10 years after Iraq War: What do we have to show for it?
First of two articles.I agree with John McCain on this: Chuck Hagel’s statement that the surge in Iraq could turn into the biggest U.S. foreign policy blunder since Vietnam was silly. McCain may be...
View ArticleThe income gap plays out in U.S. life expectancy
The Washington Post ran a troubling article last weekend that explains why raising the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare would be unfair to the poor.For although many Americans are...
View ArticleWhy do birds matter? Interesting answers from Audubon and beyond
A magazine devoted to the single subject of "Why Birds Matter" might have proved irresistible even if it weren't an issue of Audubon, which certainly knows the territory.And then there was the...
View ArticleTwo state House members started their political careers as legislative pages
A story about the page program in the Minnesota House of Representatives notes that two current House members, state Reps. Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie, and Tara Mack, R-Apple Valley, both worked as...
View ArticleKathleen Motzenbecker named new Minnesota Trade Office director
Kathleen Motzenbecker has been named executive director of the Minnesota Trade Office, which offers services and programs to help companies do business around the world.Motzenbecker previously had been...
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Gay-marriage supporters tout freedom to persuade Republican legislators
From their cell phones to their emails to their Capitol hangouts, the men and women who are lobbying Republican legislators to support gay marriage are shouting, “Let freedom ring.”With gay marriage...
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Former GOP lawmaker Lynne Osterman talks same-sex marriage with Lawrence...
Former Minnesota GOP legislator Lynne Osterman garnered national attention for her testimony before the House Civil Law Committee on Tuesday arguing in favor of legal same-sex marriage in Minnesota,...
View ArticleKlobuchar, Franken vote to bring gun bills to the floor
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee approved an assault weapons ban on Thursday, bringing the ban to the floor for the first time since an old version expired in 2004.Both Sens. Amy Klobuchar...
View ArticleSt. Paul seeks volunteers for April 13 city-wide cleanup
St. Paul officials are recruiting help for the annual city-wide spring cleanup day on April 13.Volunteers will meet at one of five city park locations at 8:30 a.m., get supplies, coffee and donuts and...
View ArticleCatholics McCollum and Nolan pleased with new Pope Francis
WASHINGTON — Like most people who aren’t experts on the Vatican, the Minnesota congressional delegation’s two Catholics, Reps. Betty McCollum and Rick Nolan, found themselves studying up on newly named...
View ArticleRicky Rubio — the Timberwolves' one-man team
The news on Wednesday that Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love must wait another two or three weeks before being cleared for practice puts an exclamation point on the team’s lost, injury-riddled...
View ArticleRep. Keith Ellison to speak about Syria at Twin Cities Arab Film Fest
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will speak on a panel Sunday at the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, following a screening of the film "The Suffering Grasses," by Iara Lee.The film looks at the effect the war...
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Penumbra is back with memorable 'Spunk'; Jazz Fest names headliners
Penumbra is back. Last night was opening night for “Spunk,” Penumbra’s first play in its home theater in St. Paul for more than a year, an annus horribilis in which two plays were canceled, then the...
View ArticleCalifornia bill aims to be 'turning point' for college courses online
California State Sen. Darrell Steinberg wants to bridge two universes in education – the traditional campus and the realm of innovative online courses.The leader of the California Senate unveiled...
View ArticleEgypt's reviled police plead for understanding, support
The police have withdrawn from the streets of the Suez Canal city of Port Said, and in the el-Sharq police station, officers in civilian clothes huddle around their weapons, waiting for an attack....
View ArticleKimberly Ritter stands up to child sex trafficking in US hotels
The first time someone mentioned human trafficking to Kimberly Ritter, she had only a vague idea of what it was. "Isn't that something that happens in third-world countries?" she asked.That was 2008....
View ArticleProtests mount in Algeria
ALGIERS, Algeria — A towering pillar of black smoke rises menacingly above a cramped eastern suburb of the capital on an otherwise calm recent afternoon.Residents of a nearby shantytown have blocked a...
View ArticleSaving Detroit: New manager targets 'greatest turnaround' in US history
The man slated to guide Detroit to fiscal solvency in the largest state takeover of a city in United States history described his new job Thursday as “the Olympics of restructuring.”That could be an...
View ArticleEvangelicals challenge Catholic Church's dominance in Brazil
SAO PAOLO, Brazil — When Pope Francis makes his first scheduled overseas trip to the world’s most Catholic continent, he will be guaranteed an ecstatic welcome. By happy coincidence, this year’s World...
View ArticleKnives on planes? TSA chief, defending policy, gets an earful in Congress
A new federal policy to allow pocketknives in airplane cabins drew criticism in Congress Thursday, as some lawmakers joined flight attendants and others in questioning the security change.John Pistole,...
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