MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has resigned after it became apparent that the Republican-controlled state Senate was prepared to oust her. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz says Laura Bishop resigned Tuesday “in order to ensure a smooth and orderly transition” at the agency she had led since 2019. The governor accused Senate Republicans of using…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota’s coronavirus vaccination rates show there’s a sharp contrast between urban and rural counties in the state. The vaccination rate is high in large, urban counties. More than 75% of people age 16 and older in Hennepin and Ramsey counties have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. It’s a different story in many…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Foresters and landowners are concerned that a disease that kills oak trees is creeping farther north in Minnesota. The mighty oak is one of the most abundant trees in Minnesota. Oak wilt was been around for decades and has been confirmed in 40 Minnesota counties. But, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is now finding…
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – The discovery of four more victims in the rubble of a collapsed Florida condominium building has raised the death toll to 32. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah announced the new death count to family members during a closed-door morning briefing Tuesday. A ramped-up rescue effort at the collapsed Florida condo building is facing new weather…
TOKYO (AP) – The pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics are shaping up as a TV-only event with few fans being allowed when they open in just over two weeks. Japan’s Asahi newspaper cited multiple unidentified government sources when it said the opening ceremony may be limited to only VIP guests. The newspaper says other large venues are likely to have no spectators….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer who described pandemic restrictions and lawsuits against businesses that violated state public health guidelines as “intrusive state government” announced her bid on Sunday to unseat Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Attorney Lynne Torgerson announced on Sunday that she will run for attorney general in 2022, citing “destructive government lockdowns, lawsuits by (Ellison)…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Six University of Wisconsin System schools are moving ahead with start dates on the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah despite calls for change. UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stout, and UW-Superior all have scheduled classes to begin Sept. 7 or Sept. 8, the Tuesday and Wednesday after Labor Day. Rosh Hashanah, which marks the start of the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With COVID-19 limits fading away, tourists are returning to Minnesota resorts, many of them from neighboring states. A lot of the workers are not coming back. The worker shortage has been building for more than a year, said Ben Wogsland, a spokesman for Hospitality Minnesota, the trade association for the state’s hotels, restaurants, resorts, and campgrounds. The…
NEW YORK (AP) — Chowdown champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut broke his own record to gulp to a 14th win in the men’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Sunday, while Michelle Lesco took the women’s title. Chestnut downed 76 franks and buns in 10 minutes. That’s one more than he did in setting the men’s record last year, when…
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Prosecutors in Wisconsin want a judge to allow evidence at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial that shows he had a previous violent encounter in Kenosha before he fatally shot two men and injured another during a police brutality protest last year. The state’s motion filed in Kenosha County Circuit Court also seeks to…
(AP) – The Biden administration is planning to require that airlines refund fees on checked baggage if the bags get seriously delayed. The proposal would also require refunds for fees on extras like internet access if the airline fails to provide the service during the flight. An administration official says the Transportation Department will issue the proposal in the next…
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – The tally of the missing in the Florida condominium collapse has been substantially reduced, from 145 to 128. Officials said Friday that the number declined after duplicate names were eliminated and some people reported missing turned up safe. Authorities also announced the recovery of two more bodies, including the 7-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter. That…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota is reporting its 200th traffic death for the year, the earliest date to reach the mark since 2009. State traffic safety officials say a total of 202 people have died on the roads since Jan. 1, compared to 148 at this time a year ago. The fatalities include 142 motor vehicle occupants, 25 motorcyclists, 23 pedestrians,…
(AP) – American champion Sha’Carri Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana. Richardson won the 100 at the Olympic trials on June 19. She told of her ban Friday on the “Today Show.” Richardson says she smoked marijuana as a way of coping with her mother’s recent death. She tested…
WASHINGTON (AP) – America’s employers added 850,000 jobs in June, well above the average of the previous three months and a sign that companies may be having an easier time finding enough workers to fill open jobs. Friday’s report from the Labor Department was the latest sign that the reopening of the economy is propelling a powerful rebound from the…
