Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Statewide smoking ban moves toward final passage
  House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Wednesday on a statewide smoking ban that shuts the door on ventilated smoking rooms and outdoor smoking patios.5:20 p.m.
• Gunflint wildfire grows, prompts more evacuations
  The fire at the end of the Gunflint Trail continues to burn out of control. More homes and cabins were evacuated Wednesday, to allow firefighters to set a controlled burn. Officials are getting ready for a shift in the wind Thursday, which could push the fire to the east and south, and possibly toward resorts along the Gunflint.5:24 p.m.
• Newspaper staffs are shrinking; will news coverage follow?
  In the second round of contract buyouts in three months, the Minneapolis Star Tribune plans to trim its newsroom by 13 percent. The St. Paul Pioneer Press went through a round of buyouts last year, too. Will news coverage of this region suffer as a result?5:50 p.m.
• Minneapolis soldier killed in Iraq
  Another Minnesota family is grieving the death of a soldier in Iraq. A 27-year-old Minneapolis man was killed by a roadside bomb earlier this week.5:56 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Cheney Visits al-Maliki for Talks on Iraq
  Vice President Cheney paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Wednesday, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders. As NPR's Jamie Tarabay tells Robert Siegel, the idea of "benchmarks" aren't yet part of Iraq's political discourse.
• Pentagon Asks Congress for $700 Billion in Funding
  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says he wants $700 billion to fund the Pentagon and the war in Iraq. If he gets it, he will preside over the equivalent of what would be the tenth-largest economy in the world. Secretary Gates explained the Pentagon's budget request to lawmakers Wednesday.
• U.S. Bombs Reportedly Kill 21 Afghan Civilians
  U.S. forces have killed at least 21 civilians in the bombing of a village in southern Afghanistan, according to Afghan authorities. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition confirmed the deaths of a significant number of enemy fighters, but said he had no reports of civilian casualties.
• Midwest Braces for Flooding on Missouri River
  Residents of small towns in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri are bracing for the worst flooding along the Missouri River in more than a decade. Flood crest predictions have fallen a little below early estimates, and small towns like Riverside, Mo., are hopeful that the levees that failed in 1993 will hold this year.
• Democrats Fault Interior on Endangered Species
  Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to prod the Bush administration to be more aggressive in enforcing the Endangered Species Act. The lawmakers have accused political appointees of attempting to manipulate the work of government biologists — a point of view supported by a report by the Interior Department's inspector general.
• Chinese Inquiry Cites Need for Product Controls
  The Chinese government's investigation into tainted pet food that was exported to the U.S. has revealed that melamine contamination is part of a broader problem in China: inadequate product controls. Beijing vows to tackle the problem with special attention to fertilizers, pesticides and additives to animal food.
• Hiring a Caregiver for Loved Ones
  Tens of millions of Americans are providing home care to aging parents and other relatives. But many families are hiring caregivers to look after their loved ones. Scott Shafer of member station KQED in San Francisco spent the day with one professional caregiver and filed this report.
• Butterfly Bandages for My Daughter
  Commentator Ken Harbaugh usually writes essays for ATC about his experience as a former Navy pilot. Today's offering, however, is about his other role - as the dad of his two-year-old daughter, Katie.
• Churches May Help in Fight Against Deportations
  Religious leaders have launched a national effort to provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The movement calls on churches to open their doors for people who face deportation.
• Africa's Tartit Steps Up Its Musical Game
  The mostly female African musical troupe Tartit was formed in the 1990s to play the European folk circuit. But these days, they're louder and faster.

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