Agriculture
BIDEN VOWS TO PAY FARMERS TO PLANT COVER CROPS AND PUT LAND IN CONSERVATION, Successful Farming
Attorney General Keith Ellison
Ellison pledges to hold businesses that defy COVID-19 restrictions accountable, KSTP
Congress
$900 Billion Pandemic Relief Deal Takes Shape, New York Times
McConnell included $600 checks in COVID-19 stimulus plans after hearing that opposition could cost Republicans the Senate runoffs in Georgia, report says, Yahoo News
Lawmakers face shutdown deadline amid ongoing stimulus talks, CNN
McConnell getting much of what he wants in emerging relief deal, The Hill
Education
‘Losing A Generation’: Fall College Enrollment Plummets For First-Year Students, NPR
Supreme Court Takes on College Athlete Pay, Inside Higher Ed
How The Biden Administration Can Focus On Education In The First 100 Days, Forbes
Environment
Biden to Pick Brenda Mallory to Run White House Environment Office, NYTimes
The Environmental Upside to the COVID-19 Lockdowns, NPR
Georgia Senate Election
‘It’s nonstop’: Georgia Senate battles rage far from Atlanta, Politico
Governor Tim Walz
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to loosen COVID restrictions on bars, gyms, youth sports, Star Tribune
Labor
Amazon Faces Unionization Push in Alabama, a Test in Labor Organizing Bid, Wall Street Journal
Argentina to add more transgender people to labor force, ABC
Minnesota Legislature
State report details victimization of Minnesota’s American Indian women, Twin Cities Pioneer Press
MN COVID-19 Business Relief Package Breakdown, Lakeland PBS
Minnesota Legislator Who Believes ‘Water Cleans Itself’ Defends Potato Giant’s Irrigation Expansion in Fragile Pineland Sands, EWG
Minnesota News
Walz’s newest COVID-19 order: 7 questions, answered, MPR
Minnesota will suspend liquor licenses of two bars and restaurants defying no indoor-dining order, Star Tribune
Minnesota elementary schools can reopen Jan. 18, MPR
Just like a century ago, there’s a class war in rural America, and the wrong side is winning, MN Reformer
President Elect Joe Biden
Biden cuts ad for Georgia Senate candidates, The Hill
Representative Dean Phillips (CD3)
For Rep. Dean Phillips, COVID-19 relief talks in Washington have been a balancing act, Star Tribune
Representative Ilhan Omar (CD5)
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar: A look back — and forward — at the end of a first term, Star Tribune
‘We Are Not Embarrassed Enough’: Ilhan Omar Slams Congress for Failing the Public on Covid Relief, Common Dreams
Republican Party
GOP launches legal war on absentee voting ahead of Georgia runoffs, Politico
Republican Party in Minnesota
The real winner in the 5th Congressional District? D.C. political consultants, MN Reformer
No, you’re not ‘just asking questions.’ You’re spreading disinformation., MN Reformer
Senator Tina Smith
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall Applauds House Passage Of Two Bills Improving Services For Native American Veterans, Los Alamos Daily Post
Trump
Report: Trump Floated Not Leaving White House on January 20, New Yorker
Pence prepares to oversee Trump’s loss — and then leave town, Politico
U.S. News
People Thought Covid-19 Was Relatively Harmless for Younger Adults. They Were Wrong., New York Times
US sets new record for Covid-19 cases and deaths, The Guardian
California, the latest epicenter, is reporting more coronavirus cases than most countries in the world, Washington Post
Congress to pick up COVID relief talks as lawmakers eye stimulus checks, USA Today
Groups hope Buttigieg opens door to more LGBT nominees, The Hill
Lie of the Year: Coronavirus downplay and denial, Politifact
World News
French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for COVID-19, Insider
In Landmark Ruling, Air Pollution Recorded as a Cause of Death for British Girl, NYT
Fourteen People Convicted in Charlie Hebdo Terrorist Attack Trial, Wall Street Journal
Brexit Countdown: What To Know As The United Kingdom Breaks With The EU, NPR
Life has got worse since Arab spring, say people across Middle East, The Guardian
Upcoming Events:
You can find non-DFL events on our Action Alert post.
- Today to December 18 — Minnesota Stay at Home Order
- Today through December 18 — Chanukah
- December 21 — Winter Solstice
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — Anoka County DFL Virtual Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics.
- December 24 — Christmas Eve
- December 25 — Christmas Day
- December 31 — New Year’s Eve
- January 1 — New Year’s Day
- January 2 — 116th U.S. Congress ends
- January 3 — 117th U.S. Congress convenes
- January 5 — 92nd Minnesota Legislative Session Convenes
- January 6
- 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD33 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- January 7, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD46 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- January 11
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD44 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD49 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- January 14
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD36 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD48 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- January 18 — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — Anoka County DFL Meeting, contact them for meeting specifics
- January 20 — Inauguration Day
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — CD3 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, more information as it becomes available
- January 28, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD47 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
- February 2 — Groundhog Day
- February 3
- 6:30 to 8:30 PM — SD50 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
- 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD33 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information
- February 4, 7:00 to 9:00 PM — SD46 Virtual DFL Central Committee Meeting, contact them for more information