Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Jury selection a deliberate process
  Picking a jury pool in a high-profile case is a bit of art and science. Lawyers interview people looking for some very specific qualities and characters.4:48 p.m.
• Sweat it out
  It's finally feeling more like a normal Minnesota summer today, after several days of unusually high temperatures across the region. Over the weekend gardeners, festival-goers, and triathletes all toughed out the heat. How did they do it? Perspiration. We asked our regular medical analyst, Dr. Jon Hallberg, to tell us more about the body's natural cooling system.4:52 p.m.
• Entenza withdraws from AG race; sets off DFL scramble
  Matt Entenza, the DFL-endorsed candidate for attorney general dropped his candidacy Tuesday, setting off a flurry of last-minute filings for the September primary. Five DFL candidates are now in the running.5:19 p.m.
• Familiar causes lead to new rise in crime in Minneapolis
  Getting tough on crime in this country has had mixed results. Many ex-convicts are getting out of prison, and are ill-prepared to resume life. At the same time, police and youth workers report a rising number of disaffected young people turning to a life of crime for the first time.5:46 p.m.
• Walk in and sing a masterpiece
  Informal gatherings to sing great choral works are a summer tradition in New England. A conductor who recently moved to the Twin Cities from Boston is hoping Open Sings catch on in Minnesota too.6:22 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Family Resurrects Dream House on Mississippi Coast
  In Gulfport, Miss., attorney Jim Wetzel and his wife, Garnette, have almost completed rebuilding their 20-year-old Georgian Manor on the coast. It's about the only home on Beach Boulevard that's still standing. The mayor of Gulfport calls it an inspiration to the community.
• A Very Personal Vote for Stem Cell Research
  In the first of two essays about embryonic stem cells, commentator Terry Smith, recently diagnosed with diabetes, is hoping President Bush won't veto the bill. Smith is a former correspondent for Newshour. We'll hear another opinion on the issue of stem cells later this week.
• Senate OKs Stem-Cell Bill; Bush Veto Looms
  The Senate gave strong approval to a measure that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The House has already approved the measure and now the stage is set for President Bush to issue his first veto in 5 and a half years in office.
• Karzai Subject of Criticism at Home, Abroad
  Violence in Afghanistan adds to a growing sense of disillusionment, both inside and outside the country. Increasing criticism is falling on the president of Afghanistan; corruption, infrastructure delays, and decisions to arm locals (critics call them militias) are seen as indicators that Hamid Karzai is an ineffective leader. But some say Karzai may be the best option.
• Gonzales Testifies on U.S. Surveillance
  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at an oversight hearing on the Justice Department. Republican Arlen Specter, who chairs the committee, is expected to renew questions that he had previously asked Gonzales about judicial review of President Bush's terrorist surveillance programs.
• Boston's Spectacle Island Lives Up to Name
  Boston's Spectacle Island was once the prime example of all that was wrong with Boston Harbor: Trash and pollution had even driven the local bird population off its shores. Now, the island is Massachusetts' newest park.
• U.S. Diplomats Search for Long-Term Solution
  Robert Siegel talks with U.S. Undersecretary of State for political affairs Nicholas Burns about the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, and the United States' plans for diplomacy. In Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today the United States wants a cessation to violence in the region, but she added that whatever is done must be of lasting value.
• Syria Called Upon to Soften Hezbollah
  The Syrian government is coming under new pressure from Israel, the United States and other nations to use its influence to persuade Hezbollah to reach a peace accord with Israel. But how much influence Damascus has with the Lebanese Islamist movement is a matter of debate.
• Terror and Tenderness in 'Suite Francaise'
  The real-life story behind Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise is a compelling one: the author's manuscript lay unread for years after her death at the Auschwitz camp. But Nemirovsky's writing, notes author Elizabeth Strout, can stand up to its own tragic provenance.
• U.N. Envoy Pushes Peace in Talks with Israel
  In Jerusalem, talks are under way between United Nations and Israeli officials on the possibility of a cease-fire in the weeklong violence between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. U.S. Marines helped Americans evacuate the region between Israel and Lebanon.
• Citizens, Monitors Pin Hopes on Congo's Elections
  The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing for its first democratic elections since 1960. Western nations are spending $400 million to help the polling go smoothly. The United Nations has dispatched 17,000 troops -- its biggest peacekeeping mission in the world -- to help stabilize the vast country.
• Heat Wave Brings Power Outages, Air Warnings
  A national heat wave has Americans dripping in sweat from San Diego to Boston and the strain on the electrical grid is causing power outages. Record amounts of electricity are being used today, and air quality in some regions is reaching unhealthy levels.
• In Echoes of Revolution, America's First Dictionary
  Robert Siegel talks with John Morse, president and publisher of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It was 200 years ago that Noah Webster published A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. Though small, the volume was the first American dictionary, with distinctly American words.
• For Tom Brosseau, a Sweet Voice Gets Louder
  Record producer Gregory Page was sitting in the back office of an Ocean Beach coffee shop called Java Joe's on an open-mic night when he heard what he thought was a female singer with a beautiful voice. He went into the shop and discovered that the voice belonged to a man: a folk singer and songwriter named Tom Brosseau.
• Unrest in Somalia Leads to Calls for Envoy
  Somalia's potentially explosive mix of instability and radical Islam lead to calls for the United States and its allies to untangle a complicated conflict. U.S. officials fear that Somalia, which has been without a government for 15 years, could become a haven for terrorists.

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