Public pressure for a special session on gun control is mounting — the latest lobbying effort coming from nearly three dozen clergy members who gathered Wednesday at the state Capitol, imploring Gov. Tim Walz to make the call.

The clergy members’ plea follows similar pleas from Annunciation Catholic Church and School parents and doctors who cared for victims of the deadly shooting on Aug. 27 in Minneapolis.

Clergy members also delivered a letter to Walz’s office asking him to immediately call a special legislative session to pass a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Organizers said the letter was signed by 750 faith leaders across 60 counties.

Melissa Pohlman, a pastor at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis, said she was at the Capitol praying because “prayer moves us to action.”

Pohlman said that when she pulled out her suit for the event, she remembered the last time she had worn it was for the funeral of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were slain on June 14 in their suburban Minneapolis home. Vance Boelter, 57, is facing state and federal murder charges.

“That’s not OK. This isn’t what I should have to pull my suit out for every time. None of us are immune to gun violence, so today, we call on our elected officials to join us in making real change,” she said.

Melissa Pohlman, pastor at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, calls on Minnesota leaders to pass gun reform on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at the state Capitol in St. Paul. Mary Murphy / Forum News Service

At an unrelated Capitol news conference where he got flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, Walz said “nothing has changed” and that it’s “hard to tell” how likely it is that a special session will happen.

“I need to get an agreement on this. If we’re going to hold a special session on safety of our children and safety of our streets … we need to talk about guns,” he said. “If the folks who hold veto power over this — which they do because of the (narrowly divided partisan) makeup of the Legislature — if they say, ‘That’s not going to happen,’ calling a special session is going to be a waste of money and a waste of time.”

Walz has previously indicated a desire to call a special session even if no agreement had emerged.

“I feel a sense of urgency, I think Minnesotans feel a sense of urgency,” he said on Sept. 9. “The public is asking us to do something. … I will call the special session one way or another.”

On Wednesday, Walz said that it’s standard practice to go into a special session with a plan for the scope of bills the Legislature will take up, and that Republicans have not conceded to putting firearms restrictions on the agenda; rather, the caucus prefers a focus on school security and mental health resources. But he said he doesn’t need Republicans to agree with an assault weapons ban, just for them to agree to vote on it.

“I don’t know how many times I can stress it. If you believe getting rid of those weapons is a bad idea, then you should be proudly on the board upstairs, voting ‘no,’ ” he said.

The Rev. Laura Laughlin with the Crown of Glory Church in Chaska said she remains hopeful despite the gridlock.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have hope in our leadership, and I think to not have hope means that we’ve lost all direction,” she said.

The Wednesday gathering was part of a “Seven Days of Prayer and Action” initiative. Through Oct. 14, congregations plan to lead public prayer at noon each day at the Capitol. This Saturday, prayer will be held virtually to allow for statewide participation, organizers said.

More Annunciation victims

Meanwhile Wednesday, law enforcement updated the victim count from the Annunciation shooting from 23 to 30.

Minneapolis police said in a statement that investigators have learned of victims who were brought to hospitals privately, and many had wounds from shrapnel that were discovered later.

One of the 30 victims, a child, suffered injuries that were not from gunfire; 29 others — 26 children and three adults — were injured as the result of gunfire. Two of the children died, 10-year-old Harper Moyski and 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel. The assailant died by suicide.

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By DAMIAN J. TROISE

NEW YORK (AP) — A resurgence of meme stock interest has prompted the return of a one-stop fund for the volatile and quirky investments.

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Roundhill Investments is launching a meme ETF, which is an exchange-traded fund consisting solely of meme stocks. Several of those stocks have ridden a wave of meme investment sentiment this year. The move comes two years after the provider of ETFs closed the fund because of slumping interest. The new fund trades under the “MEME” symbol.

Investors have been sporadically turning to meme stocks throughout 2025 in an effort to find bargains amid a very pricey stock market. The S&P 500 has had a busy year setting records. That has made it more difficult for investors to find stocks at lower prices that have potential for growth.

“Meme stocks started as a rebellion but have grown into a revolution,” said Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Investments. “With MEME, we offer investors a tool to capture that power through an actively managed ETF that can rotate quickly into the stocks dominating the conversation today.”

The biggest weight in the ETF is Opendoor Technologies, which has had a volatile year. The real estate company’s stock was trading below $1 per share through early July, then surged above $3 that month as hedge fund manager Eric Jackson touted the stock on X. It fell back a bit, then gained more steam and closed above $9 on Tuesday.

