Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsored the three gun bills.

Minnesota Senate panel approves trio of gun bills

Prospects remain unclear for passage, as Republicans in the narrowly divided Senate oppose the changes.

Minnesota House passes transgender refuge bill

7:07am
Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul, is the sponsor of the bill and Minnesota’s first transgender legislator.
The proposal protects people traveling to Minnesota for gender-affirming care from legal repercussions.

TikTok CEO grilled by skeptical lawmakers on safety, content

March 23
TikTok’s chief executive Shou Chew testifies during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing on TikTok and its impact on data privacy and on
A nearly six-hour grilling of TikTok's CEO by lawmakers brought the platform's 150 million U.S. users no closer to an answer as to whether the app will be wiped from their devices.
Politics
27 minutes ago
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesda

US launches airstrikes in Syria after drone kills US worker

A strike Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six other Americans in northeast Syria, and U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the Pentagon said. Activists said the U.S. bombing killed at least four people.
World
37 minutes ago

Philippines confronts Chinese diplomats over sea disputes

Filipino diplomats confronted Chinese officials in closed-door talks Friday with a slew of protests over China's aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, including targeting a Philippine coast guard ship with a military-grade laser, but no resolution was reached on the issues, an official said.
Nation
52 minutes ago

A sex trafficking case, a plea deal and a mother's pain

Irma Reyes changed clothes in the back seat of the pickup: skirt, tights, turtleneck, leather jacket. All black. She brushed her hair and pulled on heels as her husband drove their Chevy through predawn darkness toward a courthouse hundreds of miles from home.
World
7:30am

King Charles III's European state visit hits French hurdle

King Charles III's state visit to France has been postponed indefinitely amid widespread protests over President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms, putting a damper on the new monarch's debut on the international stage.
World
6:35am
In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducts routine underway operations in

China threatens consequences over US warship's actions

China threatened ''serious consequences'' Friday after the United States Navy sailed a destroyer around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea for the second day in a row, in a move Beijing claimed was a violation of its sovereignty and security.
World
6:15am
Russian rockets launched against Ukraine from Russia’s Belgorod region streak across the sky at dawn in Kharkiv, Ukraine, early Friday, March 24, 20

Russian strikes in Ukraine kill 10 civilians, wound 20 more

Russian long-range strikes killed at least 10 civilians and wounded 20 others in several areas of Ukraine on Friday, Ukraine's presidential office said, as a senior Moscow official warned that the Kremlin's forces were prepared for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive in the coming weeks.
Business
6:05am

EU leaders grapple with bank risks as economy weakens

European Union leaders gathered Friday to gauge the risk of a banking crisis developing from recent global financial turbulence and hitting the economy even harder than the energy crunch tied to Russia's war in Ukraine.
World
5:45am

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi loses Parliament seat

Key Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has lost his parliamentary seat after a court found him guilty of defamation over his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname and he was disqualified from the lawmaking body, a parliamentary statement said on Friday.
Variety
5:17am
Di’Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and whose work is featured on the new U.S. stamps, poses for a picture w

Indigenous artists help skateboarding earn stamp of approval

Years ago, skateboarding was branded as a hobby for rebels or stoners in city streets, schoolyards and back alleys. Those days are long gone.
Politics
5:00am

GOP sets vote on parents' rights in clash over schools

House Republicans will press forward Friday with a midterm campaign promise by voting on legislation to give parents greater say in what is taught in public schools, even as critics decry the ''parents' rights'' bill as a burdensome proposal that would fuel a far-right movement that has resulted in book bans, rewrites of history curricula and raucous school board meetings across the country.
World
4:55am

Ignoring experts, China's sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn't ready for a massive onslaught of cases, with hospitals turning away ambulances and crematoriums burning bodies around the clock.
World
4:45am
FILE - An elderly patient receives an intravenous drip while using a ventilator in the hallway of the emergency ward in Beijing, Jan. 5, 2023. China�

Ignoring experts, China's sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn't ready for a massive onslaught of cases. Hospitals turned away ambulances, crematoriums burned bodies around the clock, and relatives hauled dead loved ones to warehouses for lack of storage space.
World
4:15am

Saudi Arabia, Syria may restore ties as Mideast reshuffles

Saudi Arabia is in talks with Syria to reopen its embassy in the war-torn nation for the first time in a decade, state television in the kingdom reported late Thursday, the latest diplomatic reshuffling in the region.
World
4:00am

North Korea claims 'radioactive tsunami' weapon test at sea

North Korea claimed Friday to have tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to generate a gigantic ''radioactive tsunami'' that would destroy naval strike groups and ports. Analysts were skeptical that the device presents a major new threat, but the test underlines the North's commitment to raising nuclear threats.
Politics
March 23

Informant didn't spy on Proud Boys defense, prosecutors say

As revelations that a defense witness was also an FBI informant roil the already contentious Capitol riot trial of members of the far-right Proud Boys group, prosecutors said Thursday that the informant was never told to gather information about the defendants or their lawyers.
Nation
March 23

New Mexico OKs its 1st wildlife bridges to limit collisions

New Mexico will build its first wildlife highway overpasses for free-roaming cougars, black bears, bighorn sheep and other creatures large and small and will also set aside $100 million for conservation projects, under two bills signed Thursday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Politics
March 23

Senate Ethics admonishes Graham for campaign solicitations

The Senate Ethics Committee is admonishing South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for soliciting campaign contributions inside a federal building after a Nov. 2022 Fox News interview in which he asked viewers to donate to a GOP candidate.
World
March 23

Artwork that secretly honored Hong Kong dissidents removed

A Hong Kong department store took down a digital artwork that contained hidden references to jailed dissidents, in an incident the artist says is evidence of erosion of free speech in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Politics
March 23

House China panel turns focus to plight of Uyghurs

Two women who experienced life in Chinese ''reeducation'' camps for Uyghurs told lawmakers Thursday of lives under imprisonment and surveillance, rape and torture as a special House committee focused on countering China shined a light on human rights abuses in the country.
Business
March 23
A protester throws a stone as he scuffle with riot police during rally in Nantes, western France, Thursday, march 23, 2023. French unions are holding

Violent French pension protests erupt as 1M demonstrate

More than 1 million people demonstrated across France on Thursday against unpopular pension reforms, and violence erupted in some places as unions called for new nationwide strikes and protests next week, coinciding with King Charles III's planned visit to France.

Minnesota Politics

Latest politics news from the Twin Cities, Minnesota and Washington, D.C., including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Minnesota Legislature, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter.