Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Understanding the economics of tornadoes
  Experts say they are not necessarily surprised that the damage from the Hugo tornado was so extensive in a relatively new neighborhood like Creekwood Preserve. They say homes built today are more vulnerable to bad weather now than they were generations ago.5:20 p.m.
• Making the world better, one chestnut at a time
  The American Chestnut tree can save the world. That's the contention of a Minnesota farmer working to bring back the species.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Soccer's FIFA Drops Iraq from Competition
  Just days before a World Cup qualifying match, Iraq has been suspended from the competition by FIFA, soccer's governing body. FIFA announced the one-year suspension after the Iraqi government disbanded all of the nation's sports governing bodies.
• High Court Holds Steady on Bias Cases
  Ruling on two separate cases, the Supreme Court upholds the concept that retaliation is a form of discrimination. It's a position that the high court has held for 40 years, but these cases were the first of their kind to reach the current court.
• Ohio Couple Tell Sichuan Quake Tales
  A husband and wife from Columbus, Ohio, had planned a trip to China with the humanitarian aid group Heart to Heart before the deadly earthquake struck in Sichuan province. They decided to take the trip anyway.
• Myanmar Aid Now Reaching Irrawaddy Delta
  U.N. agencies in Myanmar say international aid workers are finally moving into the Irrawaddy Delta. More visas for aid workers are being processed, and half a million people have now received food rations from the World Food Program.
• ICE Eyes 400,000 Deportations
  In a sweeping new initiative, the federal immigration agency says it wants each detention facility in the country to fingerprint every inmate and check them against a federal database for possible deportation.
• Iowa Farmers Cling to Springtime Planting Ritual
  Craig and LaVon Griffieon planted corn this spring on more than 100 acres of their farm in Ankeny, Iowa. With fewer and fewer American families living on farms, the annual gamble of spring planting has become a remote — almost exotic — experience.
• Cook, Eisner Try New Model for Online Video
  A new venture from former Disney head Michael Eisner and best-selling author Robin Cook tests a different sort of business model for online video. The two have launched a 50-part video series that serves as a prequel to Cook's new novel.
• Indiana Law Targets 'Explicit' Books
  A new Indiana law — due to take effect July 1 — would force any bookstore that sold even one book that could be broadly described as "sexually explicit" to pay a $250 license fee and be classified as an "adult bookstore."
• Lenders, Borrowers Discuss Bad Loans
  In days gone by, a foreclosure often involved home buyers and bankers who knew each other. Now it's mostly an impersonal business. But recently, lenders and borrowers were brought together to analyze what went wrong with their mortgage deals.
• A Guided Tour of 'Your Brain'
  Two neuroscientists have written a book for a general audience to debunk misconceptions about how the human brain works. The result is Welcome To Your Brain.
• Treating Childhood Ouchies with Placebos
  An enterprising mother has started a company to sell cherry-flavored sugar pills parents can use as placebos to "treat" children's minor aches and pains without real drugs. Family physician Doug Kamerow says the plan raises many ethical issues.
• Athlete Tries Hypnotism in Quest for Olympic Gold
  U.S. shot-putter Adam Nelson, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, is willing to try anything — legal — to win gold at this summer's games in Beijing. That includes sports hypnotherapy, in which he visualizes success in the shot-put circle.
• New Home Sales Edge Higher After Price Plunge
  Home prices sank at the fastest rate in two decades during the first quarter of 2008. But in a glimmer of hope for the housing market, sales of new homes rose in April.
• McCain Bemoans Spread of Nuclear Arms
  Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, faults both parties for failing to contain the spread of nuclear weapons over the past 45 years. He said neither diplomacy nor military force alone are enough to stop proliferation.
• Hillary Clinton and the RFK Assassination
  Sen. Hillary Clinton pointed to the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy as a reason she should stay in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. These are thoughts better not articulated, lest they have an effect on some disordered mind.

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