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Federal authorities are expected to announce charges against eight more people today in a long-running investigation into how perhaps dozens of young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia. It will be the most significant and public move to date in the case. Charges against the eight people will be announced at a joint FBI-U.S. Attorney's Office press conference in Minneapolis on Monday afternoon, a source said. Some, if not all, of the individuals will be charged with providing material support to terrorists, the source said. Many of those charged have already...

Do you believe in the American dream -- the idea that in this country, hardworking people of every race, color and creed can get ahead on their own merits? If so, that belief may soon bar you from getting a license to teach in Minnesota public schools -- at least if you plan to get your teaching degree at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus. In a report compiled last summer, the Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group at the U's College of Education and Human Development recommended that aspiring teachers there must repudiate the notion of "the...

As the Republican Governors Association gathers in Austin this week, there is a real sense among conservatives that the Obama Bubble is about to burst. And all eyes are on the assembled governors to see who might do the bursting in 2012. Ever since his 2002 election, I've kept close tabs on Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. As governor, Pawlenty coined the phrase “Sam’s Club Republican,” which Ross Douthat and I later used to refer to a strain of Republicanism that aims to meet the needs of working and middle class voters. In an interview with the Ripon Society, a storied...

Washington, D.C. – While chairing part of today’s (Thursday, Nov. 19) Joint Economic Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar questioned U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about the Administration’s plans to reform the financial regulatory system. “When Wall Street gets a cold, Main Street catches pneumonia,” said Klobuchar. “Small businesses are the engines that drive job creation in this country, and they need better access to credit. I want to make sure small businesses can keep their doors open and start hiring again. My number one priority is jobs, jobs, jobs.” Last month, Klobuchar and 32 other Senators wrote to President...

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- No charges will be filed against a man who stabbed a teenager to death earlier this month in Minneapolis. The Hennepin County Attorney says the man acted in reasonable self defense. Timothy Jackson, 17, died in the early morning hours of November 7. Investigators say Jackson and another teenager tried to rob the man on the Midtown Greenway. The man stabbed Jackson Robbery charges were filed last week against the teenager who was with Jackson.

Robbery victim won't be charged. Prosecutors have decided not to file charges against the man accused of killing 18-year old Tim Jackson, saying he was acting in self-defense. Investigators say Jackson and another man tried to rob a man identified as P.W. as he walked in the Midtown Greenway near 28th Ave. and Hiawatha in Minneapolis. P.W. told police he stabbed Jackson in the stomach as Jackson tried to hit him in the head. "Minnesota law is pretty clear, folks are entitled to walk in the streets, if someone assualts you, you have a right to respond with reasonable force"...

A Minnesota activist who refused to testify earlier this week before a federal grand jury in Davenport is now charged with conspiracy for an act of “animal enterprise terrorism” — believed to be a 2004 animal-rights vandalism act at the University of Iowa. Scott DeMuth, 22, made his initial appearance this morning on a charge of conspiracy. DeMuth was already in custody for contempt of court because of his refusal to testify. Fellow activist Carrie Feldman, who at one time dated DeMuth, also refused to testify and is in custody. “Scott Ryan DeMuth did knowingly and intentionally conspire with persons...

Former State Representative Allen Quist announced Wednesday night that he will run against U.S. Representative Tim Walz for the First District Congressional Seat. In a press release, Quist said: "If people like what Congress is doing, they should vote for the incumbent. But if they believe, as I do, that Congress is headed in the wrong direction, then I will be the alternative." Quist had previously established a web site and Facebook page, so the formal announcement of his candidacy was not unexpected. A Republican, Quist served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1983 to 1988, runs...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

AUSTIN, Minn. — State officials say an unknown number of people have died in a southern Minnesota tour bus crash. Authorities earlier said as many as 22 people were hurt in the crash about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 90 west of Austin. Department of Public Safety spokesman Andy Skoogman says "there are some fatalities" from the crash. He was en route to the scene and said information was still being gathered. The Post-Bulletin of Rochester identified the bus as operated by Strain Bus Line Motorcoach Tours in Rochester. An employee who answered the phone at Strain would not give...

