On Sunday, the White House joined France, Spain and Portugal in expressing support for Brazilian President Lula da Silva amid an ongoing riot at the capitol in Brasilia. Hundreds of supporters of Brazil’s right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s Congress, Supreme Court and Planalto Presidential Palace on Sunday to protest the election of Lula and calling for a military intervention to overthrow him, earning the rebuke from world nations. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Twitter: “The United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil. President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the president of Portugal, spoke by telephone with Lula after the riot broke out. A readout provided by the Portuguese government said: “The President of the Republic considers that these acts, in addition to being unconstitutional and illegal, are inadmissible and intolerable in a democracy, reinforcing Portugal’s support and total solidarity with the legitimately elected power in Brazil.”
Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, tweeted a message of support to Lula and said Spain “strongly condemns the assault on the Brazilian Congress … We support the democratic government elected at the polls. We condemn the actions of groups that oppose legitimate results.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that the “will of the Brazilian people and the democratic institutions must be respected” and added that Lula “can count on the unwavering support of France.”
President Joe Biden traveled to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday in his first trip to the border since taking office, in order to assess enforcement operations at the U.S.-Mexico border. The trip comes just days after the White House announced new restrictions on asylum seekers amid record numbers of migrants attempting to cross into the U.S., and amid repeated Republican criticism of the president for not traveling to the southern border sooner.
During his visit, Biden assessed enforcement operations at the busiest port in El Paso — the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry — which recently received $600 million through the bipartisan infrastructure law. He was joined on his visit by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Texas Democratic Reps. Veronica Escobar, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez; and community and business leaders, including El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego. Biden also visited the El Paso County Migrant Services Center and met with community leaders, including those of religious groups and nonprofit organizations that have helped manage the surge of migrants.
Biden was also greeted by the members of Congress and other officials, including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who handed the president a letter demanding he take further enforcement actions at the border. According to a copy of the letter provided by the Texas governor’s office, the demands included that Biden work to detain, prosecute and remove more migrants under current federal laws and resume border wall construction, which the president largely halted after taking office.
Editorial credit: Matt Smith Photographer / Shutterstock.com
Disney+ shared the news that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is coming to the streaming service this February. Disney+ announced in a press release that The Marvel superhero film will start streaming Feb. 1st, along with sharing new key art and a TV spot trailer for the movie. The film opened in theaters in November 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be the 16th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to become available to stream in IMAX Enhanced on Disney+. The film is a sequel to the 2018 movie Black Panther and follows the leaders of Wakanda as they fight to protect their nation after the death of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Angela Bassett star.
Netflix announced that Season 3 of “Outer Banks” will premiere on February 23, comprised of the 10-episodes.
An official synopsis reads: “After losing the gold and fleeing the Outer Banks, Season 3 finds the Pogues washed ashore on a desert island that, for a brief moment, seems like an idyllic home. Officially deemed ‘Poguelandia,’ the island’s newest residents spend their days fishing, swimming, and reveling in the carefree lifestyle of their temporary dwelling. But things quickly go south for John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope, JJ, and Cleo when they find themselves once again caught up in a race for the treasure, quite literally running for their lives.”
‘Outer Banks’ Season 3 is executive produced by Jonas Pate, Josh Pate and Shannon Burke.
The Knights of Columbus 1216 held its annual free throw contest this afternoon where several participants ages 9-14 shot 15 throws to score as many as possible, with the winners of each group going to a regional competition in Ada in February.
Pictures of the contestants and winners can be seen below-
The Northwest Regional Corrections Center reported the following arrests.
Anfernee Jerell Saulsberry, 28, of Grand Forks, for 4th-Degree Assault of a Peace Officer
The Crookston Fire Department (CFD) responded to the following calls over the weekend –
1/8/2023
At 9:37 p.m., the CFD responded to the 100 block of Hurlbut St for a report of a car on fire. Upon arrival, the CFD extinguished the fire. The fire was contained to the vehicle, and there was substantial damage. Once the area was deemed safe, the CFD cleared the scene.
1/9/2023
At 4:45 a.m., the CFD responded to the 600 block of N Broadway for an alarm activation, as well as a hot electrical smell. Upon arrival, the CFD found a transformer was overheating in the building. The CFD shut down power to a portion of the building and turned over control to staff. There was no danger present. The CFD then cleared the scene.
The Crookston City Council will meet on Monday at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
The meeting will begin with the council conducting the Oath of Office for newly elected City Council Members Henry Fischer, Tim Menard, and new Crookston Fire Department Chief Shane Heldstab.
