The Daily Digest: Education debates heat up
Good morning!
In Minnesota
Gov. Mark Dayton and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk appear to have mended fences and appeared together to promote Dayton's transportation plans and attack a GOP proposal. (MPR News)
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Minnesota House are starting to release some specifics on what they intend to do to fund the state’s transportation system. (MPR News)
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Minnesota Senate Republicans want to dismantle Minneapolis Public Schools and create six smaller school districts in an attempt to close one of the state's largest achievement gaps. (Star Tribune)
Minnesota House Republicans have passed their top education policy bill of the session, but its prospects for becoming law appear dim. Lawmakers voted 70 to 63 — largely along party lines — in favor of the measure, which makes changes in teacher seniority and licensing rules. (MPR News)
Minnesota’s sex offender program is moving a record number of rapists, pedophiles and other convicted offenders through treatment and toward supervised release into the community, a top official testified as the state presented its side in a landmark trial challenging the program’s constitutionality. (Star Tribune)
National Politics
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is putting off a vote on an Iran bill amid confusion and backlash about his endgame. (USA Today)
Senate Democrats intensified their push for a vote on the confirmation of Loretta E. Lynch as attorney general, arguing that her nomination should not be held up because Republicans are angry with President Obama over executive action on immigration. (New York Times)
After two days of silence, Hillary Clinton weighed in on the controversy surrounding her use of a personal email address during her tenure as secretary of state, saying she had asked the State Department to release her emails. (Politico)
Scores of U.S. lawmakers are converging on tiny Selma, Alabama, for a large commemoration of a civil rights anniversary. But their ranks don’t include a single member of House Republican leadership — a point that isn’t lost on congressional black leaders. (Politico)
Congressional Republicans have long been on an elusive hunt for a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, but a group of them, including Rep. John Kline, think they've come up with the solution. (MinnPost)
And finally...Sledders, 1; Capitol Hill Police, 0 (Washington Post)