Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Lawmakers pass tax bill, borrowing on tobacco payments
  The Minnesota Legislature has passed a package of changes to state tax law that maintains state aid to cities and counties at levels from last year. The bill also includes the provision to let the state borrow against future tobacco settlement payments, which is a key piece of new revenue that led to the budget deal.3:20 p.m.
• State transportation cuts lessened under agreement
  The transportation bill agreed to as part of the state budget agreement doesn't cut transit funding as deeply as originally proposed and even contains some additional money for road maintenance.3:25 p.m.
• Hallberg: Do nice patients receive better care?
  Medical journals tend to focus on scientific studies and medical data. A recent headline in the Journal of the American Medical Association went a different direction: Do Nice Patients Receive Better Care?3:48 p.m.
• At a glance: Details of the budget bills
  Final agreements on several budget bills are being made public. As the work on the remaining bills continues, MPR will add details as they are announced.3:54 p.m.
• Lawmakers pass tax bill, borrowing on tobacco payments
  The Minnesota Legislature has passed a package of changes to state tax law that maintains state aid to cities and counties at levels from last year. The bill also includes the provision to let the state borrow against future tobacco settlement payments, which is a key piece of new revenue that led to the budget deal.4:20 p.m.
• Temporary SBA center for Mpls. tornado aid closes today
  Today is the last day for north Minneapolis homeowners, renters and business owners to apply for disaster loans at a temporary help center set up in the tornado zone.4:50 p.m.
• Lawmakers pass tax bill, borrowing on tobacco payments
  The Minnesota Legislature has passed a package of changes to state tax law that maintains state aid to cities and counties at levels from last year. The bill also includes the provision to let the state borrow against future tobacco settlement payments, which is a key piece of new revenue that led to the budget deal.5:20 p.m.
• Bill cuts funding for higher education by 10%
  In the next two years, Minnesota's higher education system will each receive a little over a billion dollars in state aid, 10 percent less than they received in the previous two years.5:25 p.m.
• State transportation cuts lessened under agreement
  The transportation bill agreed to as part of the state budget agreement doesn't cut transit funding as deeply as originally proposed and even contains some additional money for road maintenance.5:50 p.m.
• At a glance: Details of the budget bills
  Final agreements on several budget bills are being made public. As the work on the remaining bills continues, MPR will add details as they are announced.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Requiem For Pork Bellies
  The life and death of pork-belly futures, explained by a trader in Chicago's meat pit.
• Sen. Warner Discusses What's In The Gang Of Six Plan
  Robert Siegel talks to Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner about the Gang of Six's bipartisan deficit reduction proposal.
• House Takes Up 'Cut, Cap and Balance' Bill
  The House of Representatives takes up the "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill Tuesday. The Tea Party Caucus strongly favors the effort to cap federal spending at 18 percent of the GDP — a rate not seen since 1966 — and the plan to pass a balanced-budget amendment. But the bill stands almost no chance in the Senate and faces a veto threat from the White House.
• Medical Panel Recommends No-Cost Birth Control
  A study from the Institute of Medicine calls for free contraception for women as well as additional services to be added to the list of preventive care women should be offered with no cost-sharing.
• Why Borders Failed While Barnes & Noble Survived
  It appears to be all over for the Borders bookselling chain. Almost 11,000 employees will lose their jobs when the company closes its remaining 400 stores by the end of September. Though the two chains pioneered the book megastore business 40 years ago, Borders made some critical missteps over the years that cost it the business.
• San Francisco Superior Court Faces Massive Layoffs
  San Francisco Superior Court is laying off 40 percent of its staff and shuttering 25 of its court rooms due to state budget cuts. The downsizing means legal disputes will take many times as long to make it through the system.
• Hopeful Applicants Settle For Spare Job Openings
  Near Allentown, Pa., Peter Rittenhouse runs two Nestle Water bottling plants. There's no shortage of applicants, he says, but many lack the computer and technical expertise to work in a highly automated factory.
• Ads Push For Middle Ground Amid Syrian Conflict
  Media professionals in Damascus who used to work on campaigns for breakfast cereals and home mortgages are now turning their talents toward a campaign they say promotes a peaceful, democratic way out of the ongoing clashes in Syria. The polarization in the country, they say, is profound.
• Summer Sounds: Paddleball
  Listener Erika Bocian joins the many people telling us about the sounds that evoke summer for them. Hers is the sound of paddleball being played.
• Michael Vick Discusses Anti Animal Fighting Bill
  Robert Siegel speaks with Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles and Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, about a bill that will crack down on criminals who finance — and bring children to — dogfights and cockfights.

The Dinner Party Download™

A fast, funny digest of the week's most interesting news, cuisine, cocktails and culture.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories