WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican attempt to expand work requirements for federal food aid in debt legislation moving through Congress would increase federal spending by $2.1 billion over 10 years — far from the cuts GOP lawmakers had promised. A compromise on the food aid requirements between House Republicans and President Joe Biden as the nation nears a disastrous government default may…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in April, illustrating the resilience of the American labor market and complicating Federal Reserve efforts to fight inflation. Employers posted 10.1 million job openings last month, up from 9.7 million in March and the most since January, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Economists had expected vacancies to slip below 9.5 million. “Demand for workers…
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five Iowa residents remain unaccounted for, including two people whose remains may be in a pile of rubble at the site of a partially collapsed apartment building, officials in the city of Davenport said Tuesday. Mayor Mike Matson confirmed the numbers at a news conference following criticism that the city was moving too quickly toward…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The details of the deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were released Sunday in the form of a 99-page bill that would suspend the nation’s debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending. The Democratic president and Republican speaker are trying to win over lawmakers to the plan in time…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden lauded the sacrifice of generations of U.S. troops who died fighting for their country as he marked Memorial Day with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, for the 155th National Memorial Day Observance. He had a moment…
(Associated Press) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have mandated higher pay and job security for Lyft and Uber drivers in Minnesota, saying the legislation wasn’t ready to become law. “Rideshare drivers deserve fair wages and safe working conditions,” Walz said in a statement announcing his first veto ever in his…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, and the fervent protests that erupted around the world in response, looked to many observers like the catalyst needed for a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing. For more than nine minutes, a white officer pressed his knee to the neck of Floyd, a Black man, who gasped,…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday gave a 94-year-old Minneapolis woman a new chance to recoup some money after the county kept the entire $40,000 when it sold her condominium over a small unpaid tax bill. The justices ruled that Hennepin County, Minnesota violated the constitutional rights of the woman, Geraldine Tyler, by taking her property without paying “just…
NEW YORK (AP) — Tina Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” has died at 83. Turner died Tuesday, after…
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is removing some items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month after intense backlash from some customers who confronted workers and tipped over displays. “Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature was putting the final touches on a $72 billion state budget Monday as Democrats celebrated enacting an ambitious agenda that ranged from protecting abortion rights, to providing more resources for education, to legalizing marijuana. The big tax bill of the session, which cleared its final test Sunday evening, included $3 billion in tax…
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A judge entered not guilty pleas Monday for a man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, setting the stage for a trial in which he could potentially face the death penalty. The Nov. 13, 2022, killings stunned the rural community of Moscow, Idaho, and prompted many students to leave campus early, switching to remote learning…
DETROIT (AP) — More than 33 million people in the United States are driving vehicles that contain a potentially deadly threat: Airbag inflators that in rare cases can explode in a collision and spew shrapnel. Few of them know it. And because of a dispute between federal safety regulators and an airbag parts manufacturer, they aren’t likely to find out…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday sidestepped a case against Google that might have allowed more lawsuits against social media companies. The justices’ decision returns to a lower court the case of a family of an American college student who was killed in an Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris. The family wants to sue Google for YouTube videos they said helped attract IS recruits…
Courtesy: Associated Press (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Grand Rapids man has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of stealing a pair of ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz.” The FBI recovered the slippers in 2018. A grand jury indicted Terry Martin on Tuesday with one count of theft of a major artwork, federal…
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man who was already charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, allowing prosecutors to skip a planned week-long preliminary hearing that was set for late June. Bryan Kohberger was arrested late last year and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Nov….
NEW YORK (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were pursued in their car by photographers after a charity event in New York, an incident that the mayor and the couple’s office described Wednesday as potentially dangerous and that instantly drew comparisons to the 1997 fatal car crash of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana. The NYPD did not provide immediate…
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The gunman who killed three people and wounded six others while roaming through his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood and apparently firing at random targets was a local 18-year-old high school student, authorities said Tuesday, noting they were still trying to determine a motive for the attack. Beau Wilson lived in the Farmington neighborhood where he opened…
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A man with a metal baseball bat walked into the office of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly in Fairfax, Virginia, asked for him — and then struck two members of his staff in the upper body with the bat, police said. It was the latest attack amid a sharp uptick in violence directed at lawmakers and their…
WASHINGTON (AP) — 3M has fired prominent company executive Michael Vale due to “inappropriate personal conduct and violation of company policy,” the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics announced on Monday. Vale was promoted to group president and chief business and country officer just last month. Vale worked at 3M for more than 30 years, according to an April 25…
Courtesy: FOX 9 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Democratic Party will consider expelling anyone involved in a brawl that broke out at a political event to nominate candidates for a Minneapolis City Council seat. At least two people were injured in Saturday’s confrontation. The head of the state Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Chair Ken Martin, said on Twitter that he plans to…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Federal authorities have proposed new regulations that would force the Minnesota and Michigan iron mining industry to slash its mercury emissions. The rule announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week follows two decades of litigation and other pressure by tribes and environmental groups who have long urged the agency to adopt mercury limits. The six iron…
(AP) — The U.S. has approved more than $42 billion in federal student loan debt forgiveness for more than 615,000 borrowers in the past 18 months as part of a program aimed at getting more people to work in public service jobs, the U.S. Department of Education said this week. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is open to teachers, librarians, nurses,…
ST. PAUL, Minn, (AP) — A pair of gun violence prevention measures long sought by Minnesota Democrats were added Wednesday to a broad public safety budget bill, significantly raising their chances of becoming law. By unanimous voice votes, an all-Democratic House-Senate conference committee approved expanded background checks for gun transfers and a separate proposal for a “red flag law.” It would allow…
MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday in hopes of entering the U.S. in the final hours before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted — a change that many feared could make it more difficult for them to stay. With a midnight deadline looming, migrants in Mexico shed clothing before descending a steep bank into the Rio…
(ASSOCIATED PRESS) During a contentious CNN town hall Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming. Trump, returning to the network after years of acrimony, also refused…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A mining company has gotten conditional approval to begin exploratory drilling for copper and gold in northern Wisconsin, but state regulators say it must still meet additional requirements before the work can begin. Canadian company GreenLight Metals, doing business as Green Light Wisconsin, wants to conduct exploratory drilling at a 40-acre site owned by the U.S….
