Minnesota lawmakers moving to address rising price of insulin

A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers on Tuesday said it would bring legislation aimed at cracking down on the rising price of insulin.

At a news conference, legislators said they would aim to require pharmaceutical companies to be more transparent about their reasons for boosting insulin prices and set up a system that would allow those with diabetes to access refills if they can’t afford the drug.

The calls for reform came a day after the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute reported that the price for drugs used to treat type 1 diabetes nearly doubled in the last five years.

“There is no good reason for these absurd increases,” said Sen. Matt Little, DFL-Lakeville. “For us to do nothing in the face of what we’ve known for some time would be just wrong.”

Read more: https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/22/minnesota-lawmaker-moving-to-address-rising-price-of-insulin/

Minnesota recoups $3.1 million in fraud, deceptive-marketing claims

The Minnesota attorney general’s office said it has recouped $3.1 million after settling three multi-state, health care-related fraud and deceptive marketing claims involving Walgreens and Johnson & Johnson.

In the first case, Walgreens was accused of dispensing hundreds of thousands more insulin pens than needed to beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, then improperly billed those programs for them. The company will pay out $209 million nationally, including more than $761,000 to Minnesota’s Medicaid program, according to a statement from Keith Ellison’s office.

In the second, Walgreens was accused of overbilling Medicaid by failing to disclose and charge Medicaid the lower drug prices it offered the public through a discount program. The company will pay out a total of $60 million to 39 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government. Minnesota’s Medicaid program will recoup more than $212,000, Ellison’s office said.

In the third settlement, Ellison and 45 other attorneys general reached a $120 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, DePuy, to resolve allegations that DePuy used “unfair and deceptive” practices to make misleading claims about the longevity of its metal-on-metal hip-implant devices. The attorneys general said the devices failed faster than the company claimed.

Read more: https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/24/minnesota-ag-keith-ellison-recoups-3-1-million-in-fraud-deceptive-marketing-claims-walgreens/

Minnesota Democrats unveil new 'red-flag' gun plan. Here's what it would do.

A DFL-backed bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday would allow police or family members to petition a court to temporarily seize someone’s guns if they are deemed a threat.

But here’s the catch — the seizure could happen with or without the gun owner having a say.

The Senate bill, which has a similar companion in the House, was authored by Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park. The petitions could be made by family or household members, police, a city or county attorney or a guardian.

HOW IT WOULD WORK

There are two ways one’s guns could be seized:

* A hearing with the gun owner. If the court finds it is more likely than not the gun owner is a danger to themselves or others, it can issue an “extreme risk protective order” lasting between six months and two years.
* An “emergency extreme risk protective order” can be given if the court finds reasonable evidence the gun owner poses an immediate and present danger to themselves or others. The emergency order could be issued without hearing from the gun owner. It would expire after 14 days if no further hearing was held.

Read more: https://www.twincities.com/2019/01/24/mn-dems-unveil-new-red-flag-gun-plan-heres-what-it-would-do/

Militia member admits role in attack on Minnesota mosque

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A militia member accused of bombing a Minnesota mosque and attempting to bomb an Illinois women's clinic pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in the attacks.

Michael McWhorter of Clarence, Illinois, pleaded guilty to five counts in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. As part of the plea deal, he faces as much as 38 years in prison.

McWhorter and two other men — Joe Morris and Michael Hari — were accused of multiple counts, including federal civil rights and hate crimes, in the Aug. 5, 2017, attack on Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. They were also charged for a failed attack on a Champaign, Illinois, abortion clinic in November 2017.

Morris was expected to plead guilty in another hearing later Thursday. Hari, a former sheriff's deputy and the purported ringleader in the mosque attack , remains in federal custody in Illinois.

Read more: https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/minnesota/2019/01/24/2-men-likely-admit-bombing-minnesota-mosque/2665990002/

Racine police sergeant's BAC was .182 after Dec. crash; charges expected soon

RACINE — Racine Police Sgt. Samuel Stulo’s blood-alcohol content was more than double the legal limit, 0.182 percent, when he allegedly crashed his truck and injured a woman on Dec. 17, according to state records.

The Journal Times received the results through an open records request filed with the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, which conducts blood-alcohol tests for the state.

