WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch and Sentencing Project issued a 55-page report in June 2024 entitled "U.S. Policy on Voting Rights in Global Perspective." Here are excerpts: * * * Table of Contents Executive Summary ... 4 Introduction: US Policy and Global Law and Practice on Disenfranchisement ... 6 Overview of Trends in United States Legal Reforms ... 8 Recent US Trends to Expand and Protect Voting Rights ... 10 States that no longer disenfr  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The Center of the American Experiment issued a 32-page report in November 2024 entitled "Minnesota's Offender Outcomes Devoid of Racial Bias - A Political Narrative At Odds With The Data." The report was written by David Zimmer. Here are excerpts: * * * CONTENTS Executive Summary ... 2 Introduction ... 3 The Term "Disparities" ... 4 The Accurate Denominator ... 4 Methodology ... 6 The Data ... 7 The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines ... 12 Sentence Disposition and   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The Communications Workers of America issued a 12-page report in November 2024 entitled "Gigapower Gamble: How AT&T and BlackRock are Undermining Broadband Quality, Safety and Jobs in Arizona." Executive Summary In 2023, AT&T announced a 50/50 joint venture with the investment firm BlackRock to form an open-access fiber network company called Gigapower, with AT&T Fiber as the anchor tenant. The Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents the majority of AT&  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on Dec. 5, 2024: * * * Name of Product: Model Year 2024 Ranger Recreational Off-Road Vehicles (ROVs) and ProXD and Bobcat Utility Task Vehicles (UTVs) Hazard: The vehicles' passenger side seat belt anchor point can separate from the frame due to a defective weld on the bracket, posing an injury hazard to passengers from impact with a loose bracket or failure of the seatbelt during a crash. Remedy:   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following recall alert on Dec. 5, 2024: * * * Name of Product: Model Year 2024-2025 RZR XP 1000 and XP 4 1000 ROVs Hazard: The positive (+) battery terminal cover (red) can become damaged by the seat base, causing the positive (+) battery post to be exposed and contact nearby conductive components, resulting in an electrical short, posing a fire hazard. Recall Date: December 05, 2024 Units: About 21,000 (In addition, ab  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Census Bureau issued the following news release: DEC. 5, 2024 The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2020 Census 119th Congressional District Summary File. The file updates tables previously released as part of the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics File to reflect the 119th congressional districts and 2024 state legislative districts in effect for the November 2024 elections. The file incorporates congressional district boundary changes repor  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minnesota, issued the following news release: Today, Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01) applauded the House passage of his legislation, the Prove It Act (H.R. 7198), which protects small businesses from government overreach by giving small businesses a larger voice in the regulatory process. The bill passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis by a vote of 208-196. "Too often, small businesses across America are saddled with unnecessary and  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The Minnesota Department of Health issued a 24-page report in April 2024 entitled "Minnesota School Nurse Workforce: A 2022 Snapshot." Here are excerpts: * * * Acknowledgment ... 1 Partners and Funders ... 1 Executive Summary ... 2 Key Findings ... 2 Recommendations ... 3 Introduction ... 4 Data and methods ... 5 Section 1: Characteristics of school districts in analyses ... 6 Section 2: Health staffing by school districts (public school districts and charter sch  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Dec. 6 -- The Minnesota Office of Higher Education issued the following news release on Dec. 5, 2024: In an effort to ensure they have the supports they need to succeed, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has awarded $5.3 million in Student Parent Support Initiative Grants to 13 organizations. The funds will be used to support the academic goals, health, and well-being of student parents. "If we want   more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Dec. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota issued the following news release: An Edina financial adviser has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,104,395, in a wire fraud scheme where millions in client investment funds were misappropriated, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to court documents, Kristi Margaret Berge, 48, was   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Wednesday joined U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (D-Conn.-01), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.-02), and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.-03) in calling on the U.S. Department of Education to discharge student loan debt for hundreds of thousands of students who wer  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The National Women's Law Center issued a 6-page report in October 2024 entitled "Connection & Community: Elevating The Impact of Latina Early Educators." The report was written by Karla Coleman-Castillo. Introduction Ask a family what they seek while they search for child care and early learning options, and their answers are bound to vary widely. It could be largely dependent on their work schedules, the availability in their communities, or the specific environment the  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation issued a 416-page report in March 2024 entitled "Safety Evaluation Related to the Subsequent License Renewal of Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1." Here are excerpts: * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ... iii LIST OF TABLES ... ix ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ... xi SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL DISCUSSION ... 1-1 1.1 Introduction ... 1-1 1.2 License Renewal Background ... 1-2 1.2.1  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: Today, Congressman Tom Emmer announced that Tiny Thinkers has been selected as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge for Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District. The application was developed by Suditya Singh of Blaine and Muskan Singh of Eden Prairie and uses videos and quizzes to help children with autism develop social and emotional skills. "In our increasingly digital world, suppo  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 -- Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, issued the following news release on Dec. 4, 2024: Today, Congressman Tom Emmer accepted the Charles Dick Medal of Merit Award from the National Guard Association of the United States. Emmer was announced as a recipient of the award in July for his continued support of the Minnesota National Guard. "Thanks to our citizen soldiers in the Minnesota National Guard, our state and our nation are more secure. I am deeply honored to receive this pres  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: Today, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) announced the results of internal leadership elections for the 119th Congress, the seventeenth Congress in the history of the CPC. The new leadership will oversee a Caucus of nearly 100 members with the addition of 9 freshmen from diverse districts across the nation. The members elected unanimously by their colleagues today include: Representative Greg Casar  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, issued the following commentary on Dec. 4, 2024: * * * Bridging the Urban-Rural Broadband Divide Thanks to Congress' work on the infrastructure law, America has the funding to make internet coverage nationwide. Where broadband goes, economic growth and educational opportunity follow. But despite the federal governments' efforts, including decades of work and billions of dollars, too many Americans still lack reliable connection, an unacc  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $3.3 million grant to the city of Rice Lake, Minnesota, for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements to boost industrial development and job growth in the region. This grant will help establish a new Minnesota Power service center i  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Tina Flint Smith, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: MINNEAPOLIS, MN Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) announced additional medical residency slots in five Minnesota teaching hospitals. The slots were created in the 2022 budget law supported by both Senators. The law authorized funding 1,000 new residency slots across the country over a five-year period to combat the nation's physician shortage by training new providers. 69 of   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 -- Sen. Tina Flint Smith, D-Minnesota, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith (both D-MN) applauded that Minnesotan exporters are participating in a USDA agribusiness trade mission to Casablanca, Morocco, ending today. Morocco is the second-largest export market for U.S. agriculture in Africa. U.S. sales of farm and food products to the country topped $619 million last year. Representatives from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority,   more