Star Tribune
Holidazzle opens Wednesday on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis
The Holidazzle is back after a one-year hiatus, and the free celebration returns to Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis for the first time in more than a decade.
The Minnesota Chorale, the Minnesota Vikings’ SKOL Line and a performance by NUR-D at the U.S. Bank Stage at 9th Street and Nicollet Mall will kick off five days of holiday- and winter-themed activities taking place both indoors and outdoors between 6th and 11th streets.
Unfortunately, there won’t be a parade like in yesteryears, but twinkling lights and walk-through displays will bring color to the festival featuring live entertainment, holiday market, Santa visits and, of course, food. New attractions include indoor roller skating and miniature golf and Saturday’s “Peppermint Pub Crawl,” in which a dozen local establishments will serve up festive cocktails. There is a charge for the beverage sampler, but everything else is free.
A 17-foot tall, 360-pound marionette is Holidazzle’s official mascot. (Downtown Council/Downtown Council)
Parking ramps near the fun are offering discounted rates and Metro Transit is offering free rides to anybody who downloads a free pass from the Holidazzle website.
Holidazzle debuted in 1992 as a way to bring people downtown during December and keep them flocking to the newly opened Mall of America. And it worked. Thousands lined Nicollet Mall for almost nightly parades featuring music, bright lights and floats carrying comic-book characters.
The annual spectacle ran its course and in 2014 the Downtown Council changed Holidazzle’s format and moved it to Loring Park. For a decade, the event turned into more of a holiday market and place for artists to show and sell their wares. The park events also included family activities, beer and fireworks.
Last year, there was nothing. The Downtown Council didn’t have enough money to carry on the 30-year tradition. But this year, Holidazzle is back.
Festivities will run from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general could be made public in the coming days.
The decision by the bipartisan committee was made earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the vote who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. CNN first reported the vote.
It’s a stunning turnaround for the often secretive panel of five Republicans and five Democrats. Just last month, members voted along party lines to not release the findings of their nearly four-year investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illicit drugs while Gaetz was in office.
Democrats had pressing to make the report public even though Gaetz was no longer in Congress and had withdrew as Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department. A vote on the House floor this to force the report’s release failed; all but one Republican vote against it.
Gaetz lashed out Wedneday on social media against the latest development, again denying any wrongdoing. He criticized the committee for its move after he had left Congress, saying he would have ”no opportunity to debate or rebut as a former member of the body.”
”It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life,” Gaetz posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. ”I live a different life now.”
Most Republicans have argued that any congressional investigation into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent.
While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare.
Officials on Wednesday identified the two women who died in a fiery crash when their vehicle collided with another at north Minneapolis intersection.
Esther Jean Fulks, 53, and Rose Elaine Reece, 57, both of Minneapolis, died soon after the wreck late Monday morning at the intersection of N. 26th and Emerson avenues, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Fulks died at the scene, while Reece was declared dead at North Memorial Health Hospital.
Two people in the other vehicle were hospitalized with critical injuries, while a 17-year-old boy waiting at a bus shelter to be picked up for school was hit and taken HCMC with noncritical injuries, police said. Their identities have yet to be released.
Fulks was “a mother of four and very loved in her community!” daughter D’Nia Fulks posted on an online fundraising page started on behalf of the family.
Esther Fulks (With permission from GoFundMe)
A northbound vehicle on Emerson struck the women’s vehicle as it headed east on 26th, police said. The impact sent the eastbound vehicle into the bus shelter, where it caught fire.
Police said they believe excessive speed played a role in the crash, but they have yet to say which driver was suspected of speeding.
Star Tribune
Supreme Court will hear arguments over the law that could ban TikTok in the US if it’s not sold
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear arguments next month over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok in the United States if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell it.
The justices will hear arguments Jan. 10 about whether the law impermissibly restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The law, enacted in April, set a Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok to be sold or else face a ban in the United States. The popular social media platform has more than 170 million users in the U.S.
It’s unclear how quickly the high court might issue a decision.
