Saturday, November 15, 2025
Trump orders DOJ to launch new Epstein probe ahead of House vote on releasing files
Friday, November 14, 2025
Pressure Mounts On President Trump To Release Epstein Files
THC gummies and drinks face ban under provision in government spending bill
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Epstein files up next for House after historic shutdown ends | Morning in America
Mount Pleasant man pleads not guilty to child sexual abuse charges
Milana Doné
RACINE — A 39-year-old Mount Pleasant man pleaded not guilty Wednesday in connection to allegations of child sexual abuse.
Matthew Wefler faces one count of repeated sexual assault of the same child, one count of incest with a child, seven counts of child sexual exploitation and three counts of causing a child under 13 to view/listen to sexual activity.
Allegations
According to a criminal complaint, the FBI notified the Racine County Sheriff's Office on June 24 about an investigation regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material and a child sexual assault.
The FBI reportedly found “hundreds of pages” of chat messages in which Wefler and a man in Texas exchanged and discussed sexual content involving young children and Wefler’s dog.
Wefler is scheduled to appear next for a status conference Jan. 12.
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
House Democrats release new Epstein emails referencing Trump
President Trump Fires Back After Accusations Of Cheap Gold Accents
Milwaukee THC debate; homicide prompts renewed call to outlaw products | FOX6 News Milwaukee
Tuesday, November 11, 2025
San Francisco Train Operator Caught Sleeping, Tells Terrified Riders: 'We Didn’t Crash. Relax.'
Drone footage of the snow storm that dropped nearly 10 inches of snow on Racine and Kenosha
Mike De Sisti
Monday, November 10, 2025
Woman charged in shooting of Concordia student says the two became paranoid after smoking pot
David Clarey
Prosecutors say a 32-year-old Milwaukee woman grew paranoid after smoking marijuana and shot a Concordia pharmacy student and herself on Nov. 4.
Jamica Simone Mills, who was 31 at the time of the shooting, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide by use of a dangerous weapon in the shooting that killed 26-year-old Ariel Spillner, who she described as her friend to authorities, and led to her injuring herself accidentally.
The prosecutor's Nov. 8 criminal complaint details what Mills told police the evening the shooting occurred at her home after the two smoked marijuana together and both became paranoid.
Spillner was expected to cut Mills' dog's hair with scissors, but Mills retrieved a handgun from her bedroom after becoming paranoid. She later shot Spillner, after the victim made a "hand motion," Mills then accidentally shot herself in the abdomen, according to the criminal complaint.
Mills told police Spillner did not threaten her, she did not "observe" the scissors, and she did not mean to kill the other woman, according to the complaint.
The complaint shows Mills having other adverse, seemingly strange reactions to smoking marijuana. When first responders arrived, she was not wearing clothes and was combative, including to hospital staff who treated her injuries. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner has not released an autopsy report for Spillner's death.
Mills initially gave police a different narrative of events, where she was not the shooter, but later said it was incorrect, according to the compliant.
Online tributes to Spillner described her as an accomplished college basketball player at Clarke University in Iowa and "a light to everyone who knew her." A fundraiser for Spillner's family has raised nearly $12,500 as of Nov. 10.
Spillner was enrolled in the School of Pharmacy at Concordia University Wisconsin, a Lutheran university in Mequon. The university said in a statement it was "deeply saddened" of her death and was offering counseling and pastoral care to students.
"Our hearts and prayers are with Ariel's family, friends, classmates, and all who knew and loved her," the statement said. "We take comfort in the promise of Christ’s presence and pray for God’s peace to surround all who mourn Ariel’s passing."
Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Katharine Kucharski set Mills' bail at $150,000, according to online court records. Mills next court appearance is for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
The Demon weed strikes again!
How much snow did it snow around Racine and Kenosha Monday morning?
Anna Kleiber
Some Wisconsinites saw a heaping amount of snow after a strong lake effect snow band moved in over the southern half of Lake Michigan overnight into Nov. 10.
While Milwaukee County only saw trace amounts of snow early Nov. 10, eastern Racine and Kenosha counties saw upwards of 13 inches.
More snow could fall across southeastern Wisconsin in the early morning of Nov. 11, but there will only be a 20% chance of any of that accumulating, according to Benjamin Sheppard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan.
Here's what snow totals looked like Monday morning in Milwaukee-area communities.
How much did it snow last night in Wisconsin?
Here are the snow totals, according to the weather service, that were reported in southeastern Wisconsin early Nov. 10.
- Pleasant Prairie: 10.5-13 inches
- Elmwood Park: 10.5 inches
- Wind Point: 7 inches
- Kenosha: 9.5 inches
- Racine: 5.8-9 inches
- North Bay: 5.1 inches
- Franksville: 4 inches
- Sturtevant: 2 inches
Kelli Arseneau of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.
Windy conditions, snow expected in Milwaukee area. 5 inches possible along lakefront.
