TGIF, Minnesota! We have another foggy morning, especially in central Minnesota. A dense fog advisory is in effect for much of the region until 11 a.m. this morning. The gray, overcast weather this week continues through the weekend, but there's no snow/rain in sight. Highs today will be in the 20s; Saturday in the mid-20s to lower 30s; Sunday near 30. Get the latest on the Updraft weather blog. A police officer died after being injured "while physically engaging with" rioters during Wednesday’s violence, U.S. Capitol Police confirmed Thursday night. In addition to invading the House and Senate chambers, the pro-Trump mob attacked police "with metal pipes, discharged chemical irritants, and took up other weapons against our officers," Capitol Police said. Officer Brian D. Sicknick is the fifth person to die because of the melee. Rep. Ilham Omar says Trump is "imminent threat" to American democracy, joining other Democrats in Congress to unseat the president.
The Minnesota congresswoman is among several Democrats pushing an impeachment resolution against Trump, while some others call for invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. In her interview with MPR News host Tom Crann Thursday, Omar said "we must impeach and remove him from office immediately so he cannot threaten our democracy and the world any longer and hold public office ever again." In the meantime, Trump finally condemned the rioters, without acknowledging his role in the violence. He posted a new video on Twitter after more than 24 hours since the Capitol mayhem, calling the event a "heinous attack." He also pledged that the rest of his time in the Oval Office will be focused on "ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power." While he said he now accepts Congress' certification of Joe Biden's victory, he didn't mention the president-elect's by name or explicitly state he had lost. With new case counts and positivity rates inching up, Minnesota's health officials are cautiously watching for any "bump" driven by holiday gatherings. New case counts are rebounding after bottoming out last week -- even after accounting for backlogs and reporting issues over the holidays. "So far we've averaged 2,300 new cases each day over the past seven days. And that's up from about 1,800 a day during the week between Christmas and New Year's,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Thursday. Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:5,572 deaths (44 newly reported)429,570 positive cases (1,612 newly reported), 408,510 off isolation (95 percent)5.8 million tests, 3 million people tested (about 62 percent of the population)6.2 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning)At 11 a.m. today, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and Rep. Dean Phillips will join our political editor Mike Mulcahy and other political observers for a special Politics Friday call-in show. They will discuss the Capitol violence and its aftermath this week, and hear listener questions and opinions during the live show. You can join the conversation by 651-227-6000 during the 11 a.m. hour. Stay tuned. 🎧 Tune in to stay informed and connected. Here's what's coming up on MPR News today. — Jiwon Choi, MPR News | 