Oil giant BP PLC laid much of the blame for the rig explosion and the massive Gulf of Mexico spill on itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures in an internal report released Wednesday before a key piece of evidence has been fully analyzed.

The state's two biggest counties approved tax levy ceilings for 2011. In Hennepin County, the vote was partly a pushback against Pawlenty's cuts to state aid.

Seeking to give anxious Democrats a boost ahead of the November elections, President Barack Obama is pitching a trio of economic initiatives Wednesday and voicing unwavering opposition to Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthy.

A yearling bear wearing a radio collar with bright pink ribbons has been killed near Ely, one of 14 similarly bedecked bears being studied by researcher Lynn Rogers.

It's the latest bank accused of forcing customers to pay unnecessary fees by how it clears checks.

Another sure sign of the waning of summer in Minnesota: The Department of Natural Resources has begun posting its fall color reports.

A man from Perham, Minn., was killed Tuesday afternoon when his car was broadsided by a semitrailer truck in rural Itasca County.

Milk from Mike Hartmann's farm was linked to an E. coli outbreak earlier this year.

The Elk River school board did not reveal specifics of its decision, citing privacy issues, but assured more than 100 parents and boosters that the coaches would be on the field for Friday night's game against Rogers.

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Signs of Asian carp in Chicago waterways mean there's a great risk the invasive fish could slip into Lake Michigan at any time, a witness said Tuesday in the first full day of testimony in a five-state lawsuit.