US & World News

Pelosi Names Schiff, Nadler as Prosecutors for Trump Trial

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced the House prosecutors for the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. They include Democrats Adam Schiff of California and Jerrold Nadler of New York, who led the House impeachment probe. Pelosi made the announcement Wednesday morning, hours before the House was expected to vote to send the articles of impeachment…

Queen Agrees To Let Harry, Meghan Move Part-Time to Canada

SANDRINGHAM, England (AP) – Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to grant Prince Harry and his wife Meghan their wish for a more independent life, allowing them to move part-time to Canada while remaining firmly in the House of Windsor. The British monarch said in a statement Monday that the summit of senior royals on Monday was “constructive,” and that it…

US Announces New Sanctions on Iran After Missile Strikes

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration on Friday announced a new wave of sanctions on Iran following this week’s missile strikes by the Islamic Republic on U.S. bases in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved in “destabilizing” activities in the Middle…

House Approves Measure to Restrain Trump’s Actions on Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) – Reigniting a constitutional debate over war powers, the Democratic-controlled House has approved a resolution asserting that President Donald Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. The war powers resolution is not binding on Trump and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insists it “has real…

US Officials: ‘Highly Likely’ Iran Downed Ukrainian Jetliner

WASHINGTON (AP)-Two U.S. officials say it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board. President Donald Trump is suggesting he believes Iran was responsible. He is dismissing Iranian claims that it was a mechanical issue that brought down the plane. The officials, citing U.S. intelligence, spoke on the…

Prince Harry and Meghan to ‘Step Back’ as Senior UK Royals

LONDON (AP) – Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, say they plan “to step back” as senior members of the royal family and will “work to become financially independent.” A message from the couple issued Wednesday by Buckingham Palace said they intend to “balance” their time between the U.K. and North America while carving out “a progressive new role…

Iran Launches Ballistic Missiles at Two U.S. Bases in Iraq

UPDATE: Pentagon: ‘More than a dozen’ ballistic missiles fired from Iran at two U.S. bases in Iraq. ______________ TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it has launched “tens” of surface-to-surface missiles at Iraq’s Ain Assad air base housing U.S. troops over America’s killing of a top Iranian general. State TV described it early Wednesday as Tehran’s revenge operation over the…

Two Minnesota Firefighters Sent to Help Australia’s Wildfires

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. – Two Wildland firefighters from Minnesota have been assigned to help battle wildfires in Australia according to a recent news release from the Minnesota Incident Command System. Mike Crook, with the Superior National Forest out of Grand Maris, MN, was assigned to Victoria in southeastern Australia last month. Marty Cassellius, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Midwest…

US sending 3,000 more troops to Mideast Following Soleimani Killing

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump. Defense officials said the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They are in addition to about 700 soldiers from the…

Warren, Klobuchar End 2019 Lagging Top Rivals in Fundraising

WASHINGTON (AP) – Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced raising $21.2 million for her presidential campaign in the final three months of last year. The total trails the amounts collected by the Democratic presidential primary’s three other front-runners: former Vice President Joe Biden with $22.7 million, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with $34.5 million and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete…

Trump Plan to Curb Teen Vaping Exempts Some Flavors

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health officials will ban most flavored e-cigarettes popular with underage teenagers. But the plan from the Trump administration includes major exceptions that benefit companies that make and sell e-cigarettes and adults who use the nicotine-emitting devices. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday the policy won’t affect menthol or tobacco flavors. The policy also won’t affect…

U-Haul to stop hiring nicotine users in 21 states

PHOENIX (FOX 9) – U-Haul announced it will soon reject job applicants who use nicotine in 21 states. The company said the new policy will go into effect on Feb. 1 and be enacted in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. The company said…

Democrat Julián Castro Drops Out of 2020 Presidential Race

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Former Obama housing secretary Julián Castro is ending his run for president. Castro’s announcement Thursday comes after he failed to garner enough support or donations to make the recent Democratic presidential debates. The former San Antonio mayor languished around 1% in polls and lagged behind his 2020 rivals in fundraising. Castro was the only Latino candidate…

