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Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
18-year-old was trying to ‘show off' before crash that killed friend, MN cops say
An 18-year-old told police he was celebrating his high school graduation when he crashed his car, killing his friend, Minnesota authorities said. Izak Schermerhorn was driving recklessly on May 27 before his car flipped into a ditch and fatally pinned Blake Unger, according to a probable cause statement filed in Otter Tail County. Deputies responded to the crash in Bluffton Township at about 10:45 p.m., and Unger was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement read. A deputy noticed 'deep ruts in the road where it appeared the driver had been aggressively fishtailing back and forth along the gravel road before rolling,' according to the statement. The driver, Schermerhorn, had a 'noticeable odor of alcohol' on him, the deputy said. He told the deputy he had 'three or four' Mike's Hard Lemonades that night and said 'his life was over and all for a couple of drinks,' the statement said. He failed a sobriety test, authorities said. Schermerhorn said he picked up Unger earlier just to drive around a little, because 'he wanted to show off the sound of his exhaust because he modified his catalytic converter,' according to the deputy. 'He intentionally had been sliding around the road before the crash and was not able to control the vehicle when it went into the ditch.' 'He further stated that he had abstained for almost a year prior due to issues with alcohol but decided to celebrate because he was graduating from high school,' the deputy said. Schermerhorn is facing three counts of vehicular homicide, records show. Unger and Schermerhorn both attended New York Mills High School and had recently graduated, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. Unger was an avid athlete, competing in wrestling, baseball and football, the outlet reported. He was also homecoming king during the fall semester. 'We can learn more from sorrow than we can from laughter. All of our hearts are broken … our sadness is gut wrenching - there's a hole, something is missing. I CAN'T IMAGINE this being magnified by infinity as it is for Blake's entire family,' Dinee Dykhoff, a New York Mills teacher, said in a Facebook post. 'Blake was so kind to everyone... big smile (matched his heart and his personality)... so strong... humble... exceptional athlete.' Bluffton Township is a roughly 160-mile drive northwest from Minneapolis.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Preserving the George Floyd protest murals: L.A. arts and culture this week
This Memorial Day weekend marks the five-year anniversary of George Floyd's death. Floyd's murder under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer sparked a protest movement that reached the streets of cities across the nation. In Minneapolis, residents, activists and artists painted murals and messages on plywood boards used to protect storefront windows during the unrest. More than 1,000 of those pieces of art have been collected and preserved by the organization Memorialize the Movement. The Minnesota Star Tribune recently ran a fascinating profile by Dee DePass and Alicia Eler of MTM's founder and executive director, Leesa Kelly, along with two other community activists, Kenda Zellner-Smith, who created the group Save the Boards, and Jeanelle Austin, who started George Floyd Global Memorial, now called Rise and Remember. Together, the three women have dedicated themselves to ensuring the Floyd protest art remains visible and accessible to the public. A large portion of their time is spent on fundraising to pay for the costly storage of the boards. According to the Star Tribune, the rent on Memorialize the Movement's warehouse is $3,500 a month, and the group spends another $1,500 on utilities and staff. Fundraising for this kind of work may become more challenging with the Trump administration's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion — not to mention the possible elimination of the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities. These headwinds have not dimmed the spirits of the women, who regularly stage exhibitions of the protest murals in places such as Minnesota's Carleton College, Normandale Community College, Franconia Sculpture Park and Roseville Lutheran Church, as well as Watermill Center in upstate New York, For more information on Memorialize the Movement, click here. I'm arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt taking a moment to reflect and remember. Read on for this week's arts news. Haven't yet made plans for Memorial Day? Go to a museum! Here's a quick sampling of places that are open on the holiday: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. See the new NHM Commons and the dinosaur Gnatalie. The NHM's sister operation at the La Brea Tar Pits & Museum also is open, same hours. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in L.A. will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can take in the new exhibition 'Director's Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho,' centered on the filmmaker behind 'Parasite,' 'Mickey 17' and 'Snowpiercer.' Make a day of it and walk over to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena will be open its usual Monday hours, noon to 5 p.m. Times critic Christiopher Knight offers this exceptionally helpful guide to the collection. Unless it's Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day, the California Science Center in Exposition Park is always opens, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free admission to the galleries. Bring kids to the just-opened interactive exhibition 'Game On! Science, Sports & Play' or the return of 'Dogs! A Science Tale.' The Huntington in San Marino will be open. 