Sen. Trent Lott, R-S.C., gave up his post as Senate Majority Leader Dec. 20. Lott resigned after he made comments in support of the 1948 presidential bid of Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., which was run on a segregationist platform.
Lott made repeated apologies and claimed he supported equality, although in the past had voted against policies advocating civil rights.
On Dec. 23, Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., was unanimously selected to replace Lott as majority leader.
Clonaid, a cloning firm linked to a religious cult which claims mankind was created by aliens, claimed to engineer the birth of a cloned human baby born to 31-year-old American mother Dec. 26.
Brigitte Boisselier, the CEO of Clonaid, gave a press conference claiming the woman had given birth to the first cloned human, a little girl she referred to as Eve. On Jan. 4 Clonaid announced a Dutch woman gave birth to a second cloned human baby.
Clonaid never produced the actual parents or a baby, raising controversy over whether the announcements were scams or scientific revelations. Most experts said they agreed the probability of the group producing a cloned baby was slim.
Organizers of a campaign to recall former state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, failed to collect the necessary 16,072 signatures to force a special election. The campaign began after Chvala was charged with 20 felonies for allegations of exchanging campaign funds for legislation action. The group, called the Citizens for Ethical Government, said they would try to circulate petitions again in a month or two.
Chvala lost his Senate majority leader role after being charged in October. His case will be tried in Dane County Circuit Court. If convicted he would have to resign.
UW-Madison administrators announced the appointments of Darrell Bazzell as vice chancellor of administration and Joanne Berg as registrar.
Bazzell, who was secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, replaces John Torphy as the university's chief budget officer.
He is responsible for overseeing all of the university's administrative functions which include budget, facilities planning, general business services and auxiliary operations.
\Darrell's leadership of one of the state's largest and most visible agencies is a testament to his abilities as an administrator and public servant,"" Chancellor John Wiley said. ""His leadership skills, along with his knowledge of state government and budget analysis, make him the right choice for this important position.""
Berg, who was one of four finalists in the university's nationwide search, has served as interim registrar since January 2002. Berg said her office will work to develop closer ties with the academic community and further develop the My UW-Madison Web portal in the future.
Wisconsin's first Democratic governor in 16 years, Jim Doyle, took his inaugural oath Jan. 6 in the Capitol rotunda in front of a crowd of legislators, officials and regular citizens.
In his address, Doyle told the assembly he wanted to bring a new day to Wisconsin. He spoke of tough challenges ahead to put the state back on track financially and ethically, and said he would prioritize balancing the budget, restoring faith in government, strengthening education and creating better jobs.
Along with his inauguration, Doyle's appointments took center stage prior to and during his first weeks in office. Those appointed include Rod Nilsestuen, Secretary of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Nilsestuen toasted his appointment with milk.
Six individuals met the Jan. 7 deadline to file papers for the Madison mayoral race.
Candidates Jim Schwall and Eugene Parks had entered the race earlier but did not file papers, leaving incumbent Sue Bauman to duke it out with former mayor Paul Soglin, director of the environmental group 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin Dave Cieselwicz and school guidance counselor and Equal Opportunities Commission president Bert Zipperer. Two surprise last-minute challengers, retired biochemist Will Sandstrom and UW-Madison graduate art student and former Badger Herald Comics Editor Davy Mayer, also joined the fray.
The top two vote winners in the Feb. 2 primary will move on to the April 1 election.
North Korea announced Jan. 10 that the country would withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, one of the most significant nuclear treaties in the world.
The country had been in compliance with the treaty, which makes pledges to stop the worldwide spread of nuclear weapons.
North Korean officials said they would retract the announcement if oil shipments, which were suspended in December, resumed.
The country said it does not have plans of developing nuclear weapons.
At the same time, the North Korean ambassador said he believed the nation's sovereignty and security were at stake and that the United States has a hostile attitude toward the North Korean government.
UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear announced the selection of Bernice Durand as associate vice chancellor for diversity and climate.
The former physics professor will ensure that issues of diversity and climate related to faculty, staff and students are addressed. She will work to implement recommendations of the Climate Network Group, an advisory group headed by Spear, and Plan 2008, the university's diversity initiative, which she has already played an instrumental role in executing.
""It is essential to the continued success of UW-Madison that we increase the diversity of our faculty, staff and students, and encourage a positive living and working environment for the entire campus community,"" Spear said. ""Bernice's tireless dedication to increased diversity and improved campus climate makes her the perfect choice to help lead our efforts.""
Spear created this associate vice chancellor position last fall to better address issues of climate and diversity. This position replaces another one whose duties have been shared among other associate vice chancellors.
