Midwest
Wife of Harris' VP pick sets social media ablaze with 'bizarre' admission about 2020 riots
The wife of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate set social media ablaze Tuesday after an unearthed clip of her describing her actions during the 2020 Minneapolis riots went viral.
Gwen Walz is Minnesota’s first lady and the wife of Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was picked by Vice President Harris to be her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket.
A pivotal part of Walz’s gubernatorial record was his handling of the death of George Floyd in the state in 2020. Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests about race and police brutality.
TIM WALZ, KAMALA HARRIS’ NEW RIGHT-HAND MAN, ECHOES LEFT-WING CRIME POLICIES
Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz and an image of the 2020 riots in Minnesota. (Getty Images)
“Again we had more sleepless nights during the riots,” Walz’s wife told KSTP in July 2020. “I could smell the burning tires, and that was a very real thing. And I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening.”
Conservative commentators expressed astonishment at Gwen Walz’s remarks after the clip started going viral on social media.
“What might you call this? Bizarre? Abnormal? Peculiar? Eccentric? Offbeat? Quirky?” Noah Rothman, a senior writer at the National Review Online, said. “Gotta be a word that describes reveling in the catharsis represented by the torching of other people’s property.”
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk described the comments as “weird.”
“Profoundly disturbing,” journalist Abigail Shrier said. “We’re going to need to learn a lot more about the Walzes.”
Dustin Grage, the president of a conservative Minnesota-based consulting firm, said the comments were “bizarre,” adding, “Her [Walz’s] daughter also coordinated with rioters to let them know that the National Guard would not be activated one night.”
“Everything you need to know about leftist elites can be found in this short clip,” Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said on X. “Tim Walz’s wife sat by the window enjoying the smell of poor neighborhoods burning during the Floyd riots. She did everything but pull out a fiddle.”
Gov. Walz was criticized for his handling of the riots. Conservatives accused him of sitting on his hands as the state was engulfed by riots.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, applauds her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as he speaks at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the first day of their Battleground State Tour. (Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images)
As a result of the delayed action, hundreds of businesses across Minneapolis and St. Paul were devastated by the destruction and had to ask their local government for help recovering on top of what they lost during pandemic-related closures.
First lady Walz said she was aware Minnesota was under national scrutiny at the time.
“With COVID-19, the entire state was watching what Tim did,” Ms. Walz said. “But with Mr. Floyd’s death, it was the entire country and the whole world looking at and watching what we did here in Minnesota in response to that.”
RIOTING, LOOTING LINKED TO GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS LEAVES TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION ACROSS AMERICAN CITIES
That record is now again under scrutiny as Walz is catapulted into the national spotlight, with Republican critics taking aim at how both Walz and Harris handled the 2020 crisis.
“Minnesota was ground zero for the BLM riots of 2020,” Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “Harris egged it on, and Walz sat by and let Minneapolis burn.”
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate and running mate of former President Trump, poked at Walz’s 2020 record on Tuesday, calling his addition to the Democratic ticket “an interesting tag team.”
“If we remember the rioting in the summer of 2020, Tim Walz was the guy who let rioters burn down Minneapolis,” he said of the riots that began in Minnesota in response to the death of Floyd while being arrested in Minneapolis. “And then Kamala Harris was the one who bailed the rioters out of jail.”
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Illinois
Gates Explains How Injuries are Holding Mizzou Back After Loss to Illinois
ST. LOUIS — Dennis Gates’ eyebrows raised when he heard the word choice of “struggles” in a question regarding a recent drop off in perimeter offense for Missouri that was evident in a loss to Illinois.
“You said ‘struggles’?” Gates asked.
“You know, I can’t wait to get healthy as a team,” Gates said to answer the question.
With three of its players injured, Missouri suffered a 91-48 loss to No. 20 Illinois on Monday. It’s the lowest-scoring performance in any game in the Gates era. It’s the lowest-scoring output for Missouri in the series since a matchup in the 1943-44 season.
There’s no way to sugarcoat how poor of a performance it was for the Tigers. The cracks in the foundation that have been popping since the season opener at Howard are continuing to break through even more.
But Gates believes returning those thee players will begin to patch up those cracks and get Missouri closer to its full potential.
“It’s like pieces of puzzles,” Gates said. “Our entire team has been put together a certain way. … So we have guys playing playing well, but playing out of position due to our injuries, and ultimately, I’m excited about getting healthy. You cannot ask our players to do more than what they’ve done. I take it on my shoulders, as the leader, as the head coach, it’s on me. This game is on me.”
The most impactful of the absences has been guard Jayden Stone, who has now missed each of the last seven games with a hand injury. He provided a scoring spark off the bench, including from the perimeter, when he was healthy. His initial timeline for return set him to return to the court for SEC play at the latest.
