MINNEAPOLIS — From the wooden dais in the Minnesota House, then-Speaker Melissa Hortman presided two years ago over what many called the most consequential legislative session in recent history.

She helped orchestrate the passage of long-held Democratic goals: increased education spending, paid family leave, gun regulations, free school ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The vacant Baltimore Freedom Academy in Washington Hill is living out its final years as somewhat of a magnet for graffiti artists to practice their craft.

Large tags — signatures like “HANK” and “EBB” — add a mix of funky colors to the doors of the empty school complex, which closed in 2013 and is now eyed for ...Read more

BALTIMORE — When a close friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Johns Hopkins professor’s first thought was to book the soonest possible flight. Instead, she remains a continent away in Baltimore, for fear that as a noncitizen she might be prevented from returning.

It’s a legitimate fear these days.

A professor at another ...Read more

Americans are divided over the “No Kings” protests, which were held across the country on Saturday, according to new polling.

The demonstrations — which coincided with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade in Washington, D.C. — were a response to what organizers called the president’s ...Read more

The clarity of Lake Tahoe — the famed alpine lake on California’s border with Nevada, whose spectacular scenery draws millions of visitors a year and has spawned countless bumper stickers to “Keep Tahoe Blue” — is in the middle of a curious trend.

It isn’t really getting much better. Or much worse, despite relentless efforts to ...Read more

The U.S. State Department has signed off on the potential sale of military hardware to Australia valued at an estimated $2 billion (A$3.1 billion), including fighter jet spare parts.

Australia had asked to buy equipment and services for its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet, and the electronic attack aircraft EA-18G Growler which can ...Read more

CHICAGO — Minnesota swept in two categories at this year’s James Beard Awards, considered the nation’s top culinary honors.

Bûcheron in Minneapolis was awarded Best New Restaurant, a national award. In the Best Chef: Midwest category, Karyn Tomlinson of Myriel in St. Paul took the top honor. Winners of the prestigious awards, considered ...Read more

Senate Republicans released a bill that would end tax credits for wind and solar earlier than for other sources, and make only modest changes to most other incentives, dashing hopes of those seeking relief from major cuts passed by the House.

Shares of solar stocks were the worst performing group in extended trading after proposed text of the ...Read more

To kick off the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards red carpet outside the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Kristen Reynolds, the new president and CEO of Choose Chicago, made it loud and clear: Chicago has every intention of keeping the coveted awards in the city.

“We are definitely keeping the James Beard Awards beyond 2027,” Reynolds said...Read more

Kumiko and Noah Sandoval of Oriole were announced as 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards winners at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago Monday evening, where the uncertainties of the country’s shifting immigration landscape hung heavy over the ceremonies.

Julia Momosé, who accepted the Outstanding Bar award for Kumiko, spoke of her ...Read more

President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of Iran’s capital Tehran on Monday, hours after he urged the country’s leadership to sign a deal to limit its nuclear program and Israel signaled strikes would continue.

It wasn’t clear if Trump knew of a fresh round of attacks Israel may have planned for the city, which has a population of...Read more

NEW YORK — A New York City immigration judge has reinstated a Bronx public school student’s bid for asylum after the Trump administration moved to dismiss his case and fast-track his deportation, his lawyers said Monday.

Judge Olivia Cassin granted the so-called “motion to reconsider” by Dylan — whose last name is being withheld by ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A grieving Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., confronted Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Capitol Hill Monday after he posted unfounded claims on social media that the alleged gunman who shot two legislators and their spouses is a liberal and may have been associated with Gov. Tim Walz.

Smith, who lost her friend Melissa Hortman and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A coalition of press rights organizations is seeking a court order to stop the “continuing abuse” of journalists by the Los Angeles Police Department during protests over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The federal lawsuit, filed Monday by the Los Angeles Press Club and investigative reporting network Status Coup,...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Next month, the NAACP will host its national convention in Charlotte, but for the first time in its 116-year existence a sitting U.S. president will not be invited.

That declaration came from Derrick Johnson, the organization’s president and CEO who shared his remarks Monday to about 50 supporters, board members and media ...Read more

BALTIMORE — An industry group asked a federal judge Monday to order Maryland regulators to treat businesses selling hemp products like CBD and delta-8 as though they held recreational cannabis licenses from the state.

The sweeping request claims that the state is using new cannabis laws to push unlicensed hemp businesses out of the legal ...Read more

NEW YORK — A Manhattan jury saw footage of the depraved “freak-off” sex sessions central to the case against Sean “Diddy” Combs during trial testimony Monday.

Scenes from the videos featuring Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, were played for the jury on individual monitors not visible or audible to members of the ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gov. Henry McMaster announced his opposition Monday to drilling for oil and gas off the South Carolina coast, saying the practice could hurt beaches, wildlife and the state’s lucrative, multibillion-dollar tourism industry.

In a news release Monday afternoon, Republican McMaster said he and North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a...Read more

DENVER — Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and one of the most prominent conspiracy theorists about the 2020 presidential election, defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems director when he called him “treasonous,” a Colorado jury found Monday.

The jury ruled that Lindell and his media company, Frankspeech, must pay $2.3 million in ...Read more