U.S. Briefs: Minnesota House deal ends a Democratic boycott

Minnesota

Minnesota legislators on Feb. 5 agreed to a power-­sharing scheme meant to end a three-week Democratic boycott and allow the state House of Representatives to resume business. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party caucus walked out Jan. 14 when Republicans tried to open the new session with one House seat vacant. Voters elected 67 Republicans and an equivalent number of Democrats, but House rules require 68 members be present to form a quorum. Republicans challenged the November election results in two races, forcing an upcoming special election in March for the vacated seat and a court battle over the other. When a county judge ruled mail-in ballot irregularities didn’t affect election results in the second race, House Republicans still threatened not to seat DFL Rep. Brad Tabke, leading to the boycott. A Democrat is expected to win the special election in March, which, under the new agreement, will trigger an arrangement giving the two parties equivalent committee members. Republicans control the speaker of the House position and elected Lisa Demuth, the first black woman to hold the job in Minnesota. Democrats have a one-vote margin in the Senate and control the executive branch. —Todd Vician

Factbox Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Governors Association, U.S. Senate, MN.gov, and World Atlas

Texas 

The city of San Antonio stopped accepting arrivals at its Migrant Resource Center Feb. 3. City officials said the number of migrants needing assistance declined significantly in late 2024 and averaged just 12 a day in the last week of January after President Donald Trump took office. The center opened in July 2022 as a temporary stop for up to 600 migrants awaiting transportation to other U.S. cities after being apprehended by border authorities. More than 640,000 migrants have passed through the center, airport, or Greyhound bus station since January 2021. The number of known migrants arriving in San Antonio dropped more than 70 percent between January 2024 and January 2025. Catholic Charities of San Antonio helped run the resource center, which cost about $1 million a month and was federally funded. —Todd Vician

Arizona

The three largest ­utility companies in the Grand Canyon State on Feb. 5 announced a joint endeavor to supply more electricity to customers via nuclear reactors. Combined, Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power serve some 3 million customers, but the need for power continues to grow. Amid sweltering temperatures that soared above 110 degrees last August, two of the companies set records for peak electricity demand. The three utilities have applied for a Department of Energy grant and hope to explore potential sites for small modular reactors and large reactors within a three-year period. A little more than a quarter of the state’s energy already comes from nuclear power, supplied by the Palo Verde Generating Station. —Bekah McCallum

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District of Columbia 

Federal investigators in early February continued to review evidence and testimony in an effort to understand what caused a deadly collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River on Jan. 29. Evidence showed the chopper turned off a common safety feature that shared an aircraft’s location with air traffic control towers, said Sen. Ted Cruz after a National Transportation Safety Board briefing on Feb. 6. The three soldiers in the helicopter were on a training mission at the time of the accident, which killed 67 people. Preliminary evidence from the cockpit voice recordings suggested the helicopter pilots were wearing night vision goggles. Records also showed the military aircraft was flying at a 300-foot altitude despite the area’s 200-foot restriction. Cruz emphasized the need to update airport technology, saying that towers responsible for directing air traffic still use paper strips and floppy disks. Until transportation officials finish a preliminary investigation, helicopters are being restricted from entering airspace around the Potomac between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Wilson Bridge. —Christina Grube

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New York

State lawmakers on Feb. 5 announced a bill that would cut widely used food additives and chemical dyes from the state’s food chain and require food companies to disclose potentially harmful ingredients that were previously labeled as “generally recognized as safe.” The Food Safety and Chemical Disclosure Act would ban potassium bromate, propylparaben, and the food coloring known as Red No. 3. It would also prohibit the sale in schools of foods containing synthetic colorants Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. The bill comes on the heels of increased scrutiny of food additives and synthetic food dyes that recent studies have linked to cancer, behavioral health problems, and other health concerns. In January, the Food and Drug Administration revoked its authorization of Red No. 3, which gives food and drinks a bright red cherry color but has been linked to cancer in animals. Similarly, California has enacted a string of restrictions in recent years on food dyes and additives. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has called for removing chemical dyes from cereal and claimed food additives are “poisoning” Americans. —Mary Jackson

Factbox Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Governors Association, U.S. Senate, and World Atlas

Ohio

The city of Springfield filed a federal lawsuit Feb. 6 against the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe. According to the Anti-Defamation League, which represents the city in the action, Blood Tribe engaged in a months-long campaign of harassment and intimidation against the city of Springfield, its officials, and residents beginning last July. Blood Tribe members allegedly coordinated the effort in response to what they deemed an “invasion” of Haitian immigrants. Some 15,000 Haitians, many in the country legally due to Temporary Protected Status, have poured into Springfield in the last five years. Blood Tribe’s initial activity—marching with swastika flags, brandishing weapons, and yelling racial slurs—allegedly grew to include hostile social media posts and harassing voicemails. The city received at least 33 bomb threats. In a statement, Mayor Rob Rue said Springfield wouldn’t allow groups like Blood Tribe to terrorize its residents. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial on nine counts, including conspiracy to violate civil rights, telecommunications harassment, and infliction of emotional distress. —Kim Henderson