Other heavyweights in the index include Plug Power, which focuses on hydrogen fuel cell technology, and data center company Applied Digital.

Meme stocks include companies with financial prospects that appear dim, but then gain ground for no seemingly fundamental reason. The stock gains are often fueled by online forums.

The stocks are often the target of “short sellers,” or investors betting against the stock. That sometimes prompts other investors to start buying the stock in an effort to get the people betting against the stock to do the same in order to cushion their own losses. This starts a cycle that further boosts the stock price.

It’s a risky strategy and the gains can evaporate as quickly as they came.

FILE – An assortment of Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Decatur, Ala., are displayed on Jan. 19, 2016. (John Godbey/The Decatur Daily via AP, File)

Some of the more well-known meme stocks making big moves earlier this year included doughnut maker Krispy Kreme, camera maker GoPro and plant-based meat maker Beyond Meat.

FILE – Pedestrians pass a GameStop store on 14th Street at Union Square, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The original meme stock is GameStop. In 2021, the company was struggling to survive and major investors were betting against the video game retailer. Investor Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” rallied other investors to join him in buying up thousands of GameStop shares, changing the trajectory of the stock.

Daniel Rosen will serve as the next U.S. Attorney of the District of Minnesota and comes to the post as authorities are investigating a number of fraud cases in the state involving millions of dollars.

Daniel Rosen will be Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney after his nomination by President Donald Trump and confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 7, 2025. (Courtesy of the University of Minnesota)

Rosen was one of more than 100 of President Donald Trump’s appointees confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate in a vote on Tuesday. The Senate voted on party lines to confirm Rosen, fill ambassadorships and appoint administrators to various federal agencies.

Republicans changed Senate rules last month to allow approval of Trump appointees in groups. The move came as Republicans grew frustrated with Democrats for blocking Trump nominees.

Rosen, however, received bipartisan support when Trump nominated him for the position in May. Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, both Democrats, gave Rosen a “blue slip,” or signal of support. But they did not back Rosen’s confirmation in Tuesday.

“Daniel Rosen was one of over 100 nominees put forth as a block,” a Smith spokesperson said in a statement. “Senator Smith voted no on this group because she’s concerned too many Trump nominees put loyalty to him ahead of service to the American people. She hopes Rosen proves different and serves all Minnesotans with fairness.”

Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer praised Rosen’s confirmation in a Tuesday news release, describing Rosen as a “distinguished attorney with an unwavering commitment to public safety.”

“We are confident that Mr. Rosen will fight to protect Minnesotans, and their hard-earned tax dollars, from the scourge of crime and fraud we’ve seen in our state,” said Emmer, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House. “We were proud to support Dan and thank our colleagues in the Senate for advancing his nomination.”

Rosen has more than 30 years of experience as a commercial litigator at the federal and state levels, according to the University of Minnesota Law School. Rosen graduated from the UMN law school in 1994.

Rosen, a U.S. Navy officer who served in the first Gulf War, also served on the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board from 2014 to 2022. Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Mark Dayton appointed Rosen — whose affiliation was listed as Republican — to two four-year terms on the board.

Fraud cases

Rosen will enter his new role as the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to investigate and prosecute widespread fraud involving federal funds in Minnesota.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimates that fraud in state programs in recent years could top $1 billion. Most of the alleged fraud has happened in programs run by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.

“Minnesota has a fraud problem — and not a small one,” Thompson said in a statement announcing the federal investigation into housing stabilization services fraud in July.

Federal prosecutors have announced two new major fraud cases in the last month alone.

One is tied to what they called a “massive” fraud scheme in Minnesota’s Medicaid-funded housing stabilization program. On Sept. 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced eight people had been charged with stealing more than $10 million as part of a first wave of charges.

A week later, the U.S. Attorney announced another charge: this one tied to fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements for a children’s autism program. A 28-year-old woman faces a federal wire fraud charge for claiming $14 million and using the money to fund real estate purchases in Kenya.

Feeding Our Future

That all comes on top of the single largest known instance of fraud, where federal prosecutors say a scheme centered around the nonprofit Feeding Our Future stole $250 million in federal funds from a pandemic-era meal program for children in need.

Thompson has said the investigations grew out of the Feeding Our Future fraud case, which has “significant” overlap with the other alleged fraud schemes. Asha Farhan Hassan, the woman charged in the autism program scheme, also is a defendant in Feeding Our Future

More than 50 people have been convicted of the 75 charged in the Feeding Our Future case.

