Ties between Best Buy's Geek Squad and FBI surface in child porn case

To view this email as a web page, [click here] [Star Tribune] Talkers Top stories - Ties between Best Buy's Geek Squad and FBI surface in child porn case: [The existence of a small cadre of paid informants] within one of the country’s most popular computer repair services was revealed in the case of a California doctor who is facing federal charges after his hard drive was flagged by a technician. The case raises issues about privacy and the government's use of informants. - Snow, freezing rain cripple morning commute in Twin Cities: In just the first dose of what is likely to bring out the shovels and snowblowers for the next couple of days, [a mix of snow and freezing rain hit the metro area] throughout Tuesday morning's commute, causing numerous crashes on slick road surfaces and severely slowing municipal bus service. Travel conditions continued to deteriorate across Minnesota this afternoon as icy roads have led to scores of crashes and spinouts, including a pileup that closed the northbound lanes of I-35 at Sturgeon Lake. - Wrong-way driver dies in crash at Apple Valley intersection: [A 45-year-old man died] after being thrown from his overturned vehicle, according to police. - Sessions says he's recuse himself from any Clinton probe: Sen. Jeff Sessions cast himself as a strong protector of law and order [t his confirmation hearing Tuesday], promising that as attorney general he would crack down on illegal immigration, gun violence and the "scourge of radical Islamic terrorism." Politics got its share of attention, too, with Sessions promising to recuse himself from any investigation there might be into Democrat Hillary Clinton, because of comments he'd made during the campaign. Sessions' confirmation hearing was disrupted repeatedly by protesters, [including two men wearing Ku Klux Klan costumes]. Harper Collins has [suspended sales of a 2012 book written by Monica Crowley], Trump's pick for a White House national security post, following revelations that Crowley appears to have plagiarized numerous passages in the book. - GOP senators pump the brakes on Obamacare repeal: With President-elect Donald Trump just 12 days from entering the White House, Republicans have positioned a repeal and replacement of Obama's 2010 health care statute atop their congressional agenda. But GOP lawmakers have never been able to rally behind an alternative, and [Republican senators are increasingly voicing reluctance] to vote to yank health coverage from millions of people without a substitute. [Trump told the New York Times that he wants Republicans] "to move forward with the immediate repeal of the Affordable Care Act and to replace it very quickly thereafter." - Backpage execs refuse to testify at sex-trafficking hearing: Executives at the advertising website Backpage.com are [refusing to testify before Congress following a Senate report] that accuses the site of systematically editing its "adult" ads to remove words that indicate sex trafficking. The site shuttered its "adult" section in the U.S. Monday night to protest what it calls government censorship. - 2 more deer in southeast Minnesota found with chronic wasting disease: Two more deer suspected of being infected with chronic wasting disease have been found in far southeastern Minnesota, discoveries that [could prompt the state to pursue having more deer killed] in order to get a better sense of CWD’s prevalence, state conservation officials said Tuesday. - Dairy Queen closes Illinois store after owner uses racial slur: [A Zion, Ill., police report] says the franchise owner, Jim Crichton, told a responding officer he called Deianeira Ford, 21, of Tinley Park, and her children a racial slur. He also said he was "fed up with black people" and would go to jail over the issue. According to the report, Ford said Crichton called her and her children the slur after she asked for a refund for a mixed-up food order in the drive through. - Abuse, neglect reports rise sharply among vulnerable Minnesotans: Reports of abuse and neglect in state-licensed services for vulnerable Minnesotans [increased sharply during the last fiscal year], new state figures show, apparently the result of statewide reforms that make it easier to report maltreatment. - Fox News settled sexual harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly: In the weeks after Roger Ailes was ousted as the chairman of Fox News in July, amid a sexual harassment scandal, [company executives secretly struck an agreement with a longtime on-air personality] who had come forward with similar accusations about the network’s top host, Bill O’Reilly. - Kaler asks Legislature for 12 percent boost in U funding: University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler