Minnesota politics - commentary, blogs and multimedia

NC elections official blocks mom's ballot after her death

A North Carolina elections director had to ask members of her board to reject her mother's absentee ballot because she died several weeks before the general election.

Minneapolis-based Verata Health bought for $120M

7:11pm

Dr. Jeremy Friese will become an executive with Olive after the AI company bought Verata Health, which Friese founded. (Provided photo)

The software business acquired by Olive, a pioneer in AI for health care.

Minnesota GOP legislative leaders want lawmakers and staff to receive early vaccinations

8:04pm

Republican legislative leaders House Speaker Kurt Daudt, left, and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka. ] GLEN STUBBE • glen.stubbe@startribune.com

Sen. Paul Gazelka says Minn. legislators and staff are essential workers.

Local

9:59pm

Nucky’s Speakeasy co-owner Rowan Brown reacted after tasting a splash of whiskey he’d poured for himself in the basement bar. ] JEFF WHEELER �

Republican legislator's Anoka speakeasy shut by executive order

New Anoka bar — co-owned by Senate critic of state closure order — was open just days.

Politics

6:39pm

Al Lindell, head election judge, handed a voting sticker to a voter from behind a plexiglass barrier as voters gathered for the election Tuesday at th

State Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to Minnesota election results

It's among dozens of court defeats around the country for attempts to undo Biden win.

Politics

6:36pm

Biden officially secures enough electors to become president

California certified its presidential election Friday and appointed 55 electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the Electoral College majority needed to win the White House.

Politics

6:28pm

Trump orders most American troops to leave Somalia

The Pentagon said Friday it is pulling most U.S. troops out of Somalia on President Donald Trump's orders, continuing a post-election push by Trump to shrink U.S. involvement in counterterrorism missions abroad.

Business

6:25pm

The Latest: Conn. extends pandemic jobless benefit to 38,000

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed an order allowing the state Department of Labor to expand eligibility for a federal pandemic unemployment program to an estimated 38,000 people who were previously disqualified.

Politics

6:25pm

Trump loves to win but keeps losing election lawsuits

For a man obsessed with winning, President Donald Trump is losing a lot.

Politics

6:21pm

EXPLAINER: Trump's failing, monthlong fight against election

President Donald Trump's frantic effort in the courts to delegitimize an election he lost has come no closer in a month to reversing any results.

Politics

6:20pm

DeVos suspends student federal loan payments through January

The Trump administration on Friday suspended all federal student loan payments through the end of January and kept interest rates at 0%, extending a moratorium that started early in the pandemic but was set to expire at the end of this month.

Nation

6:20pm

Judge: Trump administration must take new DACA applications

The Trump administration must accept new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects some young immigrants from deportation, a federal judge ruled Friday, in vacating a memo from the acting Homeland Security secretary that had suspended it.

Politics

6:17pm

Judge calls Trump request in Wisconsin lawsuit 'bizarre'

A judge hearing President Donald Trump's federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's win in Wisconsin said Friday that the president's request to "remand" the case to the GOP-controlled Legislature to pick new electors was "bizarre."

Local

6:16pm

Minnesota attorney general to decide police shooting charges

Minnesota's attorney general will decide whether a St. Paul police officer should be charged in connection with last month's non-fatal shooting of a Black man who had been hiding from police after he allegedly livestreamed a sexual assault.

Nation

6:07pm

Federal judge restores DACA, orders DHS to accept first-time applications from immigrants

Thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children are immediately eligible to apply for an Obama-era program that grants them work permits,…

Business

6:02pm

COVID-19 relief: What's on the table as Congress seeks deal

After numerous fits and starts and months of inaction, optimism is finally building in Washington for a COVID-19 aid bill that would offer relief for businesses, the unemployed, schools, and health care providers, among others struggling as caseloads are spiking.

Nation

5:51pm

Appeals court rules for Trump taking military money for wall

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a lower court was wrong to bar the Trump administration from taking $3.6 billion from military construction projects for a border wall.

Politics

5:47pm

Pentagon installs 2 Trump allies on defense advisory board

The Pentagon has appointed two close allies of President Donald Trump, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to a defense advisory board, continuing a post-election purge in the final weeks of the administration.

Politics

5:36pm

Top legislative leaders express optimism for virus aid plan

The top four leaders in the Minnesota Legislature expressed optimism Friday that lawmakers can agree on a new coronavirus relief package in time for a Dec. 14 special session, though negotiations on what should go into the aid package were continuing.

Nation

5:32pm

Wyoming health official: 'so-called pandemic' communist plot

A Wyoming Department of Health official involved in the state's response to the coronavirus questioned the legitimacy of the pandemic and described a forthcoming vaccine as a biological weapon at a recent event.

Variety

5:22pm

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows:

Politics

5:14pm

Pressure mounts on Biden to make diverse picks for top posts

President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. A month and a half before he takes office, he's drawing rebukes from activists who fear he'll fall short on promises to build an administration that looks like the country it governs.

Nation

5:12pm

Surveillance tape breeds false fraud claims in Georgia

Surveillance footage of ballot processing on election night in Atlanta is fueling a false social media narrative of "suitcases filled with ballots" hidden under a cloth-covered table and tallied without supervision, even as top state officials confirm election workers followed standard procedure.

StarTribune