MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Tuesday to repeal Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate, despite warnings from virtually every sector of the health care community that doing so would impair efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Both legislative chambers have to pass the resolution in order to undo the mask requirement. The Assembly, controlled 58-30 by…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have voted overwhelmingly against moving forward with Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. The Senate on Tuesday rejected a Republican attempt to dismiss the trial, allowing the case on “incitement of insurrection” to move forward. Yet the support of 45 Republicans for declaring the trial invalid indicates that there are long odds for Trump’s conviction. The…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP/FOX9) — Gov. Tim Walz proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest Minnesotans and large companies Tuesday to help plug a projected $1.28 billion gap in the next two-year budget while increasing spending on education and on helping the state recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic governor’s budget proposal includes new spending of $745 million on education through 12th…
WASHINGTON (AP) — There were fewer air travelers in the United States last year, but a higher percentage of them were carrying guns. The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday that screeners found 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags in 2020, or about 10 for every million travelers. About 83% of the guns were loaded. That was double…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Senate plans to vote on repealing Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate, while it remains unclear whether the Assembly would follow suit as required to undo the order. A joint resolution co-sponsored by 29 Republicans in the Legislature was up for approval in the Senate on Tuesday. Assembly Republican leaders have not yet said…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz will today propose a two-year budget with a heavy focus on helping Minnesota recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The budget Walz is planning to announce at 12:00 p.m. is expected to top $50 million. It will emphasize assistance to small businesses, help for working families affected by the disease itself or…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Medical Society on Monday announced its opposition to a Republican-authored resolution that would overturn the statewide mask mandate put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The state Senate planned to vote Tuesday on the resolution. The Assembly, also in session on Tuesday, has not said if it will vote on the resolution….
(AP Photo/Jim Mone) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz on Monday announced changes in the sign-up process for a community vaccine program for seniors, teachers, and child care workers after heavy demand last week crashed a website and angered many people who could not get through. State officials have shifted from a first-come, first-served system to a lottery that allows…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to issue an executive order to reverse a Pentagon policy that largely bars transgender individuals from joining the military. Doing so would dump a ban ordered by his predecessor, Donald Trump, in a tweet during his first year in office. A person briefed on the decision tells The Associated Press that the…
NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time since 1983, when Anheuser-Busch used all of its ad time to introduce a beer called Bud Light, the beer giant isn’t advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl. Instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts. The decision to not do…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The number of Minnesotans who have received at least the first dose of the two-shot COVID-19 vaccine is nearing a quarter-million or less than 5% of the population, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Sunday. A total of 247,415 Minnesotans have received at least one dose. More than 63,000 people have received both shots to complete their…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is set to bring the impeachment article against Donald Trump for the Senate trial. But a growing number of Republican senators say they oppose the proceedings against the former president. That’s a sign of the dimming chances that Trump will be convicted on the charge that he incited a siege of the U.S. Capitol. House…
(courtesy CNN/Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images) (AP) – NBC will shut down the NBC Sports Network at the end of the year. NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua announced the move in an internal memo to staff. NBC Sports Network is best known for carrying NHL and English Premier League games as well as NASCAR and IndyCar races. It also carries a significant…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate would be overturned by the Republican-controlled state Legislature under a resolution that could be voted on as soon as Tuesday. Twenty-seven Republican lawmakers signed on to the resolution that was introduced on Thursday. It would have to pass both the Senate and Assembly in order to end the public health emergency and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will send the article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement on Friday. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell wants to postpone the impeachment trial until February to give the former president time to prepare his case. The House impeached Trump on a…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials reported Friday the state has now been allocated 871,650 doses of federally controlled COVID-19 vaccine, up more than 240,000 doses from a week earlier. The state’s snapshot of progress in administering vaccines also showed that 214,050 people have gotten their first dose of a two-shot series, with 49,604 people having completed the two shots….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is pushing back against Republican legislators seeking to implement a wolf hunting season immediately. The DNR held three wolf seasons from 2012 to 2014 before a federal judge placed Great Lakes wolves back on the endangered species list. Former President Donald Trump’s administration removed them from the list earlier this…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority will spend $800,000 from a contingency fund to fix a water seepage problem at U.S. Bank Stadium. The authority’s chairman, Michael Vekich, says the repair payment was negotiated with the stadium’s general contractor and was short of the $3.2 million M.A. Mortensen Co. wanted. The $800,000 comes from a contingency fund created…
