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Stories from February 28, 2019

States move to restrict parents' refusal to vaccinate their kids

States move to restrict parents' refusal to vaccinate their kids

Following several measles outbreaks this winter, there is a movement among some states to make it more difficult for people to claim nonmedical exemptions to vaccine laws.
by Patti Neighmond

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I'm a journalist. Apparently, I'm also one of America's 'top doctors'

Companies cash in by calling physicians "Super Doctor," "Best Doctor" or "Top Doctor" and then selling them opportunities to boast about the honor. Experts call the accolades a "scam." Giving me one highlights the absurdity.

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Noor renewed police license days after Ruszczyk shooting charges

Noor renewed police license days after Ruszczyk shooting charges

Renewing the license keeps former Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor potentially eligible to serve as an officer in Minnesota until 2021. He's charged in the 2017 shooting death of 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk.
by Jon Collins and Riham Feshir

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Two months in, what has the state Legislature accomplished?

Two months in, what has the state Legislature accomplished?

Minnesota lawmakers must agree on a balanced two-year budget by May 20 or risk a special session. They kicked off the year with optimism, talking of a fresh start and plans to get things done early. Nearly two months in, how's it going?
by Mike Mulcahy and Julie Siple

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Tame medical inflation expected to roar ahead in coming decade

Minnesota saw a historically low increase in spending on medical care in 2016, but rising prices and an aging population are forecast to double the cost of health care in a decade.
by Bill Catlin

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Minn. snowfall records might be aided by climate change

Minn. snowfall records might be aided by climate change

Record snow amid climate change might seem paradoxical. But overall increases in snowfall and larger individual storms align with what climate models predict will happen as the planet warms.
by Paul Huttner and Cody Nelson

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Lt. Gov. Flanagan's priorities for Minnesota

Lt. Gov. Flanagan's priorities for Minnesota

Flanagan stopped by MPR News to talk about her priorities as Lt. Governor and what the budget forecast spells for her top concerns.
by Angela Davis

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SpaceX readies for key test of capsule built to carry astronauts into space

SpaceX readies for key test of capsule built to carry astronauts into space

For years, NASA has had to rely on Russian vehicles to get astronauts to the International Space Station. That could soon change if the flight test of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule succeeds.
by Nell Greenfieldboyce

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DeVos announces support for proposed school choice tax credit

DeVos announces support for proposed school choice tax credit

The proposed tax credit would go toward donations to private school scholarships and other school choice initiatives. Critics say such programs funnel money and students away from public schools.
by Clare Lombardo

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Israel's attorney general moves to indict Netanyahu on corruption charges

Israel's attorney general moves to indict Netanyahu on corruption charges

It's a major blow to the long-serving prime minister, who faces charges that include bribery. However, he still has a chance to hold off any indictment during a court hearing.
by Daniel Estrin

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Tribe says Army Corps' Dakota Access pipeline findings preordained

Tribe says Army Corps' Dakota Access pipeline findings preordained

The Native American tribe leading the fight against the Dakota Access oil pipeline said Thursday that an Army Corps of Engineers document shows the agency concluded the pipeline won't unfairly affect tribes before it consulted them.
by Associated Press

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Farm loan delinquencies highest in 9 years as prices slump

Farm loan delinquencies highest in 9 years as prices slump

The nation's farmers are struggling to pay back loans after years of low crop prices and a backlash from foreign buyers over President Trump's tariffs, with a key government program showing the highest default rate in at least nine years.
by Associated Press

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Clearing up your questions on Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, called his old boss a 'racist', 'conman' and 'a cheat' while testifying before the House Oversight Committee yesterday. How much weight do those claims carry?
by Euan Kerr, Marcheta Fornoff and Kelly Gordon

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What we know about the Trump summit in North Korea

What we know about the Trump summit in North Korea

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ended their summit early when they couldn't agree on first steps towards denuclearization.
by Euan Kerr and Kelly Gordon

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$4B to purge lead from MN drinking water but $8B benefit, state says

$4B to purge lead from MN drinking water but $8B benefit, state says

A report released Thursday is the first time health officials have put a cost on removing 100,000 lead service pipes run into Minnesota homes decades ago, and removing plumbing and fixtures in homes containing lead.
by Tim Nelson

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U.S. economy grew 2.9 percent in 2018, just below Trump's target

U.S. economy grew 2.9 percent in 2018, just below Trump's target

The U.S. economy expanded at a solid 2.6 percent rate during the last three months of 2018, but growth was significantly lower than it had been earlier in the year as the boost from tax cuts waned.
by Jim Zarroli

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When kids ask (really) tough questions: A quick guide

When kids ask (really) tough questions: A quick guide

Is Santa real? Will you ever die? Children ask questions that can induce knee-buckling panic in adults. Here are some research-tested strategies to help you navigate conversations about death, race and other tricky topics.
by Cory Turner and Anya Kamenetz

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All that February snow spells higher spring flood risk

The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities has issued its initial spring flood outlook for the Minnesota, Upper Mississippi, and western Wisconsin river basins, showing a higher than usual flood potential.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Forecast: Minnesota budget surplus shrinks by a third, to $1 billion

Forecast: Minnesota budget surplus shrinks by a third, to $1 billion

Officials in late 2018 projected a $1.5 billion surplus, but some measures of national economic growth have been slowing. The new numbers released Thursday are key to lawmakers' efforts to build a two-year budget.
by Briana Bierschbach and Brian Bakst

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CBC reporter assaulted during live stand-up

CBC reporter assaulted during live stand-up

TV reporters are outrageously vulnerable when they're doing live interviews and "stand-ups" as we learned in 2015 when a TV reporter and her camera crew were shot to death on live TV. What happened to a CBC reporter in Toronto the other night wasn't murder, but it was an assault.
by Bob Collins

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Klobuchar defends her record on regulating medical devices

Klobuchar defends her record on regulating medical devices

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has built a reputation as an effective champion for consumer safety -- but she has also forcefully advocated for the medical device industry in ways that complicate her reputation as a consumer defender.

