WJI's Daily Reads for April 18, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts Republicans' maps.

In the 4-3 decision, Justice Brian Hagedorn joined the court's conservatives after earlier siding with its liberals. The ruling came at one of the last possible moments, falling on the day that candidates could begin circulating petitions to get on the ballot.  

The new maps tilt heavily in Republicans’ favor, with 63 of the 99 Assembly seats and 23 of the 33 Senate seats leaning toward the GOP, according to a December analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.​ . . .

In Friday's . . . ruling, the justices concluded Evers had not provided enough evidence to show why race should be taken into account when drawing districts in Milwaukee. The Republican-drawn maps they adopted reduce the number of Assembly districts in Milwaukee with Black majorities from six to five.  

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Op-ed in favor of Wisconsin business courts in response to opinion against.

HuffPost: U.S. Senate bill to lower cost of prison phone calls advances.

The Detroit News: States and cities suing fossil fuel companies for climate-change damages.

The governments suing the oil industry come from regions facing sea level rise, wildfires, drought, flooding and severe weather. They cite extensive news reporting — including investigations from the Los Angeles Times, Inside Climate News and The Guardian — that shows oil companies understood the dangers of climate change decades ago but led campaigns to undermine the scientific consensus that their products were contributing to a growing crisis.

CNN: Steve Bannon moves to dismiss criminal contempt case against him.

"Mr. Bannon received actual authority in this case for his non-compliance with the subpoena directly from former President Trump's invocation of executive privilege and corresponding directive to Mr. Bannon, that Mr. Bannon must honor that invocation with respect to the subpoena," Bannon's attorneys wrote in the court filing.

Marijuana Moment: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says illegal marijuana trafficking from Mexico has declined due to U.S. domestic production.