By Kate Sullivan, Bloomberg News

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is nominating John Coale as a special envoy to Belarus and asked President Alexander Lukashenko to consider releasing more political prisoners.

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Trump credited Coale — who is currently serving as a deputy special envoy to Ukraine and was previously one of the Trump’s lawyers — for the release of “100 Hostages” and said he “is going for an additional 50.”

“I would like to thank, in advance, the Highly Respected President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, for his consideration on the release of these additional people,” Trump posted on social media.

Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been sanctioned by various countries, including the U.S., for undermining democracy in the former Soviet republic.

Bloomberg previously reported that in September, Coale told Lukashenko during an in-person meeting that Trump had ordered the removal of sanctions on the Belarus state airline, Belavia. U.S. sanctions on Belavia were lifted in November.

Coale also passed on a letter from Trump at the time conveying birthday greetings to Lukashenko, according to video posted on the Belarus state-run Belta news service.

In August, Trump held what he described as a “wonderful” call with Lukashenko and said he thanked him for an earlier release of political prisoners and that the two leaders discussed the additional releases.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

Wendy’s plans to close hundreds U.S. restaurants over the next few months in an effort to boost its profit and make its remaining stores more appealing.

The Dublin, Ohio-based chain said during a conference call with investors Friday that it planned to begin closing restaurants in the fourth quarter of this year. The company said it expected a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its U.S. stores to be affected, but it didn’t give any more details.

Wendy’s ended the third quarter with 6,011 U.S. restaurants. If 5% of those locations were impacted, it would mean 300 store closures.

The new round of closures comes on top of the closure of 240 U.S. Wendy’s locations in 2024. At the time, Wendy’s said that many of the 55-year-old chain’s restaurants are simply out of date.

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Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO, said Friday the company believes closing locations that are underperforming – whether it’s from a financial or customer service perspective – will help improve traffic and profitability at its remaining U.S. restaurants.

Cook became Wendy’s CEO in July after the company’s previous CEO, Kirk Tanner, left to become the president and CEO of Hershey Co.

“When we look at the system today, we have some restaurants that do not elevate the brand and are a drag from a franchisee financial performance perspective. The goal is to address and fix those restaurants,” Cook said during a conference call with investors.

Cook said in some cases, Wendy’s will make improvements to struggling stores, including adding technology or equipment. In other cases, it will transfer ownership to a different operator or close the restaurant altogether.

U.S. fast food chains have been struggling to attract lower-income consumers in the past few years as inflation has raised prices. Cook said he expects lower-income consumers to remain pressured for the rest of this year.

In the first nine months of this year, Wendy’s said its U.S. same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 4% compared to the same period last year. Wendy’s revenue fell 2% to $1.63 billion in the same period, while its net income fell 6% to $138.6 million.

Cook said $5 and $8 meal deals — which have been matched by McDonald’s — have helped bring some traffic back to its U.S. stores. But Wendy’s isn’t doing a good job of bringing in new customers, Cook said, so the company plans to shift its marketing to emphasize its value and the freshness of its ingredients.

Wendy’s shares dropped 7% Friday. On Monday, they were down 5% in afternoon trading.

Tommy Chicago’s Pizzeria in Mendota Heights is closing after 18 years in business.

The restaurant, known for its Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza, has been a family affair, said co-owner Katie Magnuson, who has worked alongside her husband and brother-in-law since the restaurant opened in 2008. All four of her children learned to make pizza dough and sauce from scratch there, too.

The eatery is deeply ingrained in the community, catering to everything from high school sports parties to church bingoes to Vikings players and coaches to the University of Minnesota football team.

In addition, they’ve named three of their pizzas after regular customers who happen to be celebrities: The Joe Mauer (a BBQ chicken pizza), the Vince Flynn (pickle and sausage) and the John Gagliardi (a deep-dish pepperoni).

Magnuson said they’ll miss serving their regular customers, but it’s time to retire.

