Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Alabama native sings over second chance
  It's graduation day at the Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps center in St. Paul, and one of the graduates, Terrance Cummings, an accomplished vocalist, is so pleased he's graduating, he's inviting the community to come join him in song.4:48 p.m.
• Low vitamin D levels tied to higher blood pressure
  Vitamin D. We all need it. And the most abundant source comes from the sun's rays. While many of us may be getting higher doses of it during the summer months, Vitamin D is also getting more attention lately from the medical community.4:52 p.m.
• State reverses position on light-rail inclusion in rebuilt I-35W bridge
  Gov. Pawlenty says the new I-35W bridge can be designed to hold light rail without causing significant delays to its construction.5:20 p.m.
• Northwest grabs Midwest
  Northwest Airlines could eventually acquire Midwest Airlines. That possibility has emerged in a $450 million all-cash buyout deal in which Northwest is a minority investor. Northwest teamed with TPG Capital, a private equity group, to trump a hostile takeover bid by AirTran.5:50 p.m.
• Songs from Scratch
  There's something magical about a great song, whether it's Stravinsky or Springsteen. But where do great songs come from? How do they go from words and melodies to something more? To find out, we gave three local bands two weeks to take one set of lyrics and put it to music.6:28 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• The National Shows Orchestral Ambitions in 'Boxer'
  The five-piece band known as The National — which toured as the opening act for The Arcade Fire, a Montreal band with a thundering orchestral sound —uses lush strings, clunky old pianos and assorted brass instruments to create odd, image-rich nighttime music on its fifth album, Boxer.
• Legal System, Parents Eye Self-Described Pedophile
  Jack McClellan used to run a Web site offering tips on how to watch little girls. But he has never been accused of, arrested for or charged with an offense against a child. A judge recently forbid him from getting near any child in the state of California.
• 'Day Night Day Night' Offers No Easy Answers
  Day Night Day Night, the first film from Julia Loktev, won her a prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival and mostly rave reviews. The main character is a young woman who goes to New York City to detonate a suicide bomb, and the filmmaker doesn't want to provide any easy answers.
• Lender Inquiry Turns to Study-Abroad Deals
  New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigates whether colleges are getting perks from study-abroad companies like they got from student-loan companies.
• Fed Cuts Discount Rate to Calm Markets
  It has been another rough week for investors on the volatile world financial markets. Ongoing concerns about the underpinnings of the U.S. mortgage industry are raising questions about the broader economic picture for the domestic economy.
• Iraq: Reflecting on the Past Four Years
  John Burnett mines his tapes from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and compares them with fresh interviews and impressions from July 2007, asking people in Iraq today — from soldiers to Baghdadis — to reflect on what has happened in the past four years.
• Edwards' Ties to Mortgage Company Scrutinized
  Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has a big stake in a company that has been foreclosing on mortgages in New Orleans, not far from where he announced his candidacy as a champion of the poor against corporate greed.
• Is Political Futures Market Looking Bearish for GOP?
  David Brooks, a columnist at The New York Times, and Ruth Marcus, a columnist and editorial board member at The Washington Post, talk about a departing Karl Rove; a fraught GOP; a doubting Cheney; and rampant presidential primaries.
• Mom's Codeine May Pose Risk to Breast-fed Infants
  The Food and Drug Administration warns that some breast-fed infants may be at an increased risk of narcotic overdose if their mothers are taking codeine for pain relief. New genetic tests have confirmed that some women are ultra-fast metabolizers of the drug, which means more narcotic gets into their breast milk.
• Former House Speaker Hastert to Retire
  Congressman and former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has announced that he won't run for re-election in 2008. He made the announcement in his home district in Illinois.
• Why Cut the Discount Rate, and What's Next?
  The Fed on Friday morning cut the discount rate — the amount the Fed charges banks for overnight loans — by half a percentage point, thereby ensuring banks more access to money when they need it. Why did the Fed do it, and what other tools might it have to help calm anxieties.
• Researchers: Arctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low
  Researchers Friday say they are seeing something remarkable in the Arctic — a record low amount of sea ice covering the ocean.
• 'Mountain Bump' Among Mine Rescue Dangers
  The cave-in that killed and injured rescue workers at the Crandall Canyon mine is thought to have been caused by a "mountain bump," when shifting earth causes rocks to fall from the walls.
• Two Fine Comedies, Not the Least Alike in Dignity
  Sweetly smutty Superbad is a high-school riot, a comedy that's all about raunch; Brit-farce Death at a Funeral is all about stiff-upper-lip reserve. But both push the envelope, and even the English one has little to do with propriety.
• Search for Miners Called Off After Rescuers' Deaths
  The search for six trapped coal miners in Utah has been suspended indefinitely after three searchers were killed Thursday night in a cave-in at the mine.

Services

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

Become a Sponsor