The rider was a man in his 60s with underlying health conditions who was hospitalized and placed in intensive care following his infection with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Fifty Minnesotans who took part in the Sturgis event, which draws hundreds of thousands of people each summer, have tested positive.

No one event appears to be the epicenter for the infections suffered by the man who died or any other Minnesotans, said Kris Ehresmann, state infectious disease director.

“They attended multiple events, stayed at multiple campgrounds, were inside, outside,” she said. “I think, given the number of individuals that were participating in the Sturgis event, I think its fair to say that pretty much everyone was in a crowded setting.”

Several other states have reported infections among Sturgis participants as well, and Minnesota has found signs of secondary transmissions from Sturgis participants to others back home. One participant from Minnesota with a confirmed infection appeared to spread the virus at a recent wedding, Ehresmann said.

— Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace returns as presidential debate moderator

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace will be a moderator of the first debate between President Donald Trump and his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, on Sept. 29.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has named Wallace, who anchors the weekly Washington roundtable program “Fox News Sunday,” and three other journalists to handle the events that will be broadcast across the major broadcast networks and cable channels.

Wallace presided over the third debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016 and was widely praised for his handling of the event. He was the first Fox News anchor to ever moderate a presidential debate.

The first of the 2020 debates will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Steve Scully, the political editor at C-SPAN and host of the cable channel’s morning show “Washington Journal,” will moderate the second meeting between the two candidates on Oct. 15, to be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker will be the moderator for the third debate on Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville.

Susan Page, Washington bureau chief for USA Today, will handle the sole meeting between Vice President Mike Pence and Biden’s running mate Sen. Kamala Harris of California on Oct. 7. The University of Utah in Salt Lake City will be the site.

Suspected ISIS fighter from Dallas pleads guilty to terrorism charge, faces 20 years

FORT WORTH, Texas — A 23-year-old from Dallas accused of providing communication support for front-line troops fighting in Syria pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to provide material support to terrorism.

Omer Kuzu faces up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing in January, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

The release outlined the following details:

Kuzu, now 25, said he and his brother, Yusuf, left Texas for Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 16, 2014, and then went to Orfa, Turkey, where they were smuggled across the border into Syria. They ended up in Mosul, Iraq.

The two brothers and 40 other fighters underwent five days of physical and weapons training and were then sent to Raqqah, Syria, where Omer Kuzu started work at the ISIS telecommunications directorate.

In Raqqah, Omer Kuzu pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the Islamic Caliphate, and was given a monthly stipend and a Chinese-made AK-47, and that is where he also took an ISIS bride.

Omer Kuzu was sent to Kobani, Syria and Hama, Syria, where he provided communications support for ISIS fighters on the front lines and worked in the Caliphate’s technology center.

In March 2019, Omer Kuzu was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces alongside 1,500 suspected ISIS fighters. Omer Kuzu was handed over to FBI custody, returned to American soil, and charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS.

Omer Kuzu said he knew ISIS had been designated a foreign terrorist organization and that it engaged in terrorist activities.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A mask selfie could be part of your next Uber ride

PHILADELPHIA — The next time you’re in an Uber vehicle, you may need to prove that you’re protecting yourself and others from COVID-19.

Passengers reported by a driver to have ditched a mask will soon be made to take a selfie showing they are wearing a face covering before their next trip, the rideshare giant announced Tuesday. Masks have been required since May, enforced upon riders by a checklist agreement, but the latest effort looks to deliver evidence.

It may only be fair: Uber drivers and delivery people already have had to take a selfie of themselves wearing a mask before going active for their day.

“We firmly believe that accountability is a two-way street. That’s why we’re expanding the same technology to riders, too,” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s global head of safety product, wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “With the addition of this new feature, one driver’s feedback can help ensure the safety of Uber for the next driver.”

An Uber spokesperson could not say when the system will roll out in Philadelphia but said “it will be by the end of September.”

When riders in question hail a vehicle through the Uber app, they will be met with a set of safety guidelines followed by a prompt asking them to take a photo accompanied with a message that reads: “Due to driver feedback from your recent trip, we’d like to verify that you’re wearing a face cover or mask.”

Lyft is piloting a verification system in selected markets, including Philadelphia, to ensure that all parties are wearing a face covering, according to a company spokesperson. Lyft plans to launch the system everywhere in “the coming months.”

Mask wearing has been proven to be effective in protecting against the spread of the coronavirus.

— The Philadelphia Inquirer

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.