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ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Youth-led protests in the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar are continuing for a third week in the most significant unrest in the country in years.

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The protests led by a group calling itself “Gen Z Madagascar” began Sept. 25 over electricity and water outages but have snowballed into larger dissatisfaction with the government and the leadership of President Andry Rajoelina.

Civic groups and trade unions have joined the protests, which have resulted in nighttime curfews being enforced in the capital, Antananarivo, and other major cities. The United Nations said at least 22 people have been killed.

Rajoelina fired his government and appointed a new prime minister in response to the uprising, but protesters have not relented and gave Rajoelina an ultimatum to resign this week. They say they have rejected his offer of talks, which were set for Wednesday.

Here’s what to know about the protests inspired by young, social media-savvy Madagascans that mirror Gen Z anti-government demonstrations in Kenya, Nepal, Morocco and elsewhere.

Thousands on the streets

Thousands have taken to the streets, initially over chronic problems with the electricity and water supply. Protesters have since brought up a range of issues, including poverty and the cost of living, access to tertiary education, and alleged corruption and embezzlement of public funds by government officials and their families and associates.

Demonstrators protesting against chronic electricity and water cuts confront riot police in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mamyrael)

The U.N. human rights office said that at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the first few furious days of protests and accused Madagascar security forces of a violent response to what started as peaceful protests. The Madagascar government rejected that death toll but authorities haven’t given their own count of deaths or injuries.

The protests have continued almost daily and the Gen Z Madagascar group has called for a major strike and stayaway on Thursday.

Rejecting Rajoelina

Rajoelina, 51, was elected president in 2018 and reelected in 2023, when the vote was boycotted by opposition parties.

President of Madagascar Andry Nirina Rajoelina addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

But he first came to prominence in 2009 as the mayor of Antananarivo when he led protests against the government that resulted in a military-backed coup and the ouster of President Marc Ravalomanana. A military council took power before handing it to Rajoelina as transitional leader.

Madagascar, a large island of around 31 million people off the east coast of Africa, has seen several leaders forced out in uprisings since it gained independence from France in 1960 and has a history of political crises. It struggles with severe poverty, which affects around 80% of the population, according to the World Bank.

Rajoelina has attempted to appease the Gen Z protesters by meeting some of their demands and firing government officials and Prime Minister Christian Ntsay last week. But he appointed an army general as the new prime minister in a move seen by the protesters as an attempt to clamp down on them. He also prioritized the appointment of new ministers for the armed forces, public security and the gendarmerie law enforcement force, saying their mission is to “restore peace so that everyone can resume their daily lives.”

Rajoelina has referred to the protests as an attempted coup.

Demonstrators protesting against chronic electricity and water cuts confront riot police in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mamyrael)

Responding to Rajoelina’s offer for talks, the Gen Z Madagascar group said in a statement: “We do not reach out to a regime that every day crushes those who stand up for justice. This government talks about dialogue but rules with weapons.”

Inspired by other Gen Z protests

One of the most prominent symbols carried and worn by Madagascar’s generally black-clothed protesters is an image of a pirate skull and crossbones that was seen in the Gen Z-led uprising in Nepal last month and other protests across the world.

A medical student holds a flag bearing the logo of the popular Japanese manga One Piece, a symbol adopted by Gen Z protest movements worldwide, in front of Malagasy security forces during a demonstration demanding better healthcare conditions and constitutional reforms in Antananarivo, on October 7, 2025. President Andry Rajoelina’s appointment of an army general as new prime minister was met with little enthusiasm in Madagascar Tuesday and dismissed by the youth-led movement behind two weeks of protests as a diversion.
Rajoelina named Major General Ruphin Fortunat Dimbisoa Zafisambo as head of government late Monday in a bid to quell anti-government unrest that has claimed 22 lives, according to a toll from the United Nations that is disputed by local authorities. (Photo by Luis TATO / AFP) (Photo by LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images)

The image is from the Japanese comic series “One Piece” — which follows the adventures of a young pirate and his crew living in a world run by an authoritarian government — and has come to symbolize Gen Z movements. The Madagascar protesters have made the logo their own by redesigning it with a traditional Malagasy hat on the skull.

Gen Z Madagascar have their own website, Facebook page and other social media channels and have a GoFundMe page to raise money. They have mobilized over the internet and say they were inspired by other protests that toppled governments in Nepal and Sri Lanka.

They describe themselves as generally under the age of 30 and one of their slogans, which they’ve repeated in protests, is: “We’re tired of just surviving, we want to live.”

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa