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MIDWEST STORMS NEW: Midwest storms spawn Tornadoes AUSTIN, Minn. (AP) The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado hit Austin in southern Minnesota on Wednesday.

Officials surveyed the damage on Thursday, and said one tornado on the north side of town was about 10 miles long and lasted for more than 20 minutes. The weather service says that at its worst point, the twister registered an EF2, meaning it generated winds between 111 mph and 135 mph.

The tornado caused heavy destruction. Vehicles were thrown about, homes were heavily damaged and power lines were knocked down. A few minor injuries were reported.

Central Minnesota also saw storms Thursday evening, complete with hail, lightning and some instances of strong winds. High winds in northwestern Minnesota flipped over a couple of semi-trailer trucks on Interstate 94, but there were no injuries.

MUSIC DOWNLOADING NEW: Jury rules against Minn. woman in download case MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A federal jury in Minneapolis has ruled a Minnesota woman violated several music copyrights in the nation's only file-sharing case to go to trial.

The jury found that Jammie Thomas-Rasset "committed willful violation" of the copyrights on 24 songs. The jury awarded record companies $1.92 million, or $80,000 per song.

It was a retrial for Thomas-Rasset, who was also found in 2007 to have illegally shared music files. The new trial was ordered after the judge in the case decided he had erred in jury instructions.

The second outcome was worse for Thomas-Rasset. In the first trial, the jury awarded record companies just $222,000.

MINNESOTA BUDGET CUTS NEW: Minn. lawmakers challenge Pawlenty aides on cuts ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) State lawmakers are learning that budget cuts Gov. Tim Pawlenty plans to make will lead to at least 3,150 job losses and possibly thousands more.

Top lawmakers challenged Pawlenty's leading advisers Thursday on the legality and wisdom of $2.7 billion in announced spending delays and cuts.

The Republican governor is using an executive power called unallotment after he and Democrats who control the Legislature couldn't agree on a budget.

Legislators argue that Pawlenty is overreaching. They also warn that schools could ultimately forfeit some of the $1.7 billion in delayed aid because there is no clear plan to repay it.

Administration officials who gave the job cut estimate defended the governor's authority. Lawmakers lack the power to stop the cuts.

VATICAN-CONSERVATIVES-MINNESOTA NEW: Breakaway Catholic group to ordain 13 in Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A breakaway Catholic group plans to ordain 13 priests in Winona Friday, but they won't be recognized by the Roman Catholic church.

The St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, part of the Society of St. Pius X, will host the ordinations.

The Vatican says ordinations by the ultraconservative group aren't legitimate, even though Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of its leaders. The Vatican statement was a response to planned ordinations in Germany.

Rose Hammes (HAM'-ess), spokeswoman for the Diocese of Winona, says the 13 men can't be priests in any Roman Catholic diocese.

The Society of St. Pius X is led by Bishop Bernard Fellay, who says the Winona ordinations aren't intended as a challenge to Rome.

FORCED CHEMO NEW: Medical records of boy who refused chemo are open MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A judge in southern Minnesota has denied a request to seal the medical records of a boy ordered to undergo chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg says this week that information about 13-year-old Daniel Hauser's condition and treatment have been public so far, and the boy's parents have spoken about the case. Now, Rodenberg says, it's in the public's interest to get complete and accurate information as the case continues.

Daniel was diagnosed with cancer in January and stopped chemotherapy after one round, opting for alternative treatments. He and his mother, Colleen, fled Minnesota for about a week to avoid chemotherapy, which doctors said had a good chance of saving Daniel's life.

Daniel has since resumed chemotherapy and a family spokesman has said his tumor is shrinking.

STAR TRIBUNE-BANKRUPTCY NEW: Star Tribune files reorganization plan MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Star Tribune Co. says it filed a reorganization plan with U.S. Bankruptcy court, with the goal of emerging from Chapter 11 protection this autumn.

The newspaper says it filed the paperwork Thursday. Since the Star Tribune entered bankruptcy in January, it has reached agreement with six of 10 bargaining units, representing 94 percent of unionized employees.

The Star Tribune says the agreements reached cost savings the company needs. The newspaper wanted to cut labor costs by $20 million a year.

Publisher and chairman Chris Harte says in a statement he's confident the newspaper will emerge in better shape and ready for the "intense competition that lies ahead in a rapidly evolving news and information industry." He says the plan outlines how creditors' claims will be resolved. In a letter to employees, he thanked them for their hard work and dedication, saying "the end is in sight." PLANE CRASH-HUMBIRD NEW: NTSB prelim report: weather likely crash factor HUMBIRD, Wis. (AP) Investigators say poor weather likely figured in a plane crash near Humbird in Jackson County that killed a Sheboygan chiropractor and his son.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Thursday.

Pilot David Holtrop and his 16-year-old son Maxwell took off from near St. Paul, Minn., to return home from a paintball convention when the crash happened about 5:45 p.m. June 7.

The NTSB said data showed instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, but David Holtrop was a non-instrument rated pilot.

Witnesses said they heard but did not see an airplane. One reported hearing an aircraft engine increase and decrease rapidly before the sound of a crash. The witness said it was raining and foggy.

The NTSB will release a final report later.

BUSES TORCHED-FRIDLEY NEW: Police hope tape will lead to Fridley bus arsonist FRIDLEY, Minn. (AP) Fridley police hope security footage will help them identify who set fire to buses at a private Catholic high school.

Lt. Mike Monsrud says fire was intentionally set to one bus early Wednesday at Totino-Grace High School, and the flames spread to a second bus. He says the buses are each valued at $70,000 and are total losses.

Monsrud says accelerant was poured down the aisles of one bus, so officials quickly determined it was arson.

No arrests have been made. Monsrud says three male juveniles were seen running from the area.

Both buses were bought through a fundraiser last fall, after an anonymous donor agreed to buy one bus if benefactors pooled resources to purchase a second.

TAX RECIPROCITY NEW: Pawlenty says tax reciprocity at risk MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Gov. Tim Pawlenty is warning Wisconsin's governor that the states' tax reciprocity is at risk if Wisconsin doesn't speed up its payment to Minnesota.

Nearly 80,000 taxpayers in Minnesota and Wisconsin who live in one state and work in another would have to file two state income tax returns if Pawlenty and Gov. Jim Doyle can't work out a new reciprocity deal.

Pawlenty is counting on getting $106 million from Wisconsin earlier than scheduled to help plug a $2.7 billion budget hole.

Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner says that Wisconsin is reviewing Pawlenty's request.

As many as 57,000 Wisconsinites commute to jobs in Minnesota, while about 22,500 Minnesotans work in Wisconsin. As a result, Wisconsin makes annual payments to Minnesota to compensate for the amount Minnesota would have received by taxing Wisconsin residents.

Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com MEDTRONIC PAYMENTS-SURGEON NEW: Medtronic paid $850,000 to author of bogus study Washington (AP) Medical device maker Medtronic says it paid about $850,000 to a former Army surgeon accused of forging signatures and falsifying data for a study touting the benefits of one of the company's implants.

Minneapolis-based Medtronic, the world's largest device firm, previously declined to release details of its relationship with Dr.

Timothy Kuklo, who authored a paper on the company's Infuse spinal implant that had to be retracted from publication.

The Army found that Kuklo, now a university professor, forged the signatures of four colleagues and made up data about the benefits of Medtronic's implant on wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 06-19-09 0130CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list