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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 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
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.
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 teen sitting at a desk wears a face mask and raises her hand.

As COVID cases rise among kids, teens targeted for vaccination

As the state warns of widespread and growing transmission of COVID-19 among kids, local officials and school districts are teaming up to vaccinate teens 16 and older.
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.
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.
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.
Derek Chauvin is taken into custody

'He was guilty': Alternate juror in favor of Chauvin conviction

Lisa Christensen said in an interview that aired on “CBS This Morning” that she saw Derek Chauvin as the leader of officers at the scene and that he brushed off warnings by bystanders that George Floyd was in danger.
  • Who was on the jury?What we know about the jurors
  • ExplainerChauvin jury could stay anonymous for a long time
A woman looks away as she is given a vaccine.

How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?

Experts are still studying vaccinated people to determine if and when boosters might be needed. So far, evidence indicates shots by Pfizer and Moderna last at least six months, and likely longer.
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
Emissions from a power plant are silhouetted against the setting sun.

At 'moment of peril,' Biden opens global summit on climate

President Joe Biden convened leaders of the world's most powerful countries on Thursday to try to spur global efforts against climate change, drawing commitments from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to cooperate on cutting emissions despite their own sharp rivalries with the United States.
  • FAQAmerica's new promise on climate
Nurse loads a syringe with the Johnson & Johnson vaccination

MN urges more COVID-19 youth testing, OKs playing sports maskless outdoors

“We really do believe that the end of the pandemic is in sight, but we’re not there yet,” Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Thursday. While the current case wave seems to be cresting, proms, graduations and other spring school events are “not a given.”
  • Looking at the numbersCOVID in Minnesota Today
  • Sign upAnalysis of COVID-19 data in Minnesota
  • APM Research LabTracking the vaccination progress in the U.S.
Daunte Wright

Civil rights leaders, loved ones remember Daunte Wright

Family and friends celebrated the 20-year-old’s life Thursday at his funeral alongside national civil rights leaders who came again to the Twin Cities to mourn another Black man killed by police.
  • Remembering Daunte Wright'One of those kids that everybody looked up to'
A paint of Lake Superior

Art Hounds: Landscapes and memory-scapes

Artists and art appreciators this week also recommend a streaming show from Theater Latté Da, which invites artists to perform favorite show tunes outside of their “type” and a retrospective of renowned Duluth artist Carl Gawboy, Bois Forte Anishinaabe storyteller and scholar.
People stand in the street in front of a gas station.

Minnesota House pushes to limit police powers

The Minnesota House is working on a bill that limits police officers' authority to make traffic stops for minor issues, does more to flag problem officers, and increases transparency in critical investigations. But those measures are far from certain to reach the governor’s desk.
  • On Capitol HillWhere efforts to overhaul policing stand in Congress after Chauvin verdict
Prosecutors filed over 40 more felony charges against Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who is facing charges of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in earlier this month.

Boulder supermarket shooting suspect faces dozens of new charges

Prosecutors amended the criminal complaint against Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa Wednesday to include more than 40 new charges.
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