Andrew Witty exits for personal reasons as largest US health insurer responds to higher-than-expected medical costs
The UnitedHealth CEO, Andrew Witty, is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation’s largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs.
Stephen Hemsley, the company’s chairman, will become CEO effective immediately, the Minnesota company said.
Continue reading...Musician whose hits also included the satirical anthem Supermodel from the Clueless soundtrack died early on Thursday
Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter whose hits included the satirical anthem Supermodel from the Clueless movie soundtrack and the groundbreaking single I Kissed a Girl, has died in a house fire at the age of 66.
Sobule’s body was found in a home in Woodbury, Minnesota, on Thursday. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
Continue reading...Aditya Wahyu Harsono, father of infant with special needs, surprised at work despite valid visa through June 2026
An Indonesian father of an infant with special needs, who was detained by federal agents at his hospital workplace in Minnesota after his student visa was secretly revoked, will remain in custody after an immigration judge ruled Thursday that his case can proceed.
Judge Sarah Mazzie denied a motion to dismiss the case against Aditya Wahyu Harsono on humanitarian grounds, according to his attorney. Harsono, 33, was arrested four days after his visa was revoked without notice. He is scheduled for another hearing on 1 May.
Continue reading...Leaders call on federal authorities to explain actions after University of Minnesota student detained on Thursday
Officials in Minnesota were seeking answers in the case of a University of Minnesota graduate student who was being detained by US immigration authorities for unknown reasons.
University leadership said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detained the student on Thursday at an off-campus residence. Officials said the school was not given advance notice about the detention and did not share information with federal authorities. The student’s name and nationality have not been released.
Continue reading...Aggressive prevention including wider changes to poultry raising needed after at least 56 US farms doubly infected
Scores of poultry operations in the US have been reinfected by bird flu since 2022, costing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal payouts, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.
The recurring outbreaks highlight the need for more aggressive prevention, including poultry vaccination and changes to how poultry is farmed, experts say.
Continue reading...Justin Eichorn, 40, faces federal charge after allegedly trying to meet with underage girl found through sex ad
A Minnesota state lawmaker who is accused of trying to buy sex from an underage girl resigned from the state senate on Thursday before his colleagues were set to vote to expel him.
Justin Eichorn, a Republican, was charged with a felony in federal court Wednesday for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor after responding to online sex ads and trying to arrange a meetup with a 17-year-old.
Continue reading...Advocates warn firings and funding freezes already risk poisoning drinking water and decimating fish population
Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s attacks on federal agencies and funding freezes will be “cataclysmic” for the environment of the sensitive Great Lakes region if not reversed, industry and environmental advocates in the region warn.
Initial actions taken since Trump returned to the White House in January – and put Musk in charge of slashing the federal government – already risk poisoning drinking water, decimating fish populations, and risking the jobs and health of tens of millions of people who rely on the lake system, they add.
Continue reading...Several people killed in Kansas dust storm while scattered tornadoes cause fatalities in Missouri
Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that killed at least 35 people as more severe weather was expected.
In western Kansas, a dust storm was reported to have killed eight people as high winds produced blowing dust over the interstate, causing collisions of more than 71 vehicles on the I-70.
Continue reading...Premier Doug Ford says province ‘won’t back down’ until US president retracts duties on Canada
The Canadian province of Ontario is imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to the states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota in protest against Donald Trump’s tariffs, the premier, Doug Ford, said on Monday.
“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the US economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses,” Ford said in a statement.
Continue reading...State of emergencies issues in several states and cities as eastern two-thirds of country to experience dangerous cold
A major winter storm was sweeping across the central US on Sunday, forecasters said, bringing with it a dreaded combination of snow, ice and plunging temperatures.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri – where blizzard conditions are expected – to New Jersey.
Continue reading...Race for state house seat, which will determine whether Republicans win control of chamber, separated by 14 votes
Twenty ballots went missing in a Minnesota precinct this November, the type of error that would typically result in an internal investigation but not receive much public attention. But the implications are much greater right now, as the race for the district’s state house seat is separated by 14 votes, and that seat will determine whether Republicans win control of the chamber.
