August 1, 2020 - The Minnesota Sun

Governor Walz’s Plan Defers to Schools for Campus Openings

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Corinne Murdock

Governor Tim Walz announced Thursday that Minnesota schools will have the majority of authority on if or how they open campuses, based on discretionary assessment of their district’s localized data.

According to Walz’s Emergency Executive Order 20-82 and the accompanying “Safe Learning Plan,” schools must watch the spread of COVID-19 in their communities to determine the learning model that will suit their needs. These models are also subject to change throughout the school year, a protocol that Walz refers to as “dialing back [or] forward” in his executive order.

Commentary: Will the Virus Ever Allow the U.S. Economy to Fully Reopen Again?

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The U.S. economy contracted a record-setting, inflation-adjusted, annualized 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020 according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis as tens of millions of Americans waited out the Chinese coronavirus in their homes, not venturing out much except for work and needed supplies.

The second quarter comprises of April, May and June, when in Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey 25 million jobs were lost by April and then 8.8 million came back in May and June as states slowly began reopening.

Ilhan Omar Pays Husband’s Firm Another $600,000 in Just Three Weeks, Bringing Total Over $1.7 Million

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s re-election campaign paid her husband’s consulting firm more than $600,000 in the first three weeks of July, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show.

Omar’s campaign has now paid E Street Group, the consulting firm run by Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, more than $1.7 million since August 2018, according to FEC records.

Commentary: Clouds of Summer Obscure the Coming Thunder of November

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Apart from exposing once again the obtuseness, the moral bankruptcy, and the almost inexpressible hatred of the president that possesses the Democratic congressional leadership, Attorney General William Barr’s appearance at the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday clarified in a few minutes why the national interest requires the reelection of the administration.

John Fredericks Commentary: Dr. Birx Goes on Self-Serving CYA Tour – Throws Trump Under the Bus

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

In a bizarre and brazen attempt at long-term self-preservation at the expense of her boss, President Trump, GA Governor Brian Kemp and business owners struggling for survival, Dr. Deborah Birx donned her scarf and embarked on a 14-state blatant CYA tour to revive her sagging reputation.

To small business owners struggling for economic salvation and unemployed hard-working Americans with rent and mortgage payments due, Dr. Birx has a simple message: let them eat cake.

‘Constant’ Orgies, ‘Beautiful, Tall’ European Models: Accuser Describes Epstein’s Pedophile Island in Unsealed Docs

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his cohort and ex-over Ghislaine Maxwell hosted “constant” orgies on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, accuser Virginia Giuffre says in newly released court documents.

The documents are transcripts of depositions from Giuffre’s previously settled 2016 civil lawsuit against Maxwell, whom Giuffre says sexually abused her along with Epstein, attorney Alan Dershowitz, and the U.K.’s Prince Andrew. The documents were made public for the first time Thursday evening, according to the New York Post.

Portland Police Got More Than $5 Million in Overtime as Protests Continue to Rage

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Portland Police have earned almost $5.4 million in overtime during the weeks-long protests and riots in the city.

Overtime earnings through July 22 have reached $5,351,383, police told Fox 12 Oregon. Officers have also raked in an additional $1.2 million in accrued time compensation, according to the local outlet.

Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

US Invests Another $2.1 Billion into a Potential Vaccine

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 The Associated Press

Pharma giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur have announced they will supply 100 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to the United States as governments buy up supplies in hopes of securing a candidate that works.

The United States will pay up to $2.1 billion “for development including clinical trials, manufacturing, scale-up and delivery” of the vaccine, the two companies based in Europe said in a statement. Sanofi will get the bulk of the funds.

Hong Kong Postpones Elections by a Year, Citing Coronavirus

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 The Associated Press

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Friday that the government will postpone highly anticipated legislative elections by one year, citing a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

The Hong Kong government is invoking an emergency ordinance in delaying the elections. Lam said the government has the support of the Chinese government in making the decision to hold the elections on Sept. 5, 2021.

Orson Welles: American Maverick

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The scene is perfectly set, full of trickery and magic: from a seemingly abandoned train station, a towering figure of a man in a cape and a hat emerges out of a cloud of smoke. The man decides to do a few magic tricks for a couple of children and is caught by the knowing gaze of a beautiful and exotic looking woman, dressed in fur. She registers a look of slight disapproval at the man in the cape, as if she caught a child fumbling through a cookie jar. But her disapproval quickly melts away and she forgives the man for being playful.

Florida Teen Arrested for Massive Twitter Hack, Prosecutors Say

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

A 17-year-old from Tampa, Florida, was arrested Friday for allegedly carrying out the massive Twitter hacking scam on July 15, according to WFLA.

Graham Ivan Clark was arrested Friday around 6 a.m. and faces 30 felony charges in the alleged scam, which prosecutors have dubbed the “Bit-Con” hack, according to a press release from Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew H. Warren.

Court Overturns Boston Marathon Bomber’s Death Sentence

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 The Associated Press

A federal appeals court Friday threw out Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentence in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, saying the judge who oversaw the case did not adequately screen jurors for potential biases.

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new penalty-phase trial on whether the 27-year-old Tsarnaev should be executed for the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others.

Minnesota Raises Smoking Age to 21

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Ben Kolodny

Minnesotans must be 21 years of age or older to purchase tobacco products starting Saturday, according to twincities.com.

The new law puts the state in line with a similar federal law that raised the legal age to purchase tobacco to in December. E-cigarettes and vapes are included in the law, as well as cigars, chewing tobacco and cigarettes.

Anoka County Sheriff Will Not Enforce Mask Mandate

August 1, 2020July 31, 2020 Ben Kolodny

The Anoka County Sheriff’s Department said this week it will not be enforcing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s face covering executive order.

Intended to help slow the spread of the Coronavirus, Executive Order 20-81 makes it mandatory for Minnesotans to wear masks while in most public spaces.