WASHINGTON (AP) – Johnson & Johnson has asked U.S. regulators to allow booster shots of its COVID-19 vaccine as the U.S. government moves toward shoring up protection in more vaccinated Americans. J&J said Tuesday it filed data with the Food and Drug Administration on giving a booster dose between two to six months after vaccination. The U.S. government last month…
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After 40 drawings without a big Powerball winner, a single ticket sold in California matched all six numbers and was the lucky winner of the nearly $700 million jackpot prize, officials said. The winning numbers drawn Monday night were 12, 22, 54, 66, and 69. The Powerball was 15. Thanks to nearly four months of…
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is reversing a ban on abortion referrals by federally funded family planning clinics. Monday’s action by the Department of Health and Human Services lifts a Trump-era restriction as political and legal battles over abortion grow sharper from Texas to the U.S. Supreme Court. Groups representing the clinics say they hope the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials have scaled back the number of wolves hunters can kill during the state’s fall season in defiance of the board that controls the agency. The DNR had originally proposed setting the quota at 130 wolves. The department’s policy board bumped that up to 300 wolves in August. But the department…
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – After 40 drawings without a big Powerball winner, maybe the 41st attempt will be different. Thanks to nearly four months of futility, Monday’s Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $685 million, making it the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history. No one has won the game’s grand prize since June 5….
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — A former central Minnesota middle school teacher and coach has been sentenced to probation for sexually assaulting a female high school student. Thirty-two-year Daniel Fragodt, of Melrose, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Stearns County District Court. He was sentenced Friday to five years of probation. According to a criminal complaint, the victim…
(AP) – Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp platforms were down in parts of the world on Monday. The company said it was “aware that some people are having trouble accessing Facebook app” and it was working on restoring access. The company did not say what might be causing the outage, which began around 11:45 ET. Users reported being unable…
(Robert Fortunato/CBS News/60 Minutes via AP) NEW YORK (AP) – Facebook prematurely turned off safeguards designed to thwart misinformation and rabble-rousing after Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in last year’s elections in a moneymaking move that a company whistleblower alleges contributed to the deadly Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol. The whistleblower, former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen, also…
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The giant Powerball jackpot has grown even bigger, with officials raising the estimated payout to $635 million ahead of Saturday night’s drawing. The grand prize was raised Friday from an earlier estimate of $620 million, reflecting a surge in sales from players attracted by the potential payoff. While the jackpot increases, the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota lawmakers have $250 million in federal COVID-19 aid to give away, but they can’t agree on how to spend it. The Frontline Pay Working Group is tasked with figuring out how to divide the money among frontline workers. The panel blew past a Labor Day deadline, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that its…
The high court said in a press release Friday that Kavanaugh has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January. Kavanaugh and all the other justices had a routine coronavirus test ahead of Friday’s ceremonial investiture for Justice Amy Coney Barrett. The court says Kavanaugh’s wife and daughters are also fully vaccinated, and they tested negative on Thursday. The…
(AP Photo) LOS ANGELES (AP) – Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar will perform for the first time together on stage at the 2022 Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. The NFL, Pepsi, and Roc Nation announced Thursday that the five music icons will perform on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Dre, Snoop…
WASHINGTON (AP) – With only hours to spare, Congress passed legislation that would avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The votes will help avert one crisis, but efforts to stave off a second crisis seem likely to continue for the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — State wildlife officials say two Minnesota farms received deer from a Wisconsin farm where chronic wasting disease was detected last month. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday that the news was “extremely concerning” and the agency is “actively considering management responses” to the threat facing the state’s wild deer population. A recent report…
DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling more than 550,000 cars and minivans in the U.S. because the turn signals can flash in the opposite direction of what the driver intended. The recall covers Hyundai’s Sonata midsize car from the 2015 through 2017 model years and Sonata gas-electric hybrids from 2016 and 2017. Kia’s Sedona minivan from 2015 through…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Corrections has been more successful getting inmates immunized against the coronavirus than it has for its own employees, vaccination rates show. As of this week, about 80% of prisoners in Minnesota have been fully vaccinated, while the immunization rate for corrections employees is just over 65% and at some prisons, it’s…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing lawmakers’ outrage against Facebook over its handling of internal research on harm to teens from Instagram, a Facebook executive is telling Congress that the company is working to protect young people on its platforms. And she disputes the way a recent newspaper story describes what the research shows. Antigone Davis, Facebook’s head of global safety, was…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose for the third straight week, a sign that the highly contagious delta variant may be slowing the job market’s recovery. The Labor Department said Thursday that claims were up by 11,000 last week to 362,000 the previous week. Since topping 900,000 in early January, applications have mostly fallen…
