Stories from December 5, 2020

Our stretch of mild (for December) weather will continue on Sunday. We have the details, plus a look at the week ahead. We also have an update on the heavy snow and strong winds in New England.
Japanese space capsule containing bits of an asteroid returns to Earth
A Japanese space capsule ferrying sample material from an asteroid — the bounty from a six-year mission spanning billions of miles — made its triumphant return to Earth this weekend. Researchers hope it will offer clues to "the secrets of the birth of the solar system and the birth of life."
Mild weekend; Sat. p.m. sprinkle/light snow shower chance
Our mild stretch continues this weekend. Some areas could see some flakes Saturday afternoon or Saturday evening. We have your weekend forecast details plus a look at the week ahead.
Wisconsin says wolf hunting season will be held next November
Wisconsin will resume its wolf hunting and trapping season next November after the animal is dropped from the federal endangered species list, the state announced Friday.
More than a week after Sanford Health parted ways with its longtime CEO, the health system announced that it has indefinitely suspended merger talks with Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare.
StoryCorps: A family tradition of feeding workers in need
Since 2004, brother and sister Jorge and Luz Muñoz have fed thousands of day laborers in Queens, N.Y. They’re proud of what they've accomplished with their food program. "You do not need to be rich to feel what I feel, just willing to do it," Jorge said.
In Michel Faber's latest, the disappearance (isappearance?) of the letter 'D'
Faber has created a world in which the letter d is starting to fade, imperiling things like dogs, doctors, dentists — and a girl named Dhikilo, who travels to a different world to solve the mystery.
It’ll be another mild December day. Flurry chances and light snow shower chances spread from northern Minnesota into central and southern Minnesota as we go through the day. We have the details.
'Ordesa' is a difficult read — but stick with it
Manuel Vilas' quiet, intensely sad new novel, about a middle-aged man trying to connect with his estranged family while thinking a lot of deep thoughts about death, requires patience, but it's worth it.
Ask a Bookseller: 'Mercy Falls'
Jerry Lenaz of The Cloak and Dagger Mystery Bookshop in Princeton, New Jersey recommends Minnesota writer William Kent Krueger’s mystery novel "Mercy Falls."
Dec. 5 update on COVID-19 in MN: Officials report 75 more deaths
Minnesota health officials reported another 75 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday. That brings the number of deaths reported in the first five days of December to 327, atop more than 1,100 deaths recorded in November
Judge: Trump administration must take new DACA applications
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis says the Trump administration must accept new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects some young immigrants from deportation.
Biden predicts 'bleak future' if Congress doesn't act on aid
President-elect Joe Biden is predicting the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic will only get worse if Congress doesn't act quickly to pass an aid bill.