MINNEAPOLIS – A former middle school principal serving a prison sentence was found dead in a Minnesota jail. Christopher Jerome Endicott had previously been sentenced to prison for identity theft, stalking, and burglary, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. Crow Wing County Sheriff Scott Goddard says that Endicott was found unresponsive at the jail in Brainerd and efforts to save…
(AP) – Prosecutors in Wisconsin have charged a man with intentional homicide in the deaths of five people who were killed when an SUV was driven into a Christmas parade. Prosecutors say a sixth person, a child, has died and additional charges are pending. Darrell Brooks Jr. was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the crash Sunday…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The top Republican in the Minnesota Senate says he’s willing to postpone a debate over the confirmation of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm to help break the stalemate over a special session. Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller says if Democrats agree to discuss Republican proposals on coronavirus measures, the GOP would drop threats to oust Malcolm….
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has ordered 50 million barrels of oil released from the strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs, in coordination with other major energy-consuming nations, including China, India, and the United Kingdom. The move is aimed at global energy markets but also aimed at voters who are coping with higher inflation…
WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 90% of federal workers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Monday’s deadline set by President Joe Biden. Biden announced in September that all federal workers were required to undergo vaccination, with no test-out option, unless they secured an approved medical or religious exemption. A U.S. official said the vast majority…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Poet Robert Bly, who authored the men’s movement classic “Iron John,” has died. Bly spent most of his life in his native Minnesota and was an active poet for more than 50 years. “Iron John,” his meditation on modern masculinity, was released in 1990 and spent more than two years on the New…
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — The man suspected of plowing his SUV into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, killing at least five people and injuring 48, had been in a domestic disturbance just minutes before, Waukesha’s police chief says. Police Chief Dan Thompson says there is no evidence the crash on Sunday was a terrorist attack. He says police are…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the Biden administration is investing $1.5 billion from the coronavirus aid package to address the health care worker shortage in underserved communities. The funding being announced Monday will go to the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs. They’re all federal programs that offer…
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – A person taken into custody after an SUV plowed into a crowd of holiday parade marchers in Wisconsin, killing at least five people, has been identified as 39-year-old Darrell Brooks. Police haven’t yet identified the “person of interest” they are holding. But two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter provided the identification to The Associated…
NEW YORK (AP) – Target will no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, making permanent a shift to the unofficial start of the holiday season that was suspended during the pandemic. To limit crowds in stores, retailers last year were forced to turn what had become a weekend shopping blitz into an extended event with holiday sales beginning as…
As Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted in two killings that he said were self-defense, armed civilians patrolled the streets near the Wisconsin courthouse with guns in plain view. In Georgia, testimony in the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers showed that armed patrols were commonplace in the neighborhood where Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was chased down by three white men and shot. The…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. is opening COVID-19 vaccine boosters to all adults, and urging them for anyone 50 and older. The decision Friday seeks to simplify what has been a confusing list of who’s eligible. Now for anyone 18 or older, the only requirement is to be at least six months past their last dose of a Pfizer or…
MADISON, Wis. – A Wisconsin judge says the Department of Natural Resources violated the law by not immediately scheduling a wolf hunting season after federal protections were removed in February. In an order Thursday, Jefferson County Judge Bennett Brantmeier said the agency must hold a hunt immediately any time federal protections are lifted during the statutory hunting season, which runs…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The Kenosha County jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty of all charges against him. Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz in August 2020 during chaotic protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The jury came back with its verdict after close to 3 1/2 days of deliberation. Rittenhouse, 18, could…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial deliberated for a fourth day Friday, as prosecutors argued against defense requests for a mistrial. The prosecutors argued there’s “no factual or legal basis” for the judge to grant the requests. The 18-year-old Rittenhouse is on trial for killing two men and wounding a third with a rifle during…
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON (AP) – A sharply divided House has approved the Democrats’ sweeping social and environment bill, a big victory for President Joe Biden. Republicans solidly opposed the measure, but Democrats prevailed after the party’s progressives and moderates ended months of disputes over its size and scope. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where moderates like…
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Food and Drug Administration has opened up COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, letting them choose another dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The move expands the U.S. government’s booster campaign to shore up protection and get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that may worsen with the holidays. But there’s…
(Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The jury at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial has completed the third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict. Meanwhile, the judge has banned MSNBC from the courthouse after a network freelancer was accused of following the jurors’ bus. Two mistrial requests from the defense are hanging over the politically and…
(AP) – A group of state attorneys general are investigating Instagram and its effects on children and young adults, saying its parent company Facebook – recently renamed Meta Platforms – ignored research about the harms it causes to young people. The investigation is led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee,…
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud has the largest outbreak of coronavirus cases in the state’s prison system in months. According to corrections officials, 242 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s nearly a quarter of the inmate population at the St. Cloud prison. The state Department of Corrections is working with the Department…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The jury in Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial was to move into the third day of deliberations Thursday, even as its request to re-watch video in the case sparked another bid from his attorneys for a mistrial. Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys say the defense received an inferior copy of a key video from prosecutors. Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi told…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low of 268,000. U.S. jobless claims dipped by 1,000 last week from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and their steady decline this year – after topping 900,000…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz says the Department of Defense will send medical teams to two major Minnesota hospitals to relieve doctors and nurses who are swamped by a growing wave of COVID-19 patients. The teams, each comprising 22 people, will arrive at Hennepin County Medical Center and St. Cloud Hospital next week and begin treating patients immediately. Walz…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Jurors weighing charges against Kyle Rittenhouse returned Wednesday for the second day of deliberations in his murder trial. Jurors met for a full day Tuesday with no quick verdict after two weeks of testimony in which they were given starkly different portrayals of his actions the night he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha….
NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. health officials say an estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year. That’s a total the nation has never seen. Experts say it’s tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades. But they accelerated dramatically in the past two years…
MINNEAPOLIS – Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says Minnesota officials are so alarmed about the continued surge in COVID-19 cases that they’re ready to start allowing vaccine booster shots for all adults by the end of the week if the federal government doesn’t approve them first. Other states are taking similar steps. Malcolm announced the plan on a day when Minnesota’s…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin airports are returning to pre-pandemic traffic levels as the busy holiday season gets underway. Dane County Regional Airport has seen traffic increase every month this year since the COVID-19 vaccine became widely available. At Milwaukee County’s Mitchell International Airport the number of flights during Thanksgiving week is expected to be up 50% compared to last…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Hundreds of state law enforcement officers in Minnesota will soon be outfitted with new body cameras to record everything from traffic stops to civil disturbances. More than 600 Minnesota State Patrol troopers, nearly 200 Department of Natural Resources conservation officers, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents, and other state-level law enforcement officers will soon wear the 1,100…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans sharply boosted their spending last month, pushing up retail sales and giving the economy a lift. Much of the gain reflected the fact that shoppers are also paying higher prices. Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in October from September, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday. That’s up from 0.8% in the previous month. Solid…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota health officials say the state is currently in the middle of a coronavirus “blizzard” with its rate of new infections worst in the nation over the pasts seven days. More than 95% of available inpatient hospital beds are filled across the state which has caused backups in some emergency departments, according to health care…
(Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Jurors are set to begin deliberating Tuesday at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial after two weeks of testimony in which they were given starkly different portrayals of his actions the night he shot three men on the streets of Kenosha. Prosecutors say Rittenhouse was a “wannabe soldier” who provoked a…
(Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The judge at Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial has dismissed a count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. The charge is only a misdemeanor, but it had appeared to be among the likeliest to net a conviction for prosecutors. There’s no dispute that Rittenhouse was 17…
ST, PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution team that won the conviction of ex-officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, announced Monday he will seek a second term. Ellison assembled a team of attorneys in private practice and from his office that persuaded jurors earlier this year to convict Chauvin…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has surrendered to federal authorities to face contempt charges after defying a subpoena from a House committee investigating January’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Bannon was taken into custody Monday morning. He’s expected to appear in court later in the afternoon. The 67-year-old was indicted on Friday on two counts of criminal…
