Today is Tuesday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2025. There are 29 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 2, 2015, a couple loyal to the Islamic State group opened fire at a holiday banquet for public employees in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 21 others before dying in a shootout with police.

Also on this date:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in a coronation ceremony at Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.

Related Articles

USA Gymnastics and Olympic sports watchdog failed to stop coach’s sexual abuse, lawsuits alleges

Shooting of National Guard members prompts flurry of US immigration restrictions

US air travelers without REAL IDs will be charged a $45 fee

Here’s why everyone’s talking about a ‘K-shaped’ economy

White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

In 1823, President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing further European expansion or colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine effectively created separate spheres of influence for the Americans and Europe.

In 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid the previous October on Harpers Ferry in hopes of inciting a large-scale slave rebellion. His execution further exacerbated North-South tensions in the run-up to the American Civil War.

In 1942, an artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago. The experiment led by physicist Enrico Fermi marked the dawn of the Atomic Age.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate, voting 67-22, passed a resolution condemning Republican Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”

In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of Barney Clark, a retired dentist who lived 112 days with the device.

In 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces while trying to flee across rooftops in Medellin (meh-deh-YEEN’).

In 2004, Typhoon Nanmadol lashed the Philippines, killing hundreds of people.

In 2016, a fire raced through an illegally converted warehouse in Oakland, California, during a dance party, killing 36 people.

In 2020, The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, in a step with potential impacts on the global medical marijuana industry.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 81.
Film director Penelope Spheeris is 80.
Author T. Coraghessan Boyle is 77.
Actor Dan Butler is 71.
Actor Steven Bauer is 69.
Actor Lucy Liu is 57.
Bassist Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) is 57.
Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 55.
Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is 52.
Singer Nelly Furtado is 47.
Pop singer Britney Spears is 44.
Actor-singer Jana Kramer is 42.
Actor Yvonne Orji is 42.
Actor Daniela Ruah is 42.
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 42.
Actor Alfred Enoch is 37.
Pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth is 34.

From lethargy to apoplexy

Definition from The Political Dictionary: PERSONAL CONVICTION, a strong, firmly held principle that guides a politician’s actions and decisions until it becomes politically expedient to adapt a new conviction. See Flip Flop.

Now it seems DC is a hotbed of flip-flopping apropos of the, dare I say it, Epstein files. Congress has stirred itself from a lethargy of do-nothing to a apoplexy of leaping from one conviction to another. Often claiming otherwise. A common congressional response is “Oh no, not me. Why, I’ve always supported full disclosure,” as if lapsed memory were a chronic condition of the populace. This deluge of flipping, over a file that may be so redacted by persons of money, power and influence as to be nothing more than a Maltese Falcon. What Alfred Hitchcock called a MacGuffin. A dramatic device, never disclosed, the sole purpose of which is to drive the plot’s action.

As in the action of our current Congress. Much sound and fury, likely to signify nothing. I only wish they had as much enthusiasm in asserting the rights, power and purpose of a constitutional branch of government.

Bob Emery, Mendota Heights

 

They knew, but didn’t say anything

Democrats loudly and publicly declare that Trump is a threat to our democracy. They call him a fascist and a would-be king. They criticise every action he takes and try to block his every move.

Interestingly, not one Democrat spoke out during Biden’s administration, calling him a threat to democracy when they knew he was incapable of being president, due to his dementia. We do not know to this day who was making executive decisions.

After he was no longer in office, Democrats wrote tell-all books about his declining mental capacity. This proves they were aware of his inability to run, but wanted to retain their power. Their silence was a threat to our democracy.  It seems they only break their silence, when they think their power is being challenged.

Vicky Moore, North St. Paul

 

The Code

If the Secretary of Defense had not dismissed so many JAG officers, one might have informed the Commander-in-Chief that the Uniform Code of Military Justice requires a soldier to refuse an illegal order.

Andy Lynn, Mendota Heights

 

Dogged

While there may be some legitimate reasons for the Trump administration launching multiple attacks on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean, there has been scant evidence presented of any criminal wrongdoing justifying the fatalities that have been inflicted.

The Trump administration seems to be chafing for a military engagement with that country. The timing has a certain “Wag the Dog” appearance as a distraction from the president’s other predicaments, especially the Jeffrey Epstein saga. It’s reminiscent of the Robert De Niro-Dustin Hoffman 1997 movie by that title in which the crafty staff of a beleaguered president drums up a phoney military conflict to create a positive aura to bail the president out of political hot water. Many thought that device was used by President Bill Clinton at the height of the Monica Lewinsky contretemps when he ordered air attacks on terrorist operations in Afghanistan and Sudan.

President Trump, who was a reality TV star before entering politics, knows the value of a compelling cinematic theme, which might form the foundation for the Venezuelan initiative in these trying times that are dogging him.

Marshall H. Tanick, Minneapolis

 

Sainted

This is the month of Thanksgiving and I’d like to say I’m so thankful for my church St. Paul Lutheran in Stillwater.  Last Sunday’s worship service was so filled with praise that I wanted to publicly thank our Pastors Nathan Baker-Trinity and Laurel Halvorson Bernard and Youth Director Jenny Brelje.  Their messages were so inspiring, encouraging us to give glory to God, imperfect as we are, He loves us all. Andy Peterson, our talented musician and music director planned a service filled with music including pianist and worship director Karen Hillman, soloist Kim Alswager, songs performed by the wonderful choir, accompanied by the bell choir, and a special thank you for the talented flutist Sue Benson.  As we sang the hymns and worshipped together one couldn’t help but be filled with gratitude for our staff and members. We are so blessed!

