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Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys

National News

NEW YORK — Locked in a competitive reelection race, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared on social media last week that a new poll was evidence that her campaign was "gaining momentum." Just a few days later, the truth emerged: The poll was fabricated. The California results were among at least three "polls" across three states posted online this month by Median Strategies, a previously unknown organization that admitted to the Los Angeles Times on Monday that the purported results were fake. The company wrote before shuttering its website this week that it "was created as a ...

ABC sues FCC over challenge to its broadcast licenses, saying actions present 'existential threat'

National News

Further escalating its battle with the Trump administration, ABC on Tuesday took the rare step of suing the Federal Communications Commission on First Amendment grounds, saying the agency's demand for early review of its broadcast licenses posed an "existential threat" to the network. In the lawsuit, ABC, its parent company Disney and the eight ABC-owned stations whose licenses are affected asked a federal court to stop the early renewal proceedings. The FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, an ally of President Donald Trump, had ordered the early review in April — itself a rare move ...

Lyon Co. to increase jail service rates

Local News

MARSHALL — Starting next year, it will cost more for Murray County to house jail inmates at the Lyon County Jail. On Tuesday, Lyon County Commissioners approved a proposal from Sheriff Eric Wallen to increase the jail service fees to $125 per day in 2027, and to $175 per day in 2028. “I was asked to review our contract with Murray County for the housing of their inmates in our jail,” Wallen told county commissioners. “The (Lyon) county’s cost of housing inmates in our jail is, per day, significantly higher than what we’ve been charging Murray County, so we’d look to ...

Zimmerman to plead guilty in Hanska double-murder

Minnesota News

NEW ULM – Randy Zimmerman entered a petition to plead guilty in the double-murder of Justin Reinarts and Tabitha Trescott on Monday. A grand jury formally indicted Zimmerman back in November with first-degree murder in the Nov. 2 deaths of Reinarts and Trescott. He was charged with breaking into the Hanska home of Reinarts and fatally shooting Reinarts and Trescott in the bedroom before fleeing. He was arrested in Louisa County, Iowa, and later indicted by a grand jury on counts of first-degree premeditated murder. Court records indicate Zimmerman had a history of domestic assault ...

Balaton man pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct

Local News

MARSHALL — A Balaton man pleaded guilty in Lyon County District Court Tuesday to charges of criminal sexual conduct. Ethan Lennen Nelson, 36, said in a hearing that he was taking “full responsibility” for having sexual contact with minor victims while he was a youth group leader at a Balaton church. Under a plea agreement, Nelson will serve 120 days in jail and complete seven years of probation with conditions, including that he not have contact with the victims in his case and that he not have unsupervised contact with minors outside his own family. Nelson pleaded guilty to ...