Franken 'Very Well Aware Of' NSA Tracking Phone Records
US Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., says he's not surprised by revelations that federal security agencies collect phone and computer data on American citizens.
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US Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., says he's not surprised by revelations that federal security agencies collect phone and computer data on American citizens.
Republican state Sen. Julianne Ortman says she is "seriously considering" a challenge to Sen. Al Franken next year. Ortman tells The Associated Press on Monday that it's a tough decision she'll make after discussions with her family and political advisors in the coming weeks. The state senator from Chanhassen has been discussed as a possible candidate but she had not publicly addressed the speculation until Monday.
Republican Mike McFadden, a political newcomer with a business background already being dissected, declared his candidacy Wednesday for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Minnesota Democrat Al Franken.
Driving yesterday I found myself suddenly, and very briefly, excited to see gas at $4.09 a gallon. Just the evening before, I had seen it at $4.39 a gallon. Then I got angry.
Senator Al Franken announced Friday that 16 Minnesota community health centers will be eligible to apply for more than $1.6 million in funds to help uninsured patients. According to Sen. Franken's office, the funds are a portion of the $150 million made available to help community health centers via the 2010 health reform law. Franken says community health centers regularly help uninsured citizens, and the funding will help them to continue their important work.
Consumers may not like it, but a lot of small businesses say it will help them survive. We're talking about state sales tax being applied to online purchases.
Rep. John Kline, the dean of Minnesota's GOP delegation in Congress, on Friday ruled out a bid for the U.S. Senate or governor next year, saying he wanted to make his intentions clear so other possible candidates will step forward.
Rep. John Kline has taken his name off the table for statewide office in Minnesota, but his House colleague Erik Paulsen isn't ready to do the same.
One in three women are assaulted by someone they know. Now the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act will help protect women in Minnesota.
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken says he's confident House lawmakers and President Obama will support repealing the medical device tax, a provision of the Senate budget passed last week.
Children of military families in Minnesota are being invited to enter Sen. Al Franken's second annual poetry contest.
Late Thursday night, former Senator Norm Coleman announced on Twitter that he will not run for public office next year.
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken says he thinks the Obama administration will soon release details of how states can provide health insurance to lower-income people as part of the federal healthcare overhaul.
Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman says he won't seek a rematch with Sen. Al Franken in 2014. Coleman tweeted word of his decision Wednesday, after it was first reported in the National Journal.
Three weeks after the elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn., Sen. Al Franken visited an Eagan middle school to discuss school safety and mental health issues.
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken is praising President Barack Obama's pick of former Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary.
In my inbox this morning I found this email from Al Franken for Senate 2014 campaign. Note the Senator's use of Mahnomen wild rice. Will other wild rice producers ask for a recipe recount?
Just in time for Thanksgiving, Sen. Al Franken and his wife Franni are offering their favorite holiday recipes.
The race for Minnesota's 6th District finds both Michele Bachman and Jim Graves taking nothing for granted the day before Election Day.
Opponents of Minnesota's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage are pushing to get out the vote as the race enters its pivotal final week.
Twelve days before the election, and tens of thousands of Minnesotans have already cast their ballots.
Sen. Al Franken says more than 123,000 Minnesotans are benefiting from insurance rebates under a provision he sponsored in the federal health law, even though some won't get checks in the mail.
Former President Bill Clinton joins a group of Minnesota political figures on Saturday to dedicate a memorial to the late Hubert H. Humphrey.
Gov. Mark Dayton is appealing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's denial of a request for federal aid to help northeastern Minnesota homeowners and businesses repair properties damaged in last month's floods.
Messy road conditions continue on Wednesday morning due to a winter storm that dropped plowable snow in parts of the state.
A winter storm that moved into Minnesota on Tuesday is wrapping up Wednesday morning after dropping several inches of snow on parts of the state.
The snow will wrap up on Wednesday morning as temperatures begin to fall, auguring a stretch of true winter cold.
Winter is well underway, and the wet, heavy snow is causing challenges for residents.
It's the time of year when we accumulate the most stuff. When we do, people often throw around the word "hoarding." But it turns out it's a frequently misunderstood term.
Messy road conditions continue on Wednesday morning due to a winter storm that dropped plowable snow in parts of the state.
A winter storm that moved into Minnesota on Tuesday is wrapping up Wednesday morning after dropping several inches of snow on parts of the state.
Winter is well underway, and the wet, heavy snow is causing challenges for residents.
The MSP Airport Police says it responded to the LSG Sky Chefs facility on the 3100 block of East 73rd Street just south of Terminal 2 shortly after 7:30 p.m.
The three-day music festival announced next year's lineup on Tuesday, which features headliners The Lumineers, Matchbox Twenty and The Strokes.