ATLANTA (AP) – The baseball great and one-time home run king Hank Aaron has died. The Atlanta Braves said he died peacefully in his sleep early Friday. No cause was given. Aaron endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit of Babe Ruth but went on to break the career home run record in the pre-steroids era. “Hammerin’ Hank”…
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game has grown to nearly $1 billion ahead of Friday night’s drawing after more than four months without a winner. That record drought is thanks to bad luck, poor odds, and reduced play partially blamed on the coronavirus pandemic. It’s only the third time a lottery jackpot has…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A proposal to ban the use of facial recognition technology by Minneapolis police and other city departments is advancing. The technology has raised concerns by some who worry it could be a dangerous step toward a surveillance state where people’s movements are tracked the moment they leave their homes. The technology uses machine learning algorithms to automatically…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell wants to postpone Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. McConnell on Thursday proposed delaying the trial until February to give the former president time to prepare and review his case. The idea could appeal to some Senate Democrats, who are eager to spend time confirming President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees. The House impeached Trump…
SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden has ordered a “pause” on all border wall construction, one of 17 executive orders issued his first day in office. The move leaves billions of dollars in unfinished work under contract after his predecessor, Donald Trump, worked feverishly to successfully build 450 miles. A Senate aide tells The Associated Press that the government…
(AP) – Public health experts are blaming COVID-19 vaccine shortages around the U.S. in part on the Trump administration’s push to get states to vastly expand their vaccination drives to reach the nation’s estimated 54 million people age 65 and over. The push that began over a week ago has not been accompanied by enough doses to meet demand, leading…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge says he won’t reconsider his decision to hold a March trial for the former Minneapolis police officer who held his knee to George Floyd’s neck as the man said he couldn’t breathe. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled this month that Derek Chauvin will stand trial beginning March 8, as scheduled, and will be…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – More than a third of Wisconsin law enforcement agencies that responded to a new survey said they don’t use body cameras. The state Department of Justice released findings Thursday from a survey of 553 agencies conducted in November. Of the 434 agencies who responded to the request, 160 said they do not use body cameras. Another…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota pharmacies and health care providers are requesting the state include them in the coronavirus vaccine rollout as the demand for a shot among seniors far outpaces the state’s supply. Pharmacists testified before a Minnesota Senate health committee on Wednesday, telling lawmakers they can provide easier access to a vaccine as the priority groups for doses expands…
LONACONING, Md. (AP) — The jackpot-winning Powerball ticket worth $731.1 million was sold in an old coal-mining town in a remote corner of Maryland. Jobs are few in Lonaconing, the hometown of baseball Hall of Famer Lefty Grove. The Maryland Lottery says the ticket was sold at Coney Market. Owner Richard Ravenscroft told The Associated Press he hopes whoever won…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 900,000, still a historically high level that points to ongoing job cuts in a raging pandemic. The Labor Department’s report underscored that President Joe Biden has inherited an economy that faltered this winter as virus cases spiked, cold weather restricted dining and federal rescue aid…
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is putting into play his national COVID-19 strategy to ramp up vaccinations and testing, reopen schools and businesses and increase the use of masks — including a requirement that Americans mask up for travel. He’ll sign 10 virus-related executive orders on Thursday as the nation is deep in the deadliest wave…
WASHINGTON (AP)-On his first day in office, President Joe Biden is moving to dismantle Donald Trump’s legacy by signing a series of executive actions that reverse course on immigration, climate change, racial equity and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The new president signed the orders just hours after taking the oath of office at the Capitol, pivoting quickly from…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials on Wednesday announced that all 6,000 spots in a coronavirus vaccine pilot program reserved for Minnesotans over 65 have been filled after issues with the registration website caused it to crash on Tuesday. The 12,000 doses reserved for the program this week — half of which are reserved for teachers and child care workers…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Three Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at reforming police use-of-force policies and investigations. Republican Sens. Van Wanggaard and Alberta Darling along with Democratic Sen. Lena Taylor unveiled the package on Wednesday. The legislation would create a board that could investigate officer-involved deaths, require annual reports tallying use-of-force incidents, prohibit training on the use of chokehold,…
