VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-LAWSUIT

Minnesota health care workers sue to block vaccine mandate

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nearly 200 Minnesota health workers are suing their employers to block a pending requirement that they be vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk getting fired. The lawsuit was filed in federal court late Monday against federal officials and about 20 providers that operate hospitals and clinics across Minnesota. It contends the lack of alternatives to vaccination infringes on the constitutional rights of those employees, who range from doctors and nurses to technicians. Minnesota Public Radio reports the lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction to bar any terminations or steps to put unvaccinated health workers on unpaid leave while the case plays out.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota coronavirus cases top 700K; ICU cases dip to 197

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has topped the 700,000 mark, while the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care at Minnesota hospitals fell below 200 for the first time in two weeks. The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday reported 6,203 new cases to raise the state’s total to 706,158 laboratory confirmed cases. The state also recorded 11 new deaths to raise the state’s cumulative toll to 8,109. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care fell to 196, with a total of 767 people hospitalized amid the surge in cases caused by the delta variant.

AP-US-GENITAL-MUTILATION

Judge dismisses charges tied to genital mutilation case

DETROIT (AP) — A judge has dismissed a new batch of charges in the government’s investigation of genital mutilation against girls in a Muslim sect. The judge says prosecutors in Detroit were being vindictive after major courtroom losses. It’s another blow for the government, which broke new ground in 2017 when it charged a Detroit-area doctor with performing genital mutilation at a suburban clinic. The law was later declared unconstitutional by Detroit federal Judge Bernard Friedman. He said genital mutilation was a matter for states, not Congress. This time the judge dismissed conspiracy and other charges against four people, including two doctors.

WIFE KILLED-HUSBAND ARRESTED

Police: Husband tells dispatchers he killed his wife

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — St. Paul police say they arrested a man after he called Ramsey County dispatchers to report that he had killed his wife. The Emergency Communications Center got the call about 3 a.m. Tuesday from the 46-year-old man who said he had fatally shot his wife. Police found him outside of the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into jail on suspicion of homicide. While investigators were taking the suspect into custody, officers went to the man’s home and found his wife, a woman in her 40s, deceased.

HEATING AID

Minnesota expands eligibility for home heating aid program

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota is expanding the number of households that qualify for its Energy Assistance Program. The changes announced by the Department of Commerce make over 600,000 Minnesota households income-eligible for the program. During the previous program year, which ends Friday, about 116,000 Minnesota households applied and qualified. The Energy Assistance Program helps households pay for current and past-due heating bills, including repair and replacement of broken heating systems. It can also help with water and sewer bills. Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule takes effect Friday, 15 days earlier than before. The rule protects enrolled customers from having power or gas shut off.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-MORGUE

Buyer emerges for Minnesota's never-used backup morgue

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The state of Minnesota is on the verge of selling off a refrigerated warehouse it bought in the early days of the pandemic as a potential backup morgue. At the time, the Walz administration expressed worries that mortuaries could be swamped with victims. The state paid nearly $5.48 million for the facility, which could have held 5,100 bodies, but never needed it. Now, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, the St. Paul Port Authority board is preparing to vote Tuesday on taking the warehouse off the state’s hands for $5.65 million. The Port Authority hopes to find a buyer that will bring jobs to the city.

MUSIC-R KELLY

A jury convicted R. Kelly; will his music face consequences?

NEW YORK (AP) — A criminal conviction may be able to do to R. Kelly’s music what years of allegations couldn’t. A federal jury in New York convicted the R&B superstar Monday of sex trafficking after he had long managed to avoid professional consequences about reports he abused young women and children. Jem Aswad is deputy music editor for Variety and says anyone who was going to listen to R. Kelly before is not going to stop now. But #MeToo founder Tarana Burke says younger generations know what he has done. She hopes they and the people around them will consider that before playing his music.

AMTRAK TRAIN DERAILS

Amtrak train that derailed was going just under speed limit

JOPLIN, Mont. (AP) — An Amtrak train that derailed in rural Montana over the weekend was going just under the speed limit at about 75 mph when it went off the track along a gradual curve. U.S. investigators also said Monday that the accident may have ejected some passengers. Three people died. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are studying video from the train and another locomotive that went over the same track a little over an hour earlier. The train derailed before a switch in the line, where one set of tracks turned into two. That stretch of track had been inspected just two days before.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021