Daily Digest for April 21, 2020 Posted at 6:45 a.m. by Cody Nelson |
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Here's the Digest.
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Behind rallies to reopen economy, a Minnesota activist and his family Across the country, Ben Dorr and his brothers, Chris and Aaron, have long opposed Republican legislators for not being conservative enough on issues ranging from guns to abortion. They are now promoting rallies to reopen businesses in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Their detractors say they spread disinformation to sow confusion among voters.
It was Friday when President Trump tweeted: "LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" The message appeared to stoke protests of Gov. Tim Walz's stay-at-home order, which were planned before the president's tweet.
But over the weekend, Walz and Trump have made amends. The governor said Monday that he and Trump had a good 10-minute chat on Saturday night. Walz said he now feels state and federal leaders are aligned on process to reopen, slowly, the economy. The president agreed, tweeting: Received a very nice call from @GovTimWalz of Minnesota. We are working closely on getting him all he needs, and fast. Good things happening!"
Walz did tell the president that his tweeting “is not really helpful.” But the governor also said he wasn't interested in placing blame — his goal is helping Minnesotans. Walz said he told Trump that Minnesota is trying to “thread the needle opening businesses while keeping people safe,” and Trump “expressed great desire to continue to work with us.”
The pathway to reopen Minnesota should get clearer this week. Brian Bakst reports: "Gov. Tim Walz’s administration has been soliciting advice and crafting protocols for a safe return to workplaces in the weeks ahead. He planned to start the week with a conference call with state business leaders, whom he’s consulted before making prior announcements about restrictions."
Cook County has no confirmed COVID-19 cases, but its unemployment jump is higher than anywhere else in Minnesota. That's from MinnPost's Greta Kaul, who reports that it's all about tourism : "This year, it’s not clear when the tourists will come. The resorts are closed amid COVID-19 concerns, and the county has issued a travel advisory asking people who come to Cook County to self-isolate for two weeks to make sure they don’t bring the virus. (With no ICU beds and just one ventilator, Cook County would be unable to handle a large number of COVID-19 cases.)"
The national anti-quarantine protests have been linked back to a Minnesotan. The Washington Post reports: "A trio of far-right, pro-gun provocateurs is behind some of the largest Facebook groups calling for anti-quarantine protests around the country, offering the latest illustration that some seemingly organic demonstrations are being engineered by a network of conservative activists. The Facebook groups target Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and they appear to be the work of Ben Dorr, the political director of a group called “Minnesota Gun Rights,” and his siblings, Christopher and Aaron. By Sunday, the groups had roughly 200,000 members combined, and they continued to expand quickly, days after President Trump endorsed such protests by suggesting citizens should “liberate” their states."
A barrel of oil is now about as spendy as a gallon of gas. NPR reports: :A key American oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, fell by more than 80 percent on Monday as global oil markets continue to grapple with a pandemic-driven collapse in demand. At the start of 2020, a barrel of WTI cost around $60. Shortly after 1:40 p.m. ET on Monday, a barrel was trading for less than $2 — the lowest price the WTI futures market has ever seen."
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