Star Tribune
Democrats draw up an entirely new anti-Trump battle plan
“It’s a combination of fight where you need to fight, and that includes everything — legal action, a bullhorn, peaceful protests and civil disobedience,” Murphy said of his approach. “And then at the same time, we can’t close off the opportunity to find common ground.”
Some of the first maneuvering by top Democrats began this past week, when Pritzker and Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado announced the formation of a group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy. Its unveiling followed several days of behind-the-scenes drama, as several fellow Democratic governors declined to join the group, at least for now.
A draft news release listed six other governors as members of the coalition led by Pritzker and Polis. But four of them — Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — declined to join, according to people briefed on the discussions. Govs. Tony Evers of Wisconsin and Josh Green of Hawaii were also named on the draft news release, but neither has yet agreed to join the group.
Alex Gough, a spokesperson for Pritzker, said that the group had been working with 20 governors’ offices but that “not all of these governors wish to be named publicly at this time for understandable reasons, including the potential threats states are facing.”
Murphy said he had been approached to join the Pritzker group, as well, but declined, explaining that he was focused on New Jersey until his term ends in early 2026. He said he had also declined to run to lead the Democratic National Committee after holding a series of conversations about entering that race, which is expected to have its first candidates enter by early next week.
The election to lead the party, expected to be held sometime in early 2025, will be an insular contest decided by the 447 members of the DNC. Those who have had conversations with party members and prominent Democrats about running include Ken Martin, the Minnesota Democratic chair; Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic chair; Michael Blake, a former New York state Assembly member; Mitch Landrieu, a former Biden administration official who also served as mayor of New Orleans; and Stacey Abrams, who twice ran for governor of Georgia.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement, though he maintained that their encounter was consensual, according to a statement from his lawyer Saturday and other documents obtained by The Washington Post.
Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said that Hegseth was “visibly intoxicated” at the time of the incident, and maintained that police who were contacted a few days after the encounter by the woman concluded “the Complainant had been the aggressor in the encounter.” Police have not confirmed that assertion.
Hegseth agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the woman because he feared that revelation of the matter “would result in his immediate termination from Fox,” where he works as a host, the statement said.
The statement came after a detailed memo was sent to the Trump transition team this week by a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser. The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Post, alleged he raped the then-30-year-old conservative group staffer in his room after drinking at a hotel bar. The person who sent the memo to the transition team did not respond to requests for comment from The Post.
The accuser, whose identity has not been made public, filed a complaint with the police alleging she was sexually assaulted days after the Oct. 7, 2017 encounter in Monterey, California, but the local district attorney did not bring charges. Police confirmed that they investigated the incident. After she threatened litigation in 2020, Hegseth made the payment and she signed the nondisclosure agreement, his attorney said.
The detailed, four-page memo about the incident has set off debate among senior Trump transition officials, but so far Trump has stood behind Hegseth. Spokesman Steven Cheung earlier this week said: “President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.”
The documents from Hegseth’s attorney and the memo to the transition team from someone who said she is a friend of the woman and was “present and involved” in the case tell drastically different stories about what happened seven years ago at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa – although both sides agree that Hegseth had a sexual encounter with a woman there.
Hegseth, whose second wife had filed for divorce the previous month, had traveled to Monterey to speak to a California Federation of Republican Women conference. Afterward, according to his lawyer, he went to the hotel bar with a group of attendees.
The Gophers women’s hockey team contained longtime WCHA rival Minnesota Duluth, winning 3-2 Saturday afternoon to sweep a series at Amsoil Arena. The No. 3 Gophers haven’t lost to the No. 4 Bulldogs since the NCAA regional final in mid-March 2022.
Peyton Hemp, Gracie Graham and Emma Connor scored for the Gophers (10-3-1, 6-3-1 WCHA), with Abbey Murphy getting two assists. UMD’s Kamdyn Davis and Nina Jobst-Smith scored for the Bulldogs (6-55-1, 5-4-1 WCHA).
Gophers freshman goalie Hannah Clark had 31 saves; UMD’s Eve Gascon had 35.
UMD freshman defender Davis scored her first career goal off a backhanded pass from sophomore winger Grace Sadura. Davis skated in from Clark’s left side and lofted it to the right corner in the first five minutes of the opening period. Freshman defender Graham whipped the puck past Gascon midway through the period to tie the game. Peyton Hemp scored a power-play goal in the final two minutes of the first period, poking the puck in low on a rebound of a shot by Nelli Laitinen. The Gophers closed the period with a 2-1 advantage.
UMD’s Sadura left the game near the end of the second period after taking a major misconduct penalty for making contact with an opponent’s head. The Bulldogs were able to kill the penalty to close the period.
Gophers junior winger Connor scored midway through the final period, putting a rebound past Gascon. The Bulldogs had a 5-3 power-play advantage when Jobst-Smith sent the puck sailing high past Clark in the final five minutes of play. UMD pulled Gascon in the final minute but wasn’t able to tie the game.
The Gophers eased past the Bulldogs 4-1 in Friday’s opener, helped by two goals by Ella Huber, one shorthanded, the other an empty-netter, and two assists by Natalie Mlynkova. UMD’s Gascon had 48 saves, tying a personal best.
The Gophers host No. 8 St. Cloud State for a home-and-home series next weekend. The Bulldogs host unranked Bemidji State.
Dassel-Cokato went 79 yards in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, scored on a 5-yard run by Kobee Thielen with 51 seconds left and tacked on a two-point conversion to rally past Pequot Lakes 29-26 in the first Class 3A semifinal game Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Pequot Lakes built a 19-point lead early in the third quarter, then tried to cling to that advantage, but Dassel-Cokato’s rushing attack proved too potent.
The Patriots (11-1) scored the first time they touched the ball, on a 13-pass from Mike Oseland to Bryar Nordby for a 6-0 lead.
Dassel-Cokato (11-1) responded two drives later, Thielen scoring on a 1-yard fourth-down run. Thielen had carried the ball on each of the two previous runs and appeared to have scored on each, but officials didn’t see it that way. Thielen’s score gave Dassel-Cokato a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.
It was the last time the Chargers had the lead until the final drive.
Pequot Lakes, making its first state tournament appearance since 2017, leaned on the arm of Oseland to build that 19-point advantage. Oseland went 15-for-22 in the game for 196 yards and three touchdowns.
Dassel-Cokato rallied in the second half, getting rushing touchdowns of 30 and 2 yards from running back Caleb Smock, cutting the Pequot Lakes advantage to five, 26-21, early in the fourth quarter.
