COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Sen. Lindsey Graham has tested positive for the coronavirus. The South Carolina Republican is the first senator to disclose a breakthrough infection after being vaccinated. Graham said in a statement Monday afternoon that he “started having flu-like symptoms Saturday night” and went to the doctor Monday morning. Graham said he would quarantine for 10 days and…
BOSTON (AP) – The Biden administration will allow a nationwide ban on evictions to expire Saturday. The end of the moratorium comes as advocates and some lawmakers call for it to be extended in the face of rising coronavirus cases and the sluggish pace of distributing rental assistance. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,…
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A man has been arrested and charged in federal court with sending emails that threatened to harm and kill Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins, and their families, federal prosecutors in Maryland announced Tuesday. A criminal complaint filed Monday charges Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., 56, with threats against a federal official…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – It’s shaping up to be a day full of partisan sniping but no real action in the Wisconsin Assembly. Republicans called the Assembly back into session Tuesday to vote on overriding Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ veto of a bill that would have ended a federal $300 weekly unemployment supplemental payment. To succeed, Republicans will need Democrats…
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File) NEW YORK (AP) – The chair of former President Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee was arrested Tuesday in California on charges alleging that he and others conspired to influence Trump’s foreign policy positions to benefit the United Arab Emirates. Tom Barrack was among three men charged in New York federal court with trying to influence…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has joined the crowded Democratic field for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson. The 34-year-old Barnes is vying to become the first Black U.S. senator in Wisconsin history. He is giving up a chance to run for a second term in 2022 as Gov. Tony Evers’…
(courtesy: Fox 9) ST. PAUL, Minn. – Longtime state Sen. David Tomassoni has informed his constituents that he has Lou Gehring’s disease, also known as ALS. The motor neuron disease is a progressive, degenerative disease that destroys the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement. The 68-year-old senator from Chisholm says he was diagnosed a while ago and felt the…
ATLANTA (AP) — Congressional Democrats are exploring ways to include financial incentives for states to expand voting access as part of a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure bill, a key senator said Sunday. Democrats have been struggling to get their marquee election reform bill passed in an evenly split Senate, where Republicans remain unified in their opposition and rules require 60 votes to…
(FOX News) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will sign an executive order Thursday bypassing the state legislature and banning the controversial practice of “gay conversion therapy.” Walz is expected to sign the order alongside Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan on Thursday morning in defiance of the Republican-held state senate, which doesn’t support the move, according to local media. “Our kids deserve…
DULUTH, Minn. – The city of Duluth’s main tourism marketing arm since 1935, known as Visit Duluth, is a finalist for next year’s one-year contract, as Mayor Emily Larson looks to possibly go a different direction with a mission to “elevate the brand of Duluth,” according to the Request for Qualifications document put out by the city. The Mayor’s Office…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican William Penterman is the apparent winner of a special election Tuesday to fill Wisconsin’s vacant 37th District Assembly seat. Unofficial results show Penterman received 3,742 votes. Democratic candidate Pete Adams received 3,063 votes and Independent Stephen Ratzlaff Jr. garnered 112 votes. Penterman, of Columbus, narrowly won the Republican primary by 16 votes. There were eight…
DULUTH, Minn.– Tuesday evening on Park Point, The Center of the American Experiment held an event at the Lafayette Park Community Center, after being denied at four Duluth locations in one month because of pressure from some in the community. The is the 17th stop in Minnesota for the “Raise Our Standards Tour” focusing on the state’s draft social studies…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, saying “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in a speech to update his administration’s ongoing efforts to wind down the U.S….
