current term ends in four years. But five other justices contend that once the vote is certified on Wednesday, there is no chief justice until a new one is selected. More on this story
5. SPEED LIMIT
70 mph: Wisconsin Republicans say they have reached an agreement to increase the speed limit to 70 mph on some stretches of interstates and highways in the state. The deal is to be voted on by a Senate committee on Thursday, clearing the way for the bill to pass the Republican-controlled Legislature after it stalled last session. Under the agreement, the state Department of Transportation would decide which roads could increase from 65 mph to 70 mph. The speed limit could not be raised on four-lane roadways with at-grade accesses. That means highways and freeways that don’t have entrance and exit ramps wouldn’t change. More on this story
In national news…
1. BALTIMORE RIOTS
Quiet curfew: For one night, at least, Baltimore caught a break. Streets in the city were calm overnight as a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew — enforced by nearly 2,000 National Guardsmen and more than 1,000 police officers — went into effect. There were a handful of arrests for curfew violations and a few rocks and bottles thrown at police just as the curfew began, but that was the extent of any trouble last night. The coordinated work of law enforcement as well as self-policing efforts from community members are credited for the smooth night. The fallout from the recent unrest continues today, when the Baltimore Orioles play the Chicago White Sox with no spectators allowed, a first for major league baseball. More on this story
2. GIRLS RESCUED
‘Not the Chibok girls’: Nigerian troops rescued almost 300 girls and women during a raid on Boko Haram terror camps yesterday, but army officials said none of them were girls mass abducted in April 2014 from a school in Chibok. They did say, however, that captives from other Boko Haram camps that were recently raided might include some of the Chibok girls. So does this mean that Nigeria is finally making progress against Boko Haram? Well, the troops have managed to destroy three camps in Sambisa Forest run by the terrorists. But the fates of the abducted girls remain — for now — a mystery. More on this story
3. NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
Diminishing hopes: It’s been a few days since the huge earthquake rocked Nepal and the surrounding Himalayan region, killing close to 5,000. The chances of finding more survivors dims with each passing hour. And now Nepal has a new crisis to deal with after 200 people went missing after a landslide yesterday. The landslide occurred in Langtang National Park, a popular trekking area north of Kathmandu. Quake relief efforts continued, but officials warned they were hampered by problems of getting aid into the country and then delivering it to some of the remote communities in desperate need. There was one piece of a good news though: a 21-year-old man was rescued, pulled free from rubble near a city bus park. More on this story
4. GAY MARRIAGE
Swing vote: The future of a great national issue may come down, once again, to Anthony Kennedy. The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday on the constitutionality of gay marriage. The high court seemed to be split, splintering into its usual left-right divide and leaving Justice Kennedy as the probable deciding vote. Most of the justices’ questions involved the definition of marriage and whether gay marriage should be decided by voters or the judiciary. Kennedy, at the start of arguments, joined other court conservatives in pointing out that marriage has been defined as being between a man and a woman for a long time. But later, he seemed to side with the court’s liberal wing in acknowledging gay couples sought “dignity” for their relationships through marriage. How will he vote? We’ll find out in June. More on this story
5. NIK WALLENDA
Eye-opening stunt: Nik Wallenda is attempting his most dangerous and unique walk to date today. The famed daredevil’s next feat will take place at the soon-to-be-unveiled 400-foot-tall Orlando Eye. Wallenda will attempt to walk on top of the giant observation wheel without a tether and without a wire while it is moving! Wallenda will attempt his longest high wire walk ever at the Wisconsin State Fair this summer. That is, of course, if everything goes as planned today. More on this story
