Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Report: MediaNews bids on Pioneer Press, three other McClatchy newspapers
  MediaNews Group Inc. has offered to buy the St. Paul Pioneer Press and three Knight Ridder Inc. newspapers in California for as much as $1 billion, according to a published report Thursday.5:18 p.m.
• Old debate resumes: Should seat belt use be a choice?
  Minnesota drivers could be pulled over for not wearing seat belts, under a bill that passed the Minnesota Senate on Thursday.5:23 p.m.
• MSU-Moorhead requires alcohol safety course
  Minnesota State University-Moorhead is the first school in the state to require an alcohol safety course of incoming freshmen. The online course is designed to help students adjust to college life and to understand the dangers alcohol poses to them and their peers.5:52 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• A Virgin over the Marriage Threshold
  Commentator Caroline Langston reveals why she chose to be a virgin on her wedding night, at 31. Langston says that for her, abstinence helped make her and her new husband leave their wedding reception in a hurry. Now a mother of two, she questions the notion of "casual sex."
• Medicare Prescription-Drug Program Hits New Snag
  Medicare officials say the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit program has reached its enrollment goal of 30 million people. But as many as a half a million of those are getting letters warning them that they may soon be dropped from the program.
• Falun Gong Is a Presence at Hu-Bush Meeting
  Falun Gong demonstrators have been plentiful in the area around the White House this week, often standing in silence while holding banners. The signs spell out their grievances and detail the tortures the group says have been used against it in China.
• In Abramoff E-Mails, the Subtle and the Not-So
  NPR's Peter Overby takes a long look underneath the cyber-covers at the everyday e-mail dealings of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and David Safavian, the top procurement officer in the Office of Management and Budget. It's a "how Washington works" story.
• Crossfield Tested the Sky's -- and Body's -- Limits
  Test pilot Scott Crossfield, a legend in the tight-knit community of fliers, has died. The 84-year-old pilot's death has been confirmed after air-traffic control lost contact with his plane early Wednesday. Robert Siegel talks with Ken Hyde, President of the Wright Experience.
• The Art of the Obituary
  One way to measure the fame of a celebrity might be the length of his obituary. Another might be how far in advance it is prepared. So says veteran newsman Walter Cronkite, who has covered the lives, and deaths, of many famous Americans. Cronkite talks about the art of marking someone's passing, including some of the stories he presented as anchor of the CBS Evening News.
• Payola Inquiry Includes Clear Channel, CBS
  The FCC wants to know if radio programmers at Clear Channel Communications Inc., CBS Radio Inc., Entercom Communications Corp. and Citadel Broadcasting Corp. received cash or gifts in exchange for playing songs without disclosing such a deal.
• More Than 1,000 Undocumented Workers Arrested
  U.S. Immigration officials announce their largest ever worksite enforcement action. In raids across the country, agents arrested more than 1,100 unauthorized employees at IFCO Systems, a distributor of wooden pallets. They also arrested seven officers of the company.
• Negroponte Praises Intelligence Advances
  One year after becoming the nation's first director of national intelligence, John Negroponte makes a rare public appearance, to "review major accomplishments within the ODNI organization and outline future challenges and opportunities facing the intelligence community."
• U.S.-Russia Accusations Fly, and Relations Turn Icy
  Last month, Washington accused Moscow of giving military intelligence to Iraq during the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Now, officials in Moscow say the United States is holding up Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization. Deteriorating ties between the White House and the Kremlin in recent months have prompted talk of a new Cold War. Some foreign-policy analysts say that's because Moscow doesn't share Western values -- which Western countries have been slow to understand.
• FBI Defends Request for Columnist's Papers
  The FBI wants to comb through thousands of documents from the professional papers of the late investigative reporter Jack Anderson to see whether they include classified documents. A senior FBI official talks about what's behind his agency's interest in the papers.
• Al-Jaafari Prepares to Step Aside in Iraq
  A long-standing political impasse in Iraq could soon be broken, as signs emerge that the Shiite alliance has agreed to review its nomination of Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister. Sunni and Kurdish leaders, along with some Shiites, are opposed to Jaafari. Parliament is scheduled to convene Saturday.
• As Bush and Hu Discuss Issues, a Protest Erupts
  President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao hold talks on nuclear proliferation and energy policy as they work for closer U.S.-China ties. Outside the White House, activists protested human rights abuses by Hu's government. At east one managed to get inside to disrupt the day's ceremony.
• Letters: AIDS Diary, Rumsfeld and Mentos
  Melissa Block and Robert Siegel read from listeners' letters and emails. Topics include a report on a young South African describing what it's like to live with AIDS; our coverage of calls for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation; and an on-air science experiment involving Mentos.
• Pushing to Honor a Fallen Chicago Cop
  Rick Barrett, a retired DEA officer, is trying to get the Chicago police department to recognize Constable James Quinn as the first Chicago policeman killed in the line of duty. According to the Chicago Police Dept., Quinn died in drunken bar fight, and was not on duty. Melissa Block talks with Barret about why the city should recognize Quinn's passing.

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