Author: The Associated Press

DNC Calls for a ‘Recanvass’ of Iowa Results After Delays

WASHINGTON (AP) – The chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling for a “recanvass” of the results of Monday’s Iowa caucus. Technical problems and delays have marred the first contest on the 2020 election calendar. The current results show Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders nearly tied with almost all the votes counted. But the race remained too early to…

Buttigieg, Sanders Nearly Tied as Iowa Caucus Results Narrow

The Race Remained Too Early to Call Thursday Morning

(https://results.thecaucuses.org/) WASHINGTON (AP) – New results from the Iowa Democratic caucuses show Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders nearly tied with almost all the votes counted. But the race remained too early to call early Thursday with 97% of precincts reporting. Party officials were scrambling to verify the remaining results three days after Iowans gathered at caucus sites across the state…

Madoff Seeks Prison Release, Citing Terminal Kidney Failure

NEW YORK (AP) — Epic Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff asked a federal judge Wednesday to grant him a “compassionate release” from his 150-year prison sentence, saying he has terminal kidney failure and less than 18 months to live. Madoff’s attorney filed court papers saying the 81-year-old has end-stage kidney disease and other “chronic, serious medical conditions,” including hypertension and cardiovascular…

President Trump Acquitted in Impeachment Case

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Senate has acquitted President Donald Trump of impeachment, ending only the third presidential trial in American history with votes that split the country and tested civic norms. The proceedings also are feeding the tumultuous 2020 run for the White House. A majority of senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that resulted in the two…

Trump Impeachment Acquittal on Track Ahead of Senate Vote

A Vote is Expected Wesneday Afternoon

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is on the verge of acquittal by the Senate. An afternoon vote will bring an end to only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history. One key Democrat, Alabama Sen. Doug Jones has now announced he will vote to convict. The impeachment vote comes at the start of a tumultuous campaign for the…

Health Committee to Take Input on GOP Sex Assault Kit Bill

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin legislators are set to take public comments on a new Republican bill designed to prevent a backlog of untested sexual assault kits. The proposal has deepened the rift between Republicans and Democrats. In addition to kit submission protocols, the bill mandates police to notify immigration authorities of anyone in the country illegally arrested for sexual…

Minnesota Officer Charged With Sexually Touching Students

COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. (AP) – Prosecutors have charged a Minnesota police officer with sexually touching female students while hugging them at a suburban high school where he was a school resource officer. Forty-year-old Adam Pelton of River Falls, Wisconsin, was charged Monday with three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of fourth-degree sexual conduct. Pelton is accused…

Iowa Democratic Party Starts Releasing Partial Caucus Results

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Initial data released by the Iowa Democratic Party shows Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders ahead in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. The tally of state delegate equivalents released Tuesday shows Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar trailing behind. The party released 62% of results from all 99 counties after a daylong delay sparked by…

Democratic Convention Host Committee Leaders Put on Leave

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The two leaders of Milwaukee’s host committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention have been placed on leave pending an investigation into allegations that they oversaw a toxic work environment. The Associated Press obtained a letter on Tuesday about the probe into the group’s president, Liz Gilbert, and its chief of staff, Adam Alonso. They didn’t…

The Latest: Dems Say Delay Due to Coding Error, Results Soon

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Democratic Party says delays in reporting the outcome of Monday’s caucuses were due to a coding issue that has been fixed. The party says it hopes to release results “as soon as possible.” In a statement Tuesday, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price says, “We have every indication that our systems were secure…

What Went Wrong: Tech Troubles Behind Delay in Iowa Results

The Delays Were Not the Result of a Hack or Intrusion

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new mobile app is being blamed for the delay in reporting the results of Iowa’s 1,700 caucuses. Glitches with the mobile app caused confusion and left the caucus results unknown early Tuesday. Some caucus organizers were forced to call in results for the state party to record manually, introducing delays and the possibility for…

Regulators Approve Environmental Review for Line 3 Pipeline

ST. PAUL, Minn.-Minnesota utility regulators have approved a revised environmental review for a proposed $2.6 billion pipeline. The state Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 to approve the environmental impact statement for Enbridge’s Line 3 project in northern Minnesota, saying it adequately addressed the impacts of a potential spill in the Lake Superior watershed. The new pipeline would replace Enbridge’s Line…

Wisconsin Man Sentenced to Prison for Burning-Bed Attack

ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) — A northern Wisconsin man has been sentenced to more than 65 years behind bars for setting his former girlfriend’s bed on fire as she slept in it. Eugene Stumbaugh, 54, of Ashland was sentenced Thursday after a jury convicted him in November of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, arson and bail jumping. Stumbaugh could have faced up…

Dems Kick Off Iowa Caucuses

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – More than two years have passed since the first presidential announcement, nearly $1 billion has been spent and numerous candidates have already come and gone. And yet the Democrats’ turbulent 2020 primary season officially begins Monday. By day’s end, tens of thousands of Iowa Democrats will have decided the results of their presidential caucus in…

