North/East metro news briefs: Washington County officials begin review of Valley library

A new and improved Washington County library is coming to residents in Lakeland and the Lower St. Croix Valley east of Woodbury, but its size and location will be explored throughout the spring. When the findings are ready in June, county officials will decide whether to remodel the current library or move to a larger building.

Report: In ‘disturbing’ conversation, Trump asked acting FBI head McCabe whom he voted for

Shortly after President Donald Trump fired his FBI director in May, he summoned to the Oval Office the bureau's acting director for a get-to-know-you meeting. The two men exchanged pleasantries, but before long, Trump, according to several current and former U.S. officials, asked Andrew McCabe a pointed question: Whom did he vote for in the 2016 election? McCabe said he didn't vote, according to the officials, who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about a sensitive matter.

Meet the Russia specialist who worked on 2 of Fusion GPS’ most…

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's unilateral release of the Senate Judiciary Committee's August interview with Fusion GPS cofounder Glenn Simpson was applauded by those who called it a win for transparency - and a nail in the coffin of GOP lawmakers' attempts to distract from the probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Others, however, viewed the content of Simpson's testimony as validation of a talking point often repeated by President Donald Trump and his allies in the media and Congress: Fusion GPS was working both for the Russians and against Trump - albeit on separate projects - during the 2016 election.

Photos: See the world’s most powerful rocket – all 27 engines – before it launches

SpaceX's three-core, 27-engine Falcon Heavy flagship rocket appears to be nearing full assembly at Kennedy Space Center, according to new photos released by CEO Elon Musk. Photos posted by the billionaire entrepreneur on Wednesday show the 40-foot-wide rocket in a hangar near KSC's pad 39A, the legendary launching point for Apollo and space shuttle missions, but more recently single-core Falcon 9 launches.

Mayo Clinic takes on IRS over status as a school

The $11.5 million question at the core of Mayo Clinic's lawsuit against the United States is whether the nonprofit operation is primarily a school or a medical center. Mayo Clinic's position is that it is an "educational organization," which "makes patient care available as a necessary and integral part of its educational activities."

Ivanka Trump: Malia Obama should be ‘off limits’ to media

Ivanka Trump is condemning recent tabloid coverage of President Barack Obama's eldest daughter Malia, saying the college student deserves privacy and ought to be "OFF limits." NEW YORK - Ivanka Trump is condemning recent tabloid coverage of President Barack Obama's eldest daughter Malia, saying the college student deserves privacy and ought to be "OFF limits."

UPDATE 1-Investors balk at U.S. T-bill supply on default worries

Investors uneasy about a possible failure to increase the U.S. debt ceiling gave a cold shoulder on Tuesday to $20 billion worth of Treasury debt that will come due when the government might be out of cash if the ceiling is not raised by late September. The chilly reception to the latest one-month T-bill supply resulted in the Treasury Department paying the highest interest rate on one-month debt obligations in nine years.
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Here’s How Many Bernie Sanders Supporters Ultimately Voted For Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont inspired millions of loyal supporters, some of whom chose not to support Hillary Clinton in the general election in 2016. Fully 12 percent of people who voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries voted for President Trump in the general election.

Reward to $130,000 in growing search for fugitive inmates

A Georgia sheriff said officers were "desperate... An official with the company operating an advertising blimp at the U.S. Open golf tournament in Wisconsin says the pilot is "OK" after the craft crashed but that he is being taken to a hospital. International students at a Connecticut flight school that closed after two fatal plane crashes say they're out thousands of dollars and are being forced to return to their home countries.

The Latest: Pence says Trump will deliver on economic agenda

Gov. Kim Reynolds, left, and Sen. Joni Ernst wave to the crowd as Reynolds takes the stage during the governor's Inaugural Celebration hosted by the Republican Party of Iowa, Friday, June 2, 2017, in Des Moines, Iowa. The unofficial inaugural event raises money for the Republican Party, a strategic move that highlights the GOP's focus on the upcoming midterm election and Reynolds' anticipated gubernatorial run.

Russian Hacking and Collusion: Put the Cards on the Table

The notion that Russian interfered in the election to help Trump was a John Brennan/James Clapper confection created in an unorthodox way and defied logic, given that Hillary and her associates had far more close connections to Russia than Trump or his associates did. THE CLINTON FAMILY BUSINESS [snip] Bill Clinton received half a million dollars in 2010 for a speech he gave in Moscow, paid by a Russian firm, Renaissance Capital, that has ties to Russian intelligence.