What you need to know:
It’s Friday, May 15 and here is your day ahead:
In local news…
WEATHER: Any showers or patchy drizzle will end early this morning. Mostly cloudy skies will become partly sunny late today, and it will turn milder. High temperatures will climb to the middle 70s. Full forecast
1. TONY ROBINSON
Demonstrations continue: Demonstrations for Tony Robinson will continue today. The Young, Gifted and Black Coalition is planning a protest at the Badger Bowl tonight. This week, Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne announced Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny would not face charges in the 19-year-old’s death. The group is also calling for a silent protest Saturday morning outside UW graduation at Camp Randall. More on this story
2. BIRTH CERTIFICATE LAWSUIT
Named omitted: A 2-month-old baby boy is at the center of a Madison same-sex couple’s federal discrimination lawsuit seeking to have the state’s birth certificate policy ruled unconstitutional. The Torres family, who was married in New York in 2012, believe a Wisconsin Department of Health Services policy is discriminatory. After a difficult labor, doctors did not know if Chelsea or her baby boy Asher would survive. Chelsea’s wife, Jessamy, filled out their son’s birth certificate. Two weeks later, when the certificate arrived in the mail, the state had omitted Jessamy’s name from the document. While gay marriage became legal in Wisconsin last year, the current birth certificate document only has a mother and father line. The lawsuit says the only state response has been to say the vital records office is evaluating the Torres’ request and will respond when that evaluation is complete. A DHS spokesperson had no comment. More on this story
3. RUSS FEINGOLD
Rematch: A familiar face is seeking a rematch in the race for Senate. Russ Feingold announced on his website Thursday that he’s running for U.S. Senate in 2016. “I admire Wisconsinites’ optimism and determination,” Feingold said in the video. “And my desire to serve is stronger than ever.” Feingold lost by five points in 2010 to now-incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson. Polling already shows that things could be different this time. Johnson issued a statement Thursday morning saying he welcomes Feingold to the Senate race, but that Feingold “wants more Washington, a more expensive Washington, and a more powerful Washington. I want to empower people. This campaign will give the people of Wisconsin a real choice.” More on this story
4. WI GOP CONVENTION
Begins today: Some big name Republicans in Wisconsin are making their way to La Crosse this weekend. The annual Wisconsin Republican Party Convention begins today. More than 1,000 politicians and their supporters will be on hand. The event is not only a meet and greet for Republicans but also a chance to thank local volunteers. Gov. Scott Walker, Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Ron Johnson will all be giving speeches at the event tomorrow. More on this story
5. UW COMMENCEMENT
Getting around: If you don’t need to be in downtown Madison this weekend, it is probably best to avoid it. UW’s commencement ceremony and students moving out will bring a lot of extra traffic. Anyone attending Saturday’s ceremony is advise to allow extra time to get to the stadium. The university encourages parking in campus lots or using the free shuttle service. All campus lots will be free starting at noon today though Sunday.
In national news…
1. AMTRAK DERAILMENT
Memory loss: New details are emerging after the Amtrak train crash in Philadelphia. Engineer Brandon Bostian’s lawyer says he can’t remember what happened because of a concussion he suffered. Also, 65 seconds before the crash, a video shows the train was hurtling down the tracks at more than 70 mph and continuing to accelerate. By the time it hit the bend, investigators say, the train was going more than 100 mph. More on this story
2. MISSING U.S. CHOPPER
Wreckage found: Three bodies have been found with the wreckage of a missing U.S. Marine helicopter, Nepal’s defense secretary said Friday. The helicopter wreckage was found in a burned condition, Defense Secretary Ishwori Paudyal said. The helicopter lost contact Tuesday evening as it helped with relief efforts in the earthquake-ravaged nation, Pentagon officials said. Radio transmissions indicated its crew was having some type of fuel problem before it went missing near Charikot, roughly 45 miles east of the capital of Kathmandu. More on this story
3. STEPHANOPOULOS SLIP UP
Objectivity questioned: It’s funny how tens of thousands of dollars in donations to the Clinton Foundation can backfire on a TV news anchor. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was all the buzz yesterday after word broke that he gave $75,000 to the charitable organization. Prominent Republicans didn’t like it, of course, but others were a bit bewildered by it. He apologized for neglecting to tell viewers or his bosses, saying he thought all of his giving was a matter of public record. ABC isn’t taking any disciplinary action against him, although the anchor is bowing out of the network’s planned Republican presidential primary debate, scheduled for February. More on this story
4. DEFLATEGATE – BRADY APPEAL
On the ball: It’s official: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will fight the four-game suspension the NFL dealt him this week. The NFL Players Association filed an appeal on Brady’s behalf yesterday, saying a neutral party should hear its argument. But late Thursday, the league said that Commissioner Roger Goodell would rule on the matter. The league has said the suspension is a fair punishment. The team was fined $1 million and will forfeit its first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and its fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft. More on this story
5. B.B. KING
“The Thrill is Gone”: Riley B. King, the legendary guitarist known as B.B. King, whose velvety voice and staccato-picking style brought blues from the margins to the mainstream, died Thursday night. The Mississippi native’s reign as “king of the blues” lasted more than six decades and straddled two centuries, influencing a generation of rock and blues musicians, from Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to Sheryl Crow and John Mayer. His life was the subject of the documentary “B.B. King: The Life of Riley,” and the inspiration for the The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, which opened in 2008. He was 89. More on this story
