News

A new report by the National Conference on Citizenship (NCOC) finds that, despite the nation’s economic turmoil, Minnesota’s civic health is good — so much so that we’re among the country’s leaders in indicators like voter turnout, volunteerism and charitable giving. NCOC is chartered by Congress “with the responsibility of promoting effective citizenship and civic [...]

Last July, the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed suit to prevent the words “In God We Trust” and “one nation under God” from being engraved on a wall in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center. Today, 41 U.S. House members — including Minnesota’s Michele Bachmann — and three senators filed an amicus brief asking a federal [...]

At Ft. Hood Army Base today, President Obama honored the thirteen people killed Thursday in a shooting spree there, including St. Paul’s Pfc. Kham Xiong. Obama told of Xiong, a 23-year-old married father of three, who “came to America from Thailand as a small child” and later “followed his brother into the military because his [...]

An aide to Rep. Michele Bachmann quit her communications position, Politico reported on Wednesday. Michelle Marston had been responsible for helping Bachmann get a copious amount of air time on cable news shows.
While Marston didn’t have much to say on the topic, an unnamed conservative Republican House member told Politico, “When your captain’s crazy, it’s [...]

On Monday, Rep. Keith Ellison read a statement condemning the actions of four Republican House members who are calling for an investigation of Muslim interns in Congress. The statement was written by Ellison and supported by the Tri-Caucus, a group composed of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Asian Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus.

A protracted partisan skirmish has left hundreds of thousands of Americans without unemployment benefits — an impasse Senate Democrats hope to break this week.

The sequel to Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s 2005 smash-hit book “Freakonomics” — particularly the final chapter of “SuperFreakonomics” — is giving global warming skeptics hope that they can continue to shift attitudes toward their cause.

Rep. Betty McCollum is spearheading an effort to get nonprofit employees included in the health reform benefits being planned for small businesses. She has penned a letter to congressional leaders urging them to consider nonprofits on a level playing field with small businesses.

A watchdog group, Stimulating Broadband, which keeps tabs on stimulus spending on broadband infrastructure, says Minnesota is the only state holding back details about funding priorities. Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s administration says it doesn’t have to disclose the information.

A Gallup poll conducted at the beginning of October shows that more Americans support the legalization of marijuana than ever before — even if the majority still think it should be illegal.