Daily Digest: Franken won’t resign
Good morning, and happy Monday. Here's the Digest.
1. Sen. Al Franken will not resign following allegations of sexual misconduct, a spokesman said Sunday. Franken has kept a low profile in the wake of the allegations. He's spending time in Washington with family and he will stay there through the Thanksgiving holiday. Franken is doing "a lot of reflecting," according to his staff. Franken has continued to be the subject of numerous news stories and analysis. He's been lambasted by fellow comedians. And on Sunday, PBS and WETA announced Franken will not appear substantially in David Letterman's Mark Twain Prize special airing Monday night. Representatives said that PBS will air an updated version of the previously filmed event in which Franken will only be visible at the end of the show when the cast joins Letterman on stage. (MPR News)
2. A group of 14 women who worked for Sen. Al Franken in Washington and Minnesota issued a statement to the press stating that Franken hadn't mistreated any of them. “Many of us spent years working for Senator Franken in Minnesota and Washington,” their statement read. “In our time working for the senator, he treated us with the utmost respect. He valued our work and our opinions and was a champion for women both in the legislation he supported and in promoting women to leadership roles in our office.” (Star Tribune)
3. New details have surfaced about the behavior of Republican Rep. Tony Cornish, with sources describing conduct to MPR News ranging from unwelcome sexual advances to unwanted flirtatious contact with staff, colleagues and lobbyists. The information — gathered by MPR News through interviews with 25 people and a review of messages Cornish sent — shows the eight-term lawmaker routinely blurred boundaries between his legislative work and his pursuit of female companionship. Many would agree to interviews only if they were granted anonymity because they feared that going public could bring retribution from Cornish, R-Vernon Center, and other lawmakers. Most are still involved in state politics. (MPR News)
4. More than a year after the federal government completed its landmark prosecution of 11 young Twin Cities men — the largest terrorism conspiracy caseever charged in the United States — records show that the FBI is still probing the possibility of homegrown terrorists in Minnesota. The cases include a 35-year-old father of four allegedly enlisted to help edit a popular ISIS propaganda magazine, a Sauk Rapids hacker reported to the FBI by fellow hackers troubled by his boasts of jihadist connections, and a south metro jujitsu instructor who helped rationalize suicide attacks for a man since convicted on terrorism charges in Indiana. (Star Tribune)
5. Women from across the country gathered over the weekend at the Millennium Hotel conference center in downtown Minneapolis with one goal in mind: to run for office. "Now is our moment and our time and it's a really exciting movement to get women who want to give back to their community in seats of power," said Faith Winter, a training director with the non-partisan organization Vote, Run Lead and a representative in the Colorado legislature. She's been training women to run for office since 2005, but said over the last year and a half, she's seen a "sea change." Other organizations have reported increases in female candidates. Emily's List, which supports Democratic political candidates, said more than 20,000 women have reached out to its organization about running for office since last November. (MPR News)
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