A note to customers on the restaurant’s website says:

“For the past 18 years, we have been honored to serve you, our community. We’ve celebrated countless team pizza parties, birthdays, anniversaries, and special moments within these walls. Your support has meant the world to us, and we are eternally grateful for the memories we’ve created together.”

The restaurant’s last day will be Dec. 20, so there’s plenty of time to grab one last pie.

Tommy Chicago’s Pizzeria: 730 Main St., Mendota Heights; 651-209-7701

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Republican Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth has picked former state auditor candidate Ryan Wilson as her running mate for her campaign for governor in the 2026 election.

Wilson, the founder and former chief executive of a clinical trials company who has worked as an attorney for Minnesota Republicans in election lawsuits, came closer in 2022 to defeating a Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent in a statewide race than any other GOP candidate.

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. (Courtesy photo)

At a Monday Capitol news conference announcing his candidacy for lieutenant governor, Wilson said he “didn’t hesitate” to join Demuth because he agreed with her priorities, which include fighting fraud in state government, improving education outcomes, and taking a tougher stance on crime and public safety.

“Four years ago, I campaigned across this state meeting with Minnesotans of every walk of life,” he said. “I heard how they worked hard for their tax dollars, for their money, and they wanted to know that it was going to help families and not fraudsters. They wanted to know that their money was going to schools to make their classrooms better and not get lost on bureaucrats.”

2002 election

In the 2022 election, Wilson faced State Auditor Julie Blaha and received 47.13% of the vote to Blaha’s 47.47%. Just 8,435 votes separated the candidates in the closest statewide race. Blaha is not running for a third term in 2026.

“Ryan’s success in being the closest statewide race this last election when he ran for state auditor let us know that Minnesotans were looking for a change,” Demuth said. “We are building a strong team early on.”

Demuth and Wilson’s announcement comes ahead of a statewide tour this week to promote their vision for Minnesota. Demuth hasn’t shared any specific policy proposals yet, but on Monday she said to “stay tuned.”

Wilson lives in Maple Grove with his wife and four children. Earlier this year, he represented the Republicans in their efforts to secure power in the closely divided House, where voters delivered a 67-67 tie between the parties in the 2024 election.

A power struggle ensued when a Roseville candidate who won didn’t take his seat after Republicans successfully challenged his residency in court. Wilson was part of the team of attorneys who argued before the state Supreme Court.

Demuth, 58, represents a district to the south and west of St. Cloud. This year, she made Minnesota history as the state’s first Black House speaker and first female Republican to serve in that role. Members selected her as speaker as part of a power-sharing agreement between the GOP and DFL.

Demuth launched her gubernatorial campaign last week, becoming the fourth GOP candidate in the 2026 race. A primary election to pick the party’s nominee is scheduled for August. The Minnesota Republican Party also holds a convention to endorse a candidate before the primary. Demuth has said she would honor the endorsement.

Other Republicans running for governor in 2026 include 2022 gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen, a doctor who rose to prominence for his criticism of state COVID policy; state Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove; and 2022 Republican endorsement contender Kendall Qualls, a former congressional candidate.

Demuth and Wilson have said they would welcome an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Wilson backed Trump in past elections and said he continues to do so today.

“President Trump is our president and he’s delivering on a lot of promises,” Wilson told reporters. “We’re seeing, for example, the southern border being fixed, and that’s having effects here in Minnesota today. So, yes, we stand by the president, and I stand by my past support of him.”

Walz, who is seeking an unprecedented third consecutive four-year term as governor, has not named a running mate for 2026. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for a U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Sen. Tina Smith next year and isn’t appearing on the ballot with Walz.

So far, Walz is the only DFLer running for governor in 2026.

No Republican has won a statewide election since 2006, when then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty won a second term. DFL Gov. Mark Dayton was elected in 2010 and served from 2011 to 2019. Walz followed.

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