US & World News

Minnesota News

Air Quality Alert issued for all of Minnesota

Rice Lake expected to name Acting Mayor

One Roof Community Housing Awarded 10k Grant

The DECC Goes to the Dogs for the DKC All Breed Dog Show

Coffee Conversation: Taste Twin Ports to Take Over Bayfront Festival Park Saturday

Wisconsin News

Northland College To Remain Open Under New Model

Helping Future Farmers By Eating Frozen Custard

Homegrown Music Festival Expands to Largest Venue to Date

Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month Reminds Both Drivers and Riders to Stay Alert

Volunteer Sandra Nutt Sheds Light on the Walk to End Alzheimer's in Ashland

Michigan Will No Longer Tax Tampons, Other Feminine Products

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan will no longer apply the 6% sales tax to tampons and other menstrual products under legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The change will take effect in early February. Supporters of the new law…

Unemployment Claims Drop to 269,000, Another Pandemic Low

WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic low last week, another sign the job market is healing after last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 14,000 to 269,000 last week.…

US Mandates Vaccines or Tests for Big Companies by Jan. 4

(AP) - Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly. The new government rules were issued Thursday.…

US Gives Final Clearance To COVID-19 Shots For Kids 5 to 11

(AP) -- U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final signoff to Pfizer’s kid-size COVID-19 shot, a major expansion of the nation’s vaccination campaign. The Food and Drug Administration already authorized the shots for children ages 5 to 11 —…

US Advisers Urge COVID Shot for Kids 5-11, Final OK Due Soon

(AP) - An influential U.S. advisory panel is recommending that all children ages 5 to 11 should get Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. If the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees with Tuesday's vote, the U.S. will…

Facebook To Shut Down Face-Recognition System, Delete Data

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook said it will shut down its face-recognition system and delete the faceprints of more than 1 billion people. “This change will represent one of the largest…

U.S. Military Weighs Penalties for Service Members Who Refuse COVID Vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) - As deadlines loom for military and defense civilians to get mandated COVID-19 vaccines, senior leaders must now wrestle with the fate of those who flatly refuse the shots or are…

People, Homes Vanish Due To 2020 Census’ New Privacy Method

The three-bedroom colonial-style house where Jessica Stephenson has lived in Milwaukee for the last six years bustles with activity on any given weekday, filled with the chattering of children in the day care center she runs out of her home.…

FDA Paves Way for Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccinations in Young Kids

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration has paved the way for children ages 5 to 11 to get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The agency authorized the kid-size doses on Friday. But there's one more regulatory hurdle. Next week, advisers…

Queen Elizabeth II Advised To Rest for 2 Weeks

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has been advised to rest for at least the next two weeks, accepting doctors’ advice to cut back on her busy schedule, Buckingham Palace said Friday. The 95-year-old monarch can continue to undertake light,…

Biden at Capitol to Pitch $1.75T Agenda, Unite Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden is traveling to Capitol Hill to pitch House Democrats on a dramatically scaled back domestic policy package. It's now $1.75 trillion and without a paid family leave program and other priorities. But it's still…

Merck Agrees To Let Other Drug Makers Make Its COVID Pill

LONDON (AP) - Pharmaceutical company Merck has agreed to allow other drug makers to make its COVID-19 treatment, the first pill that has been shown to be effective against the disease.…

FDA Advisers Back Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine for Young Kids

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. health advisers have endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for younger children. The vote Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration panel moves the U.S. closer to vaccinating children ages 5 to 11. The FDA…

Whistleblower Haugen Says Facebook Makes Online Hate Worse

LONDON (AP) — Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told British lawmakers Monday that the social media giant stokes online hate and extremism, fails to protect children from harmful content and lacks any incentive to fix the problems, providing momentum for efforts by European…