Daily Digest: Klobuchar targets Facebook

Good morning, and welcome to the start of another work week. Here's the Digest.

1. Klobuchar wants answers from Facebook. Lawmakers in the United States and Britain demanded on Sunday that Facebook explain how a political data firm with links to President Trump’s 2016 campaign was able to harvest private data from more than 50 million Facebook profiles without the social network alerting those whose information was taken. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, went so far as to demand that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, appear before  the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain “what Facebook knew about misusing data from 50 million Americans in order to target political advertising and manipulate voters.” (New York Times)

2. After passing on a run for governor Lori Swanson focuses on A.G. job. In an era when Democratic attorneys general have increasingly taken the lead in opposing Republican President Donald Trump's agenda, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson says she keeps doing her job the same way regardless of who's running the federal or state government.  "I get involved in things where I think it's in Minnesota's interest to be involved,'' Swanson said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I have approached the job of attorney general as being one that enforces the law and stands up for the Constitution regardless of who the governor might be, regardless of who the president might be.'' (AP)

3. Newly released documents provide a behind the scenes look at the state's unsuccessful pitch for Amazon's second headquarters. Bloomington pitched a monorail near the Mall of America, an architect wanted to construct a “lid” over the intersection of I-94 and Minnesota 280, and a worker with an electric utility knew of some vacant land, according to recently released public records. In the end, 18 sites were included in a roughly 100-page pitch to Amazon. That actual pitch remains secret.  St. Paul leaders did not pitch the vacant site of the former Ford plant in the Highland park neighborhood, although on the day Amazon announced its plan, one DEED official said in an email to a pair of Greater MSP staffers: “We could be bold and recommend the Ford site … regardless of what the Mayor wants … .” (Pioneer Press)

4. Medicaid work requirement could raise the cost of the program. Republican legislators who are proposing work requirements for Minnesota’s Medicaid recipients say it would promote personal responsibility and save taxpayer dollars, but doctors and county officials who work in the system predict that people would lose needed health care in exchange for savings that are likely to disappoint. The state Medicaid program has ballooned to a cost of $5 billion annually. Hennepin County estimates, though, that enforcing a work requirement would require hiring up to 300 additional caseworkers — raising the possibility that bureaucratic costs would erase any savings. “This isn’t fixing the barrier to people getting jobs,” said Dr. Nathan Chomilo of Minnesota Doctors for Health Equity. “This is putting red tape around a program that we know helps children and families.” (Star Tribune)

5. The tax debate begins at the state Capitol. Gov. Mark Dayton set up a push-and-pull on Minnesota taxes Friday, laying out a proposal offering lower- and middle-income taxpayers a break but only if some businesses and tobacco sellers pay more. The recommendations are part of a supplemental budget plan from Dayton, which will be heavily dissected by lawmakers in coming weeks. The Republicans in charge of the Legislature are certain to balk at a tax plan that reverses some breaks they adopted just last year. It's all in the context of a $329 million projected surplus and a need to make some tax changes to adjust to the recent federal overhaul. His administration said his proposal would provide an average tax cut of $117 for almost 2 million taxpayers, and $160 for 329,000 others. (MPR News)

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