Wisconsin Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Prevent Sexual Assault Kit Backlog

Republicans have introduced the bill, scrapping proposals championed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill designed to prevent a backlog of untested sexual assault kits, scrapping proposals championed by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul. The Senate overwhelmingly passed bills in October that would create new kit submission and tracking requirements but they’ve stalled in the Assembly. Kaul has blasted Republicans who control that chamber for…

Senate Rejects Efforts to Call More Impeachment Witnesses

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Senate rejected the idea of summoning witnesses for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial late Friday, all but ensuring his acquittal. But senators considered pushing off final voting on his fate to next week. The vote on allowing new witnesses was defeated 51-49 on a near party-line vote. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah voted…

Regulators Revisit Environmental Review for Line 3 Pipeline

ST. PAUL, Minn.-Minnesota regulators have opened a hearing on whether to approve an updated environmental review for Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across the state. But most of Friday’s testimony strayed well beyond the narrow official scope of the proceedings into the broader questions of whether the project should even be built. Environmental…

Senate to Vote on Trump Trial Witnesses With End in Sight

Fox 21 is also streaming the impeachment trial on Facebook

Fox 21 is also streaming the impeachment trial on Facebook. WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump appears poised for acquittal in his impeachment trial. Senators are preparing to vote late Friday to reject efforts to call more witnesses and instead start bringing a close to the third such trial in American history. Democrats’ hopes of prolonging the trial dimmed after a late…

Delta and American Airlines Suspend All Flights to China Amid Virus Outbreak

BEIJING-Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are suspending all flights between the U.S. and China as an outbreak of a new virus spreads. American Airlines says it’s suspending flights beginning Friday through March 27. The company cited the U.S. State Department’s decision to advise against all travel to China. The decision also comes a day after the pilots’ union at…

UN Agency Declares Global Emergency Over Virus From China

GENEVA (AP) – The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of a new virus from China a global emergency after the number of infected people spiked more than tenfold in a week. The United Nations health agency made the determination on Thursday as more cases of human-to-human transmission were being reported worldwide. To date, China has reported more than…

Wisconsin Teacher Charged With Trying to Record Students

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin high school teacher has been charged in federal court with seven counts of attempting to create child pornography by secretly recording minors twice in 2019. The charges follow an investigation that was triggered by the discovery of hidden recording devices in the Minneapolis hotel room of students he was chaperoning on a business club…

Merger of Five Iron Range Colleges Approved

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Five colleges on Minnesota’s Iron Range hit by declining enrollment in recent years plan to merge. Minnesota State higher education system trustees endorsed the merger of the Northeast Higher Education District schools Wednesday in a unanimous vote. The colleges, which have a combined enrollment of about 2,900 full-time students, share a president and some services. The…

Hall of Fame DE Doleman Dies at Age 58

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Hall of Fame defensive end Chris Doleman, who became one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers during 15 seasons in the league, has died. The longtime Minnesota Vikings star was 58. The Vikings and the Pro Football Hall of Fame expressed their condolences in statements confirming Doleman’s death on Tuesday night. Last night we lost a…

UW-Madison Veterinary School Featured in Super Bowl Ad

(courtesy: Twitter/UW-Madison, WeatherTech) MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine will be featured in a Super Bowl commercial that highlights a dog that survived cancer. WeatherTech, which makes pet care products among other things, is paying for Sunday’s $6 million, 30-second ad. The star of the commercial is Scout, a golden retriever whose owner is WeatherTech…

Stepfather of Slain Girl Fears Teen Was Wrongfully Convicted

(AP Photo/John Minchillo) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The stepfather of an 11-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet as she studied inside her home now says he questions whether a teenager was wrongfully convicted of the shooting. Leonard Winborn was responding to an Associated Press investigation that uncovered new evidence and numerous inconsistencies in the case that sent Myon…

Pence Touts School Choice in Liberal Capital of Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence touted alternatives to a public school education during a visit to the state where the private school voucher program began. His stop Tuesday in battleground Wisconsin was part of a celebration of national school choice week. Pence and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos were both drowned out briefly by chants of “shame”…

Officer Shot in the Head Undergoes Reconstructive Surgery

The 32-Year-Old Waseca Officer was Shot in the Head Jan. 6

WASECA, Minn. – The southern Minnesota police officer gravely wounded in a shooting has undergone reconstructive surgery for broken bones in his face and skull. A family post on Arik Matson’s CaringBridge web page says the surgery Monday at North Memorial Health Hospital left him dealing with some pain and swelling but otherwise went well. The 32-year-old Waseca officer was…

Trump Team Brushes Past Bolton, Attacks Impeachment Case

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s legal team is raising a broad-based attack on the impeachment case against him even as it mostly brushes past allegations in a new book that could undercut a key defense argument at the Senate trial. Former national security adviser John Bolton writes in a manuscript that Trump wanted to withhold military aid from Ukraine…

