Author: Reporter

President Joe Biden said on July 29 that “extremism” on the U.S. Supreme Court is undermining public confidence in the institution and called on Congress to quickly establish term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He also called on lawmakers to ratify a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity. Biden, who has less than six months left in his presidency, detailed the contours of his court proposal in an address at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, where he was marking the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. His calls for dramatic changes...

President Joe Biden proposed on July 29 major changes for the U.S. Supreme Court: an enforceable code of ethics, term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment that would limit the justices’ recent decision on presidential immunity. There is almost no chance of the proposal passing a closely divided Congress with Election Day looming, but the ideas could still spark conversation with public confidence in the court hitting an all-time low amid ethical revelations about some justices. It also comes against the backdrop of a contentious presidential election and growing Democratic outrage about recent decisions from the conservative-majority court....

The tree-killing emerald ash borer has now spread to every county in Wisconsin, state officials said on July 26. The state Department of Natural Resources said agency staff responded to a report of a possible emerald ash borer infestation in two trees at a private residence in the town of Meenon in Burnett County on June 13. Tests the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducted on insect samples taken from the trees confirmed the specimens were emerald ash borer. Native to Asia, the emerald ash borer was discovered in the United States in southeastern...

Marine archaeologists discovered the wreckage of a Great Lakes schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in the late 1800s. The Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association announced in July that its searchers found the Margaret A. Muir in 50 feet of water off Algoma, Wisconsin, on May 12. The Muir was a 130-foot, three-masted schooner that was built in 1872. The ship was en route from Bay City, Michigan, to South Chicago, Illinois, with a cargo of bulk salt. The was designed for the rigors of Great Lakes navigation, playing a crucial role in transporting goods across these vast inland waters....