Wisconsin
Wisconsin Democrats pass pro-Palestinian resolution ignoring Hamas attack hours after Israeli hostage rescue
MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Democrats overwhelmingly passed a pro-Palestinian resolution at their state party convention the same weekend four Israeli hostages were rescued in a daring Gaza raid.
And the resolution didn’t even mention the Israelis killed or taken hostage in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.
The Sunday vote revealed a dark underbelly of a party that hosted a “Unity Fair” all weekend long.
Convention delegates approved by 136-91 a resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza and calling the Jewish state’s response to the massacre “genocide” and “an egregious violation of humanitarian law.”
It didn’t acknowledge the Oct. 7 attack or the hostages, including Americans, Hamas still holds.
Delegates did approve a floor resolution condemning antisemitism but struck the line noting that “antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed nearly 400% since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, according to Anti-Defamation League data.”
A Milwaukee Jewish Federation/Jewish Community Relations Council Antisemitism Audit found a 570% increase in such incidents in Wisconsin from 2015 to 2022, with an estimated 13% increase in 2023.
Heba Mohammed, a Palestinian American who co-led the push on the cease-fire resolution, also worked on the effort intended to send President Biden a message during the state’s April presidential-preference primary, in which 48,000 Democrats cast an “uninstructed” vote to protest his handling of the war in Gaza.
That was only 8% of the primary’s Democratic vote, but former President Donald Trump lost the battleground state by just 20,000 votes in 2020.
“So, if Joe Biden has any common sense, he’ll listen to what happened in April and to what happened today,” Mohammed, who doesn’t plan to vote for Biden, said after the vote.
The Milwaukee Jewish Federation roundly condemned the Democrats’ resolutions: “On the same weekend that four hostages were rescued from two residential apartments in Nuseirat, the Convention resolution falsely accuses Israel of genocide while entirely ignoring that Hamas is in violation of humanitarian law by embedding hostages amongst civilian populations in order to use civilians as shields.”
Delegates defeated a motion calling to drop the word “genocide” from the resolution.
A state party committee urged convention delegates to vote against Palestinian cease-fire resolutions that did not condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, WisPolitics reported.
Convention attendees reflected the party split on Biden’s handling of the conflict.
Susan Molls, a 6th Congressional District delegate from Cedarburg who nannies her grandchildren, told The Post Saturday she wasn’t even aware of the controversial Palestinian resolutions up for vote Sunday.
Molls said she agrees with Biden’s position on the war: “Yes, Israel has a right to defend itself, but civilians are suffering and something needs to change.”
Monroe attendee Stefani Butts, 32, who works with abused children, is the Democratic Party of Green County’s vice chair and believes the conflict is the most important issue in the election this year.
Asked how she thinks Biden is handling it, she bluntly responded, “Not doing a great job.”
She’d prefer the president consistently condemn Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
“It’s a genocide, not a war,” Butts declared, saying Saturday she “1,000% supports” the Palestinian resolutions.
What should Biden have done after the Oct. 7 attacks? Butts said he should have brought people “together to have a conversation about what happened.”
“Killing of private citizens is inexcusable,” she added — confirming the “private citizens” she referred to are Palestinians, not Israelis.
Most Saturday night convention speakers skirted the issue, but pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to disrupt Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s speech with cries of “Free Palestine!”
Baldwin whispered, “It’s OK,” as she paused briefly before restarting her speech while attendees attempted to drown out the demonstrators’ noise with chants of “Tammy, Tammy!” and force them to sit down before security escorted them out of the room.
The senator, who’s been plagued by pro-Palestinian protests in Wisconsin since December, supports a cease-fire.
Her pro-Gaza positions have not been enough to appease the protesters, however.
An April poll of Wisconsin registered voters found 46% said Trump would do a better job handling the Israel-Hamas war, with just 26% saying Biden would.
Wisconsin
US animal rights activists clash with police over Wisconsin dog breeder
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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