Democrats Demand Bolton Testify at Trump’s Impeachment Trial

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have new fuel in their pursuit of sworn testimony at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. A draft of a book from former national security adviser John Bolton appears to undercut a key defense argument that the president never tied withholding of aid to Ukraine to a demand the country investigate political rival, Joe Biden. Bolton writes…

Kobe Bryant, daughter perish in copter crash, 7 others dead

CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) — NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash on a remote, steep hillside in Southern California on Sunday, his sudden death at age 41 touching off an outpouring of grief for a star whose celebrity transcended basketball. The chopper went down in Calabasas, about 30 miles (48 kilometers)…

Minnesota Reports First Child Death of Flu Season

The Health Department Says Influenza Continues to be Widespread Across Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota health officials are reporting the first child death of the flu season. According to the Minnesota Department of Health’s weekly influenza and respiratory illness report, a total of 31 people in the state have died of the flu so far this season. The number of people hospitalized due to the flu has topped 1,200 this…

Watch Live: Dems’ Impeachment Challenge: Making a Case With No New Facts

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats prosecuting President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial are heading into the second day of arguments facing a big challenge. They’re trying to win over not just fidgety senators but an American public deeply divided by the Republican president’s actions. Prosecutors are relying on the same loops of videotaped testimony after Trump’s allies in the Republican-controlled Senate…

Cross: UW Regents Will Seek Tuition Increase in Next Budget

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross says regents are planning to ask legislators to increase tuition in the next state budget. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Cross told the state Senate’s universities committee Wednesday that the regent’s biennial budget request will include a tuition increase roughly in keeping with inflation. Republicans have kept tuition…

Rules Set, Senate to Hear Case for Pulling Trump From Office

Tune in right now to Fox 21's Facebook page to watch the impeachment trial live.

Tune in right now to Fox 21’s Facebook page to watch the impeachment trial live. WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate is poised to hear opening arguments  in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Democratic House managers are set to make their case that Trump abused power and should be removed from office. Trump himself said on Wednesday he wants top aides to testify, but…

Audit Finds More Violations at Department of Human Services

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – An internal audit has found several violations of laws to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in a Department of Human Services division responsible for a string of improper payments. The department’s behavioral health division was responsible for $29 million in overpayments to two American Indian bands and $70 million in improper payments to chemical dependency…

US Gets First Case of Mysterious New Chinese Illness

The 30-Year-Old Man is in Good Condition at a Hospital is Everett

SEATTLE (AP) – The U.S. has its first case of a new virus that was found only last month in China, and health officials say they expect to see more around the world in the coming days. A U.S. resident who recently returned from a trip to central China has been diagnosed with the new virus. Health officials said Tuesday…

Vikings Pick up 5 Additions to Pro Bowl, Including Cousins

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have five additions to the NFC Pro Bowl roster, giving them eight players in the all-star game for their highest total in 10 years. The team announced Tuesday that quarterback Kirk Cousins, defensive end Everson Griffen, fullback C.J. Ham, linebacker Eric Kendricks, and cornerback Xavier Rhodes were picked as replacements. Running back Dalvin…

Longtime Democratic State Senator Won’t Seek Re-Election

He Has Served in the Senate Since 2001

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Another longtime Democratic Wisconsin state senator says he won’t seek re-election this fall. Mark Miller of Monona announced on the Senate floor Tuesday that he won’t run again this November. Miller is a former fighter pilot who has served in the Senate since 2004. He told his colleagues Tuesday that a winner-take-all culture has come to…

Senate to Vote on Funding for UW Missing Soldiers Project

(courtesy: www.biotech.wisc.edu) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Senate is set to vote on a bill that would allow the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers to request hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover missing Wisconsin soldiers’ remains. The bill would allow the UW-Madison Missing-In-Action Recovery and Identification Project to ask the state to release $360,000 over the next two fiscal…

Wisconsin Senate to Legalize Taking Selfies With Ballot

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin voters could legally take selfies with their marked election ballots under a proposal up for approval in the state Senate. Supporters of the measure call the current ban archaic, especially in an era in which voters are increasingly posting pictures of themselves with their marked ballots on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. But…

Trump Impeachment Trial to Begin With Rules Fight, Long Days

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is set to unfold at the Capitol. On the eve of the trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side’s opening arguments. The rules package will be one of the first orders of business when senators convene about midday Tuesday. Trump’s lawyers are seeking swift acquittal….

Prince Wrongful Death Case Dismissed; Estate Case Continues

(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota court records show a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Prince’s family members has been quietly dismissed in recent months against all defendants. Though the dismissal of one defendant is being appealed, the rest were dismissed by agreement, which experts say could indicate settlements. Meanwhile, efforts to determine the value of Prince’s estate…