'Don Bachardy: A Life in Portraits' (read Knight's praise for the show) and the Betye Saar site-specific installation 'Drifting Toward Twilight' are on view, and temperatures in those fabulous gardens should be lovely. Times theater critic Charles McNulty spent time in New York talking with Kimberly Belflower about her Tony-nominated play, 'John Proctor Is the Villain,' starring Sadie Sink from the Netflix hit 'Stranger Things.' The play, about students in Georgia reading Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible,' 'casts a mysterious spell that I'm still processing a month later,' McNulty writes. Meanwhile, back in L.A., McNulty praises a lovely revival of playwright Terrance McNally's musical adaptation of the 1994 film 'A Man of No Importance.' The film starred Albert Finney as a Dublin bus conductor obsessed with Oscar Wilde and amateur theater. The musical team behind 'Ragtime' — Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) — adds whimsical dimensions to the story. Of particular note, McNulty writes, is the 'graceful direction of the company's producing artistic director, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott,' who 'finds freedom in Wilde's iconoclastic example.' Arnold Schoenberg arrived in L.A. after fleeing Nazi Germany in the mid-1930s, and the composer eventually found himself in a meeting with MGM producer Irving Thalberg about scoring 'The Good Earth.' This encounter provided the genesis for Tod Machover's opera, 'Schoenberg in Hollywood,' which staged its West Coast premiere at UCLA's Nimoy Theater. Times classical music critic Mark Swed was present and wrote this review, noting at the end that despite all of his contributions to the city's cultural ecosystem, Schoenberg does not have his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Theatre Producers of Southern California, a trade group representing nonprofit theaters, is raising alarms about Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed $11.5-million cut to the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, which was only recently instituted after years of efforts by struggling arts organizations. 'We understand that the state faces a challenging budget deficit and are prepared to support you in making difficult decisions,' board vice president Beatrice Casagran said in a statement. 'However, the proposed clawback of 100% of the state's entire investment in the Payroll Fund will eradicate six years of bipartisan legislative efforts to address cascading negative impacts that have led to dire economic instability for workers in the live arts.' The Actors Equity Assn., under its president, Brooke Shields, also opposes the proposed cuts. 'At a time when the arts are under attack in Washington, D.C., it's deeply disappointing to also be fighting funding cuts again in Sacramento. California, which now ranks 35th in the nation in arts funding, cannot be a leader in the arts if it continues to cut arts funding year after year,' Shields said in a statement. Concerned voters can ask their senators to sign on to the letter opposing the cuts by state Sen. Ben Allen to the Senate Budget Committee. They also can ask their assemblymembers to sign onto the letter by Assemblyman Matt Haney to the Assembly Budget Committee. Los Angeles Opera is staging a costume shop sale for the first time in more than a decade, and the public is invited. Expect handmade outfits from shows such as 'Carmen,' 'The Magic Flute' and 'Macbeth.' A news release about the event describes the offerings: 'From 16th-century finery to fantastical creations, this sale includes complete costumes in all sizes, along with wigs, accessories, shoes, jewelry, masks, headpieces and more, each piece a work of art designed by visionaries such as Julie Taymor, Constance Hoffman, Gerald Scarfe and Martin Pakledinaz.' The fun gets going in the lobby of Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 9:30 a.m. on June 21 and lasts until 3 p.m. The Washington Post reports that former Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter is defending the finances of the organization prior to President Trump's takeover. Rutter's leadership has been under attack by the center's new interim director, Ric Grenell, who accused her and other former executives of 'fraud' during a speech at the White House last week. 'I am deeply troubled by the false allegations regarding the management of the Kennedy Center being made by people without the context or expertise to understand the complexities involved in nonprofit and arts management, which has been my professional experience for 47 years,' Rutter said in a statement to the Post. — Jessica Gelt The headlines out of Cannes this year feel a bit subued, if not bleak. But leave it to Times film critic Amy Nicholson to open her latest Cannes diary with a Samoyed walking the red carpet in a ruffled gown. And because I love him and I miss him, I also point you to The Times' former Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, Justin Chang, who has this stellar coverage.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Target's problems are escalating
Target was already facing a very public revolt from some of its most loyal customers. Now it's warning about tariffs. The company said Wednesday that sales fell last quarter, driven in part by customer backlash to Target's reversal on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. Target also cut its guidance as President Donald Trump's tariffs push up costs for the company. Target's sales at stores open for at least a year tumbled 3.8% last quarter. Fewer customers visited Target and spent less when they shopped. Target also cut its financial outlook, a sign Target's problems won't go away quickly. The company expects sales to decline by low single-digits this year. The company announced that it established a multi-year 'Enterprise Acceleration Office' to speed up growth plans, and it reshuffled its executive team. 