Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• The Dynamic Duo of Dark Visions
  Writer Neil Gaiman and artist Dave McKean are one of the hottest teams in the comic book world.4:50 p.m.
• National Guard confirms longer tour in Iraq
  Minnesota's 2,600 National Guard troops will remain in Iraq until July, according to the head of the Guard. Meantime, dozens of demonstrators in the Twin Cities Thursday morning denounced President's Bush's plans to increase the number of troops in Iraq.5:20 p.m.
• Congressman questions Defence Secretary
  Second District Congressman John Kline asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates about the impact the President's new Iraq strategy will have on Minnesota National Guard soldiers.5:25 p.m.
• Pawlenty's turn to propose expanded health coverage
  A day after Senate Democrats touted their plan to cover to more uninsured Minnesotans, Gov. Pawlenty unveiled his health care agenda for the session. Like the Democrats, the Governor proposes covering more uninsured people. But Pawlenty's approach to the problem is quite different.5:50 p.m.
• On-line literary contest let's users be the judge
  American Idol will soon feature wanna-be pop music stars from Minnesota, but social networking Web site Gather.com wants its users to pick the next big American author. Users can submit manuscripts and vote on others. The winner gets a book contract.6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Bush, Iraq Lead a Conservative to Question
  Commentator Rod Dreher has been a conservative since he was 13. Now on the cusp of turning 40, he's still a conservative, but is so dismayed at the way President Bush is handling the Iraq war that all of his prior beliefs have come into question.
• Iraqis Show Range of Reactions to Bush Plan
  There has been a widely divergent reaction to President Bush's speech about raising U.S. troop levels in Baghdad. Opinion cuts across sectarian and political lines.
• Bush Talks at Fort Benning; Soldiers Do Not
  President Bush travels to Fort Benning, Ga., to speak to some of the soldiers who will be part of his new buildup of troops in Iraq. After the president's speech, the commanding general barred soldiers from talking to reporters.
• Tom Vilsack Explains a Run for the Oval Office
  Robert Siegel talks with outgoing Democratic Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who delivered his Condition of the State speech Tuesday and criticized President Bush's strategy for Iraq. Vilsack is a candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
• Carter's Views on Middle East Prompt Resignations
  President Jimmy Carter's latest book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, has prompted 14 members of a Carter Center community board to resign in protest. Last month, a Carter Fellow and longtime Carter advisor also resigned over the book. It has raised criticism from Jewish groups and Democrats across the country.
• Skating Rough, and Getting Over It
  Commentator Amy Dickinson says she has always ice skated, but she never had much style. Where she grew up, everyone knew how to skate — some quite well. This year, Dickinson found out that her problem was that she was trying to be a figure skater, when her inner style was a little rougher, almost a hockey style of skating.
• Marine Receives Posthumous Medal of Honor
  President Bush awards the Medal of Honor to Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, who died in Iraq two years ago. Dunham put his Kevlar helmet over a live hand grenade to save his fellow Marines. His parents accepted the award on his behalf. Michele Norris talks with Deb and Dan Dunham about that experience, and memories of their son.
• Rice and Gates Make Case for More Troops in Iraq
  President Bush's secretaries of State and Defense spent their days defending his new plan in Iraq, first at a White House news conference and then on Capitol Hill. Secretaries Rice and Gates found only minimal support for a greater troop commitment in Congress.
• Beckham Signs Deal to Play for L.A. Galaxy of MLS
  British soccer superstar David Beckham agrees to a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Beckham is the former English captain who also starred for Manchester United and Real Madrid. The midfielder, 31, will join the Galaxy after his contract with Real Madrid expires June 30.
• Letters: Affirmative Action, Pelosi and Football
  Michele Norris and Robert Siegel read from listeners' letters and emails. We are taken to task for confusing the national collegiate football champion Florida Gators with the team from Florida State. There are some comments on the future of affirmative action in Michigan and our interview with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
• Hundreds Protest Violence, Policies in New Orleans
  Hundreds of New Orleans residents march to City Hall to protest a rising murder rate and what they say is a lack of city and police response. People have been galvanized by the loss of two prominent cultural figures in the city: a white filmmaker and a black musician.
• Kurds Cry Foul Over U.S. Raid on Iranian Office
  A U.S. raid on an Iranian government office in the Iraqi city of Irbil is a violation of the region's sovereignty and of international immunity laws, says the Kurdish regional government. Kurdish officials urged the U.S. military to release Iranian staff arrested in the raid.
• House Approves an Increase in Stem-Cell Research
  The House votes to expand federal funding for human embryonic stem-cell research. Last year, President Bush cast the only veto of his tenure to keep a similar measure from being enacted. The Congress, then controlled by Republicans, failed to override it.
• Smells Like Home: For Fish, Reefs Are Unique
  Coral reefs may all smell the same to humans. But to some fish, reefs' smells have distinct qualities — even when they're several hundred miles away. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argues that some reef fish use smelly ocean currents like New Yorkers use their subway lines — as the quickest way home.
• Reid: Iraq Policy Flaws Surpass Those of Vietnam
  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says he will ask senators to "belly up to the bar" and state their views of President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq by 21,500. "I don't think it is the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam," Reid says, "I think it's the biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of our country."

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