Anna Kleiber
Southeastern Wisconsinites should bundle up Nov. 9 with scattered light snow showers expected during the day, followed by a potential for moderate to heavy lake effect snow in some areas along Lake Michigan, according to the National Weather Service Milwaukee office in Sullivan.
A strong lake effect snow band is expected over the southern half of Lake Michigan overnight into Nov. 10, with chances for thunder. Milwaukee County could see one to five inches of snow near Lake Michigan and up to one inch further inland. Snow showers could impact travel and cause low visibility late Nov. 9 into the morning hours.
Additionally, a gale warning was issued by the National Weather Service Milwaukee office in Sullivan urging mariners to stay off Lake Michigan in southern open waters under 6 a.m. Nov. 10 with north winds up to 40 mph and waves 8 to 13 feet expected. Mariners should avoid these hazardous conditions and remain in port, seek safe harbor, alter course and/or secure their vessel for severe conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
The rest of the week, southeastern Wisconsin can expect windy conditions and a chance of snow.
Forecasters expect a high of 38 and sunny conditions Monday, Nov. 10 with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph, according to the National Weather Service. In the evening, a low around 35 degrees, with a west wind 10 to 15 mph.
On Nov. 11, there's a 30% chance of snow before 3 p.m. followed by a slight chance of rain and snow showers. Milwaukeeans can expect mostly cloudy conditions and wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
While conditions are expected to be sunny with a high near 49, windy conditions will carry into Nov. 12 with wind 10 to 15 mph and gusts as high as 25 mph.
The wind will subside later in the week, with sunny conditions and highs in the low 50s expected on Nov. 13 and 14.
(This story was updated.)
Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com.
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Trump administration tells Wisconsin to 'undo' full FoodShare payments. Evers says 'No'
Molly Beck
MADISON – The Trump administration late Saturday told Wisconsin state officials to "undo" their fulfillment of food assistance benefits amid a court battle over funding the nation's anti-hunger programs during the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
The directive to all state officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came after the Evers administration discovered the U.S. Treasury had rejected reimbursing Wisconsin grocers for food purchased by participants in Wisconsin's food assistance program, known as FoodShare, according to the Evers administration.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had a one-word response to the directive: "No."
In a statement, he said Wisconsin "legally loaded benefits to cards."
"Our administration is actively in court fighting against the Trump Administration’s efforts to yank food assistance away from Wisconsin’s kids, families, and seniors, and we are eager for the court to resolve this issue by directing the Trump Administration to comply with court orders and provide the certainty to the many Wisconsin families and businesses who rely on FoodShare," he said in the statement.
Nearly 700,000 FoodShare recipients received their full November allotment of benefits after Evers' health department officials pushed through a request to fill the recipients' card balances after a federal judge on Thursday demanded the Trump administration fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through the government shutdown.
But while the recipients' cards had balances available to spend through lines of credit, the Treasury had rejected sending money to cover those purchases to grocers and other businesses that accept such cards, according to an Evers administration official.
After the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted a stay of the ruling compelling the Trump administration to pay the benefits, Agriculture officials sent memos to state officials asking them to "immediately undo" any actions to direct funding to their residents using food assistance cards.
The officials said in the memo that any move to fully fund benefits, like Wisconsin had done, was "unauthorized."
The Agriculture officials also noted that failure to comply would result in funding reductions to administer their food assistance programs.
Evers said in a court filing Saturday that without the reimbursement approval from U.S. Treasury, known as a line of credit, the state will be no longer be able to send funds to retailers for the purchases made by FoodShare recipients by Monday.
Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents received full food benefits early Friday after state officials moved to release the funding after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the program.
More than $104 million in benefits were paid to 337,000 households at midnight, a spokeswoman for Evers said Friday, Nov. 7. The federal funding was distributed after the Evers administration made a request late Thursday, before the Trump administration sought to block the order.
The Evers administration expects the U.S. Department of Agriculture to at least make partial funding available to divert to retailers, according to an Evers spokeswoman.
"Based on what the state knows today, Wisconsin does not expect any immediate impacts for FoodShare members while the state continues to work to secure funds owed from the federal government," she said.
Federal subsidies for meals have become a flashpoint in the fight between Democrats and Republicans who have been unable to agree on a new bill to fund the government, leading to a federal government shutdown now in its 40th day.
Funding for SNAP benefits, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, expired Nov. 1 amid the shutdown.
Since then, two federal judges issued orders to compel the Trump administration to tap into contingency funds to keep SNAP payments moving, but the Trump administration said it would fund only a portion of the benefits.
Doing so would cause long delays, because the systems set up to distribute benefits would need to be overhauled to release a smaller amount.
If the Trump administration funded the program at the reduced level, grocers would be reimbursed, according to the Evers administration.
The Trump administration said it does not have enough funds to pay full benefits.
"This is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action," Trump administration wrote in a court filing seeking the emergency stay.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
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