Star Tribune
Spree of Minneapolis homeless encampment shootings reignites debate on response philosophies
A wave of shootings at homeless encampments at Minneapolis in recent weeks, leaving four people dead and at least four more seriously injured, has relit a long-simmering clash between city officials and advocates over one of the city’s most vexing problems.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other city leaders say the spree of shootings and other violence associated with encampments is driven by the drug fentanyl. Advocates who regularly provide outreach to the local unhoused community say the greater focus should be directed at the fundamental causes of homelessness if the city has any hope of solving the public safety problems at the camps.
Three shootings have occurred in three south Minneapolis encampments over a span of two weeks. On Friday, a man and woman were shot in an encampment in the 2200 block of Cedar Avenue S. close to Hiawatha Avenue.
“It’s an ongoing tragedy in our city, and we are seeing gun violence play out in many, many places, and particularly neighborhoods less resourced and communities of color that are bearing that gun violence,” said John Tribbett, a service area director with the nonprofit Avivo which operates a tiny home village inside a North Loop warehouse for people experiencing homelessness.
Around 13% of all crime in the city’s Third Precinct, and 19% of that area’s gun violence, happens within 500 feet of encampments, Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in late October. He and Frey were holding a news conference close to one of the shooting scenes. At the time, Frey told reporters that crime near encampments is “not about a lack of shelter” or “even most of the time about a lack of housing.” The mayor said drug trafficking and drug use at encampments have been the largest factors.
“Is (fentanyl) the only thing? Of course not, but it is a major driver,” Frey said in an interview days after the shooting. “I think we’ve got to be honest, and we’ve got to be real about it, otherwise we’re not going to make progress on the issue.”
According to Frey, encampments can also be a site for human trafficking.
The recent shootings have rattled nearby homeowners and renters, some of whom said they have been scared to leave their homes. Quantina Jones, who lives near the site of the triple fatal shooting that happened Oct. 27 close to the train tracks on Snelling Avenue, said she would frequently find drug paraphernalia left on her property, witness public defecation and hear gunshots.
Air raid warnings blared for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.
Air defenses downed four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed.
Meanwhile, most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia’s Kursk border region, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Tuesday. A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin.
Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Patel said. The cooperation faces challenges, including how to achieve military interoperability and overcoming the language barrier, he said.
Kyiv officials say that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk in a bid to dislodge the Ukrainians.
Russia has in recent months been assembling forces for a counteroffensive in Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, though the timescale of the operation isn’t known.
Star Tribune
Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a court Wednesday to pause prosecutors’ appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of the Republican’s presidential victory.
Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the classified documents and the federal 2020 election interference case in Washington before Trump takes office because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
The case accusing Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate had been seen as the most legally clear-cut of the four indictments against Trump, given the breadth of evidence that prosecutors say they had accumulated. That included the testimony of close aides and former lawyers, and because the conduct at issue occurred after Trump left the White House in 2021 and lost the powers of the presidency.
But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, ruling that Smith was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Smith had appealed her ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before Trump’s presidential win last week over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Prosecutors asked the 11th Circuit in a court filing Wednesday to pause the appeal to ”afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” Smith’s team said it would ”inform the Court of the result of its deliberations” no later than Dec. 2.
The judge overseeing the federal case in Washington accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election canceled all upcoming deadlines in the case last week after Smith’s team made a similar request.
Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but special counsels are expected to produce reports on their work that historically are made public, and it remains unclear when such a document might be released.
First, they must live in St. Paul. Then, their incomes must be no more than 400% of current Federal Poverty Guidelines — about $120,000/year for a family of four — or their medical debt must be 5% or more of their annual income. Also, only debt owed to participating providers like hospitals will qualify for the program.
“Health is not only about buildings, hospitals, or clinics — health care is about meeting the needs of patients where they are and doing whatever we can to improve health outcomes and decrease cost,” Fairview Health Services President and CEO James Hereford said in a statement.
Undue Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso also issued a statement, which read, in part: “Medical debt is a psychological burden, in addition to a financial one, that can cause patients to avoid necessary care.”
She added: “Simply having medical debt creates stress which undermines people’s health.”
Officials said national medical debt has reached about $220 billion and affects more than 100 million Americans. About 54% of insured adults carry medical debt, officials said, while 41% of people without insurance face even greater challenges, often delaying necessary care in order to pay for food and housing.
In Minnesota, the Medical Debt Fairness Act that recently went into effect bans medical debt from being reported to credit reporting agencies. It also ensures medical providers cannot withhold medical care despite unpaid debt. St. Paul and Undue Medical Debt officials said they hope to partner with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to explore ways to build on the Debt Fairness Act.
