DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After a long stretch of relatively paltry prizes, U.S. lottery players now have a choice of jackpots that offer combined prizes of more than $1 billion. The jackpot for Mega Millions’ Tuesday night drawing has climbed to $615 million, and the top prize in the Powerball game has reached $550 million ahead of Wednesday’s drawing….
(Garret Ellison | MLive) TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – Enbridge says it will defy Michigan’s demand to shut down an oil pipeline that runs through a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November moved to revoke a 1953 state easement that allowed Enbridge’s Line 5 to be placed along the bottom of the Straits of…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Senate is set to pass a pared-down COVID-19 relief package. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders have been trying to hammer out a compromise package for weeks to no avail. Assembly Republicans passed a bill last week, but Evers opposes it. Senate Republicans scaled the measure back. They removed provisions that would…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who held his knee to the neck of George Floyd for several minutes will be tried separately from three other former officers accused of his death. Court documents filed Tuesday show Derek Chauvin will stand trial alone in March while the others will be tried together in the summer. The judge wrote…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is asking states to speed delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to people older than 65 and others at high risk by no longer holding back the second dose of the two-dose shots, The Associated Press has learned. The Trump administration is expected to recommend opening up vaccines to everyone older than 65 and to get…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota bars and restaurants may resume indoor service with limits on capacity as COVID-19 cases and deaths across the state continue to fall. The eased restrictions on Monday return bars and restaurants about to where they were before Gov. Tim Walz imposed a “pause” in response to soaring cases in November. They can resume indoor service at…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — State health officials say police and firefighters in Wisconsin will be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine starting Jan. 18. Gov. Tony Evers estimates in a letter made public on Monday that members of the general public won’t be vaccinated until June. Evers renewed his call for faster distribution of the vaccine from the federal government…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats say the House will consider the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, one week after an angry mob of his supporters invaded the Capitol. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Democrats on a call Monday that members should plan to return to Washington on Tuesday evening to consider a House resolution calling on Vice President Mike…
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Members of the general public in Wisconsin likely won’t be vaccinated for the coronavirus until June, Gov. Tony Evers said in a letter made public Monday as he renewed his call for faster distribution of the vaccine from the federal government and state Republicans introduced a new response bill….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz denounced Minnesota Republican leaders Monday for refusing to clearly state that the presidential election was free and fair. The Democratic governor also disclosed that state troopers had to take his crying 14-year-old son to safety last Wednesday during a protest dubbed “Storm the Capitol” at the state Capitol, which later shifted to the official…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke constitutional authority to remove President Donald Trump from office was blocked Monday by Republicans. Trump would face a single charge — “incitement of insurrection” — over the riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a draft of the articles obtained by The Associated Press. The four-page…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota bars and restaurants may resume indoor service with limits starting Monday, as COVID-19 cases have been declining. The eased restrictions return bars and restaurants about to where they were before Gov. Tim Walz imposed a “pause” in response to soaring cases in November. They can resume indoor service at 50% capacity but with 10 p.m. curfews…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) HILL CITY, Minn. (AP) — Eight people were arrested in a protest to oppose the construction of the Enbridge Energy Line 3 oil pipeline replacement in northern Minnesota, authorities said. More than 150 people gathered in Aitken County on Saturday to protest the project, the Northern Lights Task Force said in a news release. They blocked…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials have confirmed five cases of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus in the Twin Cities area. The variant, which was first detected late last year in the United Kingdom, was identified in specimens from residents in four Minnesota counties. Although officials aren’t surprised by the discovery and don’t believe it will lead to…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Security breaches at the U.S. Capitol and statehouses around the country haven’t led to any changes at the state Capitol building in Madison. Gov. Tony Evers closed the building in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Lawmakers have been allowed to continue working in the building and the public has been allowed inside to watch…
(AP) – Social studies teachers across the United States are setting aside lesson plans this week to help young people make sense of the scenes from Washington and the violent siege by supporters of President Donald Trump. Many teachers say they are treading cautiously in light of varied political viewpoints in their classrooms and communities. But they universally describe efforts…
