Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday. As expected, Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote, and any anti-Trump movement fizzled. In fact, it was Hillary Clinton who lost a few electoral votes. Let’s go to the Digest:
1. Minnesota’s 10 Electoral votes went to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. But that was only after an elector was replaced following his vote for Bernie Sanders instead of the candidate who won the state’s popular vote. It added a little drama to a process that usually has little. (MPR News)
2.Minnesota is falling short of the emission reduction targets lawmakers set a decade ago to address climate change, but there’s little consensus how or even if the state should change course. Republicans will control both the House and Senate when the Legislature meets in January. They’ll have to find common ground with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton on both budget and policy, and that could leave little room for progress on climate change. (MPR News)
3. Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt says his relationship with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is damaged. Maybe you could tell that last week when the two couldn’t agree on a special session. The feud could have a big impact on the Legislature’s ability to get things done next year, when a new state budget has to pass. Dayton will be facing Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate, and there are a lot of issues on the table. (AP via Star Tribune)
4. German government officials are calling it an act of terrorism. A truck slammed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens of others.The incident was reminiscent of the truck assault in Nice in August, which killed 86 people and was claimed by the Islamic State. Police said they had taken a suspect into custody who matched a description of the truck driver, and a dead body was found in the passenger side of the vehicle. (New York Times)
5.A Turkish policeman fatally shot Russia’s ambassador to Turkey on Monday in front of a shocked audience at a photo exhibit. Pacing near the body of his victim, the assassin appeared to condemn Russia’s military role in Syria, shouting: “Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria!” The leaders of Turkey and Russia said the attack in Ankara, the Turkish capital, was an attempt to disrupt efforts to repair ties between their countries, which have backed opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. (AP)
