Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone conversation Wednesday, their first known contact since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago.

The phone call, which officials said lasted nearly an hour, was seen as a significant development in efforts to resolve the war. It comes two months after Beijing, which has long been aligned with Russia, said it wanted to act as a mediator in the conflict and after Xi visited Moscow last month.

Geraldine Tyler, now 94, lost her one-bedroom condo in Minneapolis over $2,300 in unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties. Hennepin County sold the apartment for $40,000 and kept every penny.

Tyler’s lawyers say the county violated constitutional protections against having property taken without “just compensation” and excessive fines. The Supreme Court, which hears arguments Wednesday, will decide.

The Minnesota House was considering a “red flag law” to allow the temporary confiscation of guns from people judged to be an immediate threat to themselves or others, as well as a proposal for expanded background checks for firearms transfers.

The two gun measures are part of a wide-ranging public safety bill that lawmakers debated late into the night Tuesday before breaking around midnight. A House Democratic Caucus spokesman said the debate was expected to resume Wednesday.

Sam Larson can be reached at lars4378@stthomas.edu.