ENBRIDGE LINE 3-SHERIFF

Sheriff must stop blocking property used by pipeline foes

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota district judge has issued a temporary restraining ordered against the Hubbard County sheriff, ruling that the county must stop obstructing access to a property used by opponents of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline project. Winona LaDuke and Tara Houska, two leaders of protests against the oil pipeline, recently sued Hubbard County and Sheriff Cory Aukes for repeatedly blocking a driveway to a home in north-central Minnesota. The property is one of several camps near the pipeline route used by Line 3 protesters. Aukes says he will appeal the judge’s order and that deputies “are not blocking” the driveway.

R KELLY

Prosecutors air more claims in R. Kelly case; 1 involves boy

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors in R. Kelly’s sex trafficking case say he had sexual contact with an underage boy in addition to girls, and the government wants jurors in his upcoming sex trafficking trial to hear those claims. Prosecutors aired a raft of additional allegations — but not new charges — against the R&B star in a court filing Friday. Kelly denies ever abusing anyone. Jury selection is due to start Aug. 9 in federal court in New York. A message was sent Saturday to his lawyers about the additional allegations.

TASK FORCE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS

Woman hurt when Winston Smith was killed sues authorities

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A woman who was with a St. Paul man when he was shot and killed in Minneapolis by members of a U.S. Marshals Service task force last month is suing, claiming she was emotionally traumatized and her civil rights were violated. Norhan Askar was on a date with Winston Boogie Smith Jr. and was sitting in an SUV on June 3 when Smith was fatally shot. Askar’s attorneys said Friday that she suffered physical injuries and emotional distress. In a letter to the U.S. Marshals Service, they say she is seeking $15 million and will file a federal claim if the issue isn't resolved in six months. They say they also filed a personal injury lawsuit against Hennepin and Ramsey counties.

CARBON CAPTURE-PIPELINES

Carbon-capture pipelines offer climate aid; activists wary

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Two companies seeking to build thousands of miles of pipeline across the Midwest are promising the effort will aid rather than hinder the fight against climate change. Some environmental groups remain skeptical. The pipelines would stretch from North Dakota to Illinois, potentially transforming the Corn Belt into one of the world’s largest corridors for a technology called carbon capture and storage. The projects would capture the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide at ethanol refineries and transport it to sites where it could be buried thousands of feet underground beneath deep geological formations. But that isn’t stopping some conservationists from opposing it, raising the chances that the pipelines become another pitched battle between energy companies and environmentalists.

CRANE COLLAPSE-POWER OUTAGE

Crane collapse causes power outage as temps reach mid-90s

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — A crane fell over at a construction site in the Minneapolis suburb of Lexington on Friday, causing a power outage for nearly 900 customers in the area as temperatures were in the mid-90s. There were no injuries reported. A dispatch supervisor with the Centennial Lakes Police Department said the call came in shortly before 12:30 p.m. The crane fell into power lines and onto the partially-constructed building. The building was evacuated. Xcel Energy reported reported nearly 900 customers in the areas of Blaine, Circle Pines and Lexington were without power after the collapse. The power company said it expected energy to be restored at about 2:30 p.m.

MICHIGAN PIPELINE-ANCHOR

Enbridge: Anchor in Straits of Mackinac will be recovered

ST. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) — Enbridge Energy says an anchor will be recovered from the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac after it became detached from a cable during maintenance of an oil pipeline. The incident involved an Enbridge contractor. Enbridge says there was no risk to Line 5. The pipeline crosses the bottom of the straits connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Enbridge wants to build a tunnel in the water to house the pipeline. It has a permit from the state but needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Critics want the pipeline shut down, saying the lakes are at risk.

AP-US-TRIPLE-SLAYING-WISCONSIN

3 deaths in western Wisconsin investigated as homicide

WEST SALEM, Wis. (AP) — Workers have discovered three bodies at the entrance to a quarry in far western Wisconsin, and authorities say they're investigating the deaths as a triple homicide. La Crosse County Sheriff Jeff Wolf called the deaths a “targeted act” but declined to say how the three died. Wolf says two workers discovered the bodies shortly before 5 a.m. Friday at the Milestone Quarry near West Salem. He says authorities are working to identify the victims and autopsies will be conducted. No one is in custody and there are no suspects. The sheriff is seeking video from area residents with security cameras.

MENARDS-FATAL ACCIDENT

Teen employee killed in accident at Golden Valley Menards

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (AP) — An accident at a home improvement store in a Minneapolis suburb has killed an employee. Authorities say a man operating a forklift in the lumberyard of Menards in Golden Valley died when a large pallet of wood tumbled onto his machine Thursday. Relatives identified the victim as 19-year-old James Stanback. A witness who lives near Menards says dozens of police squad cars responded to the scene when a small crowd of people became upset that the store had not closed immediately following the fatal accident. Later, a sign was posted outside the store that said it would be closed until noon Friday out of respect for the employee who died.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021