She sounds off on Ron Paul, health care, and, of course, liberty. BY MATT SNYDERS Michele Bachmann is a regular fixture on the cable news circuit. When it comes to print, however, she takes a more measured approach; she declined a phone interview with the New York Times last month, insisting on a Q&A via email. She gave City Pages the same deal. Here's what she had to say: City Pages: Your appearance with Rep. Ron Paul surprised some folks. At first blush, it would seem the two of you might come down on very different sides on a lot...

Minnesota's 27th Congressional District has snared just over $3 million in federal stimulus money, five times as much as the 57th District has gotten. One problem: Neither district exists -- except on Recovery.gov, the Obama administration's website that tracks the flow of stimulus cash. Beyond Minnesota's eight actual congressional districts, which have gotten the lion's share of the money, the website list 11 phantom districts that supposedly have been awarded more than $7 million in grants.

Young men videotaped each other attacking pedestrians, bicyclists and children. The video was edited and uploaded to YouTube http://www.startribune.com/video/70377317.html

A group of young, Somali men posted a video of themselves attacking pedestrians and bicyclists in St. Paul. The suspects openly identify themselves in the video, and then attack unknowing victims. None of the victims have reported any of the attacks. St. Paul police is urging victims to step forward, if they recognize themselves in the video. The video, posted by YouTube user "madbi001," has since been removed from the website and the account has been closed. The Midtown Greenway Coalition reported an incident of assault on the Greenway on Sunday, Nov. 15. A bicyclist was riding along the Greenway...

Two political activists from Minneapolis were jailed today for refusing to answer questions before a federal grand jury apparently investigating a five-year-old animal-rights vandalism incident. The activists, Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth, were found in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge John Jarvey and placed in custody of the U.S. Marshall's Service. The district court clerk's office confirmed what occurred in the Davenport, Iowa, courtroom, but the U.S. Attorney's office didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. The subject of grand jury deliberations are generally secret, but the organization backing Feldman and DeMuth said they were wanted for questioning...

A federal grand jury has indicted two Minnesota men in connection with the recruitment of Somali immigrants to fight with Islamic insurgents in their home country. Salah Osman Ahmed and Abdifatah Yusuf Isse are charged with one count each of providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure people overseas, the indictment states. The recruiting effort took place between September 2007 and December 2008, according to the charges.

A federal appeals court has ordered a civil rights lawyer convicted in a terrorism case that originated in Minnesota to begin serving her prison sentence. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan today also upheld Lynne Stewart's conviction, which was based in part on illegally aiding her client, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, during a visit with him at the federal prison in Rochester, Minn., in May 2000. She was convicted of smuggling messages between Abdel-Rahman and a terrorist group. Stewart was sentenced to a little more than two years in prison.

She is a striking brunette with a decidedly outspoken attitude. She lambasts President Barack Obama as a socialist and has become the darling of America's right-wing activists who flock to her appearances. She is hated by liberals and loved by conservatives. Sarah Palin? Not quite. Meet Michele Bachmann, a Republican congresswoman from Minnesota who is being hailed as a new and increasingly powerful voice in American politics

To understand this budget-busting crusade, look at the arrogance behind it. Recent unemployment figures reveal the daunting dimensions of the job crisis. Unemployment stands at 10.2 percent, and underemployment -- those who have given up looking or who have taken part-time jobs -- is at a mind-numbing 17.5 percent: almost one in five. In this greatest crisis since the Great Depression, many Americans are becoming desperate -- watching bills mount, facing foreclosures and giving up hope. Alarm bells may be sounding for the American people, but not -- it seems -- for President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders. Instead of...

A smiling Stellan McKinney was reunited with his family Friday night, completely free of the potentially fatal heart ailment that made him an internet sensation even before he was born. Stellan had surgery in Boston just four days ago -- a procedure called ablation to fix his heart rhythm problem. He and his mother, Jennifer McKinney, flew home to Minneapolis on Friday. "God helped the doctors fix Stellan," McKinney said. "He doesn't have SVT anymore. I know." SVT, or Supraventricular Tachycardia, made Stellan's heart beat three times as fast as it should. The condition affected Stellan since before he was...

Chong Vang and her husband Chao Lor were on their way home after leaving a Laundromat at 41st and Lyndale Avenue North in Minneapolis early Monday evening when they were confronted by two robbers, one armed with a gun. "The one that came first came to my side of the door and the other pointed a gun at my husband," Vang said. The man with the gun took Vang's husband into an alley nearby. "When the guy pointed a gun at me all I had on my mind was just like take anything you want. Don't do anything to me...

