President Joe Biden is visiting the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota Monday for his “Investing in America” tour.

President Joe Biden tours Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minn., Monday, April 3, 2023.

President Joe Biden shakes hands with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as he arrives at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Joe Biden hugs Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as he is greeted at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaste)

President Joe Biden shakes hands with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as he arrives at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FRIDLEY, MN — President Joe Biden is set to speak at the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minnesota Monday afternoon. His speech is scheduled to begin at 2:35 p.m. central.

Biden is visiting the factory as part of his administration’s “Investing in America” tour, which aims to promote his economic agenda, including a “clean energy boom.”

Cummins manufactures generators and other power generation equipment. In October 2022, the Indiana-based company announced it will begin manufacturing electrolyzers in the United States for the first time.

“Electrolyzers help produce clean hydrogen that is essential for reducing emissions and creating good-paying jobs in manufacturing and industrial sectors, and play a critical role in clean energy supply chains that until now have largely been produced overseas,” the White House said in a statement.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose district includes Fridley, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Tina Smith, Gov. Tim Walz, and other Democrats will help welcome the president to Minnesota.

• A New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump in connection with a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels made by his former lawyer Michael Cohen.
• Trump is the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime.
• Trump is expected to turn himself in to authorities next week, his attorney said.

Trump slams indictment, calls indict ment ‘political persecution and election interference’

A New York grand jury voted Thursday to indict former President Donald Trump in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, his lawyer told CNBC.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told NBC News that Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office early next week. Trump is expected to be arraigned Tuesday, according to Susan Necheles, another Trump lawyer. The former president is tentatively expected to appear before Judge Juan Merchan after 2:15 p.m. that day in Manhattan, two officials told NBC News. That is subject to change.

Trump is the first former president to be charged with a crime, a development that will reverberate around the country. The indictment comes as he is the leading contender seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed the indictment Thursday evening.

“This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal. Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected,” said a spokesperson for Bragg’s office.

The number of charges Trump faces in the indictment was not disclosed Thursday. And it was not known whether the indictment was limited to conduct related to the payment to Daniels or if it also includes conduct surrounding a separate hush money payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal by the publisher of The National Enquirer. Trump’s lawyers told CNBC on Thursday night they didn’t know the charges.

Trump was caught off guard by the news of the indictment, according to various media reports. He blasted the decision, calling it “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.” Just Wednesday, he had said in a social media post that he had “gained such respect for this grand jury.”

Trump was filming his TV show, “Celebrity Apprentice,” at the time of that purported tryst, and was married to his current wife, Melania Trump, who had given birth to their son, Barron, a few months earlier.

The Trump Organization in business records described the reimbursement to Cohen as a legal expense.

Falsifying business records is normally a misdemeanor under New York law, but can be elevated to a felony if the misstatement was done to cover up another crime.

Trump denies having sex with Daniels or committing wrongdoing of any kind.

“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” Trump said in a statement. “The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.”

Tacopina and Necheles said: “President Trump has been indicted.  He did not commit any crime.”

“We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in Court,” the defense lawyers said.

The indictment, which will be prosecuted by Bragg’s office, is the first in what could end up being several criminal cases against Trump, the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Trump is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in two separate criminal cases. One is related to his efforts to overturn the Electoral College victory of President Joe Biden in the 2020 election as he made false claims of widespread ballot fraud in the popular vote that year. The other probe is focused on Trump’s removal of government records from the White House, and whether he obstructed justice by keeping them at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, for more than a year as government officials sought their return.

A state prosecutor in Atlanta is also separately investigating Trump and a number of his allies over their attempt to get Georgia officials to reverse his loss to Biden in the state in 2020.

Cohen, in a statement to NBC News, said: “For the first time in our Country’s history, a President (current or former) of the United States has been indicted. I take no pride in issuing this statement and wish to also remind everyone of the presumption of innocence; as provided by the due process clause.”

“However, I do take solace in validating the adage that no one is above the law; not even a former President,” Cohen said. “Today’s indictment is not the end of this chapter; but rather, just the beginning. Now that the charges have been filed, it is better for the case to let the indictment speak for itself. The two things I wish to say at this time is that accountability matters and I stand by my testimony and the evidence I have provided to” the Manhattan district attorney, he said.

• Trump lands in New York as he prepares to turn himself in on indictment in hush money case
• Trump lawyers oppose cameras at arraignment, warn of ‘circus-like atmosphere’
• Trump campaign raised $7 million since indictment, aide says
• Lawmakers aim to train more truck drivers, ease supply chain issues through bipartisan bill
• Biden trumpets his economic plans in Minnesota after Cummins announces $1 billion investment

The Manhattan prosecution of Trump comes more than four years after Cohen, who loyally served him for years before that, turned on Trump and began cooperating with federal, state and local law enforcement officials in New York.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal criminal charges that included campaign finance violations for both the Daniels payment and a separate payment he facilitated to McDougal, the former Playboy model, to buy her silence over an affair she said she started with Trump in 2006.

The Federal Election Commission in 2021 fined the publisher of The National Enquirer $187,500 for “knowingly and willfully” violating campaign law by paying McDougal a $150,000 “catch and kill” fee to buy her story and bury it ahead of the 2016 election.

Michael Cohen, former attorney for former U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives to the New York Courthouse in New York City, U.S., March 13, 2023. 

Cohen said the payments were designed to protect Trump’s chances in that election, when he faced Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump escaped punishment from the FEC.

