Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Popular PSEO program is free for students, pricey for school districts
  College tuition for high school students costs nothing, unless you count what it takes away from high schools.5:20 p.m.
• Study: Multi-tasking behind the wheel is a bad idea
  A new study shows that people drive slower when they're using their cell phones, because they are not as attentive as other drivers. This is the latest evidence that multi-tasking behind the wheel can adversely affect how you drive.5:24 p.m.
• Travelers generally sanguine about merger
  Northwest Airlines' 1986 merger with Republic Airlines was fraught with labor unrest and service snafus. But travelers do not seem too upset about the prospect of the Eagan-based carrier merging again.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• 'U2 3D' — Better Than the Real Thing?
  A new concert film featuring the band U2 was shot in digital 3-D. NPR's Bob Mondello says it's so realistic that he wanted to tell the guy sitting in front of him to stop waving his arms — then realized that the arms were on the screen.
• State, Contractors Settle Suit Over Big Dig Failures
  The state of Massachusetts has announced a multimillion-dollar settlement in a lawsuit with Bechtel/Parsons Brinkerhoff and other contractors over the controversial Big Dig project.
• GOP 'Values Voters' in Florida Stand By Their Party
  Republicans in Florida come in many different flavors, but in the northern part of the state, it's "all social values, all the time." For example, the Northside Business Leaders — who meet every fourth Tuesday of the month at the Jacksonville Zoo — start every meeting with a group prayer.
• McCain Works to Spread His Success Southward
  Republican presidential contender and Arizona Sen. John McCain is campaigning in Florida, hoping to capitalize on his recent primary wins. He is focusing on the economy and the fact that his Democratic rivals already see him as the GOP front-runner.
• Auction Could Dictate Future of Wireless Devices
  On Thursday, the FCC will begin auctioning off part of the wireless spectrum — space that will be vacated when TV broadcast moves to digital in 2009, and maybe the last parts of the spectrum that will be available for a long time. The buyers — and how much they buy — could dictate how mobile computing devices will work for years to come.
• Idle Bridge a Symbol of Baghdad's Sectarian Divide
  Despite security improvements in Baghdad, wounds are hard to heal, and fears of more sectarian bloodshed remain. Two years ago, as thousands of Shiite pilgrims crossed the bridge over the Tigris River, gunfire sparked panic and a stampede that killed more than 900 people. The bridge has been closed since then.
• Ex-Treasury Secretary Assesses Recession Risk
  Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says he favors a stimulus package to address recent turmoil in the U.S. economy, and describes measures he thinks would minimize the risks. But he warns that people should be cautious about using the word "recession."
• Stock Markets' Volatility Reflects Fears of Slowdown
  After losing ground for five consecutive days, U.S. stocks gained some ground Wednesday. In Europe, the story was quite different. The approach taken by central bankers in the United States and elsewhere has diverged — in ways that could have a big effect on the U.S. economy.
• Study: Transplant Patients Stop Rejection Drugs
  Transplants are one of modern medicine's biggest victories. But patients have had to endure a lifetime of toxic drugs to prevent the body from rejecting an organ. New studies are showing it may be possible for some people to stop the drugs and live a better life.
• 'Life Class' Follows Art Student to WWI Battlefields
  Alan Cheuse reviews British author Pat Barker's World War I novel Life Class, which reaches bookstores next week. It centers on lessons learned by a British art student who volunteers to drive an ambulance on the battlefields of Belgium.
• Bill Clinton's Campaigning for Wife May Boomerang
  NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says former President Bill Clinton has an increasingly visible role in his wife's presidential campaign.
• Vistas, Science and Staying Warm at the South Pole
  NPR's Danny Zwerdling is at the South Pole, reporting for the Climate Connections series. Michele Norris talks to Zwerdling about what the pole looks like, why scientists flock to the bottom of the Earth — and just what it takes to stay warm in wind-chill temperatures nearing 50 degrees below zero.
• Fresh Violence Erupts in Kenya as Annan Mediates
  In Kenya, a funeral for opposition members killed in the violent political crisis dissolved in fumes of tear gas as police battled stone-throwing youths. The latest violence came as former U.N. Chief Kofi Annan began talks to try to resolve the post-election stalemate that threatens what had been East Africa's most stable nation.
• Palestinians Buy Supplies in Egypt After Wall Breach
  Tens of thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip poured over the border into Egypt after militants toppled huge stretches of a barricade in a divided border town. They bought supplies that have become scarce or too costly after months of a tight Israeli blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza.
• Examining Obama's 'Present' Votes in Illinois
  Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has been criticized by his Democratic rivals for voting "present," rather than a more definitive "yes" or "no," when he was a state legislator. But Obama says these accusations do not take into account the nature of Illinois politics.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories

Become a Sponsor