WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence has received the coronavirus vaccine during a White House event aimed at convincing skeptical Americans that the vaccines are safe. Pence’s wife, Karen, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams also got the vaccine on Friday during the event that was televised. In remarks after his shot, Pence called the speed with which the vaccine…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A new mobile app will launch next week in Wisconsin that will let people know if they have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Gov. Tony Ever announced the new app on Thursday. The app, which launches Wednesday, is meant to bolster the state’s contact tracing efforts. The app is voluntary…
MADISON, Wis.-The Wisconsin Supreme Court is set to hear the latest challenge to a move made by Gov. Tony Evers’ to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The court on Thursday will hear arguments in a challenge to an order limiting how many people can gather in bars and restaurants. The on-again, off-again order that expired in November is one…
ST. PAUL, Minn.-Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced plans on Wednesday to get children back into elementary schools as well as ease some restrictions on fitness centers and other businesses that were shuttered last month. The governor updated the state’s Safe Learning Plan used by schools across the state on Wednesday to allow all elementary schools to operate in-person starting Jan….
ST. PAUL, Minn.-Gov. Tim Walz plans to keep bars and restaurants in Minnesota closed for indoor service through the holidays. Walz is expected to make a formal announcement Wednesday on extending the restrictions he imposed last month for a four-week “pause” that was due to expire Friday. The governor’s order also closed fitness centers and other places where people gather,…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Brainerd man pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in helping to set fire to a Minneapolis police station during civil unrest in the days following the death of George Floyd. A federal complaint accuses Dylan Shakespeare Robinson, 23, of lighting a Molotov cocktail that another person threw toward the Third Precinct headquarters on May 28. Robinson…
PALISADE, Minn. (AP) — More than 4,000 workers are expected in northern Minnesota over the next couple weeks to build the contentious Line 3 oil pipeline replacement. Opponents of the pipeline have escalated their efforts to block construction, while local law enforcement is focused on keeping the peace. Construction has ramped up quickly on Line 3 since Enbridge Energy received…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A nurse on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center was the first in Minnesota to receive a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday. Thera Witte, who works in a coronavirus unit at the hospital, said she feels honored to be the first and did not hesitate to volunteer. “I’m feeling hopeful that this…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature has voted to pass a package of coronavirus relief measures aimed at businesses and workers who took the biggest hit from a four-week “pause” ordered by Gov. Tim Walz last month. The Senate voted 62-4 to approve the bill and send it to the House, which was passed it 117-13 late Monday night and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies, is resigning amid lingering tension with the president over the president’s baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden’s son. Barr went to the White House on Monday, where Trump said he submitted his letter of resignation. Trump has publicly expressed his…
(courtesy: Facebook/Biden) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Electoral College has formally validated Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden cleared the 270-vote threshold on Monday after California’s electors cast their votes for the Democrat. When all of the states finish voting, Biden is expected to lead President Donald Trump 306-232. The Electoral College vote is normally a procedural step…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s electors on Monday formally cast the state’s 10 electoral votes for Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. It took under 25 minutes for the 10 electors to affirm Biden’s victory in Minnesota and just 40 minutes to complete all the paperwork and adjourn without incident. The 10 electors, all wearing masks, gathered at the Capitol in St. Paul…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential electors are meeting across the United States to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Today is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots. Wisconsin’s electors meet at noon Monday. The results…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota restaurant that continued to host dine-in service in defiance of Gov. Tim Walz’s coronavirus order has temporarily lost its liquor license. State officials suspended the license Sunday for the Boardwalk Bar & Grill in East Grand Forks. The suspension comes just days after a Polk County court closed the bar and restaurant to in-person dining,…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential electors are meeting across the United States to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. Monday is the day set by law for the meeting of the Electoral College. In reality, electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots. The results will be sent to Washington and…
PORTAGE, Mich. (AP) — The first of many COVID-19 vaccine doses are making their way to distribution sites across the United States, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approach the horrifying new milestone of 300,000. The rollout Sunday of the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved by the FDA, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history — one…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. has given the final go-ahead to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, launching emergency vaccinations in a bid to end the pandemic. Shots will begin in a few days after Friday’s decision by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA called the vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech safe and strongly protective. But initial…
