The Daily Digest
Good morning to everyone from a hot and humid Washington, DC.
The first female justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court has died, a mayoral candidate in Minneapolis wants to double the city's tree cover and super PACs are preparing for the 2016 presidential election more than three years before voters head to the polls.
In Minnesota
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Rosalie Wahl, the first woman to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court, died Monday at 88. (MPR News)
Minneapolis mayoral candidate Mark Andrew wants to double the number of trees planted in the city every year to 10,000. (MPR News)
Minnesota will seek another $40 million in federal money to operate the new online insurance marketplace, MNsure in 2014. (MPR News)
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and other members of the Capitol Preservation Commission gave their blessing today to the first phase of a $272 million renovation of the Capitol building. (MPR News)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx visited the site of the I-35W bridge collapse Monday to underscore the importance of maintaining the nation’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure. (MPR News)
2016 Watch
DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar is headed to a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa next month, which is raising eyebrows about a possible bid for the White House. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke to an Iowa political scientist about profile-raising trips like these. (MPR News)
Long before any candidates announce their presidential bids, political operatives for super PACs aligned with both parties are already tracking potential contenders, aiming to build robust research files that can be used against the opposition. (Washington Post)
Congress/Washington
A leading Republican in the U.S. Senate indicated Monday that he will not block President Obama’s nomination of Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones to be the permanent head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. (Star Tribune)
The U.S. House holds two days of hearings about the renewable fuel standard. Corn ethanol is a major component of the standard and farm lobbyists are defending the fuel even as the policy has come under bipartisan scrutiny and soaring crop prices. (National Journal)
U.S. House Republicans feel growing pressure to steer firmly right on key issues, thanks to changes in primary-election politics that are complicating Congress' ability to solve big problems. (AP via Yahoo News)
Half of all Americans — and 83 percent of Hispanics — say they would be disappointed if the House does not pass legislation instituting a path to citizenship. But Republican rank-and-file oppose such a provision, making it a central sticking point in GOP deliberations over the legislation. (Washington Post)
The political action group formed out of the remains of President Barack Obama’s campaign plans to pressure lawmakers on immigration during the upcoming congressional August recess. (Politico)