Stulo’s blood sample, which was reportedly taken more than two and a half hours after the crash occurred, was reported as received by the state laboratory on Dec. 27 — 10 days after the crash. That was the same day The Journal Times first published a story about the incident after receiving an anonymous tip about the crash.

State Laboratory of Hygiene officials said that they completed the test on Jan. 2 and reported the results the following day.

Read more: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/update-police-sergeant-s-bac-was-after-dec-crash-charges/article_5609cab7-2463-54f9-a135-17098882bd0a.html
(Racine Journal Times)

Trial in Wisconsin gerrymandering case delayed until at least July

A federal court will delay the date of the trial in Wisconsin’s partisan redistricting case until the U.S. Supreme Court decides two similar cases this summer, handing a partial legal victory to the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The decision by the court to push the trial back from April to at least July, after the issuance of a decision in the two similar cases, is meant to prevent Wisconsin’s case from being tried twice.

It is still possible Wisconsin’s political maps would be redrawn before the 2020 general election if the U.S. Supreme Court were to rule in favor of the plaintiffs — several Democratic voters across the state along with the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee.

The case was remanded back to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin after the U.S. Supreme Court in June found it lacked standing.

Read more: https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/trial-in-wisconsin-gerrymandering-case-delayed-until-at-least-july/article_077d43f6-40c0-599f-95d2-202b64517684.html

Donald Trump once asked Paul Ryan 'Why can't you be loyal to your president, Paul?', new book says

President Donald Trump once savaged then-House Speaker Paul Ryan in an angry phone call, questioning his loyalty and telling him "Democrats have been kicking your a-- for decades," a new book about the Trump White House says.

The Washington Post, which got an advance copy of “Team of Vipers" by Cliff Sims, detailed the angry call, which occurred after Ryan criticized Trump's handling of the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

Trump held the remote control “like a pistol” and yelled for an assistant to get the Ryan on the phone, according to the account.

"Paul, do you know why Democrats have been kicking your a-- for decades? Because they know a little word called 'loyalty,'" Trump reportedly told Ryan. "Why do you think Nancy [Pelosi] has held on this long? Have you seen her? She’s a disaster. Every time she opens her mouth another Republican gets elected. But they stick with her."

He added,?"Why can’t you be loyal to your president, Paul?"

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/23/donald-trump-once-asked-paul-ryan-why-he-couldnt-loyal-book-says/2656255002/

Milwaukee secures line of credit for its 2020 Democratic convention bid, clearing last major hurdle

Organizers of Milwaukee's bid for the 2020 Democratic National Convention have cleared the last major hurdle in the city's quest to host the event by lining up a third-party line of credit, Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday.

"I have secured a line of credit, which is guaranteed, that really meets the needs that have been brought to us," Barrett said. "And I'm continuing to do more."

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Barrett declined to provide the total amount of the guarantee, as well as the names of individuals or groups providing it.

"We have some really good people in Milwaukee and other places that have recognized how important this is to our community," Barrett said. "They've stepped up, and are stepping up."

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/23/milwaukee-secures-line-credit-2020-democratic-convention-bid/2616337002/

Jimmy Kimmel Live: Donald Trump's SAVAGE Alternative to State of the Union

Hubby goes on axe rampage over prized action figures, say cops

Around 10 p.m. on Sunday night, a 34-year-old Madison, Wisconsin man called 911 to report himself.

The man, whose name hasn’t been released, said his problems began with his collection of prized action figures, according to Madison Police Chief Mike Koval’s blog on the incident. The man explained that he’d been drinking, and he thought his wife had damaged some of them. He said he may have “overreacted.”

“Overreacted,” in his words, meant waiting for his wife to leave the house, grabbed an axe, and demolishing every valuable sight. He’d swung it through the TV, then taken it to a laptop and a few other choice possessions.

Then he went outside to the car. After a few discerning smashes -- including hacking off the side mirrors -- he slammed the blade so hard into the windshield it stuck. That’s where they found the weapon when the police pulled up -- sticking out of the car windshield like some kind of Wisconsinite Excalibur.

Read more: http://www.citypages.com/news/hubby-goes-on-axe-rampage-over-prized-action-figures-say-cops/504750062
(Minneapolis City Pages)