Minnesota

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DOJ Weighs Firearm Ban for Transgender Americans

Officials consider linking transgender status to gun restrictions over mental health

(Newser) - The Justice Department has started internal discussions about whether transgender individuals should be barred from owning firearms, according to sources familiar with the matter. These conversations began after the Aug. 27 shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, in which a 23-year-old transgender shooter killed two children and wounded close...

Shooting Survivor Shielded by Friend Learns of 'Miracle' Miss

Bullet fragment lodged in Weston Halsne's neck, just avoiding a major artery

(Newser) - Doctors have found a bullet fragment lodged in the neck of a 10-year-old Minneapolis boy days after he reported that his life was saved when his friend shielded him during last week's shooting. Weston Halsne, a fifth grader at Annunciation Catholic School, was at Mass on Wednesday when...

Crews Find Body of Hiker Not Heard From in a Month

Minnesota man had texted home after reaching Wyoming peak, saying he was exhausted

(Newser) - Crews have found the body of a Minnesota man almost a month after he began a three-day hike in Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming officials announced. Grant Gardner had not been heard from since reaching the summit of Cloud Peak on July 29. Teams found his body Wednesday in one of...

Mother of Minnesota Shooting Suspect Lawyers Up

'She is completely distraught' but has 'no culpability' the attorney says

(Newser) - As investigators search for answers in this week's deadly shooting in Minneapolis , the mother of the suspected shooter has hired a criminal defense attorney, reports NBC News . Police say they have not yet been able to make contact with Mary Grace Westman, the mother of 23-year-old Robin Westman....

Girl Shot in Minneapolis Rushed to ICU Where Mom Was at Work

Sophia Forchas, 12, remains in critical condition after deadly shooting at Annunciation Church

(Newser) - The mom of one of the young victims from Wednesday's deadly mass shooting at Minneapolis' Annunciation Church and school that left two children dead and 18 injured was at work in the intensive care unit when her badly wounded daughter was rushed in, reports People . According to a fundraiser...

These Are the Children Killed in Minneapolis Church Shooting

Heartbroken parents speak out after mass shooting

(Newser) - The parents of the two schoolchildren fatally shot in a Minneapolis church spoke out for the first time on Thursday afternoon, with some imploring the shaken community to address the root causes of shootings that target schools, the AP reports. Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed on...

Locked Doors Saved 'Countless Lives' in Church Shooting

Police chief says shooter was unable to get into Annunciation Church, couldn't see children

(Newser) - The death toll in Wednesday's mass shooting in Minneapolis could have been far higher if it wasn't for Annunciation Church's practice of locking its doors when morning Mass begins, the city's police chief said Thursday. "After the Mass had begun, the doors to the church...

Young Survivor: 'My Friend Victor Saved Me'

Children describe the Minneapolis shooting

(Newser) - Various media outlets were speaking with some of the children who survived Wednesday's mass shooting in a Minneapolis church. Some examples:
  • "I heard the noise and I kind of got scared at first," 9-year-old June Holine told CBS News . "If, like, somebody did a firework that
...

What the Shooter's Videos Reveal
What the Shooter's
Videos Reveal
Aug 28, 2025 5:51 AM CDT

What the Shooter's Videos Reveal

Planning, 'self hatred,' and a 'deeply nihilistic outlook,' per reports

(Newser) - The motive for Wednesday's mass shooting at a Minneapolis church full of children remains a mystery despite the "dark and violent writings and videos" the shooter left behind after taking her own life, the New York Times reports. In one video, Robin Westman, a 23-year-old transgender woman who...

Mayor: 'Don't Just Say This Is About Thoughts and Prayers'

'These kids were literally praying,' Minneapolis mayor says after mass shooting

(Newser) - The FBI is investigating the mass shooting at a Minneapolis church as "an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X Wednesday. He said the shooter "has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as...

Democrats End Meeting in Minneapolis After Shooting

Party session began Monday with remarks by lawmaker wounded in June

(Newser) - The Democratic National Committee voted to cut short its meeting in Minneapolis on Wednesday after the mass shooting at a church in the city. "I'm extremely, extremely sorry that our meeting ended on such a tragic note," Chair Ken Martin told hundreds of Democrats, per the Minnesota ...

Report: Church Shooter Was Former Annunciation Student

Robin Westman's mother is former employee at Catholic school

(Newser) - The suspect in Wednesday's mass shooting at a Minneapolis church full of children has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, law enforcement sources tell outlets including the AP and KARE 11 . Sources tell the Minnesota Star Tribune that Westman's mother, Mary Grace Westman, is a former employee at...

Shooter Stood Outside Church, Fired at Kids Through Windows

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says an 8- and 10-year-old were killed

(Newser) - Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara has provided additional details about the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday morning, specifying that the two children who were killed were ages 8 and 10 and were sitting in a pew when they were struck. Another 17 people were injured, all...

Woman Charged for Calling Black Child the N-Word

Minnesota woman has raised more than $800K via crowdfunding

(Newser) - Minnesota prosecutors filed misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges Tuesday against a woman accused of using a racist slur against a Black child at a playground —an incident the woman has since used to raise more than $800,000 after she appealed for help with relocating, the AP reports. "Defendant...

States That Are the Most Fun
States That Are the Most Fun
Aug 24, 2025 1:10 PM CDT

States That Are the Most Fun

California tops WalletHub's rankings, while West Virginia needs to lighten up

(Newser) - Every day of your existence "should be sprinkled with at least a little bit of fun," not just your vacations. That's Travel + Leisure's take , and why the magazine is promoting WalletHub's latest rankings to find the state that has the most of it. The...

High School Can't Play at Night Until Ospreys Leave

Birds nesting in floodlights have disrupted Minnesota school's fall sports season

(Newser) - Turn off the lights. The Nesting Ospreys have defeated the Apple Valley Eagles in Minnesota high school football. They haven't actually played each other, but the ospreys took charge when they built a huge nest to raise their chicks, high up on a light pole at the Apple Valley...

Suspect in Shootings of Minnesota Lawmakers Indicted
State Revises Charges
in Lawmakers' Slayings
updated
Aug 14, 2025 7:33 PM CDT

State Revises Charges in Lawmakers' Slayings

Minnesota suspect may face federal death penalty, though that's not decided yet

(Newser) - A week after Vance Boelter pleaded not guilty in federal court, he's facing new and upgraded state charges in the shooting of Minnesota lawmakers. A fresh indictment announced Thursday charges him with two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, and charges of impersonating a police...

Pizza Spot Tells Hungry They Don't Need to Look in Dumpster

Owner says the need has increased, so he's asking others to help with 'the human thing to do'

(Newser) - When Chris Kolstad realized late last month that more people were digging through the dumpster behind his Minnesota pizza place for something to eat, he put a post on Facebook. "Hey, if you're out here doing this you can come talk to me," he wrote, CBS News...

Cyberattack Wreaks Havoc in St. Paul

City scrambles to restore online services, declares state of emergency

(Newser) - The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, is reeling from a sweeping cyberattack that has forced officials to shut down numerous online services—everything from internet at the library to payment portals, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune . The disruption began late Friday and prompted the city to disconnect systems as...

Minnesota to Canadians: Hey, Come See Us

Gov. Tim Walz joins the push to coax tourists from up north amid Trump's trade war

(Newser) - While some Canadians want to "hug" out the tensions between themselves and the US, the border state of Minnesota is inviting our northern neighbors to come on down for a visit. Axios reports that officials there have put out the welcome mat for Canadians, with Explore Minnesota chief Lauren...

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