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WSUM News Team compiles recent news in under 5 minutes every Monday through Thursday. Originally aired on the 91.7 FM stream, each newscast is re-posted in audio form.
INTRO GOOD (DAY) EVENING MADISON! YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE 5/6 O’CLOCK NEWS UPDATE ON WSUM 91.7 FM MADISON STUDENT RADIO. I’M NATHAN JAHN.
IN THE NEWS TODAY,
IN CAMPUS NEWS,
UW wins the Big 10 blood drive, receiving $1 million from Abbott to advance local health initiatives. The award was accepted at the Big Ten championship game. Students, staff and supporters contributed over 15,000 donations to beat last year’s winner, the University of Nebraska. The drive aims to address a national blood shortage by getting college students to donate. Donations from 19 to 24-year-olds have fallen nearly one third in recent years. Donations increased 319% from last year. While the drive is over, Abbott says donations are still needed. People can find a place to donate blood near them at BigTen.Org/Abbott. For WSUM News, I’m Madison Moris.
IN LOCAL NEWS,
On December 6, Quilen Blackwell was announced as 2025 CNN Hero of the Year as his nonprofit focused on changing vacant lots on Chicago’s South side into flower farms where at-risk young people would grow, arrange and sell the flowers.
Blackwell grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and joined the Peace Corps after college, serving in rural Thailand. In 2015, Blackwell launched his nonprofit with his wife, Hannah Bonham, and they’re focused on finding sustainable means of creating jobs and alleviating poverty.
Blackwell’s nonprofit shop, Southside Blooms, has now employed 25 young people and transformed six vacant lots into flower farms across the city. Blackwell will open a second location on the city’s west side this spring with the hopes of expanding nationally. In recognition of being CNN Hero of the Year, Blackwell will receive $100,000 for pursuing his work. As part of the Elevate Prize Foundation's program, Blackwell and the other top 5 CNN Heroes will each receive a $10,000 cash prize as well as a donation matching up to $50,000. Elevate will also award Blackwell $50,000.
For WSUM News, I’m Ryan Kim.
IN NATIONAL NEWS,
16 FBI agents are suing Kash Patel and the Trump administration because they were fired for kneeling at protest. A 5-year old photo of the agents kneeling at a DC social justice protest after the murder of George Floyd led to the firing of these 16 agents. Fired in September, the 16 agents are arguing that they were wrongly punished for de-escalating the protest. Firing them via letter, Patel wrote that they Quote “demonstrated unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties”. The agents are arguing that they had never been trained for the situation they found themselves in on June 4, 2020. They were outnumbered and backed against the wall as protestors chanted for them to “take a knee”. The agents did. A video of the event was posted and conservatives criticized the agents’ actions. However, FBI leadership at the time cleared them of wrongdoing. Shortly after being sworn in, Patel started working towards the agents demotions and eventual firings. According the lawsuit, Patel fired the agents before the decision was approved by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
For WSUM News, I’m Gray Goldberg
IN INTERNATIONAL NEWS,
Residents on both sides of the Thailand-Cambodia border evacuate as clashes kill 5 people. Both sides have accused each other of starting the conflict, which is the largest confrontation since they agreed to a ceasefire in July. Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says his country never wanted violence but will use necessary means to preserve its sovereignty, while Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen accused Thai invaders of provoking retaliation. A total of over 40 deaths have occurred between the two neighbors since tensions started in May. On Monday, the Thai army said its troops had responded to Cambodian fire in Thailand, including by launching air strikes along the disputed border. At least one Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians have been killed, and about a dozen wounded as a result of Monday's fighting, according to officials on either side.
IN ECONOMIC NEWS,
President Trump plans to pay 12 billion dollars to farmers hurt by his trade war. The stimulus package is the first acknowledgement that Trump’s policies have done some harm for farmers locally. Farmers are generally very republican and some of Trump’s biggest supporters. His tariffs were supposed to help American farm production by making it more expensive to buy goods from China, instead China retaliated. China, the largest purchaser of US soybeans, halted purchases of US farm products, greatly diminishing farmers' returns. Most of the relief funds will come from the Agriculture Department’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program. According to the White House, the money will go to corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, rice, cattle, wheat and potato farmers. The White House still blames former President Biden, even after the relief package was unveiled. Spokesperson Anna Kelly said, Quote “Today’s announcement reflects the president’s commitment to helping our farmers, who will have the support they need to bridge the gap between Biden’s failures and the President’s successful policies taking effect” End-Quote. This is not the first time Trump has had to send money to farmers hurt by his trade policies. During his first term, he funneled more than $20 billion in economic support to farmers after China boycotted U.S. products in response to tariffs.
OUTRO: THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN! FROM THE WSUM NEWS BOOTH, I’M NATHAN JAHN. HAVE A GREAT EVENING MADISON!