LANSING, Mich. — Michigan will lift all indoor capacity restrictions and mask requirements next week, 10 days sooner than planned amid vaccinations and plummeting COVID-19 infections, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday. The state’s main coronavirus order will expire at the end of Monday instead of July 1, bringing an end to mandatory 50% occupancy limits inside restaurants, gyms and entertainment…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota House launched into a long, contentious debate Thursday as it held its first votes on big-budget bills that lawmakers were unable to pass before time ran out on the year’s regular session last month. The House had four bills teed up for final floor votes. But minority House Republicans were unhappy with being shut out…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is tracking a new variant of COVID-19 with more than two dozen cases in the state. The Delta strain has been elevated to a “variant of concern” in Wisconsin. The strain is fueling the coronavirus surge in the United Kingdom and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. President Joe Biden is scheduled to sign into law on Thursday a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. The House approved the bill 415-14 on Wednesday. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April despite widespread evidence that the economy and the job market are rebounding steadily from the pandemic recession. Jobless claims rose 37,000 from the week before. As the job market has strengthened, the number of weekly applications for unemployment aid has…
(David Joles/Star Tribune via AP,File) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota has reached 3 million residents who’ve had at least one COVID-19 shot, health officials said Wednesday. The Minnesota Department of Health said 3,005,706 Minnesotans had received at least their first dose as of Monday, while 2,774,889 had completed the series. The department logged 5,979 new vaccinations Monday. The 3…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve signaled that it may act sooner than previously planned to start dialing back the low-interest-rate policies that have helped fuel a swift rebound from the pandemic recession but have also coincided with rising inflation. The policymakers forecast that they would raise their benchmark short-term rate — which affects many consumer and business rates, from…
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly plans to vote on bills banning transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The measures being debated Wednesday in the middle of gay pride month are all but certain to be headed for a veto by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Even though they are…
(Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A St. Paul man has been charged with intentional second-degree murder for allegedly driving into a group of protesters in Minneapolis. Prosecutors say 35-year-old Nicholas Kraus was drunk Sunday night when he tried to “jump” a car that was being used as a barricade by protesters in the city’s Uptown neighborhood….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly is poised to send a package of police reform bills to Gov. Tony Evers, including a measure banning police use of chokeholds except in life-threatening situations or in self-defense. The proposal is among a dozen bipartisan policing bills up for approval on Wednesday that have broad support among the law enforcement community. The…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly planned to vote Wednesday on a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit businesses, colleges and universities, governments, and anyone else in the state from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination. The measure must also pass the Senate and be signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers before becoming law. Evers has signaled that he will veto…
(Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis police say a 35-year-old St. Paul man with multiple convictions for driving while impaired is the driver who plowed into a crowd of demonstrators, killing one and injuring three others. Police say Nicholas Kraus was booked into the Hennepin County jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. Online jail records…
(AP) – The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has topped 600,000, even as the vaccination drive has slashed daily cases and deaths and allowed the country to emerge from the gloom. That’s according to the toll recorded by Johns Hopkins University. The number of lives lost is greater than the population of Baltimore or Milwaukee. It is about equal to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A group representing Minnesota landlords announced a lawsuit Tuesday to force an end to the eviction moratorium imposed by Gov. Tim Walz, saying his order makes it all but impossible for property owners to remove disruptive tenants. The Minnesota Multi Housing Association says the governor’s executive order, which was issued in the early days of…
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales fell in May, dragged down by a decline in auto sales and a shift by Americans to spend more on vacations and other services instead of goods. Total sales dropped a seasonal adjusted 1.3% in May from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. Wall Street analysts expected a smaller decline of…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The superintendents of Wisconsin’s five largest school districts are telling members of the Legislature that they’re “dismayed” that $2.3 billion in federal aid is at risk because of low funding for K-12 schools. The heads of the Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Kenosha, and Green Bay districts urged legislators in a letter sent Tuesday to set aside partisan…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers have returned to unfinished business at the Capitol as they begin a special session to finalize a two-year budget and avert a potential government shutdown at the end of the month. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman says four of the 13 unresolved budget bills are “completely ready to go.” She says the public…
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the next planned relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in England will be delayed by four weeks until July 19, as a result of the spread of the delta variant. In a press briefing Monday, Johnson said he is “confident that we won’t need more than four weeks” as millions of…
(AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan) (AP) – The Girl Scouts have an unusual problem this year: 15 million boxes of unsold cookies. The 109-year-old organization says the coronavirus shut down in-person sales at cookie booths. “This is unfortunate, but given this is a girl-driven program and the majority of cookies are sold in-person, it was to be expected,” said Kelly Parisi,…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, pool) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s top national security official is resigning from his position after revelations that the department secretly seized records from Democrats and members of the media. John Demers will leave his position by the end of next week. That’s according to a Justice Department official who spoke to The Associated Press on…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed state regulators’ key approvals of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project, in a dispute that drew over 1,000 protesters to northern Minnesota last week. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the state’s independent Public Utilities Commission correctly granted Enbridge the certificate of need and route permit that…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A woman was killed and another person was injured after being struck by a car during a protest in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood where a Black man was fatally shot earlier this month during an arrest attempt, police said Monday. The suspect was pulled from his vehicle by protesters after the 11:39 p.m. Sunday crash; was taken into police custody…
U.S. regulators are allowing for the release of 10 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine from a troubled Baltimore factory. But material to make many more must be thrown out because of possible contamination. That’s according to a person familiar with the decision. The FDA announced Friday that it had determined that two batches from the plant could…
MADISON, Wis.-The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that local health departments do not have the authority to close schools due emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic. The conservative majority of the court, in a 4-3 decision Friday, also ruled that a school closure order issued last year by Public Health Madison & Dane County infringed on religious rights. The ruling is…
MINNEAPOLIS-Roads are breaking apart as an oppressive heat wave continues to bake the Twin Cities. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports state transportation officials have responded to 43 incidents of road buckling in the metro area since 90-degree temperatures enveloped the region on June 3. The area is experiencing the third-longest streak of temperatures at 90 degrees of higher in history….
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – The top of the world got a sunrise special “ring of fire” solar eclipse. This so-called annular eclipse began Thursday at the Canadian province of Ontario, then swept across Greenland, the North Pole, and finally Siberia. An annular eclipse occurs when a new moon is around its farthest point from us and appearing smaller. It…
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) – Health officials and experts around the world are welcoming a U.S. plan to donate 500 million more COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries. But the celebrations Thursday came with hesitation. For instance, when exactly will those vaccines reach regions left behind in the global race and that are feeling the bite right now with deadly…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Senate has approved Republican-backed bills that would create new hurdles for the elderly and disabled to cast absentee ballots, limit the number and location of ballot drop boxes and impose new penalties for violating election law. All of the measures are almost certain to be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has said…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House dropped Trump-era executive orders intended to ban the popular apps TikTok and WeChat and will conduct its own review aimed at identifying national security risks with software applications tied to China, officials said Wednesday. A new executive order directs the Commerce Department to undertake what officials describe as an “evidence-based” analysis of transactions involving apps that are manufactured…
MADISON, Wis.-The Wisconsin Senate is poised to vote on a bill banning police from using chokeholds, except in life-threatening situations or to defend themselves. The measure up for approval Wednesday is one in a series of police reform bills making their way through the Legislature this year. Critics say there should be no exception for officers to use chokeholds, even…
MINNEAPOLIS-The Minnesota Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday in the case of Mohamed Noor. He’s the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of third-degree murder in the shooting death of an Australian woman who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. Noor’s attorneys argue that a divided Minnesota Court of Appeals failed to follow…
MINNEAPOLIS-A more detailed trial schedule for three former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the death of George Floyd has been set for next March. Last month, a judge pushed the trial of Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao out to next March, in part because he wanted publicity from the trial of ex-officer Derek Chauvin…
(Ozaukee County Sheriff via AP) MILWAUKEE — A former pharmacist in Wisconsin who intentionally ruined more than 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been sentenced to three years in prison. Steven Brandenburg, of Grafton, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in February to two felony counts of attempting to tamper with a consumer product. He had admitted to removing…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Fifteen Minneapolis schools that aren’t fully air-conditioned are switching from in-person to online instruction to avoid a heatwave this week. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the schools will shift into online learning Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Highs in Minneapolis are expected to top out in the mid-to-upper-90s those days. The schools plan to re-open on Friday,…
