Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• U of M clinic helps adoptive families
  The University of Minnesota has become a pioneer in the developing field of adoptive medicine. It's home to the International Adoption Clinic, which helps adoptive parents with their children's physical and mental health challenges.5:20 p.m.
• Judge rules Twins can leave Metrodome after this season
  A judge ruled Monday that the Minnesota Twins don't have to play in the Metrodome beyond the 2006 season, increasing pressure on lawmakers to approve a stadium funding package this spring.5:50 p.m.
• They're 'our' trout
  Early in the 1900s, wildlife officials brought brook trout from New England to stock streams in southeast Minnesota. They looked and behaved like the brook trout already in those streams. But new genetic research shows the fish in those streams today are the ancestors of the native brook trout, and not the ones brought in from the east. Tom Crann talked with Saint Cloud State genetics professor Loren Miller, who conducted the genetic "fingerprinting" that led to this doscovery.5:53 p.m.
• Josephine's mounting debt
  Last October we introduced you to Josephine Ruiz, 72, who was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up with her heating bill this winter. So she planned to get by with as little heat as possible by turning her thermostat way down and by using lots of blankets, a heating pad and her dog for warmth. We checked in with Ruiz recently to find out how her plan is going.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Gonzales Defends U.S. Wiretapping Program
  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies at a Senate hearing in defense of President Bush's program of warrantless eavesdropping on some domestic communications. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding its first of several hearings on whether the program is legal.
• A Symphony of Truck Horns
  One musical act that didn't make the halftime show at this past weekend's Super Bowl was Alexander Pollack's truck horn symphony. We spoke with Pollack in November about his plans for the National Anthem and other songs to be performed on the air horns. Now, we hear the results.
• Search Continues for Al Qaeda Prison Escapees
  The FBI says it will hunt down the 13 al Qaeda suspects who escaped from a jail in Yemen last Friday. Among the convicts is Jamal al-Badawi, who played a key role in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, and another man responsible for attacking a French oil tanker in 2002.
• Memories of 'Grandpa Munster,' Actor Al Lewis
  Commentator Andrei Codrescu offers his memory of actor Al Lewis, who has died at age 82. Lewis played Grandpa on the 1960s TV comedy The Munsters. Codrescu says that Lewis gained fame in the Spanish-speaking world in dubbed versions of the show.
• Budget Boosts Defense Spending, Cuts Medicare
  The White House releases its budget for the 2007 fiscal year. The plan totals $2.77 trillion -- with sizeable increases in defense and homeland security spending. But it also reduces funding to more than 140 social programs, including Medicare -- and assumes some tax cuts will be made permanent.
• Moussaoui Disrupts First Day of Sentencing Trial
  Defendant Zacarias Moussaoui repeatedly interrupts efforts to select a jury during the first day of his sentencing trial. Moussaoui has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the Sept. 11 attacks. The jurors will determine whether Moussaoui receives the death penalty.
• Democrats Criticize Budget Cuts for Social Programs
  Democrats are unhappy with the budget proposed by President Bush that would boost spending on the war on terror while cutting social programs. Some Republicans have problems with the budget too -- though the two parties may not always agree on what those problems are or how to solve them.
• California Prisons on Alert After Weekend Violence
  The massive Los Angeles County jail system is mostly in lockdown after two weekend race riots that left one prisoner dead and dozens injured. Black and Latino inmates have been segregated at the two facilities where the riots broke out to prevent further violence.
• Assessing the Effectiveness of NSA Eavesdropping
  The Washington Post's Barton Gellman talks to Robert Siegel about what is known about the effectiveness of warrantless eavesdropping in identifying terror suspects in the United States. Gellman says the evidence he has found suggests the program isn't very efficient.
• Learning a Lesson or Two from Arabic Hip-Hop
  Commentator Aaron Freeman recently spent a couple of hours watching Arabic hip-hop videos. He says that hip-hop is an American form, but that U.S. rappers might do well to learn a lesson from their Arabic-speaking colleagues.
• Face Transplant Patient Makes First Media Appearance
  BBC producer Grainne Harrington talks to Melissa Block about the first public media appearance of Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who received a partial face transplant in November. Harrington joins us from Amiens, France, near the hospital where the transplant was performed.
• 'Detective to the Stars' Pellicano Indicted
  In Los Angeles, celebrity private eye Anthony Pellicano pleads not guilty to federal charges of racketeering and conspiracy. Pellicano faces more than 100 counts of illegally wiretapping and spying on some major stars. Many observers wonder if some of his clients also may face prosecution.
• Reuven Frank, Broadcast News Pioneer, Dies at 85
  Robert Siegel remembers Reuven Frank, the former president of NBC News. Frank teamed Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on the evening news and picked Tom Brokaw to succeed them. He also pioneered network coverage of political conventions. He died last night at age 85.
• Press Freedom Not Always Paramount
  Senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that American media outlets made the correct decision in deciding not to republish a cartoon offensive to millions of Muslims. In times of tension, First Amendment rights may give way to other interests.
• Kansas Church Uses Funerals for Anti-Gay Protests
  As Atlanta readies for Coretta Scott King's funeral Tuesday, police brace for Fred Phelps and members of his Kansas church. Phelps has exploited funerals for virulent, anti-gay protests. The controversial preacher says state efforts to neutralize his protests violate his First Amendment rights. Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports.

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