March 26, 2021 - The Minnesota Sun

First Battlefront Drawn in Georgia in Epic Fight over Future of American Elections

March 26, 2021May 18, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Over just a few hours Thursday, Georgia’s Legislature and Gov. Brian Kemp drew the first battle line in the high-stakes struggle to decide how American voters will cast ballots in the future after the pandemic-ridden election of 2020.

The Republican-controlled state put itself firmly in the camp of voter ID requirements, limited drop boxes and expanded weekend voting. And depending on the eye of the beholder, it was either a win for election integrity or a return to the era of Jim Crow voter suppression.

Minnesota Gov. Walz Backs Bill to Give Progressive Groups Influence over Hate Crimes Data, Police Training

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Gov. Tim Walz expressed his support for a bill that would give progressive organizations influence over the state’s collection of data on “crimes motivated by bias” and police training standards for responding to those crimes.

“Words matter. It, to me, is stunning that we would not hold hearings in the Minnesota Senate to debate this bill that simply does the obvious, that makes it a crime to discriminate against a neighbor for any reason of who they are or their origin or their religious preferences or you name it,” Walz said at a Tuesday press conference on the bill.

Commentary: The Nature of Chinese Communist Party’s Contempt for Us

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Last week in Anchorage, Alaska, Chinese diplomats dressed down Biden Administration Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Both seem stunned by the Chinese broadsides.

Apparently, as elite Americans readily confess to inherent white supremacy and racism—highlighting the complaints of BLM and Antifa—the Chinese are happy to agree that such admittedly toxic Americans should not dare to criticize China’s racist policies.

Commentary: What Does the Republican Party Stand for?

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

For two fleeting years after Trump was elected president, the GOP controlled the White House and both houses of the U.S. Congress. This level of one-party control for the GOP was almost without precedent. Apart from 2003-2007—the end of George W. Bush’s first term in office and the beginning of his second—you have to go back all the way to 1953, the first half of Dwight Eisenhower’s first term, to find a GOP president and a GOP-controlled Congress.

Over 23,000 Illegal Aliens Released into U.S. by DHS in Two Months

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Under Joe Biden, the Department of Homeland Security has overseen the release of over 23,400 illegal aliens into the United States since February, according to Breitbart.

These illegals were released after they had already been detained at the border for attempting to cross. Of that 23,400, around 15,600 were released in the month of March alone. This is in addition to the thousands of more illegals who have similarly been released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the same period, with the exact numbers currently being unavailable.

Nearly Every Lawmaker Overseeing Privacy, Antitrust Issues Received Big Tech Money in 2020: Report

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Nearly all members of Congress who oversee privacy and antitrust issues have received donations or lobbying money from Big Tech, according to a Public Citizen report.

Ninety-four percent of lawmakers on Capitol Hill with jurisdiction over key Big Tech issues have received money from the industry, according to the Public Citizen report released Wednesday. Altogether, Big Tech political action committees (PAC) and lobbyists contributed roughly $3.2 million to lawmakers who are specifically tasked with regulating the industry.

Facebook Has Been Used to Organize Migrant Caravans

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Thousands of migrants have reportedly used social media apps Facebook and WhatsApp to organize caravans and groups headed to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

The migrants, who largely originate from Central America, started joining Facebook and WhatsApp groups in the months after President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in the November presidential election, according to Reuters. Members of the groups reportedly warned others that they should time their border treks to ensure they arrived after Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration.

Jobless Claims Plummet to 684,000 in Latest Sign of Economic Recovery

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims dropped to 684,000 last week as the economy continued to slowly recover from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics figure released Thursday represented a large decrease in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending March 13, when 781,000 new jobless claims were reported. That number was revised up from the 770,000 jobless claims initially reported last week.

Government Accountability Office Investigates Biden’s Decision to Halt Border Wall Construction

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has opened an investigation into President Joe Biden’s decision to freeze congressional funds allocated for construction of the southern border wall, Politico reported.

Senate Republicans requested the GAO investigate the Biden administration for potentially violating the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), which prohibits the president from altering funding appropriated by Congress without approval, Politico reported. Republicans are referring to the $1.4 billion allocated for border wall construction in the $900 billion COVID bill passed by Congress in December.

Biden Sets New Vaccine Target, Faces Questions on Border Crisis, Senate Filibuster

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 The Center Square

President Joe Biden on Thursday set a new target of 200 million Americans being vaccinated by the end of April while also facing questions about the southern U.S. border crisis, the potential to end filibusters in the U.S. Senate and other issues.

At the first news conference of his presidency, held later into his first term than recent presidents, Biden said the U.S. was on target to vaccinate more than 200 million Americans by his 100th day in office.

Democrats Introduce Bill to Repeal ‘Racist’ Hyde Amendment

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic senators plan to introduce legislation that would repeal the Hyde Amendment, arguing that the decades-old legislation is both “anti-choice” and “blatantly racist.”

The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act will be introduced in Congress Thursday, the HuffPost reported, by Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Democratic California Sen. Barbara Lee. The legislation demands the reversal of the 1976 Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for abortions.

Jury Selected in Chauvin Trial, Opening Arguments Set to Begin

March 26, 2021March 25, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Opening arguments are set to begin Monday in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officers Derek Chauvin, accused of killing George Floyd, after weeks of jury selection.

The jury selection process in the high-profile trail was marred with controversy after the city of Minneapolis awarded Floyd’s family $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit during the criminal proceedings.