(from left, Derek Chauvin, Tuo Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge overseeing the case against four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd says he will take under advisement a prosecution request to delay the trial due to COVID-19. The trial is currently scheduled for March 8, but prosecutors…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he won’t attend President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration on Jan. 20. He will be the first incumbent president since Andrew Johnson to skip his successor’s inauguration. In a Friday tweet Trump said, “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.” To all of those…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says those responsible for police officer Brian Sicknick’s death from the siege at the Capitol by a mob loyal to President Donald Trump “must be brought to justice.” Pelosi said Friday she was lowering flags at the Capitol in his honor. Sicknick died “after defending the Capitol complex and protecting those who serve and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers shed jobs last month for the first time since April, cutting 140,000 positions, clear evidence that the economy is faltering as the viral pandemic tightens its grip on consumers and businesses. The unemployment rate stayed at 6.7%, the first time it hasn’t fallen since April. Friday’s figures from the Labor Department suggest that employers have…
(AP) – The U.S. registered its highest deaths yet from the coronavirus on the very day the mob attack on the Capitol laid bare some of the same, deep political divisions that have hampered the battle against the pandemic. The virus is surging in virtually every state. California is particularly hard hit, with skyrocketing deaths and infections threatening to force…
WASHINGTON (AP) – District of Columbia police have identified the three people who had medical emergencies and died during the storming of the Capitol. They are 55-year-old Kevin Greeson, of Athens, Alabama; 34-year-old Rosanne Boyland, of Kennesaw, Georgia; and 50-year-old Benjamin Phillips, of Ringtown, Pennsylvania. Police Chief Robert Contee would not go into detail about the exact causes of their…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump should immediately be removed from office or Congress may proceed to impeach him. Pelosi on Thursday joined those calling on the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to force Trump from office. It came a day after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, forcing the building…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is defending his department’s response to Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol. In a statement Thursday, he said officers “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions” as they stormed the Capitol. He said rioters “actively attacked” Capitol police and other law enforcement officers Wednesday with metal…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s former acting White House chief of staff resigned his post as special envoy to Northern Ireland on Thursday, saying “I can’t do it. I can’t stay.” Mick Mulvaney joined a growing list of Trump administration officials who are leaving following the violent riot at the Capitol on Wednesday. The riot occurred after Trump addressed a massive…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature is divided on a coronavirus response bill that the state Assembly was passing on Thursday but that the Senate GOP leader said his chamber opposes. Even if the current bill were to somehow pass, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has signaled his opposition and would likely veto the measure. Evers and Assembly Democrats…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson says he has not made a decision yet on his political future as the vocal backer of President Donald Trump faces two years in the minority and mounting calls for him to step aside. The update from the Republican comes a day after the U.S. Capitol was stormed by Trump supporters….
(AP) – Facebook will bar President Donald Trump from posting on its system at least until the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. In a post on Thursday morning, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the risk of allowing Trump to use the platform is too great, following his incitement of a mob that later touched off a deadly riot in the…
Rioters break TV equipment outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are vowing an investigation into how police handled Wednesday’s violent breach at the Capitol. The Democratic chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, California congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, says the breach “raises grave security concerns” and that her committee will work with House and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four people died as rioters violently occupied the U.S. Capitol. Washington, D.C., Police Chief Robert Contee said the dead on Wednesday included a woman who was shot by the U.S. Capitol Police, as well as three others who died in “medical emergencies.” Police said both law enforcement and Trump supporters deployed chemical irritants during the hourslong occupation…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Early Thursday morning, Congress confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the presidential election winner, hours after violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Lawmakers resolved to work almost through the night to uphold the will of the voters. The Capitol was under siege for hours Wednesday, forcing lawmakers into hiding before being evacuated by…
ATLANTA (AP) — Democrats have won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority. That’s a stunning defeat for President Donald Trump in his final days in office and it dramatically improves the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, Democratic challengers who represented the diversity of their party’s evolving coalition,…
WASHINGTON (AP) – A woman who was shot inside the U.S. Capitol during the violent pro-Trump protest has died. That’s according to two officials familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The Metropolitan Police Department said it was taking the lead on the shooting…
