Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• GLBT equality leader stepping down from OutFront Minnesota
  After leading the movement for gay and lesbian equality in Minnesota for 21 years, Ann DeGroot is stepping back.4:49 p.m.
• Report: JOBZ subsidy program unfocused and lacking oversight
  A new report highlights flaws in Gov. Tim Pawlenty's flagship economic development initiative.5:20 p.m.
• Central Corridor proponents wrestle with tough choices
  Ramsey County officials and business leaders are ready to make eleventh hour compromises as a major planning deadline looms for the proposed Central Corridor, the light-rail transit line that would connect Minneapolis and St. Paul.5:24 p.m.
• Hennepin County reports record foreclosure numbers
  Officials with the Hennepin County sheriff's office say the rash of foreclosures is showing no signs of slowing down. Last month there were a record number of foreclosures.5:50 p.m.
• Sweeney Todd: On stage and on screen
  Sweeney Todd pits the screen against the stage, with a new film version starring Johnny Depp, and a touring Broadway production at the State Theater in Minneapolis. An area Stephen Sondheim expert went to both and compares the two productions.5:52 p.m.
• Minnesota's Beethoven: what makes it so good?
  Despite the hundreds of other recordings of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, something about the Minnesota Orchestra's latest CD caught the ear of judges at the The National Academy of Arts & Sciences. MPR's Brian Newhouse explains what makes this new recording worthy of a Grammy nomination.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• W.Va. Judges Asked to Recuse in Massey Coal Case
  Three of the five state Supreme Court justices have been asked to recuse themselves from rehearing a case in March involving one of the biggest businessmen in the state, Don Blankenship of Massey Coal. Two of the justices have ties to him, and the third has publicly criticized him.
• Survivor Aids Hunt for Lane Bryant Shooter
  While police continue to hunt for the gunman who killed five people at a Lane Bryant store in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park last weekend, they clarify what they say happened at the store. A sixth victim who survived the shooting is aiding police in the investigation.
• Mo. Council Meeting Shooter Had Feuded with City
  Charles Thornton, the man who opened fire at a council meeting in Kirkwood, Mo., apparently left a suicide note before he began the deadly rampage in which five people were killed. Thornton was then killed by police. Friends and relatives say the gunman had a longstanding feud with city officials.
• Clinton Seeks to Cast Herself as Underdog
  Although Sen. Hillary Clinton collected slightly more delegates than Sen. Barack Obama in the Democrats' Super Tuesday contests, her presidential campaign spent the rest of the week repositioning her as an underdog. It all has to do with who her contributors are.
• Court Rejects Bush Policy on Mercury Emissions
  A federal appeals court has struck down the Bush Administration's "cap and trade" rule for power plants. The policy, which was set to go into effect in 2010, would have allowed power plants that fail to meet mercury emission targets to buy credits from plants that do, and thus avoid having to install their own emission controls.
• Violence in Gaza Threatens to Overshadow Talks
  Violence in the Gaza Strip threatens to damage the shaky peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Meantime, pressure is growing within the Palestinian Authority leadership — now confined to the West Bank — to open a dialogue with its bitter rival, Hamas. But those talks could jeopardize the already fragile talks with Israel.
• Defiant Afghanistan Deserves Candidates' Attention
  What exactly is the U.S. mission in Afghanistan? And what are the presidential candidates' policies concerning the region? NPR Senior News Analyst Ted Koppel looks at the conflicts in the region during the past two centuries and what they mean for America's current foreign policy.
• Book Scrutinizes U.S. Ideas That Led to Iraq War
  Fred Kaplan, author of Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power, says the Bush administration's world view is based on several misconceptions. For one, he says, the administration thought of freedom as a gift from God, without understanding the practical requirements of developing democracies.
• Packing Up a Presidential Campaign
  Former Gov. Mitt Romney was fond of touting his business management experience on the campaign trail, so, as his run for the presidency comes to a close, what happens to his funds, his staff, their equipment? Is suspending a campaign like going out of business?
• Will the GOP Close Ranks Behind John McCain?
  Social conservatives have jeered John McCain and charged that he is not a "true conservative." But with Mitt Romney out of the race, McCain is the likely Republican presidential nominee, so those critics must come to terms with his candidacy.
• In 'Bruges,' Medieval Charms (Plus Small-Arms Fire)
  Dramatist Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman) has been called a "stage Tarantino"; with In Bruges, his feature-film debut, he's left two Irish hit men at large in the picturesque Belgian city — and created some moments that are pretty picturesque themselves.
• Report: 8,800 Federally Protected Buildings at Risk
  A new GAO report says the more than 8,800 buildings currently under federal protection are woefully vulnerable to everything — from petty theft to a terrorist attack. Mark Goldstein, director of Physical Infrastructure Issues at the Government Accountability Office, talks with Michele Norris about the troubled Federal Protective Service.
• Crisis Looms as Bitter Cold, Blackouts Hit Tajikistan
  The lights have gone out in the impoverished Central Asian republic of Tajikistan during the coldest winter in more then a quarter-century. Aid organizations warn of food shortages, while diplomats say Tajik government officials are in a state of denial about the looming humanitarian crisis.
• Wisconsin Man Drives Millionth Mile in '91 Chevy
  Frank Oresnik, owner of the 1991 Chevrolet Silverado pickup that is about to cross the million-mile threshold, talks with Robert Siegel from the road.
• Understanding the Gospel According to Huckabee
  When Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee references Bible stories, do people understand? Boston University professor Stephen Prothero says those mystified aren't alone — half of Americans can't name any of the four Gospels, and that includes Christians.

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