The number of adverse health events reported in Minnesota’s hospitals has increased slightly, the smallest increase since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s 2025 report.
From Oct. 7, 2023, to Oct. 6, 2024, Minnesota’s hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers reported 624 adverse health events, or AHEs. That is up from the 610 reported in the previous year, though the report notes that the number of surgeries and procedures performed in the state also increased.
Minnesota has reported more adverse health events since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; in report years 2015 through 2020, the state averaged between 300 and 400 events per year.
“We are glad to see the rate of increase in the number of adverse health events beginning to slow,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham. “Thankfully, these types of patient harms continue to be rare when viewed against overall volume. However, we believe many, if not most, of these events are preventable and we are committed to working with providers through education and analysis to advocate for patient safety.”
In Minnesota, hospitals (federal facilities excluded) and surgical centers are required to report 29 types of “often preventable errors that could lead to serious injury or death,” per MDH. Those events include medication errors, wrong-site surgery and physical assaults against patients or staff that result in serious injury or death.
Falls and pressure ulcers, also known as bed sores, are the two most common AHEs reported in Minnesota.
In this report year, the number of wrong-site and wrong-surgery events increased, while medication errors dropped by 44% over the previous year.
In Rochester, Mayo Clinic Hospital reported 84 AHEs during the report year, a 58.5% increase from the 53 events in last year’s report. No deaths occurred due to these events, but 28 resulted in serious injury. More than half (47) of Mayo Clinic Hospital’s AHEs were stage 3, 4 or unstageable pressure ulcers.
Additionally, there were 10 falls that resulted in serious injury, and 12 surgical AHEs: six wrong procedure events and six instances of “retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery.”
In its press release, MDH said a “portion” of the AHEs recorded in 2024 could be attributed to patients’ longer stays in the hospital.
“The high level of lengths of stay can stem from things like increased patient complexity due to delayed care, Minnesota’s aging population, systemic issues with discharge delays and limited bed availability at the next level of care due to continued workforce challenges,” MDH said.
“We are seeing higher acuity patients that need longer lengths of stay to meet their needs,” added Jennifer Schoenecker, associate vice president of quality and safety at the Minnesota Hospital Association. “We’re also seeing that it can be challenging to find the appropriate discharge placement when our patients are ready to leave our hospitals and health systems.”
More acute medical needs could also be a factor in the 8.5% increase in procedures and surgeries performed year-over-year.
“It could be some catch-up from previous COVID years where some of those procedures may have been postponed,” Schoenecker said. “And it could be due to just the overall acuity and complexity of the patients we’re serving now.”
To bring the number of AHEs down to pre-pandemic levels, Schoenecker said an emphasis on patient safety needs to continue.
“There’s a lot we learn from the events that are reported,” Schoenecker said. “We want to continue to analyze those events, learn and then spread those learnings throughout the state. … Just continuing that commitment to a culture of safety.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, it looked as though the United States was steadily climbing toward a consensus on same-sex marriage. But 10 years after the Supreme Court ruled that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, the split between Republicans and Democrats on the issue is wider than it’s been in decades.
Recent polling from Gallup shows that Americans’ support for same-sex marriage is higher than it was in 2015. Gallup’s latest data, however, finds a 47-percentage-point gap on the issue between Republicans and Democrats, the largest since it first began tracking this measure 29 years ago.
People participate in the World Pride Rally at the Lincoln Memorial, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
An Associated Press polling analysis shows how same-sex marriage shifted from a clear minority position to a stance with broad support — and what the future could hold for views on the issue.
Same-sex marriage was once highly unpopular
Less than 40 years ago, same-sex marriage was a deeply unpopular issue.
In 1988, The General Social Survey showed that just about 1 in 10 U.S. adults “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with a statement that gay couples should have the right to marry. At that point, roughly 7 in 10 Americans — including similar shares of Democrats and Republicans — disagreed with the statement.
But as early as the 1990s, the politics of same-sex marriage were shifting. Gallup data from 1996 — the year the Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as between one man and one woman — showed that 27% of U.S. adults said marriages between same-sex partners “should be recognized by the law as valid.” But Democrats and Republicans weren’t in lockstep anymore: Democrats were nearly twice as likely as Republicans to support legal recognition of same-sex marriages.
Democrats’ support for same-sex marriage shifted faster
By 2004, the legalization of same-sex marriage started to unfold at the state level. That year, Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry. President George W. Bush, a Republican, championed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the campaign trail, while Democrats vying for their party’s 2004 presidential nomination said the legalization of same-sex marriage should be left to the states.
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At this time, Americans’ support for same-sex marriage was still somewhat limited, and the divide between Republicans and Democrats deepened. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults agreed that same-sex marriage should be permitted, according to the Gallup data. Among Democrats, that agreement was higher — about half were in favor — compared with 22% of Republicans.
