Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Senate passes bonding bill
  The Minnesota Senate took unusually quick action Thursday to pass the primary legislation of this year's session, a bill authorizing the state to borrow money for construction projects.5:19 p.m.
• Whose side is God on in same-sex marriage debate?
  Both camps in Minnesota's same-sex marriage debate are making the case that God is on their side. Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage rallied at the Capitol Thursday, just as supporters did earlier this week. Both rallies put the focus on religious faith.5:23 p.m.
• Christian Carion gets his revenge
  The Christmas Truce of 1914 is a well-known story in some parts of the world. But in France, where French, British, and German troops actually laid down their arms to celebrate Christmas together, the story was buried for years. Now an Oscar-nominated film is changing that.5:49 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Radical Islam is the New Totalitarianism
  The third anniversary of the U.S.-led war in Iraq has focused attention on postwar planning, the withdrawal of U.S. troops, and the possibilities of civil war. Commentator Joe Loconte says these issues shouldn't distract our attention from the horrifying vision of radical Islam.
• Balad Military Hospital Treats Soldiers, Insurgents
  Thousands of American and Iraqi casualties have been treated at the American military hospital in Balad, Iraq. Many of the recent casualties were Iraqi police and soldiers. But the hospital also treats civilians and even insurgents, offering the same care that an American soldier would receive.
• States Waver over Emergency Contraception
  Social conservatives win a victory in Connecticut when lawmakers decide not to vote on a bill that would require hospitals to give rape victims emergency contraception, or Plan B. Similar bills are pending in seven other states, as are bills to restrict access to Plan B.
• Meatpacker Sues USDA for Right to Test for Mad Cow
  A Kansas meatpacker is suing the United States Department of Agriculture for denying it permission to test its cattle for mad cow disease. Creekstone Farms wants to test all of the cattle it slaughters with the aim of reopening the lucrative Japanese market.
• 'Crisis' Details U.S. Strategists' Role in Foreign Polls
  The documentary Our Brand is Crisis looks at the work of American consulting firm Greenberg Carville Shrum. The firm helped Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, aka Goni, win the presidency in Bolivia. The director of the film, Rachel Boynton, talks with Robert Siegel.
• U.S. and British Troops Free Peace Activists in Iraq
  A military operation by U.S. and British troops frees three Christian peace activists in rural Iraq, ending the four-month hostage crisis. The fourth hostage, American Tom Fox, was found shot to death on a Baghdad street earlier this month.
• Bush Accentuates the Positive in War Speeches
  President Bush has replaced talk of broad victory with descriptions of limited progress. During a series of speeches this week designed to reverse falling public support, he tries to balance his optimistic message that the mission can succeed with news accounts of a growing insurgency.
• Morrison's Dad Discusses College Ball, Famous Son
  Gonzaga University basketball star Adam Morrison is in Oakland, Calif., where the Zags will play against UCLA in the Sweet 16. His father, John, himself a former professional player, talks with Melissa Block about basketball, fame, and that goofy moustache his son has been sporting.
• Confessions of a Coffee Addict
  Commentator Ed Cullen talks about quitting his favorite addiction: coffee.
• Protesters Fight Impending Youth-Jobs Law
  Protests continue in France over a youth-jobs law proposed by the prime minister and passed by the parliament. The law allows employers to fire, at will, workers younger than 26 during their first two years on the job. Nicole Bacharan, of the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Paris, talks with Robert Siegel.
• Bodies Still Being Discovered in New Orleans Cleanup
  New Orleans Fire Chief Steve Glynn talks with Robert Siegel about the recent retrievals of more bodies in New Orleans, found in debris during demolition and cleanup operations.
• Donors Consider New Ways to Help Palestinians
  Donor nations are discussing ways to help Palestinians while standing by their principles not to aid a Hamas-led government unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist. Officials, desperate to keep pressure on Hamas, are reluctant to talk openly about the proposals.
• Letters: Pre-Emptive War, Banjo, Happiness 101
  Robert Siegel and Melissa Block read from listeners' letters and e-mails, including comments on last week's segment about the Bush administration's doctrine of pre-emptive war, reflections on the recordings of the clawhammer banjo, and a report about the "positive psychology" class at Harvard.
• Climate Change Could Cause Rapid Rise in Sea Levels
  Before the last ice age, global sea level was as much as 20 feet higher than it is today. Global warming is likely to push air temperatures back to the levels found 129,000 years ago in the next century so sea levels could rise much faster than expected.
• Expert Explains Possible Effect of Rise in Sea Levels
  Michael Oppenheimer, professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton University, talks with Melissa Block about the potential effects of a rise in sea level.

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