>>The Latest

(Undated)  --  Here are the latest stories making news at this hour:  A van drives into a bench full of people at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.  A teen boy's hit by a driver in Burnsville.  Two people are in custody in connection to an assault near the University of St. Thomas campus.  And, Minnesota consumers are showing cautious optimism when it comes to spending.

>>Van Crashes Into Bench Full Of People At Airport

(Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN)  --  Officials at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport are investigating an incident, in which a van drove into a bench full of people yesterday.  The van from the Days Inn West Hotel reportedly jumped the curb and struck four people on the bench at the Lindberg Terminal.  The victims were taken to United Hospital, but their conditions have not been released. 

>>Burnsville Boy Hit By Driver

(Burnsville, MN)  --  A 16-year-old boy hit by a driver yesterday in Burnsville remains in the hospital.  The teen was on his way to look to at a bicycle that was for sale.  Shortly after he got out of his mother's car and attempted to cross the street, he did not see the oncoming car and was hit.  He was conscious and talking to officers who arrived on the scene, but was taken to a hospital due to possible  serious blunt-trauma injuries.  The driver will not be charged. 

>>Two Arrested For Assault And Robbery Near St. Thomas Campus

(St. Paul, MN)  --  Two people are in custody in connection to an assault near the University of St. Thomas campus.  St. Paul police say three suspects jumped a man at Mississippi River Boulevard and Summit Avenue and stole his cell phone and wallet Tuesday night.  The victim was treated and released from a hospital.  Police are still looking for the third suspect. 

>>Hospitals Make Proposal To Resume Talks With Nurses

(Minneapolis, MN)  --  Fourteen Twin Cities hospitals say they're willing to return to the bargaining table with the nurses union.  However, they also want the union to agree to a "no strike" pledge through July 31st in exchange for the hospitals promising not to lock-out nurses.  Nurses vote Monday on whether to call an open-ended strike sometime in the future.  That follows their one-day walkout last week.

>>State Jobless Rate Drops For Another Month

(St. Paul, MN)  --  There's a slight improvement in Minnesota's latest jobless numbers.  The rate for May was seven-percent, down from seven-point-two-percent in April.  The Department of Employment and Economic Development's Dan McElroy [[ MAC-uhl-roy ]] says employers added 56-hundred jobs last month.  McElroy says manufacturing jobs were added for the fifth consecutive month, while construction continued to weaken overall.  He says temporary jobs increased which is looked at as a confidence booster for the state's employment picture.

>>An Analyst's Take On Spending

(St. Paul, MN)  --  Minnesota consumers are showing cautious optimism when it comes to spending.  St. Thomas University's Dave Brennan tracks consumer and retail trends in Minnesota, and says people have been kept off balance by an up-and-down stock market.  But he says shoppers are confident enough to buy products they shunned during the worst of the recession, citing strong increases in car sales, home furnishings and electronics.  Brennan says the addition of more than ten-thousand jobs is a sign of slow but steady progress.