Good morning. A swift police response to quell vandalism and looting in Minneapolis last night. RNC key takeaways, hurricane Laura slams into the Gulf coast. Summer's last hurrah? 🌤️ Mixed sun & clouds. High 85. Dew point 65. Wind NE 5-10 mph.
An emergency curfew expired at 6 a.m. Thursday in Minneapolis after looting and vandalism in the city’s downtown. Police and community leaders tried to tamp down false rumors about a police shooting, after a man who police say was a homicide suspect shot himself.
RNC night 3: Vice President Mike Pence stressed a law and order message as protests over racism and policing continue. Republicans also worked to shore up support from suburban women and contrast visions of the future.
Two major news stories — mounting national unrest about racial injustice after another shooting of a Black man by police in Wisconsin, and Hurricane Laura, which is threatening "unsurvivable"storm surge — on the third night of the Republican National Convention.
Vice President Mike Pence spoke to a live audience at Fort McHenry in Baltimore as the keynote speaker and loyal partner of the president's. While he touched on both developments, his law-and-order message quickly pivoted to attack Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the Democratic leaders who threaten basic freedoms and an economy recovering from a coronavirus pandemic.
The toll from COVID-19 on Minnesota continued, as the Health Department reported 14 deaths Wednesday, the highest death count reported in a week. Two of those deaths were Minnesotans in their 30s from Hennepin County.
The deaths of two patients in their 30s is a relative rarity for the pandemic, as 1.22 percent of fatalities have been under age 40. A spokesperson from the Health Department said neither patient appeared to have underlying health problems.
-- Michael Olson, MPR News @publicmic | 