Top News
Mortgage rates top 7% for the first time this year, Freddie Mac says
By Amina Niasse NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage rates increased by the most since June and also crossed the 7% threshold for the first time since December, muddling home sales growth, a Thursday report said. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-r...
22m ago
Explosion Levels Rural Wood County Home
TOWN OF SARATOGA, WI (WSAU) -- Crews in Wood County were called to a home explosion and fire in the Town of Saratoga on Wednesday. It happened at 7840 Pinehaven Court at 9:45 PM where a home was fully engulfed in flames. The homeowner confirmed that no one was in the building at the time, and crews managed to extinguis...
41m ago
liz west / CC
Bangstad Issues Statement Regarding Arrest Warrant Authorization
MINOCQUA, WI (WSAU) -- Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad says he had dates mixed up, causing him to miss a court appearance on Wednesday. In a lengthy post to Facebook, Bangstad says he has been required to turn over documents related to his personal finances and the brewery, even though his insurance compan...
1h ago
Fed to cut rates in September and maybe once more this year: Reuters poll
By Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will wait until September to cut its key interest rate, according to a majority of 100 economists polled by Reuters, with half saying there will be only two cuts this year and only ab...
2h ago
State Of Affairs Ep. 12 Wisconsin Republican Rep. Calvin Callahan
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) - State of Affairs episode twelve is now available, featuring Republican Wisconsin 35th Assembly Rep. Calvin Callahan joining the program to discuss his campaign and issues facing the state. While discussing Gov. Evers's recent decisions to veto several bills that would've provided tax cuts to Wiscons...
7h ago
Local News
Explosion Levels Rural Wood County Home
TOWN OF SARATOGA, WI (WSAU) -- Crews in Wood County were called to a home explosion and fire in the Town of Saratoga on Wednesday. It happened at 7840 Pinehaven Court at 9:45 PM where a home was fully engulfed in flames. The homeowner confirmed that no one was in the building at the time, and crews managed to extinguis...
41m ago
liz west / CC
Bangstad Issues Statement Regarding Arrest Warrant Authorization
MINOCQUA, WI (WSAU) -- Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad says he had dates mixed up, causing him to miss a court appearance on Wednesday. In a lengthy post to Facebook, Bangstad says he has been required to turn over documents related to his personal finances and the brewery, even though his insurance compan...
1h ago
State Of Affairs Ep. 12 Wisconsin Republican Rep. Calvin Callahan
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) - State of Affairs episode twelve is now available, featuring Republican Wisconsin 35th Assembly Rep. Calvin Callahan joining the program to discuss his campaign and issues facing the state. While discussing Gov. Evers's recent decisions to veto several bills that would've provided tax cuts to Wiscons...
7h ago
Arrest Warrant Authorized for Minocqua Brewing Company Owner
RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU) -- An arrest warrant has been authorized for Minocqua Brewing Company founder Kirk Bangstad in connection with a civil case that dates back to 2021. The Democratic activist was found to be in contempt after he failed to appear in Rhinelander for a hearing on Wednesday. The hearing was tied to a d...
17h ago
Carbon Monoxide leak at Stevens Point Fire Department
STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) - On Tuesday the Stevens Point Fire Department was forced to act quickly and evacuate due to a carbon monoxide leak. Chief JB Moody says firefighters were in the middle of training when a firefighter smelled something strange. "We evacuated the building and went ahead an checked for a...
21h ago
Sports
Packers To Host UTEP Quarterback Gavin Hardison For Top 30 Visit
GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) - The Green Bay Packers are looking to add a quarterback competition this offseason to see who will back up Jordan Love come September. According to the Packers Wire, the team is hosting UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison for an official visit this week after previously meeting with Kentucky quarterba...
1h ago
Brewers Knock Off Padres in Pitcher's Dual
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) -- The Milwaukee Brewers broke up a no-hit bid in the 7th to score a 1-0 win over San Diego on getaway day for both clubs. Willy Adames reached base on a single into shallow right field for the Crew's first hit of the game. Milwaukee would then string together hits from Brice Turang and Blake Perki...
