Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• It's not just Asian-American theater, it's good theater
  After 15 years of performing in smaller theaters around the Twin Cities, the Asian-American company Theater Mu is getting some welcome exposure in high-profile venues like the Ordway Center and the Guthrie Theater.4:49 p.m.
• Minn. climber reviews the new IMAX film 'The Alps'
  A new giant-screen film opens Friday at the Science Museum of Minnesota's Omnitheater in St. Paul. It's called "The Alps." It's about a mountain climber who tries to conquer the peak that killed his father. We asked Minnesota mountain climber Neal Mueller to preview the IMAX film.4:54 p.m.
• How would you spend a tax rebate?
  Pres. George Bush unveiled a $150 billion economic stimulus package Friday that he hopes will prop up the sagging economy. Pres. Bush wants Congress to move quickly on the effort. It includes tax cuts for families and incentives to encourage business investment.5:24 p.m.
• Pond hockey diehards brave bitter cold
  The diehards admitted it was cold, even for hockey.5:50 p.m.
• Minnesota skaters compete in nationals
  The U.S. Figure Skating Championships begin on Sunday at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center. The week-long competition gives a group of young Minnesota skaters a chance to shine on their own home turf -- here in the state of hockey.5:54 p.m.
• SPCO welcomes Upshaw as new artistic partner
  The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's latest artistic partner is the famous American soprano, Dawn Upshaw. It's the beginning of a three year relationship in which Upshaw has the freedom to do just about whatever she can imagine. She promises plenty of exciting, new music.6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Bill Clinton Draws Fire for Attacking Hillary's Rivals
  Campaigning for his wife, Bill Clinton has been fulfilling the job long represented by a running mate — attacking the opposition and being a controversial lightning rod. While he remains popular with the Democratic rank and file, some also find his behavior unseemly for an ex-president.
• Bush Proposes $150B Cash Infusion for Economy
  President Bush on Friday attached a dollar figure to the economic stimulus package he's been talking about this week. He says he'd like to see $150 billion in tax rebates and other measures to keep the economy from slowing any further. But questions remain about who would get the rebates — and who would not.
• Reports from the Campaign Trail: South Carolina
  Three of the leading GOP candidates for president all campaigned in South Carolina on Friday. We have three reports: David Greene is traveling with Mike Huckabee; Debbie Elliot is on the scene with John McCain; and Adam Hochberg is watching Fred Thompson.
• Do Political Endorsements Diminish Labor's Clout?
  The leading Democratic presidential contenders all vie for union support, but if each gets some, does the labor movement lose clout?
• Reports from the Campaign Trail: Nevada
  The three leading Democratic candidates for president campaigned Friday in Nevada in expectation of the state's Saturday caucuses. We have three reports: Scott Horsley is in Reno with Barack Obama; Ina Jaffe is in Las Vegas with Hillary Clinton; and Jeff Brady reports a rally for John Edwards, also in Las Vegas.
• A Little Suspense, a Lot of Jerkiness in 'Cloverfield'
  Cloverfield, a new monster movie set in New York and filmed almost entirely on hand-held camcorders, is produced by J.J. Abrams, the man behind the hit TV show Lost.
• Sundance Film Fest Feels Pinch of Writers Strike
  During the first week of the Sundance Film Festival, buyers compete for films in earnest. Competition for films is expected to be tougher this year because the screenwriters' strike means supply is limited. But the highest bidder might not be the best distributor for an independent film.
• Attack in Afghanistan Shows Shift in Taliban Tactics
  This week's bombing of the Serena Hotel signals a significant change in tactics by the Taliban. There is concern that the shift will increase pressure at home to withdraw coalition nations from Afghanistan — at a time when the U.S. is getting ready to send 3,200 Marines to prepare for increased Taliban activity in the spring.
• What Candidates' Names Mean to S.C. Voters
  The presidential candidates have spent millions of dollars painstakingly crafting their messages and images. But what words pop into voters' minds when they hear the names John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rudolph Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Ron Paul, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards? Voters in South Carolina offer an earful.
• Will South Carolina's GOP Nominee Streak Continue?
  Michele Norris, who has spent the past week in South Carolina, reflects on what she's seen and heard from presidential hopefuls and from voters, many of whom remain undecided. Since 1980, the Republican candidate who won there has gone on to become the party's nominee, but some wonder whether the tradition will continue.
• South Carolina Smear Campaigns Turn High-Tech
  What Cooperstown is to baseball, what Nashville is to country music, South Carolina is to the political hit job. This year, the practitioners are taking aim with increasingly sophisticated electronic techniques.
• Amputee's Lost Bid for Olympics Stokes Debate
  South African Oscar Pistorius, a record-setting double amputee, was barred this week from competing at the Beijing Olympics. Sports commentator Stefan Fatsis talks about why track's governing organization, the IAAF, ruled against Pistorius.
• Ex-Chess Rival Kasparov Remembers Bobby Fischer
  Bobby Fischer, the reclusive chess genius, has died of kidney failure at a hospital in Iceland. He was 64. Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov talks with Melissa Block about Fischer's influence on the chess world. While in recent years Fischer seemed to have slipped into madness, his impact on the game is still unquestioned.
• Nevada Caucus Explainer
  Robert Siegel and Melissa Block briefly explain how the Nevada caucuses will work Saturday.
• Fischer Inspired Chess Boom in Pop Culture
  Chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer was a full-on celebrity after defeating Boris Spassky in 1972. His disappearance from public view in 1975 made him all the more mysterious. Fischer inspired books and movies and, in the 1980s, a musical.

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