Walz Uses Holidays to Call Attention to Food Stamp Cuts

Changes to the Program Would cut an Estimated 30,000 Minnesotans

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are using the holiday season to call attention to a Trump administration plan to cut hundreds of thousands of Americans from the federal food stamp program. Walz and Flanagan plan to volunteer Monday at the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center food shelf in St. Paul. They’ll…

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to Step Down Immediately

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (AP) – Boeing’s CEO is resigning as the crisis enveloping the manufacturer related to its marquee aircraft, the Max 737 aircraft, drags on. The board of directors said Monday that Dennis Muilenburg will step down immediately. The board’s current chairman David Calhoun will become president and CEO on January 13. The board said a change in…

Watch Live: House Starts Historic Session to Impeach Trump; GOP Stalls

WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has gaveled in for a historic session to impeach President Donald Trump. He faces charges he abused his power and obstructed Congress. Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Democratic lawmakers to gather for what she calls a “solemn” session Wednesday. As soon as it opened, Republicans tried to halt the proceedings with a procedural vote. It was…

Protestors Rally in Duluth to Support Trump Impeachment

Protestors voiced disappointment with Republican Congressman Pete Stauber.

DULUTH, Minn.- As the House of Representatives is set to vote on President Trump’s impeachment Wednesday, some in Duluth voiced their support for his ouster. The “No One is Above the Law” Rally was one of the more than 500 protests planned in all fifty states Tuesday. According to organizers, they want to ensure Congress holds President Trump accountable for…

House Panel Approves 2 Trump Impeachment Charges

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool) WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Judiciary Committee has approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. The charges now go to the full House for an expected vote next week. The abuse of power charge stems from Trump’s July phone call with the Ukraine president pressuring him to announce an investigation of Democrats as he…

FCC Votes to Set Up 3-Digit Suicide Hotline Number

NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. regulators are setting up a new three-digit number to reach a suicide prevention hotline in order to make it easier to seek help and reduce the stigma associated with mental health. Similar to 911 for emergencies, people will just need to dial 988 to seek help – once it’s implemented. Currently, the National Suicide Prevention…

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg is Time ‘Person of the Year’

Thunberg is the Youngest Person Ever to Hold the Title

NEW YORK (AP) – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has become the youngest person ever to be named Time’s “person of the year.” The U.S. news magazine gave the 16-year-old Thunberg the honor on Wednesday for “sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have.” Leaving a United Nations climate conference in Madrid, Thunberg told The…

Democrats Unveil Trump Impeachment Charges

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats have announced two articles of impeachment charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The charges announced Tuesday stem from Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations of his political rivals as he withheld aid to the country. Earlier Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he did “NOTHING” wrong and that impeaching a president…

Remembering the Day of Infamy: Duluth Veterans Honor Pearl Harbor Fallen

DECC Holds Wreath laying ceremony commemorating 78 years since Pearl Harbor.

DULUTH, Minn.- December 7th, 1941. Proclaimed “a date which will live in infamy” by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The whole nation felt the shock of the surprise attack in Hawaii, and is still feeling the grief 78 years later as the day is commemorated across the country. Beside Lake Superior, the late morning air is broken by the sound of…

Shooter Kills 2, Wounds Others, is Dead at Florida Navy Base

A Shooter Opened Fire at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola Friday Morning

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A shooter opened fire at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola Friday morning in an attack that left three people dead including the assailant. The gunfire prompted a massive law enforcement response to the base, which was locked down. The U.S. Navy tweeted that a second victim was dead. Area hospital representatives told The Associated Press…

House Will Draft Trump Impeachment Articles, Pelosi Says

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House is moving forward to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Pelosi delivered the historic announcement Thursday from the speaker’s offices at the Capitol. Trump, meanwhile, tweeted that if Democrats are going to impeach him, he wants them to “do it now, fast”‘ so he can get on…

President Trump Makes Surprise Thanksgiving Visit to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) – President Donald Trump paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan, where he announced the U.S. and Taliban have been engaged in ongoing peace talks and said he believes the Taliban want a cease-fire. In his first trip to the site of America’s longest war, Trump arrived at Bagram Air Field shortly after 8:30 p.m….

