Today in History: August 8, devastating Maui wildfires

posted in: News | 0

Today is Thursday, Aug. 8, the 221st day of 2024. There are 145 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 8, 2023, a series of wind-driven wildfires broke out on the Hawaiian island of Maui, destroying the town of Lahaina and killing more than 100 people.

Also on this date:

In 1814, during the War of 1812, peace talks between the United States and Britain began in Ghent, Belgium.

Related Articles


Today in History: August 7, Twin Tower tightrope walk


Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’ is, at 65, a shape-shifting album that transcends time and genre


Today in History: Aug. 6, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima


Today in History: Aug. 5, Nelson Mandela arrested


Today in History: Aug. 4, massive explosion rocks Beirut

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena to spend the remainder of his days in exile.

In 1876, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric pen—the forerunner of the mimeograph machine.

In 1908, Wilbur Wright makes the Wright Brothers’ first public flying demonstration, at Le Mans racecourse in France.

In 1911, President William Howard Taft signed a measure raising the number of U.S. representatives from 391 to 433, effective with the next Congress, with a proviso to add two more when New Mexico and Arizona became states.

In 1963, Britain’s “Great Train Robbery” took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes.

In 1969, photographer Iain Macmillan took the iconic photo of The Beatles that would appear on the cover of their album “Abbey Road.”

In 1974, President Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, announced he would resign the following day.

In 1988, Chicago’s Wrigley Field hosted its first-ever night baseball game; the contest between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies would be rained out in the fourth inning.

In 2000, the wreckage of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which sank in 1864 after attacking the Union ship Housatonic, was recovered off the South Carolina coast and returned to port.

In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court’s first Hispanic and third female justice.

In 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s residence at Mar al Lago in Palm Beach, Florida; over 13,000 government documents, including 103 classified documents, were seized.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Nita Talbot is 94.
Actor Dustin Hoffman is 87.
Actor Connie Stevens is 86.
Country singer Phil Balsley (The Statler Brothers) is 86.
Actor Larry Wilcox is 77.
Actor Keith Carradine is 75.
Movie director Martin Brest is 73.
Radio-TV personality Robin Quivers is 72.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is 71.
Percussionist Anton Fig is 71.
Actor Donny Most is 71.
Rock musician Dennis Drew (10,000 Maniacs) is 67.
TV personality Deborah Norville is 66.
Rock musician The Edge (U2) is 63.
Rock musician Rikki Rockett (Poison) is 63.
Rapper Kool Moe Dee is 62.
Middle distance runner Suzy Favor Hamilton is 56.
Rock singer Scott Stapp is 51.
Country singer Mark Wills is 51.
Actor Kohl Sudduth is 50.
Rock musician Tom Linton (Jimmy Eat World) is 49.
Singer JC Chasez (‘N Sync) is 48.
Actor Tawny Cypress is 48.
R&B singer Drew Lachey (lah-SHAY’) (98 Degrees) is 48.
R&B singer Marsha Ambrosius is 47.
Actor Lindsay Sloane is 47.
Actor Countess Vaughn is 46.
Actor Michael Urie is 44.
Tennis player Roger Federer is 43.
Actor Meagan Good is 43.
Actor Jackie Cruz (TV: “Orange is the New Black”) is 40.
Britain’s Princess Beatrice of York is 36.
Actor Ken Baumann is 35.
New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is 35.
Pop singer Shawn Mendes is 26.

Rochester legislator says Harris signs might have led to racist graffiti last weekend

posted in: News | 0

ROCHESTER, Minn. — State and federal investigators are assisting Rochester police as they investigate a vandalism incident at a Rochester legislator’s home over the weekend.

Rep. Kim Hicks, a first-term DFL member of the Minnesota House, awoke Sunday to find racist graffiti painted on her shed, a swastika on a window of her home, and paint over all but one of the surveillance cameras around her house.

It is a clear-cut case of vandalism, but does it amount to a hate crime?

Initially, Hicks told the Rochester Post Bulletin she was convinced that it was a targeted attack. She is married to a Black man and has Black children.

Now, she says it might have just been the Kamala Harris sign in her yard that motivated the vandals, who were seen wearing masks in video footage taken by her cameras.

“We have to say out loud that there is a problem,” Hicks said. “These things can’t keep happening.”

The incident at Hicks’ home was one of two potentially hate-related vandalism incidents in Rochester over the weekend.

According to Rabbi Michelle Werner, a sign outside of the B’nai Israel Congregation was covered in a spray-painted “300,” likely marking the 300 days since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War. Amanda Grayson, RPD crime prevention and communications coordinator, said the department opened an investigation into this incident as well, but it does not seem to be related to the vandalism at Hicks’ home.

Despite these incidents and a third widely publicized incident near Century High School in April, Grayson said the department has not seen an increase in reported hate crimes over the last few months.

