Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• BWCA fire: Watching the winds, hoping for rain
  Strong winds fanned flames and threatened the homes and businesses along northeast Minnesota's Gunflint Trail Wednesday, as a large forest fire continued to grow near Seagull Lake. The Cavity Lake fire has burned more than 20,000 acres. While parts of the state saw much-needed rain Wednesday, the Boundary Waters got little.4:48 p.m.
• Quick storm wets roads and fields but crops need more rain
  Fast-moving thunderstorms rolled across the region dropping rain in some areas and teasing others with just a few drops. Dry farm fields and rivers and streams still need more rain.4:54 p.m.
• Stem cell veto could become a campaign issue
  President Bush vetoed a bill Wednesday that would expand federal research on stem cells obtained from embryos. The issue could also play a role in the November election, since two of the U.S. Senate candidates in Minnesota differ on the issue.5:18 p.m.
• Migrant workers sue Seneca Foods
  A group of migrant workers is suing Seneca Foods Corp. for breech of contract. The group works at the company's vegetable and fruit processing plant in Montgomery in southeastern Minnesota. One activist group is calling the suit a step toward equal rights for migrant workers.5:49 p.m.
• Who to call when digging up history
  At least two major construction projects in the state have run into historical artifacts in recent weeks. Digging for a sewer project at Lake Shetek has unearthed a number of artifacts, some of which could be as much as 2,000 years old. Meanwhile, planning for a harness racing track in Anoka county was put on hold after developers discovered the remains of a prehistoric Indian village on the site. Minnesota Public Radio's Steven John talked to Minnesota's State Archeologist, Scott Anfinson.6:19 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Feds Arrest Internet Gambling Executive
  The Justice Department is cracking down on the Internet-gambling industry. The CEO of one gambling enterprise, betonsports.com, was arrested as he changed planes in Dallas.
• Lebanese Official Urges Peace, Aid
  Lebanese Minister for Social Affairs Nayla Moawad says her country faces a humanitarian disaster because of recent Israeli attacks. She says the government has received no signal yet from Hezbollah about a cease-fire. But she wants to convince the group that they should use political, not military power. "Leave the arms to the Lebanese government," she says. Melissa Block talks wtih Moawad.
• Who's the Best Back Seat Driver?
  Melissa Block talks to Randy and Linda Burlison of Goreville, Ill. The pair took part in this morning's Blue Ox Back Seat Driver competition in Forest City, Iowa. They didn't do very well, but last year they came in third. The event -- in which a driver races backward while blindfolded and instructed by the voice of a companion over an intercom -- is in its eighth year. This year's winners were Eddie St. Angelo and J.R. Branson.
• New Autism Study Shows Discrepancy in Brains
  A new study by scientists at UC San Diego and the MIND Institute at UC Davis shows that men and boys with autism have fewer neurons in a part of the brain involved in memory and emotion. It's the latest evidence that this area of the brain, called the amygdala, may be one of the keys to understanding autism.
• Violence May Aid Hezbollah in Lebanon
  Analysts say Israel's attacks over its northern border have an unintended consequence: The Israeli bombardments are rallying former Lebanese critics to Hezbollah's side. Analysts in Beirut say Hezbollah acted for a number of possible reasons.
• Chicago Police Torture Deemed Too Old to Act On
  Members of the Chicago police routinely tortured suspects, predominantly black men, during the 1970s and '80s, special prosecutors say in a new report -- but the crimes are too old to file charges on.
• Applauding Bush's Veto on Stem Cells
  Commentator Joe Carter agrees with President Bush and his veto today of the bill for embryonic stem cell research. For Carter, it's a moral, religious and spiritual issue. Tuesday, we heard an opposing view from essayist Terry Smith.
• Shopping for the Consumer Price Index
  The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday released the monthly Consumer Price Index, a key economic indicator that tracks inflation. Robert Siegel goes shopping with Caren Gaffney to find out how the Consumer Price Index is compiled. He also discusses the CPI's importance with economists.
• Sago Inquiry: All That Could Go Wrong, Did
  The investigator of this year's disaster at the Sago coal mine in West Virginia issues a preliminary report that narrows the possible causes of the explosion. Still, the report states that, after the explosion, "everything that could go wrong, did go wrong."
• Bush Set to Speak at NAACP Convention
  President Bush will deliver an address to the NAACP convention Thursday, after years of poor relations with the civil rights group. What do delegates want to hear from Mr. Bush?
• A Printmaker Gets an (Unlikely) New Fan
  Commentator Daniel Pinkwater talks about his meeting with a Japanese printmaker. Pinkwater was tickled by the fact that both he and his new friend were short, fat, and wore glasses. Later, Daniel found one of the man's prints in a junk store.
• Israeli Bombs Rain on Lebanon
  With Israeli bombardment of Lebanon in its eighth day, the situation in the humanitarian situation in Tyre, 12 miles north of the Israeli border, is becoming desperate. Many stores are closed, food and water supplies are dwindling, and most people feel the roads are too dangerous for an evacuation. Robert Siegel talks with Washington Post reporter Anthony Shadid, who's in Tyre.
• Iranians Said to Balk at Role in Lebanon
  Internationally, there is speculation that Iranian support for Hezbollah is working both to distract from criticism of the country's nuclear capacity, and to flex Iranian muscle in the region. But according to New York Times reporter Nazila Fathi, the Iranian public would rather their government stay out of the war. Fathi tells Melissa Block that fears of a widespread conflict are growing in Tehran.
• Sharing Tips on Witness Protection Programs
  Administrators of the U.S. witness protection program are holding a conference with their foreign counterparts this week, helping them devise similar protections for witnesses who could be targeted for testifying. NPR's Ari Shapiro was invited to the gathering -- as long as he promised not to reveal where it was being held.
• Congress Quizzes Bernanke on Inflation
  On Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke's latest trip to Capitol Hill, he is quizzed about the latest inflation numbers -- and about what the Fed plans to do with interest rates.

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