The missing ballots, which were probably the result of human error, were never counted. Officials tried to track them down, only to learn that they had been sent to the shredder.
Continue reading...Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on 14 November in Minneapolis-St Paul
A couple has been accused of stealing nearly $1m worth of Lululemon products from its stores across the US.
Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on 14 November in Minneapolis-St Paul and have each been charged with one count of organized retail theft, according to a criminal complaint filed in Minnesota and reviewed by multiple outlets.
Continue reading...Deaths occurred on consecutive days in Tennessee and Minnesota as children were struck by vehicles
Two boys recently died at separate Halloween-themed haunted hayride attractions in tractor accidents, authorities said.
The first boy died about 10.45 pm on 11 October at the Haunted Hilltop Halloween event in Hamilton county, Tennessee. A group of children at the event were playing near a path through which hay ride tractors drove, the Hamilton county sheriff’s department said.
Continue reading...Sam Dutcher, 18, was in SUV that sped up to 113mph on its own before he was advised to run into trooper’s vehicle
A teenager from North Dakota says he thought he was “going to die” when his SUV sped up on its own to more than 110mph (177km/h) and wouldn’t slow down – but he saved himself by intentionally crashing into the back of a Minnesota state trooper’s patrol cruiser.
As the North Dakota television station WDAY told it, 18-year-old Sam Dutcher was driving near Harwood – relatively close to the state’s border with Minnesota – as night fell on 17 September. His Honda Pilot suddenly accelerated on its own to 113mph, a speed so high that it would be virtually impossible to survive crashing.
Continue reading...Minneapolis house featured in 1984 movie offers once-in-a-lifetime experience with interiors based on late music star
Prince fans will have a chance to party like it’s 1999 in the very Minnesota house made famous by Purple Rain as the movie celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The white, two-story Minneapolis home looks unassuming from the outside, but it is a sign o’ the times as the newest limited-time Airbnb Icons rental – properties created and run by Airbnb and designed to give guests a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Continue reading...Vice-presidential candidate, once a high school teacher in Nebraska and Minnesota, warmly remembered by alumni
Imagine your teacher in the White House.
For Tim Walz’s former students, the hypothetical could become real. And they’re stoked.
Continue reading...Detroit rally draws 15,000 people and high energy despite Gaza protesters and medical incidents from summer heat
Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, continued their swing-state tour with rallies in rural Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, that the campaign said brought out more than 10,000 people each.
The rallies, which followed a raucous event in Philadelphia, served as an opportunity for Harris to continue to introduce Walz, a formerly low-profile midwest governor, to Democrats in the critical swing state.
Continue reading...Walz can continue serving as Minnesota’s governor until the election, but if he and Harris are successful, Flanagan will take over
Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, could become the first US female Indigenous governor if Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential pick, Tim Walz, resigns from office. Walz can continue serving as the state’s governor until the November election, but if he and Harris are successful, Flanagan will take over his gubernatorial duties.
In fact, a series of firsts would be triggered should the Harris-Walz ticket win: Harris would become the nation’s first woman, first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to ascend to the country’s top office. Flanagan, already the highest-ranking Native woman in a state-level executive office, would become Minnesota’s first female governor and the first Indigenous woman to serve as governor of a US state. And Minnesota’s senate president, Bobby Joe Champion, would become Minnesota’s first Black lieutenant governor.
Continue reading...Harris praises Walz’s time as a football coach as her VP pick says he’ll debate JD Vance ‘if he’s willing to get off the couch’
Kamala Harris introduced her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, to supporters at a packed, energetic rally at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The event, which kicks off a week-long tour through the most politically competitive US states, marks a new chapter for the Harris campaign after securing enough delegates to be the Democratic nominee.
Continue reading...Under Walz’s leadership, Minnesota has seen progressive legislative wins, and his simple retort that Republicans are ‘weird’ went viral
Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee for US president, has named Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, as her running mate ahead of the November election.
The decision ends intense speculation over which candidate Harris would pick to go up against Donald Trump, the Republican nominee and former president, and his choice for vice-president, the Ohio senator JD Vance.
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