MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge said a Minnesota man accused of killing three family members with a wrench is mentally incompetent to stand trial, citing testimony from doctors about his schizophrenia intensified by his consumption of energy drinks. David Ekers, 36, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder in last year’s attack in a Minneapolis suburb that killed his…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The University of Wisconsin System says it will comply with an executive order issued by President Biden that requires federal contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Biden’s order has convinced colleges across the country to institute vaccine requirements, even in some conservative states where governors and legislators oppose mandates. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is traveling to Capitol Hill to pitch House Democrats on a dramatically scaled back domestic policy package. It’s now $1.75 trillion and without a paid family leave program and other priorities. But it’s still a sweeping proposal with new health care, free-prekindergarten, and climate change programs. Later, the president will make remarks at the…
MINNEAPOLIS – A Minnesota judge has denied a defense request to dismiss the most serious charge against a former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she meant to use a Taser instead of a handgun when she fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright. Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter will stand trial in Hennepin County on first- and second-degree…
(Merck & Co. via AP) LONDON (AP) – Pharmaceutical company Merck has agreed to allow other drug makers to make its COVID-19 treatment, the first pill that has been shown to be effective against the disease. The move aims at helping millions of people in poorer countries access the drug. The U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool said in a statement on…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Twin Metals says it will appeal a federal decision that dealt a serious blow to its proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. Last week, the Biden administration ordered a mineral withdrawal study that could lead to a 20-year ban on mining upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a popular recreational area in the Superior National…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly is poised to give final approval to a package of anti-abortion bills that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is all but certain to veto. Final approval on Wednesday of the bills designed the reduce the number of abortions in the state comes after the state Senate, also controlled by Republicans, passed the measures…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health advisers have endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for younger children. The vote Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration panel moves the U.S. closer to vaccinating children ages 5 to 11. The FDA isn’t bound by the panel’s recommendation and is expected to make its own decision within days. If regulators agree, shots…
(Mark Hertzberg/Pool Photo via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin judge is setting the final ground rules for what evidence will be allowed at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial next week. The Illinois teen shot three people, killing two of them, during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha in August 2020. He faces multiple charges, including homicide. He has argued…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The judge who oversaw the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin said Monday that he will make the names of the 15 jurors and alternates who sat in the courtroom public next week. Judge Peter Cahill’s order says he will make the list of jurors public on Nov. 1. The written questionnaires of all…
Courtesy: Ashland Daily Press via AP MARENGO, Wis. (AP) – The brother and sister who died when their small plane crashed into a house in a tiny, northern Wisconsin town were known to the homeowners, who escaped injury. The single-engine plane went down Saturday afternoon in the Ashland County community of Marengo, home to about 400 residents located about 80…
LONDON (AP) — Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told British lawmakers Monday that the social media giant stokes online hate and extremism, fails to protect children from harmful content and lacks any incentive to fix the problems, providing momentum for efforts by European governments working on stricter regulation of tech companies. While her testimony echoed much of what she told the U.S. Senate this month,…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Contentious disagreements over COVID-19 policies and critical race theory have caused a significant increase in the number of local school board resignations in Minnesota. According to the Minnesota School Boards Association, nearly 70 board members have resigned from their positions this year, triple the number of resignations in a regular year. The association says that equates…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A judge has granted a request from wildlife advocacy groups and blocked Wisconsin’s fall wolf hunt two weeks before hunters were set to take to the woods. Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost issued a temporary injunction Friday halting the season, which was set to begin Nov. 6. The order comes as part of a lawsuit…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is not immediately blocking the Texas law that bans most abortions, but has agreed to hear arguments in the case on Nov. 1. The justices said Friday they will decide whether the federal government has the right to sue over the law. The court’s action leaves in place for the time being a law…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. budget deficit totaled $2.77 trillion for 2021, the second-highest on record but an improvement from the all-time high of $3.13 trillion in 2020. The deficits in both years reflected trillions of dollars in government spending to counteract the devastating effects of a global pandemic. The Biden administration said Friday that the 2021 deficit, for the…
(courtesy: Fox 9) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A prosecutor says a Minneapolis police officer has been charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide in a fatal crash in July that occurred while the officer was pursuing a stolen vehicle. Officer Brian Cummings was driving nearly 80 mph in Minneapolis with his siren and lights activated when his squad car slammed into a…