(courtesy: The Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) – A judge has suspended Britney Spears’ father from the conservatorship that has controlled the singer’s life and money for 13 years. Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny agreed Wednesday with a petition from Spears and her attorney that James Spears needs to give up his role as conservator. The move is a major…
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon’s new robot can hear, see and follow you around the home, but it’s no Rosey the Robot. Amazon’s version, called Astro, doesn’t cook or clean like the animated character from “The Jetsons,” but it can check if you left the stove on while you’re out or send an alert if someone enters the house it…
(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) – Dollar Tree, the national chain of stores that promises everything for a buck, will begin introducing items on its shelves that will exceed $1. The company said this week that it’s responding to customer requests and said pushing the $1 barrier will allow for a better mix of products. “For decades, our…
EAGLE RIVER, Wis. (AP) – Federal aviation officials say three people have died in the crash of a small plane in northern Wisconsin. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway says the information about the three fatalities comes from local law enforcement officials, who have not commented publicly on the deaths following Tuesday morning’s crash. The Federal Aviation Administration says…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Enbridge announced Wednesday that the upgrade and expansion of its Line 3 pipeline across Minnesota is complete and will become operational on Friday. The Canadian-based company’s President and CEO Al Monaco said in a statement that the pipeline “will soon deliver the low-cost and reliable energy that people depend on every day.” The…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nearly 200 Minnesota health workers are suing their employers to block a pending requirement that they are vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk getting fired. The lawsuit was filed in federal court late Monday against federal officials and about 20 providers that operate hospitals and clinics across Minnesota. It contends the lack of alternatives to vaccination infringes on…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has topped the 700,000 mark, while the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care at Minnesota hospitals fell below 200 for the first time in two weeks. The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday reported 6,203 new cases to raise the state’s total to 706,158 laboratory-confirmed cases. The…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly is scheduled to vote on a Republican-authored bill that would require Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to spend $100 million in COVID-19 relief funding on mental health programs in schools. The measure up for approval Tuesday faces a nearly certain veto from Evers. He has already vetoed two similar bills that would direct how…
NEW YORK (AP) – R. Kelly has been convicted in a sex trafficking trial after several accusers testified in lurid detail how he subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. A New York City jury of seven men and five women found Kelly guilty Monday on a racketeering charge. Kelly was accused of running a Chicago-based…
(AP) – Instagram is putting a hold on the development of Instagram kids, geared towards children under 13, so it can address concerns about the vulnerability of younger users. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post on Monday that a delay will give the company time to “work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday lauded another new abortion law that tightens limits on abortion-inducing medications, creating an additional layer of restrictions after a near-total ban on abortion in the state began this month. The new restrictions, which take effect in December, shrinks the window when doctors and clinics in Texas can give abortion-inducing medication…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)-Minnesota regulators have launched a court-ordered process for assessing the risks to clean water from waste from the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The Department of Natural Resources announced plans for a trial-like proceeding known as a contested case hearing, which was ordered by the Minnesota Supreme Court in April. The hearing will be confined…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death intends to appeal his conviction and sentence, saying the judge abused his discretion or erred during several key points in the case. Derek Chauvin said he intends to appeal on 14 grounds. Among them, he claims Judge Peter Cahill abused his discretion when he denied…
(AP) – The U.S. vaccination drive against COVID-19 stands on the verge of a major new phase: Government advisers on Thursday recommended booster doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for millions of Americans. This, despite concern among some experts that the extra shots will do little to slow the pandemic. The advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended…
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A shooting at a Tennessee grocery store east of Memphis left one person dead and injured 12 others Thursday afternoon, and the shooter was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane said the shooting broke out at a Kroger store in that suburban community about 30 miles east…