(courtesy: CNN) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin Air National Guard unit has grounded its pilots while the fatal crash of an F-16 fighter jet is being investigated, and authorities on Friday identified the pilot who died as a decorated combat veteran who had flown in three tours of duty. The Madison-based 115th Fighter Wing said Air Force Capt. Durwood…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Republican U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, and Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota have signed on to a last-gasp bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the presidential election. The three are among more than 100 House Republicans who joined an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Emmer’s name…
(AP) – The head of the FDA says his agency has told Pfizer it “will rapidly work” to grant emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine following a positive recommendation by government advisers. Many FDA observers predict action by Saturday ahead of a Sunday meeting by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials plan to allocate the first 6.4…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) –A judge in Wisconsin has ruled against President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the state, another in a string of defeats in the president’s extraordinary attempts to undo his loss. Reserve Judge Stephen Simanek ruled following a virtual hearing on Friday. Trump’s federal lawsuit remains alive. Trump has been urging lower…
(Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A group of parents has sued Gov. Tim Walz, seeking to throw out his order that put high school sports on hold as part of efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But lawmakers agreed Thursday on $216 million in grants for businesses hurt by the four-week “pause” that Walz imposed…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers is hinting that Wisconsin schools should consider re-opening after the winter break. Evers’ administration has left it up to individual school districts to decide whether to hold virtual classes or open for in-person instruction in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. But concerns about the long-term effects of isolation on children and the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two Minnesotans in their 20s are among the 89 new deaths from COVID-19 reported by state health officials Thursday. It’s an unusual development in a pandemic that mostly claims the lives of elderly patients. The Minnesota Department of Health says they included someone 25 to 29 years old in Ramsey County and someone between 20 and 24…
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to decertify Democrat President-elect Joe Biden’s win over Republican President Donald Trump in Arizona. Judge Diane Humetewa said the lawsuit’s allegations “are sorely wanting of relevant or reliable evidence” and that granting the relief it sought would disenfranchise millions of voters. The challenge alleged the state’s election systems have…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment aid jumped last week to 853,000, the most since September, evidence that some companies are cutting more jobs as new virus cases spiral higher. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of applications increased from 716,000 the previous week. Before the coronavirus paralyzed the economy in March, weekly jobless…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Denis McDonough, who was President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The sprawling agency has presented organizational challenges for both parties over the years. Biden is continuing to stockpile his incoming administration with prominent members of Obama’s team. Biden plans to make the…
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook Wednesday, accusing it of abusing its market power in social networking to crush smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of the social network’s Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services. It marks the second U.S. offensive against a Big Tech…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Wednesday launched an education and awareness campaign designed to help bolster vaccination for the flu among the state’s minority communities. Health officials recommend flu vaccinations every year, but particularly this year because hospitals are under stress from the coronavirus pandemic. As of Tuesday, there were 1,556 people hospitalized due…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials reported 4,539 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and 82 new deaths, the state’s third-highest one-day total of the pandemic. The new cases raise Minnesota’s total case count to 363,719 and its cumulative death toll to 4,109. But hospitalizations are continuing a slow decline. Minnesota had 1,545 people hospitalized with COVID as of Tuesday, with 358…
(AP Photo/Michel Euler) CLEVELAND, Oh. – On Wednesday, ArcelorMittal announced the sale of ArcelorMittal USA to Cleveland-Cliffs has been completed. According to reports, the sale was for $1.4 billion in cash and shares. The deal, announced in September by the companies, makes Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel and iron ore pellet producer in North America. “I would like to thank…
(Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The future of policing in the city where George Floyd was killed is headed for a showdown vote Wednesday night. The Minneapolis City Council will decide whether to shrink the city’s police department while violent crime is already soaring and redirect funding toward alternatives for reducing violence. Mayor Jacob Frey has…
LONDON (AP) — British regulators have warned that people who have a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. The U.K.’s Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is looking into whether the reactions were linked to the vaccine….
