Minnesota Gives First Vaccine to 53 Percent of Seniors, Aiming for 70 Percent Goal by End of This Month

On Tuesday, state health officials reported 53% of Minnesotans ages 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The state set a goal to reach 70% of seniors given one vaccination by the end of March so it can move to the next priority category to continue Minnesota’s recovery.

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Commentary: Job Creation, Not a $15 Minimum Wage, Will Reduce Poverty

Though the Senate parliamentarian rejected their efforts to include a $15-an-hour minimum wage in President Biden’s so-called COVID-19 relief bill, Senate Democrats are scrambling for a way to include it. Their efforts demonstrate the importance of this issue for the progressive left. But should they succeed, would such a measure truly help struggling Americans as promised?

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Exclusive: Gold Institute Founder Says Biden’s Foreign Policy Rejects Trump’s Successful Style, Substance

The founder and president of the Washington-based Gold Institute for International Strategies told the Star News Network that President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s foreign policy is doomed to fail, because unlike President Donald J. Trump, Biden treats the world as an extension of Washington’s Swamp.

“What President Trump realized is that Washington and the way Washington works is really only acceptable—I didn’t say good—I said it is acceptable—is on domestic matters,” said Eli Gold, who worked for worked in Washington’s think tank world for more than 10 years, before launching the Gold Institute May 2019.

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WHO Defends Appointing U.S. Scientist Mired in Alleged Conflicts of Interest to Coronavirus Origins Investigation

The World Health Organization is defending its appointment of a U.S. doctor with prior financial ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) to be a part of its investigative team that probed the origins of COVID-19 in China in early 2021.

Peter Daszak’s involvement in the WHO’s investigative panel has been described as a conflict of interest by U.S.-based epidemiologists and medical groups. Prior to the pandemic, Daszak, as president of the nonprofit group EcoHealth Alliance, routed $600,000 in taxpayer funds to the WIV in the form of National Institutes of Health subgrants to fund studies into bat-based coronaviruses.

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‘Vial of Death’: Louis Farrakhan Pushes Vaccine Conspiracy Theories in Videos Posted on Facebook, Twitter

Louis Farrakhan, the influential leader of the Nation of Islam, continued his crusade against the coronavirus vaccines over the weekend, calling the vaccine a “vial of death” during remarks at the extremist group’s convention, where other speakers falsely claimed that the vaccines have caused more than 900 deaths.

Videos of the convention, which was held for the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviours’ Day, are posted on the group’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, despite the social media companies’ policies against vaccine-related misinformation.

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At Least 10 Rockets Hit Iraqi Military Base Hosting U.S. Troops

At least 10 rockets were fired at an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. coalition troops in the Anbar province of western Iraq on Wednesday morning, the Associated Press reported.

It was unclear if anyone on the base was injured and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the AP reported. The attack did not cause significant damage to the Ain al-Asad airbase, according to the Iraqi military.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: The Three Winners at CPAC 2021

Matt Schlapp’s decision to move the Conservative Political Action Conference from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Fla. was brilliant. No one knew how good this decision would ultimately be for the conservative movement.

Washington is the heart of the swamp. Its news media is toxic and focused only on propaganda. The lobbying firms, bureaucracies, and the social life are all dominated by Democrats.

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Over 100 Illegal Immigrants Released by Border Patrol in Texas Have Tested Positive for COVID-19 Since January 25

Since January 25, 108 illegal immigrants released into Texas by Border Patrol have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19. According to a spokesperson for Brownsville, a town on the Texas border, that number represents 6.3 percent of those who have taken the test.  The migrants are tested at the city’s main bus station, where they are being released by the Border Patrol.

According to NBC News, several of the illegal immigrants “plan to travel to dozens of cities throughout the country” despite testing positive for the coronavirus.

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Commentary: Unions Take a Cut from Firefighters’ Annual ‘Fill the Boot’ Fundraiser

Thousands of “panhandlers” in oversized suspenders camp outside of town squares and churches and major intersections every Labor Day. Instead of fast food cups, they plead with passersby to donate what they can into large rubber galoshes, exhorting them to “Fill the boot!” Perhaps that is why they are so well-received by busy motorists. It also helps that these men are standing in front of fire engines.

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Biden: Enough COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Available for All American Adults by End of May

Enough COVID-19 doses will be available by the end of May that every American adult who wants one can receive it, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, though it might take more time to administer all of the doses.

The news came the same day that drugmaker Merck announced it would help Johnson & Johnson produce millions of doses of its recently approved vaccine.

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Four Months After 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia No Chain of Custody Documents Produced for 404,000 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Drop Boxes; Fulton County One of 35 Scofflaw Counties

Four months after the November 3, 2020 presidential election, state and county officials in Georgia have failed to produce chain of custody documents for an estimated 404,691 vote by mail absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes and subsequently delivered to county registrars for counting.

As of March 3, only 56 of Georgia’s 159 counties have provided ballot transfer form data to The Georgia Star News. The number of absentee by mail ballots delivered to registrars in those 56 counties total only 195,309, or 32.5 percent, of the estimated 600,000 absentee vote by mail ballots deposited in drop boxes and delivered to county registrars and counted in Georgia’s 2020 presidential.

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‘Automatic’ Voter Registration Bill Heads to Minnesota House Floor

A bill that would make voter registration automatic is headed the floor the of Minnesota House of Representatives. 

“Members approved two bills with nearly identical language that would implement automatic voter registration in Minnesota by using information being collected during transactions with government agencies, such as getting a driver’s license, to register those who are eligible,” according to the state House’s website. “People would have 20 days to decline the registration.”

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