'We faced several additional headwinds this quarter, including five consecutive months of declining consumer confidence, uncertainty regarding the impact of potential tariffs, and the reaction to the updates we shared on (DEI) in January,' Target CEO Brian Cornell said on a call with analysts Wednesday. Cornell warned of 'massive potential costs' from tariffs, but said the retailer could offset them by diversifying suppliers, adjusting products – and hiking prices, if necessary. 'We have many levers to use in mitigating the impact of tariffs and price is the very last resort,' he said. Target's stock (TGT) dropped 7% during pre-market trading Wednesday. Target's stock has declined 37% over the past year. Cornell acknowledged in a recent email to staff that it has been 'a tough few months' between the retail economy 'headlines, social media and conversations that may have left you wondering,' the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. (Target confirmed the email to CNN.) Cornell said Target's culture and commitment to staff has not changed. 'I recognize that silence from us has created uncertainty, so I want to be very clear: We are still the Target you know and believe in,' Cornell said. Boycotts over Target's DEI reversal hurt Target's business. On January 24, days into Donald Trump's presidency, Target announced it was eliminating hiring goals for minority employees, ending an executive committee focused on racial justice and making other changes to its diversity initiatives. Target said it had a new strategy called 'Belonging at the Bullseye' and the company remained committed to 'creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests and communities.' Target also stressed the need for 'staying in step with the evolving external landscape.' But the decision angered supporters of diversity and inclusion policies, who felt blindsided by Target. Target had been a champion of diversity initiatives and LGBTQ rights. Customers online protested Target's decision and Anne and Lucy Dayton, the daughters of one of Target's co-founders, called the company's actions 'a betrayal.' Target faced a 40-day consumer boycott during Lent led by Rev. Jamal Bryant, a prominent Atlanta-area megachurch pastor, over its DEI rollback. Protestors picketed outside Target headquarters in Minneapolis and other Black leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton supported boycott efforts. Target came under more pressure than other companies that rolled back DEI policies because Target had gone further in its DEI efforts, and it has a more progressive base of customers than those competitors. On CNN on Wednesday evening, Bryant said that though Target was the first business targeted, it wouldn't be the last. He said he is aware of more than 17 companies that have rolled back DEI initiatives. 'Another company is going to be coming on the radar the next couple of weeks,' he said. Target was a leading advocate for DEI programs in the business world in the years after George Floyd was murdered by police in the company's home city of Minneapolis in 2020. Target also spent years building a public reputation as a progressive employer on LGBTQ issues. Tariffs and a consumer slowdown put even more pressure on Target. The chain stocks more nonessential merchandise compared to competitors such as Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST). More than half of Target's merchandise is discretionary and is at risk as consumers reign in spending. Around 50% of Target's products are also imported from overseas, including an estimated 25% from China, leaving Target in a 'challenging position,' Steven Shemesh, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note Wednesday. Tariffs may force Target to either absorb added costs, hurting its profit, or raise prices on consumers. Home Depot said Tuesday that it plans to keep most of its prices stable, despite Trump's tariffs driving costs up. But tariffs may cause Home Depot to increase prices on select items and eliminate some product lines entirely. Walmart said last week that Trump's tariffs are 'too high' and it will raise prices on some items, prompting an angry response from Trump. 'Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,' Trump said over the weekend. 'Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!' CNN's Ramishah Maruf contributed to this story. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
American Military News
17-05-2025
- Business
- American Military News
Adding to UnitedHealth woes, WSJ reports Justice Department has launched criminal investigation
UnitedHealth Group stock was sliding again Thursday as the market took in a report in the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal fraud investigation of Medicare billing practices, the latest development in a string of allegations about the Eden Prairie-based company. In a story posted late Wednesday, the Journal quoted sources familiar with the matter who said the investigation is overseen by the health care-fraud unit of the Justice Department's criminal division, and has been ongoing since at least last summer. Investigators are focusing on the company's business practices in Medicare Advantage health plans, although the exact nature of the allegations are unclear. The Eden Prairie-based health care said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune Wednesday night that it's not been notified by the Justice Department of any such investigation and called the story 'deeply irresponsible.' 