Meanwhile, forward Trent Pierce has missed the entirety of his junior season so far with an undisclosed injury. No specific timeline has been given for his return.
Additionally, Missouri faced another surprising hit against the Fighting Illini with forward Jevon Porter missing the game with a leg injury.
Between Stone and Porter, Missouri is missing a combined average of 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Plus the length of Pierce, who started in 19 games last season.
Gates believes Missouri is hurting not only from the absence of those three players alone, but also from the domino effect it is having on the lineups. Specifically with the offensive spacing that Stone brings that creates opportunities for other players on the offense.
“When you lose a guy (Pierce) that has not played this season and he’s a starter in the SEC, that’s a (missing) advantage with length, shooting ability,” Gates said. “Jayden Stone, the same way, look at his percentage. You have to have both Stone and (Jacob) Crews in the game to open up things.”
The injuries have forced other players into roles not originally expected, stretching the roster thin.
“But in the meantime, in the process of getting healthy, we got to have guys fill in the blanks and be utility guys and do something that we may not have planned for you to do,” Gates said. “Some may take the opportunity as a way to get on the court, some may not.”
Gates specifically highlighted wanting the guys who were being asked to do more to do a better job of defending the 3-point line, where Illinois shot 45% from. He also highlighted wanting center Luke Northweather to be more agressive offensively in Porter’s absence.
Monday night’s absence for Porter meant more opportunities for true freshman forward Nicholas Randall, who appeared in 13 minutes. He grabbed two rebounds in that time.
But Porter and Pierce’s absence was still painfully obvious on the glass. Missouri was out-rebounded 43-24 and gave up 29 second-chance points while only scoring five of their own, a key disparity in the loss. The dominance on the glass for Illinois was crucial to the Fighting Illini going on a 14-5 run to end the first half. Gates attributed the second-chance points to Illinois being able to execute consistently on the opportunities and Missouri getting out of rotation too often.
“The second-chance points that we gave up, they executed on every single one of them, and that’s what hurt us,” Gates said. “That’s what ignited their run. And I just thought our guys at that point, hit a wall.”
Gates isn’t letting the injuries, nor Monday’s blowout loss affect his perception of what the team is capable of. With optimism that at least Stone and Porter could return at the start of SEC play, he’s hoping his team will look closer to the original picture he had in mind.
“I think our team is a good team, man,” Gates said. “We can win games as we have, without certain guys, and we’ll continue to piece it together.”
That piecing together will need to come quick. In non-conference play, Missouri did not earn any sort of notch for a possible bid in the NCAA Tournament. Though the Tigers finish the slate 10-3, Missouri went 1-3 against high-major opponents in that. The loss to Illinois was one that draws even more questions on what the Tigers are truly capable of this season.
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Indiana
Indiana faces Milwaukee, aims to halt 5-game skid
Milwaukee Bucks (11-18, 11th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (6-23, 14th in the Eastern Conference)
Indianapolis; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bucks -1; over/under is 220.5
BOTTOM LINE: Indiana will try to stop its five-game slide when the Pacers take on Milwaukee.
The Pacers are 2-5 against opponents in the Central Division. Indiana has a 3-14 record in games decided by 10 or more points.
The Bucks are 3-4 against Central Division opponents. Milwaukee ranks fifth in the NBA averaging 15.0 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 39.9% from downtown. AJ Green leads the team averaging 3.1 makes while shooting 46.8% from 3-point range.
The Pacers average 109.7 points per game, 7.2 fewer points than the 116.9 the Bucks allow. The Bucks average 15.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.4 more made shots on average than the 11.6 per game the Pacers give up.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Bucks won the last matchup 117-115 on Nov. 4, with Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring 33 points in the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pascal Siakam is averaging 23.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and four assists for the Pacers. Ethan Thompson is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Ryan Rollins is averaging 17 points, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals for the Bucks. Kevin Porter Jr. is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pacers: 3-7, averaging 108.9 points, 41.1 rebounds, 23.1 assists, 7.3 steals and 6.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.9 points per game.
Bucks: 3-7, averaging 108.0 points, 39.2 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.1 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.7 points.
INJURIES: Pacers: Obi Toppin: out (foot), Ben Sheppard: day to day (calf), Isaiah Jackson: day to day (head), Aaron Nesmith: out (knee), T.J. McConnell: day to day (knee), Tyrese Haliburton: out for season (achilles).
Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo: out (calf), Taurean Prince: out (neck).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Iowa
States including Iowa, Nebraska reach $150M settlement with Mercedes-Benz
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – A coalition of states including both Iowa and Nebraska reached a nearly $150 million settlement with Mercedes-Benz.
The states allege over 200,000 diesel vehicles were illegally equipped with devices designed to cheat on emissions tests between 2008 and 2016.
Mercedes allegedly hid the existence of these devices from regulators and people purchasing the vehicles.
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