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What to watch for in tonight’s debate

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President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden debate for the first time tonight. Madison College political science instructor Dr. Maurice Sheppard says both men will be pressed about their past records as well as future plans

“Retrospectively, look at our records. But also promote sort of prospectively. That we are in the middle of a pandemic, the economy has slowed down . . there are other social issues that the United States needs to address, and which one of the two candidates would be best, prospectively moving into the future.”

The 90 minute debate from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. It will focus on domestic issues.

“In terms of the pandemic, how that relates to the economy, and also issues relating to social unrest and election integrity. I think for most voters, even if they’ve already made their minds up, they still want to hear from each candidate. Not necessarily just their attacks on the other person, but what are they actually going to do.”

“Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace will moderate tonight’s debate. “In every presidential debate, we seem to have this same question come up – how vigorous should a moderator be and what role they should they play in a presidential debate. I don’t think there should be necessarily sort of fact checking on the fly. But a moderator can and should probably insist that the candidate actually answer the question that is posed.”

Shephard also cautions about declaring a “winner” or “loser” out of tonight’s debate between Trump and Biden.

“2016 provided a great example that you can be a winner but still end up being a loser. So the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, by most measures and the polling shows that she actually did better in the debates that she had with candidate Trump. So she actually won the debates. However, you can win the debates but still — as we know — lose the election.”

The debate begins at 8:00 pm and is being carried by most major news networks.

Presidential campaigns return to Wisconsin this week

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The presidential campaigns are back in Wisconsin this week. Jill Biden is in Madison and Waukesha today, campaigning on behalf of her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

President Donald Trump’s son Eric will be at Rothschild metal fabrication business Thursday evening for a “Make America Great” campaign event.

The president himself is scheduled to make campaign stops in La Crosse and Green Bay on Saturday. Trump last visited Wisconsin earlier this month with a rally in Mosinee.

Absentee ballot extension halted by Federal Appeals Court

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A federal appeals court has put a hold on a judge’s extension of the window by which absentee ballots will be accepted in Wisconsin.

In a Sunday meeting of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, a judge’s panel put a stay on a ruling by Judge William Conley that would have lengthened the amount of time absentee ballots would have been accepted until November 9.

That’s so that either the 7th Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court can issue a proper ruling in the case. Democrats want the state to have more time to handle what’s expected to be a record number of absentee ballots.

Wisconsin COVID-19 cases continued to climb over the weekend

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Wisconsin recorded no deaths to COVID-19 in the past day, but 54 more people were admitted to hospitals, as case counts and hospitalizations continue to increase in the state.

Positive COVID-19 cases reached a rate of 27.6 percent on Sunday. Seven additional deaths were also reported over the weekend, all of them on Saturday.

As of Sunday, Wisconsin hospitals were treating 574 patients with COVID-19, with 161 in intensive care. The seven-day average of daily reported positive cases rose to 2,091 up from 1,720 a week ago according to DHS.

Additional, county-level information can be obtained at the DHS COVID-19 dashboard.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to increase

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Positive cases of COVID-19, along with hospitalizations and deaths due the disease, continue to increase in Wisconsin.

The state Department of Health Services on Friday reported 2,504 new confirmed cases, with a positive test rate of 16.6 percent. DHS reported nine more deaths due to COVID-19, and 65 more hospitalizations, pushing those numbers to 1,274 and lives lost and 530 currently hospitalized patients, 151 in intensive care.

The continued increase in numbers comes as state and local public health officials plead for people to take recommended precautions like face masks and social distancing.

“All 72 counties in Wisconsin are seeing high disease burden. This is a statewide challenge, and we must meet it with both statewide and individual action. That is why extending the mask mandate is so important,” said Department of Health Services Secretary designee Andrea Palm on Thursday.

“Yes, our case numbers are going up. And we also know that masks work. The science shows that they form a barrier against respiratory droplets that spread COVID-19,” Palm said “Mask wearing is only effective the more we do it together.”

There have been more than 110,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, of which more than 83 percent are considered as “recovered” by DHS.