According to Minnesota statutes, a violation is considered a hate crime if a person commits first-, second- or third-degree assault because of a person’s “actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, or disability.”

In April, a racial slur was spelled out using plastic cups in the chain link fence on the pedestrian bridge over East Circle Drive. A town hall meeting held days after allowed community members to share their experiences, which revealed grievances spanning over years of systemic injustice.

Community members, including the Rochester branch of the NAACP, believe the act was, in fact, a hate crime. The organization posted online that it would “be prosecuting any individuals that are doing this.” The post went on to say “this #hatecrime will not stand in our community!”

However, after RPD identified the four teenagers responsible for the racial slur on the bridge, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem announced that his office would not be filing charges.

In his statement, Ostrem said while the incident was offensive, it fell short of criminal statutes and has protection under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The statement said the facts fell short of the threshold to be charged as harassment or property damage. The message didn’t damage property and made no specific threats of violence against anyone.

Walé Elegbede, president of the Rochester branch of the NAACP, said the organization hopes for a different outcome with the vandalism on Hicks’ property.

“We’re calling for the severest of penalties because this is a textbook definition of a hate crime,” Elegbede said. “They need to be found. They need to be prosecuted.”

Related Articles

Crime & Public Safety |


Woodbury man charged in string of Washington County bank robberies

Crime & Public Safety |


DWI charges against St. Paul officer dismissed, pending test results after off-duty crash

Crime & Public Safety |


City of Blaine says it was victim of $1.5 million billing fraud scheme

Crime & Public Safety |


Milwaukee hotel employees charged with being party to felony murder in connection with Black man’s death

Crime & Public Safety |


Isanti police officer charged with sending lewd photo to friend’s daughter

Trump praised Minnesota Gov. Walz in 2020 for response to unrest over Floyd’s murder, audio shows

posted in: Politics | 0

MINNEAPOLIS — While former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance have been hammering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the violence that erupted after George Floyd’s murder, Trump told the governor at the time that he fully agreed with how Walz handled it.

“What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and other governors and officials in a phone call on June 1, 2020. The Associated Press on Wednesday obtained an audio recording of the call, which has taken on new significance now that Walz has been tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate against Trump and Vance.

Other administration officials on the call included Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Attorney General William Barr.

ABC News reported on the call earlier Wednesday, a day after Harris introduced Walz as her vice presidential pick. CNN posted a transcript of the call back in 2020.

Protests erupted in Minneapolis and around the world after Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white former officer who knelt on the Black man’s neck for nearly 9 1/2 minutes, on May 25, 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” His death forced a reckoning with police brutality and racism. Some of the protests turned violent.

Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard three days later to help restore order to Minneapolis after rioting that included the burning of a police station and numerous businesses. Trump offered federal help to Walz later that day, but the governor did not take him up on it.

During a May 2024 fundraiser in St. Paul, Trump repeated a claim he had been making lately that he was responsible for deploying the National Guard. “The entire city was burning down. … If you didn’t have me as president, you wouldn’t have Minneapolis today,” Trump told a Republican audience. Trump made similar claims at a rally in St. Cloud last month.

It was actually Walz who gave the mobilization order in response to requests from the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Although Walz came under criticism at the time for not moving faster. There was finger-pointing between Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Walz on who bore responsibility for the delays.

Trump, in the June 1, 2020, call, described Walz as “an excellent guy” and later said: “I don’t blame you. I blame the mayor.” The president didn’t criticize the governor at the time.

“Tim, you called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast, it was like bowling pins,” Trump said.

But Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt put a different spin on the call in a statement to the AP on Wednesday.

“Governor Walz allowed Minneapolis to burn for days, despite President Trump’s offer to deploy soldiers and cries for help from the liberal Mayor of Minneapolis,” Leavitt said. “In this daily briefing phone call with Governors on June 1, days after the riots began, President Trump acknowledged Governor Walz for FINALLY taking action to deploy the National Guard to end the violence in the city.”

Walz did thank Trump on the call, as well as Esper and Milley, “for your strategic guidance, very helpful. … Yeah, our city is grieving and in pain.”

Related Articles

National Politics |


At Wisconsin rally, Democrats laud ‘folksy’ Tim Walz, hope his record will impress those in other states

National Politics |


Steve Martin turns down Tim Walz impersonation role on ‘SNL,’ dashing internet’s casting hopes

National Politics |


Vance and other Trump allies amplify a false claim about Harris’ racial identity

National Politics |


Wesley Bell beats Cori Bush in 1st Congressional District

National Politics |


Michigan sets matchups in Senate race, House battlegrounds

Merica reported from Washington.

At Wisconsin rally, Democrats laud ‘folksy’ Tim Walz, hope his record will impress those in other states

posted in: Politics | 0

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — “Folksy.” “Down to earth.” Like the “dad Fox News took away.”

