MPR News
A students walks in a hall with taped arrows on the floor.

MN schools to stay open despite growing COVID-19 spread among students

The number of school-related COVID-19 cases reported this week in Minnesota has now exceeded a peak in November. State officials are not changing their policies governing youth sports or schools. Instead, they’re urging students to get tested more regularly — and are asking schools to make it possible for students to do that on site.
  • As COVID cases rise among kidsTeens targeted for vaccination
  • MN urges more COVID-19 youth testingOKs playing sports maskless outdoors
A woman with purple hair gives a hug.

Photos: Community, family gather to mourn Daunte Wright

Hundreds of people wearing COVID-19 masks packed into Shiloh Temple International Ministries to remember Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old father of one who was shot by a white police officer on April 11 in the small city of Brooklyn Center. 
  • 'He's going to be so missed'Civil rights leaders, loved ones remember Daunte Wright
People celebrate outside.

‘Right now, it is the soul of this nation’: What’s next for George Floyd Square

At the intersection where George Floyd died, people are organizing to defend a space they’ve held in protest for nearly a year. The city said it would reopen the streets there after the trial. Activists say it’s too soon.
  • SeriesMaking George Floyd's Square
A man in a car gets a shot.

Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Urgency remains as spring wave ebbs

Minnesota’s current COVID-19 outbreak continues to improve, with a range of metrics suggesting case growth has peaked. Officials, though, continue to plead with the public for vigilance. That includes a push for more youth testing.
  • Sign upAnalysis of COVID-19 data in Minnesota
  • APM Research LabTracking the vaccination progress in the U.S.
A man stands in front of black and white painting.

Evidence in Chauvin case contradicted first police statement

Police officials say they give the most accurate information they can during fast-moving and complicated investigations. But advocates say the frequency of misleading information cannot be ignored.
A man speaks behind a podium.

Climate Summit Day 2 message: Invest big for big payoff

The White House brought out the billionaires, the CEOs and the union executives Friday to help sell President Joe Biden's climate-friendly transformation of the U.S. economy at his virtual summit of world leaders.
  • ThursdayAt 'moment of peril,' Biden opens global summit on climate
George Floyd Officer Trial

Explainer: Why is Chauvin unlikely to face maximum sentence?

Even though Derek Chauvin was found guilty of three counts, under Minnesota statutes he'll only be sentenced on the most serious one — second-degree unintentional murder. And while that carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, experts say he won't get that much. They say that, for all practical purposes, the maximum he would face is 30 years.
  • What's nextFor Chauvin, 3 other ex-officers in cases over George Floyd's murder
  • 5 key momentsThat shaped the Chauvin trial
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon space capsule lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, April 23, 2021.

SpaceX rocket launches with astronauts aboard

The company's third crewed spacecraft took off from Florida early Friday.
A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine in Ridgeway, Va., in March.

Biden administration looks for help with next phase of pitching COVID vaccines

In the next phase of the race to vaccinate Americans, the Biden administration knows the government is not the best messenger. So it's asking communities for help.
Intensive Care Unit nurse Subramanya Kirugulige prepares a bed for an arriving COVID-19 patient at Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago in December. A large study has found that people with severe initial cases of COVID-19 tend to be at greater risk of more health problems later on.

People with severe COVID-19 have higher risk of long-term effects, study finds

The study's author says he was shocked to find the toll of long COVID-19 was so substantial and multifaceted: "When you put it all together ... it's actually quite jarring."
Melissa Hortman, Paul Gazelka, Tim Walz.

House OKs tax plan with breaks for some, hikes for others

The proposal, which hinges on higher taxes on corporations and top earners, is integral to a House budget plan but must be aligned with a Senate version that doesn’t raise new revenue.
A group of men stand in prayer.

Police standards board calls for changes in response to protests

The Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training has unanimously approved creating two new policies to address issues currently under scrutiny. The first would create a policy and accountability for how police respond to gatherings protected by the First Amendment. The second would prohibit police officers from supporting white supremacist groups.
Four people stand behind a podium that says "Stop Asian Hate."

Senate OKs bill to fight hate crimes against Asian Americans

The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would help combat the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a bipartisan denunciation of such violence during the coronavirus pandemic and a modest step toward legislating in a chamber where most of President Joe Biden's agenda has stalled.
In Focus: Stopping anti-Asian American hate in Minnesota

In Focus: Stopping anti-Asian American hate in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has been tracking an uptick in anti-Asian incidents since the start of the pandemic. But this community has endured the effects of racism since long before COVID-19. What’s being done in Minnesota to stop it? What more needs to be done? Join host Tom Crann in conversation with community leaders at 12 p.m. April 28. Register now to reserve your spot. 
  • Anti-Asian attacks up during the pandemicLearn more about the surge in violence
  • How to be an allyFor Asian Americans facing racism
A man talks to a woman holding paperwork.

COVID-19 hospitalizations tumble among U.S. senior citizens

COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged 80 percent since the start of the year, dramatic proof the vaccination campaign is working. Now the trick is to get more of the nation's younger people to roll up their sleeves.
Republicans, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., unveiled a $568 billion infrastructure proposal meant to serve as a starting point for bipartisan negotiations.

Countering Biden, Senate Republicans unveil smaller $568 billion infrastructure plan

The five-year spending outline is much more narrowly focused on traditional infrastructure than the president's sweeping proposal.
Global travel continues to be risky because of the coronavirus. Earlier this year, passengers from Taiwan wear protective gear as they arrive at France's Charles de Gaulle Airport, and just this week, the U.S. issued over 100 new travel advisories.

U.S. issues more than 115 'do not travel' advisories, citing risks from COVID-19

Just a week ago, only 33 countries were on the U.S. "do not travel" list. New additions include Canada, Mexico, Germany and the U.K.
Activists take part in a March rally near the U.S. Capitol in support of statehood for Washington, D.C. One month later, the House of Representatives passed a bill 216-208 that would make D.C. the nation's 51st state.

House Democrats pass bill to make D.C. the 51st state

The effort to make Washington, D.C., the 51st star on the U.S. flag has never had more support. But the measure's fate in the Senate is uncertain.
Technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory lower the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument into the belly of the Perseverance rover. NASA announced that the instrument had produced oxygen from the Martian atmosphere.

Out of thin air: NASA rover makes oxygen from Martian atmosphere

Fresh off the first-ever powered flight on another world, NASA's Mars 2020 mission has managed another key first that could pave the way for future astronauts.
A car accident in 2019 smashed six of Mark Gottlieb's teeth and severely damaged four vertebrae. The spinal surgery he needed as a result led to medical bills that exhausted the personal injury coverage in his auto insurance.

Surprise: The charge for his spine surgery after a car crash topped $700,000

Generous personal injury coverage on your auto insurance policy may not be enough to cover your medical bills. Patients can get financially blindsided when car and health insurance policies differ.
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