Dec. 10, 2020
December is off to a balmy start in Minnesota. Temperatures are running about 10 degrees warmer than average through Dec. 10 in the Twin Cities. It’s been closer to 12 degrees above average so far this month in International Falls along the Canadian border. The Red River Valley is running close to 15 degrees warmer than average so far in December. Check out the latest from Updraft.

With another special legislative session set to begin Monday, Minnesota lawmakers said Thursday they agree on some of what should be in a package of COVID-19 relief, but not on the entire plan.

The bill language rolled out Thursday would direct $216 million in aid to businesses, but other key relief proposals aimed at workers and families remained in flux.

State health officials on Thursday reported 89 more deaths. It’s the third highest daily death toll so far from the pandemic.

However, new COVID-19 cases totaled 3,523, making it one of the lowest counts in a month. The percent positive tests fell to 8.5 percent following a recent surge. Case counts are falling in every age group, but especially among the oldest Minnesotans.

New hospital admissions also continue to retreat from last week’s record, although hospitalizations remain relatively high — more than 1,500 people remain in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, with more than 350 needing intensive care.

You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Hannah Yang | MPR News

U.S. panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers.

What to know: As Minnesota prepares for a COVID-19 vaccine

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ACLU sues Waseca federal women’s prison over COVID-19 response

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit on behalf of 14 women incarcerated at Waseca, where almost 450 people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

Biden taps McDonough for VA, Rice as domestic policy adviser

President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Minnesota native Denis McDonough, who was Obama’s White House chief of staff, as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, a sprawling agency that has presented organizational challenges for both parties over the years.

Twin Cities man sentenced for arson from riots

A judge this week sentenced a Twin Cities man to more than six years in federal prison for setting fire to a Dakota County government building. Fornandous Cortez Henderson was the first person to be sentenced for setting fires during the civil unrest that followed the police killing of George Floyd in May.

Outsiders, extremists: Among those fomenting violence in Twin Cities
From October: Feds charge alleged 'Boogaloo Bois' member with rioting in Floyd protests

Wisconsin courts to consider Trump's election lawsuits

President Donald Trump's extraordinary effort to overturn Joe Biden's win in Wisconsin returns to the courtroom on Thursday, with hearings in federal and state lawsuits seeking to invalidate hundreds of thousands of ballots and give the GOP-controlled Legislature the power to name Trump the winner.

Northern lights a 'big miss,' U.S. space forecaster says

An initially promising U.S. forecast for the northern lights has gone bust. The head of operations at the U.S. government’s space weather prediction center says stargazers in the continental 48 states have essentially zero chance of seeing the northern lights this week. That's despite an initially promising forecast. Forecasters had thought they would be viewable as far south as Illinois this week.

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