WHITEFISH BAY, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers has signed the Republican-written state budget, enacting a spending plan that includes a $2 billion income tax cut. Evers, a Democrat who is running for reelection next year, signed the budget Thursday. However, he kept the income tax cut intact. Evers opted to go along with the GOP-written budget with some changes…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Duluth City Council discussed accepting almost $60 million of federal funding for recovery from the pandemic and Mayor Emily Larson’s recommendations for how to spend that money. Council unanimously tabled the resolution, to further discuss the Mayor’s following suggestions to allocate the money: Affordable Housing: $20,678,130 Job Training and Workforce Services: $550,000 Utility Infrastructure and Broadband: $13,850,000…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon said it has canceled a cloud-computing contract with Microsoft that could eventually have been worth $10 billion. It will instead pursue a deal with both Microsoft and Amazon and possibly other cloud service providers. The Pentagon said in a statement that the JEDI Cloud contract, which has long been delayed, “no longer meets the requirements…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has resigned after it became apparent that the Republican-controlled state Senate was prepared to oust her. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz says Laura Bishop resigned Tuesday “in order to ensure a smooth and orderly transition” at the agency she had led since 2019. The governor accused Senate Republicans of using…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer who described pandemic restrictions and lawsuits against businesses that violated state public health guidelines as “intrusive state government” announced her bid on Sunday to unseat Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Attorney Lynne Torgerson announced on Sunday that she will run for attorney general in 2022, citing “destructive government lockdowns, lawsuits by (Ellison)…
DULUTH, Minn. – Visit Duluth, the city’s main tourism marketing arm since 1935, could be no more when its contract is up with the city at the end of the year. This comes after Mayor Emily Larson and her administration opened the job up through a new application process for a one-year contract through 2022. The “request for qualifications,” as…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota lawmakers averted a partial government shutdown at midnight Wednesday by sending the final budget bill to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk. The Senate unanimously approved the $21 billion K-12 education funding agreement, the last must-pass bill before the midnight deadline. Walz has now signed eight budget bills into law and has four others on his desk….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota lawmakers averted a partial government shutdown at midnight Wednesday by sending the final budget bill to Gov. Tim Walz’s desk. The Senate unanimously approved the $21 billion K-12 education funding agreement, the last must-pass bill before the midnight deadline. Walz has now signed eight budget bills into law and has four others on his desk….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature has reconvened to finish its remaining work on a $52 billion, two-year budget. Education and tax bills need passage before the current budget expires Wednesday night. Lawmakers returned to the Capitol after working into the early hours Wednesday to pass a bill that ends Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers effective Thursday. The Democratic governor…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Rumsfeld, the two-time defense secretary and a one-time presidential candidate whose reputation as a skilled bureaucrat and visionary of a modern U.S. military was soiled by the long and costly Iraq war, died Tuesday, his family said in a statement. He was 88. Regarded by former colleagues as equally smart and combative, patriotic and politically cunning,…
(AP) – Donald Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief are expected to be charged Thursday with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings. That’s according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer,…
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature reconvenes Wednesday to finish its remaining work on a $52 billion, two-year budget after working into the early hours to pass a bill that ends Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers effective Thursday. The emergency powers language was added early Wednesday to a state government and elections budget bill shortly after the…
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Senate has joined the state House in approving a modest set of police accountability measures as part of a broader public safety budget bill. The Senate approved it 45-21 early Wednesday following a 75-59 vote Tuesday night in the Minnesota House. The approval comes on the heels of last week’s sentencing of…
DULUTH, Minn.– Mayor Emily Larson and members of the City Administration announced their recommendations today on how the city should spend the $58 million dollars it received from the American Rescue Plan. The City of Duluth has now received half of the $58 million dollars from the American Rescue Plan, and today Mayor Larson proposed a way to invest that…
LA CROSSE, Wisc. (AP) – President Joe Biden is in Wisconsin, looking to sell voters on the economic benefits of the $973 billion infrastructure package. He hopes the trip will boost the bipartisan agreement that is held together in large part by the promise of millions of new jobs. White House officials issued an internal memo that highlights how the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has announced that “we have a deal” – a bipartisan agreement on a $953 billion infrastructure plan. The agreement, reached in a meeting Thursday at the White House, means a breakthrough after arduous negotiations on the president’s top legislative priority. Biden invited members of the bipartisan group to discuss the pared-down plan that has…
NEW YORK (AP) – An appeals court has suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in New York because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee said in its motion to suspend Giuliani’s license that there was “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani had made false statements to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Another piece of Minnesota’s budget picture fell into place when the House passed a $7 billion transportation funding bill. The bill includes money for two new bus rapid transit lines for the Twin Cities. It preserves the Northstar commuter rail line. It includes money for a second daily Amtrak train between St. Paul and Chicago….
