House Speaker Kevin McCarthy  along with other Republican members spoke after the House passed the debt ceiling bill at the Capitol in Washington, Wed

House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default

The debt ceiling and budget cuts package now heads to the Senate, with passage expected by week's end.

Legislators direct $1 billion to Twin Cities area infrastructure

May 31
Foreman Eric Fobbe and Jaden Wisti worked to remove sandstone from a new storm water tunnel underneath downtown Minneapolis in July 2022.
The money is expected to kickstart road and bridge construction, fund more than 50 nonprofit organizations and launch upgrades to parks and community sports centers.

What a new oral history reveals about Barack Obama, and his trade-offs

May 31
President Barack Obama during a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 22, 2013.
The first of 470 interviews of Obama administration officials and others involved in the debates of the time offer a fresh look at a consequential presidency.
Business
12:25am

After sailing though House on bipartisan vote, Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal now goes to Senate

Veering away from a default crisis, the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending the deal that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated to the Senate for swift passage in a matter of days, before a fast-approaching deadline.
World
12:10am

British public figures urge Pakistan to release brother of pro-Imran Khan rights lawyer

Several prominent public figures in Britain have urged Pakistan to release the brother of a human rights lawyer who served as an adviser to ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Nation
May 31

Revised DACA program to be debated before Texas judge who previously ruled against it

A revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children is set to be debated Thursday before a federal judge who previously ruled the program illegal.
Business
May 31

LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days festival

Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ people are flocking to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park rides, mingle with costumed performers, dance at all-night parties and lounge poolside at hotels during Gay Days, a decades-long tradition.
Business
May 31

Debt ceiling deal advances pipeline and tweaks environmental rules. But more work remains.

Despite weeks of negotiations, the White House and House Republicans were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement to overhaul environmental regulations and streamline federal permitting as part of their debt ceiling deal, instead settling for limited changes that could simplify some project reviews.
Politics
May 31

Trump returns to campaign trail in Iowa as GOP rival DeSantis makes case to New Hampshire voters

Former President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail Thursday as his chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is undertaking his first swing through early voting states as an official candidate.
Nation
May 31

Grand jury charges ex-GOP candidate with election interference in shootings at lawmakers' homes

A failed political candidate has been indicted on federal charges including election interference in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque, according to a grand jury indictment that was unsealed Wednesday.
Variety
May 31

Here's how Jordan's royal wedding will reverberate across the region and beyond

The Middle Eastern country of Jordan is set to host its biggest royal wedding in years on Thursday as the country's young Crown Prince Hussein exchanges vows with Rajwa Alseif, daughter of one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest and most influential families.
World
May 31
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on a TV screen as he appears in a video link provided by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service in

Russian court prepares way for new trial against jailed Kremlin foe Navalny

A Moscow court on Wednesday set a new date for a hearing paving the way for another trial of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that could keep him in prison for decades.
Nation
May 31

NASA talks UFOs ahead of final report

NASA publicly addressed the subject of UFOs a year after launching a study into unexplained sightings.
Nation
May 31

Reports: Prosecutors have tape of Trump discussing holding onto classified doc after leaving office

Justice Department prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of former President Donald Trump from after he left office in which he talks about holding onto a classified Pentagon document related to a potential attack on Iran, according to media reports.
Nation
May 31

California advances fentanyl bills focused on prevention, increased penalties

California lawmakers have advanced more than a dozen bills aiming to address the fentanyl crisis, including some that would impose harsher prison sentences for dealers, ahead of a critical deadline this week.
Nation
May 31
Then-President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh on Sept. 22, 2020.

Trump was taped discussing sensitive document he had kept after leaving office

Any recording could undermine his repeated claim that he had already declassified material that remained in his possession after he left office.
Nation
May 31

DeSantis plays up his personal side — and swipes at Trump — during campaign blitz across Iowa

Ron DeSantis blitzed through Iowa during his first full day of presidential campaigning on Wednesday, aiming for the kind of personal connections with voters that critics say have long eluded him while stepping up his verbal swipes at former President Donald Trump.
Local
May 31
David Gamble, of Gamble Associates based in Cambridge, Mass., talked with participants during a tour of the Zumbro riverfront, part of the Destination

After dismal 2022, Destination Medical Center retooling its Rochester pitch

Many of the types of companies DMC hoped to attract weren't even aware of Rochester and its connection to Mayo Clinic.
Nation
May 31

3 more GOP governors sending National Guard troops to US-Mexico border

The governors of Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina on Wednesday joined a growing list of Republican leaders sending their state National Guard soldiers or other state law enforcement officers to the U.S. border with Mexico.
Nation
May 31
U.N. Ambassador-designate, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and her husband, Michael, arrived for a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church ac

Nikki Haley's husband to deploy with National Guard to Africa as she seeks 2024 GOP nomination

Nikki Haley's husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of his wife's campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Politics
May 31
Vice President Mike Pence

Mike Pence will launch his presidential campaign in Iowa on June 7

Former Vice President Mike Pence will officially launch his long-expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss.
World
May 31
People gather to collect water in Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, May 28, 2023. The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force, battling for control of Sud

Sudan's military says it has suspended its participation in talks with paramilitary rival

Sudan's military suspended its participation in talks with a paramilitary force it's been battling for weeks for control of the northeastern African country, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
Nation
May 31

GOP walkout in Oregon Senate now in 5th week; uncertain if boycotters will be sanctioned

The longest-ever walkout in the Oregon Legislature completed its fourth week on Wednesday as the enforceability of a ballot measure that would disqualify the boycotters from immediate reelection appeared in doubt.

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.