Hopeful of rain and cooler weather emerging next week

A special session of the Minnesota Legislature got underway Monday and will likely last most of the rest of the month. Lawmakers must pass a new two-year budget by the end of June to avoid a state government shutdown. 

Minnesota officials have been reaching out to people on unemployment in hopes of linking them with jobs. Some blame enhanced unemployment payments for the worker shortage, but others underscore the labor shortage preceded the pandemic. Challenges with child care and transportation have prevented some from joining the workforce.

As people continue to flock to lakes and rivers to swim and boat for relief from the ongoing heat wave, it was a deadly weekend on Minnesota waters.

New and active cases are trending at lows not seen since the earliest months of the pandemic. Officials had worried the end of the statewide masking mandate might lead to an uptick in cases, but it hasn’t happened.

With the public welcomed back to observe, Minnesota lawmakers return to the Capitol for a special session that will continue until a new state budget is enacted.

More than 50 million people have experienced food insecurity during the pandemic, up from 35 million in 2019, according to the Feeding America nonprofit, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Low income, debt, unemployment, disability, homelessness, food price increases, age and environment all can play a role. The pandemic has added to the problem.

Some employees went without workplace staples like ties, heels and dress pants during the pandemic. But will those pieces make a fashion comeback as more people return to work?

A surge in pet adoptions has increased demand for dogs imported from around the world. Most are fine, but federal officials turned up 450 dogs in 2020 with false records — 50 percent more than in 2019.

Democrats and Republicans alike know that Jackson is on President Joe Biden's Supreme Court shortlist should there be a vacancy.

The Israeli prime minister leaves office with a legacy that includes economic prosperity, a growing partisan divide in the U.S. over support for Israel and the unresolved conflict with Palestinians.

Before the pandemic, the Janelia Research Campus was a hive of collaboration. Now, as researchers return to their offices and labs, they're eager to restore the connections lost this past year.

In a large scale study, Novavax said its vaccine was completely effective against the original coronavirus strain and also effective against some variants. It works differently than other vaccines.

The Wednesday Geneva summit between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin is a chance for the two leaders to map out how they will manage a difficult relationship. Here's what to know.

The system is designed to provide early warning of what might or might not be actual side effects. But anti-vaccine groups are bending the data to their own ends.

Ned Beatty, the Oscar-nominated character actor who in half a century of American movies, including “Deliverance,” “Network” and “Superman,” was a booming, indelible presence in even the smallest parts, has died. He was 83.

New COVID-19 cases are declining across most of the country. But almost all states bucking that trend have lower-than-average vaccination rates, and experts warn that relief from the pandemic could be fleeting in regions where few people get inoculated.

In a scathing ruling, a federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed by employees of a Houston hospital system over its requirement that all staff be vaccinated against COVID-19.