Good morning, No record high temps expected today, but it should be mild. Highs in the 50s and 60s, with a few 70s southwest, are still 15 to 20 degrees above average, but widespread records are less likely than the past two days. More on Updraft
Democrat Joe Biden was pushing closer to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to carry the White House, securing victories in the "blue wall" battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Michigan and narrowing President Donald Trump's path. With just a handful of states still up for grabs, Trump tried to press his case in court in some key swing states. It was unclear if any of his campaign's legal maneuvering over balloting would succeed in shifting the race in his favor. Two days after Election Day, neither candidate had amassed the votes needed to win the White House. But Biden's victories in the Great Lakes states left him at 264, meaning he was one battleground state away — any would do — from becoming president-elect.
Latest on COVID-19 in MN: 'Feels like we're losing ground' Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm calls the state’s current COVID-19 surge “disheartening and alarming,” and she’s bracing Minnesotans for more bad days ahead.
“It feels like we’re losing ground,” she told reporters Wednesday as she compared the rampant spread cutting through Minnesota and its neighbor states to a wildfire. “We’re falling behind the rapid spread of this virus.”
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
- 2,530 deaths (31 new)
- 160,923 positive cases,136,457 off isolation
- 2,949,591 tests, 1,919,612 people tested (about 34 percent of the population)
- 12.3 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning)
She again implored Minnesotans to take more responsibility to stem the spread by wearing masks in public gathering spaces, socially distancing and staying home if you don’t feel well.
But it’s clear from the data those pleas are not being heard like they need to be.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown Minneapolis and onto Interstate 94 Wednesday evening to demand that President Donald Trump halt any legal action over ballot counting in key swing states.
The Trump campaign said it was filing lawsuits in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia to stop the counts in those states on grounds that staff was not allowed to observe.
Protest organizer Rod Adams told the group "We're here because the simple fact is we don't want Donald Trump and his cronies to steal the election."
Wisconsin officials are confident the recount there will stand up to Trump campaign's scrutiny.
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-- Michael Olson, MPR News (@publicmic) | 
