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Stories from December 7, 2020

More signs of improvement in Minnesota's COVID-19 outbreak

More signs of improvement in Minnesota's COVID-19 outbreak as hospitalizations slow, and Gov. Tim Walz prepared to roll out the state’s vaccine plan in coming days. This is an evening update from MPR News, hosted by Tim Nelson. Music by Gary Meister.

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Comedian puts people skills to work at George Floyd's Square

Comedian puts people skills to work at George Floyd's Square

For six months, residents — many out of work because of the pandemic — have put their skills to use maintaining an autonomous zone at the Minneapolis intersection where police killed George Floyd. They include a comedian, whose profession prepared them for much more than cracking jokes.
by Megan Burks

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50s Wednesday; Friday storm track trending south?

50s Wednesday; Friday storm track trending south?

Another unseasonably mild air mass arrives this week. Forecast models show wide variability of Friday’s storm track.
by Paul Huttner

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Trump lawyer Giuliani in hospital after positive virus test

Trump lawyer Giuliani in hospital after positive virus test

President Donald Trump says his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani is “doing very well” after testing positive for the coronavirus. Trump says he spoke with Giuliani on Monday and that he had “no temperature.”
by The Associated Press

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Biden names Massachusetts doctor to lead CDC

Biden names Massachusetts doctor to lead CDC

Dr. Rochelle Walensky is an infectious disease expert and teaches at Harvard Medical School. She will replace Robert Redfield, the current director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
by Brakkton Booker

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What can we glean from the latest COVID-19 data?

What can we glean from the latest COVID-19 data?

On Mondays we discuss the latest science on COVID-19. This week the University of Minnesota’s Michael Osterholm addressed recent vaccine news and the coronavirus task force.
by Kerri Miller and Marcheta Fornoff

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Millions of hungry Americans turn to food banks for 1st time

Millions of hungry Americans turn to food banks for 1st time

As a year marked by coronavirus nears an end, millions of Americans are depending on food banks to stave off hunger. Feeding America, the nation's largest anti-hunger organization, has distributed 4.2 billion meals in an eight-month period. That's an unprecedented pace in the group's history.
by The Associated Press

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Activist who toppled Columbus statue at Capitol gets community service

Activist who toppled Columbus statue at Capitol gets community service

Mike Forcia, who had faced felony criminal damage to property charges for the June incident, will do 100 hours of community service. “The consensus was that jail and prison time and conviction would not be what was the best response,” a county prosecutor said Monday.
by Tim Nelson

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Catching up on some of the most notable books of 2020

Catching up on some of the most notable books of 2020

Kerri Miller is spending these last weeks of 2020 finding books that were published this year and that you might’ve overlooked.
by Kerri Miller

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Coronavirus takes toll on Black, Latino child care providers

Coronavirus takes toll on Black, Latino child care providers

Black and Latino child care providers have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic in an industry that has long relied on providers of color. Facing skyrocketing operating costs, reduced capacities and limited federal support, Black and Latino-owned child care centers across the country are at a higher risk for closing permanently.
by The Associated Press

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Mild weather continues most of the week

Clouds are the big forecast influence the first part of the week, then our mild pattern shifts and a storm brings back cooler weather plus a mix of rain and snow by the end of the week.
by Nicole Mitchell

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EP 1: Twin Cities' mayors team up

EP 1: Twin Cities' mayors team up

Welcome to The Warming House, an hour of music, games and conversation. Hosts Sean McPherson and Nina Moini kicked off our inaugural episode with some Donny Hathaway classics, and stumped the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis in a tough round of trivia.
by Nina Moini and Sean McPherson

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Former Gov. Mark Dayton announces marriage

Former Gov. Mark Dayton announces marriage

The governor released the news on social media, saying he has married Ana Orke, who worked on his 2010 election campaign.
by Tim Nelson

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Areas of dense fog Monday morning

A pattern that is dividing the state with clouds is causing both a big difference in temperatures across the state and is impacting who is seeing fog Monday morning.
by Nicole Mitchell

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'Fauci effect' drives record number of medical school applications

'Fauci effect' drives record number of medical school applications

The pandemic put a spotlight on health care workers and inspired many to pursue a career in medicine. The record number of applicants comes as the U.S. faces a projected shortage of physicians.
by Jon Marcus

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The Dylan catalog, rock 'n' roll's holy grail, is sold

The Dylan catalog, rock 'n' roll's holy grail, is sold

Bob Dylan’s entire catalog of songs, which reaches back 60 years and is among the most prized next to that of the Beatles, is being acquired by Universal Music Publishing Group.
by The Associated Press

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Fauci's plea 'Wear a mask' tops list of 2020 notable quotes

Fauci's plea 'Wear a mask' tops list of 2020 notable quotes

Also on the list is "I can't breathe," the plea George Floyd made repeatedly to police officers holding him down on a Minneapolis street corner. Several quotes from the presidential campaign appear including Joe Biden telling a student: "You're a lying dog-faced pony soldier."
by The Associated Press

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'Trying to prove something:' A WWII vet remembers his all-Black battalion

'Trying to prove something:' A WWII vet remembers his all-Black battalion

On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, Robert Madison, a 97-year-old World War II veteran, recalls his time in battle. He fought in the then-segregated Army as an intelligence officer.

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Nearly 12,000 cases over the weekend

Minnesota health officials reported 139 more COVID-19 deaths over the weekend as the overall pandemic death toll in the state is poised to surpass 4,000. That grim milestone could come as soon as Monday, with the death toll at 3,984 and the state averaging 58 deaths a day over the past week. This is an MPR News morning update for Monday, December 7, 2020. Hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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Private money helped pay to conduct Minnesota’s election

Private money helped pay to conduct Minnesota’s election

With Congress failing to provide enough aid to election offices, private funders — including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg — donated hundreds of millions to help conduct elections around the country.  
by Tom Scheck, Geoffrey Hing, Sabby Robinson and Gracie Stockton

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‘I don’t wish this to anybody’: How COVID is disproportionately hitting Minnesota’s Latino community

‘I don’t wish this to anybody’: How COVID is disproportionately hitting Minnesota’s Latino community

The rising COVID-19 cases are startling everywhere, but the rates in the Latino community in Minnesota and across the country are particularly alarming. Many Latinos work essential jobs that can't be done remotely and are more likely to be exposed to the virus. And those who are not authorized to be in the country are in a particular bind: They don’t qualify for government benefits that can be a financial lifeline for families struggling during the pandemic.
by Riham Feshir

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On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, hear the APM documentary 'Days of Infamy'

On Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, hear the APM documentary 'Days of Infamy'

Monday is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Within the living memory of Americans are two deadly surprise attacks against the United States: Japan's assault on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Both times, the Library of Congress sent people out to record the voices of ordinary Americans as they reacted to a changed world.

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Biden picks California attorney general to lead HHS, pandemic response

Biden picks California attorney general to lead HHS, pandemic response

President-elect Joe Biden has picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary, putting a defender of the Affordable Care Act in a leading role to oversee his administration's coronavirus response.
by The Associated Press

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