18h ago
Bucks, Pacers First-Round Playoff Schedule Finalized
NEW YORK, NY (WSAU) -- The NBA has finalized the playoff schedule for all first-round series, including Milwaukee's matchup with the Indiana Pacers. The best-of-seven series begins Sunday at 6:00 PM CT at Fiserv Forum. Game two will also be in Milwaukee on Tuesday, April 23rd with tip-off at 7:30 PM. Games three and fo...
Apr 17, 2024
Packers To Host Kentucky Linebacker Trevin Wallace & Western Michigan's Marshawn Kneeland For Official Visits
GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) - The 2024 NFL draft is only a little more than a week away, and the Green Bay Packers still have a few Top 30 visits to fill this week. They will be taking a look at two possible day-two linebackers. According to Packers Insider, the Packers are hosting Kentucky linebacker and team captain Trevin ...
Apr 17, 2024
Tuesday High School Scoreboard
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) -- Here is Tuesday's scoreboard: Baseball DC Everest 7 Wausau East 2 Abbotsford/Colby 11 Athens 4 Abbotsford/Colby 14 Athens 2 Port Edwards 19 Bowler 3 Wild Rose 15 Tigerton 10 Witt/Birn 13 Gillet/Suring 5 Phillips 10 Chequamegon 1 Marathon 12 Stratford 8 Nekoosa 9 Westfield ...
Apr 17, 2024
State News
Wisconsin General Fund to Drop Billions of Dollars
MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WRN) -- A new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum shows the state's general fund will be dropping significantly from record highs following the pandemic. Researcher Jason Stein says the fund will be dropping from over $6 billion to under $4 billion. "The state going forward does need to be cir...
18h ago
Wisconsin Senators React to Dismissal of Mayorkas Impeachment
(WTAQ-WLUK) -- Wisconsin's U.S. senators are weighing in on the dismissal of articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Sen. Ron Johnson (R) Today Senate Democrats abdicated their constitutional duty and did great harm to the U.S. Senate by cavalierly dismissing the serious charges ...
19h ago
Rain Drops Fire Danger to Low, Winds Rip Roof off Historic Beloit Building
MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WRN) -- All 72 Wisconsin counties have low wildfire danger. That follows rainfall Tuesday night into Wednesday. It's a significant improvement from earlier in the week, when all but 2 counties had high or very high fire danger. It's not all good news though. High winds from Tuesday night's severe weat...
20h ago
Wisconsin Leads Nation for Fatal Wrong-Way Crashes
MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WRN) -- Wisconsin leads the nation when it comes to fatal crashes involving wrong-way drivers. From 2013 to 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says just over 9% of fatal crashes in Wisconsin involved wrong way drivers. That compares to the national rate of 3.5%. A study a few yea...
20h ago
Wisconsin Part of Initiative to Investigate Unfair Airline Practices
MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WRN) -- Wisconsin is partnering with 14 other states to investigate airlines and protect passengers. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday the initiative will allow the Biden administration to give precedence to cases of misconduct if state attorneys general find that airlines or tic...
Apr 17, 2024
National News
Republican-led states sue to block US rules curbing tailpipe emissions in cars, light trucks
By Clark Mindock (Reuters) - Twenty-five Republican-led states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to block rules intended to reduce planet-warming emissions from cars and light trucks and encourage electric vehicle manufactur...
8m ago
Michigan seeks comment on permit to increase Marathon refinery throughput
By Laura Sanicola and Nicole Jao (Reuters) - A Michigan regulator said this week it is seeking public comment on a proposed permit that would allow Marathon Petroleum to boost crude throughput at its Detroit refinery. Marathon filed an application ...
9m ago
US power, tech companies lament snags in meeting AI energy needs
By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. electrical systems are not expanding fast enough to meet rapidly growing power needs of technology like Generative AI, prompting data center businesses to sometimes bypass utilities, executives said at an ...
10m ago
US to spend $1 billion on food aid abroad amid global hunger crisis
By Leah Douglas (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development will distribute $1 billion in U.S. commodities to countries with high hunger rates, the agencies said on Thursday. The countries that w...
