Aug. 25, 2020

Dangerous heat continues through Wednesday. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms and showers in the north. Lows will be in the mid 60s to lower 70s. Tomorrow will be a hot one again, with lows in 80s and 90s. Look for another possible heat advisory tomorrow in southern Minnesota. Find more details on the Updraft blog.

Minnesota wants to double its coronavirus testing capacity by adding a new diagnostic tool: saliva tests. It's a major makeover for its COVID-19 testing regimen, including plans to build a laboratory in Oakdale to process as many as 30,000 saliva tests a day. That would more than double the state’s testing capacity.

Minnesota recorded eight new deaths due to the coronavirus, as testing and new cases dropped notably. Here’s a closer look at the numbers: Testing was running about half of the weekend’s pace, with just over 8,400 new results posted today. 414 of them were positive — a little over half of the daily average over the previous week. Hospital and intensive care patient counts have been holding steady since the middle of last week, with about 300 inpatients and a little under half of them requiring intensive care.

Business leaders say they think the total losses for business owners after civil unrest in May will approach $1 billion. Minneapolis regional chamber of commerce president Jonathan Weinhagen says a community coalition hopes to raise millions of dollars to aid recovery after the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd. Some business owners worry they may never return to Lake Street.

Nearly a dozen people were arrested in downtown Minneapolis last night after a crowd attacked the county jail. Protesters had gathered in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Wisconsin. A crowd broke glass doors and tried to breach jail security, according to Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency across the state this afternoon.

You can get more of the latest news, in less than five minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast.

~Tim Nelson, MPR News

Live coverage: Day 2 of the Republican National Convention

First lady Melania Trump headlines the second day of the RNC. Also among those speaking Tuesday: Mike Pompeo and Rand Paul. Follow updates and analysis throughout the day, including live video of the events. | 5 takeaways from night 1 | Fact check: Trump, GOP distort on health care, vote fraud.

Lawyer: Blake not likely to walk again after police shooting

The family attorney for a Black man shot by police in Kenosha, Wis. said Tuesday he is paralyzed and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again.

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Best Buy's 2Q online sales surge but challenges remain

Best Buy Co. reported that online sales more than tripled in the fiscal second quarter, as shoppers bought computers, tablets and large appliances to help them cook, work and learn from home during the pandemic.

Why the coronavirus is so 'superspready'

That's the word that one disease researcher uses to describe COVID-19. And now scientists are discovering the reasons that this virus is readily transmitted at "superspreader events."

Postal Service slowdowns cause dangerous delays in medication delivery

Mail-order prescriptions are another victim of recent changes to post office operations around the country. For some people, getting your mail on time could be a matter of life or death.

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