(left: Anissa Weier, right: Morgan Geyser) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin judge says a woman convicted of stabbing her classmate to please the Slender Man character in 2014 can be released from a mental health facility. Nineteen-year-old Anissa Weier asked Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren to release her from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, arguing she was no longer…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers and the Oneida Nation have signed a deal allowing people to bet on sporting events at the tribe’s casino and other tribal facilities. The signing authorizes betting on sports for the first time in Wisconsin. Evers announced Thursday that his administration and the tribe have amended the tribe’s gambling compact with the state…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Court of Appeals says prosecutors may file aiding and abetting third-degree murder charges against three former Minneapolis police officers in the death of George Floyd. The appeals court on Wednesday sent the case back to Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill. He denied prosecutors’ motion to add the charges against former officers J Kueng, Thomas…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell again last week to the lowest level since the pandemic struck last year, further evidence that the job market and the broader economy are rebounding rapidly from the coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 51,000 to 364,000. Applications for unemployment benefits have fallen more or less steadily since…
(AP) – The Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer has surrendered to authorities ahead of an expected court appearance on the first criminal indictment in a two-year investigation into business practices at Donald Trump’s company. Allen Weisselberg was photographed walking into the complex that houses criminal courts and the Manhattan district attorney’s office at around 6:20 a.m. Thursday. New York…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature has reconvened to finish its remaining work on a $52 billion, two-year budget. Education and tax bills need passage before the current budget expires Wednesday night. Lawmakers returned to the Capitol after working into the early hours Wednesday to pass a bill that ends Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers effective Thursday. The Democratic governor…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Rumsfeld, the two-time defense secretary and a one-time presidential candidate whose reputation as a skilled bureaucrat and visionary of a modern U.S. military was soiled by the long and costly Iraq war, died Tuesday, his family said in a statement. He was 88. Regarded by former colleagues as equally smart and combative, patriotic and politically cunning,…
(Montgomery County Correctional Facility via AP) PHILADELPHIA (AP/Fox 9) – Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned comedian Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction. The court said Wednesday that they found an agreement with a previous prosecutor that prevented him from being charged in the case. The 83-year-old Cosby has served more than two years at a state prison near Philadelphia. He has…
SURFSIDE, Florida (AP) – A fire official says the bodies of four additional victims have been found in the rubble of a collapsed condo tower, raising the death toll to 16 people. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told family members at a morning briefing that rescuers found the bodies Tuesday night. He said the victims’ next of kin had…
(AP) – Donald Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief are expected to be charged Thursday with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings. That’s according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer,…
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature reconvenes Wednesday to finish its remaining work on a $52 billion, two-year budget after working into the early hours to pass a bill that ends Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers effective Thursday. The emergency powers language was added early Wednesday to a state government and elections budget bill shortly after the…
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Senate has joined the state House in approving a modest set of police accountability measures as part of a broader public safety budget bill. The Senate approved it 45-21 early Wednesday following a 75-59 vote Tuesday night in the Minnesota House. The approval comes on the heels of last week’s sentencing of…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota Board of Regents on Tuesday agreed to raise tuition for the first time in two years, over objections from some students who believe it’s wrong to charge more after the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joan Gabel’s $4 billion budget for the next fiscal year includes about $50 million in spending reductions and internal reallocations….
(University of Minnesota) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The University of Minnesota Board of Regents on Tuesday voted in favor of renaming the Gopher’s football stadium to Huntington Bank Stadium. The change is effective immediately. The stadium had been known as TCF Bank Stadium since it opened in 2009, but Huntington completed its merger with TCF earlier this month. Minnesota’s first game…
LA CROSSE, Wisc. (AP) – President Joe Biden is in Wisconsin, looking to sell voters on the economic benefits of the $973 billion infrastructure package. He hopes the trip will boost the bipartisan agreement that is held together in large part by the promise of millions of new jobs. White House officials issued an internal memo that highlights how the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Supreme Court says a former drug smuggler can practice law in Wisconsin. The court on Tuesday ordered the state bar to admit Abby Padlock. A board of examiners had refused to allow Padlock to practice law because she failed to note details of a 2015 arrest on her University of Wisconsin Law School application….