12m ago
US announces new sanctions on Iran after missile and drone strike on Israel
By David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday announced new sanctions on Iran targeting its unarmed aerial vehicle production after its attack on Israel, and U.S. President Joe Biden said G7 leaders were commi...
2h ago
World News
US to spend $1 billion on food aid abroad amid global hunger crisis
By Leah Douglas (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development will distribute $1 billion in U.S. commodities to countries with high hunger rates, the agencies said on Thursday. The countries that w...
12m ago
Myanmar's Suu Kyi being used as 'human shield', son fears
By Hannah Ellison LONDON (Reuters) - Myanmar's detained former leader and Aung San Suu Kyi was moved from prison to house arrest possibly to be used by the Southeast Asian nation's ruling junta as a human shield in its conflict with resistance figh...
13m ago
G7 eyeing using frozen Russian assets as collateral for Ukraine loans, EU official says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Group of Seven members are discussing using nearly $300 billion in frozen Russian assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday. Dombrovskis...
14m ago
US imposes new curbs on Iran's access to 'low-level' tech after attack on Israel
By Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. is further restricting Iran's access to "low-level technology," in response to Iran's April 13 attack on Israel and its military support for Russia, according to a posting Thursday by the U.S. Depar...
14m ago
Bosnian Serb MPs adopt a report denying the Srebrenica genocide
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The parliament of Bosnia´s autonomous Serb Republic adopted a report on Thursday stating that the killing of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war did not constitute genocide, contravening the rulings of internati...
15m ago
Business News
JPMorgan Chase sues Russia's VTB Bank over effort to unfreeze assets
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase sued Russia's state-owned VTB Bank on Thursday to halt its efforts to recover $439.5 million from an account that was blocked after Russia invaded Ukraine and VTB was hit with sanctions. In a ...
19m ago
Meta releases early versions of its Llama 3 AI model
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Meta Platforms on Thursday released early versions of its latest large language model, Llama 3, and an image generator that updates pictures in real time while users type prompts, as it races to catch up to generative AI market...
20m ago
L'Oreal Q1 sales up 9.4% on strong mass market demand
PARIS (Reuters) -L'Oreal reported a 9.4% rise in first quarter sales on a like-for-like basis on Thursday, beating expectations and shrugging off concerns about a slowdown in the two biggest beauty markets the United States and China. The French cosmet...
20m ago
Mortgage rates top 7% for the first time this year, Freddie Mac says
By Amina Niasse NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage rates increased by the most since June and also crossed the 7% threshold for the first time since December, muddling home sales growth, a Thursday report said. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-r...
22m ago
White House says U.S. Steel deal security review proceeding as normal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any review of the deal by Japan's Nippon Steel for U.S. Steel by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will proceed as normal, a White House official said on Thursday. White House National Economic Adviser ...
22m ago
Health News
India's Biocon developing its own version of Wegovy, clinical trial likely next year
By Rishika Sadam HYDERABAD (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Biocon, looking to grab a piece of the exploding weight-loss drug market as early as possible, is developing its own version of Novo Nordisk's wildly popular Wegovy and is prepared to conduct...
28m ago
Dengue cases surge near 50% in the Americas amid 'emergency situation'
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Dengue cases have created an "emergency situation" in the Americas, although cases in hotspots Argentina and Brazil appear to have stabilized, the head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Thursday. PAHO, a Unit...
29m ago
UnitedHealth unit Change Healthcare faces issue processing some medical claims
(Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group said on Thursday a service provided by its Change Healthcare unit was facing an issue receiving batches of medical claims from customers. A fix has been implemented and is being monitored to ensure operability, Optum,...
2h ago
Britain decided not to list genomics as critical infrastructure, deputy PM says
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has decided not to designate genomics as critical national infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said on Thursday, adding a review of the issue had concluded that the current system provided sufficient contr...
