Politics and Government News

Candlelight vigil attended by hundreds offers communal chance to grieve killing of Hortmans
A quiet tribute to Melissa and Mark Hortman was the first in a series of public remembrances to the couple killed in an attack on Saturday. Rep. Melissa Hortman served as a DFL leader, including as House speaker, for several years.
Social Security benefits face big cuts in 2033, unless Congress acts
Trustees of the Social Security trust fund predict the fund will be exhausted in eight years. Unless Congress acts, Social Security payments will automatically drop by 23 percent at that time.
Supreme Court OKs Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors, big loss for transgender rights
The Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a stunning setback to transgender rights. The justices’ 6-3 decision on Wednesday effectively protects from legal challenges many efforts by President Donald Trump’s Republican administration and state governments to roll back protections for transgender people.
Childhood friend says Minnesota suspect had ‘darkness inside of him’
A lifelong friend of the alleged Minnesota gunman says Vance Boelter had been struggling to find work and was wrestling with a “darkness that was inside of him” at the time of the shootings. But David Carlson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his friend's involvement was as surprising as “getting struck by lightning.”