Star Tribune
John Legend to lead a Prince tribute before Gov. Tim Walz speaks at the DNC
John Legend and Sheila E. will cover Prince music Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention as part of a tribute to vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
Legend, a 12-time Grammy winner, performed “Nothing Compares 2 You” during a 2020 Grammys salute to the late Minnesota artist. For a 2022 video promoting “The Voice,” he talked about his admiration for the superstar.
“The first time I was starstruck was when I met Prince at an after-party after he has performed at Madison Square Garden,” Legend said. “Who wouldn’t be starstruck while meeting Prince?”
Sheila E., who was a close friend to Prince, frequently contributed on his songs and was the opening act on the Purple Rain tour. She recently complained about Paisley Park not allowing her to shoot footage in Studio B during an unannounced visit on June 7.
“I’ve been in that place from the beginning to just about the end,” she told the Star Tribune last month. “I’ve recorded so much music there. I lived there off and on. I slept there. My clothes were made there. My percussion and drums are in there. I want to get my gear back.”
The Legend-Sheila E. collaboration will take place in prime time, kicking off a block of speeches praising the Minnesota governor. It’s uncertain just what the pair has cooked up, but “Let’s Go Crazy” could be heard during an early afternoon rehearsal.
The pair aren’t the first musicians to contribute to the Chicago convention. Jason Isbell and Mickey Guyton sang on Monday, but James Taylor was scratched because of time. CNN reports that Pink will perform on Thursday.
Americans are likely to set another travel record as they take to the roads, skies and rails for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. An estimated 119.3 million people are expected to make a trip of 50 miles or more, on par with pre-pandemic levels and surpassing the previous mark set in 2019, according to AAA.
“Minnesotans should expect the roads, airports and public transportation to be busier than normal as people take special vacations, visit loved ones and hit the road for holiday plans,” said Brynna Knapp, spokeswoman for AAA Minnesota.
The crush will start Friday and with weekends on either side of the mid-week holidays spill over into the first few days of the new year.
By far, most travelers will drive to their destination, and AAA expects 2.5 million more motorists on the roads this year compared to 2023. With 107 million going by car, travelers should brace themselves for congestion and longer trips, with the worst traffic in metro areas expected on Sunday, said Bob Pishue with the traffic analytics firm INRIX.
Midday travel could also be tough going, said Pishue, who advised motorists to hit the road before lunchtime or after 7 p.m.
“If schedules allow, leave bright and early or after the evening commute,” he said. The best days to drive are on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
While roads will be busy, those who drive will find gas prices at or below $3 a gallon in most of the Midwest, including Minnesota, where the average price for a gallon was going for $2.87 on Wednesday, about the same as last year, AAA’s nationwide survey of filling stations said.
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the busiest day at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints will be the day after Christmas when 50,000 travelers are anticipated to pass through screening. The busiest day ahead of Christmas will be Friday with 45,000 people expected to be screened, said spokesman Jeff Lea.
Minnesota National Guard personnel in active duty status still have to report to work to maintain military operations, but part-time members and their units will not conduct previously scheduled training, drills or exercises during the shutdown.
More than 300 corrections officers at four federal prisons across Minnesota will be working without pay. Minnesota’s four federal district court offices would also operate as usual.
While most government benefits will continue, things like benefit verification letters, updates to earnings records and replacement of Medicare cards will have to wait until the government reopens.
The state’s one national park — Voyageurs in northern Minnesota — along with several national monuments and other sites could temporarily lose staff, but closures are decided on a case-by-case basis. The same applies to national forests, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as other federal lands, including national wildlife refuges.
About a year ago, Congress narrowly averted a shutdown during a spending standoff in the House. The last time government spending lapsed and there was a partial shutdown was in December 2018 over disagreements about funding Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico.
That partial shutdown last 34 days, the longest on record, but it didn’t affect the entire government because Congress had already passed some spending bills.
Star Tribune
Trump’s words of opposition stop a bipartisan budget deal in its tracks with Musk’s help
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” he wrote. He also called it ‘’one of the worst bills ever written.‘’
Sometimes Musk amplified false claims, such as the idea that the legislation included $3 billion for a new football stadium in Washington. In reality, the legislation would transfer ownership of the land from the federal government to the city, paving the way for eventual development.
Musk appeared emboldened by the experience.
‘‘The voice of the people was heard,‘’ Musk wrote. ‘’This was a good day for America.”
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said the fallout would be Republicans’ fault.
‘‘You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow,” he wrote on X.
