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CRASH-TWO KILLED

Man sentenced to prison in high-speed crash that killed 2

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An Orono man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a high-speed, drunken-driving crash that killed two young men, including the son of the University of Minnesota men’s hockey coach. James Blue had been driving nearly 100 mph on a curvy road around Lake Minnetonka when he plowed into a wooded area on July 24. The crash killed 20-year-old Mack Motzko, son of Gophers coach Bob Motzko, and 24-year-old Sam Schuneman. Authorities say Blue’s blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit for driving. Blue apologized in court Thursday to the family and friends of the Motzkos and Schunemans, who were not at the hearing.

OPIOID SETTLEMENT-MINNESOTA

MN Senate passes bill to distribute $300M from opioid suit

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Senate voted unanimously to start disbursing about $300 million that the state is receiving as part of a settlement with opioid distributors and manufacturers last year. Counties and cities across Minnesota will be receiving 75% of the $296 million settlement. The money is part of a $26 billion nationwide settlement with manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. The bill also extends the state’s license and registration fees imposed on opioid manufacturers by the Legislature in 2019. The Senate passed the bill on a 66-0 vote. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison thanked lawmakers for moving the bill forward.

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

State officers will help Minneapolis with policing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — State law enforcement officers will help Minneapolis with patrols as the city deals with a police force that has seen its ranks reduced in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The arrangement announced Wednesday by city and state officials has state troopers patrolling city streets three nights a week beginning Thursday and agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension helping local investigators. Minneapolis will pay the State Patrol up to $400,000 and the BCA as much as $300,000 for their services. The arrangements can be canceled at any time by either side, with 30 days’ notice.

BIRD FLU-WILD BIRDS

Bird flu takes unheard-of toll on bald eagles, other birds

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bird flu is killing an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds, with many sick birds arriving at rehabilitation centers unsteady on their talons and unable to fly. The latest bird flu outbreak of has led to the culling of about 37 million chickens and turkeys in U.S. farms since February, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed 956 cases of bird flu in wild birds, including at least 54 bald eagles. The number of wild birds that have died from the virus is likely significantly higher. University of Georgia researcher Rebecca Poulson, who has been studying avian influenza for 15 years, says the wild bird death toll in this outbreak is “unprecedented.”

LIVER DISEASE-NORTH DAKOTA

Mysterious case of hepatitis diagnosed in North Dakota child

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has become the latest in a growing number of states that is investigating a mysterious case of hepatitis in a child where all the usual causes have been ruled out. North Dakota Health Department officials say the child from Grand Forks County is recovering at home after a brief stay in the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been looking into cases of the sudden liver disease in children that has health authorities around the world looking for clues. The illness is being called hepatitis of unknown origin. The cases have no known connection, although a link with a virus that can cause colds is being investigated. Several cases have been reported in Minnesota.

SUPREME COURT-ABORTION-MEDICATION

Next battle over access to abortion will focus on pills

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — More than half of abortions in America are now done with pills, rather than surgery. The battle over access to medication abortions will only grow in importance if the Supreme Court follows through with its leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and allow individual states to ban the procedure. For abortion-seekers, cross-border trips, remote doctors’ consultations and packages of pills delivered in the mail offer hope they can skirt state restrictions. Republicans in South Dakota, Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma have all moved to restrict access to abortion pills in recent months.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS-CHAUVIN

Judge overseeing Chauvin civil rights case accepts plea deal

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The judge overseeing the federal civil rights cases of four former Minneapolis police officers in the killing of George Floyd has accepted the terms of Derek Chauvin’s plea agreement and will sentence him to 20 to 25 years in prison. Chauvin pleaded guilty Dec. 15 to violating Floyd’s civil rights. The white former officer admitted he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, resulting in the Black man’s death in May 2020. Judge Paul Magnuson deferred accepting the agreement pending a presentence investigation. He said in an order Wednesday that the report is complete, but did not set a sentencing date.

ABORTION-MINNESOTA

Suit challenging Minnesota’s abortion restrictions delayed

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s restrictions on abortions that was set to go to trial next month has been delayed indefinitely. The Minnesota Court of Appeals issued the order late Tuesday. It says the lawsuit, filed by abortion rights supporters, can’t proceed while an appeal over which parties have legal standing remains pending. The trial was due to begin June 27. Whatever the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, abortion will remain legal in Minnesota under a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court ruling. But the lawsuit challenges several restrictions that have been imposed over the years.