Messy road conditions continue on Wednesday morning due to a winter storm that dropped plowable snow in parts of the state.
A winter storm that moved into Minnesota on Tuesday is wrapping up Wednesday morning after dropping several inches of snow on parts of the state.
A 35-year-old southern Minnesota woman was hit and killed by a train on Monday afternoon, according to the Meeker County Sheriff's Office.
A growing list of Minnesota schools has decided to close or open late on Wednesday after a winter storm rolled through the state.
![A snowplow driver for MnDot plowed a stretch of north bound I-35 W south of Burnsville Parkway Wednesday January 25, 2017 in Lakeville, MN.] JERRY HOLT • jerry.holt@startribune.com](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/03/25/abafa994-6260-4a90-9daa-2b42c8a7cffb/thumbnail/640x360/485d0627749719a51fc5f97af79d54b4/gettyimages-1156592518.jpg#)
Brush off your best puns and defrost your pop culture references, because the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Name a Snowplow contest is back.
An FBI agent was the subject of a dramatic rescue from a car dangling over a Milwaukee interstate, all captured on bodycam video.
The crash happened at approximately 5:50 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 94 near Black River Falls, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol.
President Donald Trump's former attorney in battleground Wisconsin is alleging that a judge presiding over his case and that of two other Trump aides charged with felonies related to the 2020 election is guilty of misconduct and must step aside.
A new vision for passenger rail is on track in southeastern Wisconsin. The MARK Passenger Rail Commission held its inaugural meeting on December 5, 2025, at Racine City Hall.
A 28-year-old man has been accused of shooting a Superior, Wisconsin, police officer after crashing a van into a middle school on Sunday.
Firefighters are continuing a 44-year tradition that happens every year north of the Twin Cities.
It was a scary moment in the Twin Cities over the weekend, as a trailer hauling sled dogs turned over on Interstate 494 in Minnetonka.
On Sunday, members of Minnesota's Somali community spoke out against President Trump's social media post calling for an end to temporary protected status.
Two hundred Thanksgiving meals were distributed to this community by Second Harvest Heartland and the Thielen Foundation.
A Minnesota nonprofit is getting a major boost this week as dozens of college students spend their morning sorting donated shoes to support families in need.
President Trump said he would soon provide "one rulebook" for regulations, sparking some concern a move by the White House would upend individual states' efforts at putting safeguards around the technology.
President Donald Trump says he'll soon issue an executive order on artificial intelligence, which could impact some Minnesota laws already in place.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon on Tuesday announced his reelection campaign as he seeks a fourth term as the state's chief elections administrator.
President Trump spoke about affordability and his economic agenda in the Poconos, in northeastern Pennsylvania, Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump's former attorney in battleground Wisconsin is alleging that a judge presiding over his case and that of two other Trump aides charged with felonies related to the 2020 election is guilty of misconduct and must step aside.
The holidays are upon us, and in the town of Kellogg, Minnesota, you'll find a toy store unlike any other.
When we do winter weather stories, there's always that one line people use: cold, snow, ice — it's just what happens here. And this week, Ticket King president Michael Nowakowski said that same idea kind of applies to Minnesota Vikings ticket prices.
Thanksgiving is a big day for the farmers who raise the centerpiece of Americans' dinner tables on the last Thursday of November. But in Minnesota, the nation's top turkey producer, the work doesn't stop once the national holiday ends.
A family-owned Linden Hills bar and restaurant is closing its doors for Thanksgiving, but opening the kitchen for those who need it most.
On the eve of Thanksgiving, Sentyrz Liquor & Supermarket turned into holiday headquarters for last-minute shoppers.
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Minneapolis.
One person is dead and another was critically wounded in a shooting at Kentucky State University, officials said Tuesday.
It's been one year since Luigi Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
An 18-year-old man from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to his role in an assault during a high school basketball game in the Twin Cities.
A 21-year-old man has been accused of shooting at Bloomington, Minnesota, officers before they returned fire near the Mall of America on Wednesday.
It's the time of year when we accumulate the most stuff. When we do, people often throw around the word "hoarding." But it turns out it's a frequently misunderstood term.
Why do we have oily or dry skin? A dermatologist explains the root cause and how it can change over time.
Inspire Change Clinic opened its doors in Minneapolis with a simple mission: provide access to marginalized communities. On Thursday afternoon, the clinic should have been bustling with a waiting room filled with families. Instead, the clinic was empty.
Minnesotans who welcomed a child this year were able to start applying this week to the state's new paid family and medical leave program to take time off in 2026.
Cases always rise in colder months, with the use of furnaces and people working on gas motors in closed garages.