(AP) – Pfizer says kid-size doses of its COVID-19 vaccine are safe and nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in elementary school children. Details of the study were posted online Friday as U.S. regulators consider opening vaccinations to youngsters 5 to 11. The shots could begin early next month if regulators give the go-ahead. If the FDA authorizes the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Members of Minnesota’s teacher’s union are calling on on school leaders to do more to protect students and staff after the state Department of Health reported the first student death from COVID-19 this school year. Health officials said the student and two staff members died last week. That increased the total number of school fatalities…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House voted Thursday to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Now the U.S. attorney’s office must decide whether to prosecute. The congressional committee has vowed to move swiftly and forcefully to…
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (AP) — The College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University is investigating allegations that some male students started a competition this fall to see who could have more sexual encounters with female students. The allegations were first reported by The Record, the student newspaper for both colleges, which are Roman Catholic schools. Katie Alvino, a spokeswoman for…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman after she called 911 to report a possible rape behind her home has been sentenced to 57 months in prison, which was the maximum term possible under the state’s sentencing guidelines. Mohamed Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of…
(Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman after she called 911 to report that she heard a possible rape happening behind her home will be sentenced on a lesser charge. Mohamed Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the July 2017 death of…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says unvaccinated Minnesotans are 15 times more likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19 and 30 times more likely to die from the disease than unvaccinated residents. The commissioner gave those figures Wednesday as the Minnesota Department of Health began posting additional data as part of its weekly report on vaccine breakthrough cases, which…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially. The Food and Drug Administration’s decisions mark a big step toward expanding the U.S. booster campaign, which…
(The Moab Police Department via AP) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The FBI and a family attorney say items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie have been found in a Florida wilderness park as the search continues for clues in the slaying of Gabby Petito. Attorney Steven Bertolino says Laundrie’s parents took part in the search Wednesday with the FBI…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Biden administration dealt a serious blow Wednesday to the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, ordering a study that could lead to a 20-year ban on mining upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The government said it has filed an application for a “mineral withdrawal,” which would begin with a comprehensive study…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) (AP) – The operator of a Michigan oil pipeline said it temporarily shut down Line 5 Tuesday after protesters warned the company that they planned to turn an emergency valve. Video posted on social media showed someone with a hard hat and a wrench inside a fenced area in Tuscola County, 90 miles north of Detroit….
WASHINGTON (AP) – Kids aged 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy, and potentially even their school. The White House is detailing plans Wednesday for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for younger children in a matter of weeks. The country has ample supplies of shots to vaccinate…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health officials are laying out plans to let most Americans buy hearing aids without a prescription. Tuesday’s announcement is a long-awaited move intended to make the devices more accessible to millions of Americans with hearing problems. The Food and Drug Administration said the proposal would let people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss buy hearing aids at pharmacies…
(courtesy: Minnesota National Guard) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The first woman to lead the Minnesota Air National Guard has officially assumed her duties. Command Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Erikson is the most senior enlisted member of the Minnesota Air Guard. She’s in charge of about 2,000 airmen located at two separate wings and the command headquarters. Erikson has 32…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Housing experts say rental evictions are rising in Minnesota as state protections adopted because of COVID-19 are beginning to ease. As of last week, a 15-day notice is no longer required before an eviction notice is filed over delinquent rent. Lease terminations can also occur more easily. For some, a pending application for financial aid through…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Teenagers would be allowed to work longer hours over the busy summer tourism months in Wisconsin under a bill up for approval in the state Senate. The measure up for a vote Wednesday is backed by Republicans and the state’s hotel, restaurant, and grocery industries, but opposed by Democrats and the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. Current law does…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has launched his campaign for a second term in an increasingly divided state, saying he made the tough calls necessary to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the economy. The former high school football coach made the announcement in a YouTube video posted Tuesday that shows him standing on a football…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota public safety officials said Monday that nearly 400 people have died in traffic crashes on Minnesota roads this year, putting the state on pace to see the highest number of traffic fatalities recorded since 2007. Officials said there have been 384 traffic fatalities in 2021. That’s a 23% increase over this time last year….