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris is set to make her first visit to the U.S. Mexico border since taking office. The visit to El Paso is planned for Friday and it comes after she’s received criticism from members of both parties for failing to go there despite taking on a leading role in the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. government is stepping up efforts to get younger Americans vaccinated for COVID-19 amid growing concern about the spread of a new variant that threatens to set the country back in the months ahead. The push is underway as the delta variant has come to represent more than 20% of coronavirus infections in the U.S. in…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Assembly plans to send bills to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers that would limit opportunities for absentee voting, make it more difficult for the elderly and disabled to cast absentee ballots, and prohibit officials from filling in missing information on the envelopes of returned absentee ballots. Evers is expected to veto all of the Republican-backed…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Legislature is on track to hand out serious tax relief to thousands of businesses and unemployed workers this year. The final tax bill agreed to by lawmakers late last week features nearly $1 billion in tax cuts over the next four years. The bill includes about $650 million in tax relief on federal emergency loans…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is marking another milestone in his quest to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Biden announced Friday that 300 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered in the 150 days since he took office on Jan. 20. Biden is crediting scientists, companies, the American people and his whole-of-government effort. The president noted that 65%…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota House launched into a long, contentious debate Thursday as it held its first votes on big-budget bills that lawmakers were unable to pass before time ran out on the year’s regular session last month. The House had four bills teed up for final floor votes. But minority House Republicans were unhappy with being shut out…
DULUTH, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced on Thursday the appointment of Bhupesh Pattni as District Court Judge in the Sixth Judicial District. Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District encompasses Carlton, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties. “I am honored to appoint Bhupesh Pattni to the Sixth Judicial District,” said Governor Walz. “Mr. Pattni has a wealth of experience,…
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly plans to vote on bills banning transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The measures being debated Wednesday in the middle of gay pride month are all but certain to be headed for a veto by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Even though they are…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers have returned to unfinished business at the Capitol as they begin a special session to finalize a two-year budget and avert a potential government shutdown at the end of the month. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman says four of the 13 unresolved budget bills are “completely ready to go.” She says the public…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, pool) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s top national security official is resigning from his position after revelations that the department secretly seized records from Democrats and members of the media. John Demers will leave his position by the end of next week. That’s according to a Justice Department official who spoke to The Associated Press on…
ASHLAND, Wis.– At Northland College in Ashland, a school food program has been teaching students how to grow sustainability. And it’s catching the eye of the Wisconsin governor. On Friday Governor Tony Evers toured the Hulings Rice Food Center on the Northland College campus. “It’s always good to get out of the bubble of the state capital,” said Evers. The…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – The Minnesota State Capitol will start welcoming visitors once again on Thursday. It had been closed since the early days of the pandemic. Thursday’s reopening comes just one week after the fence around the capitol was fully removed. It was installed in response to the riots following the death of George Floyd and was even beefed…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Senate has approved Republican-backed bills that would create new hurdles for the elderly and disabled to cast absentee ballots, limit the number and location of ballot drop boxes and impose new penalties for violating election law. All of the measures are almost certain to be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has said…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House dropped Trump-era executive orders intended to ban the popular apps TikTok and WeChat and will conduct its own review aimed at identifying national security risks with software applications tied to China, officials said Wednesday. A new executive order directs the Commerce Department to undertake what officials describe as an “evidence-based” analysis of transactions involving apps that are manufactured…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court has ruled that thousands of people living in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are ineligible to apply to become permanent residents. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court Monday that federal immigration law prohibits people who entered the country illegally and now have Temporary Protected Status from seeking “green cards” to remain in…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is making it official, announcing his bid for a second term in the battleground state where he stands as a Democratic block to the Republican-controlled state Legislature. Evers told The Associated Press in an interview that he decided to run again because he has unfinished business and needs to remain a check…
(AP) – Facebook said it is suspending former President Donald Trump’s accounts for two years following its finding that he stoked violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. The two-year suspension is effective from Jan. 7, so Trump has 19 months to go. In a press release, the former president called Facebook’s decision “an insult.” “They shouldn’t be allowed…
(courtesy: Facebook/Biden) WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is unveiling President Joe Biden’s plans to share COVID-19 vaccines with the world, including directing 75% of excess doses through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program. The White House has previously stated its intent to share 80 million vaccine doses with the world by the end of June. The administration says…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — County board and local aldermanic districts in Wisconsin would remain the same next year under a bill moving quickly through the Republican-controlled Legislature. The measure introduced on Tuesday and heard by an Assembly committee on Wednesday would delay redistricting and implementation of new political boundaries for local races until at least 2023. The bill is supported…