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Enbridge Energy officials say two of its employees who were working on the Line 3 oil pipeline in northern Minnesota were fired after they were arrested in a sex sting. The two men were among six men arrested after responding to an ad on a sex advertisement website, The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says that the state’s birth forms should include gender-neutral options for identifying the parents of a child. Evers and the state Department of Health Services announced Monday that starting July 1, forms that are used to generate birth certificates will include “parent-parent” and “parent giving birth” options in addition to the current…
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – Rescuers searching for a fifth day for survivors of a Florida condo building collapse used bucket brigades and heavy machinery as they worked atop a precarious mound of pulverized concrete, twisted steel, and the remnants of dozens of households. Authorities said Monday it is still a search-and-rescue operation, but no one has been found alive since…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed antitrust lawsuits brought against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general, dealing a significant blow to attempts by regulators to rein in tech giants. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Monday that the lawsuits were “legally insufficient” and didn’t provide enough evidence to prove that…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz says he will relinquish the special powers that he has been using to manage the COVID-19 pandemic by Aug. 1, ending a peacetime state of emergency that has been in effect since March 2020. He says about three dozen states are still under a state of emergency. Walz told reporters Friday that…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Virginia school board’s appeal to reinstate its transgender bathroom ban. Over two dissenting votes, the justices left in place lower court rulings that found the policy unconstitutional. The case involved former high school student Gavin Grimm, who filed a federal lawsuit after he was told he could not use the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A judge has rejected former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s request for a new trial in George Floyd’s death. Judge Peter Cahill denied the request Friday. He says defense attorney Eric Nelson didn’t show that the court abused its discretion. Cahill also rejected a defense request to impeach the jury’s verdict for alleged juror misconduct, citing insufficient…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Biden administration has signaled that it does not plan to cancel federal permits for Enbridge’s Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project, despite pleas by Native Americans and environmental groups for the president to intervene. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used a court filing this week to defend its decision to grant Enbridge a water permit…
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – Search and rescue teams are trying to detect any sounds coming from survivors of the collapse of a beachside condominium complex near Miami. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says 159 people are still unaccounted for. The mayor says it’s “incredibly motivating” to watch the search and rescue teams risking their lives to find victims. Crews…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is set to learn his fate as a Minnesota judge sentences him for murder in the death of George Floyd. The 45-year-old Chauvin faces decades in prison, with several legal experts predicting a sentence of 20 to 25 years. He still faces a federal trial on civil rights charges in Floyd’s…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota’s court system could allow expanded camera coverage of criminal proceedings following the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in George Floyd’s death. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea says it’s time to consider amending the current rules to accommodate broader public access. Gildea’s order doesn’t specifically cite Derek Chauvin’s trial, which was Minnesota’s first criminal case in…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Opponents of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project are worried about the potential impact of the company’s plan to temporarily pump as much as 10 times more groundwater out of the construction area than once planned. Enbridge has encountered more groundwater than anticipated as it digs trenches for the replacement pipeline across northern Minnesota. Earlier…
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say nearly 100 people are still unaccounted for after part of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed in a town outside Miami. The collapse in the community of Surfside killed at least one person and trapped others in rubble and twisted metal. Rescuers pulled dozens of survivors from the tower Thursday morning and continued to…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin faces sentencing Friday in the death of George Floyd, with a judge weighing a prison term experts say could be as much as 30 years. Chauvin, 45, was convicted in April of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for about 9 1/2…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced that “we have a deal” – a bipartisan agreement on a $953 billion infrastructure plan. The agreement, reached in a meeting Thursday at the White House, means a breakthrough after arduous negotiations on the president’s top legislative priority. Biden invited members of the bipartisan group to discuss the pared-down plan that has…
NEW YORK (AP) – An appeals court has suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in New York because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee said in its motion to suspend Giuliani’s license that there was “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani had made false statements to…
REGINA, Saskatchewan (AP) – Leaders of Indigenous groups in Canada say investigators have found 751 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school for Indigenous children in Saskatchewan. The discovery follows last month’s report of 215 at another school in British Columbia. Chief Cadmusn Delmore of the Cowessess First Nation made the announcement at a news conference Thursday….
CUMBERLAND, Wis. (AP) – Two people are dead in a collision involving a dump truck and car in Barron County. The sheriff’s department says the truck was eastbound on Highway 48 near Cumberland Wednesday afternoon when a westbound car crossed the center line and the two vehicles crashed. The driver of the car, 19-year-old Damien Weiss, of Turtle Lake, and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has extended the nationwide ban on evictions for 30 days to help tenants who are unable to make rent payments during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, extended the evictions moratorium until July 31. It had been scheduled to end on June 30. The White…
