California’s GOP Senate leader was under quarantine. She spoke with no mask at a huge prayer event anyway.

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In front of thousands of worshipers packed shoulder-to-shoulder outside the Capitol, California Senate Minority Leader Shannon Grove (R) grabbed the microphone on Sunday and promised the huge church event would have a real impact.

“I declare that after all of this is over tonight, the remnant, the residue of this worship will saturate this ground and seep into that building,” Grove told the crowd, the Sacramento Bee reported.

But state leaders are warning the event’s impact could actually be a mass coronavirus outbreak. Although Grove’s permit allowed 1,000 people and required social distancing, the California Highway Patrol said three times as many showed up; videos showed virtually no social distancing or masks in the crowd. Continue reading.

Trump set to spend more on ads in Minnesota than Michigan or Wisconsin in 2020 homestretch

President Donald Trump’s campaign is currently planning to spend more money on advertising in Minnesota than in either Wisconsin or Michigan during the final stretch of the 2020 race, a significant shift in strategy as its path to 270 electoral votes narrows.

Trump’s campaign is slated to pour more than $14 million into Minnesota between the beginning of September through Election Day, compared to $12.6 million in Michigan and $8.3 million in Wisconsin, according to Advertising Analytics, a media tracking firm. The sums include ads booked to run on TV, radio and online.

It’s a reversal from the previous three months, when the president’s campaign had devoted more money to Michigan and Wisconsin, two Upper Midwest battlegrounds that Trump surprisingly carried in 2016, but where he has seen his standing slip. The Trump campaign still has more ad money reserved, about $15 million, in another key swing state they took from the Democratic column in 2016, Pennsylvania. Continue reading.

A GOP county chair asked Trump to wear a mask to his rally. Instead, Trump mocked pandemic restrictions.

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Hours before President Trump arrived in Winston-Salem, N.C., for a campaign rally on Tuesday, the county’s top Republican official issued a warning: The president better be wearing a mask.

“It’s been ordered by the governor,” David Plyler, a Trump supporter and GOP chair of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, told the Winston-Salem Journal. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in North Carolina, do as the governor says.”

But when the president emerged Tuesday evening to address a cheering group of supporters, his face was fully exposed, a likely violation of the state’s coronavirus rules. Continue reading.

Minnesota legislators Paul Gazelka, Kurt Daudt join Republican push to reverse Big Ten decision

Two from Minnesota join 8 others in GOP effort to open fall sports season. 

Two Minnesota legislators have joined other lawmakers from states with Big Ten universities, asking the conference to overturn its decision to cancel fall sports.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, were two of 10 legislators signing a letter written by Michigan House of Representatives speaker Lee Chatfield. All are Republicans from six states — including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The letter went to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as well as all of the institutions’ presidents and chancellors. Continue reading.

‘Worst case scenarios’ at Sturgis rally could link event to 266,000 coronavirus cases, study says

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The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally led to significant spread of the novel coronavirus in the event’s home state of South Dakota and in other parts of the United States, a team of researchers said in a newly released study that is disputed by state officials.

The report from San Diego State University’s Center for Health Economics & Policy Studies used anonymized cellphone location data and virus case counts to analyze the impact of the 460,000-person event that took place last month, believed to be one of the largest events held during the pandemic. Health officials had expressed concerns about the rally, which, the researchers noted, “represents a situation where many of the ‘worst case scenarios’ for superspreading occurred simultaneously.” Those included the event being prolonged over 10 days, attracting a significant out-of-town population and involving attendees clustered together, with few wearing masks.

The consequences were “substantial,” the researchers concluded. By analyzing the parts of the country that had the highest number of Sturgis attendees and changes in coronavirus trends after its conclusion, they estimated 266,796 cases could be linked to the rally. That’s about 19 percent of the number reported nationally between Aug. 2 and Sept. 2, and significantly higher than the number state health officials have linked through contact tracing. Based on a covid-19 case statistically costing about $46,000, the researchers said, that would mean the rally carried a public health price tag of $12.2 billion. Continue reading.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine study paused after one illness

Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the company said its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.”