Aaron Rodgers (AP) GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers wasn’t with the Green Bay Packers for their first mandatory minicamp session. This marks the latest chapter in the standoff between the team and its MVP quarterback. Rodgers also hadn’t participated in the Packers’ voluntary organized team activities. That represented a change from his usual offseason routine. The Packers have…
(Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) PARK RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) — Protesters fighting Canadian-based Enbridge Energy’s push to replace an aging oil pipeline across northern Minnesota have maintained a blockade at a pump station as part of a summer drive to stop the project before it can go into service later this year. Two protesters spent the night in a…
(AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Crews returned to a Minneapolis intersection where a memorial to George Floyd was assembled after his death last year and worked to reopen it to traffic by removing debris and makeshift barriers. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that workers using front-end loaders and brooms arrived just before 5 a.m. Tuesday and cleared the intersection…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin prison officials announced Monday they will lift a ban on in-person visits later this month as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. The state Department of Corrections said people can resume scheduling in-person visits again on June 16. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit in May demanding that the department relax restrictions and allow ministers to visit inmates,…
(Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) SOLWAY, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds of protesters chanting “Stop Line 3!” and “Water is life!” gathered at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota on Monday, vowing to do whatever it takes to stop a Canadian-based company’s plan to replace an aging pipeline that carries oil from Alberta to Wisconsin. Environmental and tribal groups say…
(courtesy: Waite Park Police Department via Fox9) ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Charges are pending against a suspected drunken driver who crashed head-long into a St. Cloud Police officer’s squad car. KTSP-TV reported Monday that the crash occurred about 6:20 a.m. on Sunday. Investigators said the officer was on traveling southbound on patrol and not using his emergency lights when…
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson,File) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has recovered the majority of a multimillion-dollar ransom payment to hackers after a cyberattack that caused the operator of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline to halt its operations last month, officials said Monday. The operation to recover the cryptocurrency from the Russia-based hacker group is believed to be the first of…
(courtesy: Biogen via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) – Government health officials have approved the first drug that they say may help slow Alzheimer’s disease. The surprise decision came after the agency’s independent advisers said the treatment hadn’t been shown to help treat the brain-destroying disease. The Food and Drug Administration is not required to follow their advice. The agency approved the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court has ruled that thousands of people living in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are ineligible to apply to become permanent residents. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court Monday that federal immigration law prohibits people who entered the country illegally and now have Temporary Protected Status from seeking “green cards” to remain in…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is making it official, announcing his bid for a second term in the battleground state where he stands as a Democratic block to the Republican-controlled state Legislature. Evers told The Associated Press in an interview that he decided to run again because he has unfinished business and needs to remain a check…
(Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP) SOLWAY, Minn. (AP) — Environmental and tribal groups opposed to Enbridge Energy’s ongoing effort to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline are planning large protests in northern Minnesota as the Canadian-based company gears up for a final construction push. Organizers say they expect hundreds of people to participate in Monday’s “Treaty People…
(AP) – Facebook said it is suspending former President Donald Trump’s accounts for two years following its finding that he stoked violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. The two-year suspension is effective from Jan. 7, so Trump has 19 months to go. In a press release, the former president called Facebook’s decision “an insult.” “They shouldn’t be allowed…
(AP) – Facebook plans to end a contentious policy championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that exempted politicians from certain moderation rules on its site, according to reports from the tech site The Verge, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. The company’s reasoning for the policy was that what political leaders say is newsworthy and in the public interest…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is refusing to turn over documents to Wisconsin Department of Justice investigators probing clergy sexual abuse across the state’s five Roman Catholic dioceses. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul announced the investigation in April, following the lead of officials who have launched similar probes in 22 other states. The archdiocese’s attorney, Frank LoCoco, sent Kaul…
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a modest 559,000 jobs in May, an improvement from April’s sluggish gain but still evidence that many companies are struggling to find enough workers as the economy rapidly recovers from the pandemic recession. Last month’s job gain was above April’s revised total of 278,000. The unemployment rate fell to 5.8%…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A group that advocates for government transparency has sued the city of Minneapolis, alleging it uses a loophole known as coaching to circumvent public data laws and keep hundreds of police misconduct records private. Complaints against police are classified as public if the officer is disciplined. But the lawsuit alleges that Minneapolis says one-on-one mentoring known as…
