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Students walk in a gymnasium with motion blur

Legislators consider bill requiring ethnic studies in Minnesota high schools 

A bill that would require Minnesota school districts offer optional ethnic studies classes has advanced through committee with amendments.
tregurtha

Great Lakes shipping season begins with little ice, new cargo

It’s a telltale sign of spring in the Northland. The Great Lakes shipping season has begun. This winter there’s very little ice on Lake Superior to slow the giant freighters.
Electrical lines and towers frame a power plant

Xcel to temporarily shut down Monticello plant amid new tritium leak

Crews discovered a container being used to catch the contaminated water as a short-term solution had spilled over, resulting in a new leakage from the same location, Chris Clark, Xcel's Minnesota president, told reporters Friday morning at the nuclear plant.
A man stands at a podium.

Three years after Minnesota’s initial COVID-19 shutdown, impacts persist

Three years ago Saturday, Governor Walz issued Minnesota’s initial COVID-19 shelter in place order, telling Minnesotans to stay at home for two weeks. Here’s a look back — and forward.
A resident looks through piles of debris, insulation and home furnishings to see if anything is salvageable at a mobile home park in Rolling Fork, Miss., on Saturday.

At least 25 are dead after a rare, long-lasting tornado tore through Mississippi

A rare, long-track tornado left a trail of devastation — tearing buildings and leaving thousands without power. The tornado spanned roughly 170 miles and lasted over an hour, a NWS meteorologist said.
Life expectancy around the world decreased in 2020 due to COVID-19. Most peer countries rebounded by 2021, while the U.S. continued to decline.

'Live free and die'? The sad state of U.S. life expectancy

A decade after a landmark report on Americans' shorter lives, the problem has only gotten worse. Unlike other wealthy nations, U.S. life expectancy has not bounced back from the pandemic.
MLS Whitecaps United Soccer

Becher rallies Whitecaps to 1-1 draw with Minnesota United

Simon Becher scored unassisted in his first match of the season and it came in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time, rallying the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with Minnesota United. Becher subbed in and played 20 minutes before delivering the equalizer.
Reclaiming Bison

After nearly 200 years, the Yuchi Tribe of Oklahoma reconnects with bison

Tribal members say the new herd will strengthen ceremonial practices and connect them not only with the animal but also with other Indigenous nations.
People demolish monoliths representing the letter grading system.

To help new students adapt, some colleges are eliminating grades

Amid growing concerns about mental health, some schools seek to ease the pressure on first-year students. Critics say this "ungrading" amounts to coddling and could set them up for failure.
Books line the shelves at the Rice University Library in April 2022 in Houston.

A judge sided with publishers in a lawsuit over the Internet Archive's online library

The nonprofit, which has a mission to provide "universal access to all knowledge," says it will appeal the ruling.
Prayer rug

Want to find ways to give back, celebrate and build community during Ramadan? Here’s a list of free and ticketed events across Minnesota

Mosques and community groups across Minnesota are hosting several events to celebrate Ramadan, including interfaith dinners and special events for women and girls.
  • 'Reconnecting with the human'Minnesota podcast tackles humanity, womanhood and Islam
A howitzer is fired at a training area in the Volyn region. Ukraine is using this region, quiet for the moment, to train troops for the front line in the east.

On the border with Belarus, Ukrainian troops prep for a long war — and the front line

Russian forces crossed from Belarus into Ukraine a year ago, headed for Kyiv, before their unexpected retreat. As the war drags on, Ukraine is fortifying even the quietest stretch of this border.
Phillip Washington, the nominee to become administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

President Biden's nominee to head the FAA has withdrawn after Republican criticism

President Joe Biden's choice to run the Federal Aviation Administration has withdrawn his nomination, a setback for the administration that comes after he appeared to lack enough Senate support.
In this screen grab from video provided by WPVI-TV/6ABC, smoke rises from an explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading, Pa., on Friday.

A Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion has killed 2 people and 5 are missing

Several others were injured by the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading, officials said. The cause of the blast about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia remains under investigation.
Two leaders shake hands behind brown podiums

Canada pledges Great Lakes funding after Trudeau-Biden talks

Some members of the U.S. Congress and advocacy groups had complained that Canada has done too little to help clean up the lakes, which suffer from industrial toxins, invasive species, harmful algae and other problems.
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev during a meeting in Moscow on Saturday.

Putin says Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus

Putin said the plan was in response to Britain's decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.
Twisted metal after a tornado

Mississippi tornadoes kill 23, injure dozens overnight

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed 23 deaths early Saturday with dozens of injuries and four people missing throughout the state.
Gordon Moore, the legendary Intel Corp. co-founder who predicted the growth of the semiconductor industry, smiles during a news conference in 2001.

Intel co-founder and philanthropist Gordon Moore has died at 94

Moore also made his famous observation, now known as Moore's Law, three years before he helped start Intel in 1968. It said the capacity and complexity of integrated circuits would double every year.
You Be Mommy book cover

Ask a Bookseller: A picture book that makes busy moms feel seen

"You Be Mommy" is a children’s book where moms can see their own journey reflected.
Afroman, pictured performing in 2018, made music videos featuring home video footage of a police raid of his house last year. Now some of the officers are suing him, and he plans to countersue.

Afroman put home footage of a police raid in music videos. Now the cops are suing him

A police search of the rapper's Ohio home didn't lead to charges, but spawned music videos, merchandise, theft accusations and an invasion of privacy lawsuit. Afroman tells NPR he plans to countersue.
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