Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Minn. doctors helping Haitians at makeshift hospital
  A doctor and an emergency management consultant from the Twin Cities are trying to help some of the Haitians injured in last week's devastating earthquake and they say the situation is growing more desperate by the day.4:20 p.m.
• Attempted Christmas Day attack is an argument against torture, not for it
  The suspect's father tried to alert U.S. authorities to the danger posed by his son. Would he have done that if he'd thought his son would be tortured?4:24 p.m.
• What to expect from the Vikings in the 'Crescent City'
  The Minnesota Vikings are fine-tuning their game plan for the NFC Championship against the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday so Tom Crann talked with Sean Jensen, who is covering the game and was a longtime Vikings beat writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.4:48 p.m.
• Local songstress Dessa celebrates new CD release
  One of the more anticipated local CDs in recent years has hit the stores, and rapper and songstress 'Dessa' will celebrated the release of "A Badly Broken Code" at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis Friday night.4:53 p.m.
• Minnesota businesses prepare for new political spending rules
  Minnesotans can expect to see many more campaign ads in the upcoming election season, as a result of this week's Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns. Those who benefit from that ruling are already making their plans.5:20 p.m.
• Minn. doctors helping Haitians at makeshift hospital
  A doctor and an emergency management consultant from the Twin Cities are trying to help some of the Haitians injured in last week's devastating earthquake and they say the situation is growing more desperate by the day.5:50 p.m.
• Attempted Christmas Day attack is an argument against torture, not for it
  The suspect's father tried to alert U.S. authorities to the danger posed by his son. Would he have done that if he'd thought his son would be tortured?5:54 p.m.
• Local songstress Dessa celebrates new CD release
  One of the more anticipated local CDs in recent years has hit the stores, and rapper and songstress 'Dessa' will celebrated the release of "A Badly Broken Code" at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis Friday night.6:15 p.m.
• What to expect from the Vikings in the 'Crescent City'
  The Minnesota Vikings are fine-tuning their game plan for the NFC Championship against the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday so Tom Crann talked with Sean Jensen, who is covering the game and was a longtime Vikings beat writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.6:20 p.m.
• News Cut: Vikings in New Orleans
  News Cut's Bob Collins is in New Orleans to cover the big game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. He talked with Tom Crann about the scene in the Big Easy.6:25 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Bondsman Lobby Targets Pretrial Release Programs
  The pretrial release program in Broward County, Fla., was working, but commissioners voted to gut the program nonetheless. Industry experts say powerful bail lobbying groups have begun using Broward as a road map of how to squash similar programs elsewhere.
• Biden's Task: Defuse Iraq Election Strife
  When an Iraqi committee disqualified more than 500 candidates in the March 7 election for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, it theatened to reopen a rift between Sunnis and Shiites. Some prominent Sunnis were barred, and concern spread across Sunni Iraq that Shiites in government were trying to cut them out of the race. The vice president aims for a compromise that will allow Iraq to hold a successful election and, in turn, allow the U.S. to begin its planned drawdown of troops.
• Experts: Aid Must Target Haiti's Underlying Issues
  As attention turns from search and rescue to rebuilding Haiti, experts say that the billions of dollars in aid may be wasted unless money is invested in long-term projects. They say that soil erosion and a decline in agriculture exacerbated the quake's toll.
• Report: Funds Needed For Asteroid Warning System
  A new report says NASA will not meet a 2020 deadline to detect big asteroids and comets that could potentially pose a risk to Earth. It suggests new strategies to find potential threats but says they'll require more funding than the annual $4 million currently spent on such searches.
• Port-Au-Prince Journal: An Old Man Wants Out
  In the post-quake rubble of a former slum in Haiti's capital, an 86-year-old man clings to a fragile claim of being an American in hopes of being rescued. Yves Malbranche says he regrets his decision to return to his homeland and wants to go back to the U.S.
• Los Angeles Gang Tour Puts A Twist On Drive-Bys
  Tourists in Los Angeles can now purchase a window into the world of gangs. For $65, LA Gang Tours will provide transportation to some of the city's most notorious gang destinations, lunch and a graffiti demonstration.
• Obama Pitches Jobs Plan In Ohio
  President Obama called on Congress Friday to enact a new job-creation bill that includes tax breaks for small business hiring, and for people who make their homes more energy efficient. The comments came in Ohio, which has been hard-hit by the economic crisis.
• Week In Politics Reviewed
  President Obama's focus on job creation, the major blows to the White House this week and the Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance dominated the week in politics. Political commentators David Brooks of The New York Times and E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post offer their insight.
• Imagining Haiti After Reconstruction
  Human rights lawyer William O'Neill visited Haiti in December and took note of the country's problems. He sees opportunities now to revive the countryside, where much of the population has fled, and to rebuild institutions with the help of Haitians inside and outside the country.
• Fate Of Inmates Uncertain As Gitmo Deadline Passes
  President Obama set Jan. 22 as a target date to close the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. The administration later acknowledged that the deadline would not be met, but what is the fate of the nearly 200 men still held at the facility?

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