LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., Laura barreled across Louisiana on Thursday, shearing off roofs, killing a least four people and maintaining ferocious strength while carving a destructive path hundreds of miles inland. A full assessment of the damage wrought by the Category 4 system was likely to take days. But…
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Several NFL teams canceled practice in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin. The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Football Team all decided to not take the field Thursday. Blake was shot by police, apparently in the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The governor of Minnesota activated the National Guard on Wednesday night to help quell unrest that broke out in downtown Minneapolis following what authorities said was misinformation about the suicide death of a Black homicide suspect. Gov. Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency in Minneapolis and said he was mobilizing the Minnesota National Guard but did not…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A private Milwaukee college has canceled plans to have Vice President Mike Pence deliver a commencement address this weekend, citing unrest in nearby Kenosha where police shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, and two people were killed during protests that followed. Wisconsin Lutheran College said Thursday that “after further review with careful consideration of the escalating events in…
(AP Photo/Ben Margot) MILWAUKEE (AP) — Three Major League Baseball games were postponed Wednesday as players across the sports landscape reacted in the wake of the weekend shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin. Games between the Cincinnati Reds and Brewers in Milwaukee, Seattle Mariners, and Padres in San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers and…
(Kevin C. Cox/Pool Photo via AP) LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice. Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Illinois police have arrested a juvenile after two people were shot to death during another night of Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Commander Norman Johnson of the Antioch Police Department says the suspect — a young man whose name was not released because he is under 18 — was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of…
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Forecasters Hurricane Laura is now expected to rapidly power up into a ‘catastrophic’ Category 4 hurricane — an even stronger storm than previously expected — as it churns toward Texas and Louisiana, gathering wind and water that now covers much of the Gulf of Mexico. Satellite images show that Laura has become “a formidable hurricane” in…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Two people were shot to death and another was wounded during the third night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, and authorities Wednesday hunted for a possible vigilante seen on cellphone video opening fire in the middle of the street with a rifle. The gunfire was reported just…
(courtesy: WI Dept of Health Services via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A lawsuit has been filed by a conservative law firm that seeks overturn Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate issued by Gov. Tony Evers. The lawsuit filed by Tuesday in Polk County Circuit Court by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of three western Wisconsin residents argues…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota plans to more than double its coronavirus testing capacity by partnering with a national distributor of a rapid saliva test and establishing a new lab to process the results. The governor’s office says the state is finalizing a $14.7 million deal with Rutgers University-based RUCDR Infinite Biologics, which offers the country’s first saliva COVID-19 test, and…
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tuesday’s program at the Republican National Convention is likely to wade into familiar waters, with a lineup expected to speak on divisive issues like abortion and “cancel culture.” What to watch at the convention Tuesday: TRUMP Trump appeared frequently during the first day of his party’s convention. While he is expected to make an appearance during prime-time…
(AP) – The Minnesota Vikings will play at least their first two home games without fans in attendance. With the current Minnesota Department of Health guidelines specifying an indoor venue capacity of 250 people, officials from the Vikings, the state, U.S. Bank Stadium, the NFL, and the city of Minneapolis were unable to establish a prudent way to open the…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — The father of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot, apparently in the back, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, says his son was left paralyzed from the waist down. Blake’s father told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was told his son was shot eight times during the Sunday evening confrontation with police, which was captured…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s governor has summoned the National Guard to head off another round of violent protests after the police shooting of a Black man under murky circumstances turned Kenosha into the nation’s latest flashpoint city in a summer of racial unrest. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says 125 members of the National Guard will be in Kenosha on…
OTTERTAIL, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a 73-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide after a boating collision on Otter Tail Lake in northwestern Minnesota resulted in the death of another man. The crash happened at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office said Neil Baker, 52, of Elysian, had just returned to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of President Donald Trump’s most influential and longest-serving advisers, Kellyanne Conway, says she will be leaving the White House at the end of the month. Conway was Trump’s campaign manager during the stretch run of the 2016 race, and she was the first woman to successfully steer a White House bid. She then became a senior…
