By SCOTT BAUER

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court accused the court’s liberal majority, all women, of being “driven by their emotions” during oral arguments in an abortion rights case — comments his challenger’s campaign on Friday called “disgusting.”

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Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge and former Republican attorney general, faces Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge backed by Democrats, in the high-stakes April 1 election.

Abortion has been a key issue in the race. Schimel opposes abortion rights and Crawford supports them. Both candidates have said they would be impartial if the issue comes before the court.

The winner will determine whether the highest court in the battleground state remains controlled by liberal justices as it’s expected to rule in cases affecting abortion, unions rights, congressional redistricting and election laws. The election could also serve as an early litmus test for Republicans and Democrats after President Donald Trump won every swing state, including Wisconsin.

Schimel spoke out against the four liberal justices during a Nov. 12 radio interview, the day after oral arguments in case challenging the state’s 1849 abortion ban. Crawford, who has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, brought a different case seeking to protect abortion rights when she was a private practice attorney working for a liberal firm.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford takes questions at a news conference, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)

Schimel’s comments were first reported Friday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“There were times that when that camera went on several of the liberal justices, they were on the brink of losing it,” Schimel said on WSAU-AM. “You could see it in their eyes, and you could hear it in the tone of their voice. They are being driven by their emotions. A Supreme Court justice had better be able to set their personal opinions and their emotions aside and rule on the law objectively. This is — we don’t have that objectivity on this court.”

The four justices, in a statement Friday, accused Schimel of having “an antiquated and distorted view of women.”

“By suggesting that women get too emotional and are unfit to serve as judges and justices, he turns back decades of progress for women,” their statement said. “These petty and personal attacks have no place in our campaigns and courtrooms, and are just one more reason that we have endorsed Susan Crawford for Justice.”

The four justices are Jill Karofsky, Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet and Janet Protasiewicz. Bradley’s retirement created the open seat that Crawford and Schimel are battling over. The winner is elected to a 10-year term.

Schimel’s campaign issued statements from the two conservative justices who are women saying there was nothing wrong with Schimel’s comments and that their liberal colleagues were wrong to criticize him.

“The liberal majority lodges baseless accusations against Judge Schimel to deflect attention from inappropriate behavior on the bench by Justices Dallet and Karofsky,” conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley said. “Judge Schimel’s legitimate criticisms have nothing to do with gender — obviously he wasn’t talking about me, or Chief Justice Annette Ziegler — and everything to do with the liberal majority’s political activism.”

Ziegler said claims of sexism against Schimel were “baseless.”

Jacob Fischer, a spokesperson for the Schimel campaign, called the criticism a “pathetic attempt to gaslight voters.”

“There is no mention of gender in Judge Schimel’s criticism of the current majority that views the Supreme Court as a policy deciding body — instead of a fair and objective court,” Fischer said.

Schimel did not back down from his comments when asked about them Thursday following a public event in Milwaukee.

“It’s plainly clear that that one of the justices, at least, was not able to stay objective. She had lost control of her emotions,” Schimel told the Journal Sentinel. “Men do that, too, but she could not stay objective. In that case, she was literally yelling at an attorney.”

Schimel said he was referring to Karofsky. She did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Crawford’s campaign spokesperson, Derrick Honeyman, said Schimel’s comments were “disgusting insults” and “part of a pattern of disturbing behavior and extremism that has no place in our state, and certainly not on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”

By KATE PAYNE

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Andrew and Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, have returned to the U.S. after authorities lifted travel restrictions on the siblings, who have millions of online followers.

After the pair arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made it clear the influencer brothers are not welcome in his state and that his administration is conducting a preliminary inquiry into the pair — sparking pushback from supporters of the Tates.

Here is what to know.

Who are the Tates?

Andrew Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed more than 10 million followers on X. He and his brother Tristan Tate, 36, are vocal supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Andrew Tate is a hugely successful social media figure, attracting millions of followers, many of them young men and schoolchildren who were drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle the influencer projects online.

He previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech and his misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.

The Tates, who are dual U.S.-British citizens, were arrested in late 2022 and formally indicted last year on charges they participated in a criminal ring that lured women to Romania, where they were sexually exploited. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny the allegations.

The Tates’ departure came after Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu said this month that a Trump administration official expressed interest in the brothers’ case at the recent Munich Security Conference.

Just weeks ago, Andrew Tate posted on X: “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back. And they will be better than ever. Hold on.”

Where are they now?

The Tates arrived in the U.S. Thursday, landing in Fort Lauderdale around midday.

Speaking to reporters at the airport, Andrew Tate repeated his insistence that the siblings had done nothing wrong.

“We live in a democratic society where it’s innocent until proven guilty. And I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood. There’s a lot of opinions about us, things that go around about us on the internet,” he said.

