Hello folks, hope all is well. We have a lot of interesting news today. We’re gonna do this a little different today. Instead of University-only news, we’re gonna take a look at a few things of interest.

*For example, Denny Hecker is in the news again. It’s not for closing more dealerships in the state, but for being in the hospital after crashing into a utility pole, the Star Tribune reports. His spokesman said his injuries aren’t life-threatening, however.

*Top news today is the Minnesota’s budget deficit at $5.2 billion, largest in state history. The state is going through a difficult time, similar to many budgets across the country. We’ll have more in latest news from Daily reporters shortly.

*The Daily Princetonian includes an interesting article that features University of Minnesota history professor Eric Weitz. Weitz talks about the U.S. Senate race recount between Coleman and Franken and says that the race is going to go on for weeks, even after the scheduled closing of the recount being set for Friday and then the reviews of absentee ballots and contested ballots will delay the canvassing board’s results. They are set to be released on Dec. 16.

*The University of Minnesota offers a four-week course on improving American accents. The course is part of the Professional English Communication for Non-Native Speakers program that launched in October, according to the Finance and Commerce. The program helps foreign speakers improve their English speaking skills.

That’s it for today, but Mike Rose will take care of you tomorrow.