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R. Kelly charged with 11 new sex-related crimes in Chicago

Prosecutors in Chicago have charged R&B singer R. Kelly with 11 new sex-related counts, including some that carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.




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Minnesota music legend Tony 'Little Sun' Glover dies at 79

Known internationally for playing harmonica with Koerner, Ray and Glover, Glover is being remembered for his musical artistry and influence -- and his remarkable writing.




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So, how old aria? Minnesota Opera's newest work targets tots

The Minnesota Opera takes the expression "start 'em young" just about as far as it can this weekend with its latest production, "Nooma." It's "an opera for babies," but don't call it that.




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R. Kelly pleads not guilty to latest charges

At an arraignment in Cook County, Ill. court on Thursday morning, the embattled R&B singer entered a not guilty plea on 11 felony charges.




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'Dr. John,' legendary New Orleans musician, dies at 77

Dr. John, the New Orleans singer and piano player who blended black and white musical styles with a hoodoo-infused stage persona and gravelly bayou drawl, died Thursday, his family said. He was 77.




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Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' inspires Minnesota boy with autism to sing

An Atlanta rapper's take on country music has inspired a mostly nonverbal Minnesota boy with autism to sing.




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How Prince worked his magic on the Bangles' 'Manic Monday'

In the 1980s, Prince wrote one of the Bangles' biggest hits, 'Manic Monday.' Now, The Prince Estate has released the demo version of the track as part of the artist's posthumous album, Originals.




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It's been 50 years since Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones died

July 3, 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the day that Brian Jones was pronounced dead. Jones founded the Rolling Stones, gave them their name and was their first business manager.




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All-day music festival at Bayfront Park in Duluth on Saturday

Trampled By Turtles will be headlining an all-day concert Saturday at Bayfront Park in Duluth.




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Brazilian bossa nova pioneer Joao Gilberto dies at 88

Joao Gilberto, a Brazilian singer, guitarist and songwriter considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova genre that gained global popularity in the 1960s and became an iconic sound of the South American nation, died Saturday, his son said. He was 88.




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R. Kelly arrested again in Chicago on federal sex charges

Singer R. Kelly, already facing sexual abuse charges brought by Illinois prosecutors, was arrested in Chicago Thursday on a federal grand jury indictment listing 13 counts including sex crimes and obstruction of justice.




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Dogs Pooping in Beautiful Places 2025 Calendar

Shut Up and Take My Money created a rather self-explanatory Dogs Pooping in Beautiful Places" 2025 calendar.




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Human Challenges His Cat to Jump Into a High Cabinet With Increasingly Smaller Openings

The human belonging to a cat named Ruka, set up a jump challenge for his feline, who loves to sleep in a high cabinet in their apartment.




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The Amount of Prison Time and Fines That Walter White Would Get If He Were Charged For His Crimes

The Cinema Cop used scenes from "Breaking Bad" to add up the time Walter White would spend in prison if he were ever charged for his crimes.




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A Piano Evolution of Chopin’s Music From Ages 7 Through 39

Lord Vinheteiro performed a piano composition highlighting the musical evolution of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin from ages 7 through 39.




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Artist Commemorates Unrecognized Heroes With Temporary Monuments Projected Onto Trees

"Monuments" by artist Craig Walsh is a powerful site-specific video installation that projects images of unrecognized local heroes onto trees.




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A Fascinating Montage of Hasidic Families Trying to Cross the Street During the New York City Marathon

Abe Kugielsky shot footage of Hasidic people trying to cross the street in Williamsburg during the 2024 New York City Marathon.




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Asian Elephant Expertly Uses a Water Hose to Give Herself a Shower

An Asian elephant named Mary, who lives at the Berlin Zoo learned how to wash herself clean using a hose as a flexible shower head.




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Artist JR Gives a Tour of His Elaborately Designed L’Observatoire Suite on the Orient Express

French artist JR gave a wonderfully detailed tour of the L’Observatoire Suite he designed for the Venice Simplon Orient Express.




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Fearless Cat Rides on Her Human’s Back While They’re Skateboarding Together

A fearless cat named Callie who was found as a kitten by her human Sam Wallace loves to sit on their back while skateboarding.




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Comedian Realizes That the TV Show She Was Watching Was Actually Filmed in Her Apartment

Comedian Stef Dag shared her amazement when she found out that the TV show she was watching was actually filmed inside her apartment.