The three-day music festival announced next year's lineup on Tuesday, which features headliners The Lumineers, Matchbox Twenty and The Strokes.
Rod Stewart, one of the bestselling musicians of all time, is bringing his legendary voice and decades worth of hits to the Great Minnesota Get-Together in 2026.
Paramount Skydance's $30 per share offer comes just days after Netflix agreed to buy parts of Warner Bros. in a deal valued at nearly $83 billion.
The nominations for the 2026 Golden Globes have been announced. Here are the nominees.
President Trump is hosting the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday after presenting medals to the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees during an Oval Office ceremony Saturday.
Early in the winter season, there are always good nonconference matchups in Minnesota, including Friday, when the Chanhassen girls basketball team visited Blaine. Plus, see the results of other exciting prep games in Minneapolis, Shakopee, Andover and other areas in the state.
Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and two assists, and the Minnesota Wild scored three times in the third period to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' five-game winning streak was snapped by the Phoenix Suns on Monday night with a 108-105 defeat.
In her rookie season with Gotham FC, Khyah Harper was part of the club's third championship win last month, in a 1-0 shutout against the Washington Spirit.
In Minnesota, where ice is practically a birthright, one team has skated its way to national prominence.
Fear and uncertainty continue in Minnesota's Somali communities as ICE continues its intensified focus on the Twin Cities.
Opposition to ICE actions is widespread among Democratic elected officials throughout the state, though nowhere more than in Minneapolis, home to the state's largest Somali population.
Minnesotans who welcomed a child this year were able to start applying this week to the state's new paid family and medical leave program to take time off in 2026.
Minnesotans who welcomed a child in this year can start applying to the state's new paid family and medical leave program to take time off in 2026. In Talking Points, Esme Murphy spoke with Matt Varilek, the commissioner of the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development about the program's rollout and who qualifies for the program.
Minnesotans who welcomed a child this year were able to start applying this week to the state's new paid family and medical leave program to take time off in 2026.
The holidays are upon us, and in the town of Kellogg, Minnesota, you'll find a toy store unlike any other.
With the holidays fast approaching, and lutefisk on the menu for many families, one Minnesota town has the distinction of being called the "Lutefisk Capital of the Country."
How would you like to own a former Cold War missile site? In Dakota County, Minnesota, there's a one-of-a-kind property that could be yours for the right price.
It's a photograph found in homes across the country, and even overseas. The picture "Grace" shows a man bowing his head in prayer with food and what appears to be a Bible in front of him.
Fall harvest means barns across the Midwest are a busy place — but for a central Minnesota woman, they aren't just farm buildings, they're works of art.
It's the time of year when we accumulate the most stuff. When we do, people often throw around the word "hoarding." But it turns out it's a frequently misunderstood term.
Why do we have oily or dry skin? A dermatologist explains the root cause and how it can change over time.
It is the food that is top of mind right now, but did you know more turkeys come from Minnesota than anywhere else in the country?
Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnehaha, Minnetonka, Minnewaska, Minneota. Those are just some of the place names in "the Land of 10,000 Lakes" featuring "minne" as the first five letters.
As we approach Thanksgiving, we wanted to do a deep dive into gratefulness, and why it makes us feel better.
Minnesotans got a great view of the northern lights Tuesday night.
A look at the newest addition to the polar bear population at St. Paul, Minnesota's Como Zoo.
From food shelves to school programs, our team is proud to serve where it matters most.
The Minnesota State Fair has unveiled its new food, drinks and vendors for 2025.
A suspect was taken into custody after an attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on June 1 in which there were 15 people and a dog who were victims. The suspect threw Molotov cocktails that burned some of the victims, who were part of a march for Israeli hostages.
As a winter storm moves out, colder air will arrive behind it.
In Minnesota, weather can be all over the place. Here at WCCO, we want to give you what you need to prepare for what's happening next.
A winter storm that moved into Minnesota on Tuesday is wrapping up Wednesday morning after dropping several inches of snow on parts of the state.
The snow will wrap up on Wednesday morning as temperatures begin to fall, auguring a stretch of true winter cold.
The snow will wrap up on Wednesday morning as temperatures begin to fall, auguring a stretch of true winter cold.
A snowstorm has coated Minnesota’s roads, the state patrol is helping investigate a deadly crash at the airport and more.
As a winter storm moves out, colder air will arrive behind it.
If you still need to find the perfect present or just want to get into the holiday spirit, there is a spot you may want to check out.
The morning commute may be longer and more treacherous than normal after a snowstorm hit the Twin Cities, plus more headlines.
The snow will wrap up on Wednesday morning as temperatures begin to fall, auguring a stretch of true winter cold.