on Tuesday [outlined his $147.2-million budget request at the Capitol], saying he was “eager to switch gears” after recent controversies and assured legislators that no state taxpayer funds would be used to buy out the contract of recently-fired football coach, Tracy Claeys, and other staff. - Ramsey family's backyard brood raises a squawk: The Harer family never dreamed that their brood of backyard hens and Peter, the potbellied pig, could one day land them in court, much less place them amid [a widespread debate about what animals may live where.] Watch this This is why you probably shouldn't get too close to frozen Minnehaha Falls: Minneapolis resident Judy Babcock was filming a group of people who ignored the barricades and "no trespassing" signs to get an up-close look at the beautiful frozen waterfall on Saturday. [Then this happened.] Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com]. Trending - Joe Mauer to help Twins announce big 2017 Target Field concert: [All signs point to Billy Joel.] - Ex-New York senator kicked off flight after starting rebellion against crew: "Former Sen. Al D’Amato was escorted from a JetBlue flight Monday night after trying to lead passengers in a chant protesting seating changes requested by the crew, an eyewitness on the flight told The Post," [the New York Post reports.] - Rustica Bakery & Cafe opening in downtown Wayzata: [When Rustica takes over the location currently occupied by Lunds & Byerlys Kitchen], the 17,000 square-foot space will be filled by a bakery-cafe (with a wine-beer menu), a large production facility, the second outlet of Rustica Cookies & Creamery soft-serve ice cream counter (the first opened last month at Mall of America) and a significant Dogwood Coffee presence. - Look inside the Obamas' post-White House home: The Obamas will be relocating to a posh, nine-bedroom mansion in the upscale Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The sprawling brick tudor boasts 8,200 square feet, a gourmet kitchen with a butler's pantry, and tree-covered outdoor spaces fit for a former president. [You can check out the interior here.] Sports roundup - Wild's Dubnyk, Suter chosen for NHL All-Star Game: [Wild coach Bruce Boudreau will also coach the Central Division] because the Wild has the best points percentage in the division. - Adrian Peterson likely faces a big pay cut: In Adrian Peterson’s fantasy, he runs for 300 yards in a game, 2,500 for a season, one better than Emmitt Smith’s 18,355 for a career and makes $18 million in 2017. Of those four improbabilities, [the last one is least likely to happen.] - Vikings fire QB coach Scott Turner: Turner, the son of former Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner, [was on coach Mike Zimmer’s original Vikings staff in 2014] and played a role in the development of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. - Northwestern basketball player found dead, Gophers game postponed: Northwestern University said in a statement that [Jordan Hankins' body was found in her room Monday afternoon]. The statement from spokesman Carsten Parmenter said there is no indication of foul play or "any danger or threat to other members of the Northwestern community." Northwestern's game against the Gophers in Minneapolis on Wednesday was postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. Quote of the day “Their relationship is so cozy and so extensive that it turns searches by Best Buy into government searches.” -- Defense attorney [James D. Riddet], on Best Buy Geek Squad employees doubling as paid FBI informants. Worth a click Clare Hollingsworth, reporter who broke news about start of World War II, lived a life of adventure: "In early 1939, peace activist Clare Hollingworth arrived on the Polish-German border to aid Jews and other refugees fleeing from the Sudetenland, newly annexed by Nazi Germany. On a brief return to her native England, 27-year-old Hollingworth — who once professed to 'enjoy being in a war' — was hired as a part-time correspondent in Katowice, Poland, for the London Daily Telegraph. After three days on the job that August, the cub reporter landed one of the biggest journalistic scoops of the 20th century: Hitler’s imminent invasion of Poland, marking the outbreak of World War II," [writes the Washington Post's John Otis in a fantastic obituary] for the intrepid journalist who died this morning at the age of 105. From the archives Jan. 10, 1979: Workers were busy in downtown St. Paul, where construction of the Seventh Place Mall was under way. The project, which featured a glass-enclosed galleria along Seventh St., included a new $11-million, 16-floor Radisson Hotel, a city-financed underground parking ramp, and a $40-million twin-office-tower project. 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