The brothers are expected to return to Romania, where they still face criminal charges. An attorney for the siblings there did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday on when they are due back in the country.

What has the response been to their return?

The brothers’ return to the U.S. — after a Trump official expressed interest in their case — has sparked disagreement among conservative commentators and officials.

Speaking to reporters, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis made clear he doesn’t want the brothers to remain in his state.

“Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct,” DeSantis said.

Florida’s attorney general is examining whether the state may have any jurisdiction over the brothers’ alleged crimes, and if so, how to “hold them accountable.” In court documents, the Tates have said they are not and have never been Florida residents.

Other Republicans in the Sunshine State — which has become a stronghold of Trump’s MAGA movement — are rolling out the welcome mat.

In a post on X, the Tampa Bay Young Republicans club formally invited Andrew Tate to speak to their group.

“As free speech absolutists, the Tate’s haven’t been formally convicted of any crimes and are welcome to speak to our group,” the post reads. “We’re old enough to remember when a (asterisk)“Convicted Felon.”(asterisk) won the Presidency.”

What is next on the legal front?

The Tates still face criminal charges in Romania and will have to return at least from time to time for proceedings in that case, which is expected to take years to resolve.

Once the legal saga in Romania ends, the United Kingdom has an extradition request — that was approved last year by a Romanian court — for separate charges the Tates face there related to allegations of sexual aggression.

Meanwhile, a defamation lawsuit the brothers filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court in 2023 continues to proceed. The pair filed the case against a woman who accused them of imprisoning her in Romania. A judge has denied a motion by the woman, identified as Jane Doe, to pause the case until the Romanian matter is concluded.

Now that they are back in the U.S., the Tates have filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order against the woman, but no ruling has been issued as of Friday afternoon. The siblings want the woman barred from coming within 500 feet (152 meters) of them and that she be prevented from “contacting, threatening, stalking, harming or harassing” either Tate brother.

Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in Tampa and Stephen McGrath in Sighisoara, Romania, contributed to this report.

Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

DENVER — As Marcus Foligno sat in the Delta Center penalty box, awaiting his freedom after being whistled for a four-minute high sticking infraction, he marveled at the job his penalty-killing teammates did, erasing more than three minutes of Utah’s man advantage at the start of the second period on Thursday.

“They did a good job at the end of that four-minute minor,” said Foligno, who is one of the Minnesota Wild’s most reliable hard-nosed forwards.

Of course, by then, the damage had been done.

Utah scored on a 5-on-3 advantage for a 2-0 lead while Jonas Brodin, called for hooking, was in the box next to Foligno at the end of the first period. Chasing all night, the Wild lost in Salt Lake City, 6-1.

It was not a new issue for this Wild team, which jumped out to a stellar start to the season, and is still in a great position to make the playoffs for the first time under head coach John Hynes. But heading into Friday’s game at Colorado, the Wild had the NHL’s second-worst penalty kill, ranked 31st out of the NHL’s 32 teams statistically.

Only Detroit, which split a two-game series with Minnesota last week, was worse. When the Wild go to the penalty kill, opponents are scoring better than 29 percent of the time.

After one of the Wild’s most lopsided losses of the season, Hynes didn’t pin things specifically on the penalty kill, choosing instead to share the blame.

“I thought for large portions of the night tonight, we got out-skated and got out-competed. We didn’t do a lot,” he said. “We had some stretches where we pushed and we played, but I thought they were faster, harder, more competitive and made more plays.”

The March 7 NHL trade deadline is now less than a week away. For months, the talk has been about forwards, and whether the Wild will make a move to bring pending free agent Brock Nelson “home” from the New York Islanders. Wild general manager Bill Guerin may still look for help on the team’s top two lines, especially with Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek sidelined by lower body injuries with no definite timeline for return.

Some have speculated that if Guerin adds an offensive forward, it will be with an eye toward a playoff run. If so, it could be a sign that either Kaprizov or Eriksson Ek, or both, will be unavailable for much of March, when the Wild play 11 of 15 games at home. But more often than not, the Wild have found enough offense to win, especially with the likes of Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello leading from the front, and with Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury proving to be a steady tandem in goal.

The penalty kill is clearly the weak spot.

Hynes has talked about staying out of the box and winning more faceoffs as keys to avoiding and surviving two-minute stretches when they’re down a man. As the deadline creeps closer, there is more chatter about the Wild’s interest in forwards of the shutdown variety. Guerin has proven to be adept at knowing what this team needs and finding ways to afford those needs. Inside the quiet Wild locker room on Thursday, there was more talk about the team doing its best with it has.

“This team is solid. I don’t think we need to cry for help,” Foligno said. “Obviously, help is nice, but we’ve just gotta keep pushing forward with what we’ve got. We’ve been doing it all year.”

That’s true, but if this team has designs on playing games in May, there is one area where help does appear to be needed.

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