After losing business in riots, Minneapolis restaurant owner's van stolen outside home

 Minneapolis business owner Ruhel Islam is trying to remain positive through challenging times.

The Bangladeshi immigrant watched his restaurant, Gandhi Mahal, go up in flames during the rioting and unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd.

A social media post from Islam and his daughter in the aftermath grabbed attention far and wide when he wrote, "let my building burn. Justice needs to be served."

As he attempts to rebuild the now demolished site on East Lake Street - turning it into a community gathering space and garden - he quickly set up a scaled back restaurant less than two miles away. Curry in a Hurry is open for takeout, delivery, catering, and the summer patio season. 

Florida man tries to throw live gator onto building's roof

A Florida man told police officers he was "teaching it a lesson" when he tried to throw a live alligator he had stolen from a miniature golf course onto the roof of a beachside cocktail lounge, authorities said.

The 32-year-old man was arrested early Thursday when Daytona Beach Shores police officers spotted him attempting to throw the gator onto the roof of a cocktail lounge located just off Highway A1A, according to a police report.

The officers then saw the man take the alligator by its tail, hit it against the awning of the building, throw it to the ground and stomp on it twice, the report said.

The man from Homestead, Florida was taken into custody and charged with possession and injury of an alligator, unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling, theft and criminal mischief.

Judge delays sentencing after twists in Mollie Tibbetts case

A judge on Wednesday delayed sentencing for the man convicted of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts after defense lawyers said they needed time to investigate new information pointing to other potential suspects.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 27, was scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday before his lawyers revealed newly obtained information that they say calls his guilt into question.

Judge Joel Yates ruled Wednesday the sentencing would be delayed until after he holds hearings on the defense's requests to compel prosecutors to release information about other suspects and to order a new trial. Yates said he would hold the first hearing Thursday at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma and set a later date for the hearing on a new trial.

Prosecutors remain confident in Bahena Rivera’s guilt and were expected to respond in court filings later Wednesday, state attorney general’s office spokesman Lynn Hicks said.

U.S. District Court vacates sentence for ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic, orders resentencing

 The U.S. 10th District Court has ordered Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic, be resentenced following his conviction in the murder-for-hire plot of Big Cat Rescue’s Carole Baskin.

According to court documents, the judge affirmed Maldonado-Passage’s conviction but has decided to vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

In 2018, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as “Joe Exotic” and former owner of the Greater Wynnewood Animal Park, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of murder-for-hire.

Prosecutors say Maldonado-Passage gave a person $3,000 to travel from Oklahoma to Florida to carry out the murder of big cat activist Carole Baskin and “allegedly agreed to pay thousands more after the deed,” said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma.

DFL chair says he's 'disappointed' Rep. Thompson accused St. Paul police of racial profiling

The DFL Party chairman issued a statement Sunday evening in response to the latest controversy surrounding Rep. John Thompson.

Thompson made headlines recently after he accused a St. Paul police officer of racial profiling during a traffic stop. According to a police report, the St. Paul representative was pulled over on July 4 for driving without a front license plate. 

St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell responded to Thompson's acusations, saying the traffic stop had nothing to do with race after watching a video of the encounter. He also asked Thompson for an apology.

In a statement, DFL Chairman Ken Martin said he was "disappointed" in Thompson's claims.

City council denies new liquor license for Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville

The Lakeville City Council moved to deny a new liquor license for Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville.

The bar and restaurant previously had its liquor license suspended for violating COVID-19 restrictions in December and was found in contempt of court for repeated violations in January.

The Minnesota Department of Health then filed a lawsuit also in January for operating without a license.

The city filed documents this month that indicated Jose Colon entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Alibi Drinkery from previous owners Lisa Zarza and Ricardo Baldazo. Colon said Michelle Rene would continue managing the business as Rene had done since it was opened. 

'I Will Never Recover From This Heartbreak': Brianna McNeal Loses Appeal of Five-Year Suspension

After qualifying at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month, Brianna McNeal should be defending her 100-meter hurdles championship in Tokyo later this month. But due to a brazen lack of compassion on behalf of governing bodies for the Olympic Games, she won’t get the chance.

On Friday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied the 29-year-old gold medalist’s appeal of a five-year ban for violating anti-doping policies. The ban, which was placed upon McNeal last month, initially stemmed from her missing a doping test in January 2020. McNeal explained to The New York Times that she missed the test because she was recovering from a recent abortion.

Judge rules Minneapolis must hire more police officers to abide by city charter

A Hennepin County judge has ruled that the city of Minneapolis must hire more police officers to abide by its charter.

On Thursday, Judge Jamie Anderson granted a Writ of Mandamus sought by Minneapolis residents.

According to the city's charter, it must fund a police force of at least .0017 employees per resident. City attorneys argued the charter refers to the most recent decennial census, which would still be the 2010 census. However, the filing states attorneys for both the petitioners and the city agreed to have the court use the census's 2019 population estimate of 429,606.

Additionally, the city said it's projected to have 649 sworn officers by Jan. 1, 2022.

In her decision, Anderson said the Minneapolis residents were able to prove that the city's rising crime rate was caused by a lack of officers and also led to personal injury to them. The filing states one of the petitioners was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and had their house shot twice. Anderson also determined the residents didn't have any other course of action to solve the lack of officers, as they wrote a letter to the interim city attorney and received a response saying the city doesn't have to have all of the police positions filled at once.