'We stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program,' the health care company said. UnitedHealth Group stock fell 14% in morning trading Thursday, marking the second major downward movement this week after the company abruptly announced Tuesday that CEO Andrew Witty was stepping down, to be immediately replaced as chief executive by Chairman Stephen Hemsley. The news Wednesday followed reports earlier this year that the company's Medicare Advantage business was being investigated in a civil probe, after it had been singled out in a federal watchdog report for the questionable use of diagnosis data to boost payments from the government program for seniors by billions of dollars. Allegations that insurers including UnitedHealthcare, the massive health insurance division at UnitedHealth, have gamed Medicare's risk-rating system in order to wrongly inflate their federal payments are not new. The company is still fighting a whistleblower lawsuit first filed in 2011 by an insider named Benjamin Poehling, who made similar allegations. But investigative news reports over the past year, combined with widespread public anger at the company that was piqued following the killing of a top company executive on a public sidewalk in New York City, have contributed to the sense that UnitedHealth Group — a giant player in the nation's health care economy and the largest firm in Minnesota — has become a company under siege. Hemsley put a brave face on the challenges in an internal message to employees earlier this week, which was obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune. 'I am optimistic about our future since many of the issues standing in the way of achieving our goals are within our capacity to resolve,' he wrote. 'I know we will approach them with humility, rigor and urgency, guided as always by our mission to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone.' Medicare Advantage is a program in which the government pays private health insurers a per-member, per-month fee to provide medical benefits to seniors. These payments are increased based on 'risk-adjustment' data submitted by insurers, so they are rewarded financially for managing care for people with serious health problems. Historically, insurers faced criticism for shunning patients with high medical costs. In early 2017, the federal government joined a whistleblower lawsuit from a former UnitedHealth Group employee in the Twin Cities who alleged, among other things, that the nation's largest insurer had wrongly received excess Medicare revenue by reviewing medical charts to boost payments without also making data corrections that would have saved the government money. The litigation was initially filed under seal by former employee Poehling in 2011. In March, a court-appointed special master recommended the lawsuit not be allowed to move forward after finding no evidence to support key allegations about the company's alleged gaming risk-adjustment payments. The Justice Department in April said it wanted to push forward with the case, despite the special master's finding of a 'complete failure' of evidence. UnitedHealth Group stood out from its peers in an October 2024 federal watchdog report that questioned how Medicare Advantage insurers used diagnosis data to boost Medicare Advantage payments by billions of dollars. The company was the biggest recipient of the add-on funds based on 'questionable' practices for 2023, according to the report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. UnitedHealth Group insisted the OIG report was wrong. The watchdog agency published similar findings three years earlier, which UnitedHealth also rejected at the time as misleading and inaccurate. OIG's reporting, plus coverage over the past year from the Wall Street Journal, prompted U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to demand answers from UnitedHealth Group on billing practices in a letter he sent in February. Last July, the Wall Street Journal published an investigation that alleged UnitedHealthcare and other private insurers in Medicare Advantage made hundreds of thousands of questionable diagnoses that triggered an extra $50 billion in taxpayer-funded payments. UnitedHealth Group pushed back against the newspaper's reporting that summer as well as a series of federal watchdog reports suggesting the company has stood out from others in its use of questionable practices to boost risk-adjustment payments in Medicare Advantage, the privatized version of the government health insurance program for seniors. Then in February 2025, the Journal reported that the DOJ had initiated a separate civil fraud inquiry into UnitedHealth's Medicare billing practices. The company at the time insisted it was not aware of any such investigation. 'We are aware, however, that the Journal has engaged in a yearlong campaign to defend a legacy [Medicare] system that rewards volume over keeping patients healthy and addressing their underlying conditions,' the company said at the time. 'Any suggestion that our practices are fraudulent is outrageous and false.' In addition, UnitedHealth Group is confronting an unprecedented set of challenges. Just this week, the company announced the return of longtime company leader Stephen Hemsley as chief executive, a move meant to restore confidence with investors amid a steep decline in the value of United shares. The stock has plunged with financial missteps under the leadership of former CEO Andrew Witty, who remains as a senior advisor. Meanwhile, the company's reputation was significantly tarnished amid public outrage over health insurance industry practices following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Ire has focused on the company due to its status as the nation's largest health insurer plus limited availability of data about claims denials, leaving it open to interpretation. Lawsuits settled just in the past four months alleged the company's health insurance divisions weren't providing sufficient access to an emerging cancer treatment called proton beam radiation therapy as well as emergency room care and urinary drug screenings. Other controversies include the continuing fallout from a massive cyberattack and withering criticism of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry where UnitedHealth is a major player. The Justice Department sued last year to block the company's proposed acquisition of Amedisys, a home care and hospice company. In February 2024, UnitedHealth Group did not comment when the Wall Street Journal reported the Justice Department had