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Texas takes a whack at history

Its good news for the WASPs, the four chaplains, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Hillary Clinton -- all of whom were originally on the list of people to be removed from the curriculum. But John Hancock, Nathan Hale, Stonewall Jackson, and Estee Lauder are, uh, history.
by Bob Collins

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Cohen returns to Capitol Hill after slamming Trump as liar

Cohen returns to Capitol Hill after slamming Trump as liar

A day after publicly testifying before the House's oversight committee, Michael Cohen is expected to continue testifying about his work with President Trump and knowledge of the Trump business empire when he appears Thursday before the House intelligence committee, albeit behind closed doors.
by The Associated Press

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Trump, Kim summit collapses amid failure to reach deal

Trump, Kim summit collapses amid failure to reach deal

Trump blamed the breakdown on North Korea's insistence that all the punishing sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Pyongyang be lifted without the North committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal.
by The Associated Press

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ChangeMakers: Lou and Sarah Bellamy, using theater to give voice

ChangeMakers: Lou and Sarah Bellamy, using theater to give voice

Lou Bellamy, 75, founded Penumbra Theatre in 1976 to provide a platform for African-American voices. His daughter, Sarah Bellamy, 40, took over as the company's artistic director in 2017.
by Christine T. Nguyen

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Schools add healthy, local to the menu -- and some kids eat it up

Schools add healthy, local to the menu -- and some kids eat it up

School lunches in Minnesota and around the country are shifting away from nuggets and fries to fresher, locally-grown foods. More than half the state's school districts now have some kind of farm-to-school program. See what's cooking in Minneapolis schools.
by Elizabeth Shockman

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Expanded background checks, 'red flag' gun bills earn support, criticism at Minn. Capitol

Expanded background checks, 'red flag' gun bills earn support, criticism at Minn. Capitol

DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman has pledged to pass the bills and send them on to the GOP-controlled state Senate, where Majority Leader Paul Gazelka has said Republicans will not support either bill in its current form.
by Matt Sepic

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Plowable snow on Friday; cold and colder this weekend

Plowable snow on Friday; cold and colder this weekend

The snow could start as early as Friday morning drive time in the Twin Cities, and linger through much of Friday afternoon. We could see 3 to 4 inches of snow.
by Ron Trenda

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As torturous month concludes, math provides hope

There'll be no snow today so we can take a few hours to gather our thoughts and prepare to survive the torture of a few more inches tomorrow. And have you heard it's going to get ridiculously cold again? Of course you have. Otherwise you wouldn't be out on that ledge.
by Bob Collins

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Still kneeling ‘for righteousness sake’

The saddest thing about what Devontae Shuler, a basketball player for Ole Miss, did last Saturday is try to explain why he took a knee during the National Anthem to a nation that knows exactly why he did it and is anxious to change the subject.
by Bob Collins

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What’s on MPR News – 2/28/2019

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you'll hear today on MPR News.
by Bob Collins

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'We Set the Dark on Fire' burns bright

'We Set the Dark on Fire' burns bright

Tehlor Kay Mejia's debut novel is set at a posh girls' school in a dystopian world where the students are being trained for lives as political consorts to powerful men.
by Caitlyn Paxson

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Challenges and opportunities for women in politics

Challenges and opportunities for women in politics

Two former state representatives discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women in politics.
by MPR News Staff

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Storing health records on your phone: Can Apple live up to its privacy values?

Storing health records on your phone: Can Apple live up to its privacy values?

As its iPhone sales growth slows, Apple has been expanding its presence in health care, where privacy matters. Apple's privacy values could give it an edge, if the company lives up to them.
by Laura Sydell

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Kremlin says U.S. cyberattacks on Russia are 'the reality we live in'

Kremlin says U.S. cyberattacks on Russia are 'the reality we live in'

Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov links the attacks to Russia's need for its own internet. It is a "geopolitical angle to try to defend their own steps," says internet freedom expert Sanja Kelly.
by Sasha Ingber

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Minnesota budget forecast expected to show smaller surplus

Minnesota budget forecast expected to show smaller surplus

Minnesota officials are preparing to release an updated economic forecast that will guide the shaping of the state's next two-year budget, and it's expected to show a smaller surplus than they projected in December.
by Associated Press

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Cohen says Trump behaved 'much like a mobster would do'

Cohen says Trump behaved 'much like a mobster would do'

Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen spoke at length Wednesday about his life in the president's inner circle, but the most vivid descriptor came in just six words. Trump ran his operation "much like a mobster would do," Cohen said.

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