WASHINGTON (AP) – At least one explosive device has been found near the U.S. Capitol amid a violent occupation of the building by supporters of President Donald Trump. Law enforcement officials said the device was no longer a threat Wednesday afternoon. Thousands of supporters of the president occupied the Capitol complex as lawmakers were beginning to tally the electoral votes…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence says he doesn’t have the power to discard electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president on Jan. 20. That’s what Pence says in a statement issued minutes before he was to begin presiding over a joint session of Congress to count those votes. Pence says…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says about 1,100 D.C. National Guard members are being mobilized to help support law enforcement as violent supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol. Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said Wednesday afternoon that defense leaders have been in contact with the city and congressional leadership. A defense official said all 1,100 of the D.C. Guard…
WASHINGTON (AP) – One person has been shot at the U.S. Capitol as dozens of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building and violently clashed with police. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity amid a chaotic situation. The exact circumstances surrounding the shooting were…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz will allow bars and restaurants to resume limited indoor service starting Monday as he also loosens up Minnesota’s coronavirus restrictions on youth sports, gyms, entertainment venues and churches. The dialing back returns bars and restaurants about to where they were before the governor imposed a “pause” in response to soaring cases in November. “The…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin surpassed 5,000 deaths from COVID-19, as the total number of cases neared half a million. The state Department of Health Services reported 60 additional deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total to 5,039. There have been nearly 495,000 positive cases to date. The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin peaked in mid-November and had been…
(courtesy: Fox News) WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Capitol Police are evacuating some congressional office buildings due to “police activity” as thousands gather outside the Capitol to protest the electoral vote. Police told congressional staff members they should evacuate the Cannon House Office Building and the building that houses the Library of Congress. It wasn’t immediately clear what specifically sparked…
LATEST: Lawmakers are being evacuated from the U.S. Capitol after protesters breached security and entered the building. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senators were led out, escorted by staff and police on Wednesday afternoon. Members of the House were also being evacuated. Both chambers had been debating the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College. The…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge, as his attorney general, two people familiar with the selection process said Wednesday. Garland, a federal appeals court judge, was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2106. Biden is expected to announce Garland’s appointment on Thursday, along with other senior…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Health officials say careless smoking was the leading cause of fatal fires in Minnesota in 2020. Fifty-three people died in fires last year, a 13% increase over 2019. Seven deaths last year were attributed to careless smoking, the fifth consecutive year it led to fatal fires, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Six victims died…
(AP) – Experts believe so, but they’re working to confirm that. A coronavirus variant in the United Kingdom has caused alarm because of the possibility that it might spread more easily. But even if that turns out to be true, experts say the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out will likely still work on the variant. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Two people were fatally stabbed in Kenosha early Wednesday and one person is in custody, according to police. About 4:20 a.m. officers responded to the stabbing scene, located about a mile north of where protests occurred hours earlier following a prosecutor’s decision against charging a white officer who shot a Black man in the back, partially…
ATLANTA (AP) – This morning, Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach. Warnock, a pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. It’s a…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin prosecutor has declined to file criminal charges against a white police officer who shot a Black man in the back last summer. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said Tuesday that he had decided not to charge Officer Rusten Sheskey and other officers, saying he didn’t think he could prove Sheskey and other officers…
NEW YORK (AP) — The 2021 Grammy Awards will no longer take place this month in Los Angeles and will broadcast in March due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths. The Recording Academy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the annual show would shift from its original Jan. 31 broadcast to a later date in March….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – An Illinois teenager who fatally shot two people and wounded a third amidst sometimes violent summer protests on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, has pleaded not guilty to charges including intentional homicide. Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, entered his plea Tuesday in a brief hearing conducted by teleconference. Prosecutors say Rittenhouse, who is white, left his home in…
(AP) – If I’ve already had the coronavirus, can I get it again? It’s possible, but such cases seem to be rare. Evidence is growing that people whose bodies mounted a strong defense to the virus are unlikely to test positive again for at least several months and maybe longer. It’s not unusual to develop some immunity to a virus…
