Welcome to today's edition of Talkers, a daily roundup of our latest, newsiest and most interesting stories. You can receive this as a newsletter right to your e-mail inbox each afternoon by signing up here.
Top stories
- Twin Cities man wins $1 million playing fantasy football: A Brooklyn Park man turned a single $25 wager into $1 million playing online fantasy football this past weekend, and he's gettin' it all while the gettin's good.
- Clinton testifies on Benghazi: Hillary Clinton firmly defended her record before and during the Benghazi attacks as she came face-to-face Thursday with the Republican-led special investigation of the 2012 violence in Libya, hoping to put to rest the worst episode of her tenure as secretary of state and clear an obstacle to her presidential campaign.
- 3M to lay off 1,500 workers: The company faces challenges abroad in the wake of a high U.S. dollar, slumping oil prices, and woes in several key business sectors.
- Here's a bizarre story: "Champlin police say a 38-year-old woman was arrested and has admitted sending anonymous threats to a family that said she wanted to taste and lick their children," WCCO reports.
- Sex World getting a makeover: Significant cosmetic changes are in store for the Sex World building in Minneapolis, with a new owner hoping to give the weary old structure — and the street corner it occupies — a new attitude.
- Dayton blasts BNSF on oil trains: The governor told the railroad company that he's worried about greater use of a route that passes through downtown Minneapolis.
- Mother killed during robbery: Sarah Wierstad was shot twice as she walked to her apartment on St. Paul's East Side on Sunday night, and the 24-year-old man charged Thursday in connection with her murder later used her credit card to buy gas, the Ramsey County Attorney's office said.
- Disadvantages affect boys more than girls? New research from social scientists suggests that any disadvantage, like growing up in poverty, in a bad neighborhood or without a father, takes more of a toll on boys than on their sisters.
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Trending
- Why Minnesota is the sports facilities capital of North America: We love our sports in Minnesota, and we've been paying large dollars at all levels to prove it, writes Patrick Reusse.
- Woman says she was pulled over for sipping coffee: A motorist sipped on a cup of coffee while driving along Interstate 94 on Monday after the morning rush hour in St. Paul, and she was immediately pulled over by a state trooper. In dispute, however, is why.
- Stern out, Cowell in on "America's Got Talent": Simon Cowell will replace Howard Stern as a judge on"America's Got Talent" for Season 11, NBC announced on Thursday.
- How to make lefse like a Lutheran church lady: Food editor Lee Svitak Dean joined up with women at Central Lutheran Church to make the classic Scandinavian dish that so commonly graces Minnesotans' holiday tables.
Watch this
This jack-o-lantern dancing to Drake's "Hotline Bling" is weird, wonderful and kind of entrancing.
Sports roundup
- Wolves quickly abandon Flip's youth plan: If the whole idea is to play through their growing pains, coach Sam Mitchell has pulled the plug awfully early on this experiment.
- Wild returns after second long break: The Wild finally plays its second home game of the season tonight at Xcel Energy Center against John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- Pitino continues to defend his dad: The Gophers basketball coach on Wednesday again defended his father, Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, and said he himself never heard of or saw any of the alleged stripping and sex acts involving escorts and players while he was at the school that is now embroiled in scandal.
- Vikings will gladly take Detroit's turnovers: For those who have spent the past four days complaining about the Vikings offense, cheer up. Things could be worse. A lot worse.
- Subscribe to our Access Vikings podcast! Mike Rand and Matt Vensel break down all the Vikings news each week. It's free on iTunes.
Quote of the day
Worth a click
The Pentagon is building jazz robots! The jazz-playing computers and robots could soon yield clues about how to help people collaborate with machines, researchers say.
From the archives
Oct. 22, 1977: The official got plenty of help from Gophers players when they recovered a Michigan fumble en route to a 16-0 upset of the No. 1-ranked Wolverines at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. This was the last time Gophers defeated Michigan at home. (Photo: Richard Olsenius/Star Tribune)
