State Sen. Nicole Mitchell resigned from office Friday after her conviction last week on two felony burglary charges. Her departure comes just a few days after she announced her intent to leave office by Aug. 4.

Mitchell, a first-term Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker from Woodbury, was arrested in April 2024 after breaking into her estranged stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home. She remained in office for 15 months after her arrest as Republicans and even some Democrats called for her to resign.

Some Senate DFLers argued Mitchell was entitled to due process in her criminal case and that she should remain in office until her trial was complete. Sen. Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul said Mitchell told colleagues she would resign if found guilty. On Friday, Mitchell followed through.

“I am resigning my seat in the Minnesota Senate for District 47,” she wrote in a letter to Gov. Tim Walz. “Thank you to my family, friends, and constituents who shared with me the issues they cared about and trusted me to work on their behalf. It has been a true honor to serve the state of Minnesota and the community I grew up in.”

The governor now can call a special election to fill Mitchell’s seat. The outcome could affect the balance of power in the Senate, where DFLers hold a narrow majority. The makeup of the Senate stands at 33 Democrats and 32 Republicans following Mitchell’s resignation and the death of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo, this week.

So far, two DFL candidates have stepped up to run in District 47 — Reps. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger and Ethan Cha, both of Woodbury. No Republican had announced as of Friday afternoon.

Earlier this week, Mitchell’s defense attorney said the senator would resign by Aug. 4. Her remaining time in office would be used to wrap up legislative projects, complete constituent services, transition legislative staff and obtain health insurance for her son, the law firm Ringstrom DeKrey said in a news release.

Mitchell is a former broadcast meteorologist and held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. She was elected in 2022 and was in the third year of her four-year term.

On July 18, a Becker County jury found Mitchell guilty of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools — both felonies. Mitchell claimed she was checking on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Police said she told them she broke in to retrieve her father’s ashes and other sentimental items.

Mitchell’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Detroit Lakes. The mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree burglary is six months in jail or a workhouse.

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Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson has a mild left hamstring strain that will keep him out of practice for the time being.

The announcement from head coach Kevin O’Connell came before the Vikings took the field for practice on Friday afternoon at TCO Performance Center

“I credit Justin for his ability to recognize how he was feeling and the fact that we were able to avoid anything major,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to hold him out here for a little bit and then reevaluate him next week.”

The initial concern popped up midway through practice on Thursday afternoon when Jefferson alerted the training staff of tightness in his left hamstring. He did not participate in 7-on-7 drills or 11-on-11 drills.

“We didn’t want to leave anything to chance so we did have a little bit further evaluation done,” O’Connell said. “We’re going to be really cautious with it.”

A couple of seasons ago Jefferson suffered a major right hamstring strain that forced him to miss an extended period of time. It doesn’t appear that this injury is even remotely close to that injury in terms of the severity of it.

In other words, the Vikings are fully expecting Jefferson to be ready for Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.

“I see no concerns in regards to the opener,” O’Connell said. “I have no worry at all that we’ll be able to get Justin ready to go.”

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By KATE PAYNE and ED WHITE, Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, finished 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials on Friday, answering questions “about 100 different people,” her attorney said.

“She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability,” David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we’re very proud of her,” Markus said.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein, a wealthy, well-connected financier, sexually abuse underage girls.

Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Donald Trump.

In a social media post this week, Blanche said Maxwell would be interviewed because of President Trump’s directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes.

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Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case, overshadowing his administration’s achievements. On Friday, reporters pressed the Republican president about pardoning Maxwell, but he deflected, emphasizing his administration’s successes.

Markus said Maxwell “was asked maybe about 100 different people.”

“The deputy attorney general is seeking the truth,” Markus said. “He asked every possible question, and he was doing an amazing job.”

Markus said he didn’t ask for anything for Maxwell in return, though he acknowledged that Trump could pardon her.

“Listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way,” Markus said.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist.

Maxwell is appealing her conviction, based on the government’s pledge years ago that any potential Epstein co-conspirators would not be charged, Markus said. Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 that shifted his case to Florida state court, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution.

Epstein in 2019 and Maxwell in 2020 were charged in federal court in New York.

White reported from Detroit.

By MARTHA BELLISLE, Associated Press

The Trump administration said Friday it’s investigating the Oregon Department of Education after receiving a complaint from a conservative nonprofit group alleging the state was violating civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams.

It’s the latest escalation in the Republican administration’s effort to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports teams nationwide. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February to block trans girls from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

The administration says transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. Proponents of Trump’s ban say it restores fairness in athletic competitions, but opponents say bans are an attack on transgender youth.

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The U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights opened the Oregon investigation based on a complaint by the America First Policy Institute that alleges high-school aged female athletes had lost medals and competitive opportunities to transgender athletes. It follows a probe launched earlier this year into Portland Public Schools and the state’s governing body for high school sports over alleged violations of Title IX for allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.

Earlier this month, the administration sued the California Department of Education for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law. Trump also filed a lawsuit in April alleging Maine violated Title IX by allowing trans girls and women to compete against other female athletes.

Oregon law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a release Friday that the administration won’t let educational institutions receive federal funds “to continue trampling upon women’s rights.”

“If Oregon is permitting males to compete in women’s sports, it is allowing these males to steal the accolades and opportunities that female competitors have rightfully earned through hard work and grit, while callously disregarding women’s and girls’ safety, dignity, and privacy,” Trainor said.

Messages seeking comment from the Oregon education officials were not immediately returned.

Nate Lowery, spokesman for the Oregon School Activities Association, said they were reviewing the administration’s notice with its legal counsel and doesn’t have additional comments at this time.

Three high school track-and-field athletes filed a lawsuit against Oregon in early July that seeks to overturn all sports records set by transgender girl athletes and prevent them from participating in girls sporting events.

The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon alleges the state policy prohibiting schools from excluding student athletes from events that align with their gender identity violates Title IX. The students say it has harmed them through loss of competition, placements, and opportunities to advance to higher-level events.

Jessica Hart Steinmann, executive general counsel at the America First Policy Institute, said the investigation is a step toward restoring equal opportunities for women’s athletics.

“Title IX was meant to protect girls — not to undermine them — and we’re hopeful this signals a return to that original purpose,” Steinmann said in a release.

More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over state restrictions on which sports teams transgender athletes can join.