MPR News AM Update: Big tech, boycotts and the gig economy
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your Wednesday.
Snowy and less cold. Much of the state will see snow accumulating up to an inch through the afternoon. Twin Cities highs in the upper 20s. Statewide, northern highs in the lower 20s and lower 30s in the southwest. More on Updraft. | Forecast
When it’s winter, do as the Norwegians do. KARE 11 reports on how our Scandinavian cold-weather peers handle the chill. Their advice: Make it cozy, stay positive and keep busy indoors and outside.
Minnesota health officials are monitoring a hepatitis A outbreak. Nearly 50 cases were reported in 16 counties as of last Friday. Highest-risk people include those who use drugs, don’t have a steady place to live or have been recently incarcerated, said Kris Ehresmann, the Department of Health's director for infectious disease. Most kids are vaccinated against it, she said, but “if you are an adult and you eat, you may want to consider getting vaccinated against hepatitis A.”
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Big tech, boycotts and the gig economy. Uber's CEO came under fire for reducing Saudi Arabia's killing of a U.S. journalist to a "serious mistake." Instacart caught the internet's ire for cutting its workers' pay after they went on strike. Now, these employees and customers alike are calling for boycotts. Of course, calls to boycott major tech companies are nothing new. Amazon, for example, had a boycott waged against it earlier this year. If you're a worker or consumer of these companies' products, what do you think of the boycotts? Do you participate? Tell us here.
St. Paul has a final plan for the old Ford plant site. Reports MPR News’ Tim Nelson: “Mayor Melvin Carter and Ryan Companies on Tuesday announced the agreement on the vacant 122-acre site in the Highland Park neighborhood, promising hundreds of new housing units, more than 13,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs on the site.” It’ll be three years before anyone moves into the area, and the development could take 20 years to complete.
Tune in for impeachment hearings today. Starting at 9 a.m., we’ll carry live coverage on air and online. NPR has a primer of what to expect.
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Check the radio lineup here for Wednesday, Nov. 13.