NEW YORK (AP) – Target will hire fewer seasonal workers this year and will instead offer more hours to current employees. The move, announced Thursday, is in response to its permanent workers wanting more hours, the company said. About 100,000 seasonal workers will be hired nationwide, the company said Thursday, about 30,000 less than last year. Many of those workers…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin health officials say the latest surge of COVID-19 infections due to the highly contagious delta variant has not yet peaked in the state. The seven-day average of new cases as of Tuesday was 2,857, nearly double what it was two weeks ago and at a level not seen since early January before the vaccine was…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly plans to vote next week on a Republican bill that would prohibit public schools from teaching students and training employees about concepts such as systemic racism and implicit bias. A Republican-controlled Assembly committee on Wednesday approved the bill on a party-line vote. It is slated to be taken up by the full Assembly…
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) – A 26-year-old Fond du Lac police officer has died of COVID-19 complications. Police department officials say the death of Officer Joseph Kurer on Wednesday came a day after his second child was born. Kurer joined the Fond du Lac Police Department in August 2018 and was a member of the Tactical Field Force Team,…
(AP) – The U.S. has moved a step closer to offering booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to seniors and others at high risk from the virus. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday signed off on such shots as a way to shore up protection in those groups. This is not a done deal yet: The Centers for Disease…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Fully vaccinated people make up a minority of COVID-19 hospitalizations and an even lower number of people needing intensive care and ventilators, current data from two large hospital systems in the Upper Midwest shows. Minneapolis-based Allina Health reported 176 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 this week and that 22% are vaccinated against the coronavirus. Sanford Health, based…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden plans to meet with Democrats from the House and Senate as Congress works to bridge party divisions over his big $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda. The afternoon meeting Wednesday comes ahead of crucial voting deadlines. The House is to vote soon on the first part of Biden’s plan – a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – An Arizona man who allegedly told his father he “snapped and shot a couple of people” was charged Tuesday with murder, about a week after four bodies were found in an abandoned SUV in western Wisconsin. Antoine Suggs, 38, of Scottsdale, Arizona, faces four counts of second-degree intentional murder, without premeditation. Suggs is jailed in…
(Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File) LOS ANGELES (AP) – Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch on TV’s “Sex and the City” and its movie sequels, has died at the age of 57. His son, Nathen Garson, announced his death on Tuesday but didn’t provide details. Garson portrayed Blatch, a talent agent and the best male friend to Sarah Jessica Parker’s…
NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) – The FBI says a county coroner has confirmed that human remains found in remote northern Wyoming along the border of Grand Teton National Park are those of 22-year-old Gabby Petito. Her body was discovered at a Wyoming national park over the weekend, months after the pair set out on a cross-country road trip. Officials said…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Police say three teenagers from Minnesota were beaten with a gun at a bar in Sioux Falls, which caused severe head injuries to one of the victims, police said. Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens says the assaults took place Sunday at about 1 a.m. at an unnamed bar where two boys and a girl…
(AP) – Six Native American tribes are suing Wisconsin to try to stop its planned wolf hunt in November. They assert that the hunt violates their treaty rights and endangers an animal they consider sacred. The Chippewa tribes say treaties give them rights to half of the wolf quota in territory they ceded to the United States in the mid-1800s….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota man with a history of pretending to be a police officer is accused in federal court of falsely claiming to be a federal agent. Authorities said in a complaint filed Friday that 52-year-old Reyel Devon Simmons, of Dodge Center, used the fake name “Rey Reeves” and regularly held himself out as a federal agent on…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of Wisconsin officials say student vaccination rates for COVID-19 vary widely among the system’s campuses. At the Madison campus, 91% of students are fully vaccinated, the highest number among the system’s universities. The lowest number of vaccinated students are at UW-Parkside where 38% have been inoculated. Other campuses range from 75% at La Crosse to…
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Police officers swarmed the home of a young man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Gabby Petito. At least a dozen police officers converged Monday on the North Port, Florida, home Brian Laundrie shared with his parents. That comes a day after authorities announced the discovery of a body believed to be…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Joe Biden will ease foreign travel restrictions into the U.S. beginning in November and allow foreign nationals into the country if they have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. The new rules replace a hodgepodge of restrictions that had barred non-citizens who had been in certain countries in the prior…
(Associated Press) – Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11. The vaccine maker said Monday it plans to seek authorization for this age group soon in the U.S., Britain, and Europe. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But many parents are anxiously awaiting…
