Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday. Here’s the Digest.
1.The Minnesota police officer who was acquitted in last year’s fatal shooting of black motorist Philando Castile has left the suburban police department where he served under a separation agreement. The Minneapolis suburb of St. Anthony announced Monday that Jeronimo Yanez is no longer with the police department. Yanez will receive $48,500 under the agreement, plus he’ll be paid for up to 600 hours of unused compensatory time. (AP via MPR News)
2.The Minnesota Attorney General's office on Monday charged seven women with nine counts of racketeering and theft for allegedly stealing more than $7.7 million while running several personal care attendant agencies in Hennepin County. The charges accuse the seven women, who are either related to each other or friends, of providing phony PCA care to other friends and family, as well as giving them thousands of dollars in kickbacks for their participation. (Star Tribune)
3.Minnesota lawmakers and other government officials are raising concerns about the growing intensity of protests at the state Capitol, including two recent events that led to arrests. Members of an advisory panel on Capitol security met Monday to review current permitting policies for large rallies and protests. They also discussed whether any changes are needed.Seven people were arrested last month at the Capitol when participants in a march against Shariah law clashed with counter protesters. In March, a skirmish between supporters of President Trump and counter protesters also resulted in arrests. Lawmakers were not in the building for either of those weekend events. (MPR News)
4.Ray Dehn has emerged as the favored mayoral candidate of Minneapolis DFL insiders. Now the challenge will be to translate his appeal to the broader electorate ahead of the Nov. 7 election. Dehn, a state legislator from north Minneapolis, has run a campaign to the left of Mayor Betsy Hodges and tapped into a vein of enthusiasm for a candidate who addresses the plight of the city's disenfranchised. Hodges is running on a similar platform - as she did for her election in 2013 - but finished third. No candidate was endorsed. "Everyone needs to think about where we're at as a city," Dehn said Saturday in his speech to delegates. "Just because our hearts have evolved to see the inherent injustice, it doesn't mean that the system has. Unless we actively disrupt systems of white supremacy, we are destined to uphold them." (Star Tribune)
5. Sen. Al Franken and David Letterman are teaming up for a series of web videos about climate change for the website Funny or Die.They call their series “Boiling the Frog with Senator Al Franken.” Their talks take on everything from coal and carbon prices to Letterman’s retirement beard. Franken said it's an effort to "fight back" against creeping apathy and disregard toward science and climate change. (Funny or Die)
