Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Good grades would mean free college under Pawlenty plan
  Gov. Pawlenty has outlined a plan to provide free in-state college tuition to Minnesota's top high school students. Pawlenty says an estimated 16,000 students could benefit in the first year. DFL critics say the Republican governor has had an election-year conversion on higher education issues.5:19 p.m.
• Georgia pays tuition grants through lottery proceeds
  One state where a similar tuition plan is in effect is Georgia. Since the HOPE program began in 1993, it has provided more than $3 billion in tuition grants to some 900,000 college students in the state. The revenue for the HOPE program comes from Georgia's lottery proceeds.5:23 p.m.
• Brainerd and Baxter deal with the ups and downs of growth
  The cities of Baxter and Brainerd in central Minnesota have seen rapid growth in recent years. Local officials are happy with the vibrant development, but some fear it will hurt the area's natural appeal.5:35 p.m.
• Surgeon general report lights up smoking debate
  A U.S. surgeon general's report released Tuesday is prompting renewed calls for a statewide smoking ban.5:42 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• The Power Buzz in Los Angeles
  Stephen Duhart offers us a chance to hear the noisy power lines that are 60 feet above his home in West Los Angeles.
• What's in a Team Name? Ask the Girls
  Commentator Lois Shea coaches youth softball in Warner, N.H. The team is made up of girls 10 and younger. Earlier in the season, Shea let the girls on the team suggest team names. They came up with things like "The Goats" "The Wiz" and "The Whales." Lois Shea has an essay in the book Mommy Wars, a collection published by Random House in March.
• China Considers Fines for 'Sudden Event' Reports
  A draft law being reviewed by China's legislature would impose fines on the Chinese media if they report on "sudden events" without official approval from local governments. Wall Street Journal reporter Geoffrey Fowler says those "sudden events" could include things such as mining disasters, health scares and riots.
• Ramadi Battalion Not Ready to Stand Alone
  One of the first areas of the Iraqi army to "stand up" was the First Battalion of the First Brigade, now stationed in Ramadi. A recent visit shows they're still dependent on the U.S. military for food, medical supplies, water and gasoline. And soldiers report that to join the battalion, new recruits must pay a bribe of up to $600.
• Retrial Begins in Yates Child Drownings
  In Houston, a retrial begins for Andrea Yates, the mother who claims she was insane when she drowned her five young children in a bathtub in 2001. An earlier conviction was thrown out.
• Tour DeFense: Armstrong Hits Media Circuit
  Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is making the media rounds this week to rebut the latest doping allegations against him. In particular, he is denying sworn testimony from two witnesses who say he acknowledged in 1996 that he had used performance-enhancing drugs.
• States Find Local Use for Federal Land Profits
  Western states are moving to channel money from the sale of federal lands into local communities. The diversions have resulted in infrastructure improvements and the preservation of sensitive habitat. They've also gone toward other projects -- like a $42 million shooting range.
• Media Heavyweight Univision Sells for $13 Billion
  The nation's largest Spanish-language media company has been sold. A consortium of investors has agreed to pay about $13 billion to acquire the company, which reaches into the homes of about 98 percent of Spanish-speaking households in the United States.
• Israeli Military Rolls into Southern Gaza Strip
  The ballooning crisis over a captured Israeli soldier held by militants in the Gaza Strip has revealed fractures within Hamas. Exiled leaders have appeared more radical than those inside Gaza and the West Bank. But as Israeil troops gather at the border, divisions have emerged in Hamas' internal leadership as well.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, Family Reunited in Grave
  Author Nathanial Hawthone has been reunited with his wife and daughter, 142 years after his death. On Monday, Sophia and Una Hawthorne's bodies were re-interred beside the author at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Mass.
• China Races to Rescue Its Shrinking Wetlands
  Lake Baiyangdian, a network of nearly 150 lakes that form North China's largest wetland ecosystem, has shrunk by one-third in recent years, and lost many of its plant and animal species. The government is trying to rescue what ecologists call "North China's kidney" before it runs dry.
• Tech Tycoons' Dream: My Own Private Spaceship
  What is it about dot-com titans and rocket ships? Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com), Paul Allen (Microsoft), Elon Musk (Paypal) and John Carmack (Doom video games) are just the most famous on the growing list of middle-aged tech giants who want to build private spaceships.
• Heavy Rains Topple 100-Year-Old White House Tree
  President Bush awoke Monday to find a 100-year-old elm tree lying across the driveway by the North Portico of the White House. Several days of rain in Washington, D.C., had uprooted the tree. The National Park Service, which maintains the grounds, reports that the tree has been turned into mulch.
• Gates' Goal Shows High Hopes for Global Health
  Bill Gates surprised even his closest advisers when he said his dream is to eliminate the world's top 20 diseases in his lifetime. Gates-watchers say it's not naïve over-reaching. The Gateses have an optimistic belief in technology and management that, combined with their resources, could make a difference.
• A Sampling of Opinions on Iraq Troop Pullout
  Polls suggest that a majority of Americans aren't happy with the state of things in Iraq, but they are divided about whether -- and how soon -- the United States should withdraw its troops. We talk to Americans in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Ohio to hear their opinions on the war in Iraq.

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