This article actually identifies the "terrorists" as "Islamic extremists," but only does so in the seventh paragraph. Now, why does this matter? Why should it be mentioned at all? Because the more we remain in denial about the source and nature of the problem, the harder it will be to solve. "Alleged Somali recruiter arrested, linked to Minnesota," by James Walsh and Richard Meryhew for the Star Tribune, November 11 A 43-year-old Somali man from Minneapolis was arrested this week in the Netherlands for allegedly financing the recruitment of up to 20 young Somali men from Minnesota to train and...

A Somali man from Minneapolis being held in a Dutch jail on suspicion of bankrolling terrorist activities has been identified by sources in the Twin Cities Somali community as Mohamud Said Omar, 43. Government officials in Amsterdam and federal authorities in Minneapolis would not confirm the identity of the man being held in the Netherlands. But several sources there and here say Omar, who is known by the nickname "Shariif," is the man in custody. Dutch authorities said in a statement that U.S. prosecutors suspect the man of bankrolling the purchase of weapons for Islamic extremists and helping other Somalis...

A 43-year-old Somali man from Minneapolis was arrested this week in the Netherlands for allegedly financing the recruitment of up to 20 young Somali men from Minnesota to train and fight with terrorists in their homeland. The arrest appears to be the most significant development yet in one of the most far-reaching counterterrorism investigations since 9/11. The identity of the man, who was arrested Sunday at an asylum-seeker's center 45 miles northeast of Amsterdam, was not released. But Special Agent E.K. Wilson of the Minneapolis FBI office confirmed Tuesday that the man was arrested in connection with the ongoing counterterrorism...

The thousands of restive conservative protesters milling outside the west front of the Capitol last week definitely didn't seem in the mood to listen -- but there was at least one voice they wanted to hear. The chant started from the back of the crowd, and rolled forward like a wave: "We want Michele! We want Michele!" Michele Bachmann doesn't say she finds GOP leadership irrelevant. But with health care reform gathering momentum as the Democratic bill entered final debate in the House, she took her typical route around, not through them. The swarms of Tea Partiers who descended on...

The Star Tribune is cutting another 100 jobs companywide to further shave costs after bankruptcy. The company's operating committee announced the cuts this morning, saying that the "cracking of our historical economic model and the current Great Recession have forced us to move quickly to make meaningful and difficult adjustments over the next few months." About 30 of the cuts will come from the newsroom and editorial staff -- about a 10 percent reduction -- Star Tribune Editor Nancy Barnes said. The company said most of the cuts would be completed by the end of the year, but that the...

<p>MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota teen who fled the state to avoid chemotherapy has finished his cancer treatment.</p>

"How would same-sex marriage hurt your marriage?" Advocates of changing our marriage laws tell us this is an unanswerable question. A typical couple -- Mary and John, married for 15 years -- may find it tough to answer. That's because it's the wrong question. Mary and John won't stop loving each other or be bounced out of their house if same-sex marriage prevails. To get at what's really at stake, we need a different question: "How will same-sex marriage harm the institution of marriage -- and in the long run, all of us?" Marriage is a universal human institution. Across...

Pawlenty hit Obama on the porkulus bill, ever-rising unemployment, broken promises of bipartisanship, and the enormous federal deficit. "We've got a Democrat-controlled Congress messing around with a miserable healthcare bill. They should be focused like a laser on jobs, not acting like a manure spreader in a wind storm," Pawlenty said to laughter and applause.

Rep. Michele Bachmann on House floor with Hawaiian lei

The far right’s star House member just hit the headlines with a rowdy health-care rally on Capitol Hill. Benjamin Sarlin reports on the Democrats lining up in Minnesota to send Michele Bachmann into early retirement. Michele Bachmann took her paranoid campaign against the White House to new heights on Thursday, leading a mass protest inside the Capitol itself that led to multiple arrests. Antics like these have made her one of the breakout stars of the Republican Party in the Obama era, drawing praise from Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and even George Will. But her stunts have also made what...

