Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Film director Kevin Smith, aka "Silent Bob," speaks
  The slacker event of the year kicks off this weekend with the release of "Clerks II." It's the sequel to the 1994 cult indie movie hit "Clerks" -- and it's a film director Kevin Smith once thought he could never make.4:49 p.m.
• Families settle lawsuit over Red Lake shootings
  Victims of the Red Lake school shooting and their families have accepted a $1 million settlement from the school district. The money will be distributed among 21 families but may not be the end of litigation over the tragedy.5:20 p.m.
• Mayo goes on the attack
  The Mayo-led Rochester Coalition has filed another report with the Federal Rail Administration. It details what the Coalition describes as DM & E's abysmal safety record.5:50 p.m.
• Minnesota group serves as watchdog for detainees rights
  There has been much debate about the U.S. treatment of detainees in places like Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. But, the United States is also facing scrutiny for the way it treats refugees and asylum seekers here at home. A Minnesota lawyer is just back from Geneva where a United Nations committee has been conducting periodic reviews of Washington's adherence to a covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified in 1992. Sandra Jezierski presented a report to the committee, compiled on behalf of the Twin Cities-based Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.5:53 p.m.
• St. Paul names first poet laureate
  Minnesota's capital city has its first poet laureate, St. Paul resident Carol Connolly. Connolly is a published poet and columnist. She has been active in local and state politics for years, and her first commissioned poem will come on Aug. 2, during Mayor Chris Coleman's budget address.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Bush's NAACP Speech is First as President
  President Bush addresses the NAACP's annual convention, the first time he has spoken to the civil rights organization since he took office. Two years ago, the president said his relationship with leaders of the NAACP was "basically nonexistent." And the group's leaders had their own harsh words for him.
• Landis Wins Stage to Narrow 8-Minute Gap
  Melissa Block talks with cyclist Floyd Landis, leader of the Phonak team at the Tour de France. Landis won Thursday's stage that ended in Morzine, France, a day after losing the leader's yellow jersey. But with a dominant win Thursday, Landis erased much of that gap, finishing 7:30 minutes ahead of the overall leader, Spain's Oscar Pereiro.
• Rise in Tijuana Abductions Sends Families to U.S.
  A wave of kidnappings has hit Tijuana, Mexico, just across the border from San Diego. Citizens' groups say more than 150 people have been kidnapped for ransom over the last year. The trend has made many wealthier families nervous -- and some are moving to the United States as a result.
• Health Agency: Drug Errors Still Common
  When Congress expanded Medicare to include drug coverage, it ordered the National Institute of Medicine to look at what should be done to minimize medication errors. The agency says medication errors harm at least 1.5 million Americans every year.
• Chaos in Baghdad Has Military Worried
  U.S. military commanders acknowledge that the Iraqi government's campaign to bring security to Baghdad is a failure. Violence in the capital has risen by about 40 percent in the past five days. At a candid news conference, Brig. Gen. William Caldwell acknowledges that things are not going as planned in Baghdad.
• Israel Faces Dilemma on Military Strategy
  It's the ninth day of heavy fighting in Southern Lebanon. Israeli jets bombard the region, while special forces battle with Hezbollah troops on the ground. What is Israel's military strategy? To find out, Robert Siegel talks with Michael Harris, a professor of political science at Ferris State University.
• Annan Pleads for Cease-Fire on Lebanon Border
  U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan makes an impassioned appeal for a cease-fire in the Middle East, warning of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. Annan is meeting this evening with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is preparing for a trip to the region to help resolve the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
• The Sound of the End of the World?
  Member station producer Bradley George, of WFDD in North Carolina, shares the latest in our series of listener-provided "Soundclips." He tells us about the "Doomsday Machine" -- and puts a humorous spin on the apparatus that warns of impending danger.
• Python's Electric Meal: No More Cold Blood?
  Sometimes snakes eat the darnedest things. Robert Siegel talks with veterinarian Barry Rathfon, who assisted this week in removing a queen-sized electric blanket from the stomach of Houdini, a 12-foot-long Burmese Python. The evasive reptile is believed to have ingested the blanket over the weekend, along with his rabbit dinner.
• Ninth Ward Postman Gets Back on His Route
  The Lower Ninth Ward, one of the New Orleans neighborhoods most battered by Hurricane Katrina, began receiving mail again this week. Melissa Block talks with letter carrier Wayne Treaudo, who has delivered mail in the Ninth Ward for 15 years, about what it's like returning to his route.
• St. Louis Crippled by Widespread Blackouts
  Nearly a half-million residents in the St. Louis area are in the dark after a fierce thunderstorm hit the region last night. Not only are the residents without power, but they're also forced to deal with stifling heat and humidity. Robert Siegel talks with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.
• Letters: Bush's Loose Talk, Middle East
  Melissa Block and Robert Siegel read from listeners' letters and emails. This week, listeners had a lot to say about President Bush's expletive, bathtub noises and our coverage of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
• Cities Engage Lobbyists, and Worries Arise
  It's no longer enough for cities and towns to call their representatives in Congress to secure federal funds. Increasingly, they're hiring their own Washington reps, with local government lobbying expenses up over 40 percent since 2000. But two towns have hired a lobbying firm at the center of two federal investigations.
• Lebanese Leave Tyre by the Thousands
  In Tyre and elsewhere in southern Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are trying to flee the area amid continuing attacks by Israeli warplanes and gunboats.
• Children vs. Grown-Ups on a Global Scale
  Commentator Andrei Codrescu tells us what it's like to be subjected to so-called "grown-ups." He talks about the restrictions adults put on children -- then extrapolates that relationship to global conditions.

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