Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Floods leave victims high and dry when it comes to insurance coverage
  Insurance company advocates say more people should opt to buy flood insurance. But one expert says the real solution is to force insurance companies to offer flood coverage, and require all home insurance policies to include it.4:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• CBGB's Hilly Kristal Championed Punk-Rock Spirit
  Hilly Kristal, the founder of the legendary New York club CBGB, died Tuesday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 75. CBGB was an incubator for punk rock — and became a model for music venues around the world.
• September a Fresh Start for Students, Teachers
  Commentator and teacher Emily Wylie explains why she dresses and acts differently during the month of September than any other time of the year.
• Pakistan Could See Power-Sharing Agreement
  An agreement between Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has Musharraf stepping down as military chief. It's seen as part of a power-sharing deal they are negotiating for the upcoming election.
• Signs a Mouse Has Been in Your Car
  Commentator Julie Zickefoose has had many cars that have become homes to mice. She explains how to spot whether your car is desirable real estate for the furry little creatures.
• PetSmart Criticized for Testing Rabbit Sales
  PetSmart, the Phoenix-based pet care conglomerate, has decided to break with past policies and offer bred bunnies for sale in its stores. In the past, it has encouraged customers to adopt orphaned bunnies rather than buy new ones, but now it's launching test sales.
• River's Bounty Bypasses Families, Feeds Business
  Along Brazil's Sao Francisco River, thousands of poor people are living with no running water while neighboring agriculture giants and vineyards have limitless access to water — for virtually pennies. In Pernambuco, a 12-year-old girl fell to her death trying to "poach" water from a canal meant to irrigate fields.
• Ben Franklins Will Get a Security Makeover
  The $100 bill is in for a facelift. And when it emerges, Ben Franklin will sport some new threads — security threads, that is. A security strip made by Dalton, Mass.-based Crane and Co. will likely be in the newest version of the $100 bill.
• Bush Visits New Orleans on Katrina Anniversary
  President Bush visits a New Orleans school where children are still struggling with their memories of Hurricane Katrina two years after the storm.
• Cameras Link Doctors with Medics in the Field
  Ambulances in Tucson, Ariz., are being fitted with video cameras to provide a high-definition, wireless connection between doctor and paramedic. Dubbed "ER Link," the technology could build bridges, but some medics fear the system might undermine their value.
• Government's Lies a Matter of Convenience
  The Justice Department's denial of the impending resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is the latest example of government officials lying as a matter of convenience.
• Image Slows New Orleans' Economic Recovery
  Signs of revitalization abound in New Orleans these days, but serious issues linger. Two years after Katrina, New Orleans is doing its best to lure businesses to the city, but the city's image problems are still scaring many people away.
• Senator's Support Scatters as Arrest Comes to Light
  Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig has weathered decades of unconfirmed allegations and whispers about his sexuality. Now, he's under fire like never before after pleading guilty to a charge stemming from an incident in an airport bathroom.
• Do Witness Protection Programs Really Protect?
  Fourteen states have programs designed to keep witnesses to crimes safe before and after they testify. But most programs don't literally "protect" anyone. Witnesses are simply moved out of the place where the crime occurred into a safer location.
• It's Badr Versus Mahdi in Karbala
  On one side of the riots in the Shiite-dominated city of Karbala is the Badr Brigade — affiliated with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. On the other is the Mahdi Army — affiliated with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. According to scholar Vali Nasr, both groups have had close ties to Iran in the past.
• Karbala's Shiite Clashes Spread to Other Towns
  Tensions between rival Shiite factions are running high, following two days of clashes in the holy city of Karbala that left at least 50 dead and more than 200 wounded. The violence in Karbala sparked clashes in several other Shiite towns in southern Iraq.

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