Good morning.
Election Day in Whitewater will be cloudy with occasional rain, mainly in the morning, and a high of fifty-six. Sunrise is 6:29 AM and sunset 7:25 PM, for 12h 55m 52s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 57.9% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Community Development Authority will interview candidates for its executive director position at a 5 PM meeting, and the Birge Fountain Committee meets at 5:45 PM.
Note to the CDA candidates: they’re sure to ask you their favorite Local Notables’ Ultra-Tricky Question™, but don’t fret – the answer’s already available online. You’re welcome.
On this day in 1974 – Opening Day – Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth’s home run record in a game against Cincinnati. On this day in 1865, the 5th, 6th, 7th, 19th, 36th, 37th and 38th Wisconsin Infantry regiments are among the troops pursuing Confederate General Robert E. Lee across Virginia after the fall of Richmond.
Recommended for reading in full —
Dylan Byers reports that At Fox News, fear and silence amid O’Reilly controversy: “There are women at Fox News who want to speak up. But they’re afraid. They’ve seen other women stand up for themselves — against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, against host Bill O’Reilly — and lose their jobs as a result. Meanwhile, they’ve seen those men defended and handsomely compensated by the company. They’ve been told there is an anonymous hotline they can call. But they’re afraid to call it because of a belief that the company is monitoring their phones. For many female employees at Fox News these days, the mood is one of fear and disappointment, several current and former employees told CNNMoney.”
Emily Steel and Michael Schmidt report More Trouble at Fox News: Ailes Faces New Sexual Claims and O’Reilly Loses Two Advertisers: “The sexual harassment scandal that engulfed Fox News last year and led to the ouster of its chairman, Roger Ailes, continued to batter the network on Monday, as a new lawsuit described unwanted sexual advances by Mr. Ailes and two major advertisers pulled their spots from the show of its top-rated host, Bill O’Reilly. Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai said they were withdrawing their ads from Mr. O’Reilly’s prime-time show, “The O’Reilly Factor,” after The New York Times published an investigation this weekend that found five women who made allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior against him. Those five women received settlements totaling about $13 million, The Times reported. Together, the developments portray a network buffeted by allegations on multiple fronts, even as it draws record ratings with programming supportive of President Trump. Staff members remain anxious, some said on Monday, over questions about its workplace culture and its priorities.”
Adam Entous, Greg Miller, Kevin Sieff and Karen DeYoung report that Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel: “The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials. The meeting took place around Jan. 11 — nine days before Trump’s inauguration — in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean, officials said. Though the full agenda remains unclear, the UAE agreed to broker the meeting in part to explore whether Russia could be persuaded to curtail its relationship with Iran, including in Syria, a Trump administration objective that would be likely to require major concessions to Moscow on U.S. sanctions.”
So, just how deep does the ocean go? Deep —