opened an antitrust investigation of the company including interactions between the massive UnitedHealthcare health insurance and medical groups operated by United's Optum division for health care services. And tough investigative reports over the past year or so from the Wall Street Journal and online health care news outlet STAT are among the exhibits cited by shareholders alleging securities fraud by the company in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota. United has pushed back on all fronts. On denials, the company insists it ultimately pays 98% of all claims received that are for eligible members, when submitted in a timely manner with complete, non-duplicate information. For the remainder that are not approved, the majority are instances where the services did not meet the benefit criteria established by the plan sponsor, UnitedHealth says, such as the employer, state or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In the lawsuits over proton beam therapy and emergency room care, UnitedHealth denied the allegations and said it was reaching settlements to bring litigation to a close while admitting no wrongdoing. On the cyberattack, the company repeatedly has pointed to the billions in financial assistance it's provided to health care providers caught up in system shut down to contain damage from the hack. Pharmacy benefits managers including UnitedHealth's Optum Rx division insist their tactics have been misconstrued and that critics don't appreciate how the companies provide a check on the power of drug companies to set high prices. And UnitedHealth has moved to dismiss the shareholder lawsuit, while contesting Justice Department claims in the Amedisys case. ___ © 2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Can Trump pardon Derek Chauvin? Gov. Tim Walz reportedly said Minneapolis should prepare
Minnesota officials are addressing "rumors" that Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of killing George Floyd in 2020, could receive a presidential pardon. Some conservative activists have advocated for President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin, though the White House has previously said they were not considering it. Elon Musk has indicated he would support freeing Chauvin, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she supports a pardon in a May 14 X post where she shared a KSTP story that state agencies had been briefed on the possibility. The Trump administration has not publicly indicated that it is considering a pardon for Chauvin, who would still face prison time in Minnesota for his state conviction even if his federal charges are pardoned. Still, Gov. Tim Walz says the state should be prepared. Here is what we know: More: Trump has been convicted of a crime. Can he pardon himself as president? The White House declined to comment on the potential clemency request for this story. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a question about whether Chauvin has applied for clemency. However, as of March 19, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a pardon is not something Trump was considering at the time. Walz also said he has not received an indication about a potential pardon, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. However, he also said the state is considering the possibility. 'If Donald Trump exercises his constitutional right to do so, whether I agree — and I strongly disagree with him — if he issues that pardon we will simply transfer Derek Chauvin to serve out his 22-and-a-half years in prison in Minnesota," Walz told reporters, according to the Tribune. 'So, no indication whether they're going to do it or not, but I think it behooves us to be prepared for it. With this presidency, it seems like that might be something they would do.' The Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette said in a statement that it heard the "rumors" of a pardon, but ultimately Chauvin would remain in custody for his state conviction. "To be clear, we have no credible intelligence about any pardon or planned disruptions here in Minneapolis. Since 2020, we've overhauled our emergency management plans and out of an abundance of caution are planning for any eventuality," the emailed statement read. No. Presidential pardons only apply to federal cases, not state cases. The Constitution states the president "shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." That text limits the pardoning power by excluding state criminal offenses and civil claims, according to the Constitution Annotated. Chauvin was convicted on both state and federal charges. Chauvin has been convicted on state and federal charges after he knelt on George Floyd's neck in Minneapolis in May 2020. Floyd's death was one of several that fomented a global movement protesting police violence against Black communities. The former police officer, who is White, was first convicted on state murder charges and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. He later pleaded guilty to violating Floyd's constitutional rights in federal court and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. Currently, Chauvin is serving his federal sentence. In 2023, he was injured in a stabbing. A pardon is an expression of forgiveness that eases the consequences of a criminal conviction, according to the DOJ. A pardon and a commutation of a sentence are both ways for the president to grant leniency to someone who has committed a federal crime. Both are known as clemency. A pardon often implies that the convicted person has taken responsibility for their actions and is forgiven by the president. It can restore some civil abilities that would otherwise be barred due to the criminal conviction, according to the DOJ. Contributing: Claire Thornton, Phillip M. Bailey, Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @ This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Derek Chauvin pardon? Tim Walz addresses Trump administration rumors