Karen Celski, Oak Park Heights

Related Articles

Editorial: That bizarre day when the ‘fascist’ met the ‘communist’

David Brooks: What I love when I love America

Allison Schrager: There are worse things than rising inequality

Nina Stachenfeld: So DEI doesn’t work. What would be better?

Joe Soucheray: You mean cold like in Yakutsk, Siberia?

Sophie Hart posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota past Samford, 77-40, on Monday night at Williams Arena.

Tori McKinney had 13 points plus four assists, four steals and two blocks, and Niamya Holloway added 10 off the bench for the Gophers (6-2), who started the game on a 16-0 run and led 25-9 at halftime.

Avary Brewer had 17 points off the bench to lead the Bulldogs (4-6) of the Southern Conference. Minnesota outrebounded Samford 53-27 and turned 19 offensive rebounds into 27 second-chance points.

Up next, Minnesota begins its Big Ten schedule on Sunday against No. 7 Maryland (9-0). Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at Williams Arena.

Related Articles

Ex-NFL quarterback praises coveted Gophers recruit Justin Hopkins

World Juniors: Three Gophers named to Team USA preliminary roster

NCAA Women’s Volleyball: Gophers, Tommies both start in Minneapolis

Gophers buzzing over Max Brosmer’s first NFL start

Men’s hockey: Javon Moore scores OT winner as Gophers top No. 4 Denver

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said his department is investigating a claim that money stolen from the state of Minnesota through fraud helped fund a Somalia-based terrorist group.

An unconfirmed report from a conservative think tank published earlier this month alleged that some of the hundreds of millions of dollars stolen from Minnesota in recent years ended up in the hands of the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, which the U.S. State Department has designated as a terrorist organization.

Soon after that report was published on Nov. 19, President Donald Trump ended temporary legal protections for hundreds of Somali immigrants in Minnesota.

State Republicans then called on federal officials to investigate in letters to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Now there is a cabinet-level response.

“At my direction, (the U.S. Treasury Department) is investigating allegations that under the feckless mismanagement of the Biden Administration and Governor Tim Walz, hardworking Minnesotans’ tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab,” Bessent wrote in a post on X.

Bessent said his department would share findings as the investigation continues.

Fraud cases

Former Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson has said fraud in recent years could top $1 billion. Beyond the nearly 80 charges in the Feeding Our Future case, which involved federal dollars handled by the Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s office also is prosecuting fraud cases in autism and housing stabilization service programs funded by Medicare and administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

It’s never been proven if any money stolen from Minnesota in recent fraud cases, such as the $250 million Feeding Our Future scheme where scammers claimed reimbursement for meals they never served to children during the pandemic, ended up funding terrorism. Though money has ended up overseas, according to authorities.

Citing unnamed sources and a former counterterrorism investigator, writers for City Journal, a publication of the Manhattan Institute, claim that some money sent back from Minnesota to Somalia through informal networks likely would have benefited Al-Shabaab, which controls large swaths of Somalia.

The report shows no definite link between hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud this decade in Minnesota and terrorist groups, though it asserts that al-Shabaab received cuts of money transferred from the U.S. to Somalia through the hawala system, an informal money transfer network used by the Somali diaspora.

Prior claim of fraud funding terror groups

It’s not the first time there have been allegations of a link between fraud in Minnesota and terrorism.

The same premise was at the center of a similar 2018 local news story that spurred action at the state Capitol and a nonpartisan state investigation that found no definitive connection.

KMSP-TV, or Fox 9, reported that money from day care fraud in Minnesota transferred to areas controlled by al-Shabaab in Somalia. An agency whistleblower claimed $100 million in stolen tax dollars had gone overseas.

A subsequent report by the nonpartisan Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor couldn’t substantiate claims that money went to terrorist groups. The 2019 report found fraud, though no evidence that it reached $100 million.

OLA did acknowledge, however, that money obtained through fraud sent overseas could end up going to terrorists.

Walz on federal scrutiny: ‘I welcome it’

Last week, the office of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said it had not heard anything from state or federal law enforcement regarding the allegations. The Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Related Articles

Attorney Chris Madel seeks Republican nomination in MN governor race

How will Kaohly Her’s legislative career shape her leadership of St. Paul?

How fraud swamped Minnesota’s social services system on Tim Walz’s watch

A look at St. Paul’s legal tangles with the Trump administration

Attorney General Keith Ellison joins others in SNAP eligibility lawsuit

Speaking with reporters at the Capitol last Wednesday after presenting Minnesota’s Thanksgiving Turkey, Walz said he was open to federal scrutiny on fraud. Though he added he was worried the allegations were being used to paint the Somali community in a negative light.

“I welcome it. I think it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know if they’ll find the connection,” he said. “But what I will tell you is unhelpful is — do not paint an entire group of people with that same brush, demonizing them, putting them at risk when there is no proof.”