3h ago
Soccer-Data could help solve ACL crisis in women's game, says software firm
By Philip O'Connor (Reuters) - Vast amounts of data generated in professional sports will be used to try to stem the number of serious knee injuries suffered by female soccer players, Stephen Smith, CEO of sports software company Kitman Labs, has t...
3h ago
Science News
Fossils of colossal snake Vasuki unearthed in India mine
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fossil vertebrae unearthed in a lignite mine are the remains of one of the largest snakes that ever lived, a monster estimated at up to 49 feet (15 meters) in length - longer than a T. rex - that prowled the sw...
1h ago
Gigantic marine reptile's fossils found by British girl and father
By Will Dunham (Reuters) - A fossil jawbone found by a British girl and her father on a beach in Somerset, England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Eart...
22h ago
Head of Russian space agency says work under way on modernised Angara rocket
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is working on a modernised Angara-A5M rocket capable of launching manned spacecraft, and plans to launch it in 2027, the head of its Roscosmos state space agency said on Wednesday. "Already now, by order of Roscosmos, a mo...
Apr 17, 2024
Astronomers detect Milky Way's second-largest known black hole
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers have discovered a black hole with a mass about 33 times greater than that of our sun, the biggest one known in the Milky Way aside from the supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our galax...
Apr 16, 2024
Genome study reveals prehistoric Ethiopian origins of coffee
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - You might call it a cup of Joe, java, mud, brew, mocha, or your morning jolt. Coffee undoubtedly is a big part of global culture, and the kind made from the Arabica bean is the most appreciated by coffee drinke...
Apr 16, 2024
Technology News
Exclusive-Bentley Systems explores options amid takeover interest, sources say
By Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen (Reuters) - Bentley Systems, an engineering software company with a market value of about $15 billion, is exploring options that include a sale after attracting acquisition interest, according to people familiar with ...
9m ago
US power, tech companies lament snags in meeting AI energy needs
By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. electrical systems are not expanding fast enough to meet rapidly growing power needs of technology like Generative AI, prompting data center businesses to sometimes bypass utilities, executives said at an ...
10m ago
US imposes new curbs on Iran's access to 'low-level' tech after attack on Israel
By Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. is further restricting Iran's access to "low-level technology," in response to Iran's April 13 attack on Israel and its military support for Russia, according to a posting Thursday by the U.S. Depar...
14m ago
Meta releases early versions of its Llama 3 AI model
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Meta Platforms on Thursday released early versions of its latest large language model, Llama 3, and an image generator that updates pictures in real time while users type prompts, as it races to catch up to generative AI market...
20m ago
Exclusive-Microsoft's OpenAI partnership could face EU antitrust probe, sources say
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI could face an EU antitrust investigation as regulators are building the case for such a move, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Microsoft's OpenAI par...
1h ago
Entertainment News
Alec Baldwin's criminal case hinges on a Wild West revolver
By Andrew Hay TAOS, New Mexico (Reuters) - A Colt .45 "Peacemaker" revolver, a symbol of the American Wild West, is at the center of actor Alec Baldwin's fight to avoid criminal prosecution for the 2021 fatal shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Haly...
6h ago
Concord Chorus to buy music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $1.4 billion
(Reuters) - Concord Chorus, a music and theatrical rights firm, has agreed to acquire British music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $1.40 billion, the companies said on Thursday. Shareholders of Hipgnosis Songs will get $1.16 apiece in cash, repr...
9h ago
Bon Jovi docuseries allows peek at band's private history
By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) - Rockers Bon Jovi open up about their 40-year career in the new docuseries "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story". In the four-part show, archival footage and personal videos and photos are intertwined with pr...
19h ago
British actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against publisher of the Sun - court documents
LONDON (Reuters) - British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun tabloid newspaper over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, his lawyer said in court documents on Wed...
Apr 17, 2024
Statue to Tony Blair honours "Tonibler" cult in Kosovo
By Fatos Bytyci FERIZAJ, Kosovo (Reuters) - As sculptor Agon Qosa put some of the finishing touches to a statue of Tony Blair, he thought about what the former British prime minister had done for Kosovo a quarter of a century ago. Qosa and other et...
Apr 16, 2024