Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Pentagon apologizes to Minnesota soldier for conditions at Walter Reed hospital
  A former Minnesota Army National Guard officer says when he was at Walter Reed in the summer of 2004, his hospital rooms were unclean and possibly unhealthy.5:18 p.m.
• A chat with Minnesota "Grease" star Laura Osnes
  Laura Osnes of Eagan is the one America wants to play Sandy in the revival of "Grease" on Broadway this summer. She was chosen for the role Sunday night in the finale of the NBC series "Grease: You're the One that I Want." Osnes talks to MPR's Tom Crann about the experience.5:24 p.m.
• Senate focuses attention on special education as it passes "lean" bill
  Senate DFLers say the state has to help schools with their special ed costs before funding new initiatives that Gov. Pawlenty has proposed. But the Senate education plan is leaner than either Gov. Pawlenty's education budget, or a House DFL bill released on Monday5:50 p.m.
• Designed for the dump
  Each year the average Minnesota family sends approximately one ton of waste into a landfill. Some of it is cheap clothing, electronics and furniture that's designed not to last very long. But environmentally conscious consumers are finding alternatives.5:54 p.m.
• Author John Banville crosses the line into crime fiction
  There are few more serious novelists writing today than John Banville, whose novel, "The Sea," won the Man Booker prize in 2005. Banville has now crossed the divide into crime fiction, writing his latest novel, "Christine Falls," under the name of Benjamin Black.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Ambassador Khalilzad Bids Farewell to Baghdad
  Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad wraps up a tumultuous 21-month assignment in Iraq with a farewell news conference in Baghdad's Green Zone.
• Smithsonian Chief Steps Down Amid Criticism
  Lawrence Small, head of the Smithsonian Institution, resigns in the wake of an internal audit that found unauthorized expenses totaling $90,000. Small was criticized for what some considered a lavish lifestyle, including a $900,000-plus salary and a million-dollar housing allowance.
• Warming Will Create Micro-Climates, Scientists Say
  Scientists say a warmer climate will create novel micro-climates — mixes of rain, heat and wind in a region like the Adirondacks or the Amazon. The mix of animals and plants in the new climates will be new, too.
• New Developments Come Out of Cardiology Forum
  Dr. Stuart Seides, associate director of Cardiology at Washington Hospital Center, talks about some of the developments unveiled at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans.
• How Did a Kangaroo Skinner Get to Guantanamo?
  Leigh Sales, Australian Broadcasting Corporation's national security correspondent and author of the book The Worst of the Worst: The Case of David Hicks. Sales talks about how a kangaroo-skinner found himself at Guantanamo Bay, on trial for providing material support for terrorism.
• Australian Detainee Has Hearing at Guantanamo
  Australian citizen David Hicks, charged with providing material support for terrorism, had a hearing Monday at Guantanamo. Hicks is the first prisoner to be formally charged under new military tribunal rules drawn up in the wake of a Supreme Court decision which found the previous rules unconstitutional.
• Ireland's Hard-Line Leaders Agree to Power Share
  The two hard-line leaders of Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities met for the first time Monday and agreed to start sharing power in the province. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and the Rev. Ian Paisley, head of the Democratic Unionist Party, agreed to work together in a coalition government starting in May.
• Dems Allege Interference in Phone-Jamming Case
  Questions about political pressure in the Justice Department spill over into the New Hampshire phone-jamming case. The state Democratic Party alleges interference when a federal appeals court overturned the conviction of an RNC operative who green-lighted a scheme to disrupt Democrats' get-out-the-vote efforts.
• Feast of the Annunciation Celebrates a Proud Mary
  Depending on whether you are of Orthodox or Catholic faith, the feast of the Annunciation was either Sunday or Monday. For one woman, it's a holiday that's always worth celebrating.
• Dinner Party Don'ts for Budding Hosts
  Commentator Marion Winik has given and attended a lot of dinner parties and has this advice for budding hosts.
• Honking Horns Transformed: Ghana's Por Por Music
  A new CD features a unique musical combination from Ghana: drums, singing, bells and squeeze-bulb horns. The band members are taxi and truck drivers, and their music, por por, is named after the sound their horns make.
• Rome Church Houses Lessons on Religious History
  Rome's San Clemente church encapsulates centuries of Italy's turbulent history and offers a one-stop lesson in much of the history of Western art and religion. It houses a pagan temple as well as Christian houses of worship.
• Barton Bulldogs Bask in Glory of Extraordinary Win
  On Saturday, in an incredible come-from-behind upset, the Barton Bulldogs won the Division II men's basketball championship. Ron Lievense is the basketball coach at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., a school of about 1,100 students.
• Explosions in the Sky's Instrumental Alternative
  The Austin, Texas, band called Explosions in the Sky has spent eight years pursuing what might strike some as a tiny sub-speciality: alternative instrumental rock. The band has a new album called All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone.
• Elizabeth Edwards Makes Solo Public Appearance
  Elizabeth Edwards spoke Monday at the City Club of Cleveland in her first solo public appearance since learning that her cancer has returned. The wife of presidential candidate John Edwards said she was touched by a national outpouring of phone calls and e-mails expressing sorrow for her turn for the worse.

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