Many long-haul COVID-19 patients report improvement after vaccination, surprising experts

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Some plagued by COVID-19 symptoms months later are helped, while others are not 

CHICAGO – Wendy French of northwest suburban Lake in the Hills used to run 10 miles a day several times a week before she caught COVID-19 in September, which left her fatigued and suffering from a variety of symptoms for months after the virus was supposedly gone.

The previously healthy 45-year-old stopped running and even began dreading typical household chores such as doing laundry, because it required standing up for so long that she grew tired.

But after French got her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in mid-April, she described feeling healthy for the first time in more than seven months. The second dose in May brought greater improvement. Continue reading.

After hitting pause, PACs begin to press play again

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Businesses reviewed donation policies after Jan. 6 riot

Business PACs, many of which paused donations earlier this year amid fallout from the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, have begun to send more money to lawmakers, including to the 147 Republicans who voted against certifying the presidential election results of some states.

Political action committees from defense, agriculture and other business sectors have led in donations to such lawmakers, including to House GOP leaders and rank-and-file members on committees that regulate their industries, a CQ Roll Call analysis of campaign finance data shows.

Still, PAC money is down. Donations to both parties’ House and Senate campaign arms dropped significantly in the first four months of this year when compared with the same period in the previous two election cycles, federal election records show. Continue reading.

Minnesota Senate GOP wants state control of some historic sites

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Democrats and state officials say the nonprofit Minnesota Historical Society is best equipped to manage them. 

Senate Republicans want to put government in charge of state-owned historical sites instead of the Minnesota Historical Society, a nonprofit that has overseen more than two dozen significant homes, forts and battlefields for the past 50 years.

The quiet push, tucked in a proposed budget bill to fund state government, would provide more transparency over how these sites are run, Republicans say. But the move blindsided state officials and comes after years of clashes between conservatives and the Historical Society over things ranging from signage at Fort Snelling to the toppling of the Christopher Columbus statue by activists last summer.

“A historical society should not be embroiled in a huge amount of controversy,” said Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, who proposed the change. “They should be keeping track of our history.” Continue reading.

Democratic Report Raises 2022 Alarms on Messaging and Voter Outreach

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A new report, in perhaps the most thorough soul-searching done by either party this year, points to an urgent need for the party to present a positive economic agenda and rebut Republican misinformation.

Democrats defeated President Donald J. Trump and captured the Senate last year with a racially diverse coalition that delivered victories by tiny margins in key states like Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin.

In the next election, they cannot count on repeating that feat, a new report warns.

A review of the 2020 election, conducted by several prominent Democratic advocacy groups, has concluded that the party is at risk of losing ground with Black, Hispanic and Asian American voters unless it does a better job presenting an economic agenda and countering Republican efforts to spread misinformation and tie all Democratic candidates to the far left. Continue reading.

Trump reemerges on the trail and plays the hits of yore

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In North Carolina, the former president took aim at Biden and Fauci and — falsely — claimed the 2020 race was stolen.

GREENVILLE, NC — Never before in U.S. history has a former president returned to the campaign trail to claim that his election loss was fraudulent. 

But in his informal reemergence on the political scene before the GOP faithful at the North Carolina GOP convention in Greenville, Donald Trump did just that, insisting — falsely — that the 2020 race was stolen and corrupt.

“The evidence is too voluminous to even mention,” Trump said at one point. Tellingly, he never mentioned it, choosing instead to insist that dead people had voted, that Facebook had encouraged get out the vote drives in liberal enclaves, and that “Indians” were paid to vote (ostensibly referring to Native Americans) — none of it supported by fact. “It was a third world election like we’ve never seen before,” he said. Continue reading.

Minnesota POCI Caucus Statement on National Immigrant Heritage Month

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – This month, President Joseph Biden proclaimed June 2021 as National Immigrant Heritage Month. In recognition of the contributions to Minnesota made by our immigrant communities, the People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released the following statement:

“So much of the diversity that makes Minnesota the state we love is thanks in large part to our immigrant communities. From all walks of life, from all over the globe, immigrants have been coming to Minnesota in search of a better life for our state’s entire history. Minnesota’s heritage is a heritage of immigrants. This month, as we celebrate and honor our immigrant heritage, we must also reflect and address the new and continued burdens faced by those starting a life in a different country.

“The past year has not impacted all Minnesotans equally, and our immigrant communities have not only been disproportionately harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic and xenophobic attacks, but the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd has devastated some of the most influential immigrant-owned economic corridors in the state. As we honor our heritage, let us also commit to supporting our present immigrant communities, and building a prosperous future for the next generation of new Minnesotans.”

Chris Wallace tears into Corey Lewandowski: ‘You’re going to blame the president’s inaction on Dr. Fauci?’

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Fox News host Chris Wallace grilled Corey Lewandowski on former President Donald Trump’s “inaction” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During an interview on Fox News, Lewandowski floated the idea of a special congressional commission to investigate China and the origins of the COVID-19 virus.

But Wallace pointed out that Trump had avoided investigating China during his time as president. Continue reading.

‘Worse shape than I imagined’: Trump critics stunned by his ‘lethargic’ slurring North Carolina speech

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Donald Trump gave a speech in North Carolina on Saturday that lasted for 85 minutes — and gave some critics reason to question his health.

The former president threw red meat to his base during the speech at the state GOP convention and repeated his “Big Lie” about election fraud. He also attempted to defend himself after having difficulty walking down a ramp, which had raised questions about Trump’s health in 2020. Trump argued the ramp was a “boobytrap.”

The question of Trump’s heath was again raised for how he delivered his speech. Here’s some of what people were saying: Continue reading.

On The Trail: Arizona is microcosm of battle for the GOP

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PEORIA, Ariz. — In the last decade, ranch homes have sprouted behind walled communities here like so many flowers after a desert rain. This suburb and its neighbors, some of the fastest growing cities in America, are the definition of urban sprawl, spawning a new multi-lane highway amidst the oases of strip malls anchored by upscale grocery chains.

While parts of the Phoenix metro area are attracting millennials who have helped push Arizona into the swing state column, Peoria has drawn a more conservative set of older voters and retirees.

Former President Trump last year won 61 percent of the vote in the legislative district covering most of the city, a higher share than in all but two other legislative districts in the state. A reporter interviewing voters here on Election Day was unable to find a single person who backed President Biden. Continue reading.

Trump Org controller has already testified before Manhattan DA’s special grand jury: report

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The controller, a senior vice president of the Trump Organization has testified before the special grand jury empaneled to weigh evidence in the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into Donald Trump, his company, and its employees.

Jeff McConney, whose LinkedIn profile says he has worked at the Trump Organization for 34 years, and is considered to be one of its senior-most executives. As controller, he would have very specific knowledge of the company’s finances.

ABC News, citing sources, reports McConey is the first Trump Organization to testify before the grand jury, and says, “his testimony is a sign that prosecutors have burrowed deep into the company’s finances.” Continue reading.