Cops Bust 'Anarchists' Before GOP Convention

(NEWSER) - Nearly 400 anti-war demonstrators were arrested last night in clashes with police near the Republican convention, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. Officers in riot gear with snowplows, horses, and dump trucks blocked bridges and used tear gas and pepper spray when the protesters attempted to march from the Capitol, the site of an afternoon demonstration, to the Xcel Center. More»

His gathering, also in Minn., takes place on second day of GOP convention

(NEWSER) - John McCain won’t be the only GOP candidate throwing himself a party in Minnesota the first week of September—libertarian-leaning Ron Paul will host a mini-convention of his own in Minneapolis. Paul's gathering will take place on the second day of the Republican convention, just a few exits down I-94. He hopes his 11,000-strong meeting will “send a message” to the GOP, a rep told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. More»

Forbes weighs women's salaries, safety, unemployment

(NEWSER) - With its low rates of unemployment and violent crime, combined with relatively high salaries for women, the Minneapolis/St. Paul area tops the Forbes list of best cities for working mothers. The magazine gave added weight in this year's rankings to women's income, and when the numbers were crunched, the Minnesota capital area replaced New York in the No. 1 spot and finished ahead of runner-up Washington, DC. The rest of the top 10: More»

DC is No. 1, but Texas has a bunch in the top 10

(NEWSER) - The number-crunchers at Forbes have come up with a list of the top cities where the recession is easing. The formula takes into account projected job growth and housing prices. Here's the list:

1. (tie) Washington, DC-Arlington-Alexandria
2. (tie) Austin-Round Rock
3. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
4. (tie) Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
5. (tie) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown

City tops IBM's 'commuter pain index'

(NEWSER) - Los Angelenos may have fun in the sun, but they suffer the worst commutes, Reuters reports. An IBM survey of 4,446 motorists found that LA commuters ranked their morning drive highest on a "commuter pain index," which measures traffic, stress, anger, and other factors. Though Los Angeles commuters hate their drives the most, New Yorkers actually have the longest commute times, at an average of 38.4 minutes each way. More»