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army says it has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment. Two general officers are among those being removed from their jobs, as top Army…
LONDON (AP) — A retired British shop clerk has received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program, the start of an unprecedented global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million. The U.K. is the first Western country to start a mass vaccination program after British regulators last week authorized…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators say in their initial review that the vaccine from Pfizer is 95% protective against COVID-19. The review posted online Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration offers the world the first detailed look at the evidence behind the shot, which was co-developed with BioNTech. The FDA review comes before a Thursday meeting where a…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota reported 5,296 new cases of the coronavirus and 21 deaths on Monday. Both numbers were down from the state’s seven-day averages, but Mondays are typically a lighter day for virus numbers due to a dropoff in testing over the weekends. Minnesota has averaged about 5,400 new daily cases and 58 deaths per day over the past…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the latest in Trump’s inner circle to contract the disease that is now surging across the U.S. The 76-year-old former New York mayor has traveled extensively to battleground states in recent days and weeks in an effort to help…
MOUNTAIN IRON, Minn.- The 19-year-old man shot by deputies Saturday after fleeing the scene of a shoplifting call in Mountain Iron has been identified by his mother. Estavon Elioff was identified by his mother Jacqueline, the Star Tribune reported. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that deputies first discovered the man outside a business about…
LONDON (AP) – British officials have authorized a COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, greenlighting the world’s first shot against the virus that’s backed by rigorous science and taking a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic. The go-ahead Wednesday for the vaccine developed by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech comes as the virus surges again in the United States…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Enbridge Energy began construction on its Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement in Minnesota on Tuesday, a day after state regulators approved the final permit for the $2.6 billion projects amid legal challenges from local activists and Indigenous groups. Spokeswoman Juli Kellner said Enbridge began construction in several locations around the state in…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday that the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud and has seen nothing that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working diligently to follow up on specific complaints and…
NEW YORK (AP) — An influential scientific panel on Tuesday is set to tackle one of the most pressing questions in the U.S. coronavirus epidemic: When the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine become available, who should be at the front of the line for shots? The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet in an open-to-the-public, virtual meeting to vote…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen is describing the economic crisis brought on by the COVID pandemic as an “American tragedy” and warning that without quick action to address it, the damage will get worse. Introducing herself during a Joe Biden transition event where the president-elect unveiled his economic team, Yellen spoke about the “historic crises” of the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to disqualify hundreds of thousands of ballots in a longshot attempt to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the battleground state he lost by nearly 20,700 votes. Trump filed the suit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday. It came a day after Democratic Gov. Tony…
APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — Christmas tree lots report that business is already brisk in Wisconsin this holiday season and owners attribute that in part to the coronavirus pandemic. Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association spokesman Greg Hann says many families want a fresh tree because they won’t be traveling this year and will be home to care for it. “I have…
PUPOSKY, Minn. (AP) — A hunter has fatally shot another hunter in northern Minnesota after mistaking him for a deer, according to authorities. The two men were not hunting together and the victim was not wearing blaze orange, according to the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office. Officials said Monday the shooting happened Wednesday near Puposky at dusk. The victim is identified…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Madison high school student has died after a brief coronavirus-related illness, according to officials. In an email to students and families, East High School’s principal said junior Isai Morocho died unexpectedly during the Thanksgiving break. Principal Brendan Kearney described Morocho as “a caring friend and family member with a ready smile and great sense of…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona officials have certified Joe Biden’s narrow victory over President Donald Trump in the state. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey stood up for the integrity of the election even as lawyers for Trump were across town Monday arguing without evidence to nine Republican lawmakers that the election was marred by fraud….
