Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close Trump ally, joins race to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP leader

posted in: Politics | 0

By MARY CLARE JALONICK (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Sen. Rick Scott said Wednesday that he will run for Senate Republican leader when Mitch McConnell steps down from the post, becoming the third Republican in the race.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn have already announced they are running. McConnell said in February that he would step down from the post after November’s election but stay in the Senate.

Scott is a close ally of former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and is likely to win votes from some of Trump’s closest allies in the Senate. Scott was one of the first GOP lawmakers to attend Trump’s hush money trial in New York, accompanying the former president into the courtroom earlier this month and defending him on television afterward.

The Florida senator’s close ties to the former president could be an advantage, especially if Trump defeats Joe Biden in the presidential election. But Thune and Cornyn have endorsed Trump as well, after criticizing him in the past over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

Scott also ran for Republican leader in 2022, challenging McConnell at Trump’s urging. He won 10 votes out of the 49 in the GOP conference.

“I think there’s a better way to run the Senate,” Scott said after McConnell announced he would step down from leadership. “So we’ll see what happens.”

Scott and McConnell have been at odds since Scott led Republicans’ Senate campaign arm in the 2022 elections and the two had differing approaches. The party came up short that year, failing to win back the majority after Democrats took control in 2021. Scott was openly critical of McConnell and won over a few of his colleagues who also said it was time for new leadership.

Republican senators haven’t chosen a new leader since 2007, when McConnell was elected — before most current GOP senators took office. Campaigning is already taking place in private and in one-on-one meetings, as the contenders work to persuade their GOP colleagues to back them on a secret ballot. The election will take place in a closed-door conference meeting at some point after the November elections.

Scott, a former Florida governor, is also up for reelection this year, facing a challenge from former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

Mucarsel-Powell said after Scott’s announcement that “the stakes just got so much higher” in the Senate race.

“There’s no line Rick Scott won’t cross to further his own extreme agenda,” she said.

___

Associated Press writer Stephanie Matat contributed from West Palm Beach, Florida.

Charges: St. Paul school put on lockdown after man tried to get inside, threatened staff with machete

posted in: News | 0

After a man tried to get into a St. Paul charter school through a locked door on Monday, he grabbed a machete and threatened two staff members with it, charges say.

St. Paul police were called to Hmong College Prep Academy at 1515 Brewster St., just east of Snelling Avenue, shortly before noon on a report of a man who was outside the school with a machete that he used to threaten several staff members.

When officers arrived, staff was “hysterically yelling and pointing” to a man, later identified as 40-year-old Marcelo Rubio Loredo, according to Wednesday’s charges. They said Loredo tried to enter the school.

Marcelo Rubio Loredo (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Officers saw a machete in Loredo’s hand and told him to drop it. He replied in Spanish, then walked away with the machete. When other officers arrived, he ran.

Loredo ignored a Spanish-speaking officer’s commands to stop. He struggled with officers, who used tear gas to arrest him. Officers found the machete on a path.

A school staff member told police Loredo tried to open a locked door. Another staff member said he saw Loredo with his face pressed up against the glass of the locked door and told him to leave. Loredo gave the staff member “the finger” and kicked the door before going over to his bike and grabbing a machete, the charges say.

Loredo raised the machete over his shoulder in a swinging manner, which the staff member took as a threat, the charges say. The school was put on lockdown.

A school maintenance worker then encountered Loredo with the machete and tried walking him off the school’s property, but he raised it in a swinging manner over his shoulder twice, the charges say.

Loredo told an investigator in an interview that he had left his job and was looking for something to eat. He said he had the machete because he was working on a yard, the charges say.

When asked if he understood that people at the school would be afraid of him waving the machete around, Loredo didn’t answer. He accused police of taking his bike and money, and asked for an attorney.

Loredo was charged with two counts of felony threats of violence and remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $50,000 bail. Loredo, who has no permanent address, was granted a public defender, according to court records. The attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Related Articles

Crime & Public Safety |


Second man charged in Minneapolis gun battle that killed off-duty Eagan firefighter

Crime & Public Safety |


Charges dismissed in attempted murder case outside St. Paul store

Crime & Public Safety |


Man fatally shot at Green Line station in St. Paul

Crime & Public Safety |


Man pleads guilty to St. Paul sober house killings

Crime & Public Safety |


Pedestrian in ‘very critical condition’ after being hit by pickup truck in West St. Paul

Gophers name pitching coach Ty McDevitt as new baseball coach

posted in: News | 0

Minnesota Athletics Director Mark Coyle announced Wednesday that Ty McDevitt, a former Gophers baseball player and the program’s current pitching coach, has been named head baseball coach, succeeding the U’s all-time wins leader John Anderson, who retired after his 43rd season with 1,390 wins.

McDevitt, 31, and the U agreed to a three-year term, pending the completion of a background check.

Ty McDevitt

McDevitt is Minnesota’s 16th head coach but only the program’s fourth head coach since 1948. Dick Siebert led the Gophers from 1948-78 and was followed by George Thomas, who was at the helm from 1979-81, and then Anderson.

McDevitt had served as the team’s pitching coach since 2019. The Apple Valley native was a volunteer assistant for the Gophers from 2017 to 2018.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to accept the position of head baseball coach at the University of Minnesota,” McDevitt said in the university’s news release. “This program is steeped in rich history and tradition, built on the hard work, dedication, and passion of countless players, coaches, and supporters who have come before me. As I step into this role, I am committed to upholding the values and excellence that define Gopher Baseball. Together, we will strive to build upon this storied legacy, fostering a culture of integrity, resilience, and success both on and off the field.”

McDevitt played for the Gophers from 2012-2016 where he was a stabilizing presence in the bullpen.