Army PFC Kham Xiong, 23, came from a St. Paul, Minn., family with ties to military life that spanned hemispheres. His father, Chor Xiong, battled Communist insurgents in Laos during the Vietnam War, according to Minnesota Public Radio, and his younger brother Nelson is enlisted in the Marines. In a phone interview, his 8th grade teacher, Tim McGowan, recalled Xiong's positive energy and his commitment to supporting his family. "Kham was just a person of sound character, and his greatest attribute was his ability to make everybody smile," said McGowan, now a principal at Community of Peace Academy, a St....

Whether you call it a rally, press conference or "House Call," Republicans think Thursday's Capitol Hill Tea Party was a success -- and they are crediting Rep. Michele Bachmann for having the pizazz to increase turnout and press coverage. "We didn't know what to expect, we didn't know what kind of energy would be there, but this thing took a life of its own," Brendan Buck, spokesman for the Republican Study Committee, told TPMDC. "It came together better than we ever imagined it would in terms of size and energy," he said. After chatting with press aides from various Republican offices,...

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is planning a second anti-health care reform Tea Party at the Capitol -- this one scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday -- approximately the time when the House is due to vote on Democrats' public option bill, POLITICO's Jake Sherman reports. King and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) organized a rally Thursday that drew thousands to the west front of the Capitol, drawing chants of “Kill the Bill.” There were a handful of arrests. “We can kill this bill and stop the government takeover of health care,” King said in a news release. “We need the help of...

Rep. Michele Bachmann stood alone at a podium at the foot of the Capitol Thursday, blowing kisses and waving to the fawning crowd of thousands she had assembled. The tea party rally against a Democratic-written health care bill was over, and the other lawmakers had cleared the stage. But the love affair between Bachmann and her fans was reaching its apex. Brushing off an aide’s reminder to go inside and vote, the fiery Minnesotan with the fierce blue eyes descended toward a crowd penned in by the stone walls of the Capitol lawn. She leaned across the barrier to grasp...

A handful of Minnesota veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will join other vets in Washington, D.C., Thursday to call for more support for troops in Afghanistan. Some veterans from Minneapolis and St. Paul plan to meet with elected officials and White House officials to urge support for Gen. Stanley McChrystal's troop recommendations for the war in Afghanistan. McChrystal recommends up to 80,000 more troops in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is considering several options, including McChrystal's preference of about 40,000 additional U.S. forces next year.

DES MOINES - Days before traveling to Iowa to headline a Republican Party fundraiser, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty was noncommittal about whether he would run for president but didn't shut the door to a campaign. In recent weeks, Pawlenty has launched the Freedom First PAC, fueling speculation that he is gearing up for a presidential run in 2012. Pawlenty appears Saturday at a Republican Party of Iowa gathering at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, where he will keynote the event. Pawlenty said he'll make a decision about his future shortly after he finishes out his current term as governor. "But I...

More than half the 14,000 jobs created or saved by the federal economic stimulus in Minnesota are in public schools. Federal and state officials are reporting about 7,400 full-time teaching and school support staff jobs linked to the stimulus through the end of September. The U.S. Department of Education issued a report Monday detailing 7,421 stimulus jobs in the state's education system. Minnesota Management and Budget officials counted 7,380 K-12 school jobs created or saved by stimulus spending of $634 million.

Fellow conservatives from other groups have been compiling lists of conservative candidates around Minnesota to support November 3. Below is our list of candidate picks from these groups (and ours). We are not supporting a candidate for their party, but for their conservative principles. If you know of a conservative candidate to add, email us with name, city race and their website link. Check back often for updates.Conservative candidate picks:Minneapolis: Park & Rec Commission – at large: Dave WahlstedtBoard of Estimation & Taxation: Michael MartensCity Council: Ward 2: Allen AigbogunWard 3: Jeffrey CobiaWard 4: Grant CermakWard 6: Mike TupperWard 7:...

State Rep. Paul Kohls became an early casualty of the crowded race for Minnesota governor, dropping out Thursday because of a lack of support from GOP constituencies. "I've come to the conclusion that I don't have sufficient support from the delegates to keep going," Kohls told reporters. Kohls, who has been in the state House since 2002, was not among the top finishers in the state Republican party's straw poll earlier this month. The poll was won by House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, one of the first and most prominent Republicans to join the race after incumbent Tim Pawlenty, a...

