Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Minnesota moves one step closer to embracing smoking ban
  The "Freedom to Breathe Act" would toughen Minnesota's groundbreaking 1975 Clean Indoor Air Act by prohibiting smoking in virtually all enclosed public places, including taxis, transit terminals and even bus stop shelters.5:20 p.m.
• Growing cities say they deserve more money from the state
  The leaders of some fast-growing rural Minnesota towns say they're being cheated out of their fair share of money from the state.5:50 p.m.
• Deconstructing Bob Dylan
  They call themselves Dylanologists, and in the words of one of their leaders, there's something wrong with you if you're not "intrigued, enthralled and obsessed" with Bob Dylan. They are wrapping up a four-day symposium in Minneapolis, examining the career of the Minnesota-born singer and songwriter.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• A Love Affair That's Going Places
  Commentator Jay Keyser is having an affair. But it's not with another woman. Keyser explains the superhuman qualities of his mistress, and the dangers of his unusual affair.
• Tony Snow Says His Cancer Has Returned
  The White House press secretary has suffered a recurrence of the colon cancer that he battled more than two years ago. Tony Snow, who has been President Bush's spokesman for nearly a year, had surgery Monday to remove a small growth on his abdomen. Doctors found the cancer, which has spread to Snow's liver.
• Military Officials Discuss Sentence for Hicks
  A military judge and lawyers meet at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to work out the sentencing of David Hicks, an Australian citizen who has pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism. Hicks, 31, faces the possibility of life in prison.
• A Home Recorder's Dream: Playing with Pros Online
  It takes place every day and every night, in backrooms, basements and garages: Amateur musicians use computers to make home recordings that sound like they came from a studio. Home-studio devotee Jeffery Pepper Rogers is going a step further, outsourcing part of his creative process.
• Rice Gets Olmert, Abbas to Meet; What's Next?
  Secretary State Condoleezza Rice says that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas have promised to meet every two weeks. Analysts say that at the least, the move may blunt some of the criticism of the White House for its approach to the Middle East.
• A U.S. Attorney Is Fired, and Onlookers Wonder
  Paul Charlton of Arizona is one of the fired U.S. attorneys whose dismissal has sparked a congressional inquiry. Charlton's case is representative of a number of the dismissed prosecutors — many people have ideas about why they were fired, but no one seems to have the definitive answer.
• Gulf Shrimpers Worry Cleanup Will Hurt Season
  Hauling away debris that Hurricane Katrina dumped into the Gulf of Mexico seems like a good step — and perhaps an overdue one. But shrimpers and fishermen along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are worried that their shrimp season will be destroyed by the cleanup.
• Arab Leaders May Take Up Israeli Peace Plan
  Arab leaders are gathering in Riyadh for a summit conference that may reaffirm a five-year-old offer of peace with Israel. The plan, drafted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah when he was crown prince, calls for Israel to withdraw from territory it took in the 1967 war.
• Who Do We Mean When We Say 'Troops'?
  Linguist John McWhorter dislikes the word "troops" when it is used to describe soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors. He finds the word distancing and dehumanizing. He explains why.
• New Royalty Rules May Reshape Internet Radio
  Webcasters and others who transmit music digitally say a recent ruling that raises the royalty rates for online music could put them out of business. The claim comes in the wake of higher royalty rates for Internet radio sites and others streaming music online.
• FBI Chief Chastised in Senate Panel Hearing
  Senators buffeted FBI Director Robert Mueller with complaints about his agency's misuse of terrorist surveillance laws and other flaws at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing. Mueller defended his agency against the charges, as well as accusations of incompetence related to the FBI's failure to account for all its laptops and weapons.
• Democratic Allies Split on Senate's Iraq Bill
  Last month, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) was one of two Democrats, along with Sen. Ben Nelson, to oppose a nonbinding resolution to withdraw from Iraq. But now, Nelson is supporting the bill before the Senate that includes a withdrawal date. Pryor says that any timetable should be classified.
• Senate Keeps Timeline in Bill to Fund Iraq Troops
  In the Senate, Democrats affirm a measure setting a timetable of next spring for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The deadline is attached to a $122 billion spending bill funding the war for the rest of the fiscal year. President Bush has said he will veto any Iraq legislation containing a time requirement.
• U.S. Troops Take Town; Giving It to Iraqis Not Easy
  U.S. forces have reclaimed the town of Muqtadiya, north of Baghdad, from Sunni insurgents. The U.S. troops want to hand it over to the Iraqi security forces — but mutual suspicion and a lack of cooperation are hampering the process.
• A First Novel that Pits the Far East with Canada
  Madeleine Thien, the daughter of Malaysian-Chinese immigrants, lives in Quebec City, Canada. Her first novel, Certainty, has just been published in the United States. The book is ripe with juxtapositions.

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