Dan Wolgamott thought it strange when a man showed up at his house asking him to pay for his college tuition.

What initially seemed weird soon became worrying.

The man sent Wolgamott, a DFL state representative from St. Cloud, hundreds of texts. He showed up at his house one day bearing gifts for Wolgamott and his daughter. And he was there ...Read more

VIRGINIA BEACH — Bay Island, a serene and affluent residential neighborhood cradled by two offshoots of the Lynnhaven River, has long been a coveted place to live for hundreds of Virginia Beach families.

The island is known for its sweeping views, secluded atmosphere and easy boat access. But island life also comes with its downsides. Low-...Read more

For decades, Connecticut and federal lawmakers have tried in vain to rein in medical costs as expenses have continued to soar for patients and employers.

In response, a key legislative committee voted on mostly party lines last week to spend $200 million in order to make costs more affordable and also blunt the expiration of enhanced premium ...Read more

Cities and states are filing lawsuits and scrambling for alternative sources of money as the Trump administration seeks to shut off the federal funding spigot for biking and walking trails.

Since the early 1990s, there has been fairly consistent — and largely bipartisan — federal support for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Federal funding ...Read more

For the past three years,a novel form of bird flu has wiped out millions of animals in the United States, from snow geese to backyard chickens.

But conversations around the outbreak have grown more urgent in recent months, as Louisiana recorded the country's first human death from bird flu in January and the death toll for animals continues to ...Read more

Over the past year, hospitals have felt the pain of thousands of layoffs — some even pushed into dire financial straits — as they have been stripped of billions of dollars in federal and state funding for health care.

Hospital executives are hinting of a second wave of layoffs as some downsize their operations while the federal government ...Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Iran a two-day deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or have its power plants bombed, upping the ante in a war now in its fourth week with no sign of de-escalation.

Trump, under pressure to bring down soaring oil prices, said Iran must “fully open, without threat,” the vital waterway for energy flows. He ...Read more

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob claimed victory over nationalist leader Janez Jansa in the country’s closest election in history, according to nearly complete official results.

Golob’s Freedom Movement won 28.6% of the vote, followed by Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party with 28.1%, according to nearly complete results on Sunday. ...Read more

Pioneers of Miami’s Haitian rights movement paid homage Saturday to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, recalling his support for their struggle while drawing parallels to renewed challenges their community faces amid the threat of detention and deportation.

The gathering, rich with personal anecdotes and reflections on the civil rights leader’s ...Read more

After years of controversy surrounding the original’s initial dumping into Baltimore’s harbor six years ago, a replica of a Christopher Columbus sculpture was placed on the White House grounds on Sunday, according to numerous reports.

The Columbus sculpture was said to have been placed on the White House campus after The Washington Post ...Read more

Reggaeton boomed in a neighborhood bar in Old Havana on a recent night, when, suddenly, the music stopped and everything went dark.

The customers groaned. Another blackout.

A U.S. blockade on oil shipments to Cuba has plunged the island into its worst energy crisis in modern history. The country's already cratering economy now teeters on the ...Read more

Among the staff at Topgolf, 11th-grader Augustine Fredericks has a rare and coveted skill.

When a customer orders a celebratory dessert, the teenager is often summoned to pipe a fancy “happy birthday” message in chocolate across the plate.

The reason he’s the go-to guy for the job? He’s the only one there who can write in cursive — a...Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Iran a two-day deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or have its power plants bombed, upping the ante in a war that’s showing no sign of de-escalation into its fourth week.

Trump, under pressure to bring down soaring oil prices, said Iran must “fully open, without threat,” the vital waterway for energy ...Read more

Federal prosecutors have dropped charges against a Minnesota woman accused of taking part in a January protest at a St. Paul church, after her attorney said she was misidentified and never attended the demonstration.

The dismissal, filed late Friday, March 20, in federal court, ends the case against Heather Danae Lewis, 50, one of 39 people ...Read more

Grieving mother Naomi White walked along Kennywood Boulevard in West Mifflin, Pa., on March 15 with dozens of friends and family members who had gathered to call attention to the December traffic death of her 13-year-old son, Terrel Byars Jr.

Then she was hit with pepper spray. Within moments she was coughing and struggling to breathe.

After ...Read more

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin advanced toward confirmation as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, clearing a procedural obstacle on Sunday that put his nomination on track for a final Senate vote early this week.

The 54-37 procedural vote signals the 48-year-old first-term Oklahoma senator and former mixed-martial-arts ...Read more

Nearly 9.5 million people across the U.S. Southwest face extreme high temperatures, as an ongoing heat wave continues to topple records and raise the risk of wildfires as far away as the Great Plains.

Las Vegas reached 96F Saturday, a record for the date, while the nearby local National Weather Service office hit 97F for the second day in a row...Read more

Blanca Alvarado is 94 and struggles to catch her breath. But she still remembers the early days alongside Cesar Chavez — when the soft-spoken activist met with her in her garage on Sunset Avenue and knocked on doors in East San Jose’s Mayfair neighborhood to register voters.

Her devotion to the legacy of the civil rights leader — she was ...Read more

A senior Cuban official said the country is preparing for a possible military assault as President Donald Trump increases economic pressure on the government in Havana and suggests it could be the next U.S. target after Venezuela and Iran.

“Our military is always prepared,” Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said in an ...Read more

ICE agents in Florida have made more immigration arrests so far this year than counterparts in any other part of the country, outpacing even places with announced “surges,” new data shows.

The Miami Field Office for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Office — which covers Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands — is credited with ...Read more