Space shuttle lands for last time

Space shuttle Atlantis is about to wrap up its flying career. Atlantis and its six-man crew are scheduled to land Wednesday morning in Florida and end NASA’s third-to-last shuttle flight. Mission Control says rain could interfere, however, and keep the shuttle in orbit an extra day.

Saudi company studies US addiction aid for Muslims

Alcohol is illegal in Saudi Arabia, so for those who suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, treatment is scarce and the stigma so great that most never talk about their addiction, even to close family members. Mohammed Al-Turaiki, the chief executive of the Saudi Care for Rehabilitation and Health Care in Riyadh, is trying to change the negative image of addiction by creating a network of treatment facilities in the oil-rich kingdom. He came to Brighton Hospital in Detroit to check out the facility and its treatment programs that have long have included the  region’s large Arab and Muslim population.

Still excited after 46 years on Lake of the Woods

Bill Mouw lived in northern Iowa, where the dirt was black and fertile, and the weather always had a helping hand on the plow. But his father thought Bill was wasting his time when he bought a farm near Baudette, one of the coldest frontiers in the Lower 48. Bill didn’t listen to his father. In 1966, he and his wife, Bette, bought a farm outside this small town on the Minnesota-Ontario border, then a second. They grew wheat, oats, flax and clover, and embraced the tight-knit community. There might have been another reason for the Mouws’ migration: Bill loves to fish.

Man charged in aiding suicides barred from Net

A former Minnesota nurse accused of going online and encouraging depressed people to kill themselves was ordered to stay off the Internet while his criminal case is pending. A judge on Tuesday also forbade William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, of Faribault, from leaving the state except for work assignments as a long-haul trucker, the career he took up after being stripped of his nursing license.

Teenager shows he’s ‘got Dylan’

How does it feel to be a Bob Dylan soundalike? Twenty performers gave it a shot Monday at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis to celebrate Dylan’s 69th birthday — including 14-year-old Max Etling, who won the informal contest last year.

Letters to governors could stir violence, FBI warns

The FBI is warning police across the country that an anti-government group’s call to remove governors from office could provoke violence. The group called the Guardians of the free Republics wants to “restore America” by peacefully dismantling parts of the government, according to its Web site. It sent letters to governors demanding they leave office or be removed.

Twins head for the great outdoors

Yes, Minnesota Twins games will again be an all-natural experience. After playing since 1982 on artificial turf covered by a gray ceiling held up by blasting air conditioners, the Twins have left the Metrodome for Target Field as the team’s 50th season in Minnesota begins. And that new-ballpark smell will come with a fully loaded lineup.

Twins’ Span hits mom with foul ball

In a shocking split-second, Twins centerfielder Span hit a hard foul ball that struck his mom in the upper chest Wednesday during a preseason game. She was treated by paramedics and back in the stands minutes later. “Tell everyone that I’m all right,” Wanda Wilson told The Associated Press.

WITH VIDEO

Pope’s Holy Thursday Mass dedicated to priests

ope Benedict XVI urged priests to oppose violence as he led a ceremony dedicated to the priesthood Thursday, marking Holy Week with his church buffeted by clergy sex abuse scandals in Europe. “As priests, we are called in fellowship with Jesus Christ, to be men of peace, we are called to oppose violence and trust in the greater power of love,” Benedict said in his Holy Thursday homily in St. Peter’s Basilica. He made no mention of the scandals, as some thought he might do on a day the church pays tribute to its priests.

Clinton to co-chair Haiti rebuilding authority

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will co-chair a committee overseeing at least $3.8 billion in post-quake aid to Haiti, the ravaged country’s prime minister said. The announcement was made ahead of a critical donors conference Wednesday at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Haitian officials will ask representatives from more than 130 countries for reconstruction help at the meeting chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former president’s wife, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

9th militia suspect to face charges

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the last of nine members of a Christian militia group charged with plotting to kill police will be arraigned Tuesdayi n a Detroit federal court. Spokeswoman Gina Balaya said 21-year-old Joshua Matthew Stone will face a hearing at 1 p.m. Stone peacefully surrendered Monday night in Hillsdale County’s Wheatland Township.

Obama to sign student loan legislation

President Barack Obama prepared Tuesday to sign the piece of his sweeping health care overhaul that makes the government the primary lender to students and strips banks of that power. Obama’s hard-fought legislative victory packaged two of his domestic priorities. Obama already signed the bulk of the health care legislation, but a final set of tweaks provided a route for the education package, the largest rewrite of federal college assistance programs in four decades.

Suicide bombings kill 37 on Moscow subway

Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up Monday in twin attacks on Moscow subway stations jam-packed with rush-hour passengers, killing at least 37 people and wounding 102, officials said. They blamed the carnage on rebels from the Caucasus region. The blasts come six years after Caucasus Islamic separatists carried out a pair of deadly Moscow subway strikes and raise concerns that the war has once again come to Russia’s capital, amid militants’ warnings of a renewed determination to push their fight.

Pope opens solemn Holy Week amid controversy

Pope Benedict XVI opened Holy Week on Sunday amid one of the most serious crises facing the church in decades, with questions about his handling of cases of pedophile priests and the Vatican acknowledging its “moral credibility” was on the line. Benedict made no direct mention of the scandal in his Palm Sunday homily. But one of the prayers, recited in Portuguese during Mass, was “for the young and for those charged with educating them and protecting them.” Jesus Christ, Benedict said in his homily, guides the faithful “toward the courage that doesn’t let us be intimidated by the chatting of dominant opinions, towards patience that supports others.”