Since then, Americans’ upward movement on support for same-sex marriage has been driven by Democrats and independents. Throughout Gallup’s trend, Democrats have been more supportive of same-sex marriage than Republicans have. Since 2006, at least half of Democrats have supported same-sex marriage, and independents started to see consistent majority support in 2012.
The gap between Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, stayed wide. By 2015, the year of the Supreme Court’s ruling, about three-quarters of Democrats — but only about one-third of Republicans — supported same-sex marriage.
But Republicans did become somewhat more supportive of same-sex marriage between 2010 and 2020. While Democrats continued to lead the shift, Republican public opinion also moved during this decade — signaling a broader movement toward acceptance of same-sex marriage across party lines, even if it wasn’t always linear.
Republicans’ support for same-sex marriage dropped in recent years
About 7 in 10 Americans think marriages between same-sex partners should be recognized by the law as valid, according to Gallup data from this year, which is similar to the latest General Social Survey data showing 63% of U.S. adults agree that same-sex marriage should be considered a right.
But while the public’s support for same-sex marriage ticked up in the years following the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling — from about 60% in 2015 — it has been relatively steady since 2020.
At the same time, Republicans’ support has fallen in each of the past three years. Now, about 4 in 10 Republicans say marriages between same-sex partners should be recognized as legal, down from a record high of 55% in 2021 and 2022. This latest decline by Republicans returns their views to their 2016 measure, when 40% supported legal same-sex marriage.
Gallup Senior Editor Megan Brenan said Republicans’ recent shift in opinion on same-sex marriage is dramatic.
“This was a much steeper fall from 2022 through 2025,” she said. “And now, of course, we have the widest partisan gap that we’ve seen in the trends.”
Younger and older Republicans split on same-sex marriage
Even as overall Republican support for same-sex marriage declines, a generational split within the party suggests that opposition may not hold in the long run.
Among Republicans under age 50, about 6 in 10 say same-sex marriages should be legally recognized, the Gallup poll finds. That stands in stark contrast to just 36% of Republicans over 50 who say the same —- suggesting that views on the issue could continue to shift.
Overall, younger adults are significantly more likely to support legal recognition of same-sex marriage. About 8 in 10 adults under 35 are in favor, compared with roughly 7 in 10 between ages 35 and 54 and 6 in 10 among those 55 or older.
Brenan noted that younger Americans are more accepting of same-sex marriage than older adults are, and it’s an issue that especially appears to divide Republicans today.
“I think that’s a key to where things will be headed, presumably,” Brenan said. “Historically, people have become more conservative as they age, but this is an issue that’s so ingrained in society today and especially younger society.”
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their all-time high on Wednesday as financial markets catch a breath following two big days bolstered by hopes that the Israel-Iran war will not disrupt the global flow of crude oil.
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The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading and sitting just 0.7% below its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.
In the oil market, which has been the center of much of this week’s action, crude prices stabilized after plunging by roughly $10 per barrel in the last two days. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.7% to $64.81 per barrel, though it still remains below where it was before the fighting between Israel and Iran broke out nearly two weeks ago.
On Wall Street, companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry jumped to some of the bigger gains as the price of bitcoin continued to steam ahead with investors willing to take on more risk. Coinbase Global, the crypto exchange, rose 7%, and Robinhood Markets gained 4% as bitcoin topped $107,000.
They helped offset a 5.3% drop for FedEx. It reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but it gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of expectations.
General Mills, the company behind Pillsbury and Progresso soups, fell 2.8% after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts. It also said an underlying measure of profits could fall by 10% to 15% this upcoming fiscal year.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were holding relatively steady, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.32% from 4.30% late Tuesday.
Yields had dropped a day before after the chair of the Federal Reserve said it is waiting for the right moment to resume cutting interest rates. By lowering rates, the Fed could help give the economy a boost, but it could also offer additional fuel for inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a House of Representatives committee on Tuesday that he wants to wait and see how President Donald Trump’s tariffs affect the economy and inflation before committing to its next move. Powell will speak before a Senate committee later Wednesday morning.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly in Europe after rising across much of Asia.
Stocks jumped 1.2% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai for two of the larger moves.
“The world can now move on to face other difficult choices like tariffs and things like that,” said Frances Lun, CEO of GEO Securities in Hong Kong. “So I think the market is well on its way to rebound and could again reach new levels.”
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding on Wednesday after a rocky start, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace even as Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear program.
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U.S. President Donald Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold on Tuesday, the 12th day of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit it was going “very well,” adding that Iran was “not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich.”
Iran has insisted, however, that it will not give up its nuclear program. In a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, its parliament agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. watchdog that has monitored the program for years.
Ahead of the vote, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf criticized the IAEA for having “refused to even pretend to condemn the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities” that the United States carried out on Sunday.
“For this reason, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will suspend cooperation with the IAEA until security of nuclear facilities is ensured, and Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a faster pace,” Qalibaf told lawmakers.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he had already written to Iran to discuss resuming inspections of their nuclear facilities.
