Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Minneapolis-based refugee organization gets new chief
  In Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Swat valley are seeking shelter with family and friends or in refugee camps. The Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee is among the international organizations responding to the crisis. ARC's new president and CEO Daniel Wordsworth sat down with Tom Crann to talk about the organization.4:50 p.m.
• No deal on a state budget yet
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty and legislative leaders say they're still trying to find a compromise for erasing the state's $4.6 billion budget deficit, but the clock is quickly running out. A closed-door meeting today produced no breakthrough agreement.5:19 p.m.
• Safety net hospitals face tough choices
  Minnesota's safety net hospitals are sifting through their options after Gov. Pawlenty eliminated public insurance coverage for up to 35,000 of the state's poorest adults in order to balance the budget.5:24 p.m.
• Higher education cuts could mean tuition hike
  If Gov. Pawlenty balances Minnesota's budget deficit by making cuts on his own, it's likely higher education funding could take a hit. The governor says he could slash as much as $190 million from the budgets of the state's colleges over the next two years. If those cuts go through, Minnesota college officials say they'll need to raise tuition significantly.5:50 p.m.
• 'Caroline, Or Change' performers learned from play
  The "radio" singers in "Caroline, Or Change," talk about their roles, girl groups and the civil rights movement.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• The God Chemical: Brain Chemistry And Mysticism
  In a study at Johns Hopkins, a majority of test subjects given a psychedelic drug reported having full-blown mystical experiences. Such research is shedding light on the chemical reactions that take place in the brain when people feel they're encountering God.
• Emotional Goodbye For Afghanistan-Bound Marines
  The Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment have been working hard, preparing for war in Afghanistan. But over the weekend at their home at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, it was all about meeting with family and friends, and saying goodbye to the unit known as "America's Battalion."
• Head In A Fog? Reach For 'Herzog'
  There's a little thing author Jeffrey Eugenides does when he can't write. When he's feeling sleepy, when his head is in a fog, he reaches across his desk, digs under the piles of unanswered mail, and unearths his copy of Herzog by Saul Bellow.
• Sri Lanka War May Give Way To Court Battles
  A 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka may be over. But the European Union wants an independent investigation into possible human rights abuses by Sri Lankan government forces.
• Trial Of Pro-Democracy Icon Begins In Myanmar
  The trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under way in Myanmar. She is charged with harboring an American who swam to the lakeside home where she has been under house arrest for the past six years. The American, John William Yettaw, is also on trial in the case.
• Ruling Deals Blow To Ex-Detainee's Abuse Case
  The Supreme Court rejects a claim from a former detainee who says he and other Arab Muslim men were rounded up and abused after the Sept. 11 attacks solely because of their Muslim heritage. The ruling may make it more difficult to sue former high-level Bush administration officials on charges of misconduct.
• The Search For The Perfect Password
  One problem that plagues all of our increasingly Web-based lives is the curse of online passwords. We have to use them for everything from e-mail to accessing financial information. Keeping up with them is a nerve-racking daily chore.
• Pioneer In Study Of Suicide Dies At 91
  Edwin Shneidman founded the American Association of Suicidology and the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center. Dr. Lanny Berman, executive director of the association, tells how Shneidman helped pioneer studies of how depression relates to suicide.
• Sex On The Tube: Sitcoms Test Boundaries
  Of all the shows airing during prime time, sitcoms have the most sex talk, according to the Kaiser Foundation. David Crane, a co-creator of Friends, says it's like a badge of honor to come up with clever sex jokes.
• Obama, Netanyahu Focus On Middle East, Iran
  President Obama and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold talks at the White House, with the focus on Middle East peace-making and Iran's suspect nuclear program.

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