BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — The Mall of America was back in business on Wednesday, nearly three months after the Minnesota tourist attraction shut down because of the coronavirus. About 150 of the 500 stores in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington reopened their doors to a new shopping experience that included signs encouraging social distancing, reduced seating, touchless hand sanitizer stations,…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin campgrounds closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic reopen starting Wednesday, but it won’t be business as usual. Campers will have to make reservations ahead of time, won’t be able to purchase firewood on-site and all buildings, observation towers, playgrounds, concessions, and rentals will be closed. But bathrooms will be open as will the…
GENEVA — A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up “misunderstandings” about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronavirus. Maria Van Kerkhove, the U.N. health agency’s technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete…
HOUSTON (AP) — The black man whose death has inspired a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice will be buried in Houston on Tuesday. His body will be carried home in a horse-drawn carriage and will be laid to rest next to his mother. George Floyd was 46 when he was killed on May 25 as a white Minneapolis officer pressed…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd’s death was the breaking point for some Minneapolis civic leaders, who now say the only way to fix the city’s embattled police department is to take it apart. But it’s not clear how they would do that, and groups that have spent years shining a light on police brutality aren’t even sure it’s the answer….
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand appears to have completely eradicated the coronavirus — at least for now — after health officials said Monday the last known infected person had recovered. The announcement was greeted with joy around the country and means the nation of 5 million people will be among the first to welcome throngs of fans back…
UPDATE: (Fox 9) – The judge set Chauvin’s bail at $1.25 million with no conditions and $1 million with conditions that include no police or law enforcement work, no firearms, and no contact with Floyd’s family. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge on Monday set $1 million bail for an ex-Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd’s death….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd’s death is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday. Derek Chauvin, 44, is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s May 25 death. Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died after the white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes…
Minneapolis was among several cities that had policies on the books requiring police officers to intervene to stop colleagues from using unreasonable force, but that didn’t save George Floyd and law enforcement experts say such rules will always run up against entrenched police culture and the fear of being ostracized and branded a “rat.” Power dynamics may have been magnified…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The percentage of positive COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continues to decline, based on the latest figures reported Friday by the state Department of Health Services. Only 3% of all test results were positive on Friday, continuing a downward trend over the past two weeks. In total, more than 20,200 people have contracted the virus in Wisconsin…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Negotiators for the city of Minneapolis have agreed with the state to ban the use of chokeholds by police and to require police to report and intervene anytime they see unauthorized use of force by another officer. The moves are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials plan to re-open state campgrounds next week. The department has kept campgrounds closed since March to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The DNR announced Thursday that state campgrounds will re-open June 10 as infection rates trend downward. Park offices will remain closed, however, and campers can expect to…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, and 2.5 million jobs were added – a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy and depressed the job market in the wake of the viral pandemic. The May job gain suggests that businesses have quickly been recalling workers as states…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece Thursday for three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd, as a memorial service took place just blocks away. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances in Hennepin County District Court as friends, relatives and celebrities gathered to memorialize…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Organizers of a Minneapolis memorial for George Floyd placed floral arrangements around a golden casket as mourners prepared to pay their respects. Memorial services to honor Floyd are taking place in three cities over six days. The first is Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis. The organizers want to acknowledge the meaning Floyd had in life to his large…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors on Wednesday expanded their case against the police who were at the scene of George Floyd’s death, charging three of the officers with aiding and abetting murder and upgrading the charges against the officer who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck to second-degree murder. The most serious charge was filed against Derek Chauvin, whose caught-on-video treatment…
DULUTH, Minn. – U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is increasing charges against Derek Chauvin. According to a recent tweet from Sen. Klobuchar, Ellison is increasing charges against Derek Chauvin to second-degree murder and will also be charging the other three officers involved in the killing of George Floyd. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is increasing…
(courtesy: Fox 9) ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday blocked a chain of central Minnesota bars and restaurants from offering sit-down dining in violation of Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency order during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Stearns County judge issued a temporary injunction sought by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison against the owner of the “Shady’s” chain….
(Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The case against a man who drove his semitrailer into a crowd of protesters on a closed Minneapolis freeway has been delayed pending further investigation, prosecutors said Tuesday. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement Tuesday that the case against the man has been deferred and that he’ll be released…
(Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The state of Minnesota filed a human rights complaint Tuesday against the Minneapolis Police Department in the death of George Floyd by an ex-Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, even after he stopped moving. Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced…
WASHINGTON (AP) — American cities erupted in violence and destruction in a seventh straight night of unrest, with several police officers shot or run over, amid boasts and threats from President Donald Trump to send in troops to “dominate the streets.” In New York, nonviolent protests Monday night were punctuated by people smashing shop windows near Rockefeller Center and breaching…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Embracing the language of confrontation and war, President Donald Trump on Monday declared himself the “president of law and order” and signaled he would stake his reelection on convincing voters his forceful approach, including deploying U.S. troops to U.S. cities, was warranted in a time of national tumult and racial unrest. Trump made his Rose Garden declaration…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An autopsy commissioned for George Floyd’s family found that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression when a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes and ignored his cries of distress, the family’s attorneys said Monday. The autopsy by a doctor who also examined Eric Garner’s body found the…
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted Michigan’s nearly 10-week coronavirus stay-at-home order Monday, letting restaurants reopen to dine-in customers next week and immediately easing limits on outdoor gatherings while keeping social-distancing rules intact. The governor moved regions comprising 93% of the state’s population to phase 4 — “improving” — two weeks after she announced that northern Michigan could…
(Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The driver of a semitrailer who rolled into the midst of thousands of people who had gathered on a closed Minneapolis freeway to protest George Floyd’s death was apparently confused and didn’t mean to injure anyone, Gov. Tim Walz said Monday. It appeared no one was hurt Sunday, authorities said, but some…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Key races in Wisconsin came into clearer focus Monday, the deadline for candidates to file nomination papers to get on the November ballot. Republicans are looking to maintain their majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly heading into 2021 when the Legislature will be charged with the once-a-decade job of redistricting. Because of how the…
(NASA TV via AP) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Sunday, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another first for Elon Musk’s company. With test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken poised to take over manual control if necessary, the SpaceX Dragon capsule…
MINNEAPOLIS — Officials in Minnesota say a more aggressive approach helped prevent another night of dangerous and damaging violence in Minneapolis from protests over the death of George Floyd. The state poured thousands more National Guard soldiers into a response that came after repeated days of arson, property damage and looting on the city’s south side. Public Safety Commissioner John…
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will be terminating its relationship with the World Health Organization, saying it had failed to adequately respond to the coronavirus because China has “total control” over the global organization. He said Chinese officials “ignored” their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured the WHO to mislead…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota State Patrol on Friday arrested a CNN television crew as they reported on violent protests in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer knelt on his neck. Atlanta-based CNN said that the crew, which included CNN reporter Omar Jimenez, was released later Friday morning….
AP Photo John Minchillo MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — Cheering protesters torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St. Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the U.S over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled…
BOSTON (AP) — Organizers canceled the Boston Marathon on Thursday for the first time in its history, bowing to the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus outbreak and ending a 124-year run that had persisted through two World Wars, a volcanic eruption, and even another pandemic. The race, which draws a field of 30,000 and already had been postponed from…
(AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump escalated his war on social media companies, signing an executive order Thursday challenging the liability protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. Trump said the fact checks were “editorial decisions” by Twitter and amounted to political activism. He said it should cost those companies…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — There will be no cream puffs, concerts, 4-H exhibits, rides on the midway, or foods on a stick in Wisconsin this year. For the first time since World War II, and just the sixth time in 169 years, the Wisconsin State Fair has been canceled. The venerable event held every August outside of Milwaukee was called…
WASHINGTON (AP) — An estimated 2.1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, bringing the running total since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March to about 41 million, the government said Thursday. The figures underscored the continuing damage to businesses and livelihoods from the outbreak that has now killed…
Credit: Carlos Gonzalez/ Star Tribune via AP MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Protests rocked Minneapolis for the second straight night after a man’s death in police custody. One person was killed Wednesday night in what police were investigating as a homicide amidst violence that included looting and setting fires that continued to burn Thursday morning. The protests began outside the police precinct…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin local governments will share in $200 million from the federal coronavirus relief bill to help with expenses related to the pandemic, Gov. Tony Evers announced Wednesday. Evers announced that $190 million will be allocated to every Wisconsin county, city, village, and town based on a formula that takes into account population. Federally recognized American Indian…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed as moot a lawsuit that argued Gov. Tony Evers’ “safer at home” order was a violation of constitutional rights to worship, protest, and travel. The court earlier this month, in a different lawsuit, ruled that Evers’ health secretary exceeded her constitutional authority in issuing the “safer at home” order….