New York Billionaire Michael Bloomberg Files Paperwork to Create Presidential Campaign

WASHINGTON-New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg is taking another step toward launching a Democratic bid for president. Bloomberg on Thursday filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to formally create a presidential campaign committee. The move legally allows him to begin raising and spending money on a 2020 campaign. Bloomberg’s team says the former New York City mayor has yet to…

Impeachment Inquiry Latest: Diplomat Says He Overheard Trump-Sondland Call

WASHINGTON-A Foreign Service officer says he overheard a phone call between President Donald Trump and a U.S. ambassador in which they discussed investigations requested of Ukraine. David Holmes is testifying Thursday in a House impeachment inquiry into whether Trump wrongly held up military aid to Ukraine until the president committed to investigating Trump’s Democratic political rival. Holmes says he was…

Motive, Suspects Sought in California Shooting

Four Shooting Victims Have Died

(Larry Valenzuela/The Fresno Be via AP) FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – As police search for suspects and a motive in the killing of four people at a backyard party in Fresno, California, neighbors say they are scared because there have been other shootings in the same neighborhood recently. Choua Vang tells the Fresno Bee in a story published Monday that his…

Roger Stone Guilty of Witness Tampering, Lying to Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) – Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of President Donald Trump, has been found guilty at his trial in federal court in Washington. Stone was convicted Friday. He was charged in a seven-count indictment that alleged he lied to lawmakers about WikiLeaks, tampered with witnesses and obstructed a House intelligence committee probe. His trial highlighted how Trump…

Watch Live: US Diplomat Arrives for Impeachment Hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) 10:20 a.m. – Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch says she was told last April by a State Department official to return to the United States “on the next plane” because of concerns “up the street” – a phrase she understood to mean the White House. Yovanovitch said she received the call at 1 a.m. from an…

Southern California High School Shooting, Three Confirmed Injuries

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) 9:40 a.m. – Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tells KNX radio the suspect in the Saugus High School shooting is in custody. The sheriff says the suspect is a student and was one of several people taken to a hospital after the Thursday morning shooting and is alive. Reports on the number of people injured…

WATCH LIVE: Trump Impeachment Hearings

WASHINGTON (AP) 3 p.m. – The two veteran diplomats testifying in the House impeachment hearing are denying President Donald Trump’s accusation that they adamantly oppose him. Shortly before Wednesday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing began, Trump tweeted, “NEVER TRUMPERS!” He mentioned no evidence. California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell asked both men if Trump’s claim was true. State Department official George Kent…

Former President Jimmy Carter Out of Surgery

ATLANTA (AP) – Jimmy Carter’s spokeswoman says the former president is recovering at Emory University Hospital following surgery to relieve pressure from bleeding on his brain. Deanna Congileo says there were no complications from the surgery. She says Carter will remain in the hospital for observation, and she doesn’t anticipate making more announcements until he’s released. Her Tuesday statement also…

Democrat Beto O’Rourke Has Announced He’s Dropping His 2020 Presidential Bid

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrat Beto O’Rourke has announced he’s dropping his 2020 presidential bid. O’Rourke tweeted Friday that his campaign “has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively.” He writes, “In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.” O’Rourke had been struggling to…

House Approve Rules for Trump Impeachment Probe

Thursday's Roll Call was 232-196

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON (AP) – A sharply divided House has approved the rules for its impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Thursday’s near party-line 232-196 roll call was the chamber’s first formal vote on a process that’s likely to take months, possibly stretching into the early weeks of the 2020 election year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a vote…

Keystone Oil Pipeline Leaks 383,000 Gallons in North Dakota

The Company Says the Spill has Been Contained

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota regulators say the Keystone pipeline leaked more than 383,000 gallons of oil in the northeastern part of the state. Calgary-based TC Energy says in a statement that the pipeline leak affected about 22,500 square feet of land near Edinburg, in Walsh County. The company says the spill has been contained and its cause is…