(Mark Hertzberg /Pool Photo via AP) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys were set to make closing arguments Monday at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial in the shootings of three men during street unrest in Wisconsin, the last word before a jury begins deliberating in a case that underscored Americans’ bitter divisions on issues of guns, protests and policing. Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch,…
MINNEAPOLIS – A Spirit Airlines flight that took off from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport made an emergency landing after a pilot reported a possible engine fire. The flight took off about 7:30 p.m. Sunday and was headed for Orlando, but within minutes returned to the Twin Cities airport. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement that said the Airbus A320…
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – U.S. government attorneys are set to appear before a federal judge to defend a decision from the waning days of the Trump administration that lifted protections for gray wolves across most of the country. The hearing on Friday before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in California comes as officials in Republican-led states including Wisconsin, Montana, and…
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the release of White House records sought by a U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, granting – for now – a request from former President Donald Trump. The administrative injunction issued Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit effectively bars until the…
HOUSTON (AP) – A 22-year-old college senior who was critically injured at the Astroworld festival in Houston has died. Attorney James Lassiter says Bharti Shahani died Wednesday. Her family says Shahani was studying electronics systems engineering at Texas A&M University and had been set to graduate next spring. She is the 9th person to die after festivalgoers rushed the stage…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Four Minnesota political leaders have toured a veterans center in St. Paul while calling for better access to mental health care and readjustment services for those who have served in the military. Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig and Dean Phillips made the visit on Veterans Day. They wanted to highlight…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached their highest level of the year. And she says hospital capacity continues to tighten across the state amid a “truly alarming spike in cases.” The Minnesota Department of Health on Wednesday reported 5,277 new cases and 43 new deaths. As of Wednesday, Minnesota hospitals were caring for…
DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Wednesday approved a sweeping $626 million deal to settle lawsuits filed by Flint residents and others who were exposed to water contaminated by lead and bacteria in 2014-15. Most of the money — $600 million — is coming from the state of Michigan, which was accused of repeatedly overlooking the risks of switching Flint’s…
(FOX 9/Fox TV Digital Team) – The NFL has fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 and franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers as well as wide receiver Allen Lazard $14,500 each for violating the league’s COVID-19 rules. The move follows controversial comments Rodgers made last week about why he didn’t get vaccinated for COVID-19, despite previously saying publicly that he was “immunized.”…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state will direct $100 million in additional funding to expand broadband internet in Wisconsin. The latest round of grants is part of the recently passed $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill. The legislation provides $65 billion to expand broadband coverage nationwide. “Whether it’s going to school, working from home, or running a small business, broadband is…
NEW YORK (AP) – Two Washington Post reporters are working on a biography of George Floyd, from his family history in the tobacco fields of North Carolina to his murder last year in Minneapolis by a white police officer. Viking announced that “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice” will come out next…
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) WASHINGTON (AP) – Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, gas and housing left Americans grappling with the highest inflation rate since 1990. The year-over-year increase in the consumer price index exceeded the 5.4% rise in September. From September to October, prices jumped 0.9%, the highest…
(Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The defense has called Kyle Rittenhouse to the stand at his trial on charges of killing two men and wounding a third during a night of turbulent protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The former police youth cadet was 17 when he went to Kenosha during the summer of 2020 with an AR-style…
WASHINGTON (AP) – House investigators have issued subpoenas to 10 more former officials who worked for Donald Trump at the end of his presidency. They are part of a committee’s effort to find out more about what the president was doing and saying as his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a bid to overturn his…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Prosecutors have rested their case against Kyle Rittenhouse after 5 1/2 days of testimony in which they sought to portray him as the instigator in the shootings that left two men dead and a third wounded during street protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. One of the final prosecution witnesses Tuesday was a forensic pathologist who analyzed drone…
(AP) – Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to allow boosters of its COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 18 or older. Older Americans and other groups particularly vulnerable to the virus have had access to a third dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine since September. But the Food and Drug Administration has said it would move quickly to expand boosters to…
