Good afternoon,
Just short newsletter today, since we're all eager for the weekend, I'm sure.
Thank you to those of you who submitted nominations to me for the best orators in the Minnesota Legislature, as I requested in yesterday's newsletter.
I'm still taking new nominations via email here. After a final call on Monday, I'll cull the nominees down to some finalists and then share a poll to determine the "winner." Probably one winner from each party — I note with interest that a lot of you seem to think the best orators are either all Democrats or all Republicans.
Some new updates in the curious case of state Rep. John Thompson, who claimed to have been racially profiled by St. Paul police in a recent traffic stop, but who also apparently was driving with a Wisconsin drivers license despite previously claiming to have lived in St. Paul for 18 years:
- The Department of Public Safety confirmed that Thompson has never had a Minnesota drivers license, though his driving privileges were suspended from April 2019 until Wednesday due to an apparent issue involving child support payments
- St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell angrily responded to Thompson's claims that he had been racially profiled, saying the traffic stop was "by the books" and calling for Thompson to apologize to the officer he accused
- Thompson hasn't commented further Friday, as far as I can tell
[ Read more from Mara Gottfried in the Pioneer Press]
President Joe Biden issued an executive order with a slate of provisions targeting big businesses, from agriculture to health care to technology and aviation. It's not likely to have immediate impacts, but rather instructs or encourages various federal agencies to begin drafting new rules and regulations. [Read more from the Washington Post's Jeff Stein, Aaron Gregg and Cat Zakrzewski]
Minnesota Reps. Angie Craig and Ilhan Oman have signed onto a bill decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level. [Read more from MinnPost's Ashley Hackett]
In the aftermath of the assassination of Haiti's president, Haitian officials have requested U.S. forces to help protect key infrastructure. [ Read more from the New York Times]
Something completely different: French cartoonist Boulet, for a 24-hour-comic-contest a decade ago, produced the sublime "Darkness," a quirky and inventive one-shot webcomic about a very distinctive roommate. [Read]
Listen: Sticking with French media, here's the 1998 summertime hit by the Toulousian collective Zebda, "Tomber la chemise." (That literally means "take off your shirt," but has the sense of "get ready to party hard.") [ Listen] | |
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