Attorney says Rittenhouse will fight extradition

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The Illinois 17-year-old accused of gunning down two protesters in Kenosha last month is fighting extradition from Illinois to face homicide charges in Wisconsin.

John Pierce, an attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse, spoke during an online hearing on Friday. “I can tell you quite succinctly that we intend to challenge extradition, by writ of habeas corpus.

Pierce asked that extradition documents be sent from Wisconsin so they can reviewed by Rittenhouse’s legal team. He’ll also need to be served with a warrant from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. “These are going to be involving issues of some complexity that frankly have not arisen is this country for some time.”

His attorneys say Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. He’s due back in court October 9.

Audit finds fewer than one percent of calls for UI benefits were answered

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More than 93 percent of phone calls to the Department of Workforce Development for unemployment insurance claims went unanswered during the first 3-1/2 months of the coronavirus pandemic.

The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau Friday released its review of the Unemployment Insurance call centers.

The audit found that from March 15, 2020, through June 30, 2020, 38.3 million of the 41.1 million total phone calls to the call centers were blocked or received busy signals.

That means only about one in every 200 calls placed the Department of Workforce Development’s call centers during the period were ever answered.

From April 6 through August 22 only 6.6 percent of initial claims were filed by individuals who telephoned the call centers.

“The spike in calls and initial claims that preceded the Governor’s shutdown was a clear forecast of the tsunami of calls and claims that DWD should have absolutely been able to expect when the stay-at-home order was issued,” said state Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem Lakes), the co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Audit Committee, in a press release.

The release of the audit comes just one week after DWD Secretary Caleb Frostman resigned, at the request of Governor Tony Evers.

“DWD continues to work to overcome the unique challenges presented throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and is committed to continuous improvement to better serve Wisconsin residents,” said DWD Transition Director Amy Pechacek in a statement. “We appreciate the Legislative Audit Bureau’s review and recommendations provided through this audit, which will improve the transparency and oversight of UI operations both during and after this public health emergency.”

Evers urges Wisconsin to take pandemic seriously

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As cases of COVID-19 continue to increase exponentially in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers is urging everyone to take the pandemic seriously.

“Overcoming COVID-19 is on every community, every age group and every Wisconsinite,” Evers said Thursday. “It’s on all of us together.”

Evers’ plea comes as the state again reported more than 2,000 positive cases on Thursday, and 76 more hospitalizations.

“Please be extra cautious in the days and weeks ahead. While we continue to urge people to wear a mask, remember that it is not a substitute for physical distancing. Continue to maintain six feet of distance from those outside your immediate household. And skip heading out to the bars or to parties.”

The governor says public health measures like masking, social distancing and good hand hygiene have worked previously to slow the spread of COVID-19, and can again if everyone does their part.

Thursday COVID-19 numbers for Wisconsin

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Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to increase in Wisconsin. The state recorded six more deaths due to COVID-19, along with 76 more hospitalizations, according to Thursday’s update from the Department of Health Services.

DHS reported 2,392 positive test results — the second highest daily total ever — and a positive test rate of 18 percent.

The seven-day average of daily reported positive cases rose to 1,940, up from 1,409 a week ago. More than 500 patients are currently hospitalized, with 140 in intensive care.

There have been a total of 1,265 deaths due to COVID-19 in Wisconsin – 1.2 percent of positive cases.

Of all positive cases reported since the pandemic began, 90,726 or 84.8 percent, are considered recovered.

Wednesday COVID-19 numbers for Wisconsin

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Wisconsin recorded 8 additional deaths due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, and 56 more hospitalizations.

The Department of Health Services reported 1762 – or 13.1 percent – of 13,453 new test results over the previous 24 hours were returned as positive. The seven-day average of daily reported positive cases continues to increase. It was at 1,889, up from 1,340 a week ago.

There were 474 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 on Wednesday, 134 in intensive care.

There have been 105,932 positive cases reported since the pandemic began of which 88,131 or 84.6 percent, are considered recovered.