The Daily Digest: Forecast day
Good morning!
In Minnesota
State political leaders hope to see a new economic forecast that will show a budget surplus approaching $1 billion. But while the new numbers this morning will set the tone for budget talks starting next month, leaders in both political parties are dampening hopes that an upbeat economic forecast will lead to more spending. (MPR News)
When the state budget forecast is released, it will bear the fingerprints of a soon to retire bureaucrat who is virtually unknown outside the Capitol but is renowned by government insiders for his deep knowledge of the state's finances. (Pioneer Press)
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
The Republican Party of Minnesota has filed a complaint with the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board that alleges the DFL party and Gov. Mark Dayton’s re-election operation illegally coordinated during the campaign. (MPR News)
The Veterans Affairs office of inspector general announced Wednesday that it has begun investigating alleged misconduct at a Hibbing VA outpatient clinic. (Star Tribune)
MNsure on Wednesday said it was cutting by about one-third the number of people it expects will enroll in private health plans through the exchange for 2015. (MPR News)
National Politics
Sparking protests in several cities, social media outrage and a U.S. civil rights probe, a New York City grand jury declined to indict a white police officer in the death of a black man put in a chokehold after selling untaxed cigarettes. (USA Today)
Texas and 16 other states filed a federal lawsuit challenging President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, arguing that he violated his constitutional duty to enforce the laws and illegally placed new burdens on state budgets. (New York Times)
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tussled over the meaning of the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act Wednesday. The issue is whether the law allows companies to suspend pregnant workers, while allowing other workers with temporary disabilities to remain on the job. (NPR via MPR News)
Spending on health care in the United States grew in 2013 at the lowest rate since the federal government began tracking it in 1960, the Obama administration said. (New York Times)
The House voted overwhelmingly to renew more than 50 expired tax breaks for individuals and businesses through the end of this year. The measure will add more than $40 billion to the deficit and Minneapolis DFL Rep. Keith Ellison was the only member from Minnesota to oppose it. (Politico)
President Obama and his closest aides have determined that their best chance of success in the next two years will depend on improving relationships with Capitol Hill Democrats and not the Republicans who are about to take full charge of Congress in January. (Washington Post)