MPR News Update

Good morning! Welcome to Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know to start your day. 

St. Paul police are investigating the seventh gun death in the city this month. It’s the 21st homicide this year and it happened in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood last night. Police haven’t said much so far, but family members say the victim was a 36-year-old man. 

Al Franken is back … as a satellite radio host. He’ll return to the public eye hosting a weekly show on SiriusXM. Franken says he hasn’t had any potential guest on the show turn him down due to the sexual misconduct allegations that pushed him to resign his Senate seat in 2017.

Jim Hagedorn under fire for linking Elizabeth Warren to Nazis. The Republican congressman from southern Minnesota received sharp criticism for calling the Democratic presidential contender a “national socialist” on his Facebook page.

A fourth U.S. president will face impeachment proceedings. First it was Andrew Johnson. Then Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Now, President Trump faces an impeachment probe of his own over reports he pressured the Ukranian leader to investigate Joe Biden, a contender to take Trump’s office in the 2020 election, and his son. Here’s how Ukraine, Trump and the Bidens are all connected.

St. Paul leaders release fatal police shooting footage, but that doesn’t stop the questions. The video made public Tuesday shows Roland Davis approach officer Steven Mattson with a knife in his hand. Mattson shoots Davis dead when he doesn’t obey a command to drop the knife. Police chief Todd Axtell defended his officer as activists continued to question the killing. Mayor Melvin Carter backed Mattson, too: “I can’t see anything else we would have expected him to do.”

How do you help people sleeping along a bike trail? Hennepin County officials are trying to figure it out as a growing number of people take nightly shelter in thick brush and beneath bridges along Minneapolis’ Midtown Greenway, as MinnPost’s Jessica Lee reports

A record pot bust in the suburbs. Police seized over 76,000 marijuana vaping cartridges in Champlin, the same products linked to a rash of lung injuries and deaths. 

A Crosby, Minn., woman shares her tragic assault story to help others. Kaitlyn Chase thought it was going to be a first date with a man she’d been talking to for months through the dating app MeetMe. But the meetup quickly turned violent. Two years later, her rapist is in jail and Chase wants to help others. She shared her story and tips for safer dating with the Brainerd Dispatch’s Jennifer Kraus. 

Duluth may bag bags. The city council heard nearly an hour of testimony supporting a plan that would force businesses to charge 5 cents for most single-use plastic and paper bags. They wouldn’t be the first city to crack down on bags: Minneapolis and others have tried. Questions on bag bans? Let us know.

A break after the storms. It’ll be mostly sunny and a bit cooler with statewide highs in the 60s and 70s. There’s a chance of rain later in north and central Minnesota. See damage reports from last night’s storm on Updraft.

Cody Nelson, MPR News
St. Paul police investigating city's 21st slaying this year
Tim Nelson | MPR News
A man was fatally shot Tuesday night in St. Paul in the city’s Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Fremont Avenue E. and Mendota Street at around 7:30 p.m.
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'It's a steal': Winona State students save on rent by living with seniors
Peter Cox  | MPR News
Winona State University students willing to live with and help residents of a senior living facility can live in a mansion for “a steal.”
Minnesota cops seize over 76K marijuana vaping cartridges in Anoka County
Tim Nelson and Cody Nelson | MPR News
Police in Anoka County on Monday seized over 76,000 vaping cartridges containing THC, the compound in marijuana that produces a high. 
What's on the radio today
9 a.m. — MPR News with Kerri Miller

Last week, President Trump named Robert C. O'Brien as his new national security adviser. He replaces John Bolton, who was fired by the president two weeks ago.

Prior to his appointment, O’Brien was an envoy for hostage affairs. Now the fourth national security adviser during the Trump administration, he will play a key role in carrying out the president’s foreign-policy agenda.

With drama escalating between Iran and Saudi Arabia, China’s growing global power, and denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, what can we expect from O’Brien and the Trump administration?

10 a.m. — 1A with Joshua Johnson

When baby makes three, is that one too many? Some are convinced that overpopulation lies at the heart of the climate crisis. America's birth rate is down, but families in poorer countries are having more children.

11 a.m. — MPR News with Angela Davis

There are times when our bodies fail us. We stumble. We hurt. We bruise. But what if your body is actively working against you?

Our immune system usually works to fight off invaders like bacteria and germs. But with Lupus, the immune system attacks healthy tissue instead, causing joint pain and other symptoms.

Five million people struggle with lupus. And it can be deadly. Healthy blood cells are round, but people with sickle cell have some crescent-shaped cells that can get stuck in blood vessels and block the flow of oxygen. This can cause severe pain in their extremities.

On Wednesday host Angela Davis will talk about two diseases that turn the body against itself: sickle cell and lupus.

Noon — MPR News Presents

Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, best-selling author and Minnesota native Thomas Friedman was back home Monday to speak at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School. He covered a wide range of concerns, everything from global events to the fate of small American towns.
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