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A Touching Holiday Short About A Friendly Little Octopus Who Comes Home With a Young Beachgoer

"The Boy & The Octopus" is a touching holiday short about a tiny octopus who latches onto a young beachgoer and refuses to let go.




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Filmmaker Animates 10,946 Doodles on Sticky Notes

Filmmaker Daren Jannace compiled and animated 10,946 doodles that he made on sticky notes, starting with 30 sticky notes per day in 2016.




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Fire crews on both U.S. coasts battle wildfires

Fire crews are battling small wildfires across the Northeast U.S. A blaze in New York and New Jersey killed a parks employee over the weekend and postponed Veterans Day plans. A quarter-inch of rain fell overnight from Sunday into Monday, giving a slight respite to firefighters. 




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Minnesota Lynx GM, associate head coach leave the WNBA team

General Manager Clare Duwelius is headed to Unrivaled, the new women’s three-on-three basketball league started by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. And associate head coach Katie Smith is headed to Ohio State, where she’ll be the assistant coach for the women’s basketball team.




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John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89

John Robinson, the veteran football coach who enjoyed many years of success at the University of Southern California and with the Los Angeles Rams, has died. He was 89.




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Minnesota Twins initiate front office transition with Falvey to president, Zoll to GM, St. Peter to adviser

The Minnesota Twins will promote Derek Falvey to president of baseball and business operations and Jeremy Zoll to general manager as part of a front office succession plan initiated by current club president Dave St. Peter’s move into a strategic adviser role. 




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Investigators believe Wisconsin kayaker faked his own death before fleeing to eastern Europe

Investigators say they believe a Wisconsin kayaker missing since mid-August faked his death before fleeing to Europe. 




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After conviction vacated, Marvin Haynes files claim for nearly $2M for wrongful incarceration

A Minnesota man who served nearly 20 years in prison before his murder conviction was vacated last year has filed a claim for nearly $2 million from the state.




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Denzel Washington details a retirement path that includes a role in 'Black Panther 3'

Denzel Washington is retiring after his next few projects, he said in a recent interview.




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Williams and Grant help Trail Blazers beat Timberwolves 122-108

Robert Williams and Jerami Grant each scored 19 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 122-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Naz Reid led Minnesota with 28 points in the loss while star guard Anthony Edwards pitched in 26 points.




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Tell us: What are your questions on how a 2nd Trump presidency may affect Minnesota?

Donald Trump has been declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election. Tell us what questions you have about how a second Trump presidency might affect Minnesota.




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Fireworks incident raises tensions in the Mankato Muslim community

After a tension filled day following an incident Sunday near the Mankato Islamic Center initially feared as an arson attack, the police have a more benign explanation, but anger remains.




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Minnesota DNR reports successful firearms deer hunting opening weekend

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said deer harvest numbers are up from last year, despite some poor weather on the second day.




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Olympic champion wrestler Gable Steveson ends retirement, returns to University of Minnesota

Wrestler Gable Steveson, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, is coming out of retirement. Steveson will compete for the University of Minnesota for a fifth and final season. 




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‘It’s the best week’: After being wrongly incarcerated, a Minnesota man is now free

Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was wrongly convicted in 2009 and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2008 murder of Jesse Mickelson in Minneapolis. 




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Minneapolis punk show mass shooting victims react as teen takes plea deal

Cyrell Boyd is headed to treatment at the Red Wing juvenile facility for his role in the Nudieland shooting in August 2023. At a hearing Tuesday, victims spoke to him about the shooting’s impact.




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Theft of the blog: Yes, there is a real Bob Collins. This is what he’s like

Collins vowed to not write a goodbye post. We're not sure if's staying true to that, so here comes old friend Tom Weber "to sing a little on behalf of a friend who’s made immeasurable contributions to MPR and Minnesota."




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Something Wild: Olfactory Hues

We know…we’ve been remiss, and it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Something Wild, as you know, is a chance to take a closer look at the wildlife, ecosystems and marvelous phenomena you can find in and around New Hampshire. But over the years there is one species in New Hampshire that we haven’t spent much time examining. A species, I think that has been conspicuous in its absence. Humans. So we’re grabbing the bull by the horns and digging in to a complex species that is an important part of the ecosystem. And we thought we’d start with a particular trait that’s been with us almost since the beginning: olfaction.




