Duluth family finds bear cub trapped in basement — with mom outside

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers Top stories - Duluth family finds bear cub trapped in basement — with mom outside: [A bear cub trapped in a family’s basement]( was rescued by Duluth police after it entered through a broken window this past weekend. The cub was not entirely alone. Its mother was not so patiently waiting outside the home for it. - Lettuce E. coli outbreak reaches Minnesota: [Ten Minnesotans have been sickened]( and three hospitalized after eating romaine lettuce that has been linked to more than 100 E. coli infections across the country. - Minnesota House passes harsher penalties for freeway protests: Following an impassioned debate, [the House voted to make it a gross misdemeanor]( to participate in protests that block freeways, transit or airport roads, despite intense opposition from DFLers. - Food shelf visits reach record high in Minnesota: Minnesotans visited food shelves [a record 3.4 million times in 2017](, more often than even during the Great Recession, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Human Services analyzed by the nonprofit Hunger Solutions. - Want to skip the SAT? More Minnesota universities to offer "test optional" admissions: Starting next year, [high school students will no longer have to worry]( about taking the ACT or SAT tests to get into two liberal arts colleges in the Twin Cities. - North Korea releases 3 U.S. detainees, Trump says: [Three Americans detained in North Korea]( for more than a year are on their way back to the U.S. with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday in the latest sign of improving relations between the two longtime adversary nations. - Iran lashes out at U.S. on nuclear deal: Iran's supreme leader chastised President Trump on Wednesday over [his decision to pull America out of the 2015 agreement]( that imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of most U.S. and international sanctions. The decision to withdraw from the agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration and included Germany, France and Britain, threatens to [deepen U.S. isolation in the international community.]( - Firm tied to Russian oligarch, other companies made payments to Trump attorney: A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress [received payments totaling more than $1 million]( from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews. - CIA nominee says "tough lessons" learned from brutal interrogations: President Trump's nominee to be CIA director [said Wednesday that she does not believe torture works]( and she would not carry out any presidential order she thought was immoral. Facing tough questioning by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gina Haspel said her "moral compass is strong." - Best Buy gets new logo, marketing campaign focused on blue-shirt experts: [The first refresh of the logo]( in nearly three decades is part of a new marketing strategy as the Richfield-based electronics chain increasingly focuses not just on products and prices, but also the value espoused by its Best Buy 2020 strategy: helping improve customers’ lives through technology.  Watch this The Rube Goldberg machine to end all Rube Goldberg machines: Designer Joseph Herscher says [he spent three months building this food-powered contraption]( in his Brooklyn apartment, and when you watch the video it's easy to see why it took so long. If you liked that, Herscher made [a second video detailing how he put it all together](.  Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](.  Trending - New, improved Mortimer's touts pinball, cocktails, live music: [Inside the remade Mortimer’s]( — a dive bar that has rooted the corner of Lyndale and Franklin in south Minneapolis for decades — patrons still gather with beer at early hours. Pinball machines still illuminate the walls with bright blinking lights. But the term “hole in the wall,” used liberally in the bar’s former life, no longer applies. - "Bill & Ted" returning to the big screen: [Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will reprise their roles]( as Theodore “Ted” Logan and “Bill” S. Preston Esq. in “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” the third film in the franchise. - University of Florida puts aggressive graduation usher on leave: The University of Florida has [placed a lecturer who shoved and grabbed students]( during a graduation ceremony on paid administrative leave. University President W. Kent Fuchs said in a statement that the school "failed" to create a commencement atmosphere where all students could celebrate equally.  Sports roundup - MLB cracks down on Twins, other teams over shoe-color policy: The Twins, like the other 29 MLB teams, received a warning memo from the commissioner’s office in late April, [reminding players of the rules about footwear](, and warning them they might begin fining violators after May 1. - Murphy looked into NBA, decided to return to Gophers: Jordan Murphy’s name cannot be found among the 21 Big Ten non-seniors officially listed as declaring early for the 2018 NBA draft. The Gophers forward decided not to submit his name this spring following his All-Big Ten junior season. [But Murphy did stick his toe in the NBA waters.]( - Schara family comes together for fishing openers: Ron Schara, host of TV’s “Minnesota Bound” and retired Star Tribune outdoors columnist, announced Sunday that he — the kid from Postville, Iowa, whose broadcasting sidekick was Raven, a black Labrador retriever — was retiring again. Taking over Schara’s hosting duties will be his daughter, Laura, and Bill Sherck, both of whom are “Minnesota Bound” regulars. What won’t change is Schara’s fishing opener celebration, which, as it is for many Minnesotans, [is a family affair.](  Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](.  Quote of the day “I’ll just express myself through arm sleeves and batting gloves, I guess.” -- [Twins first baseman Logan Morrison](, on Major League Baseball's threatened crackdown on players who violate shoe-color rules.  Worth a click Why alligators, whales and other large animals are reclaiming their habitats: Large predators are recolonizing places they inhabited before humans took over — [and it isn't just to find food](, National Geographic reports.  From the archives May 9, 1988: Workers install the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which opened to the public four months later. 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