Twitter Bans All Political Advertisements

Twitter's Police Will Start November 22

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly targeted, misleading messages. Facebook has taken fire since it disclosed earlier in October that it will not fact-check ads by politicians or their campaigns, which could allow them to lie freely. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told…

Records: Closs Kidnapper Fought New Mexico Inmates

Patterson Was Transferred to New Mexico in July

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The man who kidnapped Jayme Closs and killed her parents got into a fight in a New Mexico prison with an inmate who asked about the case. Wisconsin prison officials quietly transferred Jake Patterson to New Mexico in July. Press-Gazette Media reports that New Mexico Corrections Department records show two inmates at an unnamed prison approached…

Trump Says Turkey Calls Cease-Fire ‘Permanent’

Trump Says Nearly All U.S. Troops Will be Leaving Syria

(AP PHOTO) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says Turkey has informed the U.S. it will make “permanent” a five-day cease-fire in Syria. In response, he says he’s directing the lifting of economic sanctions on Turkey. Claiming success at the U.S.-brokered effort, Trump said Wednesday, “this was an outcome created by us.” The cease-fire required Kurdish forces formerly allied with…

Jimmy Carter Hospitalized After Fall at Georgia Home

The Carter Center Says he Suffered a Minor Pelvic Fracture

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has been hospitalized after a fall at his home in Plains, Georgia. A statement from The Carter Center says Jimmy suffered “a minor pelvic fracture” on Monday, but remains in good spirits and looks forward to recovering at home. Carter Center spokeswoman Deanne Congileo told The Associated Press that she had…

Juul Halts Sales of Fruit, Dessert Flavors For E-Cigarettes

WASHINGTON (AP) – Juul Labs will stop selling fruit and dessert flavors for its electronic cigarettes. The voluntary step announced Thursday is the company’s latest concession as it tries to weather a political backlash blaming its flavored-nicotine products for hooking a generation of teenagers. The move is unlikely to satisfy the company’s critics. Juul will continue selling its most popular…

US Rep. Elijah Cummings Has Died

Cummings Was 68

BALTIMORE (AP) – Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings died early Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital due to complications from longstanding health challenges, his congressional office said. He was 68. A sharecropper’s son, Cummings became the powerful chairman of a U.S. House committee that investigated President Donald Trump, and was a formidable orator who passionately advocated for the poor in his…

Union Says Deal With GM Offers ‘Major Gains’

Workers Will Stay on the Picket Lines for Another 2 Days

DETROIT (AP) – The United Auto Workers union’s top bargainer with General Motors says a tentative deal with the company will bring “major gains” to workers. Union Vice President Terry Dittes says in a statement that bargainers wanted to get a strong and fair contract for the 49,000 members who have been on strike for a month. Details of the…

 Texas Officer Resigns in 1-Sentence Letter

Update: FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – A white police officer in Fort Worth who authorities say fatally shot a black woman in her home resigned in a one-sentence letter Monday. Aaron Dean’s letter said: “Effective immediately I am tendering my resignation from the Fort Worth Police Department.” The letter was released by the state’s largest police union, the Combined Law…

Cub Foods Stops E-Cigarette Sales, Asks Customers to not Carry Firearms in Stores

Please see the below statement from CUB regarding recent policy changes in our stores: pic.twitter.com/vKT1WVWLva — Cub (@cubfoods) October 11, 2019 (FOX 9) – Cub Foods announced it will no longer sell e-cigarettes and is asking its customers to no longer openly carry firearms in its stores after reconsidering its policies. In a release, the Minnesota-based grocer said a review of its…

California to Require Abortion Medication at Public Colleges

The Law Takes Effect in 2023

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California will become the first state to require public colleges and universities to offer abortion medication at campus health centers. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday he had signed the legislation. It’s a reversal from his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed the measure last year. The law takes effect in 2023. Democratic lawmakers who…