Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• New iPhone launch becomes high tech meltdown
  The launch of Apple Inc.'s much-anticipated new iPhone turned into an information-technology meltdown on Friday, as customers were unable to get their phones working.4:50 p.m.
• Film director celebrates 1994
  While 1994 may not stick out in many people's minds as being one of the watershed years of U.S. history, it does for film director Jonathan Levine. "Much like 1776, just with more rap music," he says. It's the year he set his new film "The Wackness."4:53 p.m.
• McCain touts his economic plan in Hudson visit
  Republican presidential candidate John McCain held a town hall meeting today in Hudson, Wis., where he talked to an audience made up of mostly women about his plans to boost a sagging economy.5:21 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Prices Driving Family-Run Franchises Out Of NFL
  Commentator Stefan Fatsis, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, talks about the sale of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He says the two-decade run-up in the price of teams is driving the last of the old-line sports-franchise families out of the business.
• Fixing The Economy; Road Ahead For Candidates
  E.J. Dionne, of the Brookings Institution and The Washington Post, says the current economic crisis has been bred, in part, by under-regulation. Matt Continetti, associate editor at The Weekly Standard and author of The K Street Gang, says the move for more regulation is coming from the Bush administration.
• Tex Randall Needs A Home
  Danny Byrd, owner of Feldman's Fieldhouse Diner in Canyon, Texas, talks about the fate of Tex Randall. Byrd bought the 47-foot statue of the cowboy hoping to move it to his restaurant. When he learned it would cost approximately $50,000 to move, he realized he couldn't afford it.
• Value On Life 11 Percent Lower Than 5 Years Ago
  The Environmental Protection Agency has put the value of a human life at $6.9 million, 11 percent lower than five years ago. Seth Borenstein, science reporter with The Associated Press, says the number is how much a person is willing to pay to reduce his or her risk.
• Freddie, Fannie Troubles Continue
  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock values are down again Friday. Investors are worried that the two home mortgage giants may collapse from the burden of homeowners defaulting on their mortgages. Already, the two companies have posted $11 billion in losses.
• French First Lady's New Album Hits The Shelves
  French first lady and pop singer Carla Bruni's new album contains songs about her relationship with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. French political writer Anne Elisabeth Moutet says the album has been received "fairly well."
• A Literary Tribute To Iraq's Port City
  Muhammad Khudayyir's book Basrayatha: The Story of a City is part memoir, part history, part tribute and part travelogue. Basrayatha narrates the story of the port city of Basra and says that without date palms and waterways, it wouldn't be what it is.
• David Byrne Makes New York Building Sing
  Talking Heads co-founder David Byrne has made New York's Battery Maritime Building sing — literally. The once-busy ferry terminal was fitted with wires, hoses and solenoids. This isn't Byrne's exercise in being arty. Anyone can play the building.
• D.C. Drafts New Gun Law
  The Supreme Court decision has led Washington, D.C., to draft a new handgun law. D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, says the new measure will likely include a self-defense exception.
• New 3-D 'Journey' Sparks A Trip Back To The '50s
  There's a new Hollywood take on Jules Verne's 1863 novel; seeing it sent Bob Mondello back into the nearer past — to the wide-screen version of the tale he saw when he was a kid. Turns out it's still kinda fun.
• EPA Won't Regulate Greenhouse Gases
  The Environmental Protection Agency in a report Friday says it won't regulate greenhouse gases. The authors of the report could not agree on the effects of greenhouse gases on health. Any new regulation will have to wait for the next administration.
• Letters: N.C. Flag, Latinas For McCain
  Readers respond to Melissa Block's interview with L.F. Eason about his objection to North Carolina's flags being flown at half-staff for the late Sen. Jesse Helms, and David Greene's report on a Nevada group called Latinas for McCain.
• McCain, Obama Lay Out Economic Plans
  Presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain are both campaigning in the Midwest. The region has the nation's highest unemployment rate, and the candidates are trying to show they understand what voters need to protect their jobs.
• ICC May Seek Warrant For Sudan President
  The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court may seek an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar Bashir on charges of genocide in the country's Darfur region. It would be the first time a sitting head of state has been charged by the court.
• Support For Afghan Government Erodes
  Support among Afghans for their government is eroding in the face of escalating violence. Many say they feel trapped in their own country. They don't feel safe in the south, the birthplace of Taliban, or in other parts of the country.

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