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican infamous for fabricating his life story, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didn’t deserve. Santos’ 13-count federal indictment was a reckoning for a web of fraud and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United States rose again in April, and measures of underlying inflation stayed high, a sign that further declines in inflation are likely to be slow and bumpy. Prices increased 0.4% from March to April, the government said Wednesday, up sharply from a 0.1% rise from February to March. Compared with a year earlier, prices climbed 4.9%,…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota is on the verge of banning non-essential uses of “forever chemicals.” And lawmakers say they are naming the legislation after a woman who spent the last months of her life campaigning for restrictions that will be some of the toughest in the country. Legislators, environmentalists and family members paid tribute Tuesday to Amara Strande….
NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House. The verdict was announced in a federal courtroom in New York City on the first day of jury deliberations….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Tuition at Minnesota’s public colleges would be free to residents whose families earn less than $80,000 annually, starting in the 2024-2025 academic year, under an agreement reached by legislative negotiators. If the full House and Senate accept the language, which would be part of a broader higher education budget bill, qualifying Minnesotans would no longer…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Senate approved a plan Monday to entitle workers across the state to paid leave when they’re sick or caring for relatives who are ill. While Senate Democrats hold only a one-seat majority, paid family and medical leave has been a priority of the party for several years, and the final 34-33 vote followed party lines. The proposal passed…
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The driver of an SUV that killed eight people when it slammed into a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday as investigators tried to determine if the crash was intentional. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning, and plowed into a…
(AP) — The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of the rulemaking process Monday. The rulemaking pledge continues a push by…
St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising (photo courtesy of St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office)GLENWOOD, Wis. (AP) — A suspected drunken driver shot and killed a Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop before running into some nearby woods and killing himself, authorities said Sunday. During a conversation about field sobriety tests, Jeremiah Johnson was “evasive,” drew a handgun and shot…
GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. WHO first declared COVID-19 to be an emergency more than three years ago. The U.N. health agency’s officials…
(AP) — A Georgia man shot two of his relatives and a fast food worker dead before killing himself on Thursday in rural south Georgia, the local coroner said. The shooter killed his mother and grandmother at two neighboring homes and killed a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Moultrie, Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock told The Associated…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers promised Thursday to veto a wide-ranging Republican plan to bolster aid to local governments, saying the measure moving rapidly through the GOP-controlled Legislature doesn’t give enough unrestricted money to communities struggling to pay for police, fire and other services. Republican authors of the bill said at a hearing Thursday they remained open to making…
ATLANTA (AP) — One person was fatally shot and at least four others injured Wednesday in a shooting at a medical building in Midtown Atlanta, police said. Atlanta police said there had been no additional shots fired since the initial shooting unfolded inside a Northside Medical building on West Peachtree Street in a commercial area with many office towers and…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders while his colleagues restrained a dying George Floyd has been convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter. Tou Thao, who already had been convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights, was last of the four former officers facing judgment in state court in Floyd’s killing. He rejected a plea agreement and, instead of…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Fourteen-year-olds in Wisconsin could serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants under a bill circulated for cosponsors Monday by a pair of Republican state lawmakers. Under current law, only workers age 18 and above can serve alcohol to customers in Wisconsin. The bill would broaden that to workers ages 14 to 17. They could…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. In what has become a grinding war of attrition, the fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is…
Fire crews at The Mercy Islamic Center in Minneapolis last Monday. (FOX 9) Minneapolis police have arrested a man suspected of setting two fires that damaged mosques in the city last week as part of what the police chief called “an attempt to inflict terror onto our Muslim community.” Police Chief Brian O’Hara announced the arrest of 36-year-old Jackie Rahm…
SEATTLE (AP) — Democratic governors in Washington state and Minnesota on Thursday signed into law legal protections for people who travel to those states seeking reproductive and gender-affirming procedures and treatment. They are the latest blue states to enact safeguards against bans or limits on transgender and abortion healthcare in Republican states. In Seattle, Gov. Jay Inslee wore a pink tie…
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional families willing to bare all on weekday afternoons including brawls, obscenities and blurred images of nudity, died Thursday at 79. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans passed sweeping legislation Wednesday that would raise the government’s legal debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for steep spending restrictions, a tactical victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President Joe Biden to negotiate and prevent a catastrophic federal default this summer. The bill passed by a razor-thin 217-215 margin. Biden has threatened to veto the Republican package, which…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to “finish this job” and extend the run of America’s oldest president for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington…
(AP) — After six weeks of waiting, Aaron Rodgers is leaving behind his brilliant legacy in Green Bay and heading to the bright lights — and massive expectations — of the Big Apple. The New York Jets have agreed on a deal to acquire the four-time NFL MVP from the Packers, according to a person with knowledge of the trade….
LONDON (AP) — Len Goodman, a long-serving judge on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing” who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, has died, his agent said Monday. He was 78. Agent Jackie Gill said Goodman “passed away peacefully” on Saturday night. He had been diagnosed with bone cancer. A former professional…