(Ozaukee County Sheriff via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin pharmacist accused of trying to spoil dozens of vials of COVID-19 vaccine has been charged with attempted misdemeanor property damage. Online court records indicate Steven Brandenburg was charged Tuesday in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. He pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have warned more serious charges could follow if tests show…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris has now taken on a role that would have typically been performed by the outgoing president. Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, stood on the U.S. Capitol steps Wednesday to bid farewell to her predecessor, former Vice President Mike Pence, and his wife, Karen. The two couples stood and chatted for…
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar took center stage at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and used her introductory address to remind Americans that democracy cannot be taken for granted. Klobuchar says the insurrection at the Capitol just two weeks awakened Americans to their responsibility to carry the torch for democracy. Klobuchar…
UPDATE: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump has granted clemency to two Minnesota residents convicted of drug charges. Trump commuted the sentence of Cassandra Ann Kasowski, of Moorhead, who has served more than seven years of an 18-year sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance. The case involved the transportation of mass…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden has officially become the 46th president of the United States. Biden took the oath of office just before noon Wednesday during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The presidential oath was administered by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Biden was sworn in using a Bible that has been in his family since 1893 and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris has been sworn in as the nation’s first female vice president. The former U.S. senator from California is also the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and becomes the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in government. She was sworn in Wednesday by Justice Sonia Sotomayor,…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a late flurry of clemency action benefiting nearly 150 people, including rap stars and former members of Congress. The pardons and commutations for 143 people, including Bannon, were announced after midnight Wednesday in the final hours of Trump’s White House term. The last-minute clemency,…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has arrived at the U.S. Capitol ahead of his inauguration as the United States’ 46th president. Biden and his wife, Jill, arrived at the complex on Wednesday morning, about 90 minutes before his noon swearing-in ceremony. They were accompanied by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and were greeted by U.S. Sen….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state has started distributing and receiving at-home test kits for COVID-19. Wisconsin Department of Health Services spokeswoman Traci DeSalvo says more than 12,000 kits have been ordered and more than 1,600 have been returned as of last week. “People are ordering a kit and having it on hand for when they’re ready,” she said. “It’s…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will resign when President-elect Joe Biden takes the oath of office. The Justice Department says Rosen’s resignation goes into effect at noon Wednesday. Rosen has run the department since former Attorney General William Barr resigned on Dec. 23. He was previously the deputy attorney general and deputy transportation secretary. Rosen has kept a…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Many Minnesota schools are welcoming back some of their youngest students for in-person instruction, with more elementary schools expected to follow in the coming weeks. Some school districts opened for kindergarten, first- and second-grade students on Tuesday and plan to bring back older elementary students next month. Others will begin their reopening process later this month or…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Pentagon officials say 12 Army National Guard members have been removed from securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration after vetting by the FBI, including two who posted and texted extremist views about Wednesday’s event. There was no specific threat to Biden. Two U.S. officials told The Associated Press that all 12 were found to have ties to right-wing…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources’ policy board is expected to reconsider a plan to dramatically increase mining fees in Wisconsin. The new rules would increase fees and costs for nonferrous mining operations by about $502,000 per project. They also would require companies to supply more detailed feasibility and construction plans to the department and establish…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Everyone over age 65 in Wisconsin will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting on Monday. The state Department of Health Services said Tuesday that prioritizing that population will help save lives. However, the department cautioned that how quickly they will be vaccinated depends on how much vaccine the state receives from the federal government. There…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Two U.S. Army National Guard members are being removed from the security mission to secure Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official said the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias. No plot against Biden was found. The Army official and the intelligence official…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate. Levine is a pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general and was appointed to her current post by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017….
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration. A person granted anonymity to discuss the legislation says it would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status. It’s a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies….