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to block the Texas law banning most abortions, while the fight over the measure’s constitutionality plays out in the courts. The law has been in effect since September, aside from a district court-ordered pause that lasted just 48 hours. It bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around…
WASHIINGTON (AP) – Colin Powell, former Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday. In an announcement on social media, the family said Powell had been fully vaccinated. Powell was the first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state. But his reputation also…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden plans to highlight his plan to lower the cost of child care for most American families as he makes the case for his stalled social spending bill during a visit to Connecticut. Biden will visit a child development center in Hartford on Friday to promote his proposal to make such carefree for lower-income families….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A former suburban Minneapolis police officer who has said she meant to use a taser instead of a handgun when she shot and killed Daunte Wright in April is laying out her potential defenses. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter’s trial is set to start on Nov. 30. Attorneys for Potter said in documents made public Thursday…
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – Four children were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening after the school bus they were riding in crashed with a pickup truck in northwestern Minnesota’s Clay County. Sheriff Mark Empting said the crash happened at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday in rural Clay County. Empting said the preliminary investigation shows the driver of…
MINNEAPOLIS – Authorities say handguns and rifles that have been modified into fully automatic weapons that can fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute have been involved in a string of Minneapolis shootings and have been showing up at more crime scenes. Police data show the city’s ShotSpotter network has recorded 78 automatic gunfire activations of 935 total rounds, compared…
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) WASHINGTON (AP) – Inflation at the wholesale level rose 8.6% in September compared to a year ago, the largest advance since the 12-month change was first calculated in 2010. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the increase in its producer price index, which measures inflationary pressures before they reach consumers, was 0.5% for September compared to a…
NEW YORK (AP) – With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas, and other fuels, the U.S. government said Wednesday it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared to last winter. Nearly half the homes in the U.S. use natural gas for heat, and they could pay an average of $746 this winter,…
(courtesy: MN Zoo via Twitter) APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Zoo is searching for a lost owl. KFGO reported Wednesday that Gladys, the zoo’s Eurasian eagle owl, flew off during a routine exercise and training session earlier this month and didn’t return. Zoo staff believes Gladys is probably still within the zoo’s 485-acre, heavily forested grounds. They’re asking…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Supreme Court says workers’ compensation for injured employees doesn’t cover medical marijuana because the drug remains illegal under federal law. The high court issued a pair of rulings Wednesday that overturned lower court orders for employers to pay for medical marijuana to treat work-related injuries. Federal law prohibits the prescribing and possession of marijuana regardless…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal judge won’t block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for scores of Minnesota health care workers, at least for now. Nearly 200 Minnesota health care workers filed a lawsuit in September challenging the requirement from President Joe Biden’s administration that all workers in most health settings get vaccinated or lose their jobs. The workers argued…
(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) LOS ANGELES (AP) – The union representing film and television crews says its 60,000 members will begin a nationwide strike on Monday if it does not reach a deal that satisfies demands for fair and safe working conditions. A strike would bring a halt to filming on a broad swath of film and television productions and extend…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Millions of retirees on Social Security will get a 5.9% boost in benefits for 2022. The biggest cost-of-living adjustment in 39 years follows a burst in inflation as the economy struggles to shake off the drag of the coronavirus pandemic. The COLA increase amounts to $92 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates released…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration says the U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic. International visitors will need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Vehicle, rail, and ferry travel between the U.S. and Canada, and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel, such as trade,…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota’s COVID-19 test positivity rate has soared to 8.3%, the highest mark since the vaccines first rolled out late last year. The seven-day rolling average for the state’s positivity rate continues to climb toward the high-risk category. The state draws that line at 10%. Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota reached 960 as of Monday and…