McDevitt is known for his ability to develop high school arms into major league draft prospects. During his time at Minnesota, he worked with future MLB draftees Brett Schulze, Jake Stevenson and Nick Lackney among others.

Max Meyer is the most well-known player to ascend the ranks under McDevitt. Meyer joined the Gophers in 2018 as a 34th-round draft pick out of Woodbury High School. When he left Minnesota after the 2020 season he was taken in the first round with the third overall pick by the Miami Marlins in the 2020 MLB Draft.

 

Behind the scenes: Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Bazzar’ brings artistry, acrobatics and a lot of shoes to a big top at MOA

posted in: News | 0

Within nine days, a parking lot just north of the Mall of America was transformed into a sprawling tent complex — the home, for the next month, of Cirque du Soleil’s show “Bazzar.”

The show, which runs May 18 to June 16 — though the official premiere is Thursday, May 23 — is the Canada-based circus troupe’s first Twin Cities big-top show in a decade or so.

“Bazzar,” which is inspired by the origins of Cirque du Soleil in the 1980s, debuted in 2018 in Mumbai as part of an effort to bring Cirque shows to new parts of the world, said Christine Achampong, a publicist who travels with the troupe. The original version of the show was scaled down for easier transport, but it was expanded and relaunched in 2022 under a full-size big top.

Still, “Bazzar” has a slightly smaller cast and more intimate feel than other Cirque shows, artistic director Johnny Kim said. It’s less about flashy tricks and more about acts that showcase artistry and storytelling, he said.

“Everyone brings their own character to it, their own natural personality,” Kim said. “I really love to pull out the individual within the artist, so there’s a new shade, a new color, a new brightness that comes to the table. … Everyone has a different way of interpreting what they want to say in their movement.”

Every time the show moves to a new city, the entire stage infrastructure has to be disassembled and rebuilt. Then begins the several-day process of “validations,” or safety checks, where technicians test each piece of equipment with weighted bags to simulate performers’ bodies. By the time that’s done, there’s only enough time for each performer to have about a 30- to 60-minute slot onstage to run through their act.

On a recent afternoon, Josefina Oriozabala, from Argentina, rehearsed an aerial act in which she’s suspended above the stage by a ring knotted into her hair. After she got a feel for any quirks in the set-up this time around, her time was up: Mélodie Lamoreux, a Canadian hula hooper, had the stage next.

This fast pace is not uncommon. Before the current production hit the road about a year and a half ago, all the performers and crew decamped to Cirque du Soleil headquarters in Montreal to rehearse, rehearse, sit for 3D body scans for custom-made costumes and rehearse some more. But when they’re on tour, the cast and crew frequently have to adjust on the fly.

Costume shop, shoe repair

Backstage, there’s a full costume repair shop, a makeshift physical therapy clinic and a mini shoe factory.

A pair of shoes are in progress backstage at “Bazzar,” a Cirque du Soleil show, on May 17, 2024, under a big top near the Mall of America. Shoes are custom-built and painted for each performer. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

The performers wear through shoes at a stunning rate, Achampong said: about one to two pairs per month, per person — and each is custom-built and painted, so the on-staff shoemaker is always busy.

There’s also a sizable gym, a kitchen/dining tent and laundry facilities.

And if a performer gets injured or needs to fill in for another act, the whole show shifts a bit: There are 178 slightly different versions of “Bazzar” that each account for different scenarios, Achampong said, and sometimes the cast has to quickly huddle up and pivot to a different version mid-show while a clown act keeps the audience none the wiser.

The Twin Cities is the last U.S. stop for “Bazzar.” A slate of Europe shows are up next, though the cast gets a two-month break first while their equipment crosses the Atlantic in several dozen shipping containers.

“Bazzar” showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 12:00, 3:30 and 7 p.m. most Saturdays; and 1 and 4:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets range from $37 to about $150, with discounted multi-ticket bundles for families available.

Tickets can be purchased online at cirquedusoleil.com/bazzar.

Cirque du Soleil’s Bazzar by the numbers

The Cirque du Soleil logo is painted onto a storage trunk in the backstage area of the big top tent for the “Bazzar” show on May 17, 2024, near the Mall of America. The show, which has been on tour for about a year and a half, travels from city to city in 71 semi-trucks. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

2,600: Seats under the Big Top, individually installed

100: Traveling crew members including coaches, stage technicians, sound engineers, accountants, a plumber, two physical therapists, three costume-makers, four chefs, three musicians and one singer

85: Local workers, mostly construction workers but also a masseuse, acupuncturist and barber

71: Semitrailers to transport the entire show — minus the people — from city to city

45–150: Minutes for each performer to create their own makeup look before each show

35: Performing artists in the show

25: Countries represented among the performing artist cast

18: Languages spoken on tour, though English and French are the most common

15–18: Loads of laundry on Saturdays, the troupe’s busiest day of the week

9: Days to transform an empty parking lot to a performance-ready Big Top

3: Fire-safety technicians, dressed in all black, who crouch alongside the stage for the duration of every show in case of emergency

1: Hotel the entire cast and crew stay in for the entire time they’re in a city (though some members find alternate lodging)

Related Articles

Theater |


Hudson bicyclist injured in hit-and-run plans dance party

Theater |


Don’t have tickets to Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals? Timberwolves hosting a block party outside the arena

Theater |


St. Paul: Como Town to host prehistoric guests with new Dinosaur Expedition this summer

Theater |


After leaving Twin Cities off initial tour schedule, Justin Timberlake adds St. Paul Halloween show

Theater |


Q&A: New Flint Hills festival leader talks highlights of this year’s Ordway family fun weekend