Those were just some of the impressions Democratic supporters offered of Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a Wednesday afternoon rally on the outskirts of Eau Claire. Minnesota supporters who made the trip to western Wisconsin said they hope his record will impress voters in other states.

An estimated 10,000 people attended the event, according to area law enforcement who cited information from the U.S. Secret Service. It was Walz and Harris’ first campaign stop in the Midwest just one day after Walz’s debut as vice presidential candidate at a rally in Philadelphia.

Wisconsin is a crucial battleground state in presidential elections, and it’s believed the state is a tossup between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Harris and Walz continued their “battleground state tour” with a stop in Detroit on Wednesday evening. They’re also scheduled to visit Arizona and Nevada in coming days; events in Georgia and North Carolina have been postponed because of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Debby.

Long lines in the sun

Walz greeted the crowd and kicked off his speech with a nod to his regional tie.

“Hello, Eau Claire!” he said as he took the stage. “Isn’t it good to have a candidate who can pronounce the name correctly?”

Walz then launched into a speech where he hit familiar themes — casting Republican opponents Ohio Sen. JD Vance and former president Trump as “weird,” calling for gun control legislation, and touting Democrats’ defense of abortion and in-vitro fertilization. It was similar to a speech he delivered the day before in Pennsylvania.

Rallygoers in Eau Claire braved hours waiting in line in traffic and in the heat waiting for Walz and Harris to arrive, with some taking shelter under semi-trailers.

Many said they didn’t know much about Walz before this week — and an equal number said they were surprised by the pick.

‘What he brings’

Lisa Herrmann, of Eau Claire, an Army veteran who cast her first presidential vote in 1980, said she didn’t even know Walz was on Harris’ vice presidential shortlist and was under the impression Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would end up clinching the No. 2 spot on the Democratic Ticket.

Lisa Herrmann, an Army veteran from Eau Claire who cast her first ballot in a presidential election in 1980, called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “the quintessential American guy.” (Alex Derosier / Pioneer Press)

Herrmann, 61, said she was excited when she learned Harris opted for a Midwesterner who was a teacher and served in the military, rather than another “guy from out east.”

“I think what he brings is he brings a tone of real America,” she said. “It’s not about politics anymore. It’s about being nice people. It’s about trying to understand people who you don’t agree with. I think that’s what he brings.”

Some attendees said they hope Walz might be able to persuade their undecided friends, but most doubted that a vice-presidential pick would move their conservative or Republican friends any closer to their side.

Many other rallygoers said they felt Walz had a sort of “Midwestern dad vibe” and said they were excited to see their region take the national stage.

“He’s a replacement for my dad that Fox News took away,” said Ruth Rice, of Hudson, Wis., echoing an internet meme that has gained traction since Walz’s selection.

Denise Machack, who drove with her sister nearly two hours from the Wausau, Wis., area, said she didn’t know much about Walz before he gained the nomination, and was initially a fan of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, of Arizona, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

But she said she’s happy to see her region represented.

“The way he talks. You know, it’s just the way we talk,” she said. “He just says it like it is.”

Denise Machack, left, and her sister, Julie Yirkovsky, at a Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wis. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. Both traveled nearly two hours by car from near Wausau, Wis. to see the vice president and her running mate. (Alex Derosier / Pioneer Press)

Many Minnesotans already familiar with Walz made the drive from Minnesota to attend the rally. Paige Boulger, 33, of West St. Paul, said she thinks the governor’s record will tell people in other states that he cares about people.

“I hope people understand what he’s doing for Minnesotans, and how it appears, at least, that he’s genuinely caring about his citizens,” she said. “I hope it would help other people in swing states or other Midwest states. I would hope that they would look at his record as positive.”

JD Vance also in town

It wasn’t just the Democratic candidates in town on Wednesday: Republican Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance held a separate competing event at a factory in Eau Claire. There, he shot back at Walz’s continued jabs about him being “weird,” the Associated Press reported.

“If those people want to call me weird I call it a badge of honor,” Vance said.

Trump, Vance and other Republican allies have been attempting to paint Harris and Walz as liberal extremists bent on spreading West Coast progressive ideals to the rest of the country.

Earlier in the day, when Vance and Harris arrived at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, Vance reportedly approached Harris’ plane, though the vice president left in her motorcade before Vance reached her.

“I just wanted to check out my future plane,” Vance later said.

This story contains information from the Associated Press. 

Related Articles

Politics |


Vance and other Trump allies amplify a false claim about Harris’ racial identity

Politics |


Wesley Bell beats Cori Bush in 1st Congressional District

Politics |


Michigan sets matchups in Senate race, House battlegrounds

Politics |


Harris VP pick Walz’s long history with China may prove awkward

Politics |


How Tim Walz pushed Minnesota toward aggressive climate policies