The Consent Agenda will include the approval of the City Council Minutes from their meeting on December 27 and the approval of the City of Crookston Bills and Disbursements in the amount of $614,921.09. It will also include ordering the Preparation of Preliminary Engineers Report for the 2023 Street Improvements at Houston Avenue, Alexander Street, Euclid Avenue, Guthrie Street, and the Blacktop Downhill Portion of the Alley off Elm Street. It will also include approving the Council Committee Composition, a resolution to designate Depositories for Public Funds for 2023. It will also include appointing Tanner Holten as the City Attorney for 2023, the City’s Auditing Firm, and City Engineer Richard Clauson for 2023. The final items on the Consent Agenda will be to approve the 2023 Gas Fitting and Cement Licenses, the 2023 License Renewals, and the Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority’s (CHEDA) Agenda for their Regular Meeting on Tuesday, January 17, at 7:00 a.m.
The Regular Agenda will include a resolution to approve the City of Crookston as a sponsoring agency for the Crookston Connectivity Plus project and agree to assume responsibility for the Operation and Maintenance related to the project. The final item on the agenda will be to approve funding to replace the Crookston Sports Center compressor.
The next City Council meeting will take place on Monday, January 23, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
Tracy and Chris Forseth have officially become the new owners of the Crookston Paint, Glass, & Flooring Store on the corner of South Main Street and West Robert Street.
The couple officially purchased on Tuesday, January 3, after working with the previous owners since August to ensure the proper finances were completed and the succession process was done properly. While the store has been owned for fifty years by members of the Oien family, the family has now given the business away to the Forseths, whom they have known for quite some time. “About 14 or 15 years ago, Kay (Oien) had actually reached out to me asking if I was interested in coming to work for them as I had won over my degree. I have a background in retail merchandising and management, with a concentration in interior decorating, and minors in art and business administration,” new owner Tracy Forseth explained. “Kay reached out to me, and at that time, I really liked my job since it had great benefits, and I wasn’t looking forward to changing careers at that time. However, it was always in the back of my head, and she posted an ad on Facebook, so I reached out to her and asked her what it all entailed. She said it wasn’t quite the right fit for you, and she asked me if I was ever interested in potentially buying if they were going to sell. Their family chose not to take over, and Kay has known me since I was an infant, so it was one of those things that just worked out the way it needed to.”
With the store officially changing ownership, the Forseths announced they have plans on some changes they plan to make to the store but will spend the first year “getting their feet wet” before making any significant changes to the store and its sales to make things easier for the customers and the employees. “With my degree and interior decorating concentration, we do plan on bringing in some type of services in the decorating design world at some point in time. I’m not quite sure when that’ll happen. There’s a lot of legwork that goes behind that as well. We’re going to work on getting a new point of sales system up and running to get a little bit more ease of transactions, invoicing, and statements for those that do have accounts within the company already that purchase with us. That’s our first goal,” Tracy Forseth explained. “Expect to see some changes with how things are arranged within the store. We do plan on freshening up and making things look a little bit different, but like I said, we don’t want to change a lot in the first year here.” With the transition of the business still very new, the Forseths have been working in close collaboration with the Oiens, as they are finishing the month-end and year-end tasks and had assured the Forseths they would be within reach if they need any help. Tracy has been working with the Oiens since November to learn more about the bookkeeping aspects of the store, and she and her husband plan to attend several seminars to gain more product knowledge of their products to give the best service they can.
While the Forseths are using the first year to get their feet wet and get used to their new business, the couple stated they have plans for a few special sales around the spring or early summer to celebrate becoming its new owners. “We don’t plan on doing anything right in the beginning. We’re hoping, maybe this spring or early summer, that we’ll have some type of re-grand opening as new owners,” Tracy Forseth explained. “The store’s been around for over 80 years and with the last 50 of those being family owned. It’s a new experience, and we’re hoping to continue it being family owned, and maybe one day, we’ll have our kids be able to take over too.” Forseth noted they are planning to keep their installers and the employees from the previous ownership, and they would begin looking for more employees in the near future.
On January 8, 2023, at about 9:36 a.m. officers of the Grand Forks Police Dept. were dispatched to Red River High School in reference to a deceased person in the parking lot. Upon arrival, officers found an adult male deceased in the parking lot on the southeast side of the school. The Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Police Dept. was called out to investigate as well as the UAS team.
At this time there does not appear to be any foul play or danger to the public. The body was transferred to UND Forensics. The investigation is continuing by the Grand Forks Police Department. The Police Department received assistance from Altru Ambulance and the Fire Department
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