Bob CollinsThe world is populated by decent people, but today — unlike almost every other day — it seems impossible to prove the assertion. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Crime and Justice
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania made the ruling this week in the case of Jason Roy Waugaman, 35, who had dropped his kids off at his wife’s home during a custody exchange. She stood in front of his truck, he hit the gas to scare her and drove off while giving her the obscene gesture. Read more →
Perhaps no jury verdict since O.J. Simpson’s has sparked such a discussion on race and the judicial system as yesterday’s surprise “not guilty” verdict against the armed protesters — all white — who took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, protesting what they said was government overeach.
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This picture, from the Morton County, N.D., Sheriff’s Department, from the scene of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest should spark another discussion about that equipment the U.S. government gave away to police departments with all the money it had to fight terrorism. Read more →
The social media generation has given us a new type of criminal; the type to break into buildings just to take video of breaking into buildings. Read more →
What’s happening to the nation’s big websites today is yet another reminder how vulnerable we are. Read more →
In September, Arapahoe County (Colorado) sheriff’s deputy Tom Finley responded to a call of a black man carrying a rifle in a 7-11 parking lot. It wasn’t a man at all. It was a woman. And she was carrying golf clubs. Read more →
Football is knee-deep in hypocrisy when it comes to alcohol. Beermakers are major advertisers, teams play up tailgating and drinking, it’s a tremendous source of revenue at the concession stand, and when the game ends, only a fool would deny that a fair number of fans are getting in their cars hammered Read more →
The Minnesota Supreme Court today settled a long-running dispute over whether a BB gun is a firearm under Minnesota’s weapons laws.
It’s not, the court ruled, overturning a ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and reversing the conviction of a Ramsey County man. Read more →
Some election officials, and some state laws, prevent police from providing security at polling places this election because they say it will make voters feel unwelcomed. Read more →
The Minnesota Court of Appeals today ruled that it was unconstitutional for a Department of Natural Resources officer to attach a GPS-based tracking device to the vehicle of a man he suspected was hunting big game illegally in Lac qui Parle County.
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It really can’t be that people don’t know the rules about stopping for buses, could it? The ‘stop’ sign would seem to be a clue on what driver’s need to do. Read more →
A county judge in La Crosse has police seething over her order that when they testify in her courtroom, they can’t have their guns nor duty belts with them.
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The Minnesota Supreme Court today essentially enacted what the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year, telling authorities if they want to get drunk drivers off the road by testing their urine or blood, they need to get a warrant. Read more →
Here’s another installment of our occasional series,’Why Baseball is Better Than Football.’
Today’s reason: Because you don’t ever hear about people being stabbed over giant inflatable baseball players. Read more →