Cohen met 20 times with investigators from the DA’s office before testifying over two days last week before the grand jury in Manhattan Criminal Court. That panel began meeting in late January and heard testimony from multiple witnesses before Cohen.

Trump and a number of Republican elected officials have accused Bragg, who is a Democrat, of pursuing the investigation to harm him politically.

Walmart will close 15 stores in 11 states and Washington, DC.

• Walmart will close 15 stores in 11 states and Washington, DC.
• The company is also winding down its two remaining pickup locations in Illinois and Arkansas.
• Hundreds of workers will also be laid off at five ecommerce fulfillment centers across the US.

Walmart is closing 15 retail locations across the US this year, citing poor financial performance at each.

The recent closures follow a trend of Walmart closing a handful of stores across various states each year, with the company saying that the stores are “underperforming” without providing specifics.

In addition, the retail giant is ending its nine-year experiment with two pick-up only locations in Illinois and Arkansas, and confirmed it would lay off hundreds of workers at five ecommerce fulfillment centers across the US.

Here are the latest store closings:

Arkansas:

• 3701 SE Dodson Road, Bentonville (Pick-up only concept)

DC:

• 99 H Street NW, Washington

Georgia:

• 1801 Howell Mill Rd NW, Atlanta
• 835 M.L.K. Jr Dr NW, Atlanta

Florida:

• 6900 US Highway 19 North, Pinellas Park (Neighborhood Market concept)

Hawaii:

• 1032 Fort Street Mall, Honolulu

Illinois:

• 17550 South Halsted St, Homewood
• 12690 S. Route 59, Plainfield
• 840 N. McCormick Blvd, Lincolnwood (Pick-up only concept)

Indiana:

• 3701 Portage Road, South Bend

Minnesota:

• 1200 Shingle Creek Pkwy, Brooklyn Center

New Mexico:

• 301 San Mateo Blvd. SE, Albuquerque

Oregon:

• 4200 82nd Ave. SE, Portland
• 1123 N Hayden Meadows Dr., Portland

Texas:

• 24919 Westheimer Pkwy, Katy (Neighborhood Market concept)

Washington:

• 11400 Hwy. 99, Everett

Wisconsin:

• 10330 W. Silver Spring Dr, Milwaukee

Whether you’re staying in the Twin Cities or are looking for a road trip, check out some of the events happening across Minnesota over St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

ST PAUL, Minn. — After two years of pared-down St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Twin Cities is about ready to burst with the luck of the Irish.

ST PAUL, Minn. — After two years of pared-down St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Twin Cities is about ready to burst with the luck of the Irish.

St. Patrick’s Day falls on Thursday, March 17, which is when Minneapolis and St. Paul will hold their annual parades, but there are plenty of events that are scheduled through the weekend.

R.I.P.

Grant is the only person to have played in the NFL, CFL and NBA

Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant has died at the age of 95, the Minnesota Vikings announced on Saturday morning.

Grant coached in the NFL and in Canada for 28 seasons. His teams appeared in the playoff 20 times with him at the helm.

He piloted the Vikings to an impressive four Super Bowls, although he never won the Lombardi Trophy.

Hall of Fame head coach Bud Grant acknowledges the crowd before speaking as the Minnesota Vikings honor their 1969 team during halftime of the game against the Oakland Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 22, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that legendary Minnesota Vikings head coach and Hall of Famer Bud Grant has passed away this morning at age 95,” the Vikings said in a statement Saturday. “We, like all Vikings and NFL fans, are shocked and saddened by this terrible news.”

Grant became the first person to be enshrined in the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He compiled a career regular-season record of 158-96-5 in the NFL. 

Born Harry Peter Grant Jr., “Bud” joined the Navy during World War II after he graduated from high school. He went on to play football at Naval Station Great Lakes. His coach, Paul Brown, would go on to co-found the Cleveland Browns.

Head Coach Bud Grant of the Minnesota Vikings walks off the field after an NFL football game circa 1970 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Grant was the head coach of the Vikings from 1967 to 1983 and in 1985. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Grant went on to have an outstanding athletic career at Minnesota, where he excelled in football, basketball and baseball. He was later drafted by the NBA’s Minneapolis Lakers and the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Grant took up basketball at first and won a championship with the Lakers. He averaged 2.6 points per game over two seasons in the NBA.

Head Coach Bud Grant of the Minnesota Vikings stands with his team prior to the start of an NFL football game circa 1977.  (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

When Grant made the change to football, he played on defense and offense for the Eagles. He finished his NFL career with 56 catches, 997 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. In 1952, he joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL.

After four season with the Blue Bombers, Grant was offered the head-coaching position in 1957. He went back to Minnesota in 1967 after a decade of coaching in the CFL. In 1969, the Vikings won the NFL championship and advanced to Super Bowl IV but ultimately suffered a 23-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

When the 1983 season came to a close, Grant decided to retire. He was briefly lured out of retirement in 1985 when the Vikings had a disappointing 3-13 season under coach Les Steckel.

Despite never winning a Super Bowl, the legacy Grant left on the Minnesota Vikings is unmatched.

Billboard has called Sylvia Robinson “Hip-Hop’s First Godmother,” but she still never seems to get the credit she deserves for cultivating the genre of rap. In the summer of 1979, Robinson conceived and produced the single “Rapper’s Delight.” This took a culture of music that thrived on the street and helped to foster it into an art form that was suddenly commercially viable. The song became the first rap single to dominate the radio and the charts, hitting number 36 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and becoming the first rap record to sell over one million copies.

History Today, History Tomorrow…

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