Planned construction on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis starts this weekend with a full shutdown of the section between I-35W and Highway 280, reports MPR News. And various disruptions on that section of I-94 will be in place for the next several months. Via MinnPost

A Minneapolis man accused of shooting his neighbor has been found incompetent to stand trial, reports Bring Me The News. Via MinnPost

Space probe to map carbon content of world’s remotest tropical forests Revolutionary scanner to be fired into Earth orbit this month to measure effects of deforestation Robin McKie Science editor https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/05/space-probe-to-map-carbon-content-of-worlds-remotest-tropical-forests

Painkillers without the addiction? The new wave of non-opioid pain relief
Pharma firms are developing drugs that avoid the brain’s opioid receptors to minimise the risks of dependence and overdoses, but not all experts are convinced
Ayisha Sharma
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/05/painkillers-without-the-addiction-the-new-wave-of-non-opioid-pain-relief

‘My father’s death saved my life’: director Steve McQueen on grief, gratitude and getting cancer
After his dad died at 67, the 12 Years a Slave film-maker knew it was only a matter of time before he would get prostate cancer, too. The disease kills 12,000 men a year in the UK – a disproportionate number of them black. Now, in a bid to save lives, he is speaking out about his own diagnosis, alongside the doctors who successfully treated him
Simon Hattenstone
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/apr/05/my-fathers-death-saved-my-life-director-steve-mcqueen-on-grief-gratitude-and-living-with-cancer

Major endometriosis study reveals impact of gluten, coffee, dairy and alcohol
Edinburgh University report authors say dietary changes could benefit women living with the disease
Victoria Allen
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/05/major-endometriosis-study-reveals-impact-of-gluten-coffee-dairy-and-alcohol

Patwa is not ‘broken English’: the African ties that bind US and Caribbean languages
Centuries later, Jamaican Patwa and US Gullah Creole retain many Africanisms adopted from enslaved people
Zakiya McKenzie
https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/05/patwa-is-not-broken-english-the-african-ties-that-bind-us-and-caribbean-languages

‘Too sticky. Too saucy. Too weird’: could I persuade my son to eat the food of my heritage? Before she became a mother, Samantha Ellis secretly judged other parents who let their children subsist on white bread and pesto-pasta. And when her son was born she couldn’t wait to share the Iraqi Jewish food of her ancestors. Unfortunately, he had other ideas … Samantha Ellis https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/apr/05/too-sticky-too-saucy-too-weird-could-i-persuade-my-son-to-eat-the-food-of-my-heritagehttps://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/apr/05/too-sticky-too-saucy-too-weird-could-i-persuade-my-son-to-eat-the-food-of-my-heritage

The Christian right has set the US on the road to Gilead. Without a fight, other nations may follow
Deborah Frances-White
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/05/christian-right-us-gilead-roe-v-wade-europe-women-rights-abortion

George Santos prosecutors seek seven-year prison term for campaign fraud
Disgraced Republican congressman ‘made a mockery’ of election system and merits long sentence, US officials say
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/04/george-santos-prosecutors-campaign-fraud

Broken and in the grip of civil war, can Myanmar rebuild after earthquake?
The junta’s poor emergency response leaves people fearing prolonged chaos, despite the relentless propaganda
Rebecca Ratcliffe, Esther J and reporters in Mandalay and Sagaing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/05/myanmar-earthquake-rebuild-junta-civil-war

Los Angeles agrees to $4bn deal to settle thousands of sexual abuse claims
County’s offer – largest of its kind – would settle lawsuits filed over alleged abuse in juvenile facilities since 1959
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/04/los-angeles-sexual-abuse-claims-settlement

Former Washington archbishop Theodore McCarrick, defrocked over abuse allegations, dies aged 94
Most senior American prelate in Catholic church to face accusations of sexual abuse died in state of Missouri
Agence France-Presse
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/former-washington-archbishop-theodore-mccarrick-defrocked-over-abuse-allegations-dies-aged-94