ST. PAUL, Minn. — The St. Paul school board has taken the first step in trimming $27 million from its 2010-2011 budget by cutting 117 non-tenured teachers and a principal from the district’s payroll.
Court: Suspects must say they want to be silent
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke Miranda protections during criminal interrogations, a decision one dissenting justice said turns defendants’ rights “upside down.”
Minn. woman wants to return medal to Wis. family
SHOREVIEW, Minn. — A Minnesota woman is renewing her efforts to return a Purple Heart medal to the family of a late Wisconsin veteran.
Jean Ferdinande of Shoreview says she found the medal while cleaning out her garage about seven years ago.
Obama inspects beach threatened by Gulf oil spill
Intent on showing firm command of a deepening Gulf Coast environmental crisis, President Barack Obama kneeled on a Lousiana beach Friday and lamented the livelihoods and wildlife imperiled by America’s largest-ever oil spill. He flew to the Gulf Coast amid a rising crescendo of criticism as crude continued to spew into nature after an oil rig exploded and sank April 20.
Facebook adjusts privacy controls after complaints
In Facebook’s vision of the Web, you would no longer be alone and anonymous. Sites would reflect your tastes and interests – as you expressed them on the social network – and you wouldn’t have to fish around for news and songs that interest you.
Standing in the way is growing concern about privacy from Facebook users.
Apple passes Microsoft as world’s biggest tech co.
SEATTLE — Apple has surpassed Microsoft as the largest technology company in the world by market capitalization.
Apple’s move comes as the company’s iPhone, and now its iPad tablet computer, take on more of the personal computing tasks once handled by computers running Microsoft programs.
Space shuttle lands for last time
Space shuttle Atlantis is about to wrap up its flying career. Atlantis and its six-man crew are scheduled to land Wednesday morning in Florida and end NASA’s third-to-last shuttle flight. Mission Control says rain could interfere, however, and keep the shuttle in orbit an extra day.
Saudi company studies US addiction aid for Muslims
Alcohol is illegal in Saudi Arabia, so for those who suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, treatment is scarce and the stigma so great that most never talk about their addiction, even to close family members. Mohammed Al-Turaiki, the chief executive of the Saudi Care for Rehabilitation and Health Care in Riyadh, is trying to change the negative image of addiction by creating a network of treatment facilities in the oil-rich kingdom. He came to Brighton Hospital in Detroit to check out the facility and its treatment programs that have long have included the region’s large Arab and Muslim population.
Still excited after 46 years on Lake of the Woods
Bill Mouw lived in northern Iowa, where the dirt was black and fertile, and the weather always had a helping hand on the plow. But his father thought Bill was wasting his time when he bought a farm near Baudette, one of the coldest frontiers in the Lower 48. Bill didn’t listen to his father. In 1966, he and his wife, Bette, bought a farm outside this small town on the Minnesota-Ontario border, then a second. They grew wheat, oats, flax and clover, and embraced the tight-knit community. There might have been another reason for the Mouws’ migration: Bill loves to fish.
Man charged in aiding suicides barred from Net
A former Minnesota nurse accused of going online and encouraging depressed people to kill themselves was ordered to stay off the Internet while his criminal case is pending. A judge on Tuesday also forbade William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, of Faribault, from leaving the state except for work assignments as a long-haul trucker, the career he took up after being stripped of his nursing license.
Teenager shows he’s ‘got Dylan’
How does it feel to be a Bob Dylan soundalike? Twenty performers gave it a shot Monday at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis to celebrate Dylan’s 69th birthday — including 14-year-old Max Etling, who won the informal contest last year.
Letters to governors could stir violence, FBI warns
The FBI is warning police across the country that an anti-government group’s call to remove governors from office could provoke violence. The group called the Guardians of the free Republics wants to “restore America” by peacefully dismantling parts of the government, according to its Web site. It sent letters to governors demanding they leave office or be removed.
Twins head for the great outdoors
Yes, Minnesota Twins games will again be an all-natural experience. After playing since 1982 on artificial turf covered by a gray ceiling held up by blasting air conditioners, the Twins have left the Metrodome for Target Field as the team’s 50th season in Minnesota begins. And that new-ballpark smell will come with a fully loaded lineup.
Twins’ Span hits mom with foul ball
In a shocking split-second, Twins centerfielder Span hit a hard foul ball that struck his mom in the upper chest Wednesday during a preseason game. She was treated by paramedics and back in the stands minutes later. “Tell everyone that I’m all right,” Wanda Wilson told The Associated Press.
WITH VIDEO
Pope’s Holy Thursday Mass dedicated to priests
ope Benedict XVI urged priests to oppose violence as he led a ceremony dedicated to the priesthood Thursday, marking Holy Week with his church buffeted by clergy sex abuse scandals in Europe. “As priests, we are called in fellowship with Jesus Christ, to be men of peace, we are called to oppose violence and trust in the greater power of love,” Benedict said in his Holy Thursday homily in St. Peter’s Basilica. He made no mention of the scandals, as some thought he might do on a day the church pays tribute to its priests.