AstraZeneca didn’t reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it “a potentially unexplained illness.” The health news site STAT first reported the pause in testing, saying the possible side effect occurred in the United Kingdom. Continue reading.

Campaign of contrasts: Trump’s raucous crowds vs. Biden’s distanced gatherings

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LONDONDERRY, N.H. — When the announcer at President Trump’s recent rally here urged a packed airplane hangar of supporters to don their masks, a cacophonous round of boos erupted, followed by defiance. No matter that the attendees’ chairs were inches apart, their temperatures had not been taken and masks were required by the state.

Joe Biden, meanwhile, has barely left his home without a mask for months, and he makes a point of keeping voters — when he encounters any — at a distance from himself and one another. Events at drive-in theaters have been kept under 50 — people, not cars — to respect state guidelines.

This contrast continued Tuesday, when Trump flew to Florida and North Carolina, addressing crowds in both places, while Biden’s camp announced by 9:30 a.m. that he would make no public appearances all day. It’s a likely snapshot of the race’s final eight weeks: one campaign fueled by in-person events, raucous gatherings and defiant crowds flouting health rules; the other driven by quiet, small-bore events with everyone masked and spaced apart. Continue reading.

Republicans Revive 2018 Strategy, Hoping for Better Result: Scare Voters

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President Trump and his party are using a playbook that aims to alarm people about crime in their backyards. It didn’t work in 2018, but both parties think it could resonate more this year.

By the time Republicans were done with Sharice Davids in 2018, she barely recognized herself. In ads that blanketed her suburban Kansas City district during her congressional race, she was portrayed as “the candidate of the liberal mob,” an enemy of the police, a threat to children, and an ally of “radical left-wing protesters.”

As flabbergasted as she was by the strategy then, she said she was surprised Republicans were at it again, only this time in the presidential election.

“It didn’t work last time,” said Ms. Davids, who won her race by 10 points and is favored to be re-elected to a second term in November. As a former mixed martial arts fighter who learned the importance of developing new techniques in combat, she said her opponents’ attacks seem stale. “I haven’t seen any evolution. The skill set looks the same.” Continue reading.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov Flanagan Update: September 9, 2020

September 9, 2020

Updates from the Governor

Governor Tim Walz today announced that he will convene a special legislative session beginning on September 11, 2020. Governor Walz intends to extend the COVID-19 peacetime emergency by 30 days to ensure the state can continue to quickly and effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While Minnesota has taken life-saving action, the threat of COVID-19 remains,” said Governor Walz.“It’s imperative that we have the tools necessary to respond to this rapidly-evolving virus quickly and decisively in order to safeguard the health and wellbeing of each and every Minnesotan.” 

“COVID-19 is unpredictable, and there is still so much that we do not know,” said Lt. Governor Flanagan. “This pandemic is not over. With the fall and winter months fast approaching, we know the next stages of this virus will continue to present a challenge, especially to underserved communities. We must be prepared to respond quickly and efficiently in order to keep all Minnesotans healthy, safe, and informed.”

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov Flanagan Update: September 9, 2020”

Justice Dept. intervenes on behalf of Trump in defamation case brought by woman who accused him of rape

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The Justice Department on Tuesday intervened in the defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says President Trump raped her years ago, moving the matter to federal court and signaling it wants to make the U.S. government — rather than Trump himself — the defendant in the case.

In filings in federal court in Manhattan, the Justice Department asserted that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office as President of the United States” when he denied during interviews in 2019 that he had raped journalist E. Jean Carroll more than two decades ago in a New York City department store. Carroll sued Trump over that denial in November.

The maneuver removes the case — at least for now — from state court in New York, where a judge last month had rejected Trump’s bid for a delay and put Carroll’s team back on course to seek a DNA sample and an under-oath interview from the president. It also means that Justice Department lawyers will be essentially aiding Trump’s defense, and taxpayers could be on the hook for any potential damages, if the U.S. government is allowed to stand in for Trump. Winning damages against the government, though, would be more unlikely than in a suit against Trump, as the notion of “sovereign immunity” gives the government and its employees broad protection from lawsuits. Continue reading.