Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• New business slow to move in around Target Field
  For the past several years, downtown Minneapolis has seen healthy condominium construction and commercial growth. But the souring economy has muted the development boom.5:20 p.m.
• Metro home market shows improvement
  Twin Cities housing statistics are showing some signs of improvement, according to area realtor associations. But experts say the numbers do not necessarily suggest the region's housing market is getting healthier.5:24 p.m.
• After 85 years, protecting refuge still a challenge
  The Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge turns 85 this month, and biologists are still hard at work to protect it.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• In San Francisco, New Regs For Recycling
  In an effort to reduce what goes into landfills, San Francisco has adopted strict new guidelines for trash and recycling. No more throwing coffee grounds and orange peels into the garbage.
• Obama Follows Bush Policies On Transparency
  NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that while President Obama talks of transparency in government, in many situations his decisions to protect government secrecy echo the methods of President Bush.
• Chinese Internet Filter Spurs Criticism
  All new computers sold in China after July 1 must contain new software called that filters out a list of Web sites banned by the government. Jonathan Zittrain, professor of law at Harvard Law School and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, says the Chinese want to block politically and socially sensitive sites, as well as pornography.
• Home Equity Loans Complicate Mortgage Assistance
  Most people facing foreclosure hold a mortgage owned by investors and a home equity loan owned by a bank. But with foreclosures at record levels, some investors worry that the banks have some conflicts of interest getting in the way of helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.
• Son 'Relieved' To Tell Cops Of Dad's Stolen Artifacts
  From the 1960s until his death in 2007, collectibles dealer John Sisto amassed the largest private collection of manuscripts, ancient books, artifacts and antiquities in his suburban Chicago home. Trouble is much of it was stolen. His son, Joseph Sisto, tipped off police to the treasure. Now, the FBI is returning 1,600 of the items to Italy.
• Guard Killed In Holocaust Museum Shooting
  The guard shot at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington is dead. Park police say a gunman, identified as James Von Brunn, walked into the museum and exchanged fire with security guards. The suspect is in critical condition.
• Health Care Overhaul Opponents Use Selective Stats
  Opponents of Congress' health care overhaul plan often cite a statistic that a public plan would result in over 100 million people losing their private insurance. But the writers of the oft-cited report say the number of people who would join a public insurance plan varies dramatically depending on how that plan is designed.
• Zimbabwe's PM Seeks U.S. Aid
  Opposition leader-turned-Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is in Washington this week with a difficult task. Can he convince the Obama administration to lift sanctions and put some trust in his power-sharing arrangement with President Robert Mugabe?
• U.S. Backs Shareholder Voice In Exec Pay
  The Obama administration is taking new steps to regulate executive pay. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday the government will not directly limit compensation, but he did announce the administration will ask Congress to give shareholders a voice in pay levels and to provide a firewall between company management and executive compensation committees.
• North Korea's Labor Camps Examined
  Two U.S. journalists were sentenced this week to 12 years hard labor. Chuck Downs, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, discusses North Korea's labor camp and prison system. In 2003, his group published The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps.
• Bill Gives FDA Control Over Tobacco
  The Senate is expected to pass legislation soon that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products and advertising, as well as limit flavorings. But the bill doesn't allow the FDA to ban tobacco or the most popular flavoring, menthol.
• Abortion Terminology Analyzed
  NPR's Julie Rovner says that in 2003 while covering the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, she discovered that the term late-term abortion didn't mean anything medically. She says doctors refer to term as the end of a pregnancy. So late-term would mean after a pregnancy is complete. Rovner says this leads doctors to talk simply about late abortions.
• N.Y. Senate At Standstill Over Defection Drama
  Two days after a pair of Senate Democrats defected to the GOP, New York's Capitol is in chaos as party leaders argue over who is in control. The latest act in the political drama has the state legislature at a standstill.
• Song For Our Times: Elizabeth And The Catapult
  Just about everyone has been affected by the financial crisis, directly or indirectly. Songwriter Elizabeth Ziman used it as creative inspiration. She wrote a song about the crisis on Wall Street for her band, Elizabeth and The Catapult. "Taller Children" is the title track on her new album.
• Irish Question Catholic Identity After Abuse Report
  In Ireland, a report into child abuse in schools and orphanages run by Roman Catholic religious orders has renewed debate over the power the church wields in Irish society — especially in the field of education. The report found a shocking level of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

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