Take a peek inside the ornate "retiring room" at center of Minnesota House controversy

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers Top stories - Take a peek inside the ornate "retiring room" at center of Minnesota House controversy: The lavish oak paneling, fireplace and antique furniture of the exclusive room just off the House floor, inside the State Capitol, evoke an earlier era: Men — and only men — sipping brandy and discussing important Minnesota matters as smoke twirls to the high, decorative ceiling. [Don't miss the photo gallery and 360-degree video]( inside the room. - Trump defends U.S. missile attack in Syria: President Donald Trump cast [the U.S. assault on a Syrian air base]( as vital to deter future use of poison gas and called on other nations to join in seeking "to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria." The U.S. blasted the air base Thursday night with a barrage of cruise missiles in retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians. World leaders and U.S. lawmakers [rallied around Trump's surprise decision to launch the strike](, though Russia, one of Syrian President Bashar Assad's most important patrons, condemned the move as an act of "aggression." Some vocal Republicans and Democrats are [reprimanding the White House for launching the attack]( without first getting congressional approval. [MSNBC host Brian Williams is under fire](, again, for waxing poetic about what he called "beautiful pictures" of U.S. missiles launching during an attack on a Syrian air base. - Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court: The Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch to become [the newest associate justice on the Supreme Court]( Friday, elevating President Trump's nominee following a corrosive partisan confrontation that could have lasting impacts for the Senate and the court. Gorsuch's confirmation gives Trump — the first truly outsider president in recent memory — his first major legislative achievement. [And it's also a victory for the insiders.]( - 4 dead, including suspect, after overnight St. Paul shooting: [Three people were fatally shot and a fourth victim was critically injured]( in an early morning shooting at an apartment building in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood, with one suspect in custody and another suspect dead, police said. A toddler also was taken from the building on the 1600 block of English Street. - Minnesota woman takes on North Pole after conquering Antarctica marathon: Lisa Richardson loves marathons so much [she’s going to the ends of the earth to run them.]( - Minneapolis parents ditch test score info for other factors: As parents scour Minneapolis’ schools for the best fit for their children, more of them are turning to factors like after-school opportunities and student body makeup than even schoolwide test scores, according to results from [a recently released school district survey.]( - Surly goes retro with 12-ounce cans: The Minneapolis-based beer maker is in the process of installing new equipment that will allow it to pack beer in [either the new 12-ounce cans or the 16-ounce cans]( familiar to its fans. - Last tenants forced out at Park Laurel in Minneapolis: The remaining tenants at the Park Laurel apartments, one of the last affordable spots for low-income renters in downtown Minneapolis, [have been forced to leave after the city condemned the buildings]( late last month. - Hijacked truck crashes into Stockholm store in terror attack: A hijacked beer truck crashed into an upscale department store in central Stockholm on Friday, killing at least two people, according to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, [who called the crash a terror attack.]( Watch this - Legendary insult comic Don Rickles dies at 90: For more than half a century, [Rickles headlined casinos and nightclubs]( from Las Vegas to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and livened up late-night talk shows. No one was exempt from Rickles' insults, not fans or presidents or such fellow celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Johnny Carson. [You can watch a highlight reel of Rickles' greatest burns here.]( Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to talkers@startribune.com. Trending - Brandi Carlisle, Walk the Moon to headline Basilica Block Party: The Shins, the Albuquerque indie heroes who just dropped their first album in five years, and Awolnation, Aaron Bruno’s eclectic rockers, [will headline the church stage.]( - A Burger Friday home run for Red Cow at Target Field: The burger-centric local chain rises to the occasion [by offering baseball fans a trio of options](: a turkey burger (two enthusiastic thumbs up), a double-decker beef burger garnished with blue cheese and sweet-spicy apricot/black pepper jam (clever), and the best-in-show entry, a well-packaged spin on the classic California-style burger accurately dubbed “the Ultimate.” - These restaurants are donating profits to aid Somalia today: As the humanitarian crises in Somalia and other parts of east Africa worsen, a group of Twin Cities restaurateurs are collaborating to help raise awareness and ease the struggle. [Here's a list of the 45 local eateries]( donating a percentage of their profits to the effort today. Sports roundup - What it looks like when your team gets swept by the Twins: The 'Royals internet' didn't take kindly to its team playing putrid baseball and [getting swept by the Twins this week.]( - "Obviously what I did was stupid," Vikings QB Heinicke says: Taylor Heinicke is currently better known for a kick than a throw, which is something the [third-year Vikings quarterback is looking to change this year](. - UMD defeats Harvard to reach Frozen Four title game: The victory sends the Bulldogs to their third championship game — their first since the 2011 team brought home the program’s lone title. [They will face NCHC rival Denver on Saturday.]( Quote of the day “Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on its end of the agreement.” -- [Secretary of State Rex Tillerson](, on Russia's role overseeing the elimination of Syria's chemical weapon stockpile. Worth a click A nutritional guide for cannibals: James Cole, an archaeologist at the University of Brighton, published a study yesterday comparing the nutritional value of human beings (because some of our early ancestors were cannibals) and other food sources, like mammoths and woolly rhinos. The Verge took [the next logical step and diagrammed the nutritional information]( of various body parts (unsurprisingly, thighs, upper arms and calves have the most calories). Hopefully, this is knowledge you will never need to use. But if you ever find yourself in a desperate survival situation, it could come in handy. Talkers trivia Want to win a Star Tribune travel mug? Today is Friday, so it's time for a trivia question. The correct answer can be found in a story that appeared in Talkers this week. We can't prevent you from simply Googling the answer, so Googling is encouraged! E-mail your answer to talkers@startribune.com by midnight on Sunday night. A winner will be selected at random from the correct responses. That lucky reader will receive an official Star Tribune travel mug, as well as a shout-out in Monday's newsletter. Here is this week's question: A British vigilante is going around the city of Bristol correcting what? Good luck! From the archives April 7, 1989: These students were excused from classes at Shanley High School in Fargo, N.D., to help place sandbags along the Red River after radio stations broadcast a call for more volunteers to help with the sandbagging in Fargo and Moorhead, Minn. 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