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Republicans are gathered to formally nominate President Donald Trump for reelection at a scaled-down convention kickoff in Charlotte, North Carolina. Monday begins a weeklong effort to convince the American people that Trump deserves a second term. Despite the ongoing pandemic, delegates are holding an in-person meeting and roll-call vote at the Charlotte Convention Center. Many of…
(WDJT-TV via AP) KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Police in the southeastern Wisconsin city of Kenosha shot and wounded a Black man, apparently in the back, after responding to a call about a domestic dispute, setting off a night of protests and unrest in which officers fired tear gas and demonstrators apparently hurled objects and set fire to parked cars. The…
(courtesy: UW System) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Interim University of Wisconsin President Tommy Thompson says he has a threshold in mind for when campuses will have to shut down due to coronavirus cases, but he’s not saying what it is. Thompson took questions Friday during an online Milwaukee Press Club event. Thompson says hasn’t told anyone what the threshold for…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A former California police officer dubbed the Golden State Killer told victims Friday hew was “truly sorry” before he was sentenced to multiple life prison sentences for a decade-long string of rapes and murders that terrorized a wide swath of the state. Joseph James DeAngelo, 74, pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and 13 rape-related…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A member of Gov. Tim Walz’s cabinet faced sharp questioning at a confirmation hearing Friday for approving an appeal over a controversial pipeline project in a dispute that could cost him his job. Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley is under fire because he’s appealing a decision by the independent Public Utilities Commission to approve Enbridge Energy’s plan to…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — State regulators have extended a ban on utility disconnections during the coronavirus pandemic in Wisconsin. The Public Service Commission voted 2-1 Thursday to continue a moratorium on shutoffs until Oct. 1. That will temporarily prevent more than 93,000 customers from losing their utility service next month. A PSC survey of nearly 200 utilities shows about a…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is set to make his case for his White House candidacy on the fourth and final night of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention. Biden will speak Thursday night from Wilmington, Delaware, as he accepts the Democratic nomination in his third bid for the presidency. He will be joined by some of his former rivals for…
MICHIGAN (AP) – The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $600 million to compensate Flint residents whose health was damaged by lead-tainted drinking water. That’s according to an attorney involved in settlement negotiations. The attorney confirmed details to The Associated Press on Wednesday but requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about it ahead of an official…
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Fifty-seven people have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Green Bay Correctional Institution, according to state officials. All of the prisoners who have tested positive are being isolated and anyone who was exposed is being quarantined, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections said. All inmates and staff at the prison are in the process of…
NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was arrested Thursday on charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme “We Build The Wall.” The charges were contained in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands…
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Kamala Harris is poised to make history as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket. It’s a moment intended to galvanize Democratic voters heading into the fall campaign against President Donald Trump. The stakes on Wednesday night are high as Harris tries to unite the party behind its presidential…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Faculty at the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s largest college is threatening to put all their courses online if administrators don’t meet their demands to make better preparations to handle COVID-19 infections when classes resume this fall. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday that Swenson College of Science and Engineering department heads sent a letter to Chancellor Lendley Black…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump’s postmaster general has no intention of restoring mail equipment or paying overtime hours he cut despite public outcry the changes are undermining service before Election Day. Pelosi says she told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a phone call that his decision to temporarily pause any further mail service changes…
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democrats have formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee. Party officials and activists gave the ex-vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention Tuesday. The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who’d sought the presidency twice before. Biden is drawing on a collection of the Democratic Party’s most experienced…
JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence will visit Wisconsin Wednesday as the White House attempts to counter the headlines from the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. Pence is due to arrive at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport in Janesville, with Air Force II touching down about 11 a.m. He’s scheduled to make remarks at an event in Darien….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz’s administration says it will appeal the latest approvals by state utility regulators for Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its old and corroding Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. The state Commerce Department faced a deadline of Wednesday for filing a request to ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to take another look…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Postmaster general says he is halting some operational changes until after the November election. Democrats contended that the changes threatened mail-in voting, and some states planned to file lawsuits. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday he would “suspend” his initiatives until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail.” The crisis…
Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home. Pizza sales have exploded during the pandemic. Domino’s last month reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits. On Monday, it said that it was hiring more…
LONG LAKE, Minn. (AP) — Three people are safe after jumping off a burning boat on Lake Minnetonka and swimming to shore. Long Lake Fire Chief James Van Eyll says the boat caught on fire around 8:20 p.m. Sunday in Smiths Bay. Van Eyll tells the Star Tribune the two women and a man on the runabout were preparing to…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Declaring it’s “crunch time” for the upcoming election, President Donald Trump zeroed in on Midwest battleground states on Monday with a tough, law and order message to counterprogram former Vice President Joe Biden’s show at the Democrats’ convention. Trump is in Minnesota and is headed later in the day to Wisconsin, the official host state for the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Trump was visiting Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday to launch a week of travel and political events aiming to blunt the customary polling “bounce” that a candidate gets during their convention week. The president trails in both public and private surveys less than three months before Election Day. On Tuesday, Trump will take on Biden over his immigration…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from changing its operations or level of service. Her decision comes amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic as states expand mail-in voting…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed that Friday’s storms spawned at least six tornadoes in Minnesota. Survey crews determined the strongest tornado was an EF1 in McLeod County packing winds estimated at up to 95 mph (153 kph). That tornado tracked for just over two miles (three kilometers) between Biscay and Glencoe and damaged trees and outbuildings….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The body that governs Wisconsin high school sports has approved a major overhaul to season structures heading into the new school year as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s board on Friday unanimously approved a host of changes, including freezing officials’ classifications, lifting sanctions for leaving a conference, allowing athletes to play for…
LUTSEN, Minn. – The Bald Eagle that attacked a woman along the North Shore Thursday afternoon has been safely captured. According to a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service, a wildlife biologist along with a biological science technician from the Superior National Forest captured the bird Friday to be transported to rehabilitation at Wildwoods in Duluth. “The bird flew towards…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday announced details of his visits on Monday to Minnesota and Wisconsin. The campaign says Trump will highlight “Joe Biden’s failures on jobs and the economy” during his two airport events. Trump will stop at North Star Aviation in Mankato, Minnesota, at 2 p.m. Monday, followed by Basler Flight Service in Oshkosh,…
(AP) – Churches in California and Minnesota are challenging state pandemic restrictions in court, contending that they are violations of religious liberty. They’re the latest in a series of lawsuits, many in California, arguing that houses of worship should be exempt from certain limits on public gatherings. Most have been rebuffed; some have succeeded. In Minnesota, a federal lawsuit challenges…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track a challenge to absentee ballot rules for the November general election that were liberalized due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump’s campaign, Minnesota Republican Party and other GOP groups are appealing a lower court ruling. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea informed the parties Wednesday that the high court…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank delivered a sobering message Wednesday about the state’s flagship campus as the fall semester looms, saying “we’re in a real financial crisis” due to the coronavirus pandemic. How bad the crisis will depend on several factors, Blank said in an online presentation at the Rotary Club of Madison. Those include…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz named Jim Schowalter as his new commissioner of management and budget Wednesday to replace Myron Frans, who left his administration for a senior post at the University of Minnesota. Schowalter is returning to an agency he led in Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. He also served as budget director under Gov. Tim Pawlenty….
(Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press via AP) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A massive blaze that destroyed a hotel project under construction in downtown St. Paul was arson, authorities said. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives announced that determination Tuesday, along with the St. Paul Fire Department, St. Paul Police Department and Minnesota state fire marshal’s division. Investigators concluded the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin are among the Wisconsin officeholders who will speak during next week’s Democratic National Convention, which will be based out of Milwaukee. The four-day event to formally nominate Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for president has been scaled back to a nearly all virtual event due to the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Long-term care facilities in Minnesota soon will be allowed to open up more to visitors during the coronavirus pandemic but will have to follow the state’s strict guidance. The Minnesota Department of Health on Monday outlined the new visitation guidelines, which take effect Aug. 29. The guidance includes several factors, such as the latest COVID-19…