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Something Wild: The Judas Trees

It's late August, and the leaves are already starting to change. And that flush of red you’re seeing likely comes from the red maple , also known as “swamp” or “soft maple”. It's an adaptable tree renowned for signaling an impending autumn, and has even earned the dubious nickname: “Judas Tree” – for betraying these late summer days. Red maples are common in New Hampshire’s young forests, especially in areas prone to natural disturbances such as flooding in wetlands, along rivers -- and by human disturbances, too. A nd while forest ecologists believe these trees are increasing as a percentage of our forests, red maples are still considered a minority species, adding diversity to overall forest composition.




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Something Wild: Boom & Bust Cycles

This episode of Something Wild was produced by Andrew Parrella: The number of acorns a tree produces in a given year has to do with masting. Not mast like on tall ships, but mast as in masticate, or to chew and it refers to the fruit, seeds or nuts that trees produce and are in turn fodder for animals. Especially in New Hampshire, oak mast follows a boom or bust cycle, which means the amount of acorns varies from year to year. Over time, evolution has favored the oak trees that demonstrate this boom or bust cycle. This keeps seed consumers off balance and that's actually a good thing. If there were the same amount of acorns every year, there would be just enough mice and turkey and deer and others to consume every single acorn. However, by producing very few acorns a couple of years running, they starve the animals and the populations of seed predators crash. Then, the oak has a boom year and there aren't enough animals to eat them all, which allows some of those acorn to become trees.




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Something Wild: Life After Death in NH Forests

Standing dead trees (often called snags) are common in our forests, and it’s hard to overstate just how vital a role they play in a healthy ecosystem. These gray ghosts provide food and shelter for a whole heap of forest critters; a total of 43 species of birds and mammals are specially adapted to nesting or denning inside tree cavities. But before a dead tree becomes a high-rise condo for a long list of species, it first undergoes a remarkable transformation. In fact, snags undergo a series of changes, from the time they begin to die until they finally collapse, and each stage of decay has particular value to a whole host of different animals with unique needs. First things first: decaying wood is perfect for fungi -- molds, mildews and mushrooms -- decomposers that soften wood enough for insects to start to gnaw their way in. Next, termites, beetles, and ants all begin to chew apart and break down the cellulose and lignin that gives wood its normally rigid structure. And once you




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Something Wild: How Trees Survive Winter

Here at Something Wild , we don’t have a problem with winter. Aside from the snow and the cold and the freezing rain…okay, maybe we have a couple issues. But we have sweaters and hot cocoa and Netflix. Trees, however, do not. As the snow piles up, you may see trees bent over with their crowns nearly touching the ground, leafless and haggard. They can’t escape or hide from the cold, so how do trees survive? Just like any living thing, trees have adapted over time to deal with the range of environmental conditions thrown their way. In this case, freezing rain, ice-loading, or heavy wet snow. Trees that aren’t adapted to survive periodic ice loading don’t live here. Some trees (like pine or spruce) simply bend or fold branches to shrug off snow. Other trees (like oaks) try to stand rigid and inflexible. Stout oaks and sugar maples are famous for big heavy branches that don’t break. On the other hand, branches of beech and red maple tend to break apart under heavy snow loads. Most of our




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Something Wild: N.H.'s Wildest Neighborhoods

Here at Something Wild, we love all things wild (even blackflies !) but sometimes it can be helpful to look beyond a single species and consider how many species interact within a given environment. In our periodic series, New Hampshire’s Wild Neighborhoods, we endeavor to do just that and this time we’re looking at peatlands.




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13 states will have women governors next year, a new record

Republican Kelly Ayotte's victory in New Hampshire will bring the total number of women holding governor’s offices to 13 — surpassing the previous high of 12 set in 2023.




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These charts show how Trump's strategy to lose by less won the swing states

President-elect Donald Trump won the election by flipping Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin after President Biden won them in 2020. Looking at how Democratic counties voted explains how he did it.




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Sherburne County will pay for recount of election results in close races

County officials say a damaged or uncleared memory card did not fully collect and transmit results from some mail-in ballots to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office on election night. That led to the state website displaying inaccurate unofficial results for Sherburne County.




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Trump names Stephen Miller to be deputy chief of policy in new administration

Donald Trump is naming longtime adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hard-liner, to be the deputy chief of policy in his new administration. The announcement was first reported by CNN on Monday.




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Biden's White House invitation to Trump continues a tradition Trump shunned in 2020

Before he comes back for good on Inauguration Day, Donald Trump will return to the White House briefly at the invitation of President Joe Biden.




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Trump plans to revoke many Biden policies. Where does that leave marijuana?

The president-elect recently affirmed that he supports legalizing marijuana for recreational use. His stance means cannabis could be a rare issue on which Trump carries a Biden policy forward.