Among other things, Iran claims to have moved its highly enriched uranium ahead of the U.S. strikes, and Grossi said his inspectors need to re-assess the country’s stockpiles.
“We need to return,” he said. “We need to engage.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country was part of the 2015 deal with Iran that restricted its nuclear program but began unraveling after Trump pulled the U.S. out in his first term, said he hoped Tehran would come back to the table.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was peaceful, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb. However, Israeli leaders have argued that Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear weapon.
Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with nuclear weapons, which it has never acknowledged.
An Iranian woman walks past a banner showing head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed in Israeli strike, at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A police officer inspects a damaged apartment a day after a direct missile strike from Iran hit a residential building, killing several people, following the announcement of a ceasefire, in Beersheba, Israel, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
This Tuesday, June 24, 2025, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at Fordo enrichment facility after strikes in Iran on June 23. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
This Tuesday, June 24, 2025, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damage at Fordo enrichment facility after strikes in Iran on June 23. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
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An Iranian woman walks past a banner showing head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed in Israeli strike, at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) street in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The Israel Atomic Energy Commission said its assessment was that the U.S. and Israeli strikes have “set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.” It did not give evidence to back up its claim.
The U.S. strikes hit three Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump said “completely and fully obliterated” the country’s nuclear program. At the NATO summit, when asked about a U.S. intelligence report that found Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months, Trump scoffed and said it would at least take “years” to rebuild.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, confirmed that the strikes by U.S. B-2 bombers using bunker-buster bombs had caused significant damage.
“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, while refusing to go into detail.
He seemed to suggest Iran might not shut out IAEA inspectors for good, noting that the bill before parliament only talks of suspending work with the agency, not ending it. He also insisted Iran has the right to pursue a nuclear energy program.
“Iran is determined to preserve that right under any circumstances,” he said.
Trump’s special envoy to the Mideast, Steve Witkoff, said on Fox News late on Tuesday that Israel and the U.S. had achieved their objective of “the total destruction of the enrichment capacity” in Iran, and Iran’s prerequisite for talks — that Israel end its campaign — had been fulfilled.
“The proof is in the pudding,” he said. “No one’s shooting at each other. It’s over.”
Grossi said he could not speculate on how bad the damage was but that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were well known.
“The technical knowledge is there, and the industrial capacity is there,” he said. “That no one can deny, so we need to work together with them.”
Hopes for a long-term peace agreement
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the ceasefire agreement with Iran amounted to “quiet for quiet,” with no further understandings about Iran’s nuclear program going ahead.
In the Fox News interview, Witkoff said Trump is now looking to land “a comprehensive peace agreement that goes beyond even the ceasefire.”
“We’re already talking to each other, not just directly, but also through interlocutors,” Witkoff said, adding that the conversations were promising and “we’re hopeful that we can have a long-term peace agreement.”
However, Baghaei, the Iranian spokesman, said Washington had “torpedoed diplomacy” with its attacks on nuclear sites, and that while Iran in principle was always open to talks, national security was the priority.
“We have to make sure whether the other parties are really serious when they’re talking about diplomacy, or is it again part of their tactics to make more problems for the region and for my country,” he said.
China, a close Iranian partner and major buyer of Iranian oil, said it hoped a “lasting and effective ceasefire can be achieved so as to promote” peace and stability in the region. China has blamed Israel for starting the war and destabilizing the region.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters that China is willing to “inject positive factors to safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Grossi said Iran and the international community should seize the opportunity of the ceasefire for a long-term diplomatic solution.
“Out of the … bad things that military conflict brings, there’s also now a possibility, an opening,” he said. “We shouldn’t miss that opportunity.”
Iran executes 3 more prisoners on spying allegations
During the war with Israel, Iran executed several prisoners accused of spying for Israel, sparking fears from activists that it could conduct a wave of executions after the conflict ends.
It hanged three more prisoners on spying charges on Wednesday, bringing the total number of executions for espionage to six since June 16. Iran identified the three as Azad Shojaei, Edris Aali and Iraqi national Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul.
The hangings took place at Urmia Prison in West Azerbaijan, Iran’s most northwestern province. State-run IRNA cited Iran’s judiciary for the news, saying the men had been accused of bringing “assassination equipment” into the country.
During the 12-day war, at least 28 people were killed in Israel and more than 1,000 wounded, according to officials.
Tehran on Tuesday put the death toll in Iran at 606, with 5,332 people wounded. The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group released figures Wednesday suggesting Israeli strikes on Iran had killed at least 1,054 and wounded 4,476.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, said 417 of those killed were civilians and 318 were security forces.
During the war, Israeli airstrikes also targeted Iran’s top military leadership and other sites associated with its ruling theocracy.
With the ceasefire, Iranians are trying to return to their normal lives. State media described heavy traffic around the Caspian Sea and other rural areas outside of the capital, Tehran, as people began returning to the city.
Associated Press writers Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Sylvie Corbet in The Hague, Netherlands, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
