Star Tribune
Hearing on GOP election contest of DFLer Tabke’s victory set for Monday
But questions about 21 missing absentee ballots swirled during the certification. Scott County officials became aware Nov. 7 of a discrepancy between the number of absentee ballots recorded and the number tabulated in two Shakopee-area precincts.
That prompted the county to investigate the whereabouts of 20 missing ballots cast in the 10th Precinct, which Tabke won by almost 200 votes, results posted to the Secretary of State’s website show. Officials opted not to look into a missing ballot cast in another precinct after noting it’s not uncommon for one voter to check in and not vote, according to a preliminary investigation.
That initial audit found the 20 missing absentee ballots were likely thrown away inside their inner envelopes before being tabulated. Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar blamed the episode on “human error.”
Zoll, Tabke’s attorney, said in court filings that it’s “extraordinarily unlikely” the inclusion of 20 missing ballots from a precinct Tabke won would change the final result.
Paul’s attorney, Reid LeBeau, is asking the court to prohibit the Scott County Auditor and Secretary of State from certifying Tabke’s victory, declare the 54A race invalid and determine a vacancy exists, and recommend the House refuse to seat Tabke.
If Tabke appeals Perzel’s decision, the matter would go directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Court decisions would then be forwarded to the Minnesota House for a legislative hearing, according to state statute.
Star Tribune
Derek Chauvin can test George Floyd’s heart tissue samples as he appeals his federal civil rights conviction
Derek Chauvin’s legal team will be permitted to examine heart tissue and fluid samples taken from George Floyd’s autopsy for an appeal of the former Minneapolis officer’s federal civil rights conviction based on a medical theory that Chauvin did not cause Floyd’s death.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson on Monday granted a motion from Chauvin to inspect the evidence as part of a claim that a heart condition, and not Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck, killed Floyd during a May 2020 police encounter that sparked widespread civil unrest.
Chauvin, who is serving state and federal prison sentences in excess of 20 years, is seeking to overturn his 2022 federal civil rights conviction over “ineffective assistance of counsel.” Chauvin is arguing that his original defense attorney, Eric Nelson, failed to inform him that a forensic pathologist based in Topeka, Kan., told Nelson he did not think Chauvin caused Floyd’s death.
Chauvin added that Nelson failed to seek testing of heart tissue samples that Dr. William Schaetzel believed would show evidence of a heart condition called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
A person takes photographs of a mural in memory of George Floyd with flowers and other memorial items below, on a wall of the Cup Foods store at the corner of Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street, Friday, May 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of Floyd in Minneapolis police custody have spread to other areas across the United States. (Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP) (Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times/The Associated Press)
“Given the significant nature of the criminal case that Mr. Chauvin was convicted of, and given that the discovery that Mr. Chauvin seeks could support Dr. Schaetzel’s opinion of how Mr. Floyd died, the Court finds that there is good cause to allow Mr. Chauvin to take the discovery that he seeks,” Magnuson wrote in Monday’s order.
Manguson wrote that Chauvin’s defense team may take discovery of any histology slides of Floyd’s heart, tissue samples of his heart, tissue blocks containing heart tissue from Floyd and recut sections of all autopsy tissue slides relating to his heart.
Chauvin’s lawyers are also allowed to inspect and make copies of any photographs taken of Floyd’s heart and they can take quantities of certain fluids for testing.
Nelson no longer represents Chauvin. Chauvin’s appeal is now being handled by Robert Meyers, an assistant federal defender in Minneapolis.
Star Tribune
Damaged Russian ships spilled an estimated 3,700 tons of oil in Kerch Strait, state media says
MOSCOW — An estimated 3,700 tons of low-grade fuel oil has spilled into the Kerch Strait after two Russian ships were seriously damaged by stormy weather, Russian state media reported Monday.
The two ships, the Volgoneft 239 and the Volgoneft 212, were transporting roughly 9,200 tons of mazut, a heavy, low-quality oil product. Social media footage from the scene showed a black liquid rising among the waves.
Preliminary estimates say that 3,700 tons of mazut leaked into the sea, Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti reported, citing an unnamed source. In a statement, the leader of Russia’s nearby Krasnodar region, Gov. Veniamin Kondratev, said that the oil had not yet reached the shore.
An emergency rescue operation was launched Sunday after the Volgoneft-212 tanker ran aground and had its bow torn away in storm conditions, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said. One sailor in the 13-man crew died, officials said.
A second tanker, the Volgoneft-239, was also left damaged and adrift with 14 crewmembers on board. It later ran aground 80 meters from shore, close to the port of Taman in Russia’s Krasnodar region, from where the sailors were later rescued.
Russian officials confirmed the oil spill Sunday, but said that experts were still working to assess its full impact and extent.
The Kerch Strait separates the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia and is an important global shipping route, providing passage from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
It has also been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. In 2016, Ukraine took Moscow to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, where it accused Russia of trying to seize control of the area illegally. In 2021, Russia closed the strait for several months.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump will join SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at his Florida home on Monday to announce that the company is planning to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years.
That’s according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity before the planned announcement. Trump is set to speak at his Mar-a-Lago resort at 11 a.m., marking the first time he will address reporters since he won the election last month.
Japanese technology group SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia. The announcement will come days after Trump vowed to expedite federal permits for energy projects and other construction worth more than $1 billion.
In a post on his Truth Social site Tuesday, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States ”will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.”
”GET READY TO ROCK!!!” he added.
The announcement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
