Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• U of M graduation rases rise but remain low
  A report from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus shows the U is improving it's ability to retain students through graduation. But the numbers still aren't where school officials want to see them. Tom Crann talked to U of M Vice Provost Craig Swan.5:20 p.m.
• Gypsy moths stalk the North Shore
  The battle is beginning against a small brown moth on Lake Superior's north shore. Minnesota's largest infestation to date of gypsy moths was discovered last year in Lake and Cook counties.5:24 p.m.
• Minnesota explorers make it to North Pole
  Two Minnesota men have become the first people to trek to the North Pole in the summertime. Explorers Lonnie Dupre and Erik Larson hope to bring attention to how climate changes are affecting the Arctic Polar Ice Cap. Tom Crann talked to them from the North Pole.5:48 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Militants Threaten Israel, Which Turns to Syria
  Palestinian militants holding an Israeli soldier have given Israel less than 24 hours to start releasing 1,500 Palestinian prisoners, implying that the soldier would die if Israel doesn't comply. Israel said it would not negotiate. Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Syria that he held it responsible for the fate of the captured soldier.
• Israeli Soldier's Father Urges 'Restraint'
  Noam Shalit, the father of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, says he has not heard any news of his son's condition. While he says he supports the Israeli government's refusal to negotiate with militants for the release of prisoners in exchange for his son, Shalit hopes Israel will exercise restraint.
• 'When We Were Young': Art That's Not Child's Play
  A Washington, D.C., exhibit and a new book focus on the truly early work of artists like Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee and Winslow Homer: They look at drawings these artists created as children.
• Tilly and the Wall and the Rhythm of the Feet
  Tilly and the Wall is an Omaha, Neb., indie-rock band named after the well-known children's book. According to critic Will Hermes, their music has a childlike wonder and breathlessness — perhaps most evident in their percussion, which comes mainly from tap-dancing.
• Venezuela Debates Media's Role in Campaign
  In the lead-up to December's presidential election, Venezuela is deeply divided over the role of private TV channels. Venezuelan officials say private channels are overtly political and distort information.
• Mexican Parties Claim Win, Charge Fraud
  Mexico's top two presidential candidates are each claiming victory in the country's highly polarized election -- and their parties have accused one another of election fraud. An official tally of the contest, in which 30 million Mexicans voted, isn't expected for days. Though sharply divided by ideology, leftist Andres Manual Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon are separated by less than one-tenth of one percent.
• Remembering John McIlWraith, a Scottish Wit
  We remember former All Things Considered commentator John McIlwraith, whose essays aired between 1990 and 2001. His deep Scottish accent and wit charmed listeners with essays that spanned from his childhood bout with TB to his lack of appreciation for the bagpipe.
• Shuttle Launch Is a Go, Despite Cracked Foam
  NASA engineers move ahead with a rescheduled Fourth of July launch for the space shuttle Discovery. Technicians were concerned by a small piece of insulating foam that had fallen off the shuttle's fuel tank.
• An Author Asks That You 'Consider the Lobster'
  If David Lipsky had to give an alien one book about American life, it would be David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster, a collection of essays that are "experiential postcards." Lipsky is the author of Absolutely American : Four Years at West Point.
• In Limbo, Jetliners Get a Little TLC
  With commercial airlines struggling to cut costs, they often pull aircraft out of service, putting them into storage at places like the Pinal Air Park in the Arizona desert. There, rows and rows of airliners sit baking in the sun, their windows taped against wind-blown dust. Workers at the facility periodically start the planes' engines, much the same way one would start an old Volvo in the driveway to keep it from seizing up.
• Afghan Media Complain of Government Control
  The Afghan government is trying to control media coverage of the war against Taliban insurgents, government corruption and the growing drug trade. A document was dropped off recently at the offices of the major Afghan news organizations. Television, radio, newspapers and magazines all had to sign for the unsigned document showing that they had received new orders from someone on how to report the news.
• Forty Years of the Freedom of Information Act
  NPR's Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr reflects on the last 40 years of the Freedom of Information Act.
• Impasse Leads New Jersey to Shutdown
  Thousands of government workers are off work in New Jersey as an impasse over a new state budget stretches into a third day. Gov. Jon Corzine is in a conflict with state legislators over his plan to raise the state sales tax.
• At Wimbledon, It's Yankees Gone Home
  For the first time in almost 100 years, no American will compete in the Wimbledon Tennis Championships quarterfinals. The last American standing -- male or female -- lost today. Shenay Perry, ranked 62nd in the world, lost in straight sets to Elena Dementieva. Michele Norris talks with Bud Collins, Boston Globe writer and NBC commentator.
• Sales Fall, and GM May Join Nissan, Renault
  General Motors reports that its domestic sales fell nearly 26 percent in June from a year ago, when the company was offering generous incentives to customers. With sales flagging, GM is under pressure to slash costs and change its company structure. GM's largest individual shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian, is trying to broker a major alliance with rivals Nissan and Renault.

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