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…
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) – A coroner in Wyoming says slain cross-country traveler Gabby Petito died as a result of strangulation. The 22-year-old woman’s body was found last month near an undeveloped camping area in remote northern Wyoming along the border of Grand Teton National Park. Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a news conference Tuesday he was prevented…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An Amazon distribution center is coming to a Twin Cities suburb. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Monday that the 517,000-square-foot facility will open in Woodbury late next summer. The center is expected to generate 500 jobs and may add another 500 during the holiday season. The building will be Amazon’s third large-scale facility in…
WASHINGTON (AP) – With many Americans who got Pfizer vaccinations already rolling up their sleeves for a booster shot, millions of others who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine wait anxiously to learn when it’s their turn. Federal regulators begin tackling that question this week. On Thursday and Friday, the Food and Drug Administration convenes its independent advisers…
(courtesy: Smith Family via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A central Minnesota prosecutor has decided not to charge two members of a U.S. Marshals Service task force who fatally shot Winston Smith Jr., a Black man, in Minneapolis. Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan said in a letter dated last week that the task force members were justified in using deadly…
(Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press via AP) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Two men have been charged in connection with a weekend shootout at a busy St. Paul bar that left one woman dead and 14 people injured. Police say 27-year-old Marquisha Wiley was killed early Sunday when gunfire broke out at the Seventh Street Truck Park bar. She was shot in…
BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota man accused of killing a staff member at a medical clinic and wounding four others during a February shooting is now facing an upgraded murder charge. A grand jury indicted Gregory Ulrich with one count of first-degree premeditated murder. He’s also charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder in the shooting at the…
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has issued a formal apology for Wisconsin’s role in Native American boarding schools, joining with leaders from the state’s tribes at an Indigenous Peoples Day event. Evers signed an executive order on Monday that also formally supported the previously announced U.S. Department of Interior investigation…
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – A parent has sued a southeastern Wisconsin school district after her son contracted COVID-19 from a classmate. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Shannon Jensen filed the lawsuit in federal court against the Waukesha School District and school board on Oct. 5. According to the lawsuit, the board in May removed a student mask requirement and…
(Merck & Co. via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) – Drugmaker Merck has asked U.S. regulators to authorize its promising antiviral pill against COVID-19, setting the stage for a decision within weeks. If cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, it would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, adding a new, easy-to-use weapon to the world’s arsenal against the pandemic….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota officials have blocked the importation and movement of deer into and within the state to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease. The state Department of Natural Resources announced the move early Monday morning. The decision comes after a CWD-positive game farm in Wisconsin shipped nearly 400 deer to farms in seven states. Minnesota…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say they won’t file charges against a white police officer who shot Jacob Blake in Wisconsin last year. Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake, who is Black, during a domestic disturbance in Kenosha in August 2020. The shooting left Blake paralyzed from the waist down and sparked several nights of protests. An Illinois man shot…
BRAINERD, Minn. (AP) – Sheriff’s officials say a woman was found fatally shot in a cabin in Crow Wing County after deputies responded to a call about gunfire and arrested an armed man. Dispatchers received a shooting complaint about 11 p.m. Thursday. The caller said several gunshots were heard in Lake Edward Township. Law enforcement officers responded and encountered a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The second of two brothers charged in the fatal shooting of an off-duty firefighter in St. Paul has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter. A 67-month prison sentence for Dante Caraway was stayed Thursday and he was given credit for 686 days spent in jail. Earlier this year, Caraway’s brother, Blake Caraway, was…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota health leaders are warning that the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is putting a heavy strain on hospitals and health care workers statewide as the coronavirus burns through the unvaccinated population. They also told reporters Thursday that transmission in schools and among children is a particular concern, with pediatric ICU beds in short supply. Health…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers added just 194,000 jobs in September, a second straight tepid gain and evidence that the pandemic still has a grip on the economy with many companies struggling to fill millions of open jobs. Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.8% from 5.2% in August. The economy…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Some Minnesota government employees say that a month into the COVID-19 vaccine policy for state workers, their agencies are ramping up discipline for employees who either won’t get the vaccine or submit to weekly testing. State officials say more than 500 employees have declined both options, Employees who decline to be vaccinated or tested can…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, another sign that the U.S. job market and economy continue their steady recovery from last year’s coronavirus recession. The Labor Department said Thursday that unemployment claims were down by 38,000 to 326,000, the first drop in four weeks. Since surpassing 900,000 in early January, the weekly…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says an agreement has been reached with Republicans to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December. That temporarily averts a debt crisis. Schumer made the announcement as he opened the Senate on Thursday. He said he hoped the Senate could vote later in the day. Republican leader Mitch McConnell…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A federal judge has ordered Texas to suspend a new law that has banned most abortions in the state since September. The order Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman freezes, for now, the strict abortion law known as Senate Bill 8. It bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks….
(AP) – Pfizer is asking the U.S. government to allow the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. If regulators agree, shots could begin within a matter of weeks. Pfizer already had announced that a lower dose of its vaccine worked and appeared safe in a study of the youngsters. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech…
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles leaders have voted to enact one of the nation’s strictest vaccine mandates. The sweeping measure requires the shots for everyone entering bars, restaurants, nail salons, gyms, and even a Lakers game. The City Council on Wednesday voted 11-2 in favor of the ordinance. Supporters say it’s a way of preventing more COVID-19 surges. Critics…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday denied former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s request to have a public defender represent him as he appeals his murder conviction and sentence in the death of George Floyd. The state’s high court said Chauvin has not established that he is entitled to a public defender. The justices made that decision…
(Arlington Police Department via AP) ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Police in Texas have arrested a student suspected of opening fire during a fight at his Dallas-area high school, leaving four people injured. Police say 18-year-old Timothy George Simpkins fled from Timberview High School in Arlington and drove away in a 2018 silver Dodge Charger after the Wednesday morning shooting. Simpkins…
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A Dallas-area school district said Wednesday that law enforcement was responding to reports of an “active shooter situation” at a high school. The Mansfield Independent School District said in a news release that Timberview High School was on lockdown Wednesday morning. The school is in Arlington, which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. An…
DETROIT (AP) – Volvo is recalling nearly 260,000 older cars in the U.S. because the front driver’s airbag can explode and send shrapnel into the cabin. The recall is in addition to one from November of 2020, which was done after an unidentified U.S. driver was killed. The latest recall covers S80 sedans from 2001 to 2006 and S60s from…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz is calling on lawmakers to approve a series of new measures to respond to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccine and testing requirements for teachers and school staff, and for long-term care workers. The Democratic governor detailed his proposal in a letter to lawmakers that he released after meeting privately with…
(Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a woman who called 911 to report a possible rape behind her home is being resentenced this month after the Minnesota Supreme Court threw out his murder conviction. Mohamed Noor was initially convicted of murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine…
(Antioch Police Department via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A judge has declined to dismiss a weapons charge against an Illinois man accused of shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year. Prosecutors charged Kyle Rittenhouse with homicide and other crimes, including being a minor in possession of a firearm, after he killed two men…
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…