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) — SpaceX is on the cusp of launching NASA astronauts into orbit Wednesday, a first for a private company and a giant leap forward for the booming business of space travel. The planned afternoon liftoff to the International Space Station will be the first of Americans from the U.S. in nearly a decade. Riding aboard the…
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud in Minnesota will pay sexual abuse victims $22.5 million and file for bankruptcy, according to a settlement agreement. Some 70 people say they were abused by 41 priests in cases that date back to the 1950s. If the bankruptcy plan is approved, the diocese will become the fifth…
(Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) – According to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, the four responding officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been fired. Frey announced the update on Twitter Tuesday afternoon saying that “This is the right call.” Four responding MPD officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been terminated. This is…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has decided to allow courts to resume in-person hearings and jury trials if they can come up with plans to protect participants and observers from the coronavirus. The justices suspended in-person hearings and jury trials in March, ordering judges to continue trials to a date after May 22. Chief Justice Patience Roggensack…
WILLMAR, Minn. (AP) — Eight people have been rescued after their boat sank in Big Kandiyohi Lake in west-central Minnesota. The Kandiyohi County sheriff’s office said authorities received a call just before 6 p.m. Sunday of a submerged boat. Everyone who was in the water was pulled to safety by others on a pontoon who heard the calls for help….
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump has laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery as he commemorates Memorial Day in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump was joined by Vice President Mike Pence and his defense secretary. He laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier overlooking rolling hills dotted with white tombstones. First lady Melania…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin has gone over 500 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus, according to state Department of Health Services figures released Saturday. The report showed 481 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend, for a total of 14,877, and an additional 11 deaths, for a total of 507. Two news deaths were reported in Milwaukee County, increasing the county’s…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is scrapping his 10-person limit on group gatherings and allowing churches to open at 25% occupancy if certain safety guidelines are met. Walz’s decision comes on a day when the state reported a record number of COVID-19 cases. He says the issue has been “a challenging one” because large gatherings raise the risk…
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Harley-Davidson Inc. is resuming production at its U.S. manufacturing plants after suspending production for about two months. The Milwaukee-based motorcycle company shut down production in March after an employee at its factory in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, tested positive for the coronavirus. Harley-Davidson also saw motorcycle sales drop in the economic fallout from COVID-19, the disease caused by…
“Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, agreed to serve prison time as part of a plea deal in the college admissions bribery case, according to court papers filed Thursday. Loughlin, 55, has agreed to serve two months behind bars and Giannulli, 56, has agreed to serve five months under the deal that must be…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Catholic Conference and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod say they plan to hold services next week despite a ban on in-person worship of more than 10 people. The two denominations sent Gov. Tim Walz separate letters this week to tell him they plan to open their doors to worship Tuesday, May 26. Some politicians and business…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota bars and restaurants will learn Wednesday afternoon when they might be able to reopen for sit-down service under restrictions meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Many eating establishments across Minnesota have been trying to stay alive with takeout and delivery service since Gov. Tim Walz ordered them to close in mid-March, putting tens of…
