Tom Scheck

The presidential candidate relied on grand juries to charge cops — seen today as avoiding accountability — and shied from getting between police and diverse communities during a violent time in Minneapolis.

Only 13 states are spending to stop vaping among teens. Others blame lack of funding, despite billions from the tobacco settlement over the years. Meanwhile, the FDA has begun to move against makers and sellers.

The departure of DJ Gribbin is the latest sign that the president's plan is going nowhere fast.

Pete Hegseth, a decorated Army veteran thought to be considered to run Veteran's Affairs, portrays himself as a defender of traditional family values despite extramarital affairs with co-workers and divorces.

Ethics experts are alarmed at the drumbeat of revelations about travel, business holdings and investments, warning that public trust and reliable government are at risk. A former ethics official asks: "If the boss doesn't care, why should you, then?"

Most of the 75 ships transport oil and gas products worldwide, presenting a conflict of interest for the commerce secretary as he negotiates trade deals. Records show 11 purchases since March. Ross has come under fire for not disclosing Russia-tied ship business and a U.S. senator wants an investigation.

The agreement with China will increase U.S. exports of liquid natural gas. Navigator Holdings, which could gain from increased drilling, has a business partnership with a Russian-owned firm and is partially owned by Ross via an offshore investment fund. For dealmaker Wendy Teramoto — Ross' chief of staff and Navigator board member at the time — it raises a conflict of interest.

With private money at a record level and projects ready to go, the president decides the partnerships are "more trouble than they're worth," leaving states to make their own deals with investors and to hope for federal funding.

After she was confirmed, the transportation secretary resigned from the board of Vulcan Materials but held on to deferred stock awards worth $300,000, an amount that could grow if Chao helps push an infrastructure bill through Congress.

Rural America, which supported Trump in the election, could be left out of water and road building investment as states and the president leverage private investment. Trump's plan offers little detail on federal spending and timing. Adding to the uncertainty, a presidential adviser has indicated that states should help themselves.

States, unions, presidential advisers and consultants flood the White House with proposals. The president's pledge to cut regulations and his condition for funding — "If you have a job that you can't start within 90 days ... it doesn't help us" — risks leaving critical construction and repair behind.

They claim their sons suffered injuries due to neglect, wrongful and careless conduct. The company says it was protecting its staff and other boys.

Findings released after investigation into charges of maltreatment, safety violations, poor supervision and training. Governor wants oversight system changed. The center closed June 30 after an investigation by APM Reports.

A Minnesota House committee moved to reduce severance payouts to political appointees after Gov. Mark Dayton gave $80,000 to three appointees.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a final report on the connection between hydraulic fracturing and contamination in drinking water. After stressing in June 2015 that there was no "widespread, systematic impact" on water, the agency now is emphasizing that fracking can affect drinking water under some circumstances.

Early versions highlighted contaminated drinking water and vulnerabilities from fracking. The final version turned out differently: Fracking had not "led to widespread, systemic impacts." Oil and gas cheered the findings.

Gov. Mark Dayton authorized nearly $80,000 in severance payments to three outgoing top officials, a departure from past practice and an action Republican lawmakers are criticizing.

Nearly two months after a juvenile correctional facility in northern Minnesota was closed, county officials found evidence of maltreatment in the actions of Mesabi Academy employees.

Families and counties are scrambling to place children after Mesabi Academy said it would close its doors June 30. Hennepin and Ramsey counties have sent more complaints about the correctional facility.

A flawed, confused system prevents judges, social services officials and guardians from discovering critical information about the condition of the residential treatment facilities regulated by the Department of Corrections. Mesabi Academy, scheduled to close next month, is a case study. Since opening in 1998, the juvenile correctional facility had been seen as a reliable jobs provider, receiving subsidies from government and tens of millions of dollars in loans from its parent. But attempts to sustain the business may have compromised resident and worker safety.

The decision to close Mesabi Academy raises short-term questions about where troubled boys will be sent but also longer-range questions about whether the state's system is sufficient.

The parent company of an Iron Range juvenile residential treatment center said it planned to close the facility by the end of next month. The decision came after several counties pulled residents and the state froze new admissions, actions that followed several APM Reports stories about Mesabi Academy.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections said the juvenile corrections facility agreed to suspend new admissions while an investigation proceeds into allegations of maltreatment.

DFL Sen. David Tomassoni, who represents the area that is home to Mesabi Academy, says agencies pulling boys from the facility are endangering jobs.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is removing five boys it has jurisdiction over at the Iron Range residential treatment facility Mesabi Academy. It also told other states with boys there of its action.