Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• 'Son of Rambow' director enhances his childhood memories
  When Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith made the movie "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" a couple of years ago, they set aside the film the really wanted to make, "Son of Rambow." Now after being a hit at Sundance, the film is about to open in Minnesota.4:50 p.m.
• Star Tribune denies reports it is near bankruptcy
  The Star Tribune is denying a story in yesterday morning's New York Post that it is close to bankruptcy.5:20 p.m.
• Tasty invasives
  The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis is asking for public help to get rid of an invasive plant.5:24 p.m.
• From 35th Street to Wall Street: Anatomy of a foreclosure
  Tomorrow, a Minneapolis woman is scheduled to lose her home. Faith Burns has been told to be out of her house. The bank says she's fallen behind on her monthly mortgage payments and is foreclosing on her. We traced the path of Faith Burns' mortgage to Wall Street.5:35 p.m.
• In The Loop - Story Slam: real estate
  MPR's In The Loop invited Twin Cities storytellers for a real estate-inspired open-mic. Minneapolis resident Lucie Amundson brings her experience in the sagging market to the crowd at the Bedlam Theater in Minneapolis.6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• New Form of Fungus Threatens Wheat Supply
  Fifty years ago, a fungus called stem rust was a major threat to the world food supply. But scientists came up with new wheat varieties that kept the disease in check. Now, a new variety of rust has arisen in Africa and is rapidly spreading around the globe.
• Sonoma Restaurants Seek Creative Fixes for Woes
  Rising food prices and the sagging economy are a double whammy for restaurants in California's Sonoma County. In a place that sets the pace for fine cuisine, restaurant owners are under pressure to get creative as they face soaring costs and fewer diners.
• Letters: Women Presidents, Coots
  Listeners comment on Friday's show, sending their thoughts on a Julia Louis-Dreyfus ad and on coots — the birds, not the people.
• Yahoo Stock Falls After Microsoft Deal Collapses
  Yahoo shares fell sharply on Monday, the first day of trading after news that Microsoft had pulled its $44 billion offer for the company. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer refused Yahoo's demand for a better deal.
• Understanding a Horse-Racing Tragedy
  Second-place finisher Eight Belles was euthanized on the track at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The filly broke both front ankles after crossing the finish line. Scott Palmer, owner of the New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg, N.J., talks about the issues surrounding the filly's death.
• Eighth-Grader Gets Basketball Scholarship
  The University of Kentucky has given Michael Avery, an Encino, Calif., eighth-grader, a scholarship to play basketball for the Wildcats in 2012. Brick Oettinger, a recruitment analyst for PrepStars.com, talks about the rarity of Avery's offer.
• Unhealthy Ozone Levels Detected in Kansas Park
  A pollution sensor in a state park in a remote area of Kansas is registering ozone levels in the unhealthful range on some summer days. The park is hundreds of miles from anything approaching a major city.
• Russia's Relations with West Chilled Under Putin
  Russian President Vladimir Putin has used his country's vast energy wealth to return Moscow to the world stage during his eight years in office. But instead of integrating with the West, as some had hoped, the Kremlin has made its mark by opposing Western policy.
• Woman in Interracial Marriage Case Dies
  Mildred Loving, a black woman who married a white man in 1958, when interracial unions were banned in Virginia, died last week. The couple's case made it to the Supreme Court, which overturned the Virginia ban in 1967.
• CBS Tries Comedy-Crime Crossover
  CBS is crossing over its sitcom Two and a Half Men with the procedural crime drama CSI. The shows aren't just going to share actors and storylines: Comedy writers are working on CSI, and Two and a Half Men is being written by CSI vets.
• Why Did Yahoo Refuse Microsoft?
  Yahoo fended off the merger deal offered by Microsoft. But why? Robert Hof, the Silicon Valley bureau chief of BusinessWeek, gives a sense of Yahoo's corporate health.
• A Look Ahead to the Indiana Primary
  Indiana political analyst Brian Howey talks about which voters are likely to back which candidate in Tuesday's Democratic primary. Indiana weighs in on the race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the same day as North Carolina.
• Countries Meet to Pledge Support for Sudan
  Donor countries are meeting in Oslo this week to promise aid for southern Sudan — the part of the country emerging from a 20-year civil war. Aid workers say the area is not getting the attention it needs.
• Iran's Dissident Crackdown Sparks Exiles' Fears
  An Iranian government crackdown on dissidents is raising fears among the large community of Iranian exiles, who worry they too could be targeted. Some say the Islamic republic is ratcheting up the pressure by threatening political opponents living overseas — even in the United States.
• Cyclone Kills Thousands in Myanmar
  Myanmar's foreign minister says the death toll from a devastating cyclone that hit Saturday could reach more than 10,000. The storm knocked out electricity to the country's largest city and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

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