Not long ago, Americans feared and ridiculed the police states cursing too many parts of the world. We worried that they might one day conquer us despite their poverty and general misery even as we mocked their totalitarian tactics — especially their “Papers, please” mentality.  Indeed, being forced to prove one’s identity to a bureaucrat on demand, having to carry and produce documents with personal information for his approval — or condemnation — seemed especially horrifying. One of our classic films, Casablanca, revolved around the deadly hassles of obtaining or forging such papers under the Nazis; episodes of Mission Impossible...

Sarah Palin fans are having a late-night release gathering at the Borders in Woodbury for her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life." The book goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, so the store expects customers to stay late on Monday night and hang out in the coffee bar, which is remaining open for the event. Not expected to be present is the former vice presidential candidate, who made her official RNC debut in St. Paul, where she wore clothing bought from the Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis.

After a pattern of attacking Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, on a nightly basis, one of the strategies is becoming apparent - MSNBC is in need of a boogeyman to give a face to the opposition of these radical steps being undertaken to fundamentally change health care in the United States. So rather than attack where the opposition is wrong on a policy level, MSNBC "Countdown" fill-in host Lawrence O'Donnell is going to apply one of the tactics from Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" to promote a dramatic shift in the U.S. health care system - "Pick the target,...

Minneapolis police are looking for a group of teenagers who attacked at least three men. The attacks happened just minutes apart in south Minneapolis early Thursday morning. One man trying to break up a fight became a victim himself, right in front of his young son. It was about 6:30 Thursday morning when Dr. Mani Mokalla was walking his 6-year-old son to the bus stop. He stumbled on a man being beaten up right on the sidewalk. "I basically inquired, 'What's going on, what are you guys doing?' And they said for me to mind my own business, and I...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with U.S. Bank, NA, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, to assume all of the deposits and essentially all of the assets of nine failed banks. The nine banks were closed this evening by federal and state bank regulators, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. The nine banks involved in today's transaction are: Bank USA, National Association, Phoenix, Arizona; California National Bank, Los Angeles, California; San Diego National Bank, San Diego, California; Pacific National Bank, San Francisco, California; Park National Bank, Chicago, Illinois; Community...

Many Republican members of congress are back in their districts for the weekend trying to advocate against the House's health care plan, and that movement in Minnesota is being led by Michele Bachmann. While House Democrats rally around a health care bill they say will cover almost all Americans and lower costs, Republican Michele Bachmann sees it much differently. "I would prefer to see true health care reform, but unfortunately the bill that will come up next week that we will vote on is the government takeover of cradle to grave socialist health care. This is a mammoth, ugly bill...

A dog rescued by a retired police officer attacked him Sunday — inflicting hideous wounds on his face. "The doctors and nurses have never seen anything like this," said John Wess, a friend of the victim. Jim Stewart, 53, of Woodbury, reportedly suffered a severed ear and had the skin torn away from most of his face in the attack. He was listed Thursday evening in good condition at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. "He has not seen himself in a mirror, and we are pretty worried about that," said Wess, a retired St. Paul police officer and longtime friend....

KSTP investigated absentee ballot inconsistencies and reported their findings last night, and you can watch the video here. Many cities put up roadblocks to their investigation request -- and Bloomington threatened felony charges against KSTP if they reported on their findings. The most damning part is Sec. of State Mark Ritchie's denial of problems and response when asked to look at ballot envelopes and comment. "Ritchie first told us he could not read our examples, then said he wouldn't look at photocopies of absentee ballot envelopes." A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation has found that mistakes made with absentee ballots in...

The Federal Aviation Administration violated its own rules by taking more than 40 minutes to alert the military after losing communication with a Northwest Airlines flight last week, according to officials familiar with internal reviews under way at several federal agencies. The delay has sparked consternation within the military, concern within the FAA and special oversight by the White House, these officials said, particularly because such time lags were supposed to be eliminated as a result of the lessons learned from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks... the man charged with protecting the skies above North America, U.S. Air Force...

When Marcus Bachmann came home that Saturday evening in 2000, he checked the telephone answering machine and was mystified by the many messages congratulating his wife for something. "Michele," he said, "do you have something to tell me?" She did. The state senator from her district in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul had been in office for 17 years, had stopped being prolife and had started supporting tax increases, so that morning she had skipped washing her hair, put on jeans and a tattered sweatshirt and went to the local Republican nominating caucus to ask him a few pointed questions. There, on...