1. The Milwaukee Public School Board will make a decision on Thursday that will impact the future of 550 students. The MPS board will vote on whether to extend its charter school contract with Carmen Northwest, operated by Carmen Schools of Science & Technology, which has a network of schools within Milwaukee. If the board decides against extending the contract, the school could close, leaving the education of roughly 550 students, grades 6 through 12, in question. In 2024, Carmen Northwest graduated 99 percent of its seniors and enjoyed a 98 percent college acceptance rate.
2. Happening now, the U.S. House is voting on a bill that would release the full Jeffrey Epstein files. We already know how one person is going to be voting. House Speaker Mike Johnson said while he calls the Epstein files "recklessly flawed," he said today that he will vote to support the resolution to compel the Justice Department to release the files. Whatever the result of today's vote, the bill faces an uncertain future in the US Senate.
3. Concerns over flight cancellations could push more travelers to hit the road for Thanksgiving. AAA projects that 1.65 million Wisconsinites will travel at least 50 miles from home during the Thanksgiving holiday period, which runs from Tuesday, November 25 to Monday, December 1st. This marks a 2% increase over last year and sets a record for Thanksgiving travel in the Badger State. Nationwide, AAA expects 81.8 million Americans to travel for Thanksgiving, an increase of 1.6 million travelers compared to 2024. Of that 81.8 million, 90% are projected to travel by car. Thanksgiving remains the busiest travel holiday of the year.