Star Tribune
Scott County Canvassing Board to certify 54A race with Tabke leading
House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth said in a Nov. 21 statement that Republicans in the chamber will pursue all legal options, including a potential election contest, “to ensure the integrity of the results in District 54A.”
The Cold Spring Republican contended it’s “impossible” to certify the election when the margin between Tabke and Paul is smaller than the number of ballots for which officials can’t account. She called on Scott County to “prove chain of custody if the ballots are located and guarantee that there was not malicious activity” that led to the ballots “being removed or destroyed.”
At last week’s recount, Hanson noted the Scott County Board doesn’t have the authority to call for a new electoral contest. She emphasized the audit remains ongoing but declined to give an update on the status of the missing absentee ballots.
The continued interest in this race — tight since election day — speaks to its significance.
Early returns showed Paul, a Bloomington police officer, ahead in several precincts by small margins. Tabke, a former Shakopee mayor who has served two nonconsecutive House terms, maintained advantages in northeast Shakopee and a precinct north of Shakopee High School.
A few days after election night, Scott County officials rescanned some ballots cast in Shakopee following a scanning machine malfunction. The updated, unofficial results increased Tabke’s advantage by one vote, to 14. Paul then requested a recount, with the margin between the two contenders remaining within the threshold set by state law for a taxpayer-funded one.
Star Tribune
Is Outlook down? Thousands of Microsoft 365 users report outage issues
NEW YORK — Thousands of Microsoft 365 customers worldwide reported having issues with services like Outlook and Teams on Monday.
In social media posts and comments on platforms like outage tracker Downdetector, some impacted said that they were having trouble seeing their emails, loading calendars or opening other Microsoft 365 applications such as Powerpoint.
Microsoft acknowledged ”an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar” earlier in the day. In updates posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the company’s status page said it identified a ”recent change” that it believed to be behind the problem — and was working to revert it.
Microsoft shared that it was deploying a fix — which, as of shortly before noon E.T., it said had reached about 98% of ”affected environments.”
Still, the company’s status page later added, targeted restarts were ”progressing slower than anticipated for the majority of affected users.”
As of midday Monday, Downdetector showed thousands of outage reports from users of Microsoft 365, particularly Outlook.
Star Tribune
Joe Biden turkey pardon today saves two Minnesota birds
Every Thanksgiving week, the governor of Minnesota welcomes turkeys to the Capitol — but not for a pardon. A “presentation.” Minnesota does not pardon turkeys. Minnesota would, in fact, like everyone to eat more turkeys. Minnesota turkeys generate more than $1 billion in economic activity and account for tens of thousands of jobs, according to the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.
So this Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz will welcome a pair of somebody’s dinner to the Capitol and, in keeping with tradition, withhold pardons from them. The birds were raised by Jake Vlaminck, president of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, on his farm in Lake Lillian. Paisley VonBerge of the Hutchinson Future Farmers of America chapter, did the work of socializing the young turkeys and getting them camera-ready.
In Washington, Biden ended his final turkey pardon on a wistful note. He and his wife, Jill, were heading to Staten Island for a Friendsgiving with members of the Coast Guard, in memory of their late son. He urged the country to hold in their hearts all the families with empty seats at the table this season.
Being president has been “the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful,” Biden said. “Remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. There’s nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together.”
Star Tribune
Special counsel moves to dismiss election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a federal judge on Monday to dismiss the case accusing President-elect Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, citing longstanding Justice Department policy shielding presidents from prosecution while in office.
The move announced in court papers marks the end of the Justice Department’s landmark effort to hold Trump accountable for what prosecutors called a criminal conspiracy to cling to power in the run-up to his supporters’ attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In court papers. prosecutors said the Justice Department’s position “is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”
The decision